We got a hotel key card that's so cute, we want to keep it in our wallet and bust it out and show people as if it were a photo of our kid. The Portola Hotel & Spa in Monterey features a cuddly looking sea otter peeking his furry head out of the water on its key card.

You could mistake the front of the plastic card as a ticket to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but the back of it has the hotel's name and info. Unfortunately, the adorable card doesn't double as a pass to get you into the aquarium, the big thing to see in this coastal city. ]]> Jennifer Kester 2011-07-12T16:00:01-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/2/16/221218/581

Monterey is not exactly known for its budget accommodations, however seedy Cannery Row’s past might have been. So it seems that the Spindrift Inn has decided to conform, renovating its rooms in what it calls “European elegance.”

From what we can tell, that means the Inn’s 45 rooms have gotten hardwood floors, over-stuffed feather bedding, little sitting areas, marble bathrooms with nickel fittings, and traditional furnishings (except for the flatscreen TV’s, or course) decorated in green and red tones.]]> EricRosen 2009-02-17T12:49:20-05:00 36.6154866 -121.89975 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/9/23/16927/1422 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/eow_deals2.jpg" class="imgborder"><br><b>Orchard Hotels Announces New Monterey Sister Hotels</b><br><b>$<a href="http://www.www.innsofmonterey.com">139 a night</a></b><p><a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/orchard%20hotels"><b>The Orchard Hotels</b></a> in San Francisco include the original <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Orchard+Hotel/ian/192358">Orchard Hotel</a> on Bush Street and it's green LEED-certified sister, the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/The+Orchard+Garden+Hotel/local/140">Orchard Garden Hotel.</a><p>And now the two hotels have announced deals for their sister hotels in nearby Monterery, Calif. Orchard Hotels is offering special introductory rates from Sunday through Friday until October 31st at the following <b>Inns of Monterey</b>.<p> &#183; <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Hotel+Pacific/ian/200238"><b>Hotel Pacific</b></a>: $189 for a junior suite with a complimentary bottle of wine.<p> &#183; <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Monterey+Bay+Inn/ian/200233"><b>Monterey Bay Inn</b></a>: $219 for a harbor view room with a complimentary bottle of wine. <p> &#183; <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Spindrift+Inn/ian/243733"><b>Spindrift Inn</b></a>: $199 for Cannery Row View and $269 for a full Ocean juliana 2008-09-23T16:09:27-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2006/4/11/114035/518 <![CDATA[<p> <img align="right" src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/water_isprecious.jpg">A fight has broken out over hotels saving water by not changing the sheets unless a guest requests new sheets.<p> <a href="http://www.felixsalmon.com/000475.html">Felix Salmon</a> responded to <a href="http://www.thisisbroken.com/b/2006/04/mariott_montere.html">another blogger's</a> gripe that if paying $200 plus a night at the <a href="http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/MRYCA"><b>Marriott</b></a> in Monterey, Calif. then clean sheets should be automatic. <p>Instead the environmentally-conscious hotel asks that you place a card on the bed when you want new sheets, otherwise they will not be changed. <p>Felix says:<blockquote><p>Obviously, if sheets are dirty, they should be cleaned. If a guest requests new sheets, he should get them. And new guests get new sheets, always. But I see no reason for a hotel guest to expect a level of wastefulness and environmental juliana 2006-04-11T11:54:07-05:00 36.600287 -121.89496 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/