http://www.hotelchatter.com/ Hotel Reviews, Hotel Ratings, Hotel Openings en-us Copyright 2008 - SFO Media 2009-11-24T03:51:20Z HotelChatter HotelChatter http://www.hotelchatter.com/images/hcwhite.jpg http://www.hotelchatter.com/ http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/8/24/23929/0699 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/BiltmoreOriginalTequilaSunrise.jpg" class="top"><p> <p><i>We've kicked off our <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/summer cocktails">Summer Cocktails</a> series where we profile fun new summer drinks that hotels are making. Got one we should know about? <a href="mailto:tips@hotelchatter.com">Send us the recipe with a photo of the drink.</a> Otherwise, enjoy and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/hotelchatter">@reply us</a> when you're wasted!</i><p> <p>The last news we heard from the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Arizona+Biltmore+Resort+-+The+Waldorf-Astoria+Collection/ian/105306"><b>Arizona Biltmore</b></a> was about the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/7/6/13456/53352/hotels/The_Arizona_Biltmore_is_Getting_a_600_Million_Facelift">not-in-a-hurry renovations</a> (dates like "sometime before 2020" were getting tossed around) so we're happy to have something more concrete to report: the Biltmore's got a special summer cocktail, and it's a classic.<p>Something we didn't know is that the <b>Tequila Sunrise</b> was apparently invented at the Biltmore, back in the 1940s when a frequent guest asked the bartender amandak 2009-08-28T09:23:48-05:00 33.5218000 -112.02034 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/7/6/13456/53352 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/azbiltmore2.jpg" class="top"> <p>Those <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/4/29/12538/5531/hotels/Hotels_for_100_or_Less_The_Arizona_Biltmore">$100-or-Less rooms</a> at the <b><A href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Arizona+Biltmore+Resort+-+The+Waldorf-Astoria+Collection/ian/105306">Arizona Biltmore</a></b> are going to be a thing of the past, we assume, since the very-much-in-need-of-renovation property has just gotten the go-ahead for a major makeover &#151; to the tune of $600 million. <p>According to a <a href="http://www.hotelsmag.com/article/CA6669090.html?industryid=47562">press release</a>: <blockquote><p> <p>The renovation calls for a new world-class spa with corresponding amenities, a fine-dining restaurant, neighborhood-friendly upgrades to trails, traffic enhancements, pool and landscaping redevelopment, a promenade along the Arizona Canal, a new resort entrance design and 300 new rooms. The renovation will take place in two phases with the first beginning immediately and the second starting sometime before 2030 and will be dependent on demand and market conditions.</p></blockquote> <p>But don't Jenna 2009-07-06T13:49:51-05:00 33.5166572 -112.03007 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/4/29/12538/5531 <![CDATA[<p><p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/biltmore80rate.jpg" class="top"><p> <i>Every now and then, we'll be profiling hotels for $100 or less. Yay! Know of any other bargains? <a href="mailto:tips@hotelchatter.com">Send 'em to us.</a></i><p>If you didn't know, <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Arizona+Biltmore+Resort+-+The+Waldorf-Astoria+Collection/ian/105306"><b>The Arizona Biltmore</b></a> in Phoenix is part of the Hilton family of <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Waldorf-Astoria%20Collection">Waldorf-Astoria Collection Hotels</a>, so for this luxury property (and host to every president except <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/2/18/12414/6178/hotels/Why_Is_Obama_Snubbing_the_Arizona_Biltmore_">Obama</a>), to have rooms going for <a href="http://www.arizonabiltmore.com/discoveroffers/">$80 a night</b></a> is kind of insane. But it's for real.<p>As part of a Mother's Day celebration and the Biltmore's 80th anniversary, the hotel is offering rooms for $80 for 80 hours. The special rate is only bookable for 80 hours starting yesterday and ending Friday, May 1, 2009. The rate is also only available juliana 2009-04-29T12:17:51-05:00 33.5166572 -112.03007 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/3/13/103156/195 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/17697/Lazy_River___Inner_Tubes.jpg" class="top"></p> <p>Sometimes we forget that Spring Break means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. It&#146;s true, some Spring Breaks don&#146;t involve girls with low self-esteem <em>or</em> the slimy guys who prey on them.</p> <p>At the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Jw+Marriott+Desert+Ridge+Resort+&+Spa/ian/205034"><strong>JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort</strong></a>, for instance, spring break is all about a different, infinitely more wholesome, slime. As in Nickelodeon&#146;s &#147;Slime Time&#148; and &#147;Slimo Bingo.&#148; That&#146;s right &#151; through April 28, kids aged 4 to 12 can live out their spring break fantasies at the resort&#146;s Nickelodeon Activity Zone with full and half-day sessions, which include an appearance by none other than SpongeBob SquarePants. Plus: arts and crafts (pottery painting, jewelry-making), stargazing, a Sonoran desert walk, KatieK 2009-03-13T11:13:11-05:00 33.6830646 -111.96766 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/2/23/153259/902 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/phxroomdrop.jpg" class="top"><p> Turns out the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/2/17/15427/9900/hotels/Hold_The_Phone_W_Scottsdale_NOT_Closing_at_End_of_2009">W Scottsdale</a> is not the only hotel in the Phoenix-area going through some rough times. <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2009/02/22/20090222biz-peakseason0222.html">The Arizona Republic</a> reports that luxury hotels are offering their rooms at summer rates during the peak season--about 15 to 20 percent off their normal rates.<blockquote><p>Hotels and resorts that routinely command $300 to $500 a night during the winter are on sale for 15 percent to 20 percent off, with some dangling rates of $199 a night and less on select dates, as well as previously unheard-of last-minute deals.</blockquote></p><p>The fading <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/2/18/12414/6178/hotels/Why_Is_Obama_Snubbing_the_Arizona_Biltmore_">Arizona Biltmore</a> (recently snubbed by Prez Obama) has rooms open for $179 a night on Expedia. The new <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Intercontinental+Montelucia+Resort+&+Spa/ian/115760">InterContinental Montelucia Resort and Spa</a> in Paradise juliana 2009-02-23T15:44:05-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/