http://www.hotelchatter.com/ Hotel Reviews, Hotel Ratings, Hotel Openings en-us Copyright 2008 - SFO Media 2012-02-14T09:42:11Z HotelChatter HotelChatter http://www.hotelchatter.com/images/hcwhite.jpg http://www.hotelchatter.com/ http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/4/25/83153/9893 <![CDATA[<p> <object width="399" height="317"><param value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KDGVXXtLYH4" name="movie"></param><embed width="399" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KDGVXXtLYH4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="317"></embed></object><p> <p>Hotel videos are all the rage this week, but we still haven't found too many that we actually like. And while we thought that the promo videos from the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/4/21/64135/5644/hotels/Hilton_Caribbean_Gets_Halfway_There_With_YouTube_Promos">Hilton Caribbean</a> hotels were pretty average, we've unfortunately found a variety of hotel YouTube efforts that are worse.</p><p>Our problem with the Hilton Caribbean promo vids was that they were so, well, promotional. But in retrospect, we liked the fact that the Hilton Caribbean videos actually featured video. The waves rolled, the palm trees blew in the wind and there were real live people walking around.</p><p>If you turn your attention to a hotel video like the one just featured on the amandak 2008-04-25T12:00:01-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2007/8/15/63624/3602 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/Four_Mile_BeachRydgesSabaya.jpg" class="imgborder"><p> <p>If you want to go to Bali but are nervous about <a href="http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/8/14/55117/0910/travel/Don%27t+Play+With+Chickens+in+Bali">bird flu</a>, go to Australia instead: the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Rydges+Sabaya+Resort+Port+Douglas/local/769"><b> Rydges Sabaya Resort Port Douglas</b></a> is like a piece of Bali in Queensland. It's just had a multi-million dollar redevelopment and labels itself a Balinese-style resort, and looks like a pretty relaxing place to stay. <p>The redevelopment has resort rooms and one and two bedroom apartments, all with a private balcony, flat screen TV, internet access, toaster and microwave, and the apartments also have refrigerators, hotplates and a dining area.</p><p>If you're really looking to explore Port Douglas, then the Rydges Sabaya might not be for you, as it's a good half-hour walk into the town, or amandak 2007-08-17T09:17:42-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2007/3/14/102931/209 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/thala_beach.jpg" class="imgborder"/><p>While checking out our recent coverage of <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2007/3/1/162117/8868/hotels/The_Honeymooners_Down_Under_Hayman_Island_Resort_Part_Two">hotels Down Under</a>, a tipster passed along this suggestion, <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Thala+Beach+Lodge/ian/184809"><b>The Thala Beach Lodge</b></a> located on a private beach between Cairns and Port Douglas.<p> The lodge won the 2006 TripAdvisor's Traveler's Choice for Best Luxury in the South Pacific and it's not hard to understand why. From our tipster:<blockquote><p>Each room is a private bungalow on stilts, with meandering paths to the main building housing a restaurant and a lounge. There no doors, no windows (on the main house) Great pool area.</blockquote></p><p>The reviews on TripAdvisor are also stellar with several saying the pool are is one of the best they have ever seen. And there's actually two pools here. The main juliana 2007-03-14T10:37:47-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/