Goodies at the Fifth Floor restaurant in San Fran.

Since Valentine's Day is over, Kimpton Hotels is shifting it focus from lovers to chocolate lovers. The company will celebrate Chocolate Lovers Day on February 17 with free sweets in hotels all over the country.

So in case you didn't get any chocolate valentines, you can get hopped up on the sweet stuff on our new favorite holiday. Plus, Kimpton's hotel restaurants will keep the sugar high going all month long with chocolatey desserts. ]]> Jennifer Kester 2011-02-15T13:03:47-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2010/7/29/15814/9926 <![CDATA[<P><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/kimptonfridayfrenzy.jpg" class="top"><p> It's Friday and we've already given you a <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2010/7/29/162240/659/hotels/Andaz_Wall_Street_Rolls_Out_The_Doggy_Welcome_Mat">cute hotel doggie</a> to virtually pet and a <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2010/7/29/163012/564/hotels/A_Colorado_Wildflower_Grows_at_Park_Hyatt_Beaver_Creek_And_You_Can_Drink_It_">refreshing vodka drink</a> to virtually sip on. What could possibly make this morning better? Oh, that's right--<a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/hotel deals"><b>a hotel deal!</b></a><p> This latest one is from <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/kimpton hotels">Kimpton Hotels</a> called <a href="http://www.kimptonhotels.com/promotions/friday-frenzy.aspx"><b>Friday Frenzy</b></a> and it's happening every Friday from now through Labor Day. If you've been planning a visit to either Baltimore, D.C., Arlington or Alexandria, you MUST check out these cheap hotel deals.<p>Today, Kimpton is offering the swank <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/The+Hotel+Palomar%2C+Washington+D.C.--A+Kimpton+Hotel/local/459"><b>Hotel Palomar DC</b></a> for just $50! But we suggest you book fast as there are only 50 rooms open at this rate and the deal ends at 5pm juliana 2010-07-30T10:34:24-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/10/30/15959/963 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/30451/Monacodogchef.jpg" class="top"></p> <p>More Hotel Halloween Doggies! What more do you want on this Friday afternoon before Halloween? These awesome photos come to us from the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Hotel+Monaco+Alexandria/local/1302"><b>Hotel Monaco Alexandria</b></a>, which held its <b>Howl-o-ween Costume Contest</b> on Thursday. And just to show anyone worried about puppy labor laws that canine concierges do have a chance to clock off and get loose, here is the hotel&#146;s Director of Pet Relations, bichon frise Charlie getting into the Halloween spirit. He&#146;s dressed as chef Derek Simcik from the hotel&#146;s restaurant Jackson 20&#151;right down to the tattoos. </p> <p>Then there was Scooby, decked out in Oktoberfest lederhosen, who took home the Top Dog award of the evening. (Kudos for hitting two October festive occasions MsRebecca 2009-10-30T16:24:19-05:00 38.8047330 -77.044547 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/6/26/11236/6639 <![CDATA[<object id="flashObj" width="486" height="412" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/4862856001?isVid=1&publisherID=1321358962" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="@videoPlayer=25010989001&playerID=4862856001&domain=embed&" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/4862856001?isVid=1&publisherID=1321358962" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="@videoPlayer=25010989001&playerID=4862856001&domain=embed&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="486" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" allowScriptAccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object><p> Earlier this month we found ourselves on King St. in Alexandria, Virginia and decided to stay the night at the <b><a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Hotel+Monaco+Alexandria/local/1302">Hotel Monaco Alexandria</a> </b>. Not only did this Hotel Monaco offer a great location and the usual Kimpton chic rooms but staffers also saw to it that our vehicle, which at the time had a U-Haul attached to it, was given premiere parking on the street right outside the hotel. Nice touch. <p> Want more? There markj 2009-06-26T12:47:17-05:00 38.8048106 -77.044662 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/11/13/9916/1373

If you’re like us, you might be having a tough time stomaching those hefty inauguration hotel rates being thrown every which way in D.C. (75G for a bulletproof suite at the Hyatt Regency? Come on, folks, we’d like to start keeping down solid foods one of these days.)

Fortunately, a roundup of affordable inaugural lodging (starting at $135!) just landed in our inbox. Courtesy of Shermans Travel Media, we present a few hotels in D.C. that haven’t totally lost their marbles. Just remember that vacant rooms are already few and hard to come by, so the following hotels are available and affordable, not necessarily convenient or particularly swank.