HotelChatter - CALIFORNIA

Desert Chic for Cheap(er) at Borrego Ranch Resort & Spa

globetrotting gourmet — 2009-11-20T13:29:30-05:00

Okay. There are officially 31 days until Winter Solstice (a.k.a. the shortest day of the year) and we’re already going a little stir-crazy with the decrease in daylight and the plunging temperatures. The solution? Head to warmer locales, like Borrego Springs in the Southern California desert.

Sure, springtime may steal this remote desert destination’s tourist thunder with its insanely beautiful display of wildflowers at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, but wintertime temps that hover around 70 degrees are what call our name. Right. About. Now. Besides, is there anything more spectacular than seeing the moon come up over the desert? Nah, not really.

The Hotel Bel-Air 'Truly Regrets' Disappointing Brides-to-Be With Upcoming Renovations

juliana — 2009-08-25T12:29:08-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/belair_private.jpg" class="top"> Yesterday we told you about how the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/8/23/23431/1731/hotels/Hotel_Bel_Air_s_Upcoming_Renovations_Mess_With_Bride_s_Dream_Wedding_Day_">Hotel Bel-Air</a> impending renovations have left brides-to-be scrambling for a new place to get married until the renovations are completed, sometime in 2011. Brides who already signed contracts at the Hotel Bel-Air for their wedding days are now being moved to <a href="">The Beverly Hills Hotel</a>, a sister hotel just a few miles away that's equally posh but has quite a different feeling. We compared it to stepping inside the pages of Us Weekly magazine where you see celebs left and right. It's the perfect hotel for a visit to Los Angeles (seriously, we see celebs everytime we pop in there) but it doesn't have the seclusion and intimacy

Hotel Bel-Air Gives New Meaning to Treating Customers Like Dogs

shiralevine — 2009-06-09T16:42:08-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/rover_belair.jpg" class="top"> <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Hotel+Bel+Air/ian/112168">Hotel Bel-Air</a> is introducing the <a href="http://hotelbelair.com/guest_services/pet_services/">Precious Paws Program</a>, a five-star amenity program designed to cater to man's best friend. <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/dorchester%20collection">The Dorchester Collection</a> hotel gives pups the royal treatment the moment a pet steps it's paw on-property. Pet perks include: a "chic neckerchief" given upon arrival to fancy up the collar, a private photo shoot to make your pet feel like a cover girl or boy, and a frame for your furry playmate centerfold as a check-out souvenir. Rooms are doggy-ready too. They feature dog beds and read-to-go dog bowls. Doggy turn-down service includes peanut butter treats personally made by the in-house pastry chef. (The recipe is available at check-out.) And if by chance your

Hotel Indigo To Be San Diego's First Green Hotel

shiralevine — 2009-05-13T16:58:01-05:00

It's nice to see this whole 'going green' thing isn't just a passing trend. The brand new Hotel Indigo San Diego Gaslamp Quarter is slated to open August 1 and has eco-ambitions beyond reusing the bathroom facecloth.

The 12-story hotel's plan is to be the “first sustainably built hotel in San Diego” (pending LEED certification) which includes design features like their "eco roofs." To help reduce heating and air-conditioning waste and filter storm-water runoff the hotel installed native plants and shrubs to the ninth-floor terrace and 12th-floor rooftop. (So far their aren't any of those Al Gore inconsistencies like a rooftop helipad to fully negate their green attempts.

Virgin America Celebrates New Flights Out of The OC With Hotel Stays

shiralevine — 2009-04-30T15:52:28-05:00

<![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=21692707001&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=21692707001&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>This post stars <a href="http://www.jaunted.com/user/shiralazar">Shira Lazar</a> but was written by <a href="http://www.jaunted.com/user/shiralevine">Shira Levine.</a> Just in case you had your Shiras confused. OMFG, while it's probably beneath the <a href="http://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-orange-county">Housewives of Orange County</a> to fly discounted airfares, for the record we'd still rather endure a six hour turbulent flight than have Vicki, Lynne or Gretchen even in the same airport as us. For now we're hopefully in the clear so long as there is no red carpet or paparazzi.