http://www.hotelchatter.com/ Hotel Reviews, Hotel Ratings, Hotel Openings en-us Copyright 2008 - SFO Media 2008-11-21T03:24:22Z HotelChatter HotelChatter http://www.hotelchatter.com/images/hcwhite.jpg http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Beijing%20Hotels http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/11/10/94239/259 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/7156/aloft_beijing.jpg" class="top"><p> <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Aloft%20Hotels"><b>Aloft Hotels</b></a> has not altered its DNA one iota in its newest location overseas. Like all the other Alofts that have opened in North America, <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Aloft+Beijing,+Haidian/ian/269905"><b>Aloft Beijing</b></a> resembles the offices of one of those dot-com startups in Silicon Valley in the late &#145;90s&#151;or at least how they show them in the movies. This actually makes sense here, because the soon-to-open hotel is located in Beijing&#146;s high-tech and university sector. <p>The Aloft layout has not changed over in China either. The common areas have the bright, boxy furniture we've come to experience in the states complete with steel-beam ceilings with exposed air ducts. The rooms are also the same, right down to the Bliss products in ced138 2008-11-10T12:00:11-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/10/6/21517/3107 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/Aman_Beijing_Entrance.jpg" class="imgborder"><p> <p>The list of <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Amanresorts">Amanresorts</a> reads like a list of the top ten exotic places we'd like to travel to, and now that the <b>Aman at Summer Palace, Beijing</b> is open, we are dying to get there. Many of the rooms--there are only 51, so it's small and extra-friendly--are built in outbuildings of the Summer Palace and the special imperial Chinese details are everywhere. It's kind of like going sightseeing without leaving the hotel, but we really want to do it!<p>Yes, you could say that we're almost over-enthusiastic about Aman spots but then again, a whole lot of people agree with us. The weekend's <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/destinations/china/article4867236.ece">UK Times</a> review of the Beijing Aman was way over-the-top with enthusiastic amandak 2008-10-07T09:05:40-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/8/22/14220/6111 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.jaunted.com/files/4912/beijing_bird_s_nest.jpg" class="imgborder"><p>Is it just us or did the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Olympics%202008%20Hotels"><b>2008 Olympics</b></a> go by too fast? We're sad that the closing ceremonies are on the very near horizon. In fact, the only thing that's keeping our chins up is the chance to see David Beckham carrying the torch for London 2012.<p>And this little bit of news is helping our post-Olympic depression : The kick-ass Bird's Nest Stadium will be adding hotel rooms soon, reports <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/beijing/2008-08-21-chinavenues_N.htm">USA Today</a>. The stadium will also host at least 60 soccer matches a year and add VIP Skyboxes, meaning that it will be possible to watch an event here and sleep here too.<p>Names will be floated around soon for the stadium but we think <b>Bird's juliana 2008-08-22T14:05:52-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/8/21/115542/579 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/phelps_hilton2.jpeg" class="imgborder"><p><b>Michael Phelps</b> keeps on swimming in Beijing but his latest race wasn't for gold. It was for something even better. <p>Phelps jumped into the pool at the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Hilton+Beijing/ian/134893"><b>Hilton Beijing</b></a> on Tuesday to swim 6,250th and final lap of the "Hilton Swim to Beijing Relay." The relay is a multi-city charitable event contributing $100,000 to the USA Swimming Foundation to fund swim education programs across the United States.<p>The race actually began back in November 2007 when Phelps kicked off the swim at the Hilton Universal City. It then went on to five other cities. So why 6,250 laps? Well that's the distance from LA to Beijing.<p>Hilton will be donating the money to swim education programs in the participating juliana 2008-08-21T12:00:44-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/8/20/105944/517 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/panguplaza.jpg" class="imgborder"><p>While it seems most of the ordinary and extraordinary visitors to Beijing are holing up at the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Intercontinental+Beijing+Financial+Street/local/1314">Intercontinental</a>, anyone with a ton of money will surely bypass all other hotels for the <a href="http://www.panguplaza.com/EN/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=133"><b>Pangu Plaza</b></a>. That is, when it finally opens.<p> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/sports/olympics/21apartment.html">NY Times</a> reports: <blockquote><p>Shaped like a dragon -- and stretching the length of seven football fields -- is a colossal row of stone buildings that boast a high-rise office tower, shopping mall, seven-star hotel and what the developer insists is the world's first traditional Chinese "courtyard in the sky."</blockquote></p><p>According to the <a href="http://www.panguplaza.com/EN/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=133">website</a>, the hotel has 270 suites that are "especially designed for top-ranking officials in the world, leaders from all fields and top riches juliana 2008-08-20T12:06:07-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/