http://www.hotelchatter.com/ Hotel Reviews, Hotel Ratings, Hotel Openings en-us Copyright 2008 - SFO Media 2009-11-23T09:17:04Z HotelChatter HotelChatter http://www.hotelchatter.com/images/hcwhite.jpg http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Courtyard%20By%20Marriott%20Hotels http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/9/23/11118/0187 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/courtyardgoldLEED.jpg" class="top"><p> Hotels love to talk about <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/green hotels"><b>green</b></a> their properties are--from electric car charging stations to non-toxic cleaning products, in-room recycling bins, water saving practices and low energy appliances and lighting. These are all commendable and we hope that more and more hotels introduce green services, practices and amenities in the future.<p>But still the reigning status symbol of a truly green hotel is the coveted <a href="http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19"><b>LEED Status.</b></a> LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council to rate "environmentally sound building practices" ranging from materials used to construct the building to water efficiency and sustainability. Ratings are point-based and range from certified to silver, gold and platinum. juliana 2009-09-23T14:22:39-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/9/14/41346/8708 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/jacksparrow.jpg" class="top"><p> We'd feel silly slinging buccaneer slang on international <b>Talk Like A Pirate Day</b> on Sept. 19. And it's not because we don't think piratese is a valid international language. It's because we we just can't get that gravelly "Arrrggg" down. But we can muster an "aye" for the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Courtyard+by+Marriott+Chicago+Downtown/local/221"><b>Courtyard Chicago Downtown/River North</a></b>'s pirate package. <p>Mateys and lasses who sign up for the pirate package will get one night's stay at the Courtyard and two VIP tickets to the <b>Field Museum's "The Real Pirates: The Untold Story of The Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship" exhibit</b>. The VIP status entitles you to skip the line at the museum and get basic admission as well as entry Jennifer Kester 2009-09-14T08:58:52-05:00 41.8901520 -87.627541 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/6/19/93739/7853 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/Hotel_Key_Card.jpg" class="top"><p> <p>Most of our talk about <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Hotel%20Key%20Cards">hotel key cards</a> lately has concerned whether they're <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/6/18/174531/358/hotels/Just_Because_Your_Keycard_is_Recyclable_Doesn_t_Mean_It_Won_t_Work">recyclable or not</a>, but the whole "ease of use" factor is a pretty important to us, too. They can be fiddly things when you have to insert them a particular way or swipe them at just the right speed, and we've been frustrated by them more than once.<p>Thankfully, over at the X Room at the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Courtyard+Newark+Univ+Delaware/ian/224870"><b>Courtyard Newark University of Delaware</b></a>, the prototype room where they try out lots of new gadgets on real guests, they are looking carefully at <b>proximity-based keycards</b>. With these, we won't need to worry about inserting them in the right direction or even finding them in our amandak 2009-06-19T11:56:25-05:00 39.6886880 -75.759179 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/2/5/103111/2855 <![CDATA[<p><i>You know the scene. You open the door to your brand new hotel room, run over to the window, open the blinds and bam, you are hit with the anti-view. Maybe you are looking down a dirty alley, witnessing a drug deal, staring at an air shaft in the face, or seeing a brick wall. Whatever you are viewing it is not extremely pleasurable. Help out your fellow hotel mavens by uploading your anti-views to the <a href="http://flickr.com/groups/hotelchatter/">HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool</a>, or by <a href="mailto:tips@hotelchatter.com">sending the photo along to us</a>. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number with the not-so-easy-on-the-eyes view.</i> <p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/antiviewmiami.jpg" class="top"> <p>While it is no secret that we are personally insulted and Jenna 2009-02-05T10:34:00-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/2/2/11649/03207 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/target_card_color.jpg" class="top"> <p>The last few times we've stayed at a <b><a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Courtyard%20By%20Marriott%20Hotels">Marriott Courtyard</a></b> or a Courtyard-like property, we've been in sparkling suburbs. We've been near many, many chain restaurants, strip malls and whatnot &#151; and in dangerously close proximity to Target, the glorious suburban superstore that we inevitably stop into whenever we see one (because the mere sight of the red bulls-eye makes us believe we need emergency travel necessities like frizz-control serum, a tube of lipstick or some sunglasses). <p>And now Courtyard is justifying such emergency (read: unnecessary) shopping sprees by handing us a $20 Target gift card when we check into a Courtyard for a weekend stay. Imagine the possibilities: you can buy full-sized shampoos for your Jenna 2009-02-02T12:06:26-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/