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.]]> globetrotting gourmet 2009-11-20T13:29:30-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/9/29/15467/8112 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/Private_pool_in_villa_low_res.jpg" class="top"> <p>Not everyone heads to Dubai with mall shopping and indoor skiing on their minds, or if you do, you quickly get tired of it. For this reason, more and more retreats are being built outside of the city, either in lush green environments like the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/3/2/123150/0498/hotels/Westin_Golf_Resort_Will_Bring_Wellness_to_Abu_Dhabi">Westin Golf Resort</a> near Abu Dhabi or flat out in the desert, like the soon-to-open <b>Anantara Resort at Qasr Al Sarab</b>. <p>Due to open on October 25, the Anantara is 90 minutes away from Abu Dhabi and three hours from Dubai in the Liwa Desert, and boasts 206 rooms, although some are flat-out palatial villas with private pools and commanding views over the sand dunes. Face it: if you're coming all JetSetCD 2009-09-29T16:24:06-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/12/20/143551/47 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/carlosruizJwstarr.jpg" class="top"><p>While we've been obsessing over some of the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/holiday%20cocktails">holiday cocktails</a> hotels have been offering, we shouldn't neglect the year-round offerings of other resort. Especially when it comes to our favorite poison--Tequila.<p>The <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Jw+Marriott+Starr+Pass+Resort+And+Spa/ian/224660"><b>JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort</b></a> in Tucson, Ariz. has dedicated every afternoon to tequila.<blockquote><p> Every afternoon, guests are invited for a complimentary tequila toast to the &#147;Legend of Arriba, Abaja&#148; 5:30 p.m at Salud, the resort&#146;s indoor and outdoor bar overlooking the Tucson Mountain Park and pool.... In addition, in November, the resort started offering tequila tasting classes offered by two Academia Mexicana del Tequilas (AMT) Tequilier Ambassadeurs. There are only a handful of people in the United States with the AMT distinction.</blockquote></p><p>Salud even hand-crafts juliana 2008-12-23T09:55:27-05:00 32.2146970 -111.04626 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/4/1/93037/18397 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/Santa_Fe_La_Posada.jpg" class="imgborder"><p> <p>We're thinking that the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/La+Posada+De+Santa+Fe+Resort/ian/113472"><b>La Posada de Santa Fe Resort &amp; Spa</b></a> made a stack of dough out of their <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2007/10/2/64756/0421/hotels/Buy_Artwork_Get_Free_Accommodation_Santa_Fe_Style">$5,000 painting</a> deal, because they're currently spending $6.2 million on a renovation. Due to be completed by May this year, the redesign also includes a new restaurant.</p><p>The redesign on the interior includes the influence of indigenous cultures--the Museum of New Mexico Foundation got involved to design indigenous fabrics and prints for the guest rooms and public areas. They're also going for a more customer-friendly feel in the lobby, including individual check-in desks rather than one long check-in counter.</p><p>The new restaurant is the Viga, which will be open for all meals and have a casual atmosphere. amandak 2008-04-01T10:40:56-05:00 35.686313 -105.93245 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/3/20/21739/7051 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/eltovarhotel.jpg" class="imgborder"><p>It's been around 1905 and hosted Theodore Roosevelt and Albert Einstein, yet standard room rates at the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/El+Tovar/local/1156"><b>El Tovar</b></a> clock in at a shockingly bargain $166 for being perched about 100 feet from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.<p>The El Tovar and its scattered lodges along the edge of the Grand Canyon were built for the classic National Parks family road trip. They offer hearty breakfast buffets, unbeatable views, free parking, and immediate access to the head of the popular Bright Angel Trail (an 8 mile, 4000+' descent to the Colorado River).<p>If you opt for the hike down, be forewarned that it is very strenuous and splurging on some Nalgene bottles and a souvenir walking stick JetSetCD 2008-03-24T12:00:01-05:00 36.054362 -112.13771 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/