If there's one thing that Miami and hotel openings have in common it's that they both make you wait longer than you'd like. Especially when you need to get permits from City officials to open your doors.

Which is all to say: we're not surprised that Element Miami is still a few weeks away and not already open as we thought it might be by now.

The hotel's website is saying Opening February 16--but taking reservations from March 1. A rep for Element tells us it's safe to say it will be open in 'late February.' And the earliest night we could find a room is March 11, for $159 a night.

]]> MsRebecca 2012-02-10T09:00:21-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2012/1/26/16837/4005

It's been a while since we checked in on the hotel habits of the POTUS but yesterday we we were psyched to see that Barack Obama stayed at a hotel that we've actually stayed at before...twice!

When visiting Las Vegas on the campaign trail, Obama eschewed the hotel casinos on the Strip and instead took over the entire Element Las Vegas hotel in Summerlin, about 15 minutes from the Strip. 8newsnow.com reports:

Onlookers were curious as to why President Obama chose to stay farther away from the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip. "This Element is earth friendly, and I think he's trying to promote that on his visit," Carol Bieganowski said.

]]> juliana 2012-01-27T12:16:47-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2012/1/10/103525/813 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/Shore_Hotel_Photo_Booth_Image_1.JPG" class="top"><p> Aside from having stylish and green guestrooms with Pacific Oceans views, an eco-friendly fitness center and an upcoming <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2011/9/12/16438/2475/hotels/The_Shore_Hotel_Will_Also_Taste_Great_Thanks_to_Blue_Plate_Taco">Blue Plate Taco</a> restaurant, <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/The+Shore+Hotel/local/4899"><b>The Shore Hotel</b></a> in Santa Monica has now added a bit of fun for their guests in the form of a <b>digital photo booth.</b><p>Found in the lobby near the check-in desk the photo booth lets guest take either a single image or an old-school photo strip with the Shore Hotel logo (as you can see in the gallery below, the hotel's logo is everywhere!). <p>And keeping in line with the hotel's emphasis on being green and conserving waste, the photos are only emailable (no paper waste here) and you can share them on juliana 2012-01-11T15:00:02-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2011/12/9/34253/4631

Guess the Hotel Revealed!

Two of you hotel experts were stumped but Dbenaderet was absolutely correct in guessing the hotel with the water bottle water fountain was the new Shore Hotel in Santa Monica.

After touring the hotel the other day, we're not so sure we've ever seen a more stylish yet totally green hotel from the construction of the building to the materials in the rooms down to the recycling bins under the desk. The hotel even employs its own Green Concierge. And below is the shot of the hotel's fitness center where we found the water bottle water fountain and which has a floor made from recycled rubber and tires. ]]> juliana 2011-12-09T10:35:01-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2011/12/7/94618/5823 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/gthwaterbottle.JPG" class="top"><p> It's another game of <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/guess the hotel"><b>Guess the Hotel!</b></a> Except this time we're going green. The rules are the same as ever--we give you some hints, you drop your guesses <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2011/12/7/94618/5823/hotels/Can_You_Guess_The_Hotel_With_the_Water_Bottle_Water_Fountain_#comment-block">in comments below</a> and we'll reveal the hotel in a few days! On your mark, get set, go!<p>&#183; This hotel features a water bottle water fountain in its fitness room which allows you to refill up your water bottle without the hassle of bending it sideways and only being able to fill it up halfway. You can also use it as a regular water fountain too.<p>&#183; The floor of the fitness center is made out of recycled tire and rubber, just one of the MANY juliana 2011-12-08T11:35:03-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/