http://www.hotelchatter.com/ Hotel Reviews, Hotel Ratings, Hotel Openings en-us Copyright 2008 - SFO Media 2009-11-25T07:05:31Z HotelChatter HotelChatter http://www.hotelchatter.com/images/hcwhite.jpg http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Hotel%20Design http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/10/16/115241/79 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6193/Whotell1.jpg" class="top"> <p>We may love us some hotels, but research into accommodations in a destination usually includes looking at alternatives like temporary stay apartments as well, especially when we sit tight in the same city for over a week. Contemporary design usually wins us over as well, since isn't the point of paying so much to stay in a nice place to not be surrounded by your usual clutter? For this reason, we totally know where we're headed next time we're in <b>Barcelona</b>: The <b>MUJI Whotells</b> buildings in the Raval, Eixample and Barceloneta quarters. <p>The collection of temporary stay apartments, managed and outfitted <b>like hotel suites gone native</b>, occupy refurbished designer apartment buildings and offer 1,2 and 3-bedroom apartments JetSetCD 2009-10-16T14:21:04-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/9/9/1728/30157 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/aquarius.jpg" class="top"><p><i>The Aquarius restaurant menu at the Dream Inn in Santa Cruz, Calif.</i><p> Usually we don&#146;t even notice a menu design&#133;unless it&#146;s ugly, unwieldy or unappetizing. But if you're a hotel geek like ourselves then you've probably caught yourself staring at a menu before and wondering who did the design? Most likely, it wasn't someone at the hotel. <p>When we talk about design in the hospitality industry, we almost always mean décor. However, there is a whole world of materials that have to be designed, and that is where the design firm <b><a href="http://www.tasteenvy.com">Taste Envy</a></b> comes in.<p>Founded by husband-and-wife team <b>Jason and Nadine Stellavato Brown</b>, Taste Envy creates menu covers and other "branding materials for design-minded restaurants, hotels and EricRosen 2009-09-11T10:58:51-05:00 47.6212200 -122.34196 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/8/12/92833/4967 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/snuggles2.jpg" class="top"><p> Here at HotelChatter, we're always interested in what future trends are on the horizon for hotels--whether it be sleek-looking <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/8/5/143316/9538/hotels/Jenga_More_Photos_of_Edition_Hotel_Bangkok_Revealed">Jenga-esuqe buildings</a> or keyless doors or eco-technology. We also like to see what sort of unusual hotel lodgings are trying to get built out there like underwater hotels, the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/3/6/155725/6226/hotels/The_Death_Star_Hotel_Not_Being_Built_By_Emperor_Palpatine">Death Star Hotel</a> and the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/3/13/94146/5169/hotels/And_Now_Introducing_The_Egg_Hotel">Egg Hotel</a>. But this one has thrown us for a loop--<b>The Hamster Tunnel Hotel.</b> <p><a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/08/10/snuggles-stay-in-a-modular-hamster-tunnel-hotel/">Inhabitat.com</a> reports: <blockquote><p>This modular, mobile Snuggles hotel allows you to shack up in pods for an artsy camping experience <b>not dissimilar to staying in oversized hamster cage tunnels</b>. The project crosses the boundaries of temporary architecture and public art with its linkable framework, configurable platforms, and juliana 2009-08-12T09:54:33-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/5/19/112641/433 <![CDATA[<p><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=23718196001&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=23718196001&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> <p>Last week, we hit up the just-opened <b><a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Le+Meridien+Dallas+North/local/1451">Le Meridien Dallas North</a></b> to get an idea of the fly new look that the whole LM chain's going to be getting. Yesterday, we gave you a look at <A href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/5/18/155830/505/hotels/Le_Meridien_Dallas_North_s_Lobby_is_a_Bit_Pink_Whatchya_Think_">the lobby</a>; today, a full tour. <p>To remind you: for the last couple of years, <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/starwood%20hotels">Starwood </a>has been hard at work to develop a powerful, more modern and solid identity to roll out across its Le Meridien chain. Jenna 2009-05-19T11:26:41-05:00 32.9304510 -96.818055 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/4/29/1220/91444 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/crowneplazachangi.jpg" class="top"> <p>Last we checked, it seemed that <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/4/8/93024/96535/hotels/Does_Anyone_Actually_Like_the_Peekaboo_Bathroom_Trend_">nobody really enjoyed</a> the whole "peekaboo" bathroom trend. This new seethrough-restroom thing that hotel designers seem to be into nowadays appears to appeal to very few of the folks who actually need to use these seethrough-restrooms, and having our jiggly bits displayed to our hotel room-mates &#151; and, good lord, our private business exposed &#151; does not particularly scream sex and sensuality. If there are places to forgo function for style, we think everyone is in agreement that the commode and body-cleaning area is not the place to do so. <p>But this one may be one of the worst we've seen: check out this snapshot of the <b>Crowne Plaza Changi Jenna 2009-04-29T12:08:47-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/