Earlier this year when swine flu first erupted, 280 people were quarantined at the MetroPark Hotel in Hong Kong, we lightly dubbed it a Swine Flu Hotel. But now we have a real Swine Flu Hotel.

Hotel Sinaia, a resort in the mountains of Sinaia, Romania, has been closed after 40 Romainian and foreign law students attending a conference caught the dreaded H1N1 virus.

Health state secretary Adrian Streinu-Cercel says 40 people were hospitalized Sunday in Bucharest, suffering from medium to severe forms of the flu.

]]> juliana 2009-11-02T08:04:20-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/7/15/131410/827

Dear lord. There is a story going around the ol' Internets today that is going to make you very, very unhappy. We have convinced ourselves that it is fake and ridiculous and impossible, but you're going to run into this story eventually — so you might as well let us deliver it.

Please put down whatever you are currently eating.

A tourist from Germany, Axel Sanz-Claus, has told a local NYC ABC outlet that in his steak and spinach dinner at the Bull and Bear Steak House at the Waldorf Astoria was — seriously, finish your lunch — a tampon. And not a brand new white one, if you get our drift. ]]> Jenna 2009-07-15T13:25:14-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/5/4/10510/68819 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/metroparkhongkong.jpg" class="top"> <p>This morning, we were perusing the <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-05/03/content_11305283.htm">ol' headlines</a> and noticed a very special one out of Hong Kong that read, "Quarantined guests at Hong Kong hotel get free accommodations." Well, um, yeah &#151; we would assume that the 300-or-so people holed up in the <b><a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Metropark+Hotel+Wanchai/ian/261250">MetroPark Hotel</a></b> on a seven-day quarantine (<a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/5/1/163435/0202/hotels/Hong_Kong_Hotel_Quarantined_Due_to_Swine_Flu_Case">due to a confirmed case </a>of swine flu in a hotel guest) wouldn't have to pay for their rooms. <p>And as awesome as seven free nights in a pretty nice hotel might sound, rest assured that the quarantined guests are <i>not</i> having the time of their lives. Today's <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/2009/05/04/dispatches-from-the-metropark-hotel-rarer-than-buying-a-winning-lottery-ticket/">Wall Street Journal</a> ran a <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/2009/05/04/dispatches-from-the-metropark-hotel-rarer-than-buying-a-winning-lottery-ticket/">dispatch</a> from a guest on the inside of the Jenna 2009-05-04T10:53:16-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/5/1/163435/0202 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/asia_HK_REUTERS.jpg" class="top"> <p>Oh noes. Here comes the first report of a hotel <i>completely sealed off</i> because a guest staying there has been diagnosed with swine flu. Seriously. An entire hotel is under quarantine for seven days. <p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8029871.stm">BBC News</a> reports: <blockquote><p>About <b>300 people</b> at a Hong Kong hotel have been placed under quarantine after a guest there became China's first confirmed swine flu case. <p> The 25-year-old man, who is now in hospital after testing positive for the virus, had travelled from Mexico via Shanghai, Hong Kong's leader said. Local TV footage showed police wearing masks guarding the hotel exits. </p></blockquote> <p>Guh. Can you even imagine being sealed up in your hotel for seven days? Talk about hotel hell. Jenna 2009-05-01T16:37:41-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/4/28/91151/7805 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/jwmarriottmexico.jpg" class="top"><br><i>JW Marriott, Cancun.</i> <p>Got a hot little Mexico vacay booked? We'll bet you were psyched about the tanning and the boozin' just a week ago &#151; but you probably haven't been so excited, you know, since the CDC issued a travel advisory urging Americans to avoid "all non-essential travel to Mexico," where swine flu-related 149 deaths have been reported so far. <p>Not particularly interested in taking your chances with the spreading-alarmingly-swiftly swine flu while you're frolicking on the sunny beaches? No worries: almost all the major hotel chains &#151; <b><A href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/marriott hotels">Marriott</a></b>, <b><A href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/starwood hotels">Starwood</a></b>, <b><A href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/intercontinental hotels">InterContinental </a></b>and <b><A href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/hyatt hotels">Hyatt</a></b> &#151; have announced that they will <b>waive cancellation fees</b> at their Mexico properties in response to Jenna 2009-04-28T09:14:19-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/