HotelChatter - Tag: Howto

How to Make the Omni Hotel's Hot Chocolate

ced138 — 2008-11-06T17:02:29-05:00

Omni Hotels is once again bringing back their popular "Chuao" gourmet hot chocolate program just in time for the winter.

We have to give Omni some credit--luring people inside their doors by wafting the scent of cocoa. The simplicity of this marketing ploy is what makes it genius...and delicious.

The Venezuelan concoction is served both hot and cold, spicy or mild and spiked or virgin with the Los Angeles and NYC locations creating their own recipes.

If you don't think you'll be stepping inside an Omni anytime soon, here's our cheat sheet for mixing the concoction at home.

HOWTO :: Become a Hotel Test Sleeper

Jenna — 2008-07-31T11:01:15-05:00

When we checked out some of the first guest reviews of the new CitizenM hotel in Amsterdam, we noticed a couple of the contributions came from guests who had seen the property a bit early -- they had gotten the chance to stay overnight as "test-sleepers" before the June grand opening.

So, in other words, the hotel hired people to act as bed testers and stay overnight for free.

Seriously? The greatest job ever, maybe? Our calling? Your calling?

After the jump: how those lucky few scored gigs as hotel "test-sleepers" -- and how you can, too.

HOWTO :: Succesfully Set the Hotel Room's iHome Alarm Clock

Jenna — 2008-06-11T11:01:50-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/ihomebig2.jpg" class="imgborder">The ghetto 4-button alarm clock with the red visible-from-space LCD display is on the way out, and the iPod-compatible iHome has taken its place on hotel nightstands everywhere. So far, we've woken up next to these babies in both big-box hotel chains and boutique hotels alike. In fact, we even awarded it our <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2007/12/30/225131/65/hotels/2007_Must_Have_Amenity_iPod_Docking_Stations">Must-Have Hotel Amenity Award for 2007.</a> While it's great to be able to wake up to our iPods, frankly, the damn thing has a whole hell of a lot of buttons. Don't get us wrong -- we are young, tech-savvy folks and all -- but even we had to say a little prayer that the shiny little beast would function as planned the first

New York: HOWTO: Deal With A Hotel That Sold Your Room to Someone Else

juliana — 2008-05-22T10:32:02-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/sixcolumbext.png" class="imgborder">Last week we received a distress call from one of our friends who had just arrived after long cross-country flight in New York to the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Six+Columbus+Hotel/local/25">Six Columbus Hotel</a>.Our friend had actually booked the hotel after reading about it in our <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/hotelchatter%20reader%20deals">HotelChatter Reader Deals</a> when Quikbook was offering 10% off two nights or more. He paid $360 a night for four nights in a queen-bed room.Yet instead of being whisked away to his room to relax, our friend was pulled aside by the General Manager and over a complimentary drink at the bar, was told that the hotel did not have a room for him.Naturally, our friend was shocked. Where was he going to go? How would

HOWTO: Score a Hotel Deal on Priceline

Tim L. — 2008-02-28T12:23:52-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.jaunted.com/files/admin/indy4.jpg" class="imgborder"> Over at About.com's Budget Travel site there's an excellent rundown on <a href="http://budgettravel.about.com/cs/auctions/a/reveal_price.htm">how to score a hotel deal through Priceline</a>. The writer wanted to stay in downtown Indianapolis for a sporting event but didn't want to pay the $140 a night he was seeing on the usual booking sites. So he checked the message boards, went to Priceline, and scored a deal for $60.47 after fees and taxes. He doesn't say which hotel he scored, but judging by what's on the <a href="http://p070.ezboard.com/bpricelineandexpediabidding">BiddingForTravel</a> board, it was the Omni Severin or the downtown Hyatt Indianapolis. We have had our own frequent success with this method, scoring cut-rate deals on leftover rooms at Hotel President in Kansas City, Millennium