We already took you on a tourof the guest rooms at the back-in-business Hyatt Regency New Orleans--and told you all the gourmet tailgating goodness that can be found at the hotel's bars and restaurants.

As for the reason your minibar is empty, we decided to let the Hyatt Regency NOLA's GM explain. We caught up with Michael Smith at the hotel's 24-hour market Lagniappe Exchange, which factors heavily in his plans not to rip off his guests at the minibar.

]]> MsRebecca 2011-11-03T14:57:29-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2011/10/12/14755/375 <![CDATA[<p><p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/hyatthouse_roomrendering.jpg" class="top"><p> <i>Welcome to our newest new feature, <b>Design Thursdays!</b> Thursdays are now our day to focus on hotel design through photo tours, video walkthroughs and interviews with hotel designers. Got a cool hotel design story we should know about? <a href="mailto:tips@hotelchatter.com">Let us know</a>!</i><p>Just a few weeks ago, <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/hyatt hotels"><b>Hyatt Hotels</b></a> surprised us with the announcement of their new brand, <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2011/9/20/121530/106/hotels/Hyatt_Welcomes_You_Into_Their_New_Hyatt_House"><b>Hyatt House</b></a>, which they hope will reinvigorate their extended stay offerings. <p> Right now, all of Hyatt's Summerfield Suites and Hotel Sierra hotels are turning into Hyatt Houses with the service upgrade and remodels to continue throughout next year. The redesign aims to create public spaces and guestrooms that will be more home-like but at the same juliana 2011-10-13T14:45:43-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2011/10/3/23456/8220 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/61268/Curtis2.jpg" class="top"><p><i>Stone enjoying some Risotto Milanese, catered by Cafe B inside the Hotel Indigo Chelsea</i> <p>In another life, we might have rolled our eyes at the thought of interviewing some pretty boy celebrity chef who makes a living cooking (and eating) gourmet food on national TV. But in the case of <b>Curtis Stone</b>, who showed up at the <a href=" http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Hotel+Indigo+New+York+City+Chelsea/local/1021"><b>Hotel Indigo Chelsea</b></a> on Friday to promote a local food campaign ("Locals Know Best"), we sat up to listen. <p>During our chat, the well-traveled chef name-drops a few of his fave NYC spots, professes his love for English Afternoon Tea, and <b>explains why <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/The+Standard+NYC/local/795"><b>The Standard</b></a> requires a certain "mood."</b> <p><i><b>How did this partnership with Indigo come about?</b></i> <p>I'm ASchechter 2011-10-04T09:53:28-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2011/5/19/12339/6505 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/61268/BPM2.png" class="top"><p>If you check the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/hotelbpm">Twitter page</a> of Brooklyn's yet-to-be-finished <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Hotel+BPM/local/4847"><strong>Hotel BPM</strong></a>, it is not immediately clear what the status of the project is. Originally slated to launch in July, the website now commands us to wait until the fall. But what is it exactly we're waiting for? <p>Sure, we know the hotel is under the direction of <b>Bijal Panwala</b>, aka DJ Bijal. And we know its PR rep, Carolyn Izzo-Feldman, heralded the hotel as "the newest place to see and be seen in New York City." Gee, how descriptive. But what else can we expect from the property?</p> <p>Last month, we spoke to Mr. Panwala (below) about his background, his vision, and the reality of building ASchechter 2011-05-19T16:02:19-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/