The official bell-ringing of the just-opened SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills was held this afternoon with the Mayor of LA, Antonio Villaraigosa, as the guest of honor.

Instead of a traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony — and perhaps more fitting with the hotel's quirky, out-of-the-ordinary style — the hotel's founder Sam Nazarian, his family, the mayor, other execs from SBE, city council members and even a Starwood executive all rang a bell. It actually looked more fun than cutting a ribbon and you can ring it more than once.

We'll have the full opening ceremony scoop for you tomorrow.]]> juliana 2008-11-10T16:29:24-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/11/9/212429/598

We hit up the brand, spankin' new Nines Hotel in Portland this weekend.

It opened just a few weeks ago, and we know for a fact we were the first to use the hair dryer in room 1049. Perhaps we were the first to stay there? The carpets sure were clean. Nothing like the smell of new hotel.

A full review is coming tomorrow, but we'll spoil the ending for you: we loved it. ]]> abigailmschilling 2008-11-10T15:30:18-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/11/4/9590/26254 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/sls_exterior.jpg" class="top"><p>As we mentioned yesterday, we took a tour of the eagerly-anticipated <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/The+SLS+at+Beverly+Hills/local/1098"><b>SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills</b></a> on La Cienega Boulevard. However, we were not allowed to take any interior pics as the hotel is still putting the finishing touches on some of its spaces. (But if you have any, you know you can send 'em to us!)<p>That said we are relying on that old-timey journalistic trick of providing you color with words to tell you what you will find in SLS, peppered with a few of those renderings.<p>The hotel is absolutely not what we expected. What we gathered from the limited renderings the hotel handed out, was a large public lobby space that flowed into the José juliana 2008-11-04T10:41:09-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/10/16/9200/6676 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/ninesroom.jpg" class="imgborder"><p>If you're in Portland, Ore. today and you have nothing to do at precisely 9:09am today then you should hop on over to <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/The+Nines/local/1224"><b>The Nines Hotel</b></a> which is opening exactly at that time this morning. <p>After 21 months of construction and $18 million worth of construction bills, needless to say the hotel is eager to put some paying guests inside its rooms.<p>The hotel, which sits above the Macys' in downtown is going after luxury hotel guests, provided they are still spending money in this weak economy. <p>Furnishing and amenities are high-quality, the dual-flush toilets strike a green chord, a signature scent created just for the hotel will waft about and guests can fill their bellies at the juliana 2008-10-16T09:25:23-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/