HotelChatter - Tag: Political Hotels

Seattle: Al Gore Keeps It Local at Hotel Vintage Park

juliana — 2009-11-20T10:05:47-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/algore30rock.jpg" class="top"> If you watched "30 Rock" last night then you may have seen former Vice President Al Gore make a confusing cameo as an eco-concerned janitor for Rockefeller Center (above.) But if you were dining at Tulio Ristorante inside the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Hotel+Vintage+Park+-+A+Kimpton+Hotel/ian/130132">Hotel Vintage Park</a> in Seattle the other night, then you would have seen Al Gore live, in person. The veep was in town for a town hall meeting to promote his new book, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis. He stopped in at Tulio which serves authentic Italian cuisine, for some halibut washed down with cabernet. According to the hotel peeps, he was very gracious to the staff and shook everyone's hand who came

New York: POTUS Dresses Down Wall Street at Mandarin Oriental

MsRebecca — 2009-10-21T14:53:41-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/POTUSmonyc.JPG" class="top"> <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/MANDARIN+ORIENTAL+NEW+YORK/local/190">The Mandarin Oriental</a> in New York is popular with celebrities: in the past, we've seen Bruce Willis and Natalie Portman there. But approaching the hotel close to 5 p.m. yesterday, we encountered way too much security for there to just be someone from Hollywood in the building. The street itself was blocked off and a mix of NYPD officers, generic security dudes, serious-looking men in suitsaha! Secret Service!and excited New Yorkers waiting by the barricades gave it all away: President Barack Obama was in town. And about to arrive any second.We got a bit of a thrill to learn this, too, along with a hint of dread that we may not get into the hotel

Porlamar: Chavez Not Happy With Hilton; Installs Himself At Front Desk

MsRebecca — 2009-10-15T11:02:03-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/ALeqM5g5aZfLEHx85P8Rt0CmKPv8ohRaHQ.jpg" class="top"> Were familiar with the feeling of loving a hotel so much wed like to move in and make it our home. And when were unhappy with a room or the service at a hotel we might make a complaint, leave, and remember not to return unless the situation improved. But thats us. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has a different strategy. If he doesnt like the hotel, he has his government take it over. (Now, why didnt we think of that?) Earlier this week, Chavez used a presidential decree to acquire the Hilton hotel on <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotels/city/ve/Margarita%20Island">Margarita Island</a>. Was he unhappy with the presidential suite? Not keen on the room service? No, as <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jc-YeSwTAuh-5vkd0uPA7v2Eu4Ow">this report</a> puts it,

New York: New York Hotels Hang 'No Vacancy' Signs For Gadhafi And Ahmadinejad

JetSetCD — 2009-09-21T08:44:25-05:00

Gadhafi, Gaddafi, al-Qaddafi...whichever name you want to call Mr. Moammar of Libya, none of them will be allowed to bunk down at Manhattan's swank Pierre Hotel during his time in NYC for United Nations functions. Apparently of all the luxury hotels in New York, Gadhafi and his retinue had set their sights on the luxe Upper East Side hotel on Central Park as his headquarters in New York, but after complaints from current guests (paying four figures a night, so they should have such a say), the hotel turned him away.

Now it looks as though Gadhafi will have to crash at the Libyan Mission; no luxury hotel and room service for this dictator.

New York: Libyan Dictator Might Be Ruling Over NY's Pierre Hotel Next Week

JetSetCD — 2009-09-11T09:19:53-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6193/Qaddafi.jpg" class="top"> We should have known that a picky dictator only picks the best hotels, regardless of availability of first-floor suites. We guess Libyan dictator Moammar al-Qaddafi doesn't read HotelChatter (thank god), because he sure didn't read our <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/8/31/92959/1294/hotels/Moammar_Takes_Manhattan_Top_3_NYC_Hotels_Picks_For_A_Picky_Dictator">Top Three Recommendations</a> for him during his stay in New York for his meeting with the good old United Nations. Instead, <a href="http://www.luxist.com/2009/09/10/gadhafi-may-bunk-at-the-pierre/">Luxist</a> did some sniffing around in the news to discover that suites have been reserved in Moammar and company's names at several properties not on our list, like <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/The+Pierre/local/941">The Pierre</a>, <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/The+Plaza/ian/105314">The Plaza</a>, and <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Hilton+New+York/local/299">The Hilton</a>. The current favorite seems to be The Pierre, whose rooms begin at $820 a night and have the Taj Pierre