Temperature: 77 degrees. Weather: partly cloudy. Time: to check in to the W Barcelona.

Western Europe’s first W, and the snazzily-numbered 33rd in the world, has opened its doors today. The Bliss therapists are unwinding tense muscles right now, the Eclipse staff are girding cocktail glasses with sugar, and the head honchos must be breathing a big sigh of relief that its third predicted opening date has finally come through. And right now, that pool must be looking a little less peaceful. ]]> juliab 2009-10-01T11:18:52-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/7/29/165225/511 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/amaraplazaluggage.jpg" class="top"> <p>Um, we're not quite sure what the purpose of this special little card from the <b><A href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Silken+Amara+Plaza+Hotel/ian/105479">Hotel Amara Plaza San Sebastian</a></b> in Spain is, really &#151; but the photographer, gruntzooki, didn't seem too sure either &#151; he titled this pic (appropriately) "inexplicable card advising of correct luggage storage." <p>Um, why is this here? Is this like, a thing in Spain? Or does the hotel just want you to keep your room neat and tidy? You know, so the housekeeping staffers don't trip and fall and hurt themselves while they're trying to clean up? <p>We dunno about this. Some of us here at HC like to open our suitcase upon arrival, rifle through it to get what we Jenna 2009-07-29T16:55:12-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/7/21/15743/7088 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/21888/hotel_arts.jpg" class="top"> <p>Feel like a drink right now? We feel your pain. And looking at <a href="http://www.hotel-girl.com/2009/07/hotel-arts-barcelona-has-a-swa.html">these pictures</a> of the new bar at the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Hotel+Arts+Barcelona/local/934"<b>Hotel Arts</b></a> in Barcelona, we know where we&#146;d like to be sinking ours. Specifically, our glass of bubbly. <p>Sexy sofas? Check. Sexy slats so we can sneak looks at our fellow drinkers? Check. Serious drinks list? Double check: there are 40 types of champers to choose from here. <p>Unfortunately, it doesn&#146;t open till October. Pretty canny to release the pictures now &#151; we&#146;ll be gagging for it when it finally opens. Until then, we&#146;ll be saving our pennies: rooms at the Arts are pretty steep (October prices start at 295 Euros, or $419, so juliab 2009-07-21T15:26:53-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/3/12/13011/4826 <![CDATA[<p> <i>We are suckers for a room with a killer view. &nbsp;We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the <a href="http://flickr.com/groups/hotelchatter/">HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool</a>, or by <a href="mailto:tips@hotelchatter.com">sending the photo along to us</a>. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.</i> <p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/calafer.jpg" class="top"> <p>This reminds us of the sort of photo that makes us un-friend certain people on Facebook when they post photos from Jenna 2009-03-12T13:05:19-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/