"Girly" but not gaudy: Hotel Le Bristol, Paris

With all the talk and controversy surrounding female-only floors at hotels in London and Copenhagen, our thoughts have turned markedly more femme-oriented in recent weeks.

Certainly "women-friendly" hotels are nothing new; ladylike touches and targeted packages (think: bachelorette weekend, Fashion Week, and Sex and the City-themed deals) are often dreamt up to attract a female clientele.

But what hotels are truly catering to women, minus the gaudy marketing tactics? We take a closer look at three European accommodations for ladies doing just that sans tiaras, pink-splashed walls, or cringe worthy frills.]]> Heidi Atwal 2012-01-18T15:40:01-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2011/12/13/14388/799

Following in the footsteps of Copenhagen's Bella Sky Comwell, who devised an all-female floor to cater to XX chromosome guests, another hotel is stepping things up for the ladies, this time in London. The Dukes Hotel has anointed some of its suites "Duchess Rooms," themed to attract women clientele.

While this kind of marketing ploy was recently ruled illegal in the Danish capital, London is willfully flaunting notions of political correctness by providing a package of clichéd feminine perks to "tempt single female travelers or groups of women," according to the NY Daily News.]]> Heidi Atwal 2011-12-13T16:00:01-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2011/11/18/19435/040

Twenty-First Century Betty Friedans looking for female-friendly lodgings on their next trip to Copenhagen would do well to stay at the Bella Sky Comwell. The hotel's Bella Donna floor is touted as the "first women-centered" project of its kind in the hotel world, and has been curated to appeal strictly to a ladylike demographic. We think Manhattan's The Pierre could learn a thing or two from these guys.

Just how successful are they? Well, that, of course, depends on your idea of femininity.]]> Heidi Atwal 2011-11-21T09:15:02-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2006/12/4/223030/939 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3/florence_scape.jpg"><p> <br> Are you a women traveling in Italy who's tired of all that attention you receive from Italian men? That's just their nature, of course, but you can avoid it for a couple of days by bunking down at the simply-named <a href="http://www.bandbforwomenonly.eu/index.htm">B&amp;B for Women Only</a> in the heart of Florence.<br><br> We're not talking luxury hotel here, but we are talking avoiding wolf whistles and endless invitations for a caf&#233; latte or more. A few benefits: it's a smoke-free pension, it's just minutes on foot to heaps of worthy Florence sights, it's in one of the oldest parts of town and it's described as a particularly safe area. The rooms are very simple, but have some typical Italian amandak 2006-12-05T09:33:12-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2006/11/14/7287/6892 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/women_berlin.jpg"><p>Sorry guys, this one's not for your eyes (and that's not a ploy to get you interested).<p> Sometimes hotels are just for women. In Berlin there's more than one women-only hotel, and your experience can be good. In particular, the almost hostel-priced <a href="http://www.hotelintermezzo.de/seiten/coming_soon.html"><b>Intermezzo Hotel for Women</b></a> isn't fancy, but has a lot of pluses. Location is the first bonus: in the heart of the center of old East Berlin, walking distance to Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, the Holocaust Memorial or the Postdamer Platz, and still near public transport like the subway (<i>U-bahn</i> line 2) and the tram (<i>S-Bahn</i>).<p> Berlin's generally a safe city for tourists anyway, but sometimes its size and constant day-or-night buzz can be a bit amandak 2006-11-14T15:19:13-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/