http://www.hotelchatter.com/ Hotel Reviews, Hotel Ratings, Hotel Openings en-us Copyright 2008 - SFO Media 2008-11-22T15:57:22Z HotelChatter HotelChatter http://www.hotelchatter.com/images/hcwhite.jpg http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/hotel%20amenities http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/11/10/11315/184 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/hotelroomofthefutureio9.jpg" class="top"> <p>Over in Germany, the Fraunhofer Society in Duisberg has been working on yet another prototype for the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/1/3/224328/0218/hotels/Coming_to_Future_Hotel_Rooms_Alarm_Clocks_That_Run_Away_From_You">"hotel room of the future."</a> It would appear that this concept for a <b>futuristic hotel room</b> looks like an institutional version of the Jetson's house, but <a href="http://io9.com/5080257/german-lab-invents-the-future-of-hotel-luxury">io9 reports</a> that there are some nutty space-y amenities that are hiding beneath the curves and terrifying stark-white-ness of this room: <blockquote><p>Its carpet is lined with sensors which monitor the guest's arrival and, without delay, heats the room to the required temperature. The bed simulates a light pendulum motion. "It feels as if you were being gently rocked from a seven meter long rope," project leader Vanessa Borkmann said. "It's like being Jenna 2008-11-10T11:39:31-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/11/5/142858/185 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://hotelchatter.com/files/1425/shangrila.jpg" class="top"> <p>It's hip to be green. And when something is hip, marketers jump all over it promising that everything they do is green. Usually they're not lying, but they are creatively explaining their budget cuts. Green gimmicks like one-page menus instead of four, or no more bottled water, are examples of hotels cutting costs rather than actively helping the environment. <p>We can't help but frown on this sort of behavior, so we're super excited that the newly renovated <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Hotel+Shangri+La+Santa+Monica/ian/272343"><b>Hotel Shangri-La</b></a> is bragging greenness with actual green evidence: <blockquote><p>&#183; <a href=http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/8/4/13505/08815/hotels/Starwood_Exec_Perpetuates_Fear_of_Dual_Flush_Toilets_in_Hotels">dual flush toilets</a> <br>&#183; amenities are all natural and come in bio-degradable packaging <br>&#183; bottled water is in glass bottles which will be sanitized and re-used <br>&#183; men's abigailmschilling 2008-11-05T16:32:15-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/11/5/152936/087 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/ommdispenser.jpg" class="top"><p>Hey there! Remember when we created a guide to <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/9/10/16824/4734/hotels/HotelChatter_s_Guide_to_Toiletries_The_Big_Players"><b>Hotel Toiletries</b></a>? And we listed all of our favorite hotel toiletries, then we asked you to drop in your best hotel toiletry sightings? You do? Ok well, we are really regretting those stories right now.<p>While we love snatching up the mini-toiletry bottles to take home with us (especially if the products are from Fresh or Kiehl's), we recently learned of something that we didn't even think of once in our toiletry buzz--the amount of waste those cute little bottles create. D'oh.<p>So it's no wonder that hotels are trying to reduce the amount of waste they produce by using toiletry dispensers. For one, they can call themselves "green" hotels juliana 2008-11-05T15:48:29-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/11/5/13218/4215 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/slspool.jpg" class="top"><p><i> This is part three of a three-part series.</i><p>Today we are rounding up everything else left in the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/The+SLS+at+Beverly+Hills/local/1098"><b>SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills</b></a> for you to check-out. <p><b>Altitude</b>: Continuing the guests-only service is the rooftop pool area called Altitude on the 6th floor. This was specially created for the hotel as the old Le Meridien pool was located at ground level. The roofdeck area is a seriously serene oasis for guests. There's a reflection pool only about six inches deep as well as a regular-depth, infinity pool. Cabanas surround both pools and the entire roofdeck gives you great views of the city.<p>Starck-inspired design is here too. Most striking is the giant frames and mirrors that line the juliana 2008-11-05T15:05:02-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/10/22/11946/214 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/borgatacoffeemaker.png" class="imgborder"> <p>We can think of exactly zero instances in which we have been completely satisfied with coffee we've brewed in our hotel rooms using the drip coffee maker provided for us. Maybe we're Starbucks brats, but it always seems like the hotel room's coffee is not hot enough, it tastes like ash or it is reminiscent of coffee-flavored dishwater. Not so delicious. <p><b><a href="http://current.newsweek.com/budgettravel/2008/10/how_to_brew_better_coffee_in_y.html">Budget Travel</a></b> hears us. A coffee fiend over there consulted <i>Cook's Illustrated</i>, who recently tested out a bunch of drip coffee makers, and found that "the devices can't brew your coffee at the perfect temperature, which is roughly between 195 degrees and 205 degrees Fahrenheit." So really, it isn't necessarily operator error or the fact Jenna 2008-10-22T11:14:05-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/