Westin Hotels just launched a new mobile site at westin.mobi, offering basic functionality like finding hotels, reserving rooms, and checking reservations.

The project is part and parcel of Westin's ongoing efforts to expand their digital offerings, and it also puts the brand in the same category as other hotels with expanded cell-phone friendly offerings. Now they too are available to travelers who head into strange cities with no reservation, no laptop, a last generation smartphone but a functionally limitless bank account. So if you're among that quirky crowd, the Westin family welcomes you.]]> Omri 2009-09-28T14:08:50-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/9/23/95312/0336 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/30451/Chatwal_website.jpg" class="top"><p><i><b>Update:</b> The Chatwal has had this website up for a while, as we reported <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/11/12/141824/49/hotels/The_Lamb_s_Club_is_Now_The_Chatwal_and_Might_Actually_Open">last year</a>, but since the hotel never made its promised opening date of late 2008 we totally forgot about the website. And it looks like there is really nothing new on this site to report on either. <b>Still, we apologize for slacking off and we won't do it again. Or in other words: "Thank you sir! May we have another?"</b></i> <p><a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/The+Chatwal%2C+New+York/local/1402"><b>The Chatwal New York</b></a> has been on our radar for awhile, but details on the Vikram Chatwal property have been few and far between. The latest we heard, courtesy of the Leading Hotels of the World website, was that the hotel will MsRebecca 2009-09-23T14:04:19-05:00 40.7564850 -73.984584 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/9/23/11307/1518

There's been a lot happening with the bigger hotel chains recently. Westin unveiled a new website. Renaissance by Marriott unveiled pretty much a new life and now Hilton Hotels has unveiled a new logo, a new website, a new headquarters (in Maryland) and even, a new name. But much like the change we saw at the Hilton San Francisco this morning, it's nothing game-changing.

The new Hilton name is now Hilton Worldwide. Previously, the brand went by Hilton Hotels Corp. which was probably just to corporatey and distant for a hospitality company. Hilton Worldwide is simple and gets the message across that Hilton Hotels are indeed located worldwide. Moving on.]]> juliana 2009-09-23T11:51:57-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/9/10/131911/949

If you’re looking for the Four Seasons lifestyle on a Fairfield Inn budget, you’ll be glad to hear this week’s news that the Four Seasons magazine is now online. Yep, this means you don’t have to fork out 400 bucks for a room at the Four Seasons just to read “articles covering unique takes on top destinations, the latest fashion must-haves, luminaries of the arts and culture and more.” You don’t even have to order a subscription to the quarterly print edition at $50 a year!

If you're anything like us, you're fans of the Westin Heavenly Bed, and don't mind the Westin Heavenly Bath products either. There's something comfortable and unassuming about the Westin brand, even if it doesn't set your heart racing. Or, as the chain says on its website, Westin is "a haven of serenity" that is "welcoming yet never overwhelming." Next Monday, the brand re-launches Westin.com with those values in mind. But really? We're not sure anything was wrong with the old website.