HotelChatter

Awards Season Hotels / Grammy Hotels / Oscars Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / Hotel Cocktails / → All Tags

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year for Los Angeles Hotels

Awards season is in full swing and no one is happier than Los Angeles Hotels who will not only see a ton of celebrities at their properties but (hopefully) a big boost in occupancy levels as well.

Fortunately, you don't have to know someone who knows someone to get in on the festivities. Here are a few ways to celebrate the awards season madness without booking a hotel room.

· Mondrian Los Angeles: The Sunset Strip hotel has partnered with stylehaüs, the first member's only clothing boutique and styling service. For the entire month of February, the hotel and stylehaüs will operate the Red Carpet Room, a pop-up boutique store that will sell seriously exclusive, high-end merchandise such as Lanvin gowns and Philip Pres diamond jewelry. Hotel guests are given VIP access to the boutique and complimentary half-hour styling consulations. The general public can request appointments by contacting rcr@stylehaus.com

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Hotel Openings / Santa Barbara Hotels / Hotel Indigo / Hotel News / → All Tags

Hotel Indigo Will Open on State Street in Santa Barbara on March 1

Where: 121 State Street [map], Santa Barbara, CA, United States, 93101

Well, this is surprising. When we were compiling our Master List of 2012 Openings, we totally did not see that Hotel Indigo would be opening in Santa Barbara. But lo and behold, an is announcement out today says that our favorite boutique brand is opening in March in the former Hotel State Street.

Opening after a multi-million dollar renovation, Hotel Indigo Santa Barbara combines the historic Santa Barbara splendor with the architectural sophistication of modern design.The forty-one room boutique hotel has thirteen guest rooms featuring private outdoor gardens and fourteen guest rooms with views of the Riviera and mountains or urban scenes dotted by palm trees.

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Hotel Art / Standard Hotels / LA Hotels / Hotel Parking Lots / Andre Balazs / → All Tags

Does Anything Look Weird To You About This Room At the Standard Hollywood?

Where: 8300 W Sunset Blvd [map], Los Angeles, CA, United States, 90069

Because a lot should seem weird about this room at the Standard Hollywood, which isn't even a real room, but a re-construction of a room, assembled in the Standard's parking lot by a group of artists.

Yup. Apparently there's a citywide project, titled Art in the Parking Space, which inserts performances and installations into (you guessed it!) parking lots all over LA. And last week, it was the Standard's own parking lot that, according to one of the participating artists, "became a total hang-out spot."

Tova Carlin, Ania Diakoff and Katerina Llanes, dubbed their installation Sub-Standard (we could slip in a few jabs about the rooms here, but we'll try not to), and specifically intended for people to come, hang out, and "think about itinerancy and occupying space with their bodies."

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Sneak Peek / Photo Gallery / Los Angeles Hotels / Avi Brosh / → All Tags

Sneak Peek at The Palihotel Melrose, Opening Tomorrow

Where: 7950 Melrose Avenue [map], Los Angeles, CA, United States, 90046

The sneak peeks continue as HotelChatter contributing editor Eric Rosen got a look inside Palihotel Melrose in Los Angeles, which officially opens tomorrow.

The hotel is a sort of spin-off to hotelier Avi Brosh's Palihouse Holloway in West Hollywood except it's gone a bit of a different direction. There's only 32 rooms but the hotel makes the most of each space with Dean & DeLuca treats in the minibar, ladders with hangers on them double as the "closet", footstools work as nightstands and in the bath are fun prints on the shower curtains and Palihotel-branded toiletries.

The hotel also features a six-bedroom Thai massage place (massages start at $35 fr 30 minutes), a two-seat blow-dry salon and the Palikitchen restaurant which serves coffee, toasted sandwiches, and sundry food and beauty products (The restaurant will actually be opening next month.)

Interested in booking a room? Rates for tomorrow night are at a limited time special of $149 a night. After that, they bump up to $250 a night. We also hear that the balcony rooms on the second floor have great views of Melrose or the hills or of Hayworth. Additionally, the plants on each balcony are in individual, customized arrangements from Rolling Greens Nursery.

For more on what to expect inside the Palihotel, peruse the photo gallery below!

[Photos: Eric Rosen for HotelChatter]

Concierge Interviews / Concierges / Mr C Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / → All Tags

The Concierge at Mr. C Does More Than Just Texting, Way More

Where: 1224 Beverwil Dr [map], Los Angeles, CA, United States, 90035

Last week, we featured the concierge from the Mr. C Hotel in Los Angeles because we loved how he was texting with hotel guests. Venicio "Choy" Flores tells us that being available by text is just one of the many ways he's able to serve guests, even when he's technically off the clock:

They can call me anytime they need anything. I have gotten calls at 2am after work or on my day off and I and my colleagues have taken care of their questions or requests. So we at Mr C are truly 24 hours. We don't stop just because our shift ends.

And should you ever want a plane to Las Vegas at the last-minute, Choy could probably make that happen because he's done it before. Here he tells us the story of his craziest request and what he charged for it. (Hint: You can afford it!)

Hotel Openings / Hotel Opening Rates / Los Angeles Hotels / Avi Brosh / → All Tags

The Palihotel on Melrose Now Opening February 1st

Where: 7950 Melrose Avenue [map], Los Angeles, CA, United States, 90046

A few months ago we discussed the second coming of the Palihotel on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles from hotelier Avi Brosh. The 32-room hotel with a "European inn" vibe was set to open in February and guess what, it's actually opening on the very first day of next month.

The hotel's website is touting a pre-opening special of $150 a night but for February 1, we could only find rooms at $199 a night for a queen bedroom. Meanwhile Jetsetter.com is hyping stays for just $115 a night on February 1st. Definitely the better deal here. (The flash sale site is also saying the hotel is "Just Opened" but we swear it's not opening until February 1.)

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Twitter / Hotel Art / Los Angeles Hotels / Historic Hotels / Movie Set Hotels / → All Tags

Twitpic of the Week: Dorothy Diorama in Culver City

Where: 9400 Culver Blvd [map], Culver City, CA, United States, 90232

In the ever-expanding universe of Twitter, there is one particular trend @HotelChatter happens to quite enjoy: candid hotel photos. These Twitpics range from stunning views to anti-views to celebrity tomfoolery and everything in between. And we can't get enough of 'em! Every Monday, we will feature one "Twitpic of the Week" to commemorate our favorite hotel-themed snapshot. Got a favorite of your own? Want to show off your sweet suite? Send it in!

We featured this place a few years back in our Hollywood Star Map series, since this is where the Munchkins stayed during the filming of The Wizard of Oz in the 1930s. Well, it seems @Flyleaf Music has discovered this other piece of Oz memorabilia at the 88-year-old Culver Hotel: a Wizard of Oz diorama built into the hotel's front window display.

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Concierges / Hotel Technology / Texting / Los Angeles Hotels / → All Tags

The Concierge Will Text You Now at the Mr. C Hotel

Where: 1224 Beverwil Dr [map], Los Angeles, CA, United States, 90035

Texting is so mainstream that even your parents (and maybe even your grandparents) are doing it. But have you ever texted with a hotel concierge before?

We haven't and we didn't even think that was an option until we met Venicio "Choy" Flores, the head concierge at the Mr. C Hotel in Los Angeles. During our interview with Choy (which we'll show next week), he let us know that he is available by text for guests anytime they need him. He even showed us a little correspondence with one guest (below) who was beyond pleased with Choy's honeymoon surprise for the guest and his wife.

Now, we're not saying you should eliminate human interaction entirely when dealing with concierges but the option of texting is a lot easier than having to keep stopping by the desk. Are we right? Let us know if you've texted a concierge before in comments below!!

Stay tuned next week for when Choy tells us what is the craziest request he's ever fielded!

Twitter / Hotel Snapshots / Golen Globes / Hilton Hotels / Beverly Hills Hotels / Celebrity Scoop / → All Tags

Twitpic of the Week: A Golden Globes Winner Snacks in the Hilton's Kitchen

Where: 9876 Wilshire Blvd [map], Beverly Hills, CA, United States, 90210

In the ever-expanding universe of Twitter, there is one particular trend @HotelChatter happens to quite enjoy: candid hotel photos. These Twitpics range from stunning views to anti-views to celebrity tomfoolery and everything in between. And we can't get enough of 'em! Every Monday, we will feature one "Twitpic of the Week" to commemorate our favorite hotel-themed snapshot. Got a favorite of your own? Want to show off your sweet suite? Send it in!

For many actors, the real party took place not during last night's awards ceremony, but afterwards, inside the Beverly Hills Hilton's kitchen. OK, maybe just for one actor. But still. @EricStonestreet, who was nominated last night for his role as "Cameron" on Modern Family (and which managed to pick up this year's award for "Best Comedy Series"), was clearly enjoying himself during a late-night visit to the hotel's kitchen.

He better be careful. If Gordon Ramsay catches him in there, it's over.

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Hotel Photo Booths / Hotel Fun / Santa Monica Hotels / Green Hotels / → All Tags

Smile! You're On Camera (If You Want to Be) at The Shore Hotel

Where: 1515 Ocean Ave [map], Santa Monica, CA, United States, 90401

Aside from having stylish and green guestrooms with Pacific Oceans views, an eco-friendly fitness center and an upcoming Blue Plate Taco restaurant, The Shore Hotel in Santa Monica has now added a bit of fun for their guests in the form of a digital photo booth.

Found in the lobby near the check-in desk the photo booth lets guest take either a single image or an old-school photo strip with the Shore Hotel logo (as you can see in the gallery below, the hotel's logo is everywhere!).

And keeping in line with the hotel's emphasis on being green and conserving waste, the photos are only emailable (no paper waste here) and you can share them on Facebook and Twitter as well. Cheeeeese!

Room rates at the hotel start around $220 a night.

Coachella Hotels / Music Festival Hotels / Palm Springs Hotels / Kiwi Collection / → All Tags

Yes, It's Time to Book Your Hotel Room for Coachella

Are these people so happy they have a hotel room to return to once the concert ends?

While the festival passes for the 2012 Coachella Music Festival don't go on sale until Friday, there is no doubt that if you want to attend, then you better start making your travel plans now.

Jaunted reports that flights to Palm Springs are still open and still, for the most part, doable averaging about high $300s for cross-country flights (the Virgin America flight from JFK to PSP at $709.20 excluded.) But after you've got your flight down, you need to start looking for a place to sleep. Unless you're cool with camping it or AirBnB-ing it. Which we are not.

This year, Coachella has decided to split the festival up into two weekends--April 13-15 and April 20-22 which means your chances of actually getting a ticket and a hotel room are a lot better. Jaunted has already noted that the first weekend of the festival is the more expensive one when it comes to airline prices. Does the same hold true for hotel rooms? Let's see.

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Celebrity Scoop / Beverly Hills Hotels / Golden Globes Hotels / Hilton Hotels / → All Tags

This is What Celebs Will Be Eating During the Golden Globes at The Beverly Hilton

Where: 9876 Wilshire Boulevard [map], Beverly Hills, CA, United States, 90210

Awards season has officially begun and all eyes will be on the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills this Sunday when it hosts the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards inside its iconic International Ballroom--for the 42nd time.

Sadly for all you celeb stalkers film enthusiasts, rooms at the hotel are entirely sold-out but we have the next best thing for you--the menu for the awards ceremony. So not only can you dissect what your favorite starlets are wearing on the red carpet, you can also dissect what they will be "eating" during the awards show. (We have to assume that those in tight dresses might refrain.)

The Beverly Hilton's executive hotel chef, Suki Sugiura, and the Executive Pastry Chef, Thomas Henzi, have spent six months creating a menu that mixes local California ingredients with global flavors sure to appeal to the show's international attendees. Here's the menu, course by course:

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