HotelChatter

Crowne Plaza Hotels / Hotel Renovations / Hotel Industry News / InterContinental Hotel Group / → All Tags

Crowne Plaza to Freshen Up, Move Up and Then Hopefully, Shine

Crowne Plaza Birmingham, UK

Have you stayed in a Crowne Plaza Hotel lately? Yeah, neither have we. But this bit of news from InterContinental Hotel Group's Annual Investors & Leadership Conference today has us thinking a CP could be in our very near future.

IHG has announced that Crowne Plaza is will undergo a three-phase repositioning strategy, starting with a new brand identity and a modern look and feel for its U.S. properties (Crowne Plaza is way savvier abroad.)

This first phase, also known as the "Freshen Up", will also expand the brand's Sleep Advantage program which offers guests rooms in designated Quiet Zones and lots of pillows to get comfy with. As we type, Crowne Plazas are already getting freshened up and the makeover should last through 2012.

more ›

Hotel Bars / Hotel Coffee / London Hotels / Crowne Plaza Hotels / Hotel Restaurants / → All Tags

The Secret Espresso Bar of the Crowne Plaza London St. James

Where: 45-51 Buckingham Gate, London, United Kingdom, SW1E 6AF

We'll be the first to admit that even when we aren't staying in hotels, we're all for hanging out in them. Heck, that's what the all the restaurants, bars and shops are for—guests aren't the ones having all the fun. For this reason, nothing delights us more than discovering a secret little niche, an oasis of calm within a hotel within a metropolis.

And we just found one, and we're sharing it with you because you likely feel the same way about these secret hotel places. It's The Espresso Bar at the Crowne Plaza London - St. James in London, and it's cute and quiet and just around the corner from tourist and business centers like Buckingham Palace, St. James' Park and Victoria Station.

There's no free WiFi (shame on you, Crowne Plaza), but if you'd like to take your cappuccino outside, the hotel also hides a lovely little alfresco garden you've got to walk all the way through the lobby and the hotel bar to reach.

[Photo: HotelChatter]

Hotel Weddings / Crowne Plaza Hotels / IHG Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags

Crowne Plaza Wishes You Long Love And Good Fortune

Where: 1605 Broadway At 49th St [map], New York, NY, United States, 10019

If you've always dreamed of marrying your special someone inside a Crowne Plaza, then this is without a doubt the promotion for you.

The pink-loving hotel chain is planning to wed eleven lucky couples at the Times Square property at 11am EST on November 11, 2011.

And just in case you didn't know: the address of Crowne Plaza Times Square 1605 Broadway. That's 1-6-0-5. As in, 16 minus 5 is—oh my gosh!—ELEVEN! This auspicious mini-mass-wedding will almost certainly open a powerful energy vortex into other Crowne Plaza dimensions, where no mortal has ever ventured. Needless to say, our RSVP is already in the mail.

more ›

Crowne Plaza Hotels / Hotel Services / Uncool Hotel Jobs / UK Hotels / Snore Monitors / Hotel News / → All Tags

Could Snoring Too Loudly Get You Kicked Out of the Crowne Plaza?

This hotel guest is thankfully muffling his own snoring.

Erm...file this under uncool hotel jobs?

A few Crowne Plaza Hotels in the UK made the news last week for their "Snore Absorption" rooms which are designed to help snorers snore less and help their companions sleep more. The rooms include a bunch of snore absorption amenities like sound-absorbing headboards to muffle the echo, anti-snoring wedge pillows and white noise machines.

But now it comes out that the hotels are also employing snore monitors whose job it is to patrol the designated quiet corridors of the hotel. Reuters reports:

"Snore monitors" patrol corridors in the designated quiet zones of Crowne Plaza hotels in the cities of London, Leeds and Manchester. Their job is to listen out for offensive noises and knock on the door of guests who snore too loudly.

"We have quiet zones on two floors of the hotel. As Snore Monitor, I conduct floor walks to check for noise disruptions, paying particular attention to the quiet zone rooms," said Laura Simpson, Snore Monitor at Leeds Crowne Plaza hotel in northern England.

more ›

Crowne Plaza Hotels / Hotel Amenities / Hotel Services / Snore Absorption Rooms / → All Tags

Snore No More at Crowne Plazas Abroad

A belated piece of news for Sleep Week!

People who snore get no love, especially not from their bedtime partners. (Truth: we've been known to smack our snorer occasionally to get him to stop.) But now, unintentional nighttime noisemakers and their sleeping companions can seek solace at Crowne Plaza Hotels in Europe.

The brand there has created a "Snore Absorption" room that comes with soundproof walls to absorb snore vibrations, sound-absorbing headboards to muffle the echo, an anti-snoring wedge pillow to keep snorers on their sides and thus reduce the chance of snoring and lastly, the room has a white-noise machine to mask the sound of snoring.

So the room isn't quite going to cure the snorer in your life but it will help you find some peace in the middle of the night.

more ›

Hotel Carpets / Milan Hotels / Italy Hotels / Crowne Plaza Hotels / → All Tags

The Crowne Plaza Milan's Fugly Carpeting Maybe Isn't So Fugly

Where: Via Gioia Melchiorre 73, Milan, Italy, 20124

What's a business hotel in a fashion city to do? First off, don't be too offensive in design to either party; that means no super modern furniture or cutting-edge technology to annoy the regular business travelers, and no boring color schemes and generic artwork to annoy the fashion folk. We actually think the Crowne Plaza Milan does a great job in this regard, and one unexpected area where this is quite apparent is the carpet.

We're going to say something super positive right here: The Crowne Plaza Milan's carpeting doesn't deserve to be in the Facebook Fugly Hotel Carpeting Group, and as far as we know, it's not been added...yet. We actually like it, as we're a mix of business and fashion folk. The brown and beige are neutral colors and althoug the swirly pattern is a super energetic one, we're not dizzy nor are we revolted by the style.

So whaddaya think? Should this carpet be relegated to the Fugly Hotel Carpet Group, or would it look better in your bedroom? Let us know in the comments!

[Photo: HotelChatter]

Hotel Safety / Milan Hotels / Crowne Plaza Hotels / → All Tags

The Crowne Plaza Milan Shares Its Street Smarts

Where: Via Melchiorre Gioia, 73, Milan, Italy, 20124

You're in a foreign city and you've spent at least half the day traveling and you just want to sit down inside your hotel room and maybe flip open your laptop and update your Facebook status. But then...something catches your eye. It's a little sign that notes good safety precautions inside the hotel, like keeping valuables in the safe and always checking the peephole before opening your room door. But wait! It continues on to advise on proper safety outside the hotel—street smarts, if you will.

The sign above is such, and we discovered it on the desk of our room recently. Why the Crowne Plaza Milan? Well, it's a future feature in our Adventures in Blind Booking series, and it's centrally located...right in the vicinity of Milan's Stazione Centrale. Aka the domain of clueless tourists, pickpockets, rushing businessmen and other transients. Not the best place to be careless with your belongings, right? Right.

more ›

IHG Hotels / Crowne Plaza Hotels / Green Hotels / → All Tags

Sewage Dumping is Not Cool, Says IHG of Crowne Plaza Secaucus

Where: 2 Harmon Plaza [map], Secaucus, NJ, United States, 07094

Remember last week when it came out that the Crowne Plaza Secaucus was charged with dumping sewage waste into the New Jersey Meadowlands. Yeah, we were trying to forget about it ourselves but Intercontinental Hotel Group has sent us an official statement about the yucky situation.

IHG wanted to reiterate that the hotel is a franchised property that is independently owned and operated. However, just because IHG does not own the hotel, doesn't mean they don't care about the un-environmentally friendly practices that go on there.

more ›

Hotel News / Crowne Plaza Hotels / Hotel Hell / → All Tags

The Crowne Plaza Secaucus Not Helping The Dirty Jersey Stereotypes

Where: 2 Harmon Plaza [map], Secaucus, NJ, United States, 07094

We were born and raised in the Garden State and it's always been understood that Secaucus just smells bad. Imagine bringing your boyfriend home to meet your family and a few minutes after you leave Newark Airport, he's assaulted by a pungent stench in the air. Nervously, you tell him: "Oh that's just Secaucus. It always smells like that. Out where we live, it doesn't smell at all." Then you continue to blame Secaucus for any other bad smells he encounters in New Jersey.

But it's true. Secaucus has always smelled bad, due to the landfills in the area and decades of environmental abuse that the marshlands have suffered. Fortunately, in recent years there's been a large environmental rescue effort going on here to save the marshlands from being just a nasty dumping ground. So when a hotel is accused of pumping sewage into the area's Hackensack River, it's pretty shocking--even for Jersey.

The Crowne Plaza Secaucus has been charged by the New Jersey state attorney general with just that--dumping wastewater contaminated with sewage into the Hackensack River, a flagrant violation of the New Jersey Water Pollution Control Act. The Star-Ledger reports:

more ›

Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Rebranding / Crowne Plaza Hotels / Hotel Name Changes / Hotel News / → All Tags

So Much for That :: The Hotel De Soleil Will Now Be the Z Ocean

Where: 1458 Ocean Dr [map], Miami Beach, fl, United States, 33139

We knew it wouldn't last long but we thought maybe, just maybe, there wouldn't be another name change until next year. However, the Regent South Beach, Vinnci, The Hotel De Soleil will soon be called the Z Ocean. Really. Really? Really.

To celebrate the name change (and new ownership by Intercontinental Hotel Group), Kevin Bacon's band, The Bacon Brothers, will be perform live on April 17. The hotel will then open to the public the next day. The Miami Herald reports:

New additions: Zushi Flirt, a sushi bar located in the hotel's breezeway, private beach club, private nightclub and a piano bar.

Why the name Z Ocean?

''We were looking for something that people will remember,'' Taic said, 'Instead of `The Ocean,' this is 'Z Ocean.' ''

We guess that does beat being a Crowne Plaza Hotel. Discuss amongst yourselves.

Miami Hotel Mambo / Crowne Plaza Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags

Miami's Hot Potato, De Soleil, Now Part of Crowne Plaza

Where: 1437 Collins Avenue [map], Miami Beach, fl, United States, 33139

The De Soleil South Beach has been passed around so much, it's really hard to keep track of all the changes. Thanks to tipster Tony ("you're gggreeeat!"), we learned that the hotel is now branded a Crowne Plaza Hotel under Intercontinental Hotels' ownership.

The hotel started its life as The Regent South Beach. Then it became the Vincci South Beach. Then it landed on De Soleil. And now, Crowne Plaza.

We're not sure when the CP acquisition reflagging happened but we sure hope it sticks for a while. Still, we have to imagine that Chef Govind Armstrong of the hotel's trendy restaurant Table 8, must be cringing over the fact that his restaurant now belongs to Crowne Plaza.

Rooms for the weekend of April 3-5 were starting at $315 a night for a king room. Just remember, the entire place is nonsmoking.

Hotel Services / Crowne Plaza Hotels / Business Traveler Hotels / → All Tags

Crowne Plazas Abroad Introducing 'Personal Hoteliers'

Geez, the folks in the Middle East are really crazy about their hotel experiences aren't they? What with the indoor ski resort in Dubai and the planned leaning Hyatt Hotel in Abu Dhabi, there is just no stopping these ultra-luxe destinations.

The latest craze is apparently Personal Hoteliers which first launched in Dubai but is now being offered at Crowne Plaza Hotels throughout the Middle East and Africa.

From the moment a booking for a Club room is made, a member of the Personal Hotelier team will be assigned to the guest. A personal hotelier will be helping guests with everything for business needs, such as updating a presentation, printing documents, making reservations at a restaurant or spa and even personal shopping.

But before you get your hopes up about Andre Balazs faxing your legal documents while wearing a Chippendales outfit, the Personal Hotelier is really just a fancy term for another fancy term, "business butler." Also, the service is only available to guests who book is available to guest who book Club rooms or are staying on the Crowne Club Floors. Of course, if you get a Personal Hotelier of your own (Mrs. Marriott: we're not talking to you!) you must let us know how it went.