While some hotel staffers are busying themselves finding new and innovative ways to charge insane hidden fees, others are ... harvesting their own honey on the roof of their big-city hotel, if you can believe it.
Here's something we haven't heard of before (we'll spare you the "buzz" puns): Toronto's Fairmont Royal York has added three beehives to its rooftop terrace (where the hotel already grows its own herbs and veggies) that will produce up to 700 pounds of honey every year. Sweet! (Ha! Sweet! Get it?)
And in a display of cuteness so sweet it almost stings (ha - again!), the hotel has named the hives the Honey Moon Suite, The Royal Sweet and the V.I. Bee Suite.
And for good reason, too -- in our opinion, the Avalon offers what all hotels should be offering (without any of that hidden resort fee BS).
In addition to free Internet access, the basics are all extra-nice: flat-screen televisions, Supplepedic mattresses, 350 thread-count sheets, free breakfasts and complimentary (!) in-room beverages and snacks.
Even better, the hotel keeps binoculars, GPS units, backpacks, beach towels and even laptops on hand for guests to check out. Nice.
The Borgata has always pushed the boundaries of sexy and provocative, from the cocktail waitresses outfits, clubs which promote "sexy and sensual" and do not disturb signs which say "Tidy Up" on one side, and "Tied Up" on the other.
The Water Club continues that vibe yet still manages to not embarrass you that much if you're parents are along with you for the trip. It's ok, you can admit it! This is Atlantic City, everyone goes there with their parents at least once.
The Water Club has taken the "Do Not Disturb" sign to another level - by putting in a rotating disk where you can change the sayings to say "We're.. Flirting, #$*@!, tied up, slumbering, meditating, satiating, indulging or replenishing" depending on your mood or friskiness.
The 125-room Premier now has a floor exclusively for women. Accessible only with an elevator key card, the floor has seven rooms with yoga mats; plush robes and slippers; a lighted make-up mirror, wash mitts and bath salts in bathrooms; and women's magazines.
Ah, yes, yoga: the official sport of women!
This seems scary to us because the last time we experienced a floor full of women was in our college sorority house, but we survived the ordeal. So we're willing to admit that a women-only hotel floor in a super-busy American city may actually be a fantastic concept.
If a ladies-only floor can be executed tastefully -- and not full of pink crap or cutesy pictures of stilettos and lipstick and martini glasses -- we think this sort of thing is perfect for solo female travelers who might be interested in a little added safety.
Say "Bonaire," that laid back little spit of land in the Caribbean, and people will respond, "diving paradise."
For decades, the island has been a world-class diving destination with a gorgeous reef. Go to Flickr and you'll get just a small taste of astonishing shots of the island from the underside.
But you're thinking there's no WAY you can take pictures like that, right? This can be remedied.
Divi Flamingo Beach Resort just announced its onsite camera shop, Capture Photo, is offering a class for all levels of swimmers and shutterbugs to perfect their sub-aquatic shots.
Every so often, a hotel sets up a tricked out guestroom with the latest technology and calls it the "Guestroom of the Future." Right now, we'd say that title belongs to Room X at the Courtyard by Marriott in Delaware.
However, there's a new "New Guestroom of the Future" on the block...if only for a few short days.
At the HITEC annual conference, companies devoted to all things high-tech in the hospitality world unveiled their latest visions for hotel guestrooms as part of Guestroom 2010.
Travelodge Hotels in the UK are known for their sort of wacky offerings and promotions. Remember the spacey new age pajamas or the nude sleepwalkers study? Let's not forget the free rooms for folks named Mary and Joseph over Christmastime.
This time around Travelodge has announced that guests will now be able to choose a fragrance to have wafted about their room overnight while they sleep.
So this doesn't sound too crazy but then we read the choices for the fragrances. They are the smell of the sea, freshly cut grass, baby powder and chocolate.
HotelChatter has stayed at the Wynn Las Vegas a few times so you should have a pretty good idea from us about what to expect in the rooms.
However, we couldn't resist posting this photo of the techy in-room digital telephone system on the desk.
We only used the phone once and that was to request a toothbrush and a razor, which the hotel brought up to our room free of charge and within 10 minutes. Totally gratis!
Ok, we tipped the attendant for doing so. But we were especially impressed when we saw how nice the razor and toothbrushes looked. This pretty much set the tone for our entire weekend. We'll report on all that tomorrow.
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by Jenna
