Tag: Hotel Blogs View All Tags
Tags: Refereeing Hotel Reviews / Hotel Blogs / Hotel Delays / Hotel Hype / → All Tags
What's Happening With The Allegria Hotel on Long Island?
Ouch. The Allegria Hotel and Spa at Long Beach is only just opening up but it's already attracted a bunch of negative reviews – at least on TripAdvisor where so far, no less than four people have complained about problems connected to their opening date – thanks to one of our dedicated HotelChatter tipsters for pointing this out.
Someone's whining because they had to cancel their planned wedding when the hotel finally admitted they wouldn't be open in time, and someone else had this for an attempted booking experience:
I called to make a reservation to inquire as to availability. The lady on the phone said"We have no rooms" and hung up. SO RUDE.
Um, Stephanie Tanner, is that you?
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Hotel Blogs / The Hills / → All Tags
Lo From 'The Hills' Reviews Hotels. Who Knew?
Um, so, many people weren't really aware of this, but Season Five of The Hills (yes, season FIVE) kicked off earlier this month and its stars have been doing many a promotional interview lately. We were reading a E! Q&A with one of the least annoying characters on the show, Lauren's BFF Lo Bosworth, who caught our attention when she mentioned one of her "other" jobs: writing "a twice-monthly blog for Pocket Change LA, where [she] reviews restaurants, hotels and spas."
We went and checked it out and, well, if she does indeed write these articles herself, we've gotta say: she's not so bad at all. Her blog, "The High Life With Lo," doesn't have too many entries yet — but it's certainly better than that other celeb hotel reviewer lady whose newsletter has an unbearably goofy name.
So far, Lo has written about tea service at the Hotel Bel-Air (which she describes as "fun and lighthearted; the groups of ladies gathered here sing at their tables instead of discussing the woes of their Harry Winston-deprived condition in this economy"), her unwavering devotion to The Venetian ("an unbeatable constant in a city of clunkers"), her love affair with Teddy's at the Hollywood Roosevelt, and what she finds to be the "ultimate cool-kid hotel," the Parker Palm Springs.
Not a whole lot of groundbreaking insight here (and really, she doesn't write much criticism), but the girl's a good writer and certainly brings an arsenal of creative descriptive adjectives to her pieces. Check it all out here — and check out our bro Jaunted's coverage of the whole Hills gang here.
Tags: Hotel Blog Watch / Ramada Hotels / Chicago Hotels / Hotel Blogs / → All Tags
Not Keen Yet on Ramada’s Chicago Hotel Blog
The latest in Hotel Blog Watch comes from AmandaK. Enjoy.
We’ve been a bit shell-shocked of late in our hotel blog watch that some hotels are actually putting together blogs we like. But we’re cured now because we’ve found another hotel blog that, to put it nicely, we’re really not that keen on.
Gone are the days when a hotel got brownie points just for knowing that such a thing as a blog could exist. Our standards are higher now. And the Ramada Inn Lake Shore in Chicago gets a half a point for trying but not much more yet for its Chicago Hotel Blog. Sorry guys, but it needs some work.
Tags: Standard Hotels / Hotel Blog Watch / Hotel Blogs / → All Tags
Hotel Blog Watch: Stan d'Arde Blog is Below Standard
A few months ago the marketing persona of the Standard Hotel group, Stan d'Arde, was kicked off Facebook since he's not a real person. But in the background since December, Stan's been quietly blogging away on the Stan d'Arde blog. You can't keep a good man down.
Tags: Rydges Hotels / Hotel Technology / Hotel Blogs / Hotel Websites / → All Tags
Rydges Hotels in Oz Proud of Online Check In
Where: Australia
It does take a little longer for things to travel all the way to Australia, but now the concept of checking in online is beginning to catch on. According to the blog belonging to the Rydges hotel chain, Rydges properties across Australia (and, in fact, New Zealand) are now offering a web check in service for anyone belonging to their PriorityGUEST loyalty program.
The bit we think is very convenient, although somehow kind of odd, is that you do your online check in at the same time as you make your booking. You only have to check a box during the reservation process and you're considered checked in. When you arrive at the hotel, showing your PriorityGUEST card will be enough for you to get your key, no further questions asked.
Sounds easy, just a pity it's restricted to loyalty program members, and we're also a bit suspicious that it's too easy to be true. Australians are generally good technology adopters, though, so it will probably catch on fast and spread to other Down Under hotels soon.
[Photo: pietroizzo]
Tags: Miami Hotel Mambo / Boutique Hotels / Hotel Blogs / Hotel News / → All Tags
Ribbon-Cutting Excitement at Angler's Boutique Resort Tomorrow
We've already enjoyed trying the pool house villa at the Angler's Boutique Resort Hotel in South Beach, but tomorrow is the day of the official ribbon-cutting ceremony.
As a construction project it's been a bit complex, tying together four buildings into one boutique resort, and after accepting guests for some time, they're now having an official opening, celebrating the fact that the second phase of construction is done. In fact, a spokesperson told us that all of the actual construction work is now complete--the final finishing touches of setting up the Tower rooms and completing the landscaping should also be done within the next month.
So these days instead of 31 guest rooms, there'll be 49, but it still sounds small enough to ensure the personal touch and excellent service remains. A recent NY Times review concluded that they'd had "superb service from a staff that is both attractive and competent", and we'd have to agree.
Perhaps all Angler's needs to do now is attend to their blog: we excitedly surfed there from the main hotel website and found the blog almost empty. If they can fill up the remaining rooms, they can fill up the blog too.
Related Stories:
· Miami Beach: The Angler's Boutique Resort [NY Times]
· Inside the Angler's Boutique Resort Hotel [HotelChatter]
· Angler's Blog [Official Site]
Tags: Hotel Blog Watch / Renaissance Hotels / Marriott Hotels / Hotel Blogs / → All Tags
Hotel Blog Watch: The Renaissance Hollywood's Blog
The other day we noticed that the Renaissance Hollywood has a hotel blog written by the hotel's managers so of course, in keeping up with our Hotel Blog Watch, we had to check it out.
The first post written (by someone with the same name as us!) didn't get us too excited. It was about a family event to check out--the movie Enchanted playing at the nearby El Capitan theater. However, we were surprised to see that there were no mention of a hotel package connected with the movie so we kinda respect that.
Tags: Hotel Blog Watch / Hotel Staff / Hotel Blogs / → All Tags
Back of House in DXB Dishes the Goss on Dubai's Hotels
We love us a good insider blog, and the Back of House in DXB blog fits the bill on local tips, tales of weird guests and brushes with celebrity. The blog's goals is to answer questions like these:
Ever wonder if the chef really spits in the food? Or if the valets take your car for a spin while you're having dinner?
And while these questions haven't yet been answered, others have: for example, they mention that at least one hotel doesn't give much of a 10% surcharge to their staff as you'd expect; and describe the cat-in-the-hotel who had a near run-in with His Royal Highness Sheik Mohammed. And if you want to know how it's possible to steal a whole minibar or are keen to know what else guests steal (apart from robes, soaps and wheels from the bottom of the couch), tune in.
Related Stories:
· Crazy Hotel Workers Don't Care... [HotelChatter]
· Dubai Hotel reviews [HotelChatter]
Tags: Hotel Blog Watch / Australia Hotels / Tasmania Hotel Reviews / Hotel Blogs / → All Tags
Hotel Blog Watch: Tassie's Islington Hotel, Hobart
Hotel Islington View
Down Under, pretty Tasmanian capital Hobart's Hotel Islington keeps everyone up-to-date with goings-on at the hotel through their monthly Manager's Blog. Hosts and managers Nicholas and Amy share the task of telling all the important things that go on at the Islington, and providing a taste of what's to come if you decide to make a reservation.
They do, however, manage to make it all sound barely like marketing at all, including recent complaints about their family members who've been slow to send them digital pics from the Christmas party. A juicily-titled section called Islington Gossip didn't quite turn up the tidbits we were looking for, apart from explaining how a couple of regularly returning guests got treated to a day out on a boat with the bosses. In fact the more you read of the Islington Managers' Blog, the more running a hotel sounds like a great job: from "Must run and join our guest for Cocktails and canapes" to "it was a great excuse for me and Amy to have one of Annie's [the chef] fantastic and personal meals", we could get the impression that it's all play and no work. But if that relaxed, fun way of life (typical of those Aussies) flows on to how the guests feel, perhaps it's okay. We'll keep an eye on the Islington blog and see if they do get around to doing plenty of work soon or not.
[Photo: funkyteru]
Related Stories:
· Boutique Hotel Luxury in Hobart, Tasmania [HotelChatter]
· Islington Hotel [TripAdvisor]
Tags: Hotel Blog Watch / Marriott Hotels / Bill Marriott / Hotel Blogs / → All Tags
Bill Marriott: Live and In Living Audio
Today, we thought we would check back in on the Marriott Hotel blog, written by CEO Bill Marriott himself.
And we now see that Bill has given us audio snippets to go along with the posts. What this really means is that you have two options: you can read what Bill Marriott has to say about the company, its history and its hotels or you can listen to 'em. They are one and the same.
Aside from addding the audio option, there's not much up there. The blog only has about seven posts in three weeks but the reader responses are pretty high and someone at Marriott is going through and answering select comments.
Like this one about automated services coming to Marriott hotels:
Commenter Dee: I recently visited another brand and they had an automated system of checking in and even a computer to find the places of interest. Do you think that this takes away the personalization that is so important to the traveler.
Response: Bill Marriott asked me to respond. We are developing a new lobby concept. The check-in process will be a big part of that. We want to give people options to check-in the way they prefer. So you would be able to have an associate check you in either at an open desk or using a hand-held device.
For us hotel nerds, that isn't news because we have known that Marriott has been testing these types of automated check-ins for a while.
But what is news, is that Bill Marriott was doing pilates...at the Harbor Beach Marriott! Let's just hope he doesn't start video-blogging his workouts. No one needs to see a 75-year-old in sweats on the reformer doing the hundreds.
Related Stories:
· Hotel Blog Watch: Marriott Hotels [HotelChatter]
Tags: Hotel Blog Watch / Marriott Hotels / Bill Marriott / Hotel Blogs / → All Tags
Hotel Blog Watch:: Marriott Hotels
Earlier this week, Marriott launched a hotel blog called Marriott on the Move written by Bill Marriott himself.
The intro post which went up on Tuesday spends some time on the changes that Marriott has gone through since Bill's parents opened their first hotel 80 years ago. The rest of the post goes on to say what this blog will hope to accomplish--communicating with the customer (obviously), keeping them informed about new services and new properties and maybe even talking some politics:
Occasionally, I'll blog about current events -- even touch on controversial topics. Every American and everyone who wants to be an American deserves a chance to pursue the American dream of financial independence. That's why I'm passionate about immigration reform and offering people a path to citizenship.
Already, Bill's first, and only post thus far, has generated an impressive 75 comments--some, not surprisingly from sycophants, a few mentioning Flyer Talk, and a bunch of really smart, hotel specific reader comments. Our favorite comment thus far:
I too travel a lot, and love the idea of this blog. Of course, for me to read this blog at one of his hotels, it will cost me an extra $14 a day for a cable connection (not even wireless -- what's up with that???)
More on Marriott's foray into blogging after the jump.
Tags: Hotel Blog Watch / Cayman Islands Hotel Reviews / Hotel Blogs / → All Tags
Hotel Blog Watch: The Reef
Where: East End, Grand Cayman
This Hotel Blog Watch is part blog watch and part Hot Hotelier News. The general manager behind The Reef hotel in Grand Cayman and Cayman Time blog is "Tom Cayman" who writes about life at the resort with sort of a Pink is the New Blog enthusiasm (minus celebrities) mashed with Jaunted airfare tips ("Cayman Airways $99 Return!) and HotelChatter's Google Earth obsession.
But what we like most about Tom Cayman is that he keeps it real. He talks about events and new activities at the resort but he's also not afraid to post the frequent complaints of guests, so long as he's rectified the situation of course.
The Reef is pretty well defined as a tranquil and relaxed beach resort. However, one area where we seem to get some complaints is that we don't have sufficient shade on the beach itself. Yes, every suite is beachfront (and in the shade much of the day), and yes we have lots of palm trees dotted around the place, but I guess these days people are more and more conscious of excess sun exposure, yet love the feeling of lying out on the beach enjoying the sounds of the ocean lapping on the beach and the cool breeze.
So... we've just finished installing 12 permanent palapas on the beach in front of and around our beach bar. Each of these will provide shade for two beach lounge chairs, and also be in convenient range of a cool drink from the bar.
And since Cayman Time has been around since June 2005, there's a wealth of information there about life on the Cayman Islands from both a local and a hotel perspective. The blog has even boldly dared to link off to TripAdvisor reviews on their blog roll, but of course, it gets pretty stellar reviews.
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