Tag: Hotel Snapshot
View All TagsTwitpic of the Week / Twitter / Star Wars Hotels / Austin Hotels / Renaissance Hotels / Hotel Lobbies / Hotel Snapshot / → All Tags
A Hotel Stay Is Never Boring When Jedis Fight In The Lobby
In the ever-expanding universe of Twitter, there is one particular trend @HotelChatter happens to quite enjoy: candid hotel photos. These pics 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 commemorate our favorite "Twitpic of the Week." Got a favorite of your own? Want to show off your sweet suite? Send it in!
We don't know exactly what might have prompted this awesome public display of nerd-dom (Star Wars convention? Flashmob? Family reunion?), but we are so very glad @k4ng took the time to capture these saber-wielding Jedis in the lobby of the Renaissance Austin. And what better place: with all the rooms looking down onto the lobby, pretty much every guest had front row seats to the show!
On our last visit to Austin, most of the hotels were full up with SXSW musicians, filmmakers, attendees and media types. But clearly, the real magic happens about a month later...
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It's A Looong Way Down From The Top Of Shangri-La London
Well, how about that. Construction hasn't even finished on London's 95-story iceberg-inspired tower, The Shard, which will house the Shangri-La Hotel—and already we've gotten a sneak peek at the building's killer views from a daredevil who climbed a ladder to the top.
Urban explorer Bradley Garrett, who literally has a PhD in 'breaking into places,' was out on one of his nocturnal raid missions and decided to share some photos he took from the 76th (and currently highest) floor of the tower. He even got to touch the red light at the top of the crane—an accomplishment he calls "incredibly exhilarating."
As far as we're concerned, he's overshot things a bit, as the hotel itself is only set to occupy floors 34 to 52. But if this is what it's like just twenty stories above, then we remain confident that views from the actual rooms will be pretty frickin' awesome. No word yet on hotel rates, but they're likely to cost significantly more than what Dr. Garrett paid.
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A Hotel Pool You Can Swim In When It's Below Zero
Many parts of the U.S. are having mild winters but that doesn't mean it's hotel pool weather everywhere. Up in the snowy mountains of Alberta, Canada, you can swim all winter long--even if it's minus 40 outside.
We were skeptical when we first spotted this outdoor pool at The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge last week. It is heated, of course, but look at those mountains! And the snow surrounding the pool edge!
Lucky for us, it wasn't minus 40 as it has been recently in Jasper, but the temp was still hovering in the mid-30s. Of course, curiosity got the better of us and we dragged ourselves out of our snow boots and parka and into a swimsuit.
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The Empire (Line) State Of Mind Of The Hotel Del Coronado
Admiring the herb garden from the trashcan. Posh!
Posh, we often think, is a state of mind, not just a clear cut economic thing, and our recent visit to the Hotel Del Coronado made us think that, while the trendy hotels of the Gaslamp District may be giving her a run for her money, the grand dame could still teach them a thing or two about detail.
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Today We're Hot For The Tech Geekery Of Ravella Lake Las Vegas
Eagle eyed and not so eagle eyed readers of HotelChatter will have noticed that we’re tech fans when it comes to hotels. We’re fans of free WiFi, we always like electrical outlets near the bed, and extras like iPads make us more than a little excited.
Hence we were overjoyed when we arrived at the brand new Ravella hotel at Lake Las Vegas, 40 minutes from the Strip, yesterday, to find not only was there free WiFi throughout the hotel (although, to be fair, if you’re staying there, it’s classed as a perk of the resort fee), but also, that they’d actively set up a space in the lobby for people to sit and browse the net.
”Connectivity” is one of the three central tenets of the philosophy of Dolce Resorts, which owns the hotel, and one third of the lobby/lounge area is devoted to that theme. As such, there are two flatscreen TVs on the wall (they’re a decent size now, but they’re going to be replaced with something bigger, apparently) showing CNN and MSNBC with a sofa, several small tables around it, and this, the crowning glory: a table that seats eight with two iPads to share.
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The W French Quarter Needs to Rethink Their Ironing Board Situation
Just in time for Halloween, here's a rather "scary" hotel design snafu--an exposed ironing board at the W Hotel French Quarter in New Orleans, sent into us by a reader. The photo was taken this past Sunday. The guest writes:
After paying more than $300/night for this W Hotel, we really expected a design experience way superior to what we actually got. The ironing board was just the perfect example of the design sensibility displayed by this property. I still cannot believe that this actually is a W Hotel. Never again.
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Get a Load of The Washer and Dryer in The Emporium Hotel's Suites
With peekaboo tubs and larger-than-life LCD screens popping up in hotels all over the world, it can take something pretty extraordinary to get our attention when scoping out a room. Or even something extremely humble. Like this nifty little washer-dryer combo that we spied tucked away in a Deluxe Corner Suite at the Emporium Hotel in Brisbane last week.
Doing the washing may be incredibly mundane, but sometimes on the road it is entirely necessary. And should we really have to spend twenty bucks or more to send our laundry off in one of those branded canvas hotel bags hanging in the closet? (Confession: When the laundry bags are plastic, we swipe them to use for packing our... dirty laundry.)
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The Pool Restrooms at The Raleigh Are Papered Up the Wazoo
Is there anything worse than using a restroom and finding the toilet roll totally bare? Well, you don't have to worry if you're hanging by the pool at The Raleigh. Andre Balazs may no longer be in the house, but you will find plenty of toilet paper right where you need it.
This is our first visit to The Raleigh since Andre decided to focus on Courtney LoveThe Standard hotels instead, and so far if there are major differences we haven't seen them.
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Andaz 5th Avenue Will Have Amazing Views Of ... 5th Avenue
Actually it will have more than that. Stand on the terrace of one of the rooms lucky enough to have them and your view may put the New York Public Library front-and-center, you may be able to watch the ball drop away from the crowds of Times Square, and you can even see a glimpse of both the East and Hudson Rivers. Even the terraces along 41st street offer distinctive views of NYC, with glimpses of historic skyscrapers you've never seen from up high.
We got a sneak peek of the activity at Andaz Fifth Avenue this week, and even in full race-to-the-finishing-line construction mode, we like what we saw.
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The Allegria Sunset at The Allegria Hotel Tastes Like Summer
It's a significantly big deal that the mercury will hit the 80s this weekend in New York. It's been a long hard road to summer, and we totally think we deserve a drink for getting through that god-awful winter. Racing to the top of our list of summer cocktails already is the Allegria Sunset served at L'Onda Bar and Atlantica, the restaurant, at the Allegria Hotel in Long Beach.
We chose this sunny little concoction off the list of signature drinks last week and we were not disappointed. It looks like summer and it tastes like summer. Here's why ...
