Tag: Lists
View All TagsAmsterdam Hotels / Historical Hotels / Lists / Netherlands Hotels / → All Tags
Six Amsterdam Hotels That Used to Be Something Else Entirely
If you've been to Amsterdam, then you know it's a city of canals, waffles, bicyclists and historical architecture. If you're a tourist in Amsterdam, then you also know that it's the center of the historical architecture where you find the best hotels, but they weren't always there.
Skyscrapers aren't welcome alongside the still canal waters and, when a hotel wants to open up, it often has to first find a building to repurpose, instead of constructing something brand new. As a result, nearly every hotel in the center of Amsterdam lives on a site with a history, one which may range from something as innocent as a convent to as sad as a jail for the Resistance movement during World War II.
Here's six such notable hotels:
Hotel Fees / Hotel Tips / Lists / → All Tags
Watch Out For These Hidden Hotel Fees
In addition to the resort fees that have been a topic of late, more often we’re seeing little charges on our hotel bills or hearing of people being nickel-and-dimed for services they feel should be included in the hotel rate. The Federal Trade Commission has recently sent a letter to some hotels, warning them to disclose all fees in the total hotel price.
Here’s some of the more finer print charges you should be on the look-out for:
Bedside Water: Oh, you think that bottle of water at turndown is to quench your middle-of-the night the thirst? Sure it is, to the tune of $7. Take a look a pic above. The bottle was turned so we didn’t see the price sticker until the morning (we’d come in pretty late night before) and had already taken a swig. Bam! And it tasted like regular tap water to boot!
Early departure fee: Some hotels will charge you if you have reserved for a certain amount of days and decide to check-out early. They’ve already counted on that revenue and need to make it up if you’ve changed your mind.
Minibar removal fees: You think you’re doing the right thing by removing treat temptation if you ask staff to remove or empty the mini-bar. This is especially true with small children on board. But that service isn’t free in some hotels. You may find a charge of up to $25 on your bill. And if you ask for a minifridge to chill your own treats? Expect a fee for that!
Hotel Tips / Do Not Do / Tips / Lists / Hotel Advice / → All Tags
Some Helpful Advice: What NOT To Do in a Hotel
We're gonna assume that if you've ended up here on our site, which is all about hotels, then you've stayed in one at least once before. Yet even frequent hotel guests can always use some helpful reminders of Things Not To Do When Staying in a Hotel.
Don't Expect an Early Check-In: Hotels have check-in times of 2 to 4 pm for a reason--they need time to get the room ready for the next guest. That said, hotels aren't always fully booked so if you arrive at 11am and want to check-in, staff could feasibly accommodate you. But...don't count on it in advance.
Don't Let The Hotel Walk You Unless...: They pay for your room and your transportation to the new hotel. If you aren't familiar with the term "walking", it essentially means the hotel doesn't have a room for you and must send you to a different property. This often happens when you book through third-party travel sites. But if you reserve directly through the hotel and they still don't have a room for you, then the hotel needs to pay for your stay elsewhere and any reasonable transportation (cab ride, car service) costs to get there.
Don't Use the Bedspread: We're just not going to apologize for our germaphobe stance on this. The stats are in and the covers have gotta go. Here's our suggestion: Take a hanger from the closet, use it to lift the top blanket off the bed and drop it on the floor. Thankfully, many hotels are taking a No-Comforter approach in the guestrooms, but a few are still insisting on those dreaded floral bedspreads that probably haven't been washed in a queen's age.
Hotel Delays / Hotel Openings / Hotel News / Lists / → All Tags
2013's Notable Hotel Delays...So Far
The other month we dropped a massive list of Worldwide Hotel Openings for 2013, a list which we are constantly adding to and updating. Out of this list of hundreds of hotel openings, we cherry-picked 5 that we are really excited for.
But it's not all roses and rainbows in the hotel world. There have been quite a few hotels whose opening dates have been pushed back. Some were only pushed back by a month, others by a little bit longer. We'll continue to see this throughout the rest of the year but here are some Notable Hotel Delays...So Far.
Know of a hotel delay? Drop it in comments below and we'll update it on our list.
Nobu Hotels / Hotel Openings / Lists / Hotel News / Nobu Matsuhisa / Viva Vegas / Hotel Design / → All Tags
10 Reasons Why You Should Sleep With Nobu in Las Vegas
The very first Nobu Hotel is set to open in Las Vegas inside Caesars Palace on February 4th (at $269 a night) and if you're wondering why you would sleep over at a sushi restaurant, here's 10 Reasons that will convince you to book one of these 181 rooms faster than you can say yellowtail sashimi.
VIP LOBBY AND CHECK-IN
Nobu hotel guests will have a completely different check-in experience from other guests coming to Vegas. In fact, check-in begins before you even get to the hotel with a pre-arrival questionnaire sent by the hotel. Here you can make your amenity requests, set up a dinner reservation at Nobu and let them know your exact time of arrival. Dedicated Nobu Guest Services staff will be positioned at the front of Caesars to escort guests to the Nobu "lobby" which is just past the Nobu restaurant. The lobby is not much more than an elevator bank with a desk but the walls and ceiling feature visually stunning wooden blocks of fir, hemlock and oak in different arrangements. The artwork actually continues on inside the elevators as well. Go ahead, touch it.
Keep Reading for More Reasons to Book a Room at The Nobu Hotel Las Vegas!
Hotel Openings / Lists / Peninsula Hotels / Nobu Hotels / Andaz Hotels / Shangri-La Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
5 Hotel Openings We're Really Excited For In 2013
As longtime hotel nerds, we're always excited when a new hotel opens. In fact, to ensure we don't miss an opening we compiled the Master Openings List of hotels expected to open in 2013. Not just in the U.S. or Europe, but around the world.
Out of this beast of a list, which we are constantly updating as we hear of new openings (and as we re-learn world geography apparently) we admittedly have a few favorites. Five to be exact. So here are 5 Hotel Openings We're Excited For in 2013. We hoped to get you every starting room rate, but alas, not all of the properties are taking reservations yet. But once they do, we'll let you know how much you're gonna pay!
Got an opening you're most excited about? Drop it in comments below!
New York Restaurant Week / Hotel Restaurants / Manhattan Hotels / Celebrity Chefs / Hotel News / Hotel Deals / Lists / → All Tags
New York Restaurant Week Starts Today: 10 Rezzies We Want
Don't skip the homemade pasta at Ai Fiori. Carbs be damned.
We always find it amusing New York Restaurant Week falls just a few weeks after the new year, when those plum hotel restaurants we've been dying to try, drop their prices for 20 whole days of diet-busting deliciousness.
This year's event goes from January 14–February 8 and patrons will be treated to three-course prix-fixe lunches for $25 and dinners for $38.00. There are over 300 restos participating (a list can be found at NYCGO), but we're detailing our Top 10 Picks here. Unless noted, these are for Mon-Friday lunch and dinner seatings. Saturday dinner isn't included, but some places do have Sunday lunch and dinner availability.
Asellina at the Gansevoort Park Avenue: We defy you not to order the veal meatballs, prosciutto and black truffle flatbread without tears rolling from your eyes. And that's just for starters. Sunday lunch and dinner included.
Hotel Openings / 2013 Hotel Openings List / Lists / → All Tags
The Master List of Worldwide Hotel Openings in 2013
It's a new year and we've got a brand-spanking new list of hotels set to open in 2013. Warning: it will make your head spin.
As usual, China and India are still going strong, thanks to Starwood Hotels' obsession with those regions. In particular, their Sheraton brand is opening like gangbusters all over China. Interestingly, there are only two W Hotels opening in 2013 but W's spin-off brand, Aloft, is primed to debut in multiple places both abroad and in the U.S.
Speaking of the U.S., we're seeing a bit of a resurgence on the homefront with new properties, again from Starwood's family of brands but also from Hilton Hotels where DoubleTree and home2suites are steadily expanding. Of course, New York is getting a batch of new hotels, but so is Miami, Silicon Valley and randomly, Alabama.
Also, still going strong is the Middle East which will get several new luxury options (are there any other kinds?) from St. Regis, Fairmont, Ritz-Carlton and Waldorf Astoria. And it looks like Russia is going to have a good year as well with the Hotel Indigo and a Four Seasons coming to St. Petersburg.
And while this list looks lengthier than ever, in doing our research we noticed a heck of a lot more openings scheduled for 2014. In fact, we better get started on that list now!
Chicago Hotels / Hotel Restaurants / Foodie Hotels / Lists / → All Tags
Top 5 Chicago Hotels for 'Food Enthusiasts'
Irresistible works of art double as sweets at The Peninsula Chicago's Lobby brunch
We’ve talked about the exploding Chicago Hotel scene and the entry of big guns like Ian Schrager's Public, the first U.S. Radisson Blu Aqua and Richard Branson's forthcoming, first-ever Virgin hotel. As Chicago hotels boom and continue to top each other out in the kind of hotel pissing match we love, so have the their restaurants. In fact, there are now so many amazing places to eat strictly within hotel walls that you could easily skip the rest of Chicago's tremendous restaurant scene and not miss a thing.
To help you sort through it, we've curated our own top five list of dream-about-it-forever, no-fail Chicago hotels for food enthusiasts (because saying "foodie" is passe now isn't it?) Whether or not you stay at these hotels, any trip to Chicago should include pigging out at one of these amazing eateries within.
Keep reading for our Top 5 Chicago Hotels for Food Enthusiasts!
London Hotel Openings / London Hotels / Lists / Hotel Openings / Hotel News / → All Tags
London's Hot Hotel Scene Keeps Heating Up as The Olympics Draw Near
It's hotel list time! With the opening ceremony of the Olympics ever closer (and possible border control strikes threatening to make arriving in the UK less than painless), London will be taking its place in the spotlight for the next few months.
Both the city and its hotels hope that there will be a positive effect on in-bound tourism and business from the Games for years to come, which is (part of the reason) why scores of hotels have opened, are opening, were hoping to open in time, and will continue to open in the near future.
Below we're recapping properties that have opened their doors during the first half of this year, and those that are on our radar for the rest of the year.
Portland Hotels / Oregon Hotels / Lists / Hipster Hotels / → All Tags
Three Portland Hotels for Virgin America-Flying San Franciscans
Get ready for the summertime airline routes! This is the best time of the year—new destinations are on sale and airplanes are getting ready to head either south to the sun or north to the cooler temps. In Virgin America's case, it's north to the Pacific Northwest. Portland will begin receiving the SF hipsters from the first week of June, and we've got some suggestions on where to stay...
· The Ace Hotel. Duh. This is a no-brainer. The Ace is somewhere you can score a room for as low as $95/night, eat a $10 grilled cheese lunch, work in a communal mezzanine loft space and still walk with a swagger. Its location is ideal for walking outside and running smack-dab into the young, underground culture for which Portland is famous (and Powell's Books is like, 3 minutes away on foot). For everything you can't reach on foot, The Ace will happily rent you a hipster bike. To see just what the cheapest room at The Ace looks like, check out our gallery here. Rates from $95 per night.
Spring Break Hotels / Lists / Guides / San Francisco Hotels / Napa Hotels / Cancun Hotels / Edinburgh Hotels / Mustique Hotels / Palace Resorts / → All Tags
There's Still Time for Some Spring Break Fun
The Sun Palace, Cancun
We at HotelChatter know Spring Break exists even though our school days are long gone. March and April seems to be the months when kids from elementary to college age are let loose upon the world, meaning vacation time for some lucky adults too. So you know what? We decided we want in, too. There’s still enough time to book a getaway, so with that in mind, here are some vernal equinox escapes, in case you want to get on the bandwagon.
