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The POTUS Is Just Like Us--He Stays at The Element Hotel!

Where: 10555 Discovery Drive [map], Las Vegas, NV, United States, 89135

It's been a while since we checked in on the hotel habits of the POTUS but yesterday we we were psyched to see that Barack Obama stayed at a hotel that we've actually stayed at before...twice!

When visiting Las Vegas on the campaign trail, Obama eschewed the hotel casinos on the Strip and instead took over the entire Element Las Vegas hotel in Summerlin, about 15 minutes from the Strip. 8newsnow.com reports:

Onlookers were curious as to why President Obama chose to stay farther away from the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip. "This Element is earth friendly, and I think he's trying to promote that on his visit," Carol Bieganowski said.

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Celebrity Scoop / Presidential Hotels / Barack Obama / Vail Hotels / Preferred Hotels / Timbers Resorts / Hotel Rebranding / → All Tags

Get Rebranded, Get a First Family Visit, If You're the Sebastian Vail

Where: 16 Vail Road [map], Vail, CO, United States, 81657

The brand new Library, before its Obama baptism

How’s that for a ringing endorsement of your new name? Just over a month after the Vail Plaza Hotel & Club was reinvented as The Sebastian, it swung itself a presidential visit this week. Or, rather, a presidential family visit – while Obama stayed in DC this weekend, Mrs O took the kids on a jaunt to the hotel.

According to the Mail Online, there’s a spot of controversy over the First Family’s trip to Vail following Obama’s advice on saving money – that one might like to cut back on one’s vacations. But hey, it was Presidents' Weekend after all.

Michelle Obama would almost certainly approve of Block 16, the hotel’s brand new restaurant that serves local, organic, seasonal food, as well as the newly dedicated Library (it’s just 10 days old, according to Facebook) – a room stuffed full of books, games and art which the hotel website reckons is perfect for “lively debate”. There’s also a new spa (which offers pop-up services around the hotel) and live music at the new bar, Frost, but we reckon Mrs O is too clever to risk coming over all Marie Antoinette by getting her nails done or throwing back a scotch.

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POTUS Hotels / Barack Obama / Political Hotels / India Hotels / ITC Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags

POTUS Rents Out an Entire Hotel in New Delhi, The Maurya

Where: Diplomatic Enclave, Sardar Patel Marg, New Delhi, India, 110 021

The talking heads may still be yapping about how much President Obama's trip to India is costing, but the locals are loving it, with the ITC Maurya giving the President and First Lady a lavish welcome today.

The hotel not only spruced up its gardens and filled its lobby with flowers for the Obamas' arrival--it also organized a traditional 'Brides of India' ceremonial welcome.

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Presidential Hotels / Barack Obama / Spain Hotels / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags

Spain's Hotel Villa Padierna Prepares For Obama Girls

Where: Ctra. de Cadiz, Marbella, Spain, 29679

Forget Whatshername who just got married in Rhinebeck, there's much more exciting Presidential Daughter news going on in hotel land: the Obamas are headed to Marbella, Spain. Well, two of them are: First Lady Michelle and First Daughter Sasha.

The pair, along with longtime family friends, are said to have booked four nights at the luxurious Villa Padierna, a Ritz-Carlton property that we've ogled before.

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Presidential Hotels / Political Hotels / Maine Hotels / Holiday Inns / Bar Harbor Hotels / Barack Obama / → All Tags

Hotel, Motel, President Obama Stays at the Holiday Inn

Where: 123 Eden Street [map], Bar Harbor, ME, United States, 04609

Wow, well it looked like the modern rebranding of Holiday Inn is working out for them, because President Barack Obama and his family are staying at the Holiday Inn Regency Bar Harbor this weekend.

Michelle and the girls headed up to Maine with Barack earlier today, all packed and ready for a relaxing weekend of hiking Acadia National Park and hanging out in cooler temperatures. Bo the dog is joining them too! He flew up a few days early though, with secret service and security detail who've been working to nail down the specifics of the President's long weekend stay.

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POTUS Hotel Hopping Hits the Fontainebleau in Miami

Where: 4441 Collins Ave [map], Miami Beach, fl, United States, 33140

Miami’s Fontainebleau Resort is no stranger to celebs, from Frank Sinatra to Dennis Rodman. But last night the revamped resort got a return visit from the most famous person on the planet: POTUS.

President Obama has been on a bit of a hotel tour lately, doing his Democratic Party fund-raising at a series of fancy dinners across the country. Last night, his arrival at one of these events was marked with protests as about 200 people carrying placards lined Collins Avenue across from the Fontainebleau.

Inside, around 450 people paid between $500 and $15,000 a head to hear POTUS talk, raising an estimated $1.5 million all up. (We’re guessing that’s just a little over what LIV or Hakkasan rakes in on an average Monday night.)

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Political Hotels / Barack Obama / Mandarin Oriental Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags

POTUS Dresses Down Wall Street at Mandarin Oriental

Where: 80 Columbus Cir [map], New York, ny, United States, 10023

The Mandarin Oriental in New York is popular with celebrities: in the past, we've seen Bruce Willis and Natalie Portman there. But approaching the hotel close to 5 p.m. yesterday, we encountered way too much security for there to just be someone from Hollywood in the building. The street itself was blocked off and a mix of NYPD officers, generic security dudes, serious-looking men in suits—aha! Secret Service!—and excited New Yorkers waiting by the barricades gave it all away: President Barack Obama was in town. And about to arrive any second.

We got a bit of a thrill to learn this, too, along with a hint of dread that we may not get into the hotel for our business meeting after all. We did not have photo ID on us, and there was no official invite for our small meeting meant to take place at the MO Bar. We watched as one security guy turned away a woman who lived on the same block ("go around the other way,"), and refused to let an Equinox instructor into the building unless he had a gym membership card. Hotel guests were asked to present their room keys.

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Barack Obama / Manhattan Hotels / Conference Hotels / Hilton Hotels / Waldorf-Astoria Collection / → All Tags

Obama's Hotel-Hopping In Manhattan And We Want To Come Along

There'll be no Broadway play and fancy dinner with Michelle for Obama during this stop in New York. After last week's grueling family trip of international stops including Moscow, Rome and Ghana, President Obama made it back to the States just in time to close off streets in Midtown Manhattan during yesterday's evening rush hour. And what did he do while in The Big Apple? Why, it's our favorite pastime: some good old-fashioned hotel-hopping.

After a speech in New Jersey, Obama's big city evening began at the Hilton New York on Sixth Avenue, where he spoke at the NAACP's 100th Anniversary Convention. This hotel is truly the epitome of conference hotels in the city; we can personally vouch for its massive size, awesome location, and ability to deal with a thousand nametag-sporting business travelers, so we're not surprised it was on Obama's itinerary.

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Mexico City Hotel Honors Obama With a $20 a Night Room Rate

Where: 188 Avenida Mexico, Condesa, Distrito Federal, Mexico

With President Barack Obama prioritizing issues like the the drug war, trade and immigration with Mexico, he is spreading some good karmic vibration to the hotel industry. In honor of President Obama's stay in Mexico's capital city, a stylish 1931 Art Deco designed boutique hotel called the Hippodrome in the hipster neighborhood of Condesa is offering $20 a night rate in Room 104 of the 15-room hotel. And the price includes taxes and fees.

The recession-friendly rate lasts through the end of the year and is only for Room 103. Get it? The deal applies for a two-day maximum stay. Right now, it's booked solid through the summer but the other 14 rooms start at $150 a night.

We say what a great way to enjoy part of our stimulus checks. Just don't blow the rest by continuing to support drug trade relations between the U.S. and Mexico!

Political Hotels / Barack Obama / Trinidad & Tobago / Caribbean Hotels / Hyatt Regency Hotels / → All Tags

Obama Kicks It With World Leaders at Hyatt Regency Trinidad

Where: #1 Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

This weekend, President Obama headed to the Caribbean islands of Trinidad & Tobago with a US delegation for the Fifth Summit of the Americas, and, as we know, he and his ginormous posse shacked up at the Hilton Trinidad, renting out the whole place for the weekend.

But the three-day summit itself was held over at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, which HC commenter thirteenright, who has stayed at both the TT Hilton and the TT Hyatt, mentioned was "a much nicer hotel more suitable for this kind of thing" (we assume "this kind of thing" means hosting bigtime world leaders). The conference was a place for the western hemisphere's leaders to get together to discuss "the theme of securing our citizens' future by promoting Human Prosperity, Energy Security and Environmental Sustainability."

Rates in this posh 428-room property start at $159, and the place features a rooftop infinity pool, a 24-hour fitness center, a restaurant with gulf views, and a lobby lounge where someone important surely toasted to making progress in the world this weekend.

Political Hotels / Barack Obama / Trinidad & Tobago / Caribbean Hotels / → All Tags

This Weekend, Obama Will Be Swimming at the Hilton Trinidad

Where: Lady Young Rd, Belmont, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

Another day, another hotel fitness room in which President Obama can go work out. This weekend, while he's heading down to the Caribbean islands of Trinidad & Tobago with a 1,000-strong US delegation for the Fifth Summit of the Americas, the Prez will be shacking up at the Hilton Trinidad, all of whose 380 rooms have been reserved for him and his massive posse.

Hopefully, during the three-day summit which convenes the 34 "democratically elected leaders of the Western Hemisphere," Barack will have some precious alone time for paddling in their pool shaped like the island of Trinidad and hitting their squash and tennis courts. The Hilton itself is no stranger to hosting high-security guests, and in the past have made people like former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Britain's Prince of Wales and former South African President Nelson Mandela feel right at home. Here's hoping that the secret service has already scoped out the hotel's jogging track and fitness center; we wouldn't want Obama to have to spend an entire long island weekend cooped up in office chairs just because the rowing machine is broken.

Once the US delegation departs at the end of the summit on Sunday night, the Hilton will return to its normal, non-commander in chief duties, which focuses on offering regular vacationers like us the very same rooms starting at $169 a night.

[Photo: Concierge.com]

Political Hotels / Barack Obama / London / G20 / Mandarin Oriental / → All Tags

G20 Taking Care of Business at London's Mandarin Oriental

Where: 66 Knightsbridge, London, United Kingdom, SW1X 7LA

April's Fools Day may be long over, but memories of the dinner that "Naked Chef" Jamie Oliver cooked for the G20 leaders in London that night will remain forever...or at least until it's all digested. After a filling meal that focused on fresh and "British" ingredients, Nicholas Sarkozy and posse headed back to his hotel, the Mandarin Oriental, for a little after dinner mint and negotiations regarding that lovely little tax haven of Macau.

When not holed up in meetings with other G20 leaders, what do you suppose Sarkozy did with his time spent in the grand environs of the Mandarin? We like to think that he balanced all the wine-drinking and rich meals out by hitting the gym a couple times, but how could a stressed world leader resist the charms of the hotel's "Zen Color Therapy Relaxation" room or its "Amethyst Crystal Steam Room?" If we had to sit in tense meetings all day, with the fate of parts of the world on our shoulders, then you can be sure we'd spring for a "Ama Releasing Abhyanga" treatment to balance our chakras.

Want to play president and treat yourself to a night where Sarkozy slept and dreamt of gambling in Macau? Be prepared to fork over more than 3,990 GBP ($5,891) for a Deluxe Suite this month, or 255 GBP ($376.50) for a regular room—perfect for any Nicholas and Carla Bruni fantasies you have going.

[Mandarin Hotel photo via Mandarin Hotels; G20 Summit photo via The Guardian]