Tag: holiday inns
View All TagsHotel Fun / Holiday Inns / Hotel Songs / → All Tags
How the Hell Did Holiday Inn Get So Many Song Shout Outs?
Where: Various Locations
Did you realize that almost 50 songs mention the Holiday Inn hotel chain? Some are more flattering than others, for sure, but it is really interesting. A few of them even have "Holiday Inn" in the song title. Can you think of any other corporate company, let alone hotel chain, that has received even close to that amount of pop-culture references? From hip-hop to country, the number of mentions is really bizarre.
We know it's a popular and well-known establishment, but we're somewhat baffled/majorly impressed as to how it has managed to work its way into so many songs. You know, McDonald's is popular, and so is Walmart, but we're having trouble thinking of one song that mentions them, let alone 50.
Hats off to Holiday Inn -- somehow, someway, people feel the need to sing their praises. Here are a few of the more popular mentions. Do you have any favorites? Feel free to share them with us on this fine Friday!
Hotel News / Kimpton Hotels / Milwaukee Hotels / Savannah Hotels / Historic Hotels / Holiday Inns / → All Tags
Kimpton's New Digs Will Be In Savannah and Milwaukee
Kimpton is planning its first property in Georgia with the purchase of the historic Mulberry Inn in Savannah. The 145-room property is interesting because it was built in 1982 on the site of a former Coca-Cola bottling plant, then went bankrupt, and then became a Holiday Inn.
Even after joining the franchise, though, people continued referring to it as the Mulberry Inn rather than Holiday Inn because it just didn't 'feel' like a Holiday Inn. (Ask Rudy Giuliani--he stayed here once).
Apparently the timing is right for this next phase of the hotel's evolution because even though folks love the Mulberry Inn as a historic landmark, recent Yelp reviewers have called the place "noisy," "musty," and in need of an update. Hopefully, Kimpton's planned eight-month renovation project will make those complaints a thing of the past.
Of course, the bar was recently raised in Savannah with the opening of Andaz Savannah in September. So Kimpton ought to have their hands full...
Hotel Pools / Shanghai Hotels / China Hotels / Holiday Inns / → All Tags
The Newest Death Defying Rooftop Pool Can Be Found at This Holiday Inn in China
We've long known that the Holiday Inn brand in China means something completely different than it does stateside. The hotels tend to be a lot more luxe than their U.S. counterparts. Think top notch amenities, grand ballrooms and chandeliers in the lobby.
Now we can add death-defying architecture to the list, thanks to the newest Holiday Inn in China. At the Holiday Inn hotel, Shanghai Pudong Kangqiao, the hotel's Cantilever Indoor Swimming Pool on the 24th floor-- includes a "deep end" that extends longer than the rest of the building.
Upping the design factor is that this section of the pool has a glass bottom, allowing you to peer down into the city below. And for the city below to peer up at you. Death defying AND kinky!
Headed to Shanghai? Rates at the Holiday Inn Shanghai Pudong Kanggiao start at around 566 CNY or $89 USD.
[Photo via Daily Mail]
Hotel Flashback / Holiday Inns / Historical Hotels / → All Tags
Hotel Flashback: The Holiday Inn Sign of the 1950s
Here at HotelChatter, we don't just love luxury and brand new hotels, nosiree. We've also got a serious fascination with retro spots, hotels of yore and even drive-up motels. This week, we'll be exploring a few such hotels through found postcards and pamphlets from the 1950s and '60s
There once was a time when you could sleep over at a Holiday Inn in almost every major US town and quite a few foreign cities as well. They were mainly drive-up, motel-style affairs, but their slogan spoke to a higher ambition: "The World's Innkeeper."
Holiday Inns / Manhattan Hotels / Gene Kaufman / Hotel Construction / Hotel News / → All Tags
The World's Tallest Holiday Inn is Coming to Lower Manhattan
Nobody does bigger and better like Manhattan, not even when it comes to Holiday Inns. The value brand is coming to Lower Manhattan in a major way.
Hotel architect about town, Gene Kaufman (who has built several projects for other large hotel brands in town) is working on a 50-story, 400-room full-service hotel at 99 Washington Street, just three blocks from the World Trade Center, that when completed will be the world's tallest Holiday Inn.
Here's a description of the building:
The exterior of this Holiday Inn will have a low-rise, contextual base, blending with the surrounding streetscape, topped with a dramatic tower featuring graduated setbacks and offering exceptional views of the city, the Hudson River and the Statue of the Liberty. The metal-paneled façade (designed by Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman & Associates Architects, GSKA) will attract and reflect light, brightening the street-level pedestrian landscape.
Hotel Toiletries / Holiday Inns / Bath and Bodyworks / → All Tags
You Might Be at the Holiday Inn But Your Hair is Somewhere Tropical
Way back in 2007 Holiday Inn Hotels began a massive $1 billion revamp of the budget brand to include not just a new logo but also new beds, bedding and bathrooms. And along the way, Holiday Inns upgraded their toiletry offerings as well.
Now when you stay at Holiday Inn, you can cleanse yourself off with Bath & Bodyworks Coconut Lime Verbena collection. As the name suggests, the toiletry smells very tropical--mostly coconutty but the lime comes out as well. We guess the olfactory goal here was even if you are staying at a Holiday Inn near the airport, at least the shampoo and conditioner can transport you somewhere more exotic.
Holiday Inns are required by the brand to stock the volumizing shampoo, the body lotion and the face and body bar. Optional items (to be decided by the individual hotel owners) are the volumizing conditioner, mint mouthwash and various kits like the vanity kit, shoe sponge, mending kit and shower caps.
Olympics Hotels / London Hotels / Hotel Deals / Holiday Inns / → All Tags
Holiday Inn Keeps Us Coming Back For More Of Those £20 Hotel Rooms
Apparently, everyone was such a fan of Holiday Inn's promotional £20.12-per-night rooms last year that the brand has decided to make another go of it. Next Tuesday, simply log onto their website anytime between midnight and 11:59pm to book stays in any of the 160 participating properties at a special rate of £20.12. Just like last year as well, the promotional period lasts from Dec 26 to Jan 31.
In case you've forgotten, Holiday Inn was named the official hotel of the 2012 Olympics, for which London has been frantically preparing over the past few years. Now with the date looming ever closer, Holiday Inn is eager to keep its name fresh in people's minds.
For anyone who happens to be visiting family over the holidays, this promotion could be a major leg up. Deals like this mean you'll find yourself relying less and less on those dreaded bare-faced lies.
Holiday Inn Social Hubs / Holiday Inns / Sneak Peek / Hotel News / Photogallery / InterContinental Hotel Group / → All Tags
A Sneak Peek at Holiday Inn's New HUB Lobby Concept
Last October, Holiday Inn announced their new Social Hub concept for all their lobbies which they followed up on in April with some renderings of the spaces as well as a food taste test. (See all the yummy goodness contributor JetsetCD got to taste right here.)
Currently, the Social Hub can only be found at The Holiday Inn Gwinnett City in Atlanta but yesterday at the InterContinental Hotel Group's Annual Investors and Leadership Conference in Las Vegas, we got to see what the HUB (capitalized like that) will look like in person.
Bed Bugs / Holiday Inns / Arizona Hotels / Pet-Friendly Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Not Even Your Cats Are Safe From Bed Bugs
We've all had that moment of fear when we've checked out of a hotel and felt a little itchy. Uhoh, did we just spend the night with bed bugs? Now imagine if not only you were itching and scratching but your cat was too!
That's what a woman is claiming happened to her and her pet after they both spent a few nights at a Holiday Inn in Glendale, Ariz. The woman, who is only going by the name Elena, says she developed red itchy bumps on her neck after checking out the hotel. A doctor determined she had bed bug bites but her cat ended up in worse condition. ABC15 local news reports:
"I noticed she was starting to pull her hair and itching," Elena said. "I said let's see in a couple of weeks if it gets any better. Within that time, it had gotten much worse. There were bald spots throughout the cat's body and (pus)."
Elena took her cat to Apollo North Animal Hospital in Glendale. Dr. Patricia Bennett treated the cat. Bennett tells me the cat had "damage due to scratching an itch." Bennett said there were "scabs, bumps, and lesions" from "head to toe."
Snapshot / Hotel Breakfast / Holiday Inns / Holiday Inn Express / Pancake Machines / → All Tags
There's Always The Pancake Machine at The Holiday Inn Express
Nothing says fresh breakfast like a pancake machine?
UPDATE: This picture from a tipster was actually taken at a Holiday Inn EXPRESS which will not be getting the new social hubs. Long story short, the pancake machine lives! Thanks @Expresser24 for pointing this out.
Holiday Inns are gearing up to launch their new social hubs with made-to-order chef stations next month but over at the Holiday Inn Express, you'll have to make do with their Pancake Machines.
Pancakes slide out on a conveyor belt off to the side "in about a minute." It's not exactly homemade but if you have a hankering for pancakes on the road, we guess it will do.
As for the new Holiday Inn breakfast offerings, the first place to get it will be the Holiday Inn Gwinnett Center in Atlanta. After this, the rest of Holiday Inn's 3,000+ hotels worldwide will start to roll out their new social hubs which aside from better food will include a tech concierge, a 24/7 Grab 'n Go market, a video gaming area, a bar, a modern dining area and in some cases, firepits with cabanas. Pancake machines not allowed.
Photo Gallery / Holiday Inns / Holiday Inn Social Hubs / Holiday Inn 2.0 / InterContinental Hotel Group / IHG Hotels / Hotel WiFi / → All Tags
Holiday Inn's New 'Social Hubs' Will Have You Playing Wii, Chilling in Cabanas and More
The days of Holiday Inns with generic lobbies, business centers packed with fax machines and only regular or decaf coffee with breakfast are almost over. Get ready for Holiday Inns with cappuccino machines, an "e-desk," and a lobby that's more like a living area complete with gaming zone; it's called the "Social Hub," another humongous advance by Holiday Inn after their $1 billion rebranding.
There's a lot of information and details to discuss with regard to the new "Social Hub," but what you really need to know is that you'll be able to experience all of the new stuff as early as June, when the Atlanta area's Holiday Inn Gwinnett Center launches it for real. A second, yet-to-be named property will also get a social hub later this year but the roll-out plan for the rest of Holiday Inns worldwide is still being fleshed out.
So what's exactly in a "Social Hub" aside from good eats? Let's see...
Photo Gallery / Holiday Inns / Holiday Inn Social Hubs / Holiday Inn 2.0 / IHG Hotels / Hotel Restaurants / → All Tags
Is It Okay to Drool Over Holiday Inn's New Food? Too Late.
When was the last time you ate at a Holiday Inn? Wait...wait, we mean besides a breakfast of generic omelet. Chances are, you can't remember the last time you went to a Holiday Inn to eat, let alone hang out, but Holiday Inn is hoping to change that fact...and fast.
Please welcome the concept of the Holiday Inn "Social Hub." Following their rebranding, Holiday Inn is now gearing up to tear up their 3,000+ hotels around the world to introduce a more modern and welcoming public area, where guests (and non-guests!) can feel free to chill out, grab some food, some drinks and maybe futz around on their iPads or laptops without having to be confined to their hotel rooms. Oh, there will be modern seating, there will be free WiFi and outlets aplenty, and there will be food you drool for.
Macaroni & cheese waffle sandwich, anyone?
