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Tags: Facebook / Utah Hotels / WTF Hotel News / Hotel Animals / → All Tags
Zermatt Resort Asks Facebook Fans to Help Name Their Goats
More Swiss Family Robinson meets Sound of Music than stereotypical Utah ski lodge, Zermatt Resort in Midway, UT (about 50 minutes from Salt Lake City International airport and minutes from Park City and Deer Valley) is multi-tasking with its social media efforts. The Rocky Mountain resort has a blog and posts regularly to Flickr, Twitter (@Zermatt_Resort) and Facebook.
We especially dig the resort’s creative use of Facebook. The photo and event updates and frequent comments are well worth a look see for curious travelers, but unlike a lot of Facebook pages that are skewed to a strictly out-of-town market, Zermatt Resort’s efforts also appeal to the local clientele.
Tags: Snapshot / Costa Rica Hotels / Hotel Pools / Hotel Animals / → All Tags
Would You Swim in This Hotel Pool?
Where: Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
Happy Friday! Behold: some monkeys drinking out of a hotel pool.
No, but really, we have a question for you: after seeing this, would you swim in this pool? Look closely at the photo. Real close. Do you see what we see? A little monkey business happening right by the water's edge?
This shot was taken in Costa Rica by Lydiat at the Costa Verde Hotel, whose motto is, fittingly, "still more monkeys than people." The hotel is situated on a coastal rainforest bluff overlooking the beaches of Manuel Antonio National Park near Quepos, and apparently the monkey residents are able to saunter on over to the hotel as they please — which, if you like monkeys, is kind of awesome.
This is one of two cliffside pools; from here, you get a "bird's-eye view of the [National] Park's coastline plus rainforest canopy vistas" — and also birds and monkeys! Rooms start at $79, though most are in the $150-$200 range if you're looking for luxuries like AC and such. Check out the resort's site here... or continue checking out the monkeys above.
[Photo: LydiaT]
Tags: Hotel Animals / Novotel Hotels / Hotel Packages / Darwin Hotels / → All Tags
When Crocodiles and Hotel Rooms Get Packaged Together
If the standard hotel package that throws in free meals, some champagne or maybe a nice box of chocolates has got a bit boring for you, then perhaps you'd like to get dunked into a pool infested with crocodiles instead? That's the angle the Novotel Darwin is going for in the far north of Australia.
We'd like to say up front that we will never sign up for this package ourselves, but it's a free world so we thought we'd mention it anyway. The current Novotel Darwin deals work together with nearby Crocosaurus Cove and you can get a Cage of Death package for A$287 ($195) a night, including accommodation and one experience that they describe like this:
Guests are suspended in an acrylic transparent cage on a monorail system above the crocodile enclosures at Crocosaurus Cove and then slowly lowered into one of the four chosen enclosures for an "experience of a lifetime."
We just hope it's not the last experience of your lifetime.
If you just prefer to watch others risk getting eaten, then there are cheaper packages which just include entry to the croc park going for A$197 ($130) a night. We're probably even going to give that one a miss.
[Photo: Rantz]
Tags: Hotel Pets / Hotel Animals / Kimpton Hotels / → All Tags
Is the Muse Hotel's Canine Concierge America's Next Top Dog?
You know how Kimpton Hotels go ga-ga over their hotel pets, dressing them up in silly tuxedos and such? Well, the Muse Hotel in New York is pretty convinced they are dealing with a very special dog (of course, we all feel that way about our dogs). The hotel has submitted their canine concierge, Ginger, in the USA Today Top Dog Contest and she made the Top 20 cut!
The contest is being held to promote the release of Marley and Me and the winner will apparently get the recognition of being America's Top Dog. Voting ends this Friday, December 19th so if you want to get you vote in, do it now. We like Ginger because unlike those other dogs, she has a real job. And yes, we are partial to people who work with hotels for a living.
Tags: Hotel Animals / Insane Hotel Packages / Omni Hotels / Inauguration Hotel Packages / → All Tags
Omni Shoreham's Inaugural Puppy Giveaway Cancelled
This puppy is not included in the Inaugural Package and that's a good thing.
Funny, the only bit we thought was worth the ridonkulous $440,000 Inaugural Package at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. was the part where you get a puppy of your choice.
However, according to the Washingtonian, many folks were pretty pissed about the puppy giveaway, even though the hotel's marketing director said he would work with local breeders and animal-rescue groups. Except that not even the Washington Animal Rescue League would partake in this package. The group sent a letter to the hotel that included the following:
Dogs are not commodities or possessions to be acquired—and perhaps later disposed of—at a whim. They are companions with whom we deliberately enter and build life-long relationships. We urge you, therefore, to rescind your offer of a puppy to your inaugural guests. Moreover, I believe you will find that those involved in the animal welfare community are of the same mind in this matter and would, given the opportunity, join me in voicing their reservations about your plan.
This letter and the 50 other angry calls the hotel's marketing director received have forced the hotel to rescind the puppy offer. Instead they will be donating some of the proceeds to the Washington Humane Society. Rejoice! The puppies are saved!
Tags: Hotel Animals / Hotel News / Dubai Hotels / Atlantis Resorts / → All Tags
Rejoice! Sammy the Shark No Longer a Prisoner of Atlantis Dubai
Sweet freedom for Sammy! The 13-foot whale shark controversially captured by Atlantis Dubai (the hotel originally tried to spin it as a "rescue" for the "distressed" whale shark) will be freed after the Atlantis received surprise government orders to liberate her from the huge lobby tank on the Palm Jumeirah property last week.
Environmentalists and activists were pissed that the whale shark -- a juvenile and a protected species -- was being kept in a cramped tank as a ploy to attract tourists to the hotel. The story grabbed headlines around the world; children walked around with "Free Sammy" buttons and the "Free Sammy The Whale Shark" Facebook group climbed to 11,500 members (versus a group called "Lets Eat Sammy the Whale Shark," which suggested people should take some time to "decide whether Sammy prefers to swim free or become a main course in a Ramsay or Jamie Oliver restaurant," and only had five members last time we checked).
Tags: Hotel News / Dubai Hotels / Atlantis Resorts / Hotel Animals / → All Tags
Hey, Atlantis Dubai: Free Sammy!
Sammy the Whale Shark, surrounded by its entourage
Add another one to the growing problems of Dubai's' Atlantis, the Palm, this one involving a whale shark. Don't worry, it didn't eat anyone--yet.
The Atlantis which opened just last month had claimed it "rescued" the "distressed" whale shark, which is an endangered species, off the coast of Dubai, but according to some former staffers capturing a whale shark was always the plan. Um. Former staffers? This place has only been open a month!
Tags: Hotel Animals / Hotel Falconry / Hotel Services / Hershey Hotels / → All Tags
The Hotel Hershey is Now For the Birds
Birds of a feather stick together and so it goes that chocolate lovers flock to Hershey, Pennsylvania. And now, you can expect bird-lovin' birds of a feather to swoop into town, too.
Through October, The Hotel Hershey is offering falconry lessons run by "master falconer" Jack Hubley. The program educates participants about the birds and the sport's history and includes outdoor free-flight demonstrations, a gander at the bird's hunting techniques and the opportunity for a photo with a bird, The AP reports.
The sport is open to everyone age 8 and up and you don't have to be a guest at the hotel to participate, though you will have to pay a little more. Prices start at $65 and include admission to ZooAmerica, a wildlife park near the hotel. This time of year, room rates at Hotel Hershey start at $409.
Tags: Hotel Pets / Hotel Animals / Hotel Fashion Shows / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
Snapshot :: Project Kitty Runway a Success but Felines Look Nonplussed
As we told you about before, the Project Kitty Runway went down at the Algonquin Hotel yesterday as a way to celebrate the house cat Matilda's 13th birthday and to help build awareness for the North Shore Animal League.
The Feline Fashion Show (their official name but we like PKR better) featured several cats in drag ranging from "an Elvis costume to a sequined satin dress." So...how exactly do you get a cat into an Elvis costume? Sedatives? It probably has to be one of those de-clawed house cats because we know our cat would not stand for that.
Humans meanwhile had a better time at the show sipping on $20 specialty drinks like the Purr-tini and the Pink Pussycat. Let's hope the fashion models were treated to an entire bag of catnip after their hard day on the runway.
[Photo: AP]
Tags: Hotel Animals / Hotel Pets / Guess the Hotel / Vancouver Hotels / Kimpton Hotels / → All Tags
Guess the Hotel Revealed :: Kimpton's Pacific Palisades Vancouver
Our Guess the Hotel from yesterday was easy, and hotel maven CourtneyMay was the first to call it. It was the Pacific Palisades in Vancouver, a Kimpton property with a sort of funky retro beach-y vibe. [Note: when we think Canada, "retro beach-y" does not come to mind. We know.]
We hinted about the wine hour -- a tradition at all Kimpton properties -- and noted that they talk funny here. Since the Pacific Palisades is the only Canadian Kimpton (and Canada is clearly the only place in the world where they talk funny), it should have been a dead giveaway...but we thought a shot of the home of Kimpton's famed pet concierge "desk" might give it away too.
We've got an 08.08.08 wedding to hit up today, but we'll be back with a full review next week.
Tags: Conrad Hotels / Ireland Hotels / Hotel Animals / → All Tags
Giddy Up: Mount Juliet Conrad Hotel Perfect For Horse-Lovers
Calling all horse lovers: the Mount Juliet Conrad Hotel in Ireland is doing everything right for you. Not too many hotels have an equestrian center on site, but Mount Juliet does, complete with new stables, two arenas and both of those fence-jumping trails (show jumping and cross country fences, for those in the know).
The new equestrian center has just been officially opened and added to the list of reasons to book in to Mount Juliet. Those lucky enough to get to the opening saw all kinds of horsey stuff, including Ukrainian Cossack riding and, as they describe it, some "stylish side-saddle" demonstrations. We're sorry we missed it.
Mount Juliet is a pretty huge estate about two hours from Dublin, in County Kilkenny, and it's got a golf course, spa and a variety of kinds of accommodation. They offer equestrian packages that include bed and breakfast, lunch, a one-hour trail ride and a one-hour riding lesson--with riding hats and boots provided, so novices like us are welcome--starting at €245 (US$380) a night.
Non-horse-lovers are also welcome as they have a stack of other packages that might match your preference.
Tags: Hotel Pets / Hotel Animals / Denver Hotels / Kimpton Hotels / DNC Hotels / Political Hotels / Election 2008 Hotels / → All Tags
Hotel Monaco In Denver is Forcing Pet to Get All Political and Wear a Silly Costume
The Democratic National Convention is headed to Denver next month and everyone in town is going to be overworked to accommodate the influx of visitors, including Hercules the resident pet of the Hotel Monaco.
The poor thing has to put on a silly red, white and blue tux with a tophat and pose in the lobby for guests and gawkers alike.
From Aug. 25 to 27 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m., Hercules will be in the hotel lobby for photos with both two- and four-legged fans, as well as a petting or two, sporting his new "Super Delegate" tuxedo. He will also be in the lobby at various hours on Aug 26 to 28. Of course, breaks will be allowed for walks and treats.
Poor Hercules! Let's hope he gets a lot of treats. And good luck trying to keep that top hat on the dog. As a pet owner ourselves with a penchant for ridiculous costumes, hats are never easy. May we suggest keeping a spoon of peanut butter nearby?
As for actually staying at the hotel, rooms are booked out so you will just have to settle for seeing Hercules at the appointed time.
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