HotelChatter

What is This / Scottsdale Hotels / W Hotels / Hotel Lobbies / Hotel Design / → All Tags

What is This at the W Scottsdale?

Where: 7277 East Camelback Road [map], Scottsdale, AZ, United States, 85251

We like to keep it fun but informative here at HotelChatter so our newest series, What is This? is devoted to odd-looking items in hotel rooms that upon first glance look as if they serve only a decorative purpose. But everything happens for a reason, right? And we're here to tell you what these things really do.

When you walk into the lobby of the W Scottsdale (and after you've inhaled the vanilla bourbon custom scent), your attention will be drawn to this mini Stonehenge formation of tree trunks just outside the W Gift Shop and before the front desk. Have you momentarily stepped outside again?

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Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Amenities / Hotel TVs / Hotel Design / → All Tags

It's a Mirror, It's a TV! It Takes a Little Work To Get Things Right at the Marlin Hotel

Where: 1200 Collins Ave [map], Miami Beach, FL, United States, 33139

If you've done some hotel hopping lately, you would have noticed the size wars underway.

No, not the size of the bed--or your WiFi bandwith (we wish). We're talking about TVs. The size of flatscreens keeps ballooning--but none we've seen have been as impressive as the TVs at South Beach's revamped Marlin Hotel.

When you first walk into your room, it looks like a mirror. But as you'll soon find once you play around with your in-room iPad, there is a 60-inch LED screen hidden behind the mirror, in service of the also-concealed AppleTV system.

A nice piece of design in theory, but how does it work in the wild? We gave it a test spin during a recent stay...

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Five on Instagram / Instagram / Hotel Design / Hotel Photography / → All Tags

Five on Instagram: The Best Hotel Photos for the Week of May 14

With all the design details in hotels, it's no wonder they're the perfect place to get creative with Instagram photos. We're kind of obsessed with browsing the #hotel tag, and every other week, we'll bring you 5 of our favorite shots that impart major wanderlust. And don't forget to follow our own shots on Instagram under "hotelchatter," "jaunted" and "vegaschatter."

· Photo via agreatbigcity — The old Hotel George Washington, now a residence hall. (By the way, @agreatbigcity is the best all-NYC instagram account we've found. Follow them.)

· Photo via thompsonhotels — The view may be of Beverly Hills, but the patio says Tuscany.

· Photo via ramus99 — The Hotel New York...definitely not in New York.

· Photo via bwamerica — Awesome view from an unknown Manhattan hotels (maybe the James Soho?)

· Taylorocket — CLASSIC.

Bonus! This is definitely over a week old, but we only just spotted this shot of the W Times Square & the Space Shuttle.

[Photo above: HotelChatter on Instagram]

Design Thursdays / Interviews / Miami Hotel Mambo / Philippe Starck / SLS Hotels / Hotel Design / Hotel Openings / → All Tags

Philippe Starck Walks Us Through His SLS South Beach Designs

Where: 1701 Collins Avenue [map], Miami Beach, FL, United States, 33139

Welcome to Design Thursdays! This is our day to focus on hotel design through photo tours, video walk-throughs and interviews with hotel designers. Got a cool hotel design story we should know about? Let us know.

We've seen the renderings and they sure look pretty. But as we all know, nothing can capture the feel of a hotel room quite like checking into it for real.

We're just weeks away from being able to do that at SLS South Beach, and in the meantime we have the next best thing to walking through the hotel itself--uber-designer Philippe Starck walking us through his designs.

We asked what we could expect from the rooms and where his inspiration came from. His answer took on a life of its own...

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Miami Hotel Mambo / Sam Nazarian / sbe / SLS Hotels / Lenny Kravitz / Philippe Starck / Hotel Design / → All Tags

SBE's Sam Nazarian Dishes On The Star Designers of SLS South Beach

Where: 1701 Collins Avenue [map], Miami Beach, FL, United States, 33139

It's no secret that we're psyched for the upcoming June opening of SLS South Beach. As June 14 gets closer (and we hear rumors that the hotel will soft open even sooner), details of the room decor is starting to trickle out. But what's the official line?

We spoke to sbe founder Sam Nazarian and asked what we can expect from the SLS South Beach rooms designed by Philippe Starck.

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Hotel Technology / Hilton Hotels / Hotel Design / Hotel Closets / Hotel Business Centers / → All Tags

Hilton is Turning Out Some Nifty New Designs

For the past year, Hilton Hotels have been working to upgrade their look, using the Hilton Tysons Corner in Virginia as their guinea pig.

The hotel is unlike any other Hilton in that it features new guestroom design concepts, a Technology Lounge and a new lobby bar and restaurant concept where guests and locals can interact, work and collaborate.

But now, Hilton is rolling out some other new design concepts which Hilton Hotel owners can start implementing in their properties--new and old.

The first concept borne out of the newly created Hilton Design Studio is the Hilton Valet, a multifunctional armoire.

You might be thinking, "Armoire?" Ugh that's so 90s but this armoire does more than just hold a TV and your shoes. The Hilton Valet comes with a a built-in ironing boards, outlets for the iron, a safe for valuables positioned at standing height (for easy access), a mini-fridge and a coffee/tea tray that slide into drawers so they are only seen when in use (perfect for when you have guests come to your hotel room?)

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Hotel Bars / New Orleans Hotels / Hotels with Revolving Restaurants / Hotel Design / → All Tags

Why Hotel Monteleone’s Revolving Carousel Bar Makes Us Sing

Where: 214 Royal St. [map], New Orleans, LA, United States, 70130

Hotel Monteleone's Carousel Bar in one of it early incarnations, circa 1970

We’ve never denied our love for revolving restaurants, even in the face of risky business. But our love for revolving restos really extends to all things revolutionary at hotels, including bars (is there a better way to see all the liquor?). And our latest fixation took us to New Orleans where the Hotel Monteleone’s historic Carousel Bar and Lounge is now fresh as ever.

Earlier this year, the 63-year old Carousel Bar completed a huge renovation that basically blew out the dark and drab, and replaced it with fresh colors and updates, including a new pewter bar under a more brightly lit carousel top. It still rotates at a snails pace, but what are you gonna do? When drinking is involved, that seems just about the right speed.

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Hot Hotelier News / Ian Schrager / Hotel Trends / Hotel Design / Hotel Bellmen / → All Tags

What Ian Schrager Expects From Hotels of the Future (Or At Least Next Year)

Conde Nast Traveler interviewed hotelier Ian Schrager about the three biggest trends he expects to see from hotels in 2013. Sorry, all you good-looking bellmen currently employed by too-cool boutique hotels--you might be out of the job.

Schrager says that hotels will start stripping down and getting rid of "flourishes" like elaborate room service menus, fine china and even bellman.

If you’ve gotten your bag through the airport, you can likely get it up to your room without six guys—and the need to tip each one.

Whoa. Has Schrager been reading our hotel diary? (Apparently so.) Schrager also says functionality is in, while fancy schmancy is out.

Marble fixtures don’t equal luxury anymore. What’s luxurious is at least three square feet on which you can spread out your toiletries.

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Hotel Renovations / For The Sake Of Hotel Art / Hotel Photography / Hotel Parties / Gansevoort Hotels / Hotel News / Hotel Design / Design Thursdays / → All Tags

Something Sure Looks Familiar About The Gansevoort's New Artwork...

Where: 18 Ninth Avenue [map], New York, NY, United States, 10014

This photograph was shot two feet from where it sits now on the wall in Suite 1108

Another month, another NYC hotel unveiling a full-property renovation. This time, we were checking out the new look of The Gansevoort, its re-designed penthouse, and, more importantly, some cool new artwork in the rooms.

Photographer Deborah Anderson (if you haven't heard of her, you've certainly heard of her clients—George Clooney, Pink, Elton John, to name a few) was given the task of creating new artwork for the hotel, and she took her job title of "artist-in-residence" quite literally.

Over the course of two days in October, Anderson set up a photo shoot in two eleventh-floor suites, subtly weaving in elements from those rooms into the photographs themselves. As a result, certain pieces of furniture (curtains, couches, and—yes—toilets) have now been immortalized in the glamorous images guests find as they wander through the hotel.

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HotelChatter Reviews / Hotel Video Tours / Photo Galleries / Manhattan Hotels / Boutique Hotels / Hotel Design / Design Thursdays / Hotel Openings / Hotel News / → All Tags

What It's Like To Get Your NoMad On

Where: 1170 Broadway [map], New York, NY, United States, 10001

We've been curious about The NoMad Hotel for, oh, about three years now. And since it's opened, we've already taken a look inside the dreamy Library cocktail lounge. Now, we're here to talk rooms.

We checked in over the weekend, taking advantage of the NoMad's introductory rate of $295 for a Classic Room. (We made the reservation about a month ago.) But did the hotel live up to our admittedly high expectations? Was it as pretty in real life as it appears in photos on the NoMad website?

Take a look at our video tour and photo gallery to find out...

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Hotel Contests / Tablet Hotels / Hotel Design / Rethink Hotels / → All Tags

Design a Radically Social Manhattan Hotel and Make Bank With Tablet’s Rethink Hotels Contest

Ever dream of designing your own hotel or wish someone was really listening to your brilliant ideas on how to improve hotel social spaces? Now’s your chance to be heard, win some mullah and even see your idea come to life with Tablet's Rethink Hotels contest.

Hellbent on serving up fewer choices via curated lists of cherry-picked hotels, Tablet has partnered with Jovoto, a task-based, global platform for mass creative collaboration, to toss this challenge to the public and conquer a new mission: putting the hospitality back in the hotel.

Here’s the word, straight from the Tablet contest briefing

"What we are proposing is an architectural challenge, but also an experiment in human psychology. Many a hotelier has gone broke chasing an elusive crowd, and many a “hip hotel” has alienated its following with lazy (or greedy) gimmicks. A rigorously enforced guest list can create a buzz for a while, but it always fades when interesting people find themselves on the outside looking in. In today’s hotel business, the word “exclusive” is bandied about as a posh way of saying “really nice.” Nobody ever stops to ask who’s being excluded, and why. It’s all rather unbecoming, for an industry which purports to be about hospitality."

We read the entire project briefing and the gist of the challenge is this: create a revolutionary hotel that connects travelers and locals. Basically, you need to radically inspire both groups to come together in a hotel in ways they haven’t before. If you’ve got a vision for hotel spaces that are wildly, socially inclusive and interactive, this could be your racket. Participants are also required to limit the hotel concept to downtown New York City, south of 23rd St.

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Hotel Key Cards / Miami Hotel Mambo / Hotel Design / → All Tags

The Angler's Boutique Resort Wants Guests To Take Home Their Room Keys

Where: 660 Washington Ave [map], Miami Beach, FL, United States, 33139

Oh, look: hotels who not only read our post but play right into our very own hotel design plans! After we posted about incorporating Hotel Key Cards into home decor, we learned that The Anglers Boutique Resort is encouraging guests to take their room keys home with them--and has redesigned said keys for this very reason.

As the staff at the South Beach property know, lots of Miami guests love to take home trinkets representing the beach's Art Deco past, so they turned to their own history when redoing their room keys.

The main building of Angler's was designed by architect Henry Maloney, who designed a number of small hotels in Miami Beach in the 1930s--most in the Mediterranean Revival style (and pretty much now all converted into apartment buildings).

Now, when you stay at the Angler's, you can skip the overpriced souvenir shops along Washington Ave, spend more time in the hotel's lovely little pool or at the cute, vintage bar, and just toss your room key in your bag when you leave to remember you stay.

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