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Now There's WiFi In Every Room at Mandarin Oriental NY (But You Still Gotta Pay)

Where: 80 COLUMBUS CIRCLE , New York, NY, 10023

Take a quick look at our Annual WiFi Report: Best of 2011, and you know which hotel you won't see on there? Mandarin Oriental New York. That's because, until now, the hotel hasn't really done anything to wow us, even though more and more hotels are gradually making the switch to better, faster, free-er internet.

Well, they still have some work to do on the "free" part (guests must pay a $15/day WiFi fee), but due to "a dramatic shift" in the number of customers using wireless internet, MONY has graciously implemented Ruckus WiFi wall switches in all the guest rooms. So wherever you sit, you'll always manage to find a decent connection because the router is now right there in your room. Plus, the hotel has installed more efficient access points in meeting and conference areas—though, really, who goes to Mandarin Oriental to do work?

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Don't Go Alone To the Tea of Togetherness At Mandarin Oriental New York

Where: 80 COLUMBUS CIRCLE [map], New York, NY, United States, 10023

Chinese New Year rolls around on Monday, and the Mandarin Oriental is feelin' festive. The hotel's annual Tea of Togetherness is all about good fortune, well-being, and—of course—togetherness, but as major dim sum fans ourselves, we're just stoked to get our snack on.

Everyday starting at 2:30pm, dumplings, rolls, cakes, and scones will all pop up in the hotel's 35th floor Lobby Lounge, where a more traditional Afternoon Tea is normally served during the rest of the year. But instead of Devon clotted cream and marmalade, over the next two weeks you'll find things like Jade Vegetable Dumplings, Pork and Watercress Wontons, Shrimp and Mango Rolls, Dragon Duck Wrap, Chinese tea cakes, and ginger scones.

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More Naked, Drugged-Up Guests At Mandarin Oriental Boston

Where: 776 BOYLSTON STREET [map], BOSTON, MA, United States, 02199

Exposing yourself in your own room is sooo lame. Lobbies are where it's at now.

We're beginning to wonder: are hotel guests getting so bored cooped up in their rooms that they feel the need to take their private, behind-closed-doors activities into more public spaces like hallways and lobbies? Because it seems like that's the way things are going.

Just last week, we lost one pro skater to the netherworld of drug-induced hotel streaking. And we certainly can't forget November's Spice King incident at the Four Seasons New York. Now, Boston gets a taste of the nudie action. Specifically, at the Mandarin Oriental Boston, where one half-clothed guest reportedly assaulted an employee, then head-butted a police officer and told him outright he was high on "cocaine, and plenty of it."

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Hotels in Asia Do Traditional Christmas with a Twist

Christmas merriment isn't reserved for countries in the global west, though Europe and North America certainly have cornered the market on gingerbread houses and chintzy decorations.

In far reaches of the world, hotels cater to a clientele of locals, expats, and tourists alike who enjoy their fair heaping of tinsel and egg nog. Today we're focusing on three Asian hotels spreading yule tide joy in spades, some sticking to tradition, some contributing their unique cultural touch to the holiday.

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Mandarin Oriental Paris Unveils Its Newest Suite Offerings

Where: 247-251 rue Saint Honoré [map], Paris, United States, 75008

Just when we thought the new Mandarin Oriental Paris with its pretty rooms and its own cake shop in the lobby, couldn't get any suiter, the luxury hotel has just opened up 39 new suites, including seven duplex suites located on the seventh and eighth floors of the hotel. The top floor suites, combined with the Royale Oriental Suite can even be adjoined to create the largest hotel suite in Paris at 10,764-sq.ft.

With so many suite options, it might be hard to decide on which one is best. Ok, who are we kidding? Probably any suite here will be amazing but if you are really particular the Broderies de Cristal suite offers a Parisian-apartment-like layout with views of the Opera and Montmartre.

On the top floor are the individual Atelier suites which each have a distinctive design and windows that open onto the rooftops of Paris. But without a doubt, the best room in the house is the Royal Mandarin Suite (above) which at 3,767-sq.ft. is split over two floors and has views of Montmartre, the Garnier Opera, the Grand Palais, the Louvre and the Madeleine.

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It's the Little Things at Mandarin Oriental San Francisco

Where: 222 Sansome St. [map], San Francisco, CA, United States, 94104

Usually we’re all about the latest technology and perks like free WiFi, but sometimes the little things a hotel does is the fastest way to our hearts, and it was the old school touches at the Mandarin Oriental San Francisco that made one recent stay memorable.

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Hotel Gift Cards Are So Last Decade, This Year it's All About the eCard

We know, we know. It's not even Halloween yet so you don't want to hear about holiday gift ideas until at least mid-November but we can't help ourselves. We're in a holiday mood! Probably because Mandarin Oriental Hotels have just announced their eGift Cards.

It was only last year that MO even began offering a hotel gift card but this year they're going the extra mile with the eGift Cards, "perfect for last minute shoppers" i.e. us. The cards can hold from $50 to $5,000, in any denomination, and can be sent via email "anywhere around the world." (Yes, Virginia, that is how email works.)

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Hello, Captain Obvious: London Home to 14 of The U.K.'s Top Business Hotels

We've seen many a posh businessman quaffing whisky cocktails at the Mandarin Oriental London

File this under "Painfully Obvious": per results from the annual Condé Nast Traveller Readers' Travel Awards, London was voted the U.K.'s favorite city, with 14 of the top 15 U.K. business hotels located in London. Right. Because we expected Wolverhampton to give the nation's capital a run for its money in both categories.

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Beach Volleyball & Luaus: Summer Rolls On at Miami Hotels

Fall? Phooey! Eighty-five degree days are still the norm in Miami, and summer-centric activities continue at the beach's and city's hotels.

Our picks for hotel-based fun this weekend include a luau complete with a pig roast and hula girls and a beach volleyball tourney in a classy city-waterfront location.

Festivities begin on Saturday night, when Sunny Isle hotel Solé On The Ocean kicks off its luau at 5 p.m. Officially, it's a summer send-off party, but forget cozy beach sweaters and bonfires. This bash is all about throwing back Mai Tais, getting lei-ed (huh), paddle boarding, doing the limbo and watching fire dancers and hula dancers. Miami goes Gidget!

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Azul Rules: Three Things We Loved About Mandarin Oriental Miami's Resto

Where: 500 Brickell Key Drive [map], Miami, FL, United States, 33131

With Miami Spice (a two-month long 'Restaurant Week') on the horizon in Miami, we have food on the brain. To prepare for the food-fest, we've been scoping out some of the city's best hotel restaurants to bring you the inside word on where to book your Spice tables. Today: Azul at the Mandarin Oriental Miami.

One of Miami's poshest, the restaurant opened in 2000 but has a breath of fresh air in the form of Chef Joel Huff, who joins the hotel after stints at Mandarins in San Francisco and New York, and at the Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara.

Despite serving up seriously high-class dishes like Eggs & Caviar and Sake Marinated Black Cod, Chef Huff is totally down to earth, and happy to talk to guests about his recent move to Miami and his love for surfing. OK, so we were at Azul for a media event, but the restaurant has an open kitchen so you'll always be able to spot him and, really, the guy loves to chat. Trust us, this is one time you won't have to worry about awkward small talk when the chef does his rounds of tables towards the end of the night.

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We'd Like to Do Midnight In The Mandarin Oriental Paris

Where: 251 rue Saint-Honore, Paris, France, 75008

Woody Allen's newest movie "Midnight in Paris" has got us thinking about where we'd spend midnight, night after night, in the City of Light and we think we know where.

True to its word the Mandarin Oriental Paris opened on June 28 and now we've got some room shots that you can't find on their website.

Here are some snaps from different numbered rooms in the hotel--320, 406, 510 and 706. We did some cross-referencing with the hotel's room descriptions and we are pretty positive that room 320 is actually a deluxe room which has a small balcony while room 406 is a superior room overlooking Rue St. Honore.

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Cara Triste: Mandarin Oriental Riviera Maya Closes Its Doors

Where: Playa Del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, 77710

On the heels of the news that the Mandarin Oriental Marrakech ain't happening, we learn that the Mandarin Oriental Riviera Maya closed its doors on June 6, maybe for a little while or maybe forever.

Commenter LuxeSF tells us the property has closed with reports saying the hotel was suffering from a pithy 20 percent average occupancy rate. When it reopens, LuxeSF says, a new company will be managing the property.

Yet when we head over to the MO Riviera Maya website, the official statement is a little different:

Mandarin Oriental Riviera Maya is currently closed in order to complete necessary improvements to its facilities. Our re-opening date will be announced in due course.

Yeah, that still doesn't sound good. Guess you will just have to head over to The Tides for your Riviera Maya getaway.