32819 Travel Guide
Thanksgiving Hotels
Thanksgiving in Your Hotel Room is Not as Depressing as it Sounds
November 13, 2008 at 11:51 AM | 0 Comments
The image of someone eating Thanksgiving dinner alone in a hotel room sounds like something straight out of a movie montage before the resolution, or maybe something off of a site like Sad Guys on Trading Floors. But! Not so depressing when someone is eating Thanksgiving not alone in a hotel room — and not slaving over a hot stove because someone else cooked the food is not so depressing at all, either.
Sometimes you (and your fam) just can't get home for the holidays. Accordingly, the brand new Westin Imagine Orlando is offering an in-room Thanksgiving dinner package for you and your people.
Sweet Suites
Sweet Suite: The Dr. Seuss Suites at Loews Portofino in Orlando
June 30, 2008 at 2:51 PM | 3 Comments
It's hard to believe that Orlando-area hotels have gotten even more kid-friendly, but it's true.
The Loews Portofino in Orlando has just unveiled its Dr. Seuss kids' suites. The two-bedroom suites have a king bedroom for Mom and Pop and a kids' room with two twin beds and Dr. Seuss decor.
Upon entering the suite, colors and patterns are everywhere, from the vibran blue carpet that is sprinkled with a pattern of lighter blue dots to the beds, which appear to be a part of "Who-ville" with Seussian forms inspired from Horton Hears a Who Book. Buildings teeter, trees drop and machines work in impossible way.
Fortunately for parents, their bedroom is normal and free of any Dr. Seuss interior design scheme. The Loews group in Orlando has several other kids suites available. There are Jurassic Park-themed suites at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort and musical kids' suites will debut later this year at the Hard Rock Hotel.
Starting rates for kids' suites at the Loews Portofino is around $500 a night.
Hotel News
The Pool at the Hard Rock Orlando is 'Just Right' For One Black Bear
May 28, 2008 at 4:11 PM | 2 Comments
Man, it must be hot in Orlando. According to police reports a black bear was spotted taking a swim in the pool of the Hard Rock Hotel early this morning.
The hotel was not evacuated and no one is in danger as this breed is particularly shy but the search for the bear is on at nearby Universal Studios.
Still can you blame the bear for wanting to take a dip? The Hard Rock has a 12,000-sq.ft. sand beach pool area with an underwater stereo system, a 260-foot water slide, and themed cabanas like "The Yellow Submarine" or Stevie Wonder's "Musiquarium" which have ceiling fans, plasma TVs, wireless internet, and dedicated server to bring you drinks.
Or perhaps the bear was just trying to reserve some chairs for the family. We know how heated these pool chair wars can get.
[Photo of Hard Rock pool: Daryl Fritz]
Hotel Hell
HoJo Honeymoon Hotel Hell
November 8, 2006 at 1:28 PM | 0 Comments
Imagine starting the rest of your life together with your new spouse in a puke-riddled HoJo? Not quite what you had in mind, eh? But it did happen to these newlyweds:
Ever heard of the "Terror Hotel" at Disney World Epcot? Well, Amy and I enjoyed that attraction, but we didn't expect to be shacked-up in the freaking thing for four nights.
We stayed at Howard Johnson also known as HoJo's". Note to self, don't ever put your comfort in the hands of a place that goes by the name of HoJo. The Hotel was nothing more than one tragedy after another, in a vicious cycle of hellish disturbances.
The annoying onslaught began with a sweet newly-wed couple misplaced in the wrong room. Yeah, us newly weds wanted a single bed (kingsize) to spend our four days. Instead, we're given two beds - thanks Hojo. Not only that, but Amy picked up on a nasty scent that has been living in our room for the last few nights - somebody's sweet-nasty stomach-bubbles...in other words, somebody threw up in this room and left the odor of their lunch for my wife and I to enjoy.
...I thought I'd check out the wireless internet that Hojo.com promised us. Crap...no "little or no connectivity", which functionally means "Sorry dude, you ain't got NO internet!"
This hotel hell experience continued to include a broken phone, the breaking of a next door window, and the discovery of a brown colored streak on the wall. While we are appalled that this hotel room had such horrible conditions, it's a HoJo in Orlando. That's not quite the honeymoon hotel fave, the Four Seasons Maui.
Related Stories:
· HoJo Hosts Hotel Hell [The Blog of Jonathan Sampson]
· Howard Johnson Orlando Reviews [TripAdvisor]
Hotel Deals
The Engagements for Dummies Package
January 31, 2006 at 3:45 PM | 0 Comments
If you aren't engaged yet, and are feeling the pressure to be by February 15th, this is the time to start really worrying.
Luckily for you, Orlando's Peabody Hotel has a package in mind for the "slow when it comes to affairs of the heart guys". Their "Will You Be Forever Mine Package" includes:
a round-trip limo from Orlando airport to the hotel, overnight stay in a two-bedroom suite, wine and cheese, dinner for two at the Dux restaurant that includes two bottles of wine and a five-course meal, a candlelit poolside cabana with flowers, a violinist and a bottle of Cristal and a diamond ring set in a presentation box of white chocolate with marzipan rose petals and spun sugar.
Yes, they will throw in either a $5,000, $15,000 or $30,000 ring. Total package cost, not including ring damage? $7,950.
The look on your fiancee's face when you tell her that its all over at midnight and that in the morning you go back to being friends? Priceless.
Related Stories:
·Peabody Hotel Valentine's Engagement Package [Luxist]
·Peabody Orlando Reviews [TripAdvisor]
·Orlando's Other Ticket [HotelChatter]
Tips
Orlando's Other Ticket
October 26, 2005 at 9:47 AM | 0 Comments
[Editor's Note: Hotel Maven Glenn Kaufmann submitted a feel good story about a hotel in Orlando that had nothing to do with theme parks. You know us, we aren't much for feel good stories, but we figured, what the hell, not everyone goes to Central Florida for the plush mouse.]
With their signature team of ducks performing in the lobby fountains, the Peabody Hotels have a long history in the performing arts. But it is the Orlando Peabody Hotel that has taken the chain's commitment to excellence and extended it to support for the local arts community.
Hotel Heaven
Hard Rock Orlando: Rock Star Hotel
February 8, 2005 at 4:01 PM | 0 Comments
The Orlando hotel scene is known for one thing, family fun, however, once in a while young couples, or couples that want to leave their kids with a baby sitter for a bit, find themselves in Orlando trying to find somewhere to go that isn't all about character breakfasts and family fun. We found a spot in Orlando where young adults can enjoy themselves, which seemed cool to us. The Hard Rock Orlando is a slick hotel, attached to Universal Studios Orlando, that caters to both the in crowd, and the in law crowd--somehow the property pulls it off. Furthermore, you can get yourself a fast pass at the hotel, so you won't have to wait in long ride lines...that is if you are a theme park kinda crew.
Not into the theme park game? That's ok, the Hard Rock pool scene comes complete with cabanas, beautiful people, and outdoor ping pong, and the hotel interior sticks to its rock and roll roots, by combining fine dining with hard drinking. You should have plenty to keep you busy, even if you never set foot inside Universal Studios.
The Palms restaurant, a world class steak house, inhabits the Hard Rock, as does Velvet Bar, and to top it off the Hard Rock is spitting distance from Universal City Walk, which has taken over Disney's Pleasure Island as the place to be after dark in Orlando. Out of all the Hard Rock's we have ventured inside, this one is the the most like its big brother in Vegas.
Photos And More Hard Rock After The Jump...
