Ah, those fine folks at Kimpton simply won't stop the animal-lovin': not only do they welcome kitties of all kinds with open arms, but now we've found out that they open their doors to even the craziest of fame-seeking cat ladies too!
According to the Dallas Morning News, Meow Mix has a game show in the works that challenges cat owners to "think like a cat" (yeah, ok). The traveling auditions are stopping at a Kimpton property Dallas:
Interviews are scheduled for July 5-6 at the Hotel Palomar (details here); you have to bring your cat. Finalists will be flown to L.A. to appear on TV.
That kitty right there can be a star -- and so can you, Crazy Cat Lady. God bless America.
Congrats to Aloft on their French-Canadian firstborn! We're excited for you and all, but you can bet we'll still be keeping a close eye on all the other little buns in Starwood's oven.
So today, we snuck a peek at the Aloft in Plano, TX, slated to open on October 1st. Things seem to be coming along nicely, which is a lovely surprise since we've come to expect delays on every hotel development project ever -- so really, anything more than a hole in the ground would have pleased us. Hey, can you blame us?
While the hotel-to-be's superclose proximity to the monstrous, ugly white Plano water tower may not make for the most gorgeous views, we understand there's not much going on in the way of killer views in Plano, Texas anyway.
We were among the first to bring you a review of the flagship NYLO brand property in Plano, Texas this winter, and now that the hotel has been up and running for almost 6 months, we checked in with our friends at TripAdvisor to see how the property's been doing.
And things are lookin' pretty good! Aside from the same sorts of structural headscratchers we mentioned a few months ago--bathroom doors that leave little to the imagination, for instance-- recent guests have tons of good things to say.
After an interview with NYLO's GM Patrick O'Neil and a room review from Hotel Maven Stranger on a Train, we decided we still couldn't get enough of NYLO Plano, the newest boutique biz travel hotel that opened last month in Texas. So we sent our favorite girl Jenna, who just so happens to be a Plano native, down there to check it out for us. Enjoy.
From a distance, Plano's NYLO property looks right at home among the low-rise office buildings and cute retail plazas splashed across North Dallas' sparkling-new Shops at Legacy area. And it wasn't until we drove up to the property that we saw the funky, urban-chic brick-and-glass exterior--which, by the way, looks even cooler all lit up at night.
Admittedly, we had to drive a lap around the parking lot before we figured out that the bright red door was the front entrance, but we were more than willing to forgive when we were greeted by a cheerful front-desker who seemed totally on top of her game (especially considering she couldn't have had more than like two weeks of experience under her belt).
Hotelier. The word is so romantic, so eccentric, so...French. However, run-of-the-mill real world hoteliers don't always live up to the etymology.
Always looking to bring you the most pertinent information on the worldwide hotel scene, we figured when we found hoteliers that were worthy of the French pronunciation of the word, we would let them speak to you directly. Besides, before you dropped a bunch of cash to stay at someone's house, wouldn't you want to get to know the owner a bit? Exactly. We, always oh so full of ourselves, are calling this series Hoteliers That Matter and we are sitting down with these hoteliers and letting them tell you, straight from their mouths to web ears, what you need to know about their hotels.
Former intern Jenna skipped on down to her hometown of Plano, Texas over Christmas break to spend a night at the newly opened NYLO Plano Hotel. While there she was able to check-out the entire property from top to bottom. We'll have her full review tomorrow, complete with hotel judging skills acquired from nearly four years in attendance at the Cornell Hotel School.
But we're even more excited to show you this clip of Patrick O'Neil, the general manager of the hotel as well as the Senior VP of operations for NYLO Hotels. O'Neil spoke with us on NYLO eve, just before the Plano hotel opened and you can read what he had to say then here. To see him talk live and in living color, watch the video above.
Big thanks to Jenna for getting the vid and bigger thanks to Patrick for overcoming some nervousness to pitch NYLO Hotels to HotelChatter.
2007 did not see as many hotel openings as we would have thought, especially in New York City, where most of the expected '07 hotels have been put on hold 'til next year. But one hotel did open on time and seamlessly so, The NYLO Hotel in Plano, Texas.
This hotel is the first of many planned NYLO hotels which will open in similar secondary and tertiary markets like Plano throughout the country. Started by a bunch of former Starwood Hotels execs, NYLO (short for New York Lofts) aims to provide both business and leisure travelers with "high design" at affordable prices.
We spoke with the General Manager of NYLO Plano, Patrick O'Neil who also does double-duty as the Senior VP of operations for the NYLO chain on the eve of the hotel opening and asked him what made NYLO different from the rest. He said:
In the markets that we are competing in, we are going to be able to offer our guests something totally different. Some examples...we run on 50 percent windpower, the only hotel in the area to do so. We also offer 32-inch HDTVs in every room, no other hotel around here does that. And we don't charge for the little things. We have free wireless, the bottled water in the rooms is free and parking is free.
Meanwhile, Starwood's similar competing brands aloft and element hotels have yet to open despite a barrage of press releases announcing expected locations around the world.
Looks like Santa Claus dropped us a present under the HotelChatter review tree....
Last week, NYLO Plano opened and we called out for readers to send in their review and lo and behold, Stranger on a Train heeded our call.
I had to work at my corporate office this weekend so I decided to try the new NYLO Friday since it was just down the street. I booked a Pure Glass Loft King and got the discounted soft opening price.
You can read the full review here but we have taken out the crucial review points for you after the jump.
Artwork from local artist Nicole Morrow decks the halls at NYLO Plano.
We've been waiting for this day for a long time but we bet the folks at NYLO Hotels have been waiting even longer. Whatever the wait, the NYLO Hotel in Plano, Texas is open for business.
If you happen to be anywhere near Plano or Dallas for that matter, and want to check-out the NYLO Hotel, a NYLO suite is going for $159 tonight as part of a special 65-day offer. We say book a Glass Loft King for $129 which includes breakfast plus the room has an entire wall of glass to look out onto Plano. And NYLO has free services like WiFi and parking so it's even more of a deal.
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by Jenna
2007 did not see as many hotel openings as we would have thought, especially in 
