Search Results for: blog hypoallergenic hotel rooms

Economy Hotels Getting Upgrades

Personally, as long as a hotel is not infested with roaches or bed bugs and is clean then I don’t have a problem staying in it. And with the recent news that bed bugs have been found in even the most luxurious 5-star properties it kind of makes you wonder what you’re doling out the extra cash for these days. If your risk for getting bit by bugs is the same in a room that cost $500 per night versus one that costs $50 per night, sign me up for the latter. And speaking of $50 hotel rooms, budget properties … Continue reading →

Celebrity Owned Hotels

I write a lot about actors, actresses, and musicians in the POP CULTURE blog and one of the trends I have been recently taking note of is the huge number of celebrities who are dabbling in other ventures, including real estate. And I’m not just talking about multiple homes, but many A-list Hollywood stars are adding hotels to their real estate portfolios. For instance did you know the B-52’s Kate Pierson owns the Lazy Meadow Motel in New York’s Catskills? And Clint Eastwood is the proud owner of Mission Ranch in Carmel, California? In fact, the award-winning actor enlisted a … Continue reading →

The Search for Silent Space at a Hotel

How many times have you cursed the people in the hotel room next to yours for making too much noise while you were trying to catch some zzz’s? Is it too much to ask for a quiet hotel room these days? According to travel experts, hotel stays ruined by raucous neighbors was one of the top complaints travelers had in 2007. So what does it take to be guaranteed a little quiet time? Apparently, a bit of legwork on your part. Travel experts say if you are that serious about finding silent space you should select a hotel in a … Continue reading →

Hotel Furnishings Go High-Tech

By now I’m sure you are familiar with Westin’s signature Heavenly Bed. The pillow top-mattress bed, introduced almost a decade ago, became an instant hit and is credited with starting a revolution in hotel bedding. (You can now buy your own Heavenly Bed at Nordstrom stores.) The mega-popular bed set off a hotel furnishing war of sorts and Wyndham Hotels fired back with a “Smart Chair” aimed to do for comfortable multi-tasking what the Heavenly Bed did for sleeping. For those of you who don’t frequent Wyndham Hotels the “Smart Chair” is a high-tech furnishing that has integrated pivoting tables, … Continue reading →

Hotel Room Sticker Shock

Each year I spend a few days figuring out how much it would cost for our family to attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. I usually look at the cost of flights first, then I try to see if there are any hotel rooms available for the days we would be in the city. I typically do this in August and the results are almost always the same–“no availability.” That is unless I don’t mind shelling out $650 a night at a hotel in Midtown. I do mind, so I don’t book. The fact of the … Continue reading →

New Hotel With Real World Luxuries

Forget about the hotel suites that feature foyer floors made of amber-striated travertine marble. Never mind the million-dollar chandeliers, the $2 million glass balconies, and the cream-colored lacquered walls inlaid with thousands of pieces of mother-of-pearl. How would you like to stay at a hotel that does your dirty laundry for free, doesn’t charge you for eating from the minibar, and lets you make all the local phone calls you want without making you pay a dime for doing so? Now that’s what I call luxury. That’s exactly what you’ll get when you visit Hyatt’s new luxury boutique hotel. The … Continue reading →

No Smell Hotel

How this for a refreshing change—a hotel void of foul odors. Hampton Hotels (they own Hampton Inns and Hampton Inn & Suites) new chain-wide “Non-Scents” program is guaranteeing guests rooms void of stale cigarette smoke, the smell of headache-causing cleaning products, and the putrid aroma of perfume mixed with body odor. The introduction of the “Non-Scents” program follows a month long survey of 1,000 people who almost unanimously responded negatively to distinctively foul odors in hotel rooms. More than 75% of respondents reported that cigarette smoke is the most dreaded smell in a hotel room. What’s more, the survey found … Continue reading →

Hotels Making Life Easier on “Little People”

Fans of The Learning Channel’s “Little People, Big World” will appreciate this next travel tidbit. After all, it is the brainchild of Matt Roloff, star of the popular TLC show. Thanks to Roloff’s ingenuity hotels across the country are now offering complimentary kits to help short people cope with rooms designed for their larger counterparts. Just a few weeks ago the Carlson Hotel brand, which runs familiar properties such as Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn and Country Inns & Suites began offering short guests items including step stools, reaching tools and bars to lower the closet clothes rack at its … Continue reading →

Would You Stay In A Hotel Like This?

I’m all for staying in an affordable, clean hotel room. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it would be nice if I didn’t have to worry about the roof falling in while I slept. I’m fairly certain all four walls would remain standing with the newest trend in hotel rooms… but then again how many hotel rooms have you stayed in that came out of a box? Qbic Hotels is introducing low-cost, high design prefabricated rooms that can be plugged into any existing space in any city in the world. Which begs the question: Would you pay to stay … Continue reading →

Hotel Parking Ain’t Cheap

When I was single I didn’t think twice about booking a hotel room in downtown Chicago. I loved being within walking distance of my favorite Windy City attractions, shops and restaurants. These days, though, I have a family plus a much stricter family budget, and when it comes to vacationing in Chi-town we stay in the suburbs and take the “L” (the city’s rapid transit system) into the city. The main reason: the price of parking. The price of parking at most downtown Chicago hotels will run you (on average) about $25 per EXIT, not per day. For $45 a … Continue reading →