It could be any standard hotel room in the quaint northeastern Dutch city of Zwolle, with a bed, a minibar, bathrobes and two pairs of slippers.
Except for the room temperature, which hovers just above freezing. Welcome to the first Dutch ice hotel, all the comforts at eight degrees Celsius (46 °F).
“If you take a shower before bed, make sure your hair is dry or it will freeze. Do not drink too much alcohol, or eat too heavy a meal. Make sure you change clothes before entering the room,” hotel manager Annet van Limburg told first-time visitors.
New York may be officially the most popular place in the US to spend New Year, but travelers will still be paying through the nose for the privilege.
Staying in the Big Apple in 2012 will cost revelers up to 700 percent more than normal, price comparison site NewYorkHotels.org said this week.
On average, the 50 properties that have room availability are charging more than triple their regular rates, the website calculated.
A London hotel has become the latest to roll out a suite of amenities for women, despite a ruling that declared a similar scheme in Copenhagen as illegal under discrimination laws.
The Dukes Hotel in London will assign some of its rooms ‘Duchess Rooms’, loading them with treats to tempt single female travelers or groups of women.
The Duchess rooms will be looked after by exclusively female room attendants, contain extra items such as a makeup mirror, hair dryer and styling accessories, and offer a selection of glossy magazines.
Philippine casino operator Alliance Global plans to build another 6,500 hotel rooms over the next five years as it ramps up investment in the country’s tourism sector.
The plan includes the launch by year-end of its 2,500-room Resorts World Bayshore project on Manila’s seafront, its chairman Andrew Tan said in a statement.
It also includes a previously launched $345-million project to build a 2,500-hotel room tourism estate called Boracay Newcoast on the central resort island of Boracay.
The new Banyan Tree Macau has opened within the US$2 billion Galaxy Macau resort complex, providing a luxurious retreat for gamers.
The all-suite resort offers such extras as a relaxation pool in every room and the brand’s signature villas situated beside the resort’s unique rooftop wave pool.
As more and more tourists head to China, major tourism operators are looking for new and improved methods to grab their share of the market.
InterContinental-owned Crowne Plaza has unveiled a room designed to help the long-suffering partners of snoring sleepers get a good night’s sleep.
The chain said that a “snore absorption room” is being rolled out at nine of its global properties on a trial basis to see if it can help couples snooze in more comfort.
Based on “proven technology,” the room has been given a set of extra features Crowne Plaza believes could help reduce snoring, tackling both the snorer and the person being kept awake.
