Ars Electronica
If you’re a technology lover like me, you’re sure to enjoy The Museum of the Future (Ars Electronica) in Linz, Austria. (Pssst, have you entered to win a trip to Austria yet?) To stay nearby, check out the following picks:
As we say prepare to ring in the New Year tonight, we take a look back at some of our most popular posts here at the Hotels Blog from 2009.
3 Most Popular Hotels Stories In 2009
Worst Hotels in the US
We showed you the bad, the worse, and the flat out disgusting. And while we coiled in horror at the tales of mice, bugs and dirty floors, we couldn’t help but laugh at some of the reviews from unfortunate guests of the “worst hotels”, including my all time personal favorite: “Once you get past the prostitutes and drug deals going on in the parking lot, the hotel itself is a run-down, falling-apart dump.”
Royal Suite, Burj Al Arab, Dubai - Most expensive suite of 2009
World’s 10 Most Expensive Hotel Suites for 2009
P. Ling proved that some things really are recession proof, like $65,000 hotel suites in Geneva. It’s hard to imagine that while the rest of the world tightened their belts and held on to their wallets in 2009, the cost of a night in a luxury hotel went up by 10%.
Disneyland
Well at least someone is still trying to save a buck. Jenny Bengen’s breakdown of affordable hotels around Southern California’s Disneyland was one of our most popular posts of the year. Of course, that implies that people are still shelling out the cash for amusement park tickets – or rather, starting to consider it again in the near future.
Honorable Mention: Weird Hotels Around The World
Technically, Colleen squeaked this post in during the closing days of 2008, but it was by far one of our most viewed and commented on posts in all of 2009. I guess the allure of sleeping in a dog-shaped hotel is timeless.
Photo credits: TripAdvisor, Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts, Dave Q
The attractions in the Austrian Alps are plentiful as they are peaceful. (Pssst, have you entered to win a trip to Austria yet?) Between the Alps themselves, Hohensalzburg Castle, St Peter’s Abbey, and Mozart’s birthplace, you’re bound to find something that peaks your interest in such a calm, serene setting. But where do you stay when not in Vienna?
One woman’s stay at the Dream Hotel in New York quickly turned from a dream into a nightmare when she found herself being assaulted in her room by a hotel employee.
Dream Hotel New York
Late Sunday night, around 3 am, the woman and her boyfriend returned to their room at the Dream Hotel. They were drunk and were having difficulty getting back to their room by themselves. One of the hotel’s employees – 27 yr old Jaime Lopez Mendoza, was called to assist them back to their room.
The next thing the woman remembers is waking up to find Mendoza on top of her, assaulting her. Her screams caused the perp to flee, but he has since been nabbed.
Another guest then found the woman screaming in the hotel’s hallway. The whereabouts and condition of the boyfriend at the time of the assault are not yet clear.
Mendoza was brought to court on Monday and charged with first-degree rape, and he’s due back in court on Dec 31.
The Dream Hotel is located on West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, within walking distance of Central Park and Times Square. The hotel offers luxury accomodations, with a lavish lobby, an ayurvedic spa, and four restaurants and lounges, including a subterranean lounge named Subconscious.
This is the second time in two months that an assault of this nature has taken place in a New York hotel. Last month, a maid at the Standard Hotel was allegedly assaulted by a guest – an Australian businessman.
Photo courtesy Preferred Hotels & Resorts
Info: 210 West 55th Street, between Broadway & 7th Avenue, New York, NY 10019; (212) 247-2000
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