Thanks to Steve Harris for his visual reminder to all travellers not to leave their teddy bears in the hotel guestroom unattended.

…it really is the fastest way to ring up the mini-bar bill!!

Brighton Hotels - Bear not Included [HotelsByCity]

The upscale Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas has the “springy-est” most comfortable beds anywhere near Dallas, Texas.

Rather than proving this fact with coil thickness test results and cotton thread counts, we decided to let Lori prove it by simply showing us.

We love that at HotelBedHQ.com.

[Hotel Site]
Lori’s Bathroom [HotelThrone]
Best Rates in Dallas [HotelsByCity]

Hotel guests traveling with their four-legged friends have more selection than ever before. Brands like Westin Hotels have embraced the fact that pet owners want to travel with their pooches and are no longer relegating guests with pets to the worst room in the house.

In fact, many hotels have upped the anti even further by actually having dogs on staff. Hotels like the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver and the Fairmont Waterfront allow some employees to come to work with their canine friends, and actually allow guests to walk them. This brings a smile to many a guest’s face who might be missing their own pooch at home, and allows travelers such as women traveling alone to get out on the town when they might otherwise not be comfortable walking by themselves.

Thanks to Eric for sending in the image below of a few of his favorite “people”. Eric’s latest trip to Portland included his two former “racers” who look more than happy to slow down and live a dog’s life of relaxation. Although Westin offers a dog version of their “Heavenly Bed” - clearly these two retirees are more than happy right where they are.

Here’s a pic of the three most important “people” in my life. The furry two think we’re just “dogs that walk upright”. This was totally above board as the Westin Hotels are all dog friendly. Not that we have smuggled them into some places that aren’t!

Aurelia is our girl dog and Ducati is our boy dog. Both are retired racers, 9 yrs old and loving their retirement as they get to travel more and work not at all.

[Westin Portland]
Doggie Boutique [Westin]
Pet Loving Hotels [USAToday]

Ok so this is funny…because Star Wars was filmed at Tikal and I had Anakin Skywalker sheets on my hotel bed! Yes!

In the movie Star Wars: A New Hope, the “Massassi” temples were actually the ancient pyramids found in Tikal, Guatemala. A skeleton crew of ILM cameramen travelled to Guatemala to film the handful of scenes required.

And when you check into a nearby hotel, you might be sliding between the sheets alongside a Star Wars character or perhaps an alien being.

Movie Location Info [StarWars.com]
Guatemala City Travel Guide [HotelsByCity]

Tired Jing “Teddy” Gwai needs some rest …at the Swana Bangkok Hotel, Thailand.

This is quite a new hotel and it’s ideal for young people who want to stay close to the action in Khao San but can afford to spend a bit more… and far enough away not to get any unwanted disturbances. The hotel is relatively cheap (we paid £17 a night internet rates in April), its rooms are clean and comfortable and staff friendly speaking good english. The staff are very helpful and even helped flag down a taxi ensuring we got a meter rate…[more]

Hotel Site
Reviews [TripAdvisor]
Bangkok Travel Guide [HotelsByCity]

Westin Hotels & Resorts have proven themselves to be quite an innovative brand. Long before they were bought by Starwood Hotels, they had already engineered a number of hotel industry firsts:

• 1930 - As luck would have it, two hotel competitors found themselves having breakfast at the same diner in Yakima, Washington. They struck up a conversation, formed an alliance and Western Hotels was born.
• 1946 - The first guest credit card was issued by Western Hotels.
• 1947 - The “Hoteltype” reservations system was introduced, allowing Western to instantaneously confirm guest reservations.
• 1969 - Western Hotels was the first to offer 24-hour room service
• 1983 - Westin (changed names in 1980) was the first major hotel to implement a comprehensive credit card reservation and check-out system.
• 1991 - Westin guests were offered personal voice-mail service – a first in the hotel industry.

And…we love this one here at HoteBedHQ.com:

• 1999 - Westin proudly introduced The Heavenly Bed® and changed the industry paradigm of a superior sleep experience.

Check out some Westin guests enjoying their “Heavenly” innovation:

Westin Site
Heavenly Beds [Westin]

Here is an interesting image of Detroit musician Liz Larin - from the top of the now vacant Hotel Eddystone:

Liz Larin, Detroit’s Goddess of Rock, photographed on top of the Hotel Eddystone, during Cave Canem’s shoot. It was an AMAZING shoot, and this was the last frame of the night. Cave Canem deserves all the praise for his amazing artistic concept and allowing me to be in on the fun. Hauling this bed up 13 flights of stairs wasn’t too much fun, but luckily, we were able to hire some help.

Liz Larin [website]
Hotel Eddystone [image]

They ran out of space in the hotel we stayed in in Uyuni, so put us girls on beds in the dining room.

We don’t know too much about this image….other than it came with the tags:

Cardiff - Tattoo - Hotel - Claire - Drunk - Funny - Girl

…pretty much in that order!

Iva and Ronnie enjoy the comforts of the hotel

Thanks muchly to Urs who sent this in from Switzerland. These beads are the real thing folks, straight from New Orleans.

Mardi Gras at its best…and a hotel bed at its “beadiest”.