Brace Yourself: Hotel Rooms Are Even Dirtier Than Airplanes

Brace Yourself: Hotel Rooms Are Even Dirtier Than Airplanes

Hürriyet Yaşayanlar   13:42

Alamy

We've all been there: entering a hotel room for the first time and seeing the sparkling, shiny surfaces as reassurance that things are clean and purged of all remnants of any previous guests. Looks, however, can be deceiving—and new science from travel logistics website TravelMath confirms it.

The World's Quietest Hotel Is...

The World's Quietest Hotel Is...

Hürriyet Yaşayanlar   13:40

The Hotel Regina looks regal, and you'll get a queenly night's sleep.

Hotels get rated all the time on affordability, cleanliness, or walking distance to local attractions. But for the first time ever, a new Dutch-based organization called Quiet Hotel Room has given out accolades for, you guessed it, the world's quietest hotel rooms—call it the Global Sleep Index.

Path clear for Oregon Convention Center

Path clear for Oregon Convention Center

Hürriyet Yaşayanlar   13:37

After years of court battles, the path toward Metro's 600-room Hyatt Regency hotel near the Oregon Convention Center appears to be clear. The regional government and its opponents announced a settlement Friday.

The Oregon Supreme Court had been set to hear a legal challenge March 7 from a coalition of hotel owners led by financier Gordon Sondland's Provenance Hotels. The opponents of the $212 million convention center hotel project sought to refer to voters Multnomah County's decision to reallocate lodging taxes toward $60 million in revenue bonds that would help pay for the Hyatt Regency.

The challenge had been previously rejected by the Oregon Court of Appeals and the Multnomah County Circuit Court, which agreed with the county that the decision was administrative and not legislative and therefore not eligible for the ballot. The courts ruled opponents can't challenge the county's ability to decide how to use a tax it already collects.

Now, the opponents have agreed to "settle all of the current lawsuits" and "avoid future legal challenges," according to a joint statement issued Friday by Metro and Provenance affiliate Aspen Lodging Group. In return, Metro will transfer ownership of a parking lot near the Oregon Convention Center to Aspen.

Provenance could then build another hotel – or apartments, office space or structured parking – on the parking lot site. But the hotel company would wait until the Metro-backed hotel opens in 2018 and assess how successful it is before making a development decision, said Jim McDermott, an attorney representing Aspen Lodging Group.

After transferring ownership of the parking lot to Aspen, Metro would have the option to lease it back for one year at a cost of $100,000, McDermott said.

An Aspen appraisal of the parking lot, which lies just south of the convention center, estimated its value at $1.94 million. The appraisal assumed development on the 30,000-square-foot portion of the site that is currently used for parking. There is an additional 43,000 square feet on the site that slopes downward toward nearby train tracks.

A previous Metro appraisal estimated the lot's value in the neighborhood of $10 million, but it assumed a far more difficult development project: an office building on the entire 73,000-square-foot parcel.

An estimate of how much annual revenue Metro collects from the parking lot was not immediately available.

"The convention center hotel project is critical to creating jobs in our region and supporting the state's tourism economy," said Metro Council President Tom Hughes in the statement. "I respect that the coalition and Metro had different views on the mission and funding mechanisms of this public/private project. Gordon Sondland and the other members of the coalition are pillars of the Portland community and I value their insight and opinions.

"We talked long and hard, looked each other in the eye and agreed that, if we settle, opposition to the convention center hotel is over and we can get back to the business of growing the Portland economy."

Sondland added in the statement that the convention center hotel will be "a boon to the community" if it performs as Metro has predicted.

"Should construction of a headquarters hotel create the convention demand that Metro anticipates, this settlement could even pave the way for future hotel development to accommodate even larger events at the convention center," Sondland said.

The hotel will also be subsidized by $10 million in lottery funds, $4 million in Metro reserves and a $4 million loan from the Portland Development Commission. It is slated to break ground directly north of the convention center late this year.

At Lille Hotel, Meeting the Countess’s Standards

Hotel

At Lille Hotel, Meeting the Countess’s Standards

Hürriyet Yaşayanlar   13:34

Rooms at the Clarence have a sophisticated palette. CreditDavid Grimbert


Lille prides itself on its heritage, but few hotels have been able to encapsulate the richness of the city’s history while offering modern comforts. This independent boutique hotel, opened last April, successfully does both, honoring its past by preserving original design features like parquet flooring, chimneys and period mirrors, and lending contemporary touches through wall murals and furnishings. Housed in a former hôtel particulier, or private mansion, erected in 1736 by the Count and Countess of Hespel, the 19-room property benefits from its own expansive garden, a fine-dining restaurant and common spaces featuring contemporary works by French and international artists.
Location

In the heart of the Vieux Lille, the city’s charming Old Town, and within a 10-minute walk to Méert, the patisserie, chocolate shop and tea salon that opened in 1761 (known for its delectable waffles), and landmarks like the Grand Place and the Opéra de Lille. La Piscine, an art and industry museum, is 20 minutes away in Roubaix, requiring a car or a ride on the local train.

The Clarance, in a former mansion.CreditDavid Grimbert
The Room

A poem by Baudelaire acts as the welcome message on a plaque outside each of the 19 rooms and suites, all appointed differently. I stayed in the Prestige room, one notch above the basic unit, overlooking the garden. Design flourishes like jeweled light fixtures, Art Deco wall prints and long drapery were set amid a sophisticated palette of creams, taupes and grays. Large windows opened to the sound of chirping birds and the hourly ring of church bells at St. Catherine’s, just behind the garden. My room’s cozy reading banquette was the perfect spot to take in the view and relax.
The Bathroom

The midsize bathroom fit two people comfortably. However, as add-ons to the original structure, the modern bathrooms lack the historical cachet of the rest of the hotel. Mine featured an off-white pedestal sink with a spacious pullout drawer, energizing ginseng bath products by Clarins, a Bluetooth-equipped mirror that allows guests to play their own music (the only mirror in my room), and a walk-in rain shower that was only partially enclosed. While sleek in design, it did little to prevent water from spraying outside the shower stall.

The fine-dining restaurant features contemporary works by French and international artists

.Credit David Grimbert

Amenities

There’s a complimentary mini bar, Bluetooth speaker system, coffee machine and high-powered Wi-Fi. Public spaces are comfortable and welcoming. Bicycles are free, supplied by Le Grand Huit, a local bike tour and outdoor excursions company. It also offers city bike tours that can be reserved through the hotel concierge ($20 per person; four riders minimum).
Dining

The hotel’s modern French restaurant, La Table, is presided over by a Michelin-star-honored chef, Nicolas Pourcheresse, and is a popular destination among well-heeled locals. The food skews seasonal and hearty, incorporating herbs foraged from the garden. Room service is a slightly edited version of the restaurant menu and available à la carte around the clock. I ordered the continental breakfast ($32), which was delivered on time; generous portions were a pleasant surprise.
Bottom Line

With its tranquil garden and sophisticated revival of 18th-century charms, the Clarance is a chic home base for exploring one of France’s most scenic northern towns.