0 Legoland hotel opens in U.S.

A pirate ship, bubble-blowing animated dragons and 3 million Lego bricks.

For families with young kids -- or just any one who values uniform snapability -- the new Legoland Hotel in California is irresistible.

The three-story, 250-room hotel, which opened last week at Legoland resort in California, is the only Legoland hotel in the United States. Two others are locad in England and Denmark.

Sorry, the new hotel isn't built entirely out of tiny, brightly colored bricks. But it does have some 3,400 incredible sculptures created with approximately 3 million Lego pieces.

The wall behind the check-in desk? Created entirely from Lego Minifigures. The potted plant on the counter? More Legos.

A Kingdom-themed room at the new Legoland hotel.

Each room is decorated after one of three themes -- Pirate, Adventure or Kingdom (why no Space?) -- and all have a separate children's area with a bunk bed and trundle bed, accommodating up to three children.

Additional cute feature: rooms come with a treasure hunt game, keeping you, er, your kids, busy hunting for a Lego treasure chest.

If kids at Legoland wake up early from sheer plastic fever -- or if someone punctures a foot on one of those maddening little pieces in the middle of the night -- they can access the park before it opens at 10 a.m., ahead of the public.

1 Legoland Dr., Carlsbad, Calif.; +1 877 534 6526; rooms start at $178; california.legoland.com

18 wacky hotels in the United States

Detail: Legoland hotel opens in U.S.

0 Xijiao Hotel, Beijing, China

Located in the popular Haidian district not far from the centre of Beijing, the Xijiao Hotel is a good comfortable choice if you are trying to avoid the extremely high prices in the capital. Do not expect world class luxury; think of class, casual sophistication and a warm atmosphere.

Set in pleasant gardens, the Xijiao Hotel is a good place to stay whilst enjoying a tour of the city or even if you are here on business. Not far from the Olympic Building, the shopping centre, the Beijing Language University and the subway station, it is perfect as a base to get around Beijing.

The exterior has a distinctive Asian-meets-20th-century look to it and inside it is much the same. The reception staff are very friendly and look presentable (although management itself could take a leaf out of their books and smile once in a while), and the design continues.

The Xijiao Hotel offers 475 guest rooms and suites, all overlooking the lush blooming courtyard (in spring and summer, in winter it is a landscape of hauntingly beautiful snow and ice). Standard rooms are quite spacious for Beijing hotels, decorated in warm buttery tones and Pan-Asian mahogany furniture. They are located in the heart of the courtyard and while there are no balconies, they do have fantastic views.

The Executive Luxury Rooms are by far the best here. With top-of-the-range bathrooms with tubs you can just sink into, welcome baskets of fruit and flowers, a separate seating srea, these rooms get a big thumbs up.

The Xijiao Hotel has a restaurant to suit any craving you might have – the Xiyuan Seafood restaurant serves up anything that can be found in the sea; the Ginkgo Western brings American and Continental breakfasts to life in this sun drenched restaurant; the Dongyuan is the height of traditional Chinese cuisine; the Shanyuan is casual dining at its very best and you can relax after a hard day’s tour of the city by relaxing in the Yiyuan Coffee bar with either a coffee or a special drink.

If you don’t fancy the crowds in the city, explore what the Xijiao Hotel has to offer; you won’t be disappointed. The swimming pool is fantastic, the bowling alleys fun, the tennis courts professional and the spa facilities some of the best in the city. With both traditional Chinese and Thai treatments, you may never want to explore Beijing.

With meeting rooms that can hold up to 400 people, a banquet hall and top of the line equipment, the Xijiao Hotel certainly delivers all business expectations.

Detail: Xijiao Hotel, Beijing, China

0 Beijing Qianyuan International Business Hotel, China

"Hotel reviews: Beijing Qianyuan International Business Hotel, China"

In a fairly convenient location in Dongcheng District, the Beijing Qianyuan International Business Hotel is a comfortable if not bland choice of accommodation in the capital of this colourful country.  A good point about this particular hotel is the fact that it is not far from the brilliant night food street - Dongzhimen Street – famous for being the place where every style of Chinese cuisine can be found.

There are 202 rooms and suites placed in different categories – executive suites, deluxe rooms, business rooms as well as standard rooms. At £45 per night for a standard room and much higher rates the further up you go on the upscale ladder, you would expect the rooms to be much better. Sadly, not the case.

Not to say that the rooms are hideously ugly or worse, uncomfortable, but they are fairly featureless.  Pale colours on the walls, relatively comfortable bedding, and dim lighting – décor is not the Beijing Qianyuan International Business Hotel’s strong point. In the smarter rooms and suites, there are more amenities and larger windows which make stays more enjoyable.

Do not expect fine dining at the Beijing Qianyuan International Business Hotel, but what it does serve is very good. The restaurant is located on the third floor and provides guests with a selection of Western and Chinese meals. The menu may be as boring as the décor, but the food is tasty and after all, that’s what you want from a restaurant.

It is a good thing that the Beijing Qianyuan International Business Hotel receives marks for its good location otherwise travellers would be disappointed with it. Leisure activities fall a little short in this regards – there is a souvenir shop in the hotel, plus a hair salon and a tour desk, but that’s it. If you are looking for a hotel with a gym, sauna, spa facilities or swimming pool to pamper yourself with after a hard day’s exploration of the city, you won’t find them here.

The tour desk, on the other hand, is fairly decent. The staff here, although who could certainly do with learning how to smile a bit more, provided good information about the various tours in and around Beijing.

As a hotel catering primarily to business travellers, this is the area where the hotel shines more brightly than any other aspect of it as a whole. The business centre is comfortable and practical and the equipment just as good.

Detail: Beijing Qianyuan International Business Hotel, China

0 Beijing Sha Tan Hotel, China

Yeah, Very few hotels in Beijing can offer such a fantastic location as the Beijing Sha Tan; with the Forbidden City literally just around the corner and Tiananmen Square not far, this hotel is extremely popular with independent and business travellers from around the globe.

A solid three star hotel funded by CNPC Petroleum, the Beijing Sha Tan is a blend of traditional Chinese features with modern designs, a mixture that works wonderfully well. The lobby has incorporated the traditional red lanterns into a fantastic lighting system, a tall Ming vase stands next to a modern Asian mural and potted plants makes it feel unique.

Rooms at the Beijing Sha Tan are decorated in simple and tasteful ways. Rooms are quite spacious for Beijing and come in a range of different categories. The triple rooms are perfect if you are bringing the family along with you and need more space; the deluxe double, standard and suites also have ample space for a comfortable stay here.

No matter which type of room you choose, your rooms are decorated in creams and muted gold tones with good quality red textiles. The triple and deluxe rooms have wall to wall windows where you can bask in the beauty of this ancient city.

When it comes to dining at the Beijing Sha Tan, the only way to describe the restaurant is ‘ancient China in the 21st century’. The tables and chairs are set in rows down two lines on either side of the room, with wooden and glass floors and innovative lighting on the ceilings and walls.

The restaurant serves good quality food from the southern regions of the country, mainly Fujian, Hunan and Sichuan. The menu is solid, but for a treat order the Purple Dragon – a Hong Kong seafood dish that is so fresh it’s almost still swimming on your plate.

In addition to the restaurant, the hotel also has a bar-cum-pub where guests can relax with a drink after a hard day’s exploration or meeting.

The Beijing Sha Tan is a good solid choice if you want a hotel with leisure facilities. With a casino to gamble away a few yuan, a few souvenir stores to purchase some gifts for family back home, a tour desk to arrange different excursions in and around Beijing, plus a beauty salon to pamper yourself in, the Beijing Sha Tan has everything you need for a comfortable stay.

The Beijing Sha Tan offers a choice of three conference rooms, all elegantly and practically designed, making any business meeting a pleasure. Each room has all the necessary equipment you will need. We give top marks for the reliable and informative business staff here.

Detail: Beijing Sha Tan Hotel, China

0 Hotel chain reviews: Travelodge hotels

Talk about the experience: I've had reason to stay in a couple of Travelodges over the years and so far have had no complaints.

But I need to state first, you get what you pay for and must know what to expect. This review is going to be very simple and straightforward, for that is how I have found the Travelodge experience.

One in particular that sticks out in my mind is the one at Lymm services at Warrington.

A group of us decided we were going to stop half way to Loch Lomond and Lymm was that halfway point on the map. We did book in advance. I was not in charge of that department, but from memory I think we got a deal, where we got a room for about 20. With a bit of jiggery pokery, we arranged comfortable sleeping arrangements.

It is a very unfussy procedure staying here. You check in, give them your car details, so that you don't get a ticket in the services car park, and get a key/card for your room.

The room had a double and a settee which pulled out into a double bed, so you can sleep four comfortably, if you don't mind sharing. There was a television with a degree of digital stations, although I am not 100% sure how this was arranged - the point being there was something to watch, because when you are stuck in the middle of nowhere in a motorway services, you better be sure you bring a book with you, or hope there is a telly.

There was no restaurant or cafe within the lodge, though there were the adjacent services restaurant and a McDonalds. The beds were comfy, the sheets clean. There were complementary tea and coffee sachets, a kettle and cups.
The en suite consisted of a W.C., sink and bath with shower attachment. I made sure I had a long soak in the bath.

I slept reasonably well despite the comings and goings of lorrys in the lorry park at the rear. Booking out was a dawdle, just drop your key thing in the slot at the unmanned counter and go.

All said, this was a bed for my head for the night, and cheap too. It felt a little do-it-yourself, as there didn't seem to be any staff about the place, so what would have happened had there been a problem? Who knows!

I have reservations (no pun intended) about Travelodges though, based on other reviews - it seems if it can go wrong it will - though my experience, thus far, touch wood and all that, is one which has been worth the money.

Detail: Hotel chain reviews: Travelodge hotels

0 Hotel reviews: Novotel Beijing Sanyuan Hotel, China

Novotel Beijing Sanyuan Hotel, China - Conveniently located in Chaoyang District, the Novotel Beijing Sanyuan looks just like another mid range hotel found anywhere in the world – towering, box windows and uninspiring manicured grounds. However, inside is a totally different story.

The designers obviously couldn’t do much with the exterior so they devoted all their energy into the interior. As soon as you step through the glass doors, the hotel screams a 1980 modern design. Complete with orange reception desks, zebra printed rugs on the floor, little square chocolate leather boxed seats, and weird textured walls, the Novotel Beijing Sanyuan was obviously meant to be industrial chic. However, it falls short in the ratings for design.

This industrial chic design has been applied to the guest rooms and suites. Fortunately, they seem to work a little better here than what they do in the reception and public areas downstairs. Bedrooms are quite comfortable, spacious and contemporary. Think creamy walls, lots of heavy dark wooden trimmings and furniture topped off with red leather.

Bathrooms are wonderful to soak away the stresses of international travel. One of the best things about the rooms is that they are incredibly bright – through natural and artificial lights.

The Novotel Beijing Sanyuan has a restaurant, bar and lounge for guests to sample. The Square is a good place to sample both national and international fusion dishes, all with freshly prepared ingredients.

The setting is, obviously, ultra modern; heavy wooden floorboards, granite pillars, leather trim – but this design actually works in here. Along with artistically presented dishes, The Square Restaurant is by far the best feature of the Novotel Beijing Sanyuan.

The lobby bar is such an eye-sore – think garish zebra printed rugs, uncomfortable leather box seats and displays of weird looking art. If you love the 1980s then you may actually like it. Traditionalists will absolutely hate it. However, the dreamy cocktails may improve it in your eyes.

The Novotel Beijing Sanyuan receives a few gold stars for its leisure activities. The swimming pool is of a decent size and the gym facilities good in a bright setting, but it is the spa treatment centre which gets the highest marks here. In addition to this, the tour desk offers some amazing tours in Beijing and around the rest of the country.

Through extensive experience, the Novotel Beijing Sanyuan has built up a good reputation for its business services. The meeting rooms here look the best rooms in the entire hotel and feature everything a company could need. Wonderfully, each meeting rooms is named after a different dynasty.

Detail: Hotel reviews: Novotel Beijing Sanyuan Hotel, China

0 Redwall Hotel Beijing, China

Redwall Hotel Beijing, China - Few hotels in Beijing can boast of prime location, but the Redwall Hotel Beijing can hold its head up high above the rest in this. Wonderfully situated in the Commercial Centre in Dongcheng District, the Redwall Hotel is a stone’s throw away from the Forbidden City and the Imperial Park.

The shiny glass façade allows the hotel to shine out and the interior is no different. Instead of using glass in the reception and public areas, the hotel shines through the marble floors, the polished cherry wood furniture and the brilliant smiles of the highly informative and friendly reception staff.

With around 200 guest rooms and suites, the Redwall Hotel provides oodles of space that you will find extremely difficult to find in Beijing. Even the single rooms can adequately house up to five people.

Rooms are simply decorated, with rich colours on the walls and undemanding furniture (chairs, a table and dressers). The beds are comfortable enough to get a good night’s sleep after a hard day’s work or touring the city. The only thing that could be improved in the standard rooms would be to provide more lighting – the rooms do seem a little dim.

Business rooms are the best rooms here. Not only do they feature a comfortable king sized bed with nice linen, but there is enough room to hold a party, wall to wall windows with billowing curtains, plus a good working and sitting area. Perfect for business travellers, whom the hotel caters primarily for.

The Redwall Hotel’s Chinese restaurant serves up some fantastic dishes, both Chinese and Western. The black mirrored ceiling is adorned with red and cream lit lanterns, the tables decorated in red and gold silk, white linen and balloons. The garish table decoration catches your eyes so that you don’t realise that the rest of the restaurant seems a little dull; however, the food here is surprisingly good even if the menu is as boring as the restaurant.

There is also the Glanviue Coffee Bar where you can sink into one of the comfiest red sofas and sip on a coffee or other beverage and catch up with newly found friends.

The Redwall Hotel has some surprisingly good leisure facilities. The beauty salon and the health centre offers first-class treatments by professionals; the sauna room is good for relieving stress and for those who want to exercise their brains, the chess rooms is a great place to provide a challenge.

The Redwall Hotel mainly advertises its services to business people and as such, they provide some fantastic business services. There are two main meeting rooms, large enough to hold most conferences, plus all the first-class equipment and a beautiful banquet hall.

Detail: Redwall Hotel Beijing, China

0 Xijiao Hotel, Beijing, China

Located in the popular Haidian district not far from the centre of Beijing, the Xijiao Hotel is a good comfortable choice if you are trying to avoid the extremely high prices in the capital. Do not expect world class luxury; think of class, casual sophistication and a warm atmosphere.

Set in pleasant gardens, the Xijiao Hotel is a good place to stay whilst enjoying a tour of the city or even if you are here on business. Not far from the Olympic Building, the shopping centre, the Beijing Language University and the subway station, it is perfect as a base to get around Beijing.

The exterior has a distinctive Asian-meets-20th-century look to it and inside it is much the same. The reception staff are very friendly and look presentable (although management itself could take a leaf out of their books and smile once in a while), and the design continues.

The Xijiao Hotel offers 475 guest rooms and suites, all overlooking the lush blooming courtyard (in spring and summer, in winter it is a landscape of hauntingly beautiful snow and ice). Standard rooms are quite spacious for Beijing hotels, decorated in warm buttery tones and Pan-Asian mahogany furniture. They are located in the heart of the courtyard and while there are no balconies, they do have fantastic views.

The Executive Luxury Rooms are by far the best here. With top-of-the-range bathrooms with tubs you can just sink into, welcome baskets of fruit and flowers, a separate seating srea, these rooms get a big thumbs up.

The Xijiao Hotel has a restaurant to suit any craving you might have – the Xiyuan Seafood restaurant serves up anything that can be found in the sea; the Ginkgo Western brings American and Continental breakfasts to life in this sun drenched restaurant; the Dongyuan is the height of traditional Chinese cuisine; the Shanyuan is casual dining at its very best and you can relax after a hard day’s tour of the city by relaxing in the Yiyuan Coffee bar with either a coffee or a special drink.

If you don’t fancy the crowds in the city, explore what the Xijiao Hotel has to offer; you won’t be disappointed. The swimming pool is fantastic, the bowling alleys fun, the tennis courts professional and the spa facilities some of the best in the city. With both traditional Chinese and Thai treatments, you may never want to explore Beijing.

With meeting rooms that can hold up to 400 people, a banquet hall and top of the line equipment, the Xijiao Hotel certainly delivers all business expectations.

Detail: Xijiao Hotel, Beijing, China

0 Reggio Emilia in Italy: About the Hotel

When I wrote here about our preparations for a travel in Reggio Emilia, Italy, I promised you to tell about the hotel I booked with Booking.com.You will remember that I was surprised by the excellent client service of this hotel booking company.

We went in Reggio Emilia on Febr. 9 and left it on Feb.10 after we visited the ornithological exhibition organized there. It was the second time we were in this city but we had not possibility to walk there and to visit at least the main streets first time. We had not too much time now, too, but we wanted to have a good relaxation evening.

Our hotel was situated really in the center of the old town and even if we did not know the way to reach it, we arrived there without any problem. There were problems with the parking for our car because there was not place on the little square behind the cloister where the hotel has it's parking. If we would not able to find a place, we had to pay for the parking place. For our fortune, we found enough space for our car even if not in regular spaces but they said us in the reception, there is not problem, we can leave it there.

Next morning, all the square was free! So, all those cars the evening before were not of the hotel's guests!

We came in the hotel when it was just night. The room was warm enough, there was a kitchen with a fridge in the room. My husband was despairing for the TV that he could not turn on. He even went in the reception but they confirmed the fact: the TV does not work.

We decided to go out and enjoy an evening in the Old Town. 

Some days after we turned home, I received a mail from Booking.com where I was asked to write my opinion about the hotel we booked. And some days later that opinion was published Student's Hostel della Ghiara

Detail: Reggio Emilia in Italy: About the Hotel

0 Reggio Emilia in Italy: About the Hotel

When I wrote here about our preparations for a travel in Reggio Emilia, Italy, I promised you to tell about the hotel I booked with Booking.com.You will remember that I was surprised by the excellent client service of this hotel booking company.

We went in Reggio Emilia on Febr. 9 and left it on Feb.10 after we visited the ornithological exhibition organized there. It was the second time we were in this city but we had not possibility to walk there and to visit at least the main streets first time. We had not too much time now, too, but we wanted to have a good relaxation evening.

Our hotel was situated really in the center of the old town and even if we did not know the way to reach it, we arrived there without any problem. There were problems with the parking for our car because there was not place on the little square behind the cloister where the hotel has it's parking. If we would not able to find a place, we had to pay for the parking place. For our fortune, we found enough space for our car even if not in regular spaces but they said us in the reception, there is not problem, we can leave it there.

Next morning, all the square was free! So, all those cars the evening before were not of the hotel's guests!

We came in the hotel when it was just night. The room was warm enough, there was a kitchen with a fridge in the room. My husband was despairing for the TV that he could not turn on. He even went in the reception but they confirmed the fact: the TV does not work.

We decided to go out and enjoy an evening in the Old Town. 

Some days after we turned home, I received a mail from Booking.com where I was asked to write my opinion about the hotel we booked. And some days later that opinion was published Student's Hostel della Ghiara

Detail: Reggio Emilia in Italy: About the Hotel