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Eat Up Top-notch Hotel Restaurants

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Hotel dining gets a bad rap. On the one hand you’ve got smaller joints with warmed over American fare, so-so service, and maybe a fish plate that costs eighteen dollars and tastes vaguely of turpentine. On the other hand you’ve got luxury hotels touting well-known executive chefs who would sooner serve cheese with seafood than accept the fact that nine dollars for a bowl of minestrone is more than a bit outrageous.

And don’t even get me started on breakfast.

There seems to be this middle ground lacking, one where the hotel restaurant serves food that is delicious, does it with a smile, and at a price that won’t have the guests searching off premises. Believe it or not, the middle ground does exist. More and more, in fact, moderate/consumer level hotels are realizing that the modern traveler is taking value of features into account, features like business centers, gyms, and of course, the restaurant.

Go to a travel forum like TripAdvisor and search guest reviews of any hotel, and you can guarantee that if it has a restaurant, the reviews are talking about it (and they’re probably saying a lot of mean things). Search long enough to find a hotel with a good restaurant and you’ll notice something else. Not only do they talk about it, they talk about it a lot. People are ready for good hotel restaurants, and they’re willing to tell their friends about them.

Here we’ll discuss some hotel restaurants that are breaking out of those molds mentioned at the top. Not only are they doing it different, they’re doing it better. The next time you travel through one of these towns, be sure to let your stomach weigh in on your lodging decision. For more information on each hotel and its restaurant, click on the name.

Embassy Suites Denver Airport Hotel Diazza Restaurant

Diazza Restaurant is what every hotel restaurant should, and most likely wants, to be. It plays the menu close to the classics that you would expect from an average hotel all-American eatery, but it does it better every step of the way. Instead of a hamburger, you can have a heaping buffalo burger topped with smoky pancetta, instead of a chewy Choice steak, they serve dry aged USDA Prime beef steaks, and this commitment continues throughout the menu with fresh caught fish and meats and vegetables from only local Colorado suppliers.

Diazza also spices up each meal with nice visual flourish. Located in the hotel atrium, the dining floor is center by a five-story false mining tipple under which the bar is located. Wide enough for big families yet elegant enough for romantic couples, Diazza is proof that you don’t have to be wildly original; you just have to be good.

Doubletree Denver / Aurora Colorado Hotel Fitzgerald’s Restaurant

Wholesome flavors and a classical ambience will remind you at first of regular hotel restaurants, but once you taste the food you’ll know it’s not the same. Chefs at Fitzgerald’s Restaurant & Pub go beyond the norm with their dedication to fresh and local ingredients served simply and appropriately for the chic, airy space. Seafood dishes, especially the fish entrees featuring only local catch, are the specialty of the house, which makes for an unexpected treat a mile above sea level in the middle of Colorado.

A welcome change against the idea that hotel restaurants have to be expensive to be good.

Embassy Suites Deerfield Illinois Hotel Gino’s East

Chicago is a food-lovers paradise brimming with world-famous staples like deep dish pizza, Chicago-style hotdogs, and Italian beef. This means that if a hotel is going to keep the guests on-site for dinner, they have to be more than delicious, they have to be smart. That’s where Gino’s East comes in.

Along with Uno Pizzeria, Gino’s is the most popular brand of Chicago-style deep dish pizza, and this Deerfield hotel in Chicago’s north shore has one right on-site. Gino’s is in large part why Chicago’s deep dish is a thing of legend. Thick, buttery dough, an entire layer of sausage, cheese, herbs, additional toppings, and finally a sharp red sauce made with only vine-ripened tomatoes tops off the pie.

For serving up a genuine taste of Chicago without having to leave the hotel, Gino’s East is hotel dining done right.

Crowne Plaza Houston Hotel West Park Restaurant & Grill

Award-winning Executive Chef Frederick Brown has led the Park Restaurant & Grill to success by keeping it regional, tasty, and surprising. Unlike many hotel restaurants that could have featured the same menu back in 1982, Park Restaurant is always moving. A setting that simply oozes contemporary elegance sets the stage for zesty southwest-inspired dishes that are big on flavor but avoid the heaviness of traditional Tex-Mex.

If you stay for a weekend you’ll be in luck as two special presentations will be headed your way. On Friday nights, a fresh seafood buffet will take three of four passes minimum just to get a bite of everything. Then, before you head out Sunday morning, stop by a chic champagne brunch serving upscale twists on all your breakfast favorites.

Hilton Garden Inn Chicago Hotel / Magnificent Mile Weber Grill

This Chicago hotel doesn’t have the classic cuisine, so instead they’ve gone with a trusted name (and a helping of personality). Weber Grill, named for the successful line of home grilling apparatuses, serves a robust menu of sizzling favorites, but the best of the house is, of course, the grilled food. Perfectly-charred steaks, poultry cooked just to doneness, never dry, and even seafood comes off with the distinctive flavor that only a true Weber Grill can provide.

And they are true Weber Grills. The restaurant features an open kitchen, so you can look in anytime to see the clean, friendly cooks working on grills that you could own at your house. They don’t have the fancy paint job, but don’t let that bother you. This is summer grilling in Chicago everyday of the year. That’s hard to beat.

Embassy Suites Cincinnati Hotel / RiverCenter The Embassy Grill

Despite being the brand restaurant, meaning the default restaurant in every Embassy Suites property unless the hotel takes it upon itself to offer an individual choice, The Embassy Grill at the suites in Cincinnati stands out from the crowd. Named the “Best Room with a View” by Cincinnati Magazine, the Embassy Grill will impress you from first glance. Deep auburn woods and red glowing candles provide an attractive, intimate space, but the real star is the breathtaking view of the Cincinnati skyline across the Ohio River from the stunning north wall of bay windows.

The food is hardly standard either. The signature dish, a traditional Cajun gumbo, will slap your senses around the moment the plate hits the table, and it plays just as well across your tongue. Thanks to a constantly changing dessert menu, the experience is always fresh.

Hilton Glendale California Hotel Porter’s Steak House

Here’s a tip for spotting a great hotel restaurant: if you see as many locals as you do guests, chances are good it’s doing something right. Expectations are always higher in Los Angeles, and the Hilton Glendale has met them and more with Porter’s Steak House. Like Diazza Restaurant over in Denver, the crown jewel at Porter’s is the dry aged USDA Prime beef. In fact, Porter’s goes even further with a seasonal selection of American Kobe beef, the highest quality to which it can aspire.

Porter’s completes the excellent meal with a high-service atmosphere that’s never stuffy and a bustling wine cellar to match any boutique restaurant in Los Angeles. Take note that Porter’s is the hotel’s upscale offering so you can expect to pay a little more. A more casual restaurant is also on-site.

Of course this is just a small sample. As travelers become more and more savvy, along with the help of sites like TripAdvisor, hotels are starting to take their restaurants to task. The result is better food and value for the customer, and these are just a few of the hotel dining experiences that are leading the way. Don’t travel hungry any longer. Eat up!

Searching For Souks From Sharm El Sheikh And Dubai Hotels

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The colourful souks with their local tradespeople are an integral part of business in Sharm el Sheikh and Dubai and a big tourist attraction. People come to buy local produced goods and to experience haggling, maybe for the first time. From Sharm el Sheikh hotels, one is spoilt for choice. You can either visit the traditional souks in the Old town or travel to Naama Bay and visit the modern shopping malls with their gold and silver jewellers. The traditional souks are primarily aimed at the tourist market and sell a lot of goods which are souvenirs or mementos.

Things that represent good value at these souks are Egyptian cotton goods and perfume. As expected, Egyptian themed artefacts sell well. Pyramids and statues of the Egyptian gods and goddesses are popular and can be acquired for as little as 2 – 4 GBP. Most tourists go home with a papyrus with their name written on in hieroglyphics. The traditional Shishas or water pipes are best sellers. Some stalls specialise in gold and silver jewellery and this is quite cheap and well made. A more recent innovation in the souks is the replicating of designer goods such as handbags, purses etc. A lot of the stalls sell Turkish delight. Be sure to try before you buy as quality is variable. There is also a selection of the usual touristy things, like T shirts, incense holders and cuddly stuffed camels. One enterprising stall owner even sells belly dancing outfits.

Whatever you buy, you will have to indulge in haggling, unless you intend to pay over the odds for your purchases. Haggling has gone on for thousands of years and is expected. When you enquire the price of anything, the vendor will give you a vastly inflated price. It is up to you to knock him down to a price that you think is reasonable. If he wont budge, walk away. If he doesnt want your custom, he will let you leave. If he thinks he can make a trade, he will call you back for more negotiation.

The Dubai Gold Souk is internationally known and attracts a wealth of visitors from all over the world, to marvel at the gold jewellery and make a purchase at a very reasonable price. All hotels in Dubai will have information on the Gold Souk, opening times etc. Located in Deira, it is easily recognisable from the massive wooden gates that mark the entrance. As you pass through, you cant help but be amazed at the sight of all the gold glistening behind the windows.

If retail therapy is your thing, then you are well catered for in Dubai. Many of the hotels are located near shopping malls. Dubai shopping malls are a lot bigger than European ones. In fact, the Mall of The Emirates mall is the size of 73 football pitches and is the largest shopping mall outside of North America. It houses over 400 retail outlets and is remarkable in that it even has its own ski slope. Built around an Egyptian theme, The Wafi Mall, situated on the Garhoud Road, has three giant pyramids in the centre of the mall, covered in lights. Considered to be the most elegant of the Dubai malls, this giant shopping area contains over 350 outlets, many of them designer boutiques. Whilst you are shopping for couture, you can rest assured that the children are being well looked after in their own play area in the mall. Called the Encounter Zone it contains everything to amuse the kids.

Hotel Performance Measures Evaluation

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What is a universal success recipe in business? Even the most well known business gurus will not give you a definite answer. The problem is that every business is individual and thus requires individual approach. It should be noted that the situation is aggravated by a tough competition. If 30 years ago commercial businesses only had to offer high quality products at competitive prices, now the situation has entirely changed. These days, companies have to win loyalty of their customers. It especially concerns hotels. When vacation season begins hotel start a real fight for customers. Indeed, visitors have a very wide choice of hotels in different price ranges. As already said, hotels compete for customer loyalty. You know that in most cases those hotels win that have well thought and realistic strategy. One of the most common mistakes in strategic planning is that strategy unfortunately remains on paper. There is no problem in designing the most ambitious strategic plan but if they remain on the top management level there is no use in such a strategy. Thats why hotel owners and top managers are strongly recommended to use Balanced Scorecard which is known as one of the tools used for strategic management and performance evaluation purposes. Every strategy in a hotel is definitely customer focused. Sure thing, financial goals matter most of all, but the truth is that they simply cannot be achieved without retention and attraction of new customers. This is the only way a hotel can generate income.

As known, Balanced Scorecard employs very simple principle: it evaluates key performance indicators (KPIs) that represent critical success factors both in internal and external business environment. The four categories of Balanced Scorecard financial, customer, internal business processes, learning and growth cover the most important aspects of inside and outside the hotel. With a Balanced Scorecard it is possible to adjust internal processes in accordance to new market conditions and requirements. It is remarkable that the set of key performance indicators can be changed during evaluation process, as required by external changes. Lets review several key performance indicators used in hotel Balanced Scorecard.

Number of hotel guests per employee. This is a very important indicator that makes it possible to efficiently manage number of hotel employees and optimize personnel quantity. This indicator can also demonstrate group performance of employees. Naturally, the more hotel guests an employee can manage the better.

Net room revenue. This is a very important financial indicator that makes it possible to calculate total revenue for the entire hotel as well as offer valuable information on how to increase revenue without sufficient hike in hotel rates.

Percentage of international guests. This indicator can tell much of hotel quality and services. The more international get choose to visit a hotel that hire its reputation and the international and local community. If there are not many international guests in a hotel, perhaps new services and offers have to be introduced in order to attract such customers that are expected to spend much money.

How To Locate The Top Hotels On Route 66 Eleventh Hour Deals

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A good thing about going for a last minute roadtrip together with your friends is you never know where you’ll wind up. One day you’ll be experiencing the high-tea events and another day thinking seeing the Days Square. If you also get regular road trips here are a few clever tactics and web resources you may use, to be able to look for a quality hotel on Route 66:

1. Helpful staff: As soon as you enter the lodge, make an effort to assess the mindset of the staff. The team has to be helpful and helpful. The team have to be prepared to go a supplementary-mile to make sure secure stay.

2. Check opinions: The majority of the situations hotels on the travel websites and websites market themselves whilst the best. No real matter what, never skip on examining the standing of the hotel. Search online for opinions from prior lodge visitors. Additionally, examine the photos of the rooms, foyer and the parking place. It is a simple method to have a concept concerning the lodge, sanitation and amenities.

3. Employ your Smartphone: Smartphones have created an easy method inside our all walks of life and currently it can help you discover the most effective of the savings and specials of travel passes, motels, resorts and accommodations. Just get the travel site site purposes to seize the top offers. Many travel places provide offers like added evening, free dinners etc. in the event that you make the reservations using internet applications.

4. Look Skillfully: It’s advised to find the mote that’s well-reputed to make sure an appropriate stay. Generally find the hotel that’s variety of restaurants. To make sure a cushty stay, like the resort that promises parking, internet, breakfast, tea and coffee machine. Before you check-in the hotel, check the locations for hygiene.

5. Community check: Before you check in just about any resort, do consider the neighborhood into account. Ensure that the lodge isn’t positioned in the deep rooms or remote shelves. Never compromise to the protection element. It’s easier to choose the lodge that’s several cafes and nearby restaurants around it as hotels do not provide food.

6. Search for discounts: Hotels offer excellent discounts on areas which are empty at night. Do not forget to get a bonus of the reality. It’s far better contact the lodge manager and affect the offer for reduced rates. Request respectable reductions as there’s a control the administrator could decrease to.

With one of these simple guidelines, lodge scheduling on Route 66 may be refined into a good deal

Pet-Friendly Hotels for Any Occasion

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Whether traveling for fun or business you may need to find pet-friendly hotels if you wish to take your furry companion along with you. Taking your pet with you can make planning a trip much more complicated. However, for many people their pets are members of the family and leaving them behind is not an option. You would not consider leaving your child behind while you traveled, and they cannot imagine leaving their pets behind.

There may be times when they need pet-friendly hotels for a week or two at a time if they are traveling, either for stud services or to evaluate people who wish to purchase one of their dogs or cats. Some hotels have seen this need and taken steps to accommodate these travelers. It can still be difficult to find pet-friendly hotels in the areas where you need to stay, so it may be best to hire a travel agency to make the arrangements for you.

There are travel agencies who specialize in making arrangements for people who wish or need to travel with their pets. Consulting a travel agency that specializes in travel arrangements for people with pets can save you valuable time and money. Because they specialize in this area they know which pet-friendly hotels are likely to be found in the areas where you need to travel. This makes finding suitable accommodations easy for them and alleviates a lot of your stress when traveling with a pet.

There is nothing worse than a long day of travel, when you are tired and just want to relax and enjoy your evening, only to discover that the room you booked for the night will not allow pets. Surprises like these can ruin your whole trip. Allow specialists in travel to ensure that both you and your pet will be welcomed and pampered at the end of a long day of travel.