Hotel Girl

Having a look through VirtualTourist.com's 10 most unusual places to stay, I spotted the fantastic Giraffe Manor in Nairobi, Kenya.

The grounds of the hotel are home to a herd of giraffes who poke their heads in the windows to say hello to guests in their rooms or the restaurant.

What a great way to get close to these beautiful animals - just keep an eye on your breakfast, as according to some tripadvisor.com users, the giraffes have a penchant for toast and marmalade.

Brits are still behaving badly abroad, according to a new study. The Expedia Best Tourist research spoke to 4,000 hoteliers worldwide and asked them who are the most and least polite, respectful of local culture and generous with their cash.

You'll no doubt be proud to hear that we Brits are considered the worst visitors - messy, rude and loud. The Germans and Japanese are the best behaved, as are, surprisingly, the Americans.

On the plus side, we are the second best dressed tourists next to the Italians. That is, until we spill beer and curry down our fronts I suppose..

Pic: Brits living it up in Faliraki (courtesy of Daily Mail)

The new Andaz hotel in London's Liverpool Street is offering agents a special rate of £99 for a Friday or Saturday night between 11 July and 7 September.

You can enjoy phone calls, the minibar, breakfast, laundry and WiFi all for free

Call 020 7961 5010, email reservations.londonliv@andaz.com; or you can book via the GDS system.

Travel Weekly ran a story this week about holidaymakers taking legal action against Thomson because they fell ill at the Torremolinos Beach Club hotel.

About 800 guests already successfully sued Thomson, Thomas Cook and other operators earlier in the year for the same reason.

It seems the Beach Club still hasn't cleaned up its act. Have you or your customers ever stayed there? Do you think the operators should have removed the hotel from their brochures?

(pic from TripAdvisor.co.uk)

Conrad Hotels has some big plans for expansion, as their senior VP for brand management Richard Blamey was telling me this week. The first new hotel project is in Shanghai (pictured) with others planned for Dubai, Koh Samui, and, closer to home, Portugal.

Conrad is a high end brand, but it isn't afraid of adding some quirky touches. Guests can choose from 75 varieties of pillow.The romance pillow and snore no more pillows sound good, but I'm not sure I fancy the porcelain pillow.

Have you seen a pillow menu in any hotels? Is it a practical solution to helping you sleep or just a gimmick?

A list of the 15 most luxurious swimming pools on earth arrived in my inbox today.

Ignore the dreary weather outside and imagine you're in one of these amazing hotels.

Also check out the largest swimming pool in the world built for £2m at the San Alfonso del Mar resort in Chile. Not sure I'd have the energy for that one after a big breakfast..

Which is the best swimming pool you've ever taken a dip in? Are there any missing from the list?

Alcatraz, one of the world's most famous prisons, could be opening as a hotel.

Guests wouldn't be sleeping in cells, but in Building 64 which housed the guards and has impressive views across San Francisco bay.

The idea is to encourage guests to explore other parts of the island, which according to Telegraph.co.uk, has unusual scenery and wildlife.

The Alcatraz hotel might be a long way off, so if you fancy spending a night in a cell which still does room service, check out these ideas on HotelChatter.

Med Hotels has dropped its status as principal and will return to acting as an agent from July 21. As Travel Weekly reports, the bed bank is blaming agents for booking on price alone. The bedbank's commercial director Carl Burrows said agents would rather save their clients a couple of pounds than make sure they're booking with a principal.

It seems there is still some confusion in the trade over the issue of principal liability. That's why there's a need for a standard code of practice across the industry. If action isn't taken, agents could get caught out if a client's holiday goes wrong.

Do you book on price alone or look for bedbanks who act as principal? Do you think there should be a code of practice?

Just spent a night in the Shoreline 'boutique' hotel at Butlins, Bognor Regis. OK, so it's not boutique boutique, but I was impressed. I had a double room with sea view which also had a separate room for two children, just behind the door as you enter the room.

The children's room is more of an alcove as it has no door but it features a bunk. It looked like a fun place to be - and away from the parents.

Funky decor and liked the armchairs. Lobby area was cool too - with a bulbous red front desk.

Here's my video tour of my room.

Martin Couzins, managing editor, Trvael Weekly

Edinburgh seems to be attracting lots of hotel projects these days, wih the latest being a five star hotel next to the Playhouse. The Fitzpatrick Hotel Group is to build a 150-bedroom boutique hotel in a former Georgian townhouse.
According to the Scotsman, the developer has been attracted by the new trams which are due to start running in the city in 2011. Looks like the trams could signal some exciting developments for the Scottish capital, which might come as a relief to the shops and offices disrupted by the ongoing works..