Chris Pirillo » hotel

Hawaii Hotel: Outrigger Waikiki

Chris — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:17:08 +0000

Hawaii Hotel: Outrigger Waikiki is a post from Chris Pirillo

This is where I’m staying for [re]Think Hawaii, courtesy of @AlohaBruce and his crew.

The room is spacious, the amenities are aplenty, and the bed gave me a very peaceful night’s rest. I know what you’re thinking… I’m a Geek. Geeks aren’t supposed to sleep! However, I freely admit that I most certainly do sleep, every night! Sleep is good for you, really!!

Room’s View from Sheraton Waikiki

Chris — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:10:39 +0000

Room’s View from Sheraton Waikiki is a post from Chris Pirillo

I am currently sitting in Waikiki, relaxing and enjoying the beauty around me. This Hawaii hotel is very comfortable, and super nice! I have to thank them for bringing me here! The website for the hotel boasts:

Of all Waikiki Beach oceanfront hotels, one towers above the rest… the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel and Resort is a modern monument to traditional Hawaiian hospitality.

I absolutely have to agree. Of course, I wouldn’t have made the connection to the hotel if it weren’t for Traci, who has been my guide in navigating this island. She’s got a little geek streak in her, too:

What’s the Gaudiest Hotel Decor? A Glowing Buddha!

Chris — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:06:05 +0000

What’s the Gaudiest Hotel Decor? A Glowing Buddha! is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Not long ago, I appeared at MacHeist. The hotel I stayed in while there was pretty good. I had clean towels and bedding. It was comfortable, and plenty large enough for myself. I had hot and cold running water. The pictures on the walls weren’t even so bad! (You KNOW what I’m talking about!)

However, for some unknown reason, there was a glowing Buddha in my room. I’m not kidding you – take a look at the video. There was a large glowing Buddha on a shelf in my room. I don’t know why they did this, but it confuses me. If I were a Buddhist, I would likely be offended by a Buddha that glows. If I were a Christian, I would be equally offended by a glowing statue of Christ.

Not sure what’s up with this, or why they felt the need to place this statue in the room. Were they trying to be funny? If so, they failed miserably. Were they thinking it’s hip and cool? Again – epic fail. If the owners or manager of the hotel are Buddhists, that’s wonderful for them. However, I don’t feel it’s right to “push” that belief set on their paying guests, and making them uncomfortable, by placing such a thing in the rooms.

What do you think? Am I right to feel weird about this? Why or why not? And while you’re busy typing an answer… what’s the strangest or most unique hotel decor you’ve ever seen?

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Hotel (dis)Honor Bar

Chris — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 01:07:04 +0000

Hotel (dis)Honor Bar is a post from Chris Pirillo

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On my recent trip to help host the MacHeist presentation, I decided to grab something out of the Honor Bar in my hotel room. I wanted a snack! However, I encountered a slight problem…

Nothing I tried would allow me to open the door to get the dang snack! I even risked life and limb by throwing myself at it – still nothing! What the hell? What does a man have to do to get a snack in that joint? I have money. They even had my credit card on file. So it’s not like I planned to steal the damn thing. I just wanted something to eat!

I have a feeling I’ll not be staying there again.

Address on Lincoln: Delivered at a meeting of the Bar Association in honor of Washington and Lincoln, held at Hotel Wisconsin, on the 22nd of February, 1915

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Seattle Hotel Discounts

Chris — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 04:24:33 +0000

Seattle Hotel Discounts is a post from Chris Pirillo

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How to Deal with Managed Hotel Internet Access

coupons — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 09:00:56 +0000

How to Deal with Managed Hotel Internet Access is a post from Chris Pirillo

In order to understand this, you’ll need to watch the video first.

I decided to stay at the Orchard Garden hotel for a few reasons: it was near Union Square, was available at a good price, and claimed to be green. It was worth trying, I thought.

The hotel farms out Internet service, which isn’t out of the ordinary. I encountered my first issue within minutes of trying to get online (wireless). The account registration page, seemingly tied into my MAC address, passed me to a 404 after stepping through the form. I couldn’t get online that way, so I tried a wired connection – which landed me at the same dead end.

I got on the phone, gave the CSR a few bits of info, and within minutes I was online (after they toggled a filter on their end). Immediately, I fired up my email client and started to upload the first of what would likely be several videos to YouTube. I got about halfway through the transfer when I lost my IP address. Curious.

Luckily, I didn’t wait on hold for long before I was speaking to another customer service rep. He suggested I change my cable – which had never failed me before. No matter, I took his suggestion and had a serviceman bring one to my room. As expected, I could still not get a connection.

My third call to the managed hotel ISP yielded no answers. I was left to my own devices, and decided that I’d try my luck with a spotty 3G connection. I’m glad I had that, because…

I’m certain that many of you expected me to stream from the hotel… this might explain why I didn’t. Did anyone forget to tell them there’s a geek convention in town?

To the hotel’s credit, I didn’t directly complain to anybody (figured it would have been a fruitless effort). Turns out, the director of sales caught wind of that video – and had a bottle of white wine delivered to my room that afternoon. He was friendly, but suggested I might have warned them ahead of time of my potentially excessive usage. I’ve stayed at so many hotels over the years, and I’ve never been cut off from the Internet in any of them – ever.

Despite this snag, I’m still going to recommend the Orchard Garden. The food is great, the staff is friendly, and they have a great ethos. Be forewarned: you may have issues with your Internet access. Also note that there’s a similarly named hotel right down the block, so be sure you map things accordingly.

Frankfurt Hotel Reviews

Chris — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 17:14:08 +0000

Frankfurt Hotel Reviews is a post from Chris Pirillo

Informal though these may be, I thought it was important to share my thoughts not long after staying at two separate hotels in Frankfurt, Germany.

First, the Frankfurt Westin (formerly the Arabella Sheraton):

Our Bathtub had mold spot in it (Ponzi says it was rather large, but she’s a total mold freak).
The shower was inside the bathtub, but there wasn’t a full shower door or curtain – only a glass partition that covered half of the tub’s length (which caused water to spray onto the bathroom floor). It was poor engineering, further exacerbated with the shower being a handheld nozzle.
The toilet was good, but its “button” wasn’t foolproof.
The Internet connection was ample, but definitely dogged in the evening hours when more people were online. Moreover, we couldn’t switch to a second computer as we were not given some kind of username / password.
The laundry service messed up and requested that Ponzi help go through a few packages in question to verify that we were not given someone else’s clothes. She was mortified, apparently.
The thermostat had one temperature: cool.
The breakfast bar was pretty extensive, although some of the hot plates needed to be refreshed more frequently.
The bed was overly stiff, and the pillows were without substance.
The television had few native English channels, but this is par for the course in a foreign country. Moreover, the television cabinet doors did not fully collapse so that BOTH sides of the bed could view the screen without occlusion.
The view was of a back alleyway – nothing to write home about.
We had to call room service one evening after being gone most of the afternoon (so that they could make up our room).
The Location was quite convenient for shopping and walks to museums.
It was a large-ish room with ample space.

Second, the Frankfurt Hilton:

There’s a general snack bar open during common meal / after hours on the 11th floor, which proved to be quite convenient on our way in or out of the hotel.
Internet access was phenomenal. Took me no time at all to upload videos to YouTube. It was also seamless to switch between my computer and Ponzi’s when necessary (as they give you access to WiFi so long as you pay for a wired connection).
Toilet and shower controls were very well engineered – and I never thought I’d ever bother to point that out.
The view was amazing from our room.
Every day, the housekeeper seemed to give us something new – including a nice little tin with dark chocolate coins from around the world. Nice touch.
Room service wasn’t bad, but we had to laugh when they brought us fried mozzarella sticks when we ordered dim sum from the menu.
It’s close to shopping and food markets.
The bed was overly firm, and the pillows were undersized.

I’d definitely choose the Hilton over the Westin in Frankfurt.

Orchard Hotel Review

Chris — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 04:45:59 +0000

Orchard Hotel Review is a post from Chris Pirillo

Ponzi picked the Orchard Hotel at 665 Bush Street for our trip to San Francisco this weekend; we’ll be staying here for a couple of nights before flying back late on Saturday. But I may never want to leave.

First, we found that it was conveniently located downtown – close to restaurants, shopping, and BloggerCon. Second, the doorman stopped what he was doing to smile and open the door for us on our way in. Third, the hotel offered free wired broadband without hesitation or limitation (yes, the information is clearly visible at the front desk).

Fourth, the clerk informed us that daily breakfast was included in our room charge. Fifth, the doorman walked up to us after we checked in to offer brochures which could help us get around the city. Sixth, they have a full DVD library of new movies which they let guests borrow for free (two at a time, unlimited). Seventh, the room comes with over 50 popular cable television stations. Eighth, the TV has a DVD player hooked up to it.

Ninth… do I really need to list a ninth point as to why this is has been the “worst” hotel experience I’ve ever had?! Of course, I use that term loosely – as other hotels pale by comparison. Doesn’t matter what happens from here on in, the Orchard Hotel already can’t score less than four and half (out of five) stars in my book.

I recommend this place, wholeheartedly.

How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Using GoToAssist is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party.

Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. SolarWinds ipMonitor: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. Download your free trial today. Or, try their totally free tools! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase ipMonitor 9.0.

Get Your Own Web Site

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

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VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

Coupons for Online Shopping

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

This feed is fueled by Lockergnome Online Shopping and Coupon Codes

Before you shop next time, see if we have a coupon first.