A Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research study found guests were turned off by excessive scripting, according to this report posted on HotelNewsNow.com. But scripted check-ins weren't viewed as badly as other situations.

How do you feel about scripts for employees? (I'm sure I've said before that "it's my pleasure" drives me nuts. "It's my job" or "certainly" sound much more real to me.) I prefer spontaneity and personality. but I am told that many guests like traditional service. Thoughts from guests and hoteliers?

Aruba has long been known as a place to party and gamble and honeymoon, but it has not been famed for chic hotels. When I checked it out a few years back, I was surprised to find very few lodgings that appealed to me.

Well, the hotel scene has been spiffed up and here's a sampling of what you'll find:

*The Bucuti Beach Resort & Tara Suites, long a favorite with visitors in part because of because of its beachside Tara wing with cool rooms, has spiffed up more and even added a hip outdoor lounge to its formerly dowdy beachfront spaces.

*The Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort & Casino, perhaps the island's most glitzy property and a people-watching mecca, has just undergone a major face lift.

*The Radisson Aruba Resort, Casino & Spa, where I stayed, had nice rooms and a fun casino (try to get an ocean view; mine didn't have one and that makes a difference). Now, it has a new, cool spa, too.

*Want to go the all-inclusive route with a leader in the field? I hear the new Hotel Riu Palace Aruba is a happening place with a great pool scene. But you really don't need a pool on Aruba, because the beaches are so nice and the water when I was there was clear and calm.

The sad note is that American Natalee Holloway still remains missing and presumed dead after a night of clubbing in spring 2005. Some will not visit the island -- whose claim to fame has been that it's a safe and friendly spot -- because of how they feel the investigation has been handled. I'm wondering how folks feel now? And have any readers visited the redone or new lodgings? Reports, please!

Photo of the new outdoor deck at the Bucuti Beach Resort, courtesy of Bucuti

I always feel uncomfortable when room service arrives (aside from itching to be left alone to savor my meal). First of all, these days you have to read the fine print carefully to see what is included and what is not. Most hotels now tack on a gratuity (I see 18% a lot), and a room service charge (maybe $3). But I generally tip 20% for good service, so I go into mental gyrations to figure that out. And sometimes I really think a server is great, so I want to tip more. But I really don't know what is the norm, what is right, what the etiquette is here.

Hoteliers, can you tell us what we should be doing? Readers, do you tip extra for room service at a hotel that offers it? It seems pretty outrageous when you order a pot of coffee that ends up costing nearly $20 after all the charges, taxes and tips are added on. But sometimes if you are working in your room, it's more efficient to stay in front of the computer than go down to a restaurant or a cheaper coffee place.

Some past topics:

11/5: How to ... get VIP treatment at a hotel

10/29: How to .... make sure your room is clean

10/22: How to ... get around hotel parking fees

10/15: How to ... score a pool chaise

10/05: How to ... deal with bad guests

09/24: How to ... make a hotel room homey

09/18: How to ... get a good rate at a luxury hotel

09/02: How to ... tip bellstaff

08/27: How to ... protect personal belongings

08/20 How to ... avoid being 'walked" 

08/13 How to ... deal with dirty laundry

08/6  How to ... change a room you don't like

07/30 How to ... get unwanted fees off the bill

07/23 How to ... find the best free breakfast

07/16  How to ... complain effectively

07/09  How to ... get an upgrade even if you reserved via a discounter

07/02 How to ... deal with noisy neighbors

06/25 How to ...choose a roadside lodging

Well, Joanne O'Connor, who did a rant on the subject on the website of Britain's Guardian newspaper, isn't.  Bring back the colors and the chintz and homey hotel rooms, she says. (Although she didn't sing the praises of the old-style bedspreads, which she calls nylon, but Stateside would be multicolor polyester). What do our readers think? Like the trend toward whites and neutrals and bare floors and flat-screen TVs and iPod docking stations? Or do you miss old-fashioned furnishings and a less stark feel?

Joanne asked readers for their recommendations of homey hotels; do Hotsheeters have any U.S. faves? (Not talking B&Bs, as they tend to be cozy and chintz-laden, and travelers know how to find them).

And so, in a clever promotion, Hotel Indigos are offering an "Escape the In-laws" package.

Why? According to a new survey of 1,000 people commissioned by the boutique hotel chain, 36% of Americans would like to check into a hotel than stay with family. But 97% would prefer not to stay with their in-laws. Ouch!

The “Escape the In-Laws” package runs now through Jan. 14. Starting from $129 and depending on availability, a duo gets breakfast and a “Family Decompression Kit” with aspirin, aromatherapy oil and a bottle of wine. Click here for info and to book.

Also thinking along the same lines are the marketers for the Hotel Angeleno in the L.A. area (Brentwood, to be exact). If you're still mad at your father-in-law for being an oaf on Turkey Day or your mom nagging you, the hotel offers a haven during the upcoming holidays. The "It's all Relative" holiday package is $159 for two nightly and includes a drink at check-in to help calm your nerves, a pie to take to the family holiday party (you can pretend you made it if honesty is not your forte) and even access to an on-call therapist (an extra $200 per hour).

OK, readers 'fess up. Do you think Indigo's hate-the-in-laws survey is on the mark? Do you stay in hotels when visiting family? And, most important, do you like to stay with in-laws or look upon it as just one more marital chore? 

Photo of Hotel Indigo Coumbus room courtesy of Hotel Indigo 

It may not sound like news, but given the frenzy surrounding next month's Obama inaugural and the fact that hotels located as far from D.C. as West Virginia and Pennsylvania are selling rooms, here are some good tidings.

The new Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, not far from downtown and in the National Harbor complex across the Potomac from Alexandria, still has rooms. Here's what a publicist wrote me tonight:

"There are available accommodations at this time. They are offering 4-day, 2-day and 1-day options as listed below. Check in Sunday, January 18 — Stay 4 nights
Check in Monday, January 19 — Stay 4 nights
Check in Tuesday, January 20 — Stay 2 nights." For rate info (note that rooms typically start at $799 during inaugural activities), go to the hotel website.

I told you I met with Las Vegas Advisor.com honcho Anthony Curtis, who knows the town like few do, and that he told me he is blown away by the deals out there now. He says December visitors (especially if you come in the slow period 10 days or so before Xmas) can expect an early present in the form of ultra-cheap rooms.

Here's what he writes: "We found 38 casinos with rates of less than $40 (43 if you count Buffalo Bill’s, Gold Strike, Hacienda, Railroad Pass, and Whiskey Pete’s). This annihilates last year’s total of 28. The total below $30 this year is 25, compared to just 10 last year. ...  Best of all, though, are the big discounts in the 'High End' category, which are, in a word, exceptional."

Here are excerpts from the LVA lists:

Under $30: Arizona Charlie’s Boulder, Binion’s, Boulder Station, Circus Circus, Eastside Cannery, Fiesta Henderson, Fies-ta Rancho, Fitzgeralds, Gold Coast, Gold Spike, Hooters, Orleans, Palace Station, Plaza, Riviera, Sahara, Sam’s Town, Silverton, Stratosphere, Terrible’s, Texas Station, Tuscany, Vegas Club, Wild Wild West.

Under $40: Arizona Charlie’s Decatur, California, Casino Royale, Excalibur, Four Queens (Note from Kitty: I just had a filling breakfast at Magnolia's there and played $5 blackjack and found Four Queens, which is downtown, exceptionally clean and friendly), Fremont, Golden Gate, Imperial Palace, Longhorn Super 8, Main Street Station, South Point, Lucky Club, Tropicana.

High end: Flamingo $44, Harrah’s $44, Rio $44, Bally’s $48, Luxor $48, Monte Carlo $48, Aliante Station $49, Golden Nugget $49, New York-New York $55, Las Vegas Hilton $57, Hard Rock $59, MGM Grand $64, Paris $66, TI $67, Mirage $71, Green Valley Ranch $72, Red Rock $72, Planet Hollywood $79, Westin $82, Mandalay Bay $90, Caesars Palace $96, Palazzo $119, Venetian $119, THEhotel $120, Wynn $137, Trump $139, Bellagio $149.
     Wow! Anthony says rates are subject to availability, and you might have to try multiple sources to get them, such as directly from the casino (phone and Web), third-party reselling Web sites, and the rate search engine Travelaxe. And he says rates change all the time. But if you're Vegas bound, start checking. And remember, midweek is usually cheaper and that if rates drop after you reserve, call and ask the hotel to lower what you originally got. Anthony also says you may be able to do better by using players' clubs and cruising the Internet for last-minute deals.

Readers, please share any better rates than above you've gotten for December. If you've always wanted to experience a Vegas luxury hotel, now is definitely the time.

Troubles in LV are great, despite the crowds I saw streaming in Friday after Turkey Day. Locals are complaining about layoffs, no casino-given turkeys for the holidays, stalled condo/hotel projects. Things are bad, they say.

I stayed at the Bellagio, where T-Day rooms were as low as $129  --- way below posted rates. Service was excellent, though. Everyone, from housekeepers to front desk to concierges (who printed boarding passes for free, vs. the $$ charged by lesser Vegas resorts) was top of the heap, smiling, helpful. Kudos. I caught up with two Vegas insiders, Norm Clarke of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and Anthony Curtis of the Las Vegas Advisor newsletter. They say there's widespread concern about how the economy will affect Sin City.

Anthony says now's the time to grab low, low hotel rates. Deals are good. Norm says folks are worried about what the cards hold for Vegas. And he told me a great story about how Pamela Anderson donned her birthday suit to toast Hugh Hefner at his 80th birthday party there. He has a new book called Norm Clarke's Vegas Confidential: Sinsational Celebrity Stories, that's full of dishy tales about celeb highjinks in Vegas. Guess who's a bad tipper, according to the book? Big-bucks gambler Michael Jordan. Who knew?

Bette Midler wowed me, fulfilling the $150 for two tickets for sure. Ever played in a Texas Hold 'Em poker contest at Caesars Palace? I tried it, alongside guys who knew what they were doing and not in the mood for a female with limited expertise. But four hours later I was still in, and found out that behind the sunglasses and trash-talk, some of these guys were nice. Had to go to a T-Day family dinner so I bet wildly to get out and of course, won a lot (the more you don't care, the more you get). But I did lose and did get to dinner, and it was tons of fun! If you're in Vegas, stop by Caesars for a tournament. What I like is what you pay up front (from $65 when I was there, I paid $135 for a bigger tournament) is all you can lose. And you stand to win thousands if you're left standing.

Enough from me. Do any readers want to share Vegas stories? Anyone there over T-giving?

What a concept, what a contest.

But you have to be a bride and groom. Brides magazine is creating a "Mile High Honeymoon Suite" at the Top of the Rock, Rockefeller Center’s observation deck 67 floors above the street. The Manhattan landmark will be transformed into a sumptuous romantic lair for one lucky newlywed couple at the end of January. Yes, the suite will be heated and it will have bathroom facilities, a Brides rep says.

To win, you must be crowned "America's most inspiring newlyweds." Enter by visiting Bridesmilehighsuite.com and win a night in the suite Jan. 27 before an all-expense-paid honeymoon trip to Bora Bora. There, the couple gets a stay in an over-water bungalow at the postcard-worthy Four Seasons Bora Bora resort.

If you don't win, you can still check out the Rock Center suite. It will be open to the public during daytime operating hours Jan. 27 and 28.

Happy Turkey Day to all Hotsheet readers, and I hope you are having the opportunity to share a perfectly cooked bird with someone you love. I'm planning to gobble turkey in Vegas (a family member has never seen it, rates are low, so we're going).

On this day, many don't have a lot to be thankful for, and we hope that changes. In this vein, many hotel chains still maintain charitable programs, despite hard economic times in the hospitality business.

This week, I heard from a rep for Desires Hotels (the Sagamore Hotel and the new The Betsy in South Beach and The San Juan Water & Beach Club, just to name a few). The chain has a Dec. 7-25 program that gives guests 15% off rates and lets them choose options, such as a $25 gift certificate or donating the $25 to the Salvation Army. What do you think of that? Other hotels and chains, please feel free to tell us what you are doing to help others.

Now is the time to do this, say savvy friends and people in the industry.

A lot of lodgings even are helping us out by throwing in resort credits, extra nights, breakfasts (Kimpton has a promo right now that gives you breakfast for two for just $1 above the best available rate).

But when and how do you negotiate freebies such as breakfast, parking, resort fee taken off? With the toll-free reservations person? With a travel website? With an in-house reservationist? With the general manager? With the front desk? Tell us your stories and share your tips.

Some past topics:

11/5: How to ... get VIP treatment at a hotel

10/29: How to .... make sure your room is clean

10/22: How to ... get around hotel parking fees

10/15: How to ... score a pool chaise

10/05: How to ... deal with bad guests

09/24: How to ... make a hotel room homey

09/18: How to ... get a good rate at a luxury hotel

09/02: How to ... tip bellstaff

08/27: How to ... protect personal belongings

08/20 How to ... avoid being 'walked" 

08/13 How to ... deal with dirty laundry

08/6  How to ... change a room you don't like

07/30 How to ... get unwanted fees off the bill

07/23 How to ... find the best free breakfast

07/16  How to ... complain effectively

07/09  How to ... get an upgrade even if you reserved via a discounter

07/02 How to ... deal with noisy neighbors

06/25 How to ...choose a roadside lodging

Steve Wynn is a lucky guy.

Lucky, and smart, enough to get the Sinatra estate approval to put Ol' Blue Eyes' name on a new restaurant at  his Encore casino resort, due in December next door to Wynn Las Vegas. That's the word from Vegas insider Norm Clarke, ace columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Read his column here.

What better name for an eatery in the former Rat Pack haunt of Vegas?

No details yet on what'll be on the menu, but you can bet it'll be Italian and that the name alone will draw crowds.  And Norm writes that Sinatra's Oscar (for From Here to Eternity) and Grammies will be on display. Sounds like it could be a swinging concept if done right. What do readers think?

Catching up with new hotel news: It's hard to beat the celeb quotient at the opening of the over-the-top Atlantis, The Palm resort on a palm-shaped man-made island in Dubai Thursday night. It's a sister property to the one in the Bahamas.

Can you imagine Robert De Niro, Lindsay Lohan, Sarah Ferguson and Virgin Atlantic chief Richard Branson and more than 1,000 more VIPS partying in this resort oasis dubbed "the Beverly Hills" of the Arab world. World financial crisis, what economic meltdown?

The fireworks alone were amazing, billed as the largest display ever: Watch this footage from the BBC.

Dubai is an up-and-coming resort area, whose attractions include desert dune-buggying, glitzy hotels and even skiing on a man-made slope. Have any readers been lately (I went years ago and was especially impressed by the Burj Al Arab hotel, with its underwater restaurant and gold-plated faucets). Do readers want to go to Dubai, or no?

Photo by Charles Crowell, Bloomberg News

Can you believe that hotels as distant from D.C. as Gettysburg, Pa., and West Virginia are getting booked up for the Jan. 20 inauguration? Only the dedicated would drive 90 minutes each way to Washington.

The State Journal of Charleston quotes Tom Belfield, general manager of the Holiday Inn by Interstate 81 in Martinsburg, an hour and a half drive from Washington, as saying the area is booked up and "there are practically no rooms anywhere between us and the White House. Maybe a few mom-and-pop places still have rooms, but I don't know if that's even the case anymore." Well, at least there are commuter trains from West Va.

Readers, are you finding any rooms at the inn for inauguration? D.C.-area hoteliers, please post here if you still have vacancy.

Virtuoso, a network of 300-plus upscale travel agancies, has a new consumer campaign, "Return on Life." The idea is that, in its press-release words, "a rich life is not measured by personal possessions, but by time well-spent with loved ones on journeys to new destinations and the memories created by these experiences.

"The campaign reflects the travel patterns Virtuoso has seen with the network’s clientele of high-income households, which indicates a shift in consumer motivation and expectations regarding travel. This shift is consistent with recent trend reports that show consumers are still collecting life experiences, most notably in the way of travel, even as their appetite for acquiring luxury goods slows."

Virtuoso says clients still are booking, and booking longer getaways that involve new experiences, even give-back vacations where clients work to help the less fortunate. What do you think about this new campaign? A pitch to goose business in slow times or reflective of a general trend toward appreciation of quality family time and experiences away from home? Hoteliers, feel free to tell us what you're seeing.

My colleague Jayne Clark received an e-mail from Ron Brann, general manager of Linekin Bay Resort in Boothbay Harbor Maine. It touched us. Here are excerpts:

"In many respects Linekin Bay Resort is an anachronistic icon waiting to be retired" and replaced by an upgraded resort and Linekin Bay Homes, 34 elegant cottages. "Permits for this transformation have been granted by the town and the old resort has one to two years of reprieve before its era ends. But maybe not, not entirely anyway, and that's where the story lies. You can help us preserve it.

"What makes this 'inevitability' so compelling is that something important with great emotional value will be lost forever.  ...  What is 'new' about Linekin Bay is really that it's so vintage; it aspires to serve middle-class families --  in the tradition of yesteryear lodges that served three meals a day and provided child care while parents went sailing. ...

"Given the current economy and possibly a renewed appreciation for traditional icons and family values, Linekin Bay Resort has a sporting chance to survive for the future. It is definitely operating as it always has for the 2009 season and probably 2010 as well."

In appealing to the travel media to help tell the resort's story (it has been called a great family getaway by Parents Magazine) and spread the word about its dilemma, Brann goes on to talk about the increasingly rare "lodges and rustic cabins (sans TV and telephone), together with all the old-fashioned amenities of tennis, shuffleboard, saltwater pool and a fleet of sail boats and canoes." He talks of kids lining up to be allowed to ring the dining room bell and of one guest in her 90s who returns every year.

You can book now for 2009 at 2008 rates, which start at about $100 a person daily (three night stay required) and include all meals, sailing and instruction, among other things. There's a free kids' day camp. Children 3 and under stay free and kids 10 and under get a discount.

"The market is forcing us to go (upscale)," Ron told me. "It's disappointing to the clientele and even to the family that owns the resort. (Because the real-estate market and economy is so bad) We've got a couple more years to try to turn the existing operation around. We need to get more people to come to the existing resort. It's Maine the way life used to be."

Readers, what do you think? Do you have fond memories of summer cabins or lodges, and how do you feel about them disappearing from the landscape to be replaced by luxury vacation homes or condos or $1,000-a-day resorts?

Photo of a room at Linekin Bay Resort, courtesy of the resort

I was talking to Red Roof Inn CEO Joe Wheeling about the current state of the hospitality industry (not great), and I mentioned that virtually every day someone asks me about inexpensive Manhattan lodgings. NYC has a well-located Red Roof, and he says it often has rates under $200, which is great for Manhattan.

This week, RR announced a special deal for a slow time in Manhattan in January. You can stay for $139.99 Jan. 9-10 if you're lucky, and for about $300 a couple also can get two tickets to Broadway's Avenue Q (I have seen the Muppet-like satire of life in New York and liked it) and a dinner at after-theater haunt Joe Allen Restaurant, which serves homey fare like meatloaf and steak and where you really can see stars.It's one of my routine after-theater stops.

Meanwhile, among notable NYC openings is the hip Marcel at Gramercy Hotel that officially opened in October. It's publicist says it went from a 3-star to  4-star with a renovation. rates start at $265 (under $200 available on the hotel website), which are not bad for NYC-chic.

For low rates, also check out the Best Western Bowery Hanbee Hotel downtown near Chinatown. It's offering some rooms from $199.99 (excluding tax) Nov. 16-27 and Dec. 21-28. It looks like a boutique hotel. Rates include breakfast and Wi-Fi. Yay!

Have any readers stayed at any of these newbies? Or the Red Roof? Thoughts? And, as always, I'm looking for recommendations for NYC hotel rooms under $200. Plus, remember that January is generally a very good time for low rates in Manhattan.

Photo courtesy of Best Western Bowery Hanbee Hotel

The Miami hotel scene is heating up with new entries and one will have what's proclaimed as an industry first: TiVo in the rooms.

At the Mondrian South Beach, sister property to L.A.'s famed party hotel, guests can use TiVo to record two shows at once, rewind, pause and view favorite shows and movies they've missed. The hotel is due to open in December. TiVo is included in room rates; introductory ones start at a reasonable $195 for a studio.

What do readers think? Anyone know of any other hotels that offer TiVo or DVR or similar technology? Is this the wave of the future?

The 54-year-old Fontainebleau Resort in Miami, once the playground of the Rat Pack, is reopening this weekend with a big, big splash. Supermodel Heidi Klum supposedly has been spotted getting ready to tape a big Victoria's Secret TV fashion show there; Hollywood stars also are due to mark the grande-dame hotel's hip new face lift. To read what's up, click here for a Miami Herald story.

Pool rendering courtesy of the Fontainebleau

The results are in from Zagat's annual hotel survey, and here's what 14,000 frequent travelers said:

Top newcomer is The Palazzo casino resort, Las Vegas

Top chain: Four Seasons

Best large hotel: The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas

Best small hotel: Twin Farms in Vermont (very pricey) and Timberline Lodge.

I've heard of everything but Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood in Oregon (exteriors from The Shining were filmed here). You can get a twin for $160 on weeklends.

Now for top hotel complaints: service (48%), followed by poor room condition (25%) and noisy fellow guests (15%). For hotel kudos, 56% adore in-room Wi-Fi; 29% like looby airline check-in facilities.

What's your top hotel complaint and favorite part of the hotel experience in late 2008?