Ever since Expedia came into my life, I can't remember how I booked my flights and hotel stays. Well, actually, not really. I remember, but now it just seems odd to call the airline or hotel directly to make my reservations. I mean, how crazy is that? I have become socialized and willing to accept the middle man in a transaction that requires none. Ah, marketing and capitalism! Anyway, as much as I love Expedia, it is a purely functional site. And does it really to be anything else? Probably not. But for me, as I make my travel plans and my imagination is running wild with expectations of excitement and adventure, I also want to be inspired throughout the entire planning stages of my trip. I want the search for that perfect boutique hotel that will inspire to explore, write, and photograph all of the wonderful experiences that I am anticipating. That is why I love Tablet Hotels, an online resource for unique hotels around the world. The site design is clean and allows the viewer to easily maneuver through the site with little to no difficulty. You can search for your perfect hotel by name, destination, agenda, atmosphere and style. The hotel pictures are plentiful, vibrant and inviting. They make you want to travel. I especially enjoy reading and appreciate the detailed and information review of each hotel featured. Tablet Hotels is an online hotel guide that is worth becoming addicted to.

The latest find for upscale travelers, dedicated to making their time off really count is Area-Daily.com. The site offers a daily email with tips on where to stay, what to eat and where to shop in farflung locales. The emails also contain video reports from Area-Daily's on-the-spot travel gurus letting you peek at the places you are longing to go. Recent coverage has included a safari in Kenya; a wine-tasting festival in Park City, Utah; and a cheese school in San Francisco. Daily inspiration to keep working toward your vacation when you are trapped at your desk.

[via The Netscape Blog]

The latest fashion brand to open a hotel is jeans brand Miss Sixty. The Miss Sixty Hotel in Northern Italy features rooms were each designed with the vision of one artist. PSFK reports that the overall design was created by Studio63 and that the white exterior can be changed with colored lighting. The hotel will also provide web cameras to guests just in case they are interested in making new friends.If all goes well the Miss Sixty hotel could become a new high-end chain.

New hotel chains are popping up as fast as condo projects lately. Philippe Starck, the ubiquitous designer who is no stranger to hotel design, has been selected by SBE Hotel Group to create the look for a new unnamed hotel brand. SBE is owned by Los Angeles club god Sam Nazarian and the first property will be on the site of the Le Meridien in Beverly Hills which is set to open in 2008.

SBE managed to tied Starck down to a 15-year exclusive deal (so much for his claim in an interview last year that he'd be retiring in three years).  The new boutique brand will be hitting all the hot spots including New York, Miami and the Caribbean but instead of creating new hotels, these will all be conversions.  Starck will also remodel the Ritz Plaza in Miami but it will not be part of the new brand. He will also design restaurants and lounges including a new Brentwood restaurant set to launch in May.

SBE seems to have learned from the drama involving the Roosevelt hotel and Amanda Scheer Demme, who blocked hotel guests from her exclusive clubs. In an article in Travel Weekly, Michael Doneff, SBE Entertainment Group’s vice president of marketing promises that  "if you stay at our hotels, you will have preferred access to our nightclubs.”  It's a smart move to make the guests feel like they pare part of an exclusive group rather than feeling alienated in their own hotel.