When we had the chance to check out The Surrey Hotel’s $60-million “re-creation,” we were impressed by the sheer prettiness of the new guest rooms. But not everyone shares our take. Over at the UK site, Globalista Travel Journal, this week The Surrey copped a dressing down for what the nameless reviewer called “a pointless refurbishment.” In the nature of being “fair and balanced,” we decided to compare Globalista’s opinion to recent reviews on TripAdvisor.

Let’s start with those Gloablista grumbles, shall we? The things that ticked them off included: a huge discrepancy in the size of the lowest category Deluxe Salon rooms (some box-like and others spacious, but the same price); the

It was only a matter of time before the faux fro-yo craze that is Pinkberry would hit the airports and we were oh so privileged to see it in action last night at LAX's Terminal 1, known to locals as The Southwest Terminal (although US Airways does have some presence here.)

Wedged in between a Starbucks, a California Pizza Kitchen ASAP and a Gordon Biesch brewery, the Pinkberry seemed to hold its own. We saw many a customer in our 45-minute wait in this airport fast food haven that solely came in to get some Pinkberry.

The bonus? You can also get Pinkberry as soon as you deplane as the location is right before the escalators down to the baggage claim.

Related Stories:
· Pinkberry Coverage [Jaunted]
· An Injection of Frozen Yogurt for Terminal 1 at LAX [Jaunted]

Hey, Red Sox fanatics: Looks like you might have a new favorite game day destination in Beantown (Fenway Park notwithstanding, obviously). As part of the Boston Marriott Copley Place’s $22-million, year-long renovations, the hotel has a new restaurant, Champions, that boasts “one of the largest HD projection screens in New England,” or so they claim.

Champions’ 12-by-24-foot screen seems poised to become one of the hottest places to watch the Sox, if you ask us. Especially since the resto also has more than 40 flat-panel TVs, a high-tech sound system, and 36 beers on tap.

But enough about Champions — that $22 million didn’t all go the jumbo screen. Copley Place also features a completely renovated

The Pearl Hotel will toast to San Diego's Beer Week (November 6 to 15) with a poolside beer brunch on November 8 featuring suds from local artisan brewery AleSmith Brewing Co.

The beer brunch will have four brewski-and-eats stations at each corner of the pool. At one station, the Belgian-style Grand Cru will be paired with a smoked ham and roasted pear croque monsieur. Another will offer the Speedway Stout, an imperial stout with coffee, to complement the hazelnut French toast and Tahitian vanilla custard. Old Numbskull, a West Coast-style barleywine, will come with house-smoked bacon, sunnyside-up quail eggs and bird's next hash browns.

The last station will pour Anvil, the brewery's signature beer, to go

Apparently there are not enough event spaces or hip hotel bars in New York City to appease the fashion flock, since the biggest party in town (for the trend-ites, it seems), was held in the under-construction core of the NoMad Hotel. If you remember, we went to the big Interview Magazine party last year in the under-construction core of The Standard Hotel, probably with some of the same attendees who showed at the NoMad.

There is this old saying: "two's a coincidence and three's a trend." Well, we've got two down with these parties; what hotel skeleton will be the next to hold a fashion party, thereby elevating this to a trend? Will songs by "Men

It's hard to believe, but New Year's Eve is less than two months away, which means a parade of hotel party tickets will soon be—or already are—available to the public. Most of these are highfalutin affairs where you'll find women competing in unofficial "Who has the shortest skirt?" contests, and where bottles of champagne circulate throughout the evening. These swanky soirees are easy enough to find, but for an unusual change of pace, you may want to consider heading to The Fairmont in San Francisco, where an inaugural New Year's luau will be held at the historic Tonga Room.

HotelChatter reader Mark, a long time Tonga Room patron, tipped us off to this unique NYE

So the New York Yankees won the World Series last night and we're sure The Hotel Indigo Chelsea has popped plenty of bubbly for their Philly guest losers. But the celebrations aren't over yet. The city of New York will throw a traditional ticker tape parade to honor the athletes tomorrow in downtown New York. The official route:

The parade will begin at 11 a.m. at Broadway at Battery Place and proceed northbound up the fabled Canyon of Heroes to City Hall, at Chambers St.

At City Hall, the Yankees will be presented with Keys to the City at 1 p.m. by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

You don't need a hotel room to watch the parade

This week's cheftestant profile involves travel to you, rather than a self-initiated jaunt to a cast member's restaurant. Laurine Wickett, whose tenure on Top Chef effectively ended after what is arguably the show's most difficult challenge, "Restaurant Wars," has since returned to San Francisco where she runs Left Coast Catering.

New York born, but Northern California bred—at least in the culinary sense—Laurine incorporates the Bay Area's various cultural influences into market-fresh menus for her clients. Whether left coast parents planning a Bat Mitzvah or bride-to-be hosting a dessert reception, Laurine will provide you with options galore. We perused some of her sample menus online, which reflect a flavorful Californian approach to cooking while turning to other regions of the world for inspiration. She does everything from sushi stations to steak and french fries, on the same menu if you'd like guests to have multiple options. Her ill-fated Pork Rillette (or, as Dana Cowin punishingly put it, "cat food") made no appearance on any of the menus we saw.

That sonic boom you heard emanating from the tri-state area was the sound of millions of Yankees fans, having been cruelly denied a World Series title, finally ending a 9-year drought last night with a 7-3 victory in Game 6. After the game, third baseman Alex Rodriguez and his girlfriend Kate Hudson hit the Meatpacking District, partying at 1Oak with his mom and sister and shortstop Derek Jeter and his girlfriend ("Friday Night Lights"' Minka Kelly).

Even the revelation that Rodriguez has a painting of himself as a centaur in his bedroom failed to slow the Yankees in the rush to their 27th title. Other celebrity Yankees fans include Alec Baldwin, who was spotted in the stands during Game 1, and Jay-Z who performed "Empire State Of Mind" at Yankee Stadium before Game 2. Game 6's celeb ticket holders included Will Forte, Spike Lee and Regis Philbin. (None of them were at 1Oak to the best of our knowledge, though.) On the other hand, it might be appropriate to buy a drink for Will Smith, Tina Fey and Vice President Joe Biden, all Phillies fans.

The 21C Museum Hotel in Louisville.

A reader in Ohio tipped us off last night about this excellent news for downtown Cincinnati--The 21C Museum Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky will open its second hotel in the old Metropole Hotel next year. And in living up to the museum part of its name, the new hotel will play a huge role in the city's burgeoning contemporary art scene.

Here are some detes from the press release:

The new 21c Museum Hotel in Cincinnati will be located adjacent to the Contemporary Arts Center and across the street from the Aronoff Center for the Arts. 21c Museum Hotels is working with the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation on the restoration,