Miami's soon-to-be-opened Hotel Urbano is pushing a Grand Opening gimmick that ranks low in creativity but high on the savings-o-meter.

Originally slated to open in October, as we reported, its unveiling will now take place in late December, just in time to receive an onslaught of travelers in the new year.

The themed deal offers guests who book two or more nights in January 2010 a rate of $20.10 for their first night. That's good enough for those who want to kick off 2010 in a snow-free climate, but just remember--the hotel is located in Brickell which is downtown Miami as opposed to Miami Beach and its party scene. But with regular room rates

We are continuing to geek out over in-room coffee makers. Yesterday, we showed you how the folks Down Under do it and today we're including an in-room coffee maker that we forgot to include in our original round-up--The Illy Espresso machine at Viceroy Miami.

The Francis Francis X8 espresso machines from Illy are found in all rooms at the hotel and there is no grinding of beans or scooping of ground espresso to deal with here. Just plop in a pod into "Frank" (we can call it that, right?) and steaming hot espresso is yours in a matter of seconds. There is milk and as you can see, oranges to accompany your drink as

The holidays are a big time for Walt Disney World. The parks are transformed into a winter wonderland—well, a fake one as they are in Florida after all—and the guests pour in through the turnstiles. Some days the park has to limit guest access because there are just too many tourists dreaming of a holiday photo with Mickey and friends. All these people are starting to worry some, especially if these people are coughing, sneezing, and leaving their germs all over Space Mountain.

Thankfully, Disney is ready to combat the spread of germs, and is hoping that their efforts will be enough to convince people that their park is safe. After all, the threat of catching that pesky H1N1 flu is kind of a downer and not the stuff dreams are made of. Thus, Disney World has ordered about 200,000 hand sanitizers—although we're wondering why they haven’t always had some.

Drugs and airplanes hanging out together is nothing new, after all we’ve seen a lot of smuggling rings busted over the last year. Just recently officials caught up with a group that thought cocaine should get a first class seat aboard American Airlines. Well US Customs and Border Protection made another discovery, but this time the drug was a little more uplifting than the usual white powder or wacky tobacky.

Last week officials at the Miami International Airport seized over 20,000 counterfeit Viagra pills. That’s like fifty pounds of bootleg medication. It was a shipment from India that looked a little sketchy, and once they cracked it open they knew the pills were not on their way to your local Walgreens.

What is up with Miami and bad rap videos? First, there was Pitbull's "Hotel Room Service" at the EPIC Hotel. Then John Legend, Kanye and Consequence filmed an unexciting video at The Fontainebleau. And now we have Rick Ross and Robin Thicke b-boying it all over the Viceroy Miami and the Icon Brickell complex with their new video, "Lay Back."

Everywhere they go in the video, there are skimpy girls in bikinis and high heels--chilling at the Viceroy's super long pool, doing a sexy strut in the spa, getting cozy in a (faux) guestroom and making out in the

At this year’s event you will be trapped by “SAW’s” maniacal serial killer Jigsaw, come face-to-fangs with “The Wolfman” and be chased by the twisted “Chucky” doll.    

And that’s just the beginning: All eight haunted houses, six scarezones and two live shows are inspired by blockbuster horror films. Until now, you’ve only been able to watch the action in horror films like “SAW,” “The Wolfman,” and “Chucky.” But at Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, these films and more have been transformed into live experiences that put you in the middle of your worst cinematic nightmares.   

In most parts of the country, all the signs of fall are here: cooler temps, turning leaves, football on TV all weekend, and skimpy Halloween costumes on display at the mall. But not in Miami! (Skimpy costumes are the uniform year-round in South Beach.) The 80-degree days down in South Florida make it hard to remember that we’re meant to be focusing on our Thanksgiving travel plans.

And in fact, if you’d rather spend Thanksgiving in a bikini than in a holiday sweater, the Four Seasons Miami is happy to tempt you away from your familial duties. The fancy hotel in downtown Miami (ie: not at the beach) is offering a "Stay Longer" package this fall,

Mickey's giving away free one-day passes to Disney's Theme Parks and all you have to do to get one is spend a day volunteering. Beginning on January 1, 2010, you can sign up to volunteer with any participating organization for just one day, and in return you will receive a one-day pass to any Disney park. Disney is hoping to inspire one million people to volunteer (and spend money at Disney World) next year.

If you're not sure how or where to volunteer, Disney has made it easy by teaming up with HandsOn Network, which links volunteers with more than 70,000 nonprofits across the country. Once you've completed your day of service, it will be verified by HandsOn and you will receive a voucher good for one day at any Disney park.

Hollywood club impresario and frequent "Hills" guest star Brent Bolthouse may have parted ways with Sam Nazarian and his SBE nightlife company--which also oversees the SLS Hotels. But plans for the hotel's expansion are still on. Sorta.

A year ago, we questioned what was happening with this hotel and there really wasn't much going on. But in the release we received about the departure of Bolthouse we noticed a very interesting tidbit at the end:

Also in the SBE Hotel collection are Miami’s Ritz Plaza hotel, to debut in early 2011, and Las Vegas’ Sahara Hotel & Casino, which will undergo a complete redevelopment for completion in early 2012.

2011?

Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling. Do you feel my heart beating, do you understand?

It's always good to see The Bangles are still out there performing their greatest hits from our pre-adolescence. It's even better to see The Bangles performing for such a good cause like Pinktober at the Hard Rock Hotel Orlando.

Pinktober is the Hard Rock's month-long breast cancer awareness program where guests can book special guestrooms that are outfitted with pink sheets (embroidered with little guitars) and pink bathrobes. Twenty-five percent of the room rate will benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.