NYC’s ‘The Out’ hotel opens; Louisville plans their own gay hotel

by McLean Robbins on
NYC’s “The Out” hotel is finally opening its doors to guests today, reports HotelChatter, bringing to the city the first hotel actively marketing to the gay community. Rates start at $150, and the hotel says that if you tweet or share information online about your upcoming trip, they’ll give you a complimentary room upgrade.

Great. But let’s just say we’re not all that shocked by the opening of a hotel catering to the gay community in a city as big as New York.

But a gay hotel in Louisville, Kentucky? Now that’s news.

The Courier-Journal is reporting that plans are in the works for a 55-room boutique hotel in Louisville’s Smoketown neighborhood.

The hotel, called the Vu, will be located in a former warehouse with investments to be lead by a local businessman, also the owner of Louisville gay bar Connection, which bills itself as “one of the 60 best gay bars in the world.”

Rooms are expected to run just $150 – $175 a night and construction will hopefully begin this year.
What do you think – is a gay hotel in Louisville (or NYC) still scandalous, or is it just another hotel opening?

London opens its first gay tourist office

by Scott Carmichael on

Following the trend of other European cities, London recently opened the doors of its first gay tourist office.

The office is located at 30 Lisle Street, and offers LGBT specific information, as well as ticketing services for London attractions.

According to centre (note the UK spelling) director Shaun Newport, London has the best LGBT life in the world, and the office is eager to show that to local, national and international visitors.

Amsterdam opened its first gay tourist information center last month, and LGBT tourists planning to visit the Dutch capital can order a special gay Amsterdam information kit for free.

Queens in the Kingdom

by Iva Skoch on

USA Today recently interviewed the authors of a new gay-persons guide to the Disney Theme Parks, called Queens in the Kingdom.

Jeffrey Epstein and Eddie Shapiro talk about Disney’s recent announcement that they’ll allow “Fairy Tale” weddings for same-sex couples. (Actually, since California and Florida don’t allow actual weddings for same-sex couples, they’ll be “commitment ceremonies.”)

They also hit upon their favorite park locales, including Ellen DeGeneres’ Energy Adventure and Honey I Shrunk the Audience. They should know, they’ve been to the parks 784,012 times.