Mobissimo

As its name suggests, the Kube hotel is dominated by one particular geometric shape in its interior design. In addition to, obviously, lots of cubes, the themes of coolness and transparency, which are emphasised throughout the public spaces are offset by the warming sense of privacy and comfort that pervades the guestrooms. The courtyard of the revamped 19th century building features a see-through cube, which contains the necessary reception facilities in a suitable way. Sashaying into the stylish bar, which serves as the heart of the hotel, you’ll find yourself transported to a rather futuristic space, complete with generously high ceilings, lots of stainless-steel gratings, floor-to-ceiling curtains and a long counter in tarnished silver. Cubic seats and lounge chairs accented in fur set off the black glass of the walls, which are animated in turn by a whole row of plasma-screen televisions. Bars play a pivotal role in the hotel’s concept so you’ll find the “Ice Kube” bar on the mezzanine, which sits directly above the central bar.

Travel and Leisure has put together a comprehensive list of their picks for top hotels around the world:

The T+L 500, a compendium of the greatest hotels around the globe, as chosen by Travel + Leisure readers in our annual World's Best Awards survey. To assist you even further, we've called on T+L insiders from Sweden to South Africa, from Chile to Thailand, to give us the scoop on each property. On the following pages, you'll learn not only how readers thought these hotels compared (see the overall score) but also what distinguishes them from their competitors, where the best rooms are in each, and how to make the most of your stay. It's the ultimate hotel guide—and it's yours to use all year long.

The list is sortable by service, value, location, food, screaming kids per sq. foot, and carpet color. Well, not the last two, but I'd pay to know carpet color before I arrived. Nothing bums me out more than a brown carpet. Read the whole article here. BTW, is anyone else amused by some of the names of the hotels on the list? Or am I just bored today?

• Tu Tu' Tun Lodge Like in really fat ballerinas?
• Willard InterContinental Wasn't Willard a movie about man eating rats? Or was it rat eating men?
• White Barn Inn Rooms come with a barnyard animal of your choice. Suuuweeeee.
• Jekyll Island Club Hotel Rule #1 of hotel naming. No schizophrenic homicidal maniacs, even if they're just fiction.
• Die Swaene Is it me or is it just plain weird to name your hotel Die Swine...
• CuisinArt Resort & Spa Free blender with stay.

The USA Today is reporting that over the weeekend a currency conversion error allowed visitors to book hotel rooms at extremely low rates. Basically free.

If you had excellent timing last weekend, you might be one of the incredibly lucky folks who booked rooms at the Hilton Osaka and Hilton Tokyo hotels. A number of readers wrote to say they were alerted to a mistake on Expedia that allowed rooms to be booked at those two properties for between $2 and $4 a night.

Charles Bu, a math professor at Wellesley College in Mass., scored a week in Osaka in April and two weeks in an executive floor king room in August at the bargain rate of $3.55 a night, plus tax. Including free breakfast and Internet access, his one-week stay tops out at $33.52. I just tried to book this same room, same days, and the total? About $2,443.00, Bu notes the trouble seems to be Expedia's currency conversion rate, and it doesn't take a mathematician to see they definitely had a problem.

So, if you're wondering if Expedia and Hilton are going to honor the bookings, the answer is kind of. At least for the month of December. Beyond that, you'll be paying the regular price.

"If a booking was made for the month of November, Hilton will honor the reservation at the quoted price. But if a booking was made for December or beyond, it will be cancelled – unless it is part of a package, which Expedia.com will honor."

Thanks to Hotelchatter for the tip.