A breezy little place to chill out complete with a nice fan like this one at the Palms Hotel in South Beach sure sounds nice to me today (I’m literally melting). The hotel also has two resident parrots (the important things first, of course), a “backyard” with hammocks, direct beach access, poolside concierge service and grounds that practically scream have your dream wedding here.

United Mileage Plus members can accrue miles at the following U.S. hotels this summer:

Renaissance Hotels: 2 miles for every $1 spent

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts: up to 1,000 miles

And the following car rental companies:

Budget: 1,000 miles with weekend rental

National: 150 miles/day and double upgrade

Check United’s Summer Hotel, Car and Vacation offers for the details, as well as mileage perks available for hotels and car rental companies around the world.

Rumor has it that Paris Hilton is going to start her own hotel chain - hot on the heels of her little sister Nicky’s announcement about her Nicky O hotel project. Basically the only thing Paris has said about her future hotels thus far is that they will be, “cool.” And the first one will be in Vegas.

Okay, definitely morbid. But I’ve got to admit that I’ll probably check the National Museum of Funeral History out the next time I find myself in Houston. I mean, a museum whose slogan is, “Any Day Above Ground is a Good One” must be worth a visit. Among the interesting things housed there:

- 1920s era embalming tables

- A German funeral coach from 1860 (pictured)

- Princess Grace’s hearse

- A strand of President Lincoln’s hair taken from his fatal bullet wound

Princess Grace’s Hearse Among Killer Exhibits at Houston Museum

Planning a trip to Europe for summer or fall? Lufthansa is having a fare sale that ends today (it only started Wednesday) with some pretty good deals on tickets from the U.S. to Europe. For example:

Atlanta to Prague: $544

Philadelphia to London: $466

One thing to note: the priced listed on the Lufthansa site linked below are for one-way trips. Obviously, most people will be paying double the published fare….

Lufthansa Fare Sale

Sure, British actor Sean Bean and his 28-year-old girlfriend Georgina Sutcliffe may not be the biggest names in Hollywood, but they sure got some attention when they started beating the crap out of each other at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. And any kind of celeb scandal is lovely on a Friday, don’t you agree? Bean, who played Boromir in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Kyle in North Country, ended up with scratches and a bleeding face, while his girlfriend ended up bruised and scratched.

Bean and Girlfriend in Hotel Fight Drama

Southwest’s plan to switch to assigned seating may never come to fruition - seems the company has been floaded with letters begging the airline to keep its signature open seating plan.

Frequent Southwest Fliers Don’t Want Assigned Seats

Doesn’t this kind of look like the pool from Cocoon? Or am I insane?

You’ll find this pool inside the Hilton Springfield Hotel in Springfield, VA. TravelPosters give this hotel an overall rating of 8.7. The general consensus is that it’s a decent place to stay, but nothing particularly out of the ordinary. On the plus side, you get a complimentary breakfast buffet with your stay and there are happy hour drink specials at the bar. On the downside, you’ve got to pay extra for high-speed Internet access and video games.

Holy comforter pillow contrast! But that’s just me.

TravelPoster JamieJ, who stayed here for business and describes her travel budget as moderate, says the Best Western Tria in Cambridge, MA is “a friendly hotel with a free local shuttle service.”

A 31-year-old leisure traveler on a moderate travel budget, TravelPoster Amylip also stayed here recently and says, “This is a great little hotel. It’s very convenient and affordable for Cambridge. It’s close to the T and they have a shuttle. They offer a nice free breakfast and a workout room.”

Overall, this hotel received a 9.1 score from TravelPosters.

The Hotel.com Hotels for Life contest involves a lot of cockamamie rigamarole (like playing quizzes and inviting friends, etc), but sometimes you’re just so bored at work, you’ll do anything to pass just one more minute of your tortured existence. If you’re feeling that sentiment today, check out the press release below. You could win a $25 Visa Gift Card or a free week at Hotels.com hotels every year for the next 25 years.

Hotels.com Hotels for Life press release