Camping at a Four Seasons and London’s new St. Regis: Hotel news you might have missed

February may be the shortest month of the year, but that doesn't mean it was short on hotel news.

In fact, as we head further into 2022, we're hearing about incredible hotels opening, new trends and amenities being offered by brands around the world and plenty of exciting reasons to start planning a trip.

So whether it's finally time to make reservations for one of the hottest hotel openings of 2022 (here's looking at you, Conrad Los Angeles) or you're just curious to know why a convoy of robot vacuum cleaners are running up and down the halls of hotels across the U.K., here's the hotel news you might have missed this month.

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The Conrad Los Angeles is taking reservations

Downtown Los Angeles is having a moment, and this June it'll get even better with the opening of the Conrad Los Angeles, the first Conrad in California. It's part of a massive building complex called Grand LA designed by architect Frank Gehry with dining, shopping and more. Reservations are currently open for stays starting in June at the 305-room, 28-story hotel with views of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, along with a 16,000-square-foot rooftop, restaurants, bars and spas.

We now know that a Hilton Honors standard room reward will start at 90,000 points for a deluxe city-view room with one king bed. With the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card, you could get enough points for a night at this exciting new hotel by earning 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the card in the first six months of card membership. Offer ends 04/05/2023.

Until then, learn everything you need to know about how to maximize your Hilton Honors points with our handy award traveler’s guide to the program.

Travelodge is using robots to vacuum 579 hotels in the UK

We frequently talk about how hotels are using technology to make the lives of hotel guests and employees easier and more efficient. So, don't be shocked if you happen to stop by a Travelodge in the U.K. and run into a "RoboVac Buddy," an automatic, self-controlled vacuum robot specifically designed for the brand so it can hold up to the industrial needs of cleaning a hotel.

In fact, as Travelodge explained, its housekeepers in the U.K. "collectively vacuum the distance from London to New York every day," so these 7,500 RoboVac Buddies will hopefully make a huge difference — and potentially set the standard for hotels around the world.

The largest Hilton in the Asia Pacific region is now open

If you didn't know, Singapore is open for tourism — and it's actually pretty easy to visit considering that, as of Feb. 22, passengers arriving at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) will no longer need to take a COVID-19 PCR test or isolate on arrival. Instead, visitors only need to take one supervised self-swab test at an official testing center within 24 hours of arrival in Singapore.

With that in mind, people looking to head to Singapore will be excited to hear that there's a brand new Hilton (the largest in the Asia Pacific region) ready to welcome travelers. The Hilton Singapore Orchard is now open on Orchard Road above the Mandarin Gallery luxury shopping center. With 1,080 rooms, the hotel is truly massive. It has five restaurants, event spaces, a pool and a workout facility. Better yet, award nights can be booked for as few as 59,000 Hilton Honors points per night.

Hyatt and Marriott are going big in London

London has no shortage of hotels and there are plenty that we're truly in love with, including the NoMad London, "a fever dream of beautiful things," according to senior travel editor Melanie Lieberman. In February, two new hotels where you can earn and burn points were announced, making it harder than ever to decide where to stay in the charming city.

First, the 209-room Hyatt Regency London Blackfriars will open this July. The hotel will be the perfect place for work and play thanks to its convenient location near some of the city's main business districts and tourist attractions. It will have a Chinese restaurant, a New York-style bistro, a cocktail bar and more. It will be the ninth Hyatt hotel in London, though it's unclear where it will fall in World of Hyatt's categories.

And next year, in the upscale neighborhood of Mayfair, the St. Regis London will welcome guests at the corner of Bond and Conduit streets near some of London's best shopping, dining and attractions. St. Regis is retrofitting a previous hotel through a $122 million dollar investment and expects to have 196 rooms once finished. While we wait to hear how many Marriott Bonvoy points it'll take to book a room here (you can expect it to be a top-tier category) learn the inner workings of the Bonvoy program with this guide.

A luxury tented resort will open in Mexico

In my humble opinion, Four Seasons can do no wrong, and I've had the pleasure of staying at properties from Amman, Jordan, to Hoi An in Vietnam. One location that people love is Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita on the west coast of Mexico. Now, that resort is expanding with the introduction of a new tented camp called Naviva later this year. Guests who stay here will be matched with a personal guide who can help create a bespoke experience with activities like one-on-one cooking lessons or workout classes, cliffside yoga or spa treatments.

The tented resort will have access to a secluded beach and an expansive pool, and the 15 tents will feature private pools, decks and some will also have private garden areas. There will also be an on-site restaurant, Copal, a farm-to-table Mexican food grill with fresh seafood served around an open kitchen.

Pancakes are power (according to the data)

This month, Hilton shared that the most popular breakfast item at hotels that offer the meal for free is a syrup-drenched, fluffy pancake. Personally, I prefer a Texas-shaped waffle, biscuits and cream gravy and sausage (OK, really I just prefer breakfast at Waffle House), but that data point made me wonder what our readers look for when they're dining at hotels that offer complimentary breakfast — and boy, did you all have opinions. From guests looking for healthier morning meals and more fresh, made-to-order options to those ride-or-die passionate pancake people, here's what you all want for breakfast.

In other news ...

• Don’t be fooled by a ‘pet-friendly’ hotel — it’ll almost always cost you
• 10 new hotels in Australia you can visit now that the country is reopening to tourists
• Suddenly, my Hyatt free night certificates feel nearly worthless — book these 24 hotels now
• Mandarin Oriental is opening a private island resort in the Maldives
• This new skyscraper doubles as a living garden, and it’ll be home to the Four Seasons Melbourne
• Kimpton is now offering travelers TikTok-famous sunset lamps and free virtual therapy

Lastly, while February is Black History Month, Black history and culture should be celebrated and honored all year long. For your next trip, consider visiting one of these seven destinations that elevate Black culture year-round. For example, you could spend a night at the Historic Magnolia House in Greensboro, North Carolina (one of only four Green Book sites in the state) or, if you're venturing to Richmond, Virginia, book a room at the Graduate Hotel Richmond, which sits close to the Virginia Commonwealth University (a historically Black university) campus and pays homage to famed local tennis player Arthur Ashe.

And if you're already trying to make plans for next year's Valentine's Day, I had the very difficult assignment of spending Cupid's holiday at an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic to see if it's worth the trip. (It is.)