Hotels in this story

Price Dates

The Hazelton Hotel

The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel

Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino

MGM Grand Hotel and Casino

Knights Inn Charlotte South

The luxe Hazelton Hotel wants its guests to be comfortable — no matter the cost.

The Hazelton Hotel in Toronto recently installed a handcrafted bed from Hastens that costs almost 30 times the price of a week-long stay in the hotel’s Superior Guest Room.

During Tom Cruise’s recent visit to the Forza Mare Hotel in Croatia, the film star requested that the hotel clear itself of all guests so he might enjoy a more private stay.

Guests at New York City’s iconic Bemelman’s Bar at The Carlyle were treated to an impromptu jazz performance from Mariah Carey last weekend.

Reporters covering last week’s Democratic National Convention had a lot more to worry about than the return of Clint Eastwood’s chair: Hotels in Charlotte were reamed by reporters across networks for hosting everything from bedbugs to drug dealers during their stay.

VH1’s next Vegas reality show is pitting model against model at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in which contestants have to complete Vegas-inspired stunts (think swimming with sharks at Mandalay or sleeping with the lions at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino) to win a spokesmodel contract with the hotel.

Each individually crafted and unique Vividus bed from Hastens rings in around $99,900 — the cost of a 7-night stay in the Hazelton’s Superior Guest Room is around $3,500. Made with Arctic Circle forest-sourced pine, hand-laid springs, and hand-teased horsehair, cotton, wool, and flax, the Vividus take upwards of 150 hours to create.

Cruise might be looking for some peace and quiet, but only during dinnertime. Upon arrival at the Forza Mare, Cruise asked that the in-house restaurant be emptied so that he might dine alone. His request was denied.

Bemelman’s is no stranger to celebrity sitings: Judy Collins and Woody Allen (on jazz clarinet) have been known to show off their jazz skills here. Carey — who came with husband Nick Cannon, Randy Jackson, and Jermaine Dupri in tow — sang the jazz standards Summertime and Lullaby of Birdland.

The Washington Times, FoxNews, National Review and even Gawker commented on the sorry state of rooms in Charlotte. National Review, which was put up by the DNC in the city’s Knights Inn properties, fled them after having to deal with filthy rooms, drug dealers peddling in their neighboring room, and a prostitute working out front. The Washington Times and FoxNews each had to contend with bedbug infestations during their stay.

While that sounds plenty interesting, the contestants on Model Employee will actually have to complete more mundane tasks, such as sifting through the trash for recycling and cleaning the shark tanks, in order to “truly [understand] the brand they hope to represent,” according to VH1’s Jeff Olde. It’s America’s Next Top Model meets Hotel Impossible: how can anything possibly go wrong?