Sound & Vision has a nice roundup of vacation spots for those of us who'd rather stay in with an expensive media centre than work on our burns by the pool. They take a look at some of the world's top hotels boasting the finest in A/V gear. But I'm not sure that I'd spend US$100,000 a night just to watch TV at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, even with the pricey gear they're packing. Correction: That's actually the price of the gear in the room. Check it:

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Looking for a comic- book style hotel to stay in on your next trip to China? Then check out the Songjiang Hotel. It's being built within a quarry. A quarry! Why not just call it a layer. The Songjiang, scheduled to be completed in 2009, not only has your traditional spas and conference facilities, but also features bungee jumping off of the top of the quarry, a few underwater guest rooms, a grass-covered roof, several waterfalls (one of which flows down the front of the hotel) and even geo-thermal energy extraction that should be able to power most of the hotel's needs. Come on US, where are our geo-thermal quarry hotels? All we have are the dancing fountains outside the Bellagio in Las Vegas. [EcoGeek]