About two and a half years ago I first wrote about my favorite Thai restaurant in the DC suburbs, Elephant Jumps in Merrifield. Regular readers know this place and word has certainly spread. I understand that some of the bloggers from First2Board organized a lunch there before the start of Frequent Traveler University at the end of April. There aren’t a ton of places that age well, and admittedly after it first got popular it had a few ups and downs especially with service (they were learning to staff properly and handle getting busy). They worked through the bumps well, and I kept going back. And going back. I had pretty much everything on the menu except for their Thai-Western fusion dishes which just didn’t appeal to me. This is a hole in the wall…
Trip Reports
Category Archives for Trip Reports.
Why the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 is My Most Vexing Hotel
I have family in South Florida and I visit often, and those trips are very much all about spending time with them and not where I’m staying. If there’s ever a time on “leisure” (pretend those are ‘air quotes’) that I don’t spend much time in the room, it’s when I’ve with family. So it doesn’t matter much that the hotel options in my prince point tend to be entirely pedestrian. I really like the Hyatt Place in Delray Beach as an alternative to my usual Marriott or Renaissance in Boca Raton. And yet I seem to keep going back to the Hyatt Regency Pier 66… and not because I need Gold Passport stay and night credit, either (I’d just stay in Delray Beach). Other family tends to stay there for other proximity reasons, and…
The Best Hand Pulled Chinese Noodles in New York (or Anywhere)
About 10 months back I wrote about some of my favorite food spots in Lower Manhattan. One of those was Lam Zhou Homemade Noodle. The link above is to the restaurant’s Yelp page, they don’t have a website. They don’t have metal utensils. Or air conditioning. Or a credit card machine. Or an A rating from the health department, for that matter. What they do have is the absolute best hand pulled noodles and delicious soup, in expensively. They don’t speak much if any English, you order by number off of the big sign on the wall with pricing and you pay at the end by cash (it seems like they could care less if you tip or not, and the man taking my money recently looked at me funny when I overpaid by about…
The Hyatt Regency Austin’s View of the River from a Confirmed Suite
One of my favorite things is a great hotel suite. I recognize that’s not everyone’s preference, many of my readers will say “I don’t need a suite, I don’t spend time in the room anyway, get out and see a great city!” And I don’t disagree with that. But I also enjoy a resort that I can spend time at and relax, a vacation where I’m not running around the whole time. My normal life is at warp speed so being able to take time where I’m sedentary means a lot. Even in a city, and when not on vacation, I love a sanctuary. By my nature I’m an introvert. So if I’m attending a conference, or a bunch of meetings, or even just doing sightseeing it’s nice to have a great space to return…
Airline Arrivals Lounges, and American’s Offering at London Heathrow
Most airport lounges are places to wait before getting on a flight. Some are even designated as departure lounges only, which is to say that you need to show a departing boarding pass to get in (either a business class or above boarding pass, or a coach boarding pass and something else to demonstrate you’re entitled to access like an eligible elite frequent flyer card). But there are also designated arrivals lounges, usually places to shower up after a long flight. This is especially important in some markets where many long haul flights arrive in the early morning — business travelers turning up and needing to go straight to the office, a place to clean up and even have a suit pressed, leisure travelers who get into the city too early to check into their…
Republicans Woke Me Up in the Middle of the Night — at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento
The Hyatt Regency Sacramento is a perfectly serviceable hotel with a nice lobby, generally good staff, and good rooms that gets very expensive and sells out when the legislature is in session in California’s state capitol, given its proximity. I stayed there recently at the tail end of my UAE and Maldives trip because a friend was getting married nearby. The hotel was expensive when I looked into it, showing sold out months in advance, but another friend decided not to use his booking at the Hyatt and stay at the nearby Sheraton instead — and transferred his cheapie reservation to me. I should have known that showing sold out (only “Diamond Guaranteed Availability” open) months out must mean a conference taking up the bulk of the hotel. In those situations rooms often become available…
Upgrade Policy Changes and Other Developments at My Favorite New York Hotel, the Andaz 5th Avenue
About six months ago Jonathan, the General Manager of the Andaz 5th Avenue, moved over to Hyatt corporate. His role was filled by the Director of Rooms from the Park Hyatt Washington DC. Most things remained the same, but a few things changed. I haven’t been to New York much the past few months, or if I have it’s been for a specific purpose that’s had me staying at another hotel, it’s been for a flight connection, or it’s been a same-day in and out so no hotel stay needed. A far cry from a time not too long ago where I was here pretty much every week. So I haven’t stayed at the Andaz 5th Avenue in awhile, and I haven’t reported on things here in even longer – at least six months –…
Austin Food & Culture — and What it Taught Me About Barbecue and… Thai Food
I was in Austin recently, it’s one of my favorite cities, both for classic Texas and for much more modern culture. One of the things I did over the weekend earlier in the month is picked up tickets for ‘Master Pancake,’ a live Mystery Science Theatre 3000 style performance in a theatre/draft house. So you get something to drink, you can pay extra for comfortable chairs (a very modest upcharge), and watch some cutting-edge comedy. In this case, one of the original MST3K folks joined Austin regulars as they mocked Hunger Games. I may not have the most exciting Saturday nights, but it was a lot of fun. I also returned to some of my favorite barbecue spots, and I learned something about barbecue in the process. I expected consistency — restaurants that have been…
The Sofitel Heathrow and on Choosing a London Heathrow Airport Hotel
Commenter RJ Brown asks about the Sofitel London Heathrow on my post about flying British Airways from London to San Francisco. Just changed my return seats to 5E&5F and reserved the cabana based on your notes…… Also decided to overnight in the Sofitel coming back as it appeared the only hotel that allowed a “walk” from room to terminal…..any experience with that property? I wasn’t going to write up a report on the hotel, but figured that if someone was asking about it, that it might be of interest to others too. Last month I needed a Heathrow overnight. And though I was arriving and departing from Terminal 3, I chose the Sofitel. The Sofitel is attached to Terminal 5 and so most convenient for British Airways arrivals and departures. It’s also the nicest Heathrow…
Return to the Maldives: London Heathrow – San Francisco, British Airways New First Class
Trip Report Index: Introducing and Strategy New York JFK – Abu Dhabi, Etihad First Class Park Hyatt Dubai Touring the Burj al Arab Tea at the Burj al Arab Abu Dhabi – Male, Etihad Business Class Male – Kaadedhdhoo, Maldivian and Transfer to the Park Hyatt Park Hyatt Hadahaa Maldives Kooddoo-Male-Abu Dhabi, Maldivian and Etihad Business Class Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi – Dusseldorf – London, Etihad First Class and British Airways Club Europe London Heathrow – San Francisco, British Airways New First Class The transit process – though requiring two buses to make it from a terminal 1 bus gate over to terminal 5 – was pretty straightforward. Once at T5 I had to go through an immigration queue before getting to the security checkpoint. They hadn’t handed out Fast Track cards on…
