From 2004-2006 the Renaissance Boca Raton was probably the hotel I stayed at most often. Once upon a time it was actually a Sheraton, it’s on 19th street but you turn off Glades Road onto Renaissance Way which brings you a block down to the property. I remember driving past Sheraton Way years back. It happens to be the closest decent place to where I was traveling. And it was a hidden treasure. Service used to be incredible. Some of the friendliest, most engaging people I had come across at a hotel, I thought the place was flagged with the wrong Marriott brand or at least they had sent the staff over from the Palm Beach Ritz. An oasis of a suburban hotel, the pool area was more akin to a resort. Without a resort…
Trip Reports
Category Archives for Trip Reports.
Excellent Hunan Chinese in Northern Virginia
I’ve been known to go off in search of great dumplings and dim sum when I travel (even here in the States). And living in the DC area I’m blessed with some generally very good Asian foods. My favorite Thai in the area remains Elephant Jumps. You can’t go wrong with anything Vietnamese in the Eden Center. But most of the Chinese seems to taste the same, there are decent carryout places that fill a niche (I’m not sure what niche, exactly, but a niche) but very few Chinese places that reach the heights of the Thai and Vietnamese restaurants in the area. For good Sichuan there’s China Star. And when I lost power at the beginning of the month and stayed out at the Hyatt Fair Lakes I discovered some really good Hunan —…
A Superior Suite and Inferior Service at the Intercontinental Boston
I walked into the hotel and straight up to the checkin desk. I was asked for my name and I handed over my credit card. They asked for my drivers license. I know that internationally I’m frequently asked for a passport but I wish hotels would not card their elite members, they should at least feign knowing who I am and welcoming me rather than asking me to prove that I am who I say I am. This is hardly an issue I have with the Intercontinental Boston as such, just an observation. When I first became a Royal Ambassador member, one of the benefits that was explained was that they keep my credit card on file, I would never have to do the usual check-in formalities. That never turned out to be the case,…
Reader Boston Lobster Roll Challenge
The first two comments on my JetBlue trip report, where I ended by finding a good lobster roll near the airport, were about another lobster roll downtown at Neptune Oyster. So in the interest of research and science, I decided to check it out and compare. Neptune is more expensive, but it’s a sit down restaurant and not a takeout seafood store in a shack. They don’t take reservations, and on a Saturday night the wait can easily be two hours. I went on Sunday afternoon just before 5pm and the wait was 45 minutes. While I waited, I played tourist and walked 3 or 4 blocks to Paul Revere’s home. You’re spared that, since they don’t allow photographs inside. When they had a place at the bar open up they rang me on my…
Checking Out the New Conrad New York
I was prepared not to like the Conrad New York. It’s the old Embassy Suites, given a facelift, and which re-opened in March. I remember staying there for the Freddie Awards in 2004 and paying 35,000 HHonors points for my room, it was my second hotel redemption ever and most of the points were earned changing my email address every quarter. The property is owned by Goldman Sachs and it’s across the street from their offices. The scuttlebutt I had heard was that their partners wouldn’t stay at the property while it was an Embassy Suites. Back before the financial crisis they would stay down at the Ritz-Carlton Battery Park. But now with austerity they want their people nearby at their own property, so it needed to be re-branded. How accurate that is I don’t…
A JetBlue Trip Report!
The last time I flew JetBlue was March 2002, from Washington Dulles to Ft. Lauderdale. They were the cheapest option by far, they had to be, it was the only way at the time I would have booked away from United Airlines. JetBlue has had a decent presence at Washington Dulles over the years, and I fly out of there when I have to, but I live near National so avoid Dulles as one of the more horrendous facilities in the country whenever I can. Of course, JetBlue began flying to National airport in November 2010. But I hadn’t had occasion to fly them until now, largely because I’m a creature irrationally driven by loyalty and first class upgrades. But I had to fly to Boston, and JetBlue’s flights were by far the cheapest for…
Starwood’s The Nines Hotel, Portland Offers Great Food, Friendly Staff, and a Room Downgrade
I booked a room a ‘Deluxe Corner Room King’ at The Nines in Portland for this past weekend. It was a cheap rate, and coupled with the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts program I’d get a late checkout (duplicated by my Starwood status which is, alas, only Gold — and which I also wouldn’t need), daily Continental breakfast (which the hotel offers as a $34 per room credit each day for rom service as well), and a $100 food and beverage credit in addition — as well as an upgrade to the next room category subject to availability on arrival. Wireless internet is free for all guests, though that too comes with status. All in all, it was a pretty good deal for a hotel that’s supposed to be the nicest offering in Portland.…
When Life Gives You a Force Majeure Event, Earn Stay Credit
This was supposed to be my first weekend at home in over a month, and a 10-day stretch without any travel. Weather had somewhat different plans for me. Last night around 10:45pm, I lost power. A major, brief storm took down power for millions of households on top of 100 degree heat. I went to bed, woke up in the morning around 6:30am, and still had no power. An hour later I started planning. I had no internet at home, but my Verizon MiFI was functioning (of course it has limited battery life, and I had no power to recharge it). Power was out at my offices. My phone was fully charged, and I rang up Hyatt — the nearby Arlington and Crystal City properties had no power. I rang up Starwood, there was a…
My Best Upgrade Yet at My Favorite Hotel in New York
Monday morning, Million Mile Secrets tweeted: As good as @garyleff says they are! http://ow.ly/i/IMrJ He was referring to the lemon poppyseed pancakes at the Andaz 5th Avenue. I read this tweet just as I was walking out the front door of that same hotel. I had checked in late Sunday night for a one-night stay. As regular readers of this blog know, I’m a regular guest at that hotel, it’s my favorite place to stay in Manhattan. The rooms, and the bathrooms, are large by New York standards. All guests receive complimentary internet and non-alcoholic beverages from the minibar (I’m just grateful for the 3 bottles of water, replenished daily). There’s of course a refrigerator in the ‘library’ portion of the lobby to get free coffee, water, and whatnot as well. And there’s free snacks…
A Weekend Stay at the Excellent Hyatt at Olive 8 in Seattle
I spent last weekend at the Hyatt at Olive 8 in Seattle (unsurprisingly located on the corner of Olive and 8th). It’s a lovely hotel, far preferred over the Grand Hyatt in Seattle, and a place I plan to return to when I’m in the area. Everyone was friendly, the rooms still feel modern and new, the restaurant is good and it was conveniently located for me. I had a regular room, though they assigned it on the top (17th) floor. I did have a chance to see one of the suites that are offered when Diamonds confirm their upgrade in advance with a suite upgrade certificate and it was quite nice, a very large living room and dining room area, and an extra large bathroom with separate tub and shower as well as dual…
