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…
Trip Reports
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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…
Thank You British Airways! The American Airlines JFK Flagship Lounge
American Airlines first class lounges are called “Flagship Lounges.” There are currently four Flagship lounges, in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and London. There used to be one in Miami, renovations closed it and they never brought it back. It’s always struck me odd that they don’t have one in Dallas. American is seriously revamping and improving its business class product (though the rollout will take awhile), and in the process is removing first class from much of its fleet over the next few years. Eventually only their Boeing 777-300 aircraft will offer three cabins in international service. So I don’t expect an expansion of the Flagship Lounge product. Currently in order to access a Flagship Lounge, you need to: Be flying first class on an American Airlines or oneworld international flight in first class…
Eating Around Lower Manhattan
I usually prefer to be in Midtown, but I found myself staying in the Financial District over the weekend. And there’s plenty to eat in Lower Manhattan. First stop of the day for lunch was Lam Zhou Homemade Noodle, on the outskirts of Chinatown. They don’t speak much (any?) English. There’s no air conditioning. If you want a soda you take it from the refrigerator sitting outside. Soup is about $5, a dozen dumplings ~ $3. They’ll sell you 50 frozen dumplings for $8.50. Cash only. Somehow Michael Bloomberg allows them to remain open (perhaps because the refrigerator has only 16 ounce cans of soda?), despite a “B” rating from the health department, is anyone’s guess. This is not a pretty restaurant. No water or tea if you do not ask. But outstanding soup, I…
Confusing Room Types, Breakfast, and Room Service at an Otherwise Nice Andaz Wall Street
I spent the weekend up in New York and stayed at the Andaz Wall Street. I was looking for New York hotel prices in the middle of the week and found a great rate at the Wall Street property. It’s usually quite reasonable on weekends, since the primary function of the hotel is for business travelers wanting to stay in the financial district. Although it remains surprisingly busy on the weeknds, there were apparently 3 wedding parties at the hotel while I was there. It’s just that most of the area isn’t especially vibrant once the business week ends. “Andaz suite” rooms were pricing the same as base-level rooms, and the weekend rate was especially low, so I booked it In fact, I made a couple of bookings. By the time I completed that, and…
A Pedestrian Trip, the Marriott Boca Raton
One of my frequent destinations is Boca Raton, Florida. Unfortunately there’s no Hyatt nearby. There’s no Starwood, either. And other than the Boca Raton Resort & Club, there’s nothing in town that purports to be especially nice. I’ve schlepped from the Hyatt Pier 66 when I’ve had competing reasons to be closer to Ft. Lauderdale along with trips up to Boca on multiple occasions, and my old go to used to be the Westin Diplomat for these trips but I’ve tired of 45 minute drives each way when I can stay mere blocks from where I need to be. Naturally to the North there are plenty of nice properties in Palm Beach. But you do have to go to Fort Lauderdale or Palm Beach to broaden out options for a ncie hotel. Starting in July…
Weekend at the Falls: American Business Class, Gol Domestic, and the Sheraton Iguazú Resort: American’s Business Class to Miami and on to DC
American to Miami in First, then Business Class to Sao Paulo Gol Smiles VIP Lounge and Domestic Service to Foz de Iguassu Sheraton Iguazú Falls Resort & Spa The Wonder of the Falls Gol Domestic Back to Sao Paulo and the Admiral’s Club Sao Paulo American’s Business Class to Miami and on to DC After about 5 hours in the lounge it was finally time to leave Brazil. We headed downstairs and on to our gate at the end of Wing D, and it simply reinforced the notion that there’s not much to do, see, or eat in the terminal. One of the interesting things about the walk is that the international and domestic gates are separated by a glass wall most of the walk to the end of the pier. We arrived at the…
Weekend at the Falls: American Business Class, Gol Domestic, and the Sheraton Iguazú Resort: Gol Domestic Back to Sao Paulo and the Admiral’s Club Sao Paulo
American to Miami in First, then Business Class to Sao Paulo Gol Smiles VIP Lounge and Domestic Service to Foz de Iguassu Sheraton Iguazú Falls Resort & Spa The Wonder of the Falls Gol Domestic Back to Sao Paulo and the Admiral’s Club Sao Paulo American’s Business Class to Miami and on to DC Checkout from the hotel was smooth, I did need to stop by the desk though to have them remove internet charges from the bill that was slipped under my door (as they told me I would need to do when I checked in). I had inquired earlier about getting a cab from the hotel back to the airport on the Brazilian side, and was told it wouldn’t be a problem and that no advance reservation was needed, there’s a waiting queue…
Weekend at the Falls: American Business Class, Gol Domestic, and the Sheraton Iguazú Resort: The Wonder of the Falls
Iguazu Falls: American to Miami in First, then Business Class to Sao Paulo Gol Smiles VIP Lounge and Domestic Service to Foz de Iguassu Sheraton Iguazú Falls Resort & Spa The Wonder of the Falls Gol Domestic Back to Sao Paulo and the Admiral’s Club Sao Paulo American’s Business Class to Miami and on to DC The really stunning thing about the Sheraton isn’t the views per se, it’s that you’re already inside the park. You can arrive in the afternoon, drop off your stuff in your room, and pop over to the Falls. You’re literally 15 – 20 minutes’ walking from your hotel room door to some of the most impressive sights you’re likely to come upon, anywhere. From the hotel there’s easy access to an upper trail that will take less than an…
