Back in April I reviewed the W Austin. I led with it being a good hotel, but I had a few beefs. I’ve reviewed several hotels in the Austin area: the Hyatt Place Downtown, Westin Austin at the Domain, and Hyatt Regency (also here and here). The W is my favorite of those by far — right smack downtown, but not by all the 6th street bars (so quieter) and with a view of the river. What I didn’t like was mostly housekeeping-related. There were usually room service trays sitting in the hallway outside of doors for most of the day, and room servicing was a bit less than thorough. At the end of May I wrote about a much, much better experience there where they had seemingly fixed their issues. But they had also…
The Westin Diplomat – and its Limitless Ocean View Suites – Becoming a Hilton
The Westin Diplomat outside of Fort Lauderdale has been sold and it is leaving Starwood and will apparently become a Hilton. SPECIAL CONDITIONS Leaving Starwood At 11:59 PM On October 29, 2014 The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, Hollywood, FL will be leaving the Starwood system at 11:59pm on October 29, 2014. Reservations for dates on or after October 29, 2014 will not be eligible for Starwood Preferred Guest membership benefits, award redemption or accrual. Starwood may have to re-accommodate guests that have booked award stays past October 30 elsewhere,
Mystery Solved: What’s That You’re Eating, and What’s That Plane Doing There?!
To complement Ben’s Chili Bowl at National airport we have Five Guys re-opened on the fa US Airways upper gates pier. I genuinely don’t understand the closure for the better part of the last year, the re-model looks… just like it did before. The real mystery, though, that took me several minutes to figure out was why I was seeing this American plane on the far US Airways pier. There are American regional jet flights now leaving from the far pier, utilizing US Airways bus gates. But I hadn’t seen any American mainline aircraft re-positioned. When I got to the gate, I saw it wasn’t an American flight after all! It was a US Airways aircraft that had been repainted in American’s livery. Well that’s confusing! Change is coming to National airport in many forms!…
Here Are The Worst Airports in the US. Is Yours One of Them?
Vice President Joe Biden thinks New York LaGuardia is a national embarrassment. It’s home to a new American Express Centurion lounge. Terminal C is much-improved, and the new US Airways club there is no longer the worst airline lounge in North America. The Marine Air Terminal, home to Delta’s Shuttle to DC, is super easy in and out (and the other terminals aren’t bad in this regard). Plus it’s close-in to Manhattan, I’ve frequently left midtown after 3pm and had no problem gliding onto the US Airways Shuttle to DC at 4. No, the truly worst airports in the US feature long travel distances to their respective city centers, are difficult to navigate especially for connections, and are often dilapidated as well. Here are my six worst airports in the US. Miami There’s very little…
Booking Star Alliance Awards Using Amex Points And No Fuel Surcharges With Aeroplan
Aeroplan is an American Express transfer partner. Points transfer instantly in my experience over the years. The Aeroplan program is great for booking awards on Star Alliance partners. Nearer Europe is just 45,000 miles each way in business class. But not all partners are created equal when using Aeroplan to book awards — because three years ago they started adding fuel surcharges onto awards booked with some airline partners. Aeroplan does not impose fuel surcharges on all of its airline partners, though.
Friday Evening Open Thread: The Very Best Travel Wisdom
I’ve learned a few things, from the time I traveled frequently as a kid (my parents were divorced and lived on different coasts), to when I first started traveling for work in the mid-1990s. But the very best learning has come from other frequent flyers. So I’d love to hear from you. What is your best travel tip? What you you learned – about travel, or anything else – this week? But also, What are you wondering, or what would you like to know? Have you booked any great awards recently? Have you found any great restaurants or off-the-beaten path spots in your travels? If instead of offering a tip or idea, you decide you have a question, leave it in the comments. It would be great if other readers had answers. Hope your weekend…
The Post Only My Grandmother Will Want to Read
.. this started as, and in many ways, just remains my personal blog. That lots of folks join in and read, for which I’m extremely grateful. With that I offer News and notes from around the interweb: Malaysia Airlines plans to lay off 30% of its workforce and downsize some routes as part of restructuring. Declaring that you plan to fire your CEO in a year though doesn’t seem like a great strategy for having motivated leadership when you need it. (HT: Alan H.) Aeroflot wants a new jingle. (HT: Len M.) I was on MSNBC Wednesday just before noon Eastern talking reclining seats. A short, live interview, I didn’t find the clip online. It sort of scares me to see the photo that >Mommy Points tweeted, though. I seem to have odd TV impressions,…
Airline First Class Thunderdome: Two Blogs Enter, One Blog Leaves
Lucky posted about his rankings of first class airline products. This followed my ranking of top first class airlines list. You can see our full rankings, side-by-side, at FlightFox. Click ‘Flight Blogger Ratings’ on the upper right hand side. You can then sort by his and by mine. He threw down in a couple of places, offering disagreements. And I think that comes down to a few key differences.
Half Off Award Redemptions to Europe!
Air France KLM’s Flying Blue program should be interesting to U.S. frequent flyers for several reasons. They offer one-way awards, which Delta won’t have until next year. They are an American Express Membership Rewards and a Citi Thank You points transfer partner. They have access to award space that Delta won’t let you have. They have most of their partners available for online booking Unfortunately their call centers are frustrating, their website can be too (and has been known to show ‘phantom’ award availability, seats that look available but aren’t really here to book). And they add fuel surcharges onto award tickets. One of the great values, historically, has been their ‘promo awards’. Award tickets at half the cost of their regular award chart can be a great value, for a relatively short booking window…
Malaysia Airlines First Class Awards Available!
Malaysia Airlines is struggling financially, with very low load factors (read: empty planes). They aren’t losing nearly as much money as Qantas, of course. I genuinely feel bad for them. Lots of employees affected, generally not at all their fault, the carrier getting restructured. I much like the airline. They have my favorite satay. Although there have been big cutbacks — a couple of years ago lobster in the first class lounge now the options are much more limited. Not surprising, they were struggling even before recent events. Overall though I consider theirs the 10th best first class product (Lucky disagrees). For the frequent flyer, though, it’s worth noting that first class award space on Malaysia Airlines is back. Generally only one seat for long haul Europe – Kuala Lumpur, but back nonetheless. Here’s a…
