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…
Hotel Report 2012
Tag Archives for Hotel Report 2012.
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: Sheraton Iguazú Falls Resort & Spa
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 The Wonder of the Falls Gol Domestic Back to Sao Paulo and the Admiral’s Club Sao Paolo American’s Business Class to Miami and on to DC With just a weekend in South America, and a goal of visiting one of the places I’ve wanted to see for years, I decided on convenience and time savings — I picked the Sheraton because it’s actually in the National Park, on the Argentina side. The Sheraton is on the pricey side, rooms were over $250++ and suites around $575++ during my stay. It’s a Starwood category 5 — so delivers a bit over 2 cents a point without any high season points…
A Quick Trip to Dallas and a DFW Airport Overnight
American Airlines invited me to their media event on premium cabin enhancements, and I jumped on it figuring any extra travel to Dallas means travel on American when I’m earning quadruple miles (from a post-oneworld Mega DO promotion). I looked up airfares, saw that without much advance purchase and for the flights I needed given work schedules, that I’d be staring down the barrel of a $1700 ticket. I wound up booked in T class instead, that’s a coach award. No miles earned, not upgradable. And last minute, so the available seats weren’t great either. Not a fantastic way to start a premium cabin improvements discussion, eh? But I watched seat map availability (thanks, Expert Flyer) and an exit row opened up. And then an exit row aisle. I was all good. Great crew, I…
A Newark Airport Hotel That’s Actually Worth Staying At?
My favorite airport hotel in the world is the Intercontinental O’Hare. It’s crazy nice, from the time you’re picked up in a new black party bus instead of the standard beat up van.. to the lobby with an art gallery… beautiful bathrooms… a view of planes lining up to land… plus decent restaurants attached to the property like a Capital Grill. I much like the SkyCity Marriott in Hong Kong as well, on the water with a great staff and great rooms, top notch bath amenities and free internet, right by the airport. Now, the best and most important thing most of the time is convenience and proximity, so it’s hard to beat the Sheratons in Frankfurt and Paris (though I don’t especially like either property as a hotel), the Sheraton Toronto airport, the Kempinski…
Best Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes Yet at the Andaz 5th Avenue
I’ve certainly written my thoughts ad nauseam on the Andaz 5th Avenue in New York, my usual go-to for overall combination of price and value, for instance here, here, here, and here. (I promise I don’t write about the place every time I stay!) I’ll simply add to the pile by noting the first time I’ve gotten a suite here without balcony, I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed that feature before given that I don’t actually spend time outside on it! I was actually originally assigned a balcony-less suite that was smaller than an XL King (non-suite here), the room didn’t seem to get cell coverage with AT&T. After some initial pushback on assigning a different room (and an offer to buy up to the Presidential Suite), they offered a different suite that worked…
Maximizing Miles in the Maldives: Cathay First, Eating in Singapore, and a Park Hyatt Water Villa – Conrad Hong Kong
Introduction Positioning flights to San Francisco, Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf, and Some Dim Sum for the Day Cathay’s New San Francisco Lounge Cathay Pacific First Class, San Francisco – Hong Kong The Wing and Cathay Pacific First Class, Hong Kong – Singapore A Grand Suite at the Grand Hyatt Singapore Eating in Singapore Dinner at Waku Ghin, Marina Bay Sands Singapore Airlines Business Class: Singapore – Male Transfer to the Park Hyatt Hadahaa, Maldives Park Hyatt Maldives – Part I Park Hyatt Maldives – Part II Park Hyatt Maldives – Part III Maldivian, Kaadehdhoo – Male Singapore Airlines Business Class, Male – Singapore Cathay Pacific Business Class, Singapore – Hong Kong Conrad Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class, Hong Kong – Chicago American’s Chicago Flagship Lounge and the Final Journey Home I had done a lot…
Maximizing Miles in the Maldives: Cathay First, Eating in Singapore, and a Park Hyatt Water Villa – Park Hyatt Maldives – Part III
Introduction Positioning flights to San Francisco, Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf, and Some Dim Sum for the Day Cathay’s New San Francisco Lounge Cathay Pacific First Class, San Francisco – Hong Kong The Wing and Cathay Pacific First Class, Hong Kong – Singapore A Grand Suite at the Grand Hyatt Singapore Eating in Singapore Dinner at Waku Ghin, Marina Bay Sands Singapore Airlines Business Class: Singapore – Male Transfer to the Park Hyatt Hadahaa, Maldives Park Hyatt Maldives – Part I Park Hyatt Maldives – Part II Park Hyatt Maldives – Part III Maldivian, Kaadehdhoo – Male Singapore Airlines Business Class, Male – Singapore Cathay Pacific Business Class, Singapore – Hong Kong Conrad Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class, Hong Kong – Chicago American’s Chicago Flagship Lounge and the Final Journey Home The first night on property…
Maximizing Miles in the Maldives: Cathay First, Eating in Singapore, and a Park Hyatt Water Villa – Park Hyatt Maldives – Part II
Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa: Introduction Positioning flights to San Francisco, Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf, and Some Dim Sum for the Day Cathay’s New San Francisco Lounge Cathay Pacific First Class, San Francisco – Hong Kong The Wing and Cathay Pacific First Class, Hong Kong – Singapore A Grand Suite at the Grand Hyatt Singapore Eating in Singapore Dinner at Waku Ghin, Marina Bay Sands Singapore Airlines Business Class: Singapore – Male Transfer to the Park Hyatt Hadahaa, Maldives Park Hyatt Maldives – Part I Park Hyatt Maldives – Part II Park Hyatt Maldives – Part III Maldivian, Kaadehdhoo – Male Singapore Airlines Business Class, Male – Singapore Cathay Pacific Business Class, Singapore – Hong Kong Conrad Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class, Hong Kong – Chicago American’s Chicago Flagship Lounge and the Final Journey Home Service…
