Lodging Review

Review: Landmark Condominiums in Vail, Colorado

Posted on June 15, 2016 by 2btravel

On my second ski trip this season I returned to Vail, Colorado for the first time in 9-10 years. Our group stayed at the Landmark Condominiums – a property that I don’t think even existed during my last stay.

It’s got a terrific location – right on the frontage road of I-70 and just a block away from the slopes on the other side. There’s an underground garage for those who need to park. Even without a car it’s easy to move around the Vail Valley as the public bus stop is right at the end of the Landmark’s driveway. The free bus can take you wherever you need to go on its route and can even connect you with the (paid) bus to Beaver Creek, if you want to ski there.

Each unit is independently owned so decor varied from unit to unit. Most of our group had 2BR units but my friend and I had a 1BR. Not surprisingly that meant that the bedroom contained only a single queen bed. I used the sleeper sofa and after finding a quilted duvet to help act as an additional mattress pad, actually slept pretty well.

The hallway led past the bedroom into the living room. It had several hooks on the wall, which was great for hanging up our coats so we didn’t have to try to squish them in with our clothes.

Hallway with front door

Hallway with front door

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Categories: Colorado, Condos, Lodging Review, North America, United States, Vail | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Review: The Summit at Big Sky Resort

Posted on May 28, 2016 by 2btravel

I love to ski and went on two trips this past ski season. The first one was to Big Sky, Montana, which is one of my very favorite places. It’s a little remote – the closest major airport is Bozeman (BZN), which is about 90 minutes away – but being a little hard to get to means it’s not crowded. And by “not crowded” I mean that if there are two groups of people in front of you in a lift line, that is a lot. They define a “busy day” as one with more than two people per skiable acre. As someone who is not overly fond of crowds, this is just fantastic for me.

My first trip to this resort was in 1994 and I’ve stayed in four different accommodations over the years since our ski club visits every 2-3 years. By far the best choice is The Summit.

View of the Summit from the slopes

View of the Summit from the slopes

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Categories: Lodging Review, Montana, North America, United States | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

SPB Hyatt Regency DFW

Posted on May 22, 2016 by 2btravel

SPB Trip Planning
SPB Qantas First Class to Sydney
SPB Park Hyatt Sydney
SPB Sydney Opera House
SPB Around Sydney
SPB Flying to/from Uluru
SPB Emu Walk Apartments
SPB Uluru and Kata Tjuta
SPB Park Hyatt Melbourne
SPB Around Melbourne
SPB Flying to Fiji
SPB Hilton Fiji
SPB Snorkeling Trip
SPB Fiji Air Business Class to Los Angeles
SPB Hyatt Regency DFW

It was after 11 PM when my flight from Los Angeles touched down in Dallas. I was rather tired after starting my day in Fiji, flying overnight to the States and it was now approaching midnight central time. I used the phone in baggage claim to reach the front desk of the Hyatt Regency DFW, which is on the airport grounds. I was given instructions as to where to meet the shuttle and was told it would be along within about 15 minutes.

I had debated between the Grand Hyatt DFW, which is attached to the terminal, and the Hyatt Regency for the last night of my trip. The Grand Hyatt is a category 3 hotel, which means 12,000 points per night, while the Hyatt Regency is a category 2 hotel for 8,000 points. While I loved the convenience of the Grand Hyatt, I thought I’d be better off saving those 4,000 points for the future.

Once on board the shuttle we made stops at several other terminals and I believe the van was nearly full by the time we reached the hotel. Since I only had a carry-on (my large suitcase was checked all the way through to Memphis) I was able to head straight inside to check in. Due to my tiredness I was a bit dismayed to see a long line of people waiting to check in. There were three people working the front desk and they were all working to reduce the line but there were just quite a few of us. That’s when I noticed the kiosk. I’d not seen one of these before but decided to give it a try. There were still only a few people behind me in line so I didn’t have much to lose if the kiosk did not work.

I was thrilled to find I was able to check in, swipe my credit card and the kiosk issued me a key to a room on the 12th Floor. Success! I found the elevator and had a solo ride up.

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Categories: Hyatt, Lodging Review, North America, Texas, United States | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

SPB Hilton Fiji

Posted on April 1, 2016 by 2btravel

SPB Trip Planning
SPB Qantas First Class to Sydney
SPB Park Hyatt Sydney
SPB Sydney Opera House
SPB Around Sydney
SPB Flying to/from Uluru
SPB Emu Walk Apartments
SPB Uluru and Kata Tjuta
SPB Park Hyatt Melbourne
SPB Around Melbourne
SPB Flying to Fiji
SPB Hilton Fiji
SPB Snorkeling Trip
SPB Fiji Air Business Class to Los Angeles
SPB Hyatt Regency DFW

After our early morning arrival in Nadi we were whisked away to our home for the next few nights, the Hilton Fiji Resort and Spa. Check in took a little while as there were several folks on our flight checking in at the same time. The large open-air lobby has lots of comfortable seating and is a great place just to sit and relax.

Hilton Fiji Lobby Waiting Area

Hilton Fiji Lobby Waiting Area

Hilton Fiji Reception

Hilton Fiji Reception

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Categories: Fiji, Hilton, Hotel, Lodging Review | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

SPB Park Hyatt Melbourne

Posted on January 19, 2016 by 2btravel

SPB Trip Planning
SPB Qantas First Class to Sydney
SPB Park Hyatt Sydney
SPB Sydney Opera House
SPB Around Sydney
SPB Flying to/from Uluru
SPB Emu Walk Apartments
SPB Uluru and Kata Tjuta
SPB Park Hyatt Melbourne
SPB Around Melbourne
SPB Flying to Fiji
SPB Hilton Fiji
SPB Snorkeling Trip
SPB Fiji Air Business Class to Los Angeles
SPB Hyatt Regency DFW

Our flight landed mid-afternoon in Melbourne and while we’d expected it to be cooler than Uluru, it was a good bit cooler than Sydney too. Not cold, but long sleeves and a light jacket felt good in the evenings with the wind.

We took the Sunbus Melbourne from the airport to the Park Hyatt. Their representative showed up near baggage claim very shortly after we got our bags, which was great timing. We then had to traipse over to the international terminal to find the remaining passengers for our van and then we all played “follow the leader” out to our shuttle.

Naturally we were one of the last groups to be let off at our hotel but we were warmly greeted by the bellman at the Park Hyatt Melbourne. He took our big bags as we went inside to check in. The front desk is located to the right of the main entrance and is staffed by delightful, helpful folks. They confirmed our club room and that we would have breakfast included and gave us our keys.

Park Hyatt Melbourne From The Street

Park Hyatt Melbourne From The Street

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Categories: Australia, Hotel, Hyatt, Lodging Review | Tags: , | 2 Comments

SPB Emu Walk Apartments

Posted on January 11, 2016 by 2btravel

SPB Trip Planning
SPB Qantas First Class to Sydney
SPB Park Hyatt Sydney
SPB Sydney Opera House
SPB Around Sydney
SPB Flying to/from Uluru
SPB Emu Walk Apartments
SPB Uluru and Kata Tjuta
SPB Park Hyatt Melbourne
SPB Around Melbourne
SPB Flying to Fiji
SPB Hilton Fiji
SPB Snorkeling Trip
SPB Fiji Air Business Class to Los Angeles
SPB Hyatt Regency DFW

We arrived at the tiny Ayers Rock (AYQ) airport on time and were happy to get inside the terminal to wait in air conditioned comfort for our bags. There is only one terminal at AYQ with two gates (if I recall correctly) and one belt in baggage claim. No way to get lost here! We picked up our rental car and began the drive to the resort. It was my first effort at driving on the “wrong” side of the road and I was very happy that we were out in the middle of nowhere so I’d have plenty of notice of approaching vehicles and since we had a small SUV, we could even pull off the road entirely if needed. Fortunately I managed to keep it on the road in the correct lane for our time there.

When booking lodging in the Uluru area, there’s one company that handles all requests. The Ayers Rock Resort has lots of different types of lodging from the rustic Outback Pioneer Hotel to the luxurious Sails in the Desert. Since we were paying for this stay (albeit with a discount thanks to Barclays ArrivalPlus points) we chose the Emu Walk Apartments, which is a step or two down, luxury-wise, from the Sails in the Desert but definitely above the Outback Pioneer Lodge. We chose a two-bedroom unit which would give us room to spread out as well as a breakfast area. The second bedroom was supposed to have twin beds though in the end it did not. Fortunately the sofa was relatively comfortable as a third bed since we were only staying two nights.

Our travel dates were during the third week of October, so well into Springtime. Temperatures were very warm during our stay, in the mid-90sF/mid-30sC and our air conditioner managed to keep pace, though it ran very steadily during the day. At night the desert cools off quite a bit which helps keep things cool enough to sleep.

Our particular apartment was a split-level: there were no stairs to the front door and immediately upon entering the kitchen was to the right and the second bedroom to the left.
Just beyond that, the dining area was on the right and the bathroom was to the left. Down a set of 4-5 steps was the living area and the master bedroom to the left.

Dining table seats six

Dining table seats six

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Categories: Australia, Lodging Review | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

SPB Park Hyatt Sydney

Posted on December 29, 2015 by 2btravel

SPB Trip Planning
SPB Qantas First Class to Sydney
SPB Park Hyatt Sydney
SPB Sydney Opera House
SPB Around Sydney
SPB Flying to/from Uluru
SPB Emu Walk Apartments
SPB Uluru and Kata Tjuta
SPB Park Hyatt Melbourne
SPB Around Melbourne
SPB Flying to Fiji
SPB Hilton Fiji
SPB Snorkeling Trip
SPB Fiji Air Business Class to Los Angeles
SPB Hyatt Regency DFW

 

When it comes to paying real money for things, I can be, er, frugal. So I like to use points to pay for things that I’d never pay cash for otherwise – or at least, not as much cash as the asking price! A standard Harbour View Twin room at the Park Hyatt retails for over $800 USD per night for dates in mid-October. No way would I ever pay that for any hotel but I will gladly fork over points and free night certificates for such a room.

Welcome to the Park Hyatt

Welcome to the Park Hyatt

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Categories: Australia, Hotel, Hyatt, Lodging Review, Oceania | Tags: , , | 3 Comments

Review: Hyatt Place Los Angeles/LAX/El Segundo

Posted on March 24, 2015 by 2btravel

After wrapping up our visit with our friend who lived in Pasadena, we opted to stay near the airport for our last night in town.  Prior experience had taught us that though it was great to stay out in Pasadena/Arcadia/Monrovia, when it was time to catch our flights if we stayed there then we had to get up earlier.  This was our first time to stay near the airport before a flight home and I think it’s a practice we will continue.

Arranging our stay like this let us not worry about when our flights left as the hotel has an airport shuttle so my friend could return the car convenient to her flight and I didn’t have to get to the airport two hours earlier than I really needed.

We’d stayed in a Hyatt Place once before (though not this one) so I had a good idea of what to expect and this property lived up to my expectations.  We were welcomed at the front desk and promptly given keys to our room.  The staff members were friendly and went over the details about the airport shuttle – I did need a reservation even though it was free – and briefed us on breakfast.

We took the elevator to our room and found just what we expected: a small living area with a sleeper sofa, two queen beds and a bathroom.  The beds were comfortable and there were several pillows on each bed.  A central nightstand had outlets for our electronics.
Hyatt Place LAX Beds

Hyatt Place LAX Sofa Continue reading →

Categories: California, Hotel, Hyatt, Lodging Review, North America, United States | Tags: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Review: SpringHill Suites Arcadia, California

Posted on March 16, 2015 by 2btravel

A friend and I were visiting another friend who lived in Pasadena, California and we had a free night certificate for a category 1-5 Marriott hotel so we selected the closest one, the SpringHill Suites in Arcadia, about 10 minutes away. The certificate is an annual benefit for those who hold the Chase Marriott Visa card and is good for exactly six months after the cardholder’s anniversary.

As a Silver member we were given a quiet room at the end of the hallway on the third floor. There were two centrally-located elevators for this four-floor property. While both elevators were working the day we checked in, only one seemed to be working the next day which meant more of wait than one might expect.

As all the rooms are suites we walked into the “living area” which contained a pull-out sofa and two small tables that could be used as a coffee table or moved to the sides of the sofa as end tables. Across from the sofa was an area with a desk and chair on one side and a kitchenette on the other. The kitchenette had a built-in microwave and a mini-fridge along with a sink as well as a coffee maker and condiments.

SpringHill Suites Arcadia Sofa

SpringHill Suites Arcadia Sofa

SpringHill Suites Arcadia TV Stand and Desk

SpringHill Suites Arcadia TV Stand and Desk

SpringHill Suites Arcadia Kitchenette

SpringHill Suites Arcadia Kitchenette

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Categories: California, Hotel, Lodging Review, Marriott, North America, United States | Tags: , , , , | 2 Comments

Review: Crowne Plaza Los Angeles Airport

Posted on March 13, 2015 by 2btravel

I arrived in Los Angeles very late on a Friday night and stayed here for one night while waiting for a friend who would fly in the next morning. I took the free shuttle to the hotel. Note that LAX is extremely busy, even late at night, on Friday evenings and it may take quite some time to get to the hotel, even though it’s just a short distance away.

As a platinum member I stepped to the priority check-in lane – but unfortunately got there just after a small group of people stopped to ask the front desk staffer some questions. As a result, the people in the non-priority lane actually got assisted before I did. Part of me wishes they’d been directed to the other check-in lane but the staff member was very professional and answered their questions thoroughly before they left. Once he assisted me it was a very quick process to get my room key and choose my welcome amenity and I was on my way to a club room on the top floor.

Crowne Plaza LAX Club Floor Hallway

Crowne Plaza LAX Club Floor Hallway

Crowne Plaza LAX Room 1623

Crowne Plaza LAX Room 1623

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Categories: California, Hotel, IHG, Lodging Review, North America, United States | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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