Lodging Review

Lodging Review: Sina Villa Medici, Florence, Italy

Posted on March 19, 2023 by 2btravel

Return to International Travel – Introduction
Review: SWISS A340-300 ORD-ZRH and Marhaba Lounge ZRH
Lodging Review: Sina Villa Medici, Florence, Italy
Our Time In Florence, Part 1
Our Time In Florence, Part 2
Lodging Review: Park Hyatt Vendome, Paris, France
Our Time In Paris, Part 1 (Louvre, Sainte-Chappelle, Arc, Eiffel Tower)
Our Time In Paris, Part 2 (Versailles)
Our Time In Paris, Part 3 (Catacombs, Musee d’Orsay)
Viking Kari and an Afternoon in Montmartre
Our Time in La Roche-Guyon and Vernon/Giverny
Our Time on the Normandy Beaches
Our Time in Les Andelys and Le Pecq
Lodging Review: Renaissance Republique, Paris, France
Review: Air France A350 CDG-ORD

For our stay in Florence we decided to use some of our Marriott points. While there was a Westin and a St. Regis closer to the historic center of the city, we chose to save a few points by staying at the Sina Villa Medici, which is part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. We stayed three nights at 70K points per night.

Sina Villa Medici, Autograph Collection

Location

The hotel is about a 25-30 minute ride from the airport, depending on traffic, and about a 15-minute walk to the Ponte Vecchio/Uffizi area and only a two or three minute longer walk to the Duomo area.

While there’s street parking around the area, the hotel has a special area for picking up and dropping off passengers so it’s nice that there’s no competition with passing vehicles. The exterior of the hotel gives a hint that this building was at one time a palazzo with an old-world style charm. Continue reading →

Categories: Autograph Collection, Award Travel, Europe, Italy, Lodging Review, Marriott, Trip Report | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: Juniper Springs Resort, Mammoth, California

Posted on February 13, 2023 by 2btravel

For my second ski trip of the 2022-23 season I made my first visit to Mammoth, California. I had never been to Mammoth and was quite looking forward to it. Unfortunately I wrenched my knee in October and was still not able to ski by the time this trip rolled around so I’ll definitely need another visit.

During the time of my visit Mammoth had received more snow than any resort in the world this season, over 500 inches of snow to that point. So I couldn’t tell much from the outside as we approached the building as so much of my view was blocked by the piled-up snow!

Juniper Springs Resort

As there were three groups arriving that same day, the weekend manager was handling our check-in within one of the conference rooms. Unfortunately my room was not ready. The manager considered swapping us to a different room but when she learned there were three of us in the unit who would not be skiing, she said we’d be better off in the room we’d been assigned as it had a good view we could enjoy. That turned out to be a more important statement than I realized at the time.  I was happy to learn we could have housekeeping every day.  That was rare even pre-pandemic and is practically unheard of these days. Continue reading →

Categories: California, Condos, Lodging Review, Mammoth, North America, United States | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: Zephyr Mountain Lodge #1701, Winter Park, Colorado

Posted on January 20, 2023 by 2btravel

My ski club stayed here for a week while enjoying Winter Park resort and the nearby towns of Winter Park and Fraser. We had a number of 2 BR/2 BA units across the two buildings that comprise the Zephyr Mountain Lodge.

Location

Zephyr Mountain Lodge is currently the only ski-in/ski-out property at Winter Park – and that’s only if you’re in the Slopeside building. The Riverside building is a short walk across the plaza to the gondola. To me that would not be a big deal but some folks may find that a hassle.

If you’re driving to the resort or are arriving on a small shuttle bus you’ll likely turn on to Zephyr Way, the circle drive that’s in front of the Riverside building. That will put you at the main front desk in that building. If you arrive as we did, on a motor coach, you’ll come in on Nystrom Lane which leads to a circle drive in front of the Slopeside Building. The property management offices are located in the Slopeside Building.

Zephyr Mountain Lodge Slopeside Building
photo from Planet of Hotels.com

The two buildings are joined by a underground parking garage and if the snow is particularly deep or it’s very icy outside you may find it easier to travel between buildings this way, especially if you’re moving luggage. Continue reading →

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

Lodging Review: Fairfield Inns and Suites, Chicago O’Hare

Posted on July 16, 2022 by 2btravel

A Quick Trip to the Northern Plains
Lodging Review: Home2 Suites by Hilton Rapid City, SD
Our Visit to the Crazy Horse Memorial and Custer State Park
Our Visit to Mount Rushmore and Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Lodging Review: TownePlace Suites, Dickinson, North Dakota
Lodging Review: Fairfield Inns & Suites, Chicago O’Hare

After driving literally all day, we made it back to Chicago and pulled into the Fairfield Inns & Suites Chicago O’Hare about 10 PM. We’d booked a room here anticipating that our Chicago-based friend would drop off my LA-based friend and me so she wouldn’t have to drive us back out to the airport the next day for our flights. But my LA-based friend decided to stay an extra few days visiting another friend so I had the room to myself. Once again we’d use an expiring free night certificate for our room, booking a room with two queen beds. Shortly before we departed on the road trip we called to see if we could switch to a 1 King room but they said the hotel was nearly sold out so they couldn’t make the change. We didn’t ask about it again at check-in as it really didn’t matter at that point.

Fairfield Inn & Suites Chicago O’Hare
photo from marriott.com

Continue reading →

Categories: Fairfield Inn, Hotel, Illinois, Lodging Review, Marriott, North America, United States | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: TownePlace Suites, Dickinson, North Dakota

Posted on July 15, 2022 by 2btravel

A Quick Trip to the Northern Plains
Lodging Review: Home2 Suites by Hilton Rapid City, SD
Our Visit to the Crazy Horse Memorial and Custer State Park
Our Visit to Mount Rushmore and Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Lodging Review: TownePlace Suites, Dickinson, North Dakota
Lodging Review: Fairfield Inns & Suites, Chicago O’Hare

We drove about 30 minutes east of Theodore Roosevelt National Park to the town of Dickinson, ND where we had booked a room at the TownePlace Suites Dickinson, which is a Marriott property. With pre-paid rates as low as $113 plus tax this was by no means an exceptional value for the free night certificate we used. But the certificate would expire within the next month or so and with no other plans for it the choice to use it instead of letting it go to waste was easy.

The hotel was easy to find, not far off I-94. The colorful exterior of TownePlace Suites makes it stand out and those bright colors are continued inside.

TownePlace Suites Dickinson Exterior

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Categories: Hotel, Lodging Review, Marriott, North America, North Dakota, TownePlace Suites, United States | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: Home2 Suites by Hilton Rapid City, SD

Posted on July 12, 2022 by 2btravel

A Quick Trip to the Northern Plains
Lodging Review: Home2 Suites by Hilton Rapid City, SD
Our Visit to the Crazy Horse Memorial and Custer State Park
Our Visit to Mount Rushmore and Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Lodging Review: TownePlace Suites, Dickinson, North Dakota
Lodging Review: Fairfield Inns & Suites, Chicago O’Hare

We arrived in the Rapid City, SD area on a sunny, windy afternoon. The temperature was quite pleasant with only a light jacket required. The Home2 Suites is located on the south side of I-94 in an area with four other similar hotels. The Home2 Suites, La Quinta Inns & Suites and Fairfield Inn are all connected to the WaTiki Indoor Waterpark Resort. There’s also a Residence Inn next door so it’s obviously a popular area for tourists like us. To reach the entrance of the Home2 Suites you take the road past the Fairfield Inn, take a side road that runs between the Residence Inn and the La Quinta and drive past the side of the Home2 Suites before turning right towards the main entrance.

Home2 Suites Rapid City Exterior

I’m very familiar with the Home2 Suites brand as I often stay at the one in the Bellevue area of Nashville when I visit my parents so I had a good idea what to expect and by and large the hotel met my expectations. Home2 Suites’ color scheme involves a lot of neon yellow both on the building’s exterior and in the guest rooms. One of my companions found it garish but I must admit it doesn’t really faze me anymore as I’ve become accustomed to it. We were met by a couple of friendly reps at the desk who checked us in quickly and let us know that we wouldn’t receive housekeeping except by request or complimentary after the fourth day. That was fine by us as we were only staying two nights. Continue reading →

Categories: Hilton, Home2Suites, Hotel, Lodging Review, North America, South Dakota, United States | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: San Moritz Condos #K202, Crested Butte, Colorado

Posted on April 22, 2022 by 2btravel

In February I spent a long weekend with my cousin and her family at Crested Butte ski resort in Colorado. Though Crested Butte is not far from Aspen/Snowmass as the crow flies, it’s a 4-5 hour drive away during winter and 3.5-4 hours in the summer. My cousin reserved an Air BnB in the San Moritz condo complex, unit K202. There are three buildings in this complex, each on situated above the other and ours was the building in the middle.

San Moritz Condos, Crested Butte, CO

Location

As you look at the Crested Butte trail map, the San Moritz condos are at the far right near the West Wall lift. The complex is ski-in/ski-out though not every unit is. Fortunately our unit was second from the end near the ski hill so it was a very short walk to the end of the parking lot. From there we could put on our skis and ski down to the West Wall lift. Coming home at the end of the ski day, it was not a simple thing to ski back to the same spot. It was easy enough to get back to the base of the West Wall lift but from there it was uphill to reach the parking lot of our building. It may be different in years when there was more snow but for less experienced skiers I’d recommend just walking back up the hill to the condos vs. trying to navigate down from the top. For true beginning skiers I’d recommend taking the complimentary shuttle to and from the base. The San Moritz staff can provide the details on that. Continue reading →

Categories: Colorado, Condos, Crested Butte, Lodging Review, North America, United States | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Lodging Review: King Accessible Tub Studio Suite, Homewood Suites, Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Posted on March 17, 2022 by 2btravel

Homewood Suites Steamboat Springs

Since I stayed at this property just two years ago, this review will be brief. I’ll only highlight the differences in the room. During my previous stay I was in a King Bed One Bedroom Suite but on this trip I had stayed in a King Accessible Tub Studio Suite, normally meant for those who need accessible amenities. Since I’d already reviewed this property, I’d planned to stay at the Hampton Inn in downtown Steamboat. But on Thanksgiving weekend I received an email stating that the hotel would be closing permanently as of December 1 (I think that was the date). As the email did not come from someone with a hilton.com or hamptoninn.com email address I was a bit skeptical but decided I should go ahead and move my reservation since there are very few properties in Steamboat that are available on points or by using a free night certificate (which I did). Thank goodness I swapped reservations quickly as I got one of the last available rooms and that’s why I ended up with an accessible room. I later learned the Hampton and a Fairfield Inn were being converted to employee housing.

The room was at the end of the hall. The door opened directly into the kitchen. The kitchen counter and appliances were all on the right and a door connected to the adjacent room was on the left.

Homewood Suites Steamboat Accessible Suite Entry

Continue reading →

Categories: Colorado, Hilton, Homewood Suites, Hotel, Lodging Review, North America, United States | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: Storm Meadows Club A, Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Posted on March 16, 2022 by 2btravel

In late February/early March I visited Steamboat Ski Resort with my ski club and we stayed in the Storm Meadows complex. We wanted ski-in/ski-out condos and technically that’s what we got though beginners shouldn’t even think about trying to ski in or out of these units.

Check-in

Check-in takes place at the Mountain Resorts main office which is technically located on Resort Drive but is visible from Mt. Werner Road, which is the main road to the ski resort when coming from Lincoln Ave/Hwy 40. There is a city bus stop right outside the office. (Note: Steamboat has a wonderful and free city bus system! As of my visit masks were required on city buses.)

I arrived before my condo was ready but I was able to hang out in the office until it was available. They have free guest wi-fi in the lobby but I found that the router was on the back side of the fireplace and when I was relaxing in the comfy chairs in front of the fireplace I had trouble getting the signal. The lobby also has restrooms with showers which is very nice. If you have a late flight and want to ski in the morning after checking out but before your flight, you can clean up before heading to the airport.

Once my room was ready, the office called for a shuttle to take me and my bags up to the Storm Meadows Club Condos which is about a 1.7 mile drive up the hill. There are three Club buildings and my group had units in both Club B and Club A, where my unit was.

Our group typically pays for porterage, which usually means our bags will be delivered to our room. I don’t know if we didn’t pay for it this time or if there was a difference in the definition of “porterage” or what but my bags and I were dropped at the front door of our building with no offer of assistance to get my bags to my room. I will say there was a shortage of drivers during my stay. The airport shuttle companies were slammed with business and not enough drivers to go around. The local taxi service did not run in town during the day as they were too busy with airport transfers. So that could be a part of it.

Storm Meadows Club A Condos

The Club A building is actually the middle of the three Club buildings. The main entrance is in the center on the second floor. On the lower level is the ski locker room, the coin laundry and, in winter, a small hot tub that will hold about 4-6 people. At one end of the first floor is the exit to the slopes which I’ll discuss below. Condos are on all four floors.

Storm Meadows Club A
(photo from stormmeadows.com)

Continue reading →

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

Lodging Review: Hyatt House Dallas/Las Colinas (DFW Airport)

Posted on March 12, 2022 by 2btravel

On a recent ski trip I experienced more travel interruptions than I think I’ve ever had on any trip. My original plan was to fly from Memphis to Steamboat Springs, Colorado (HDN) via DFW on American (AA) on a Friday late in February. Things changed late the Wednesday before I was scheduled to leave when AA canceled the first leg of my trip and re-booked me for Sunday. Not wanting to miss out on my vacation, I managed to get the MEM-DFW leg rescheduled for Thursday night where I’d spend the night in the DFW Airport area and then take the second leg of my flight as scheduled on Friday.

I had a free night certificate from my World of Hyatt card that was good for a category 1-4 hotel. While I did not receive any exceptional value by using this certificate, I have a number of similar certificates from various credit cards so I was happy to be able to use it. I did look into staying at the Grand Hyatt DFW, which is accessible from the inter-terminal train (SkyLink) but they did not have any rooms available on points and that property is a category 5, so I couldn’t have used my free night certificate anyway.

Hyatt House Dallas/Las Colinas (photo from hyatt.com)

I’d previously stayed at the Hyatt Place DFW and had absolutely no complaints so this time I thought I’d try the Hyatt House in the area since I knew both limited-service properties included breakfast. What I hadn’t considered until after I’d booked is that for the Hyatt House, at least, the complimentary shuttle, originally shut down due to COVID, had not yet been restarted. As the hotel is only 8 miles from the airport I didn’t think it would be difficult to get a ride. Continue reading →

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

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