Hyatt 20% Points Rebate Promo

2015-02-19 Hyatt PromoIf you hold the Hyatt Visa credit card, now is a terrific time to book award stays. Register on the Hyatt site and you’ll get a 20% rebate on your points within 4-6 weeks after your stay.

The great part about that is that if you already have a stay booked during the promotion period (February 17 – July 31, 2015) all you have to do is register – you don’t have to rebook!

The rebate applies to award stays, points + cash awards, suite upgrades and dining and spa activities. Your entire stay must be completed within the promotion period.

Sadly I don’t have any award stays planned during this period – but I’m hoping they’ll run another similar promotion for this fall because I’ll have several stays in October and I’d dearly love to get points back from those stays!

If you don’t have the Hyatt card, now is  a great time to get it.  One of the fantastic benefits is that if you spend $1000 within the first three months after applying, you’ll get two award nights good at any Hyatt anywhere in the world.  Be sure to use those for a special trip, like to the Park Hyatt Sydney or the Park Hyatt Vendome in Paris, where rooms go for well over $500 per night.  You can sign up for the card HERE.

 

(Note: I have no affiliation with Chase and do not receive any compensation from them.)

Categories: Hotel Promos, Hyatt | Tags: | Leave a comment

First Friday Bonus Tomorrow

CSPJust a quick reminder that tomorrow you’ll get 3x Ultimate Rewards points on dining when you use your Chase Sapphire Preferred card at restaurants. Normally the CSP gives two points but once a month gives us this little boost.

Ultimate Rewards points are extremely versatile. They can be transfered to six different airline frequent flyer programs, four different hotel rewards programs and to Amtrak’s program. Or you can use them like cash when buying travel products through the Ultimate Rewards portal. If you choose to redeem this way you’re not limited by award seat/room availability and you’ll earn points on your flight or stay. As an added bonus you’ll get a 20% discount on the number of points required – so a $500 flight would only cost 40,000 points.

If you don’t have an immediate use for Ultimate Rewards points, it’s best to hang on to them and only transfer them when needed. That keeps them flexible, which is one of their greatest assets.

So go out to lunch with your co-workers tomorrow, offer to put the bill on your credit card and have them reimburse you!

Categories: Chase, Sapphire Preferred | Tags: | Leave a comment

Pamukkale Bus and Preiene

Turkey Trip Overview
Booking Flights To Turkey
British Airways First Class Lounge IAH
British Airways 777 First Class IAH-LHR
Transiting Heathrow and British Airways A320 Business Class LHR-IST
Marriott Courtyard Istanbul Airport
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul to Izmir and Back
Ephesus, Mary’s House and Basilica of St. John
Swissotel Efes
Pamukkale Bus and Preiene
Ritz-Carlton Istanbul
Major Sites to see in Istanbul
Radisson Blu Bosphorus
Turkish Airlines Lounge Istanbul
Turkish Airlines 777 Business Class IST-IAH

 

As I mentioned in the first post of this series, the impetus for visiting Turkey was that a friend of mine had rented an apartment there for a couple of months and we wanted to take the opportunity to see the country up close.

Although we spent the first several days in Izmir, my friend was actually staying in the port town of Kuşadası, which was about 45 minutes away. At one point he did try to come to Izmir and have dinner with us but the big city traffic was so nerve-wracking to him and he ended up going back to Kuşadası.

I checked on the web and determined that the Pamukkale (Pam-OO-kuh-lay) Bus could take us to Kuşadası relatively cheaply. I looked at buying tickets online but since the website was in Turkish I didn’t want to agree to anything by accident so I asked the hotel’s front desk staff about buying tickets. They pointed out a Pamukkale office right across the street – perfect! We were able to buy tickets there and then hop on their shuttle bus that would take us to the main bus terminal.Pamukkale logo

Once we were dropped off at the main bus terminal we obviously looked a little lost because we had several people point us to the correct place to board our bus. The bus had wi-fi and individual entertainment screens that featured videos (not sure if they were TV shows or movies, but they were in Turkish) and some games. It made the trip to Kuşadası quite enjoyable.

By this time it was late morning and my friend met us at the bus terminal there. While we’d seen ruins just a couple of days before, he wanted to show us another site nearby that was a bit of a different experience. We stopped at one of the many open-air cafes for lunch and enjoyed fresh Turkish kebabs before heading the rest of the way to Priene.

Priene was an ancient Greek site that was once on the sea coast. But as with Ephesus, time and earthquakes have taken their toll and now it’s now many miles inland. But it must have had a lovely view of the Bay of Miletus, off the Aegean Sea.

Priene once overlooked the Aegean Sea

Priene once overlooked the Aegean Sea

The remains of the agora are recognizable and the theater is still in relatively good shape. We found it interesting that there appeared to be seats for important persons right on the front row.

Theater in Priene

Theater in Priene

The remains of the temple of Athena (funded by Alexander the Great) are in abundance with pieces of pillars all around. Some pillars were reconstructed in the mid-1960s though it’s thought the original pillars were another 3 meters taller. Still, it helps to give us an idea of what the place might have looked like.

These columns were reassembled in the mid-1960s

These columns were reassembled in the mid-1960s

The last word of this inscription is Greek for "Athena"

The last word of this inscription is Greek for “Athena”

Remains of Athena's Temple

Remains of Athena’s Temple

What was nice about this historical site vs. Ephesus was that there were virtually no restrictions as to where we could venture. We could climb on these 2500-year-old ruins and run our hands over the carvings at will. It’s just amazing to think about how old some of these ruins are!

What looks like elephant feet actually represent eggs - and Athena as a fertility goddess

What looks like elephant feet actually represent eggs – and Athena as a fertility goddess

Pieces of columns

Pieces of columns

A throne of sorts for a priest(ess) or other important person

A throne of sorts for a priest(ess) or other important person

After leaving Priene my friend took us on a driving tour of Kuşadası before he took us back to the bus station. Getting back to Izmir was as easy as getting to Kuşadası. Getting from the main bus station back to our hotel was a little more challenging. We asked a couple of different people at the bus station where to catch the local Pamukkale bus. While they told us, we didn’t fully understand the instructions. Eventually we did find the location (right where they told us it would be!) only to find we’d missed the shuttle by about two minutes. So we sat around another half-hour for the next one. Not the end of the world but we were ready to get back to the hotel at that point.

But we’d highly recommend the Pamukkale Bus as a clean, comfortable, affordable way to get around Turkey without having to rent a car. And Priene was a nice contrast to Ephesus – off the beaten path, no crowds and a definite hands-on experience.

Categories: Turkey | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Swissotel Efes

Turkey Trip Overview
Booking Flights To Turkey
British Airways First Class Lounge IAH
British Airways 777 First Class IAH-LHR
Transiting Heathrow and British Airways A320 Business Class LHR-IST
Marriott Courtyard Istanbul Airport
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul to Izmir and Back
Ephesus, Mary’s House and Basilica of St. John
Swissotel Efes
Pamukkale Bus and Preiene
Ritz-Carlton Istanbul
Major Sites to see in Istanbul
Radisson Blu Bosphorus
Turkish Airlines Lounge Istanbul
Turkish Airlines 777 Business Class IST-IAH

At last we had a day to ourselves. While part of me was ready to explore Izmir itself, the reality is that as 40- and 50-somethings, my friends and I just need a day off every now and then. And that’s OK. The good folks at Sea Song had booked us into the Swissotel Grand Efes Izmir and it was definitely worth whatever we paid. This hotel was recently named to the TripAdvisor list of Travelers’ Choice Winners for 2015 in the luxury hotel category, so you know it has to be good.

Our room was slightly larger than standard, which allowed us to add a rollaway along with the king bed. There was a small patio that overlooked the courtyard and the pool. We had a desk where we could set up the laptop and plug in our many electronic devices. A counter ran the whole length of the wall opposite the bed, which was nice for storing our stuff. There were a few drawers under the counter as well.Swissotel TV and Counter Swissotel King Bed and Rollaway Swissotel Desk

The closet was a good size, though we didn’t make a lot of use of it. The safe was large enough to store our tablets.

The bathroom was nice and big with a separate shower stall and bathtub. The sink area had quite a bit of counter space and there were shelves above and below it. Toiletries were Purovel branded.Swissotel Sink and Counter Swissotel Toiletries Swissotel Shower and Toilet Swissotel Tub

Perhaps the highlight of the hotel was the glorious buffet breakfast each morning. Wow! Words really can’t do it justice but if you couldn’t find plenty to eat here, you weren’t trying very hard.Swissotel Buffet 1 Swissotel Buffet 2 Swissotel Buffet 3 Swissotel Buffet 4 Swissotel Buffet 5 Swissotel Buffet 6 Swissotel Buffet 7 Swissotel Buffet 8 Swissotel Buffet 9 Swissotel Buffet 10 Swissotel Buffet 11

We also enjoyed sitting by the pool and just enjoying the warm sun. There are windows in the pool and there’s a restaurant underneath/beside it where diners can see into the pool itself. So, no skinny dipping! An indoor pool is also available year-round.

Swissotel Outdoor Pool

Swissotel Indoor Pool

Swissotel Courtyard

Though I didn’t take advantage of it, the gym facilities were really impressive. Quite a large weight room, a number of bicycles (they even have spinning classes) as well as yoga classes were available for use.Swissotel Gym Treadmills Swissotel Gym Weights 1 Swissotel Gym Weights 2 Swissotel Gym Cycles

Spa and salon facilities are also at the hotel. This hotel also has an entire building of meeting rooms and conference facilities and we saw a number of folks attending.

When we were working with Sea Song we’d been considering another hotel but they said that the Swissotel was the only one they worked with in Izmir, and I see why. We had a fantastic stay and wouldn’t hesitate to return.

Categories: Lodging Review, Swissotel, Turkey | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Ephesus, Mary’s House and Basilica of St. John

Turkey Trip Overview
Booking Flights To Turkey
British Airways First Class Lounge IAH
British Airways 777 First Class IAH-LHR
Transiting Heathrow and British Airways A320 Business Class LHR-IST
Marriott Courtyard Istanbul Airport
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul to Izmir and Back
Ephesus, Mary’s House and Basilica of St. John
Swissotel Efes
Pamukkale Bus and Preiene
Ritz-Carlton Istanbul
Major Sites to see in Istanbul
Radisson Blu Bosphorus
Turkish Airlines Lounge Istanbul
Turkish Airlines 777 Business Class IST-IAH

I knew that Izmir (the ancient city of Smyrna) was close to the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus, which I had toured before while on a cruise. I thought it was fantastic and wanted my friends to be able to experience it. Through a travel agent friend I was put in touch with the folks at Sea Song, who are top travel specialists in Turkey and Virtuoso agents. While we probably could have put together some of these details on our own, we were able to concentrate on flights and hotels in Istanbul and we put our ground transportation and tours in their hands.

Our guide and our bus driver, yes we had a small bus even though there were only three of us, picked us up at our hotel and we were on our way. The ruins of Ephesus are about an hour away from Izmir via a modern highway, so it was an easy ride. The ruins are on a hillside and the driver drove us to the entrance at the top of the hill and we wound our way through the town down the hillside.

The book of Ephesians in the Bible is actually a letter written from the Apostle Paul to the city’s inhabitants. He spent a fair amount of time there, preaching and making tents. Shortly before the birth of Christ, Ephesus became both the seat of the regional governor and a major center of commerce – in short, a very prosperous city. Much of the remains we see now are from that time period.

It’s best remembered for its temple to the goddess Artemis, the library of Celsus and its amphitheater, which could seat 25,000.

Amphitheater in Ephesus

Amphitheater in Ephesus

Library of Celsus

Library of Celsus

We also got to tour the Terrace Houses, where excavation is on-going. Here we saw where the wealthier citizens lived. The floors all had mosaics and the walls were intricately painted too. These homes were up a side hill from Curetes Street, the main street of the city. The street itself is made of marble, which made it quite slick with all the dust from the area. The sidewalks, which were roped off, were elaborate mosaics that have held up amazingly well over the centuries – or perhaps just beautifully restored.

Mosaic on the floor of one of the Terrace Houses

Mosaic on the floor of one of the Terrace Houses

Sidewalk Mosaic on Curates Street

Sidewalk Mosaic on Curates Street

After finishing the tour our bus took us to a small restaurant in Selcuk, the town closest to Efes, where we had lunch and enjoyed some time in the shade. Aside from our time at the Terrace Houses, an area that’s covered, the rest of the time in Ephesus is out in the open and there’s very little shade to be found. So it was nice to be able to cool down for a bit.

Our next stop was the House of the Virgin Mary. While it’s not known for sure whether the mother of Jesus spent her final years here, it’s not out of the realm of possibility. There is a whole list of reasons why this might have been her house, but no one knows for sure. Additionally, the structure now on the site was “reconstructed” based on the finding of about a 2-3 foot section of wall. No photos are allowed inside. It’s very small and even though there was a line, it moved reasonably quickly. It was nice to see but if you don’t see this site, you haven’t really missed much.

The final stop was at the Basilica of St. John. It’s believed that the man charged to take care of Mary upon the death of Jesus lived out his final years and was buried in this area. Some 300 years later a small chapel was constructed over his grave and that was expanded into a basilica in the 6th century AD. The building became a mosque in the 14th century when the Turks invaded the area but later that century an earthquake left it unusable.

Ruins of the Basilica of St John

Ruins of the Basilica of St John

Grave of St John

Grave of St John

We enjoyed our tour and our guide, Tilda, was fantastic. She was our point of contact within Izmir, escorting us to and from the airport as well as on this tour. I’d highly recommend her as a guide!

After traveling for three days in a row and then being gone all day on this tour we were definitely ready for some recovery time and looking forward to our day of relaxation.

Categories: Europe, Turkey, UNESCO World Heritage Site | Tags: , | 2 Comments

Review: Torian Plum Condos, Steamboat Resort, Colorado

My first ski trip this year was to Steamboat, Colorado, which is the first place in the western US that I ever skied. I’ve been back a number of times over the last 20+ years and have never stayed at the same place twice. This is my first time staying at a true ski-in/ski-out facility, the Torian Plum Condominiums.

Our club members joke that as the club as a whole has aged, the more important proximity to the slopes is for us. With age typically comes a better income, so we’re now better able to afford better and closer lodging than we did before.

Due to a mechanical issue with my flight from Atlanta, I arrived at the condo about two hours after the rest of the group. I prefer to take pictures before people have gotten unpacked and all their personal belongings strewn around so I don’t have photos, sadly.

Our group had a number of 2BR and 3BR condos. The 2BR condos were in the same tower as the main office and the 3BRs were in the Creekside Tower. We had a number of condos that were identical in that they were all at the same point in the building (318, 418, 518) so that’s the layout I’ll describe here.

At max capacity the condo can sleep 8, but that’s assuming use of the sleeper sofa, which we did not use as a bed. The master bedroom has a king, the 2nd bedroom has a queen and the third bedroom has twin beds.

My friends in the master bedroom did wish for more drawer space. I believe there was one chest for both to use. The closet was large and did have ample shelf space. The ensuite bath had double sinks and a large standalone shower. There was no tub. Bath products in the condo were Aveeno brand. We received shampoo, conditioner, lotion and separate bars of soap for the sink(s) and the shower.

The second bedroom also had its own bathroom. I did not ask my condomates about the shower setup there, nor did they mention a lack of drawers or whether they had ample.

My roommate and I were in the the third bedroom with the twin beds. Our closet was much smaller than the master but still plenty big enough for a week-long trip. We used it to store our suitcases and I still had room on the floor in my half of the closet for my shoes. I used the shelf for some folded items. We had an armoire that was both the entertainment center and had three drawers for clothes. Our nightstand also had three drawers. There was also a rack of hooks on the wall so amongst all these options we had plenty of room for our clothes, with the exception of our ski gear and other coats.

But fortunately the hallway was set up to handle those items! I loved that the large hallway closet could be used by all of us for our ski coats & pants. It was also large enough for me to store my skis bag out of the way. Elsewhere in the hall was a large set of cubbyholes that was perfect for storing our helmets and gloves. Underneath that was another selection of hanging pegs where we could put our coats and scarves, etc. Below that was a wooden bench that was perfect for removing our ski boots at the end of the day. The bench was tall enough that our boots slid in perfectly underneath them, keeping our boots out of the way.

The combo living room/dining room/kitchen was very open, with a low bar counter & stool separating the kitchen from the living and dining areas. The table could seat eight so we were able to spread out a little when dining. Not being a chef, the kitchen had everything I could possibly need, though one condo-mate who cooked for the lot of us wished for more large-scale dishes so she could cook enough for us all at once.

Each condo has a ski locker down on the first floor. From there it’s a short walk down a sidewalk, across a small patio and then you’re on the slopes. That small patio comes out just beside the Slopeside Grill, a long-time fixture in the area. We ate lunch there a couple of days, sitting on the patio, enjoying the sunshine.

The complex has four outdoor hot tubs and a heated pool. Swim towels, which are larger than the bath towels in the room, can be found in the locker rooms by the pool, or at the shower in the small fitness center on the ground floor of the Creekside Tower.

I was pleasantly surprised that we got some form of maid service every day. Loads of fresh towels each day, they made our beds and took out the trash. In my experience, most condos in ski country typically get maid service maybe twice during the week, so this was a nice change of pace.

The condos are part of the Wyndham family of hotels and they have their own shuttle bus to take you into town. Just let the front desk know and they can arrange for the bus to pick up at the condos, drop you off wherever you like and pick you back up later. Very convenient!

In short, I expect we’ll stay here again. You can’t beat the proximity to the slopes and we had a terrific stay.

Categories: Condos, Lodging Review, Steamboat | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Earn AAdvantage Miles with HolidayCheck.com

Yesterday I received an email from Points.com making me aware of a site called HolidayCheck.com. Holiday Check is a website that allows you to review hotels and other lodging and if they post your review you can earn airline miles for each review!  Sounds a bit like Trip Advisor but with the bonus of miles.

2015-01-27 Holiday Check

You can earn 100 Miles & More miles (the currency of Lufthansa and SWISS), 150 TopBonus miles (the currency of airberlin), 150 Ethiad Guest miles or 70 AAdvantage miles (the currency of American Airlines).

I have no experience with this website but plan to post about my recent stays and see if I can’t earn a few miles in the process.

Categories: American Airlines | Tags: | Leave a comment

Getting back in the swing of things

It’s been awhile since I posted but I went on vacation so when I returned to work last week I had to pay for taking time off.  That’s the way it always works, isn’t it?

One thing I look forward to each year is taking my ski trips. I aim for two week-long trips each year, usually one in January and the other in February. I know a lot of folks like the warmer spring skiing in March but (to a point) I don’t mind the cold and since I’m not locked into a school schedule, I like skiing when school is in session and not out for spring break.

I typically travel with a ski club which means the only thing I can use points for is my airfare. But I don’t mind. I’ve been skiing with the club for over 20 years and have made a lot of new friends this way. And no matter who is in my condo, we’ve always had a good time – and this year was no exception.

I’d used Delta miles for my flight which meant I could either route via Atlanta or Minneapolis for my trip to Colorado. While it may seem counter-intuitive to travel east to go west, in this case it made more sense to route via warm Atlanta instead of potentially snowy MSP.

One downside of skiing is that you often fly into small mountain towns with limited/seasonal service and therefore the airlines can gouge you on pricing. In this case I was flying into Hayden, Colorado which is about 45 minutes outside Steamboat Springs. I have miles on the three major airlines that fly there but none had low-level availability when I was looking for airfare this summer. American wanted something ridiculous like 80K miles for an economy seat and United wanted 50K. Delta seemed a bargain at 45K – and I’d rather save my AA & UA miles for international travel anyway. I’d originally planned to vacation from Saturday to Saturday, arriving home in the 7-8 pm hour, just in time to go into work at 11 pm Saturday night. Then Delta changed the flight such that I wouldn’t land in Memphis until just after 10 pm. Uh, no, that was not going to work.

In the end, a few days before I left for vacation I changed my flight to return on Friday. I hated to lose the day of skiing but was able to sell the last day of my lift ticket and had a much easier day on Saturday because of it and since the flight on Friday was a bit cheaper, I got back 5000 miles. That didn’t make up for the pain of the $150 change fee, since I’m not elite, but it helped a little.

Next up: a review of our slopeside lodging in Steamboat

Categories: Award Travel, Delta | Leave a comment

The Year in Travel

2014 was an unusually heavy travel year for me. I normally like to take a ski trip in January and another in February and then another big vacation in the fall, with a weekend trip thrown in here and there. But when we were offered the opportunity to go on a river cruise in spring 2014, that meant I had to forego my fall 2013 big vacation, since my company’s vacation year is based on our fiscal year and not the calendar year. But it also meant 2014 would be very busy!

I started out with ski trips to Breckenridge and Beaver Creek, CO and then took a long weekend with friends in Chicago in March. The European river cruise was in April and in September friends and I visited Turkey. I had one final trip to Chicago in October to obtain Global Entry for the next five years.

So visually my traveling looked like this:

My Year in Travel - 2014 Made with gcmap.com

My Year in Travel – 2014
Made with gcmap.com

That’s a total of 30,862 miles in a year. While I realize that’s peanuts in comparison to true road warriors, it’s quite a lot for me! The best part is that at least the last three trips were all paid for with miles. They weren’t free – the first class segments on British Airways had large fuel surcharges – but they allowed me to travel in comfort and be much better rested when I arrived that I would have been if I’d flown in economy.

What’s on the horizon for 2015? Much less travel as of right now. But so far I’m only using points, even for my domestic trips. I am flying in economy on my first trip of the year but because I’m using points I paid for the extra legroom on the two longer flights. I’m not that tall but my legs are long enough that I really like the extra space.

Here’s the plan for 2015 so far:

Projected 2015 Travel Made with gcmap.com

Projected 2015 Travel
Made with gcmap.com

I’ve got a “round” birthday coming up this year and decided to celebrate it in style, Down Under. I’ve got all my airline tickets booked (on points, of course!) and a couple of the hotels. I’m working on gaining the points for the other hotels by the end of March. I’m very excited about this!

With no trips currently planned between February and October, I imagine I’ll have to get away for a long weekend this spring. I will head back home for Mother’s Day. If my dad doesn’t come to Memphis for the golf tournament, then I’ll go home for Father’s Day too.

What kind of travel do you have planned for 2015?

Categories: Year in Review | Tags: | Leave a comment

Two Terrific Promos

A couple of hotel chains are kicking off the new year by offering brand new promotions!

2015-01-05 SPG Double Play promo

Starwood (SPG)

The SPG Double Play promo allows you to earn double Starpoints on stays of two or more eligible nights as well as 1,000 bonus Starpoints for every five nights, up to a max of 4,000 bonus Starpoints. You must register by March 31, 2015 and the promo runs January 5 through April 15, 2015.

2015-01-05 Club Carlson Promo

Club Carlson

Club Carlson is offering a targeted promo with early access to their Extend Your Stay, Earn 30K offer. If you register by January 12, you’ll get an additional 10,000 bonus points after your first Eligible Stay of two nights or more between January 12 and March 29, 2015.

You must register for the promotion using the link sent your email address.

As always, it’s free to register for both of these promotions, so it only makes sense to sign up even if you don’t currently have plans to stay with either of these chains. You never know when your plans might change and if you register now you won’t miss out!

Categories: Club Carlson, Hotel, Starwood | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.