Marriott’s Strange New Innovation For Its Shower Doors
I'm sure most people have, at least at one point in their life, used the condensation on a mirror or a shower door to doodle a picture or to write a message. Well, apparently Marriott wants to tap into this practice with a new innovation.
The InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown Is Now Open and It Looks Good!
IHG has announced the opening of the 5-star InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown which forms part of the Wilshire Grand Center. That puts the property a 5 minute Uber ride or, if you're feeling adventurous, a 15 - 20 minute walk away from the Staples Center and LA Live.
Review: SkyCity Grand Hotel Auckland
Auckland is one of those cities where you’ll find it pretty hard to use most of the well known hotel loyalty currencies as, aside from a Hilton and a Crowne Plaza, there aren’t any other centrally located hotels that are part of one of one of the large international chains.
It’s because of this that I found myself booking the SkyCity Grand Hotel for a two-night stay I had in Auckland.
Review: JW Marriott Singapore South Beach
I normally don't have more than one or two reasons for booking a particular hotel but, in the case of the JW Marriott Singapore South Beach, I had four very good reasons for wanting to visit. Firstly I wanted to use up some of my Marriott Rewards points, secondly I wanted a property where we would be making the most of my hotel status (I have Platinum status with Marriott), thirdly the hotel looked to have a convenient location and finally I don't think any of the bigger blogs has reviewed this property yet - it's still reasonably new.
Hyatt Will Add The Párisi Udvar Hotel in Budapest To Its Unbound Collection
Hyatt has announced that it has entered into a franchise agreement which will see the Bruden House hotel in the centre of Budapest renovated into what Hyatt is calling "an upper-upscale 110-room hotel".
The property is expected to reopen as the Párisi Udvar Hotel "in 2018" - there is no indication in the press release when in 2018 we can expect the doors to open.
Big Devaluation In Hilton “5th Night Free” Benefit
I'm certainly not going to put myself forward as an expert on all things Hilton but a recent change Hilton has made to the wording of how its "5th Night Free" benefit works reads like a massive devaluation to me.
The JW Marriott Hong Kong Reviewed (Lots Of Pictures!)
I booked the JW Marriott Hong Kong for a number of reasons but the two main ones were that I'd heard good things about the property overall and I'd heard good things about the Executive Lounge that, as a Marriott Platinum member, I would have access too. After a good Business Class flight from Tokyo I was looking forward to finding out if the hotel lived up to the reviews.
Hyatt Regency Tokyo – King Room In Pictures
In an earlier post I explained the thinking behind my decision to give up a reservation at the Park Hyatt Tokyo in favor of the Hyatt Regency Tokyo so this was the hotel Joanna and I stayed at on our recent trip.
I reviewed this Hyatt Regency earlier in the year so another full review seems a little pointless...instead I thought I'd share a little more info and some pictures of our room as it was slightly different to the room I had earlier in the year.
Review: Courtyard Seoul Namdaemun
I had picked the Courtyard Seoul Namdaemun as my base in the South Korean capital for its convenience in the centre of the city (10 minutes walk to Seoul Station and even closer to a number of subway stations) and because it was reasonably priced compared to my other options. On top of all this I had never visited a Courtyard property outside of the US so I was interested to see how an Asian Courtyard would compare to, for example, the Courtyard Chelsea in New York.
Review: Hyatt Regency Tokyo
The Hyatt Regency Tokyo, in partnership with a few other central Tokyo hotels, offers a paid bus service from both Narita and Haneda airports but, as I wasn't in the mood to be driven around Tokyo as others were being dropped off art their hotels, I chose to take the train into Shinjuku station and walk the 1,000 yards to the hotel.
Review: Courtyard By Marriott New York Chelsea/Manhattan
New York is one of the more expensive major cities in the world when it comes to hotel accommodation so I often find that even the more rudimentary properties in the city cost quite a bit. If I'm traveling with Joanna I don't mind spending a bit more on accommodation but when I'm traveling solo, as I was on this occasion, I resent paying anymore than I have to for a reasonable quality room.
Review: Hyatt Regency Hong Kong – Harbour View King Room (Part 2)
I ended Part 1 of this review with a bit of a cliff-hanger saying that the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong offers the single best amenity I've ever seen offered by a hotel...and I really don't think I'm exaggerating.
If you don't happen to have access to a great roaming deal (like T-Mobile offers in the US) then you're likely to be at the mercy of wifi hotspots when you travel abroad...but not if you visit the Hyatt Regency in Hong Kong.
Review: Hyatt Regency Hong Kong – Harbour View King Room (Part 1)
The Hyatt Regency Hong Kong (full name: Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui) is located on the mainland side of Hong Kong right in the middle of Kowloon and in a very good position to explore that area of Hong Kong. It's also within a short walk (10 - 15 minutes) to the harbour where you can catch a ferry to Hong Kong Island....which is useful if you plan to visit Victoria Peak.
Hilton Is Changing Its Best Price Guarantee
All of the big hotel chains offer some sort of a "best price guarantee" but, as the hotel chains have started to use any excuse to weasel out of their own guarantee, they have become more of a marketing gimmick than an actual benefit to customers. Hilton is the latest of the big-chain hotels to change its best price guarantee and, as long as you can get the chain to honor it, the change could be a positive one for a lot of travelers.
Quick Look: Holiday Inn Heathrow Ariel – Single Room (now a Best Western)
This is the second "quick look" post I've done of Holiday Inn properties at Heathrow (the first was the Holiday Inn Heathrow T5) and, once again, my visit was purely as a result of the IHG Summer Accelerate promotion I discussed earlier this week.
Just like with the Holiday Inn Heathrow T5 I spent enough time at the property to get a good look around (as hopefully the pictures will show) but I didn't stay the night so you should bear that in mind when forming any opinions from what I post here.
Quick Look: Holiday Inn Heathrow Terminal 5
I visited the Holiday Inn Heathrow Terminal 5 as part of my plan to earn some quick IHG rewards points before the summer Accelerate promotion ended. I spent a little bit of time at the property but I didn’t end up spending the night (that is something you need to bear in mind when drawing any of your own conclusions from this post).
I may not have spent the night but I knew I was going to be writing this post so I made sure to take a few pictures to show you what the property offers.
Grand Hyatt San Francisco – Grand Club Lounge Review
Our stay at the Grand Hyatt in San Francisco was part of Joanna's mystery tip (introduction is here) and I posted my review of the suite and the hotel yesterday. Today I'm taking a look at the Club Lounge that the Grand Hyatt San Francisco offers.
Review: Grand Hyatt San Francisco – Executive Suite
There were two things that were never in much doubt about our visit to San Francisco - we would be staying at a Hyatt property and we'd be staying at least 4 nights. The reason I was keen for us to stay at a Hyatt was because I wanted to use one of my Diamond Suite upgrades that comes with my Hyatt status and the reason for staying at least 4 nights was because I wanted to make use of the "4th night free" benefit that comes with my Citi Prestige credit card.
Review: Aria Resort & Casino Las Vegas
I've been to Las Vegas more times than I can remember but I've never stayed at Aria before. I've walked through City Center (the complex within which you'll find Aria) on countless occasions and I've gambled in the Aria casino more times than I'd care to admit but, before this trip, I'd never seen inside one of the hotel's rooms.
Review – Sofitel Heathrow Terminal 5
To get Joanna's mystery trip off to as relaxed a start as possible I decided to book the Sofitel at London Heathrow's Terminal 5 for the night before the first flight. Our flight wasn't a particularly early one (9:25 am) but anything that helps avoid an early wake-up call is a good idea to me. The Sofitel is linked to Terminal 5 by a foot bridge so, if you if you make a bit of an effort, you can get from your room to the British Airways check-in desks in under 10 minutes - great if you want a lie-in.
Review – The May Fair Hotel London
The May Fair is a hotel that falls under the umbrella of the Club Carlson loyalty program and is a property at which I've stayed a few times. In the Club Carlson point heyday (when the top Carlson hotels cost 50,000 points and when you would get the a second award night for free just for having the Club Carlson credit card) this property was fantastic value - you could have a weekend in London's Mayfair for just 50,000 points! Now the same weekend will set you back 140,000 points so things are a little different.
Review: InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa – Overwater Bungalow
Joanna and I recently visited the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort - one of the most aspirational properties you can book with IHG Rewards points - and this is part 2 of the review of the resort. In part 1 of the review I looked at the location of the resort, the arrivals process, our check-in and the first impressions we got as we explored the resort's grounds. In this part I'll take a look at the accommodation we booked.
Review: InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa – Arrival & The Resort
There is simply too much to say about the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa to fit into one blog post so I'm going to split this review up into more manageable sizes.
In this section of the review I'm going to focus on the transfer from the airport to the resort, the check-in process and our first look around the resort grounds and its amenities. Other blog posts will cover the accommodation, the dining and how we paid for the stay in the first place.
W Hotels Unveils A Pointless “Innovation”
I don't like W Hotels and I tend not to hide that feeling very well.
I find them to be all style (and not style that I like) and little to no substance whatsoever. Most of the W 's I've visited are trying too hard to be cool and remind me more of overpriced Vegas nightclubs than upscale hotels. I really don't get why some people seem to like them so much. It's all a bit Emperor's New Clothes.
Review: Andaz West Hollywood – Suite King
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Marriott Increases Offer For Starwood & Starwood Accepts (again!)
Marriott has submitted an increased offer for the outstanding shares in Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Starwood's Board of Directors has determined that the revised terms of the agreement "constitute a superior proposal compared to previously announced offer by Consortium led by Anbang Insurance Group".
Review: Hilton Los Angeles Airport
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Review: Hilton Copenhagen Airport
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Review: Los Angeles Airport Marriott
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Review: Andaz West Hollywood – “View King” Room
After having successfully matched my Marriott Platinum status to Hyatt Diamond status back in November, I was looking forward to seeing what top-tier status in the Hyatt Gold program was all about with my first Hyatt stay as a Diamond member.
Review: Marriott AC Hotel Bella Sky Copenhagen
Whenever I have an overnight layover, unless I'm arriving into a city in the morning or early afternoon, I will always look to book a hotel that's close to the airport. If I know I'm not going to have time to explore a city I always look for the path of least resistance and, as on this trip I would have a 7:00am flight to catch the next day, I definitely wanted to book something within easy reach of the check-in desks.
Hilton Opens New Doubletree London Excel
With 21 properties in London Hilton fans weren't exactly short on choice when it comes to saying in England's capital but, just in case that wasn't enough, Hilton has just opened a 22nd.
The Doubletree by Hilton London ExCel is taking reservations from 23 January onwards and is the latest addition to Hilton's London portfolio.
The property was once the "Ramada Hotel & Suites London Docklands" but has undergone a thorough refurbishment before being rebranded as a Doubletree.
Atmosphere Resort – Dauin, Philippines
Over Christmas and New Year Joanna’s family had a great trip to various parts of Asia and, along the way, stopped off at Atmosphere Resort in the Philippines for a bit of well deserved R&R – this is their account (with a bit of editing from me) of one of the more popular beach and diving resorts in the Philippines.
UK To Get The First “Next-Generation” Holiday Inn Express Properties
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Review: Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi Grand Canal
To say that I procrastinated about which hotel to book in Abu Dhabi would a be an understatement of gargantuan proportions. I must have changed my mind a dozen times, switching between both of the Hyatt's, the Ritz Carlton, the Intercontinental and the Le Meridien.
A few things made up my mind for me in the end:
Review: Hampton By Hilton Liverpool (UK)
I've never stayed at a Hampton property before and, to be completely honest, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Last week I found myself needing a hotel in Liverpool and, as I wasn't going to be in the hotel or the city for very long, I wasn't about to splash out on an upscale property. All I needed was a comfortable room at a reasonable price and in a central location so, from the reviews on TripAdvisor, the Hampton by Hilton seemed to check the right boxes.
Review: Andaz 5th Avenue – New York
One of the biggest selling points of the Andaz 5th Avenue is it's location. Unless you need to be towards the bottom of Manhattan (Wall Street/Financial area) most of the major places people will want to visit are within easy walking distance.
Review: Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club
This time last year we were visiting the US Virgin Islands and staying at Marriott's Frenchman's Cove in St Thomas. This year we wen't back to a place Joanna and I know pretty well - Marriott's Aruba Surf Club on Palm Beach...Aruba (unsurprisingly!). What follows next is an in-depth review of the resort.
Review: InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam
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[VIDEO] Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club 1-Bed 2-Bath Oceanfront Villa
Earlier this year we spent a great week at Marriott Vacation Club's "flagship property" - Marriott's Maui Ocean Club. And, while we spent our...
Review: Radisson Blu Plaza Helsinki
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[VIDEO] Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club 2-Bedroom Oceanfront Villa
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[VIDEO] – Marriott’s Cypress Harbour Orlando – 2-Bed Villa
Continuing our series of videos the resorts we visit, today we're releasing the fourth of our videos on Vacation Smarter TV - a look inside a two...
Review: Marriott’s Waiohai Beach Club (Part 2)
In part one of this review I focused on the newly refurbished units at Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club. Here, in part 2, the focus...
Review: Marriott’s Waiohai Beach Club (Part 1)
Out of Marriott's Kauai properties, Marriott’s Waiohai Beach Club is my favourite. The Kauai Beach Club and Kauai Lagoons both offer different things and each has their own strong points but, as a package, Waiohai wins out for me.
Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club – Review Part 2
In part one of this review we focused on the 2-bedroom ocean front villa we had in the Lahaina Villas building of Marriott's Maui Ocean Club. Here, in part 2 we concentrate on the grounds and amenities at the resort.
Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club – Review Part 1
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Video: Marriott’s Lakeshore Reserve (Pool Area)
Continuing on from last month's announcement that we will, slowly, be adding videos of all the resorts we visit, today we're releasing the third of our...
Video: Marriott’s Lakeshore Reserve (One Bed Villa)
Our aim at here has always been to help our users make informed decisions when it comes to their vacation plans. Whether we're highlighting resorts...
Marriott’s Lakeshore Reserve (Orlando) Review
Earlier this month we had reason to take a lightning trip down to Orlando, so we couldn't resist the temptation of, finally, trying out a resort...
Marriott’s Frenchman’s Cove vs Marriott’s Aruba Resorts
If you've been following this blog or our recent Facebook and Twitter posts you'll know that we recently visited the beautiful US Virgin islands...
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