One of the good things about the Marriott-Starwood merger (yes, Ed, there was something good) was the dropping of the point requirement for Lifetime status and only going by nights like the Starwood program. Marriott’s program used to require 250, 500, or 750 nights and 800K, 1200K, or 1600K points respectively for the three status…
ALL HANDS: Inside or Outside of the City Center? Greetings, Fellow Travelers! BLUF: Balancing price, amenities, and location can be a daunting task. And while no single factor can truly take precedence over another during your travel planning, it’s best to stick to your guns and make the best decision for you and…
ALL HANDS: Loyalty Status Levels (Part 2, Hotels). Greetings, Fellow Travelers! BLUF: Marriott Bonvoy Platinum (or higher) level is one of the most useful hotel status levels when traveling around Europe. Today’s ALL HANDS will review which hotel status level brings the most value with it as you travel around Europe. …
Moxy is one of the 30 brands of the new Marriott/ Starwood family. It was invented a few years ago to appeal tot he Millennial generation, but you may find it to your liking even if you are over 30. We used it to stay cheaply in New Orleans while helping our daughter move after graduating…
Continuing on from the review of the Conrad Bangkok yesterday. This hotel is proof of the importance of having enough status to access the lounge. It was first class and saved us untold amounts of money by providing a good breakfast every morning and even a few meals at their nightly happy hour. They even…
Staying in Bangkok for Songkran, Thai New Year. 13-15 Apr. was actually really easy. Although I am sure lower end hotels were at a premium, staying at a five-star property turned out to be very easy. I used Hilton points and got a great deal at 104,000 pts. for five nights. That is actually the…
We’ve seen the airlines change the value proposition of their frequent flyer programs over the last few years and now Hilton is taking similar steps. What these changes have in common is that the changes give less to those who are infrequent customers or spend less and more to the truly loyal customers who spend…
With Santa Barbara as the destination, the next decision was where to stay? A good friend recommended the Fess Parker Hotel. My first reaction to this was “Fess Parker, the star of Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone from my childhood?” Yep and if you don’t know what I am talking about go here. The photo…
After living in Honolulu for three years, my wife and I pretty much go back there once a year to catch up with friends and see what has changed. Here , here and here are some past posts. We do try and stay at a different property every time in order to try new things. This time…
We splurged on Emirates Business Class on the way back from Budapest with a stopover in Dubai. We lived in Dubai 15 years ago and hadn’t been back since. We heard it might have changed just a little… For our stay, I got a good deal at the Conrad Dubai located near the head of…
