Tag: Hotels
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Take a Bow, Bilbao
Bilbao. The name itself fills the mouth. I’ll admit, at first, I kept messing it up. Pronouncing it like the last name of a certain famous movie boxer. I could not quite get my tongue around it. For the record, it’s Bihl. Bow. As in, take a bow. And indeed, the resilient Spanish city by…
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Hotel Crashing: Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas
Last week, I talked about my favorite place that we stayed at in Australia. Today, I’m talking about my least favorite place. Actually, that’s a bit harsh. I didn’t dislike the Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas, but it definitely was not my vibe. So let’s take a trip in the way-back time machine to our vacation…
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Hotel Crashing: St. Regis Bangkok
I’m having caviar withdrawals. And my butler hasn’t brought me my morning cappuccino or left marzipan by my bed during turndown service in over a week. And I love my marzipan. This is wholly unacceptable. Such is life after a first-class vacation. Yes, we used airline miles and flew first class the entire way to…
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Typical Hotel Check-In Conversation
This is an almost verbatim transcription of our typical check-in procedures at any Starwood Property around the world. Desk clerk: OK, Mr. XFE, we’ve put you in a lovely garden room with a view of the park. It’s not ready just yet, but if you come back in an hour, we’ll get that ready for…
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Hotel Crashing: The Cosmopolitan Vegas
If you can’t tell from my scattered posting, work is handing me my ass this week. I mean it, I’m slammed. It’s enough to make me daydream about luxurious bathrobes. And the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Vegas has the best bathrobe I’ve ever used, hands down. We went to the Cosmopolitan last Christmas. They were gearing…
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Hotel Crashing: W Retreat and Spa, Vieques
The W Retreat and Spa in Vieques is like the hipster, musician boyfriend you dated way back in the day: uber-cool, way too sexy and smart for a nerd like you. Your street cred is instantly bumped up just by telling people that you are staying at such a cool, unique, and awesome “retreat.” But…
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Hotel Crashing: The Venetian, Las Vegas
Did you know that the Phantom of the Opera is playing at the Venetian in Vegas? If you’re staying at the hotel, you definitely do. Because it’s everywhere. The music in the elevators? Phantom. The music in the lobby? Phantom. The welcoming card in the bedroom? Phantom. We’ve stayed in quite a few places in…
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Hotel (and Airplane) Crashing: OpenSkies, Le Meridien Etoile
Now that we’ve wined and dined and shopped our way through Paris Poe-style, you might be wondering (or, more realistically, not) how we came to be on this fabulous last-minute trip. Blame Travelzoo. My travel-agent-for-life XFE and I are both signed up for Travelzoo’s weekly email deal alerts. And every week we’re tempted beyond belief…
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Hotel Crashing: The W Austin
Aaaannnnd, I’m back! Did you miss me? I would say I missed blogging, but that’s kind of a lie. OK, let’s just say I did miss blogging (there was plenty of brag-worthy stuff to share), but I drowned my sorrows in copious amounts of barbecue, queso, and chicken fried steak. But, my absolute favorite pain-numbing…