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When a hotel determines your destination

August 4, 2014 By Trevor 3 Comments





 

As funny as this may sound, there are times that I will choose my destination based on the hotel. As you can see from some of our Saturday Specials, here, here, and here, we try to stay in hotels that we have status at.

To that end, I’m planning a trip for later this month, and my wife and I are having a hard time deciding where it is we actually want to go. What we do know, is that we’ll be flying Emirates to Singapore, and we’ll be flying via Korean Air from Singapore, but from there, we can jump to pretty much anywhere in Southeast Asia.

The Search

I’m not usually a “step by step” type person, but I feel like this post is needed in the blog-o-sphere, and no one else has done it, so, I am happy to step up and do it, but I may need your help (see below).

Marriott

With Marriott’s new website, they changed things up with how you can search based on destination. That said, I think Marriott’s website is the most user friendly of all the “major” chains. If you want to skip through the screen shots (below), I think this link works to get you right to the search. If you want to roll through, you’d click the upper left (3 lines – think a mobile website experience), then select “Find and Reserve, then “Browse by Destination.” This handy graphic helps too:

Marriott Landing Page

What you’ll get next is: Marriott’s Hotel directory. Here you can choose a state or country and look at all the cool properties Marriott has there. For example, here is Malaysia:

Marriott Malaysia Hotels

Hyatt

Hyatt is easier and yet not as thorough. You can search the country from the main reservation screen, or you can explore a selection of “featured destinations” if you click “Hotels & Resorts” from the main landing page. Other than that, I have yet to find an all inclusive page, similar to what Marriott provides.

Hilton

I don’t have as much experience with Hilton so I had to google this. It looks like this link gets you to the below page, where you can select a country and see the available hotels/resorts.

Hilton Worldwide Hotels

Starwood

Kind of surprising, but if you just go here, you can search by country. As far as a listing of hotels, you’ll want to check out here.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG)

While their website isn’t nearly as strong, they do have a “Browse by Location.” Its a bit of a clunky interface with multiple clicks before you get to a particular hotel. Here’s a screenshot of where you start:

IHG Browse by Location

Radisson Blu

Radisson seems to have a pretty good interface too. You can find the link to that here. Note, you don’t have to select something in the “What would you like to experience” block if you don’t want to, you only need to select something in the “Where would you like to go.” area. Here’s a screenshot:

Radisson Worldwide Hotel Search

Conclusion

I know I missed some hotel chains (like Kimpton). I’ll try to circle back at a later date for those chains. I hope this brief post is helpful, if you ever are looking for hotels of a particular chain. I’ve found that these searches are really helpful for me, primarily because I seldom choose the destination first.

 

Filed Under: Hotels, Travel Tagged With: Elite Status, Hilton, Hotels, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, Radisson Blu, Starwood, Travel

Saturday Special: Grand Hyatt Bali Hotel Review

August 2, 2014 By Trevor Leave a Comment

One of two pools

One of two pools available exclusively for club guests

We’ve been to Bali, Indonesia twice, and stayed at this hotel for both of those visits (most recently in May, 2013). Because of those first two experiences, its very likely that our next trip will mean a return to this hotel.

Reason for Choosing

The Grand Hyatt Bali is roughly a half hour from the airport.

Bali

Bali

We decided on the Grand Hyatt Bali because it was a Hyatt (need the stay credit to maintain Diamond status), it was beachfront, had a club lounge, and there were shops within only a few minutes walk. The hotel is in Nusa Dua, which gives a sense of security, we went through two checkpoints where the vehicle was inspected (mirror on the undercarriage and checking the trunk), and a metal detector. We didn’t go out of our way to find a hotel with the added security, but it didn’t hurt. There is a selection of outdoor shops called the Bali Collection, across the street from the hotel, including a handful of restaurants and massage establishments, and some smaller shops just outside of Nusa Dua gate.

Nusa Dua

Nusa Dua

Lobby and Check-in/Check-out Experience

Both visits we were greeted by the staff when we arrived, the second time we were greeted by the general manager as well as a club manager who escorted us our suite for check in. It was seamless, much like our experience at the Park Hyatt Tokyo.

Where the hotel stood out

On our second visit (May, 2013), the club manager who greeted us at the car and escorted us to our room made a point of welcoming us “home.” He specifically noted that they had put us in the very same suite we had stayed at the year before. Maybe its me, but that level of service, that level of research and accommodation is not something we’ve experienced elsewhere. It was one of those special touches that stands out to me. The suite was spacious with more than ample room. It was also our first 4 post bed which was kind’ve cool.

Room

Room

The grounds were nicely kept and the beach was pristine.

Hotel

Hotel grounds

The Lounge was great and the evening Hors d’oeuvre were quite filling, and most nights one of the chef’s would stand near the food to explain what each item was. If you were not full it was a quick walk across the street to the Bali Shops to enjoy dinner and/or a late massage.

Where the hotel fell a little short

The lounge breakfast is not what you would expect of a big Asian breakfast buffet, it was perfectly sufficient, but certainly not representative of most breakfast buffets in Southeast Asia (at least that we’ve experienced).

Wrapping Up

The Grand Hyatt Bali hotel is one of the more reasonably price hotels on the beach in Nusa Dua. It was a great location for relaxing, especially for Club guests as there was an exclusive club pool area. While Nusa Dua is somewhat remote, it is possible to explore without much issue, with Kuta about 40 minutes away by car, and Ubud somewhat longer.

Filed Under: Hotels, Travel Tagged With: Grand Hyatt Bali, Hotels, Hyatt, Indonesia, Travel

Saturday Special: Park Hyatt Tokyo Hotel Review

July 26, 2014 By Trevor 9 Comments

Main view

Reason for Choosing

Note:We visited the Park Hyatt Tokyo in February, 2012.

We specifically did the Hyatt Diamond Challenge beforehand, with the express intention of staying at the Park Hyatt partially because of the location and the fact that we are big fans of the movie Lost in Translation. It helps that we got a stay credit that went towards our diamond status match. The diamond status also got us a free round of drinks in the New York Bar, which was phenomenal. The hotel also had a convenient and free shuttle bus that dropped off and pick up guests from the Shinjuku station.

Map

Map

Lobby and Check-in/Check-out Experience

We ended up relocating from the Grand Hyatt Tokyo, and took the metro (not worth the trouble, for those of you considering it). Once we made it to the hotel, we were immediately escorted the first elevator by the staff. Their service was outstanding. This was our first experience at a Park Hyatt, and lets just say, it sold us (we’ve maintained Diamond status for 2 years and are going on a third). They took the bags and escorted us to our suite to check us in. We only spent one night at the hotel but at check-in we received vouchers for a drink at the New York Bar, as Diamond guests. We also used a suite upgrade for the room and it was well worth it. Check out was a breeze.

Where the hotel stood out

The room was above standard with a great view of Mount Fuji. Tons of space for Japan. You could easily fit a family of four in the suite but there might not be enough privacy for that many, as there was really only one bedroom and few doors. The bed was great and the toilet was a Toto and certainly new to us but awesome.

Awesome room

Awesome room

The New York Bar was awesome as awesome as the movie. Live music and a great place to kick back and relax with a great view of the city.

Drinks

Drinks

Where the hotel fell a little short

There were no issues with the hotel. Perhaps the only area I might comment is the dual elevators to get to the room, but the view more than made up for it. I certainly had the “Lost in Translation” feeling in the elevator at one point, where I clearly made a cultural faux pas, holding the door for the ladies. Neither they, nor the men (mostly younger than I) moved until I started shooing them out. Lesson learned.

Wrapping Up

The Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel and staff were fantastic. It has a great location and if you are looking for a splurge this would be a great place to do it.

Filed Under: Hotels, Travel Programs Tagged With: Hyatt Diamond, Japan, Lost in Translation, Park Hyatt Tokyo, Tokyo

Saturday Special: Grand Hyatt Seoul Hotel Review

July 19, 2014 By Trevor 4 Comments

SAMSUNG CSC

As a continuation of our short set of observations from Seoul, here’s the hotel portion. Since we didn’t see much of the city the last time we thought it would be nice to stay in a different location that was more convenient to the shopping district.

Reason for Choosing

We chose the Seoul Hyatt partially because we needed the stay credit and it was reasonable priced with using cash and points (which give stay credits). It ended up being ~100USD a night and ~7500 points a night vs ~350USD a night. Which for it’s convenient and free shuttle bus to shopping, dining, and metro (Myeongdong area), let alone the view of the city was a great value.

Free Hyatt shuttle bus

Free Hyatt shuttle bus

The bus has two stops both close to a metro stop. One is in the Iteawon area (circled lower) which has a lot of little restaurants, bars and some shops.

Hyatt area of Seoul

Hyatt area of Seoul

The other is at Myeongdong Station. There is certainly a lot of retail shopping and is a short walk to Namdaemun Market.

SAMSUNG CSC

Myeongdong

Lobby and Check-in/Check-out Experience

We were ultimately checked-in in the lounge. When we arrived, the front desk staff escorted us to the lounge for check-in, but we both agreed, after a long trip it’s hard hearing that you just can’t check-in at the main desk when there is no one around. The main lobby and reception area was quite large and spacious.  While the hotel was pretty full while we were there it never felt crowded.

Check out also occurred at the lounge.  We were able to book our trip back to the airport (KAL airport bus) and charge it to the room with out extra fees.

Lobby

Lobby

Where the hotel stood out

The room was standard but had a good location a floor above the lounge.  The nicest part was that the bed.  It was fantastic.  One of the best beds we’ve had at a hotel.  Great mattress, although it could’ve used an extra pillow or two. This was our second time one floor above the lounge in Seoul and both times there was a stairwell down to the lounge. This was a big plus, as the elevators were slower than we would have liked.

Bed

Bed

Since it was my wife’s birthday I offered up grabbing cake or a treat from the bakery.  Well it turns out they had cream horns.  Which happened to be one of her favorite childhood deserts.  She totally vouches for them. It was one of the best she’s had or so she said.

Cream Horn

Cream Horn

Where the hotel fell a little short

While the dinner and the breakfast were not much to write home about they did surfice. One of the nice things is there is a separate lounge for families at night.  This other lounge is open all day as well and located on another floor.

Dinner

Dinner

Breakfast

Breakfast

The pool looks very big from the room but becomes very pack on the weekends.  The spa and pool area are nice but while we were there they did not handle the crowds very well. There was not a lot of seating by mid-day, and the hot tubs (one indoor, one out door) were not properly sized to the size of the hotel. One word of note: the hotel sells passes to the local families to use the spa/pool/exercise area. This seems to increase the number of people in this part of the hotel on the weekends.

SAMSUNG CSC

Pool

Wrapping Up

Though there are a few less than positives for this hotel the staff was fantastic.  The convenience of the location was wonderful.  If you are into hiking or wandering through a park this is a great option in Seoul, as it is very near the Namsan park that houses Namsan tower, which has great views of the city (perhaps even better views than from the hotel).

Great hotel view

Great hotel view

Would we stay here again? Most likely, though we might avoid a weekend stay.

Filed Under: Hotels, Travel, Travel Programs Tagged With: Grand Hyatt Seoul, Hyatt, Seoul, South Korea

Saturday Special: Renaissance Seoul Hotel Review

July 12, 2014 By Trevor 1 Comment

Note: Every so often I’ll try to highlight a hotel experience and share my thought process for choosing the hotel.

Last year my wife and I took a trip to Seoul, South Korea and chose to stay at the Renaissance Seoul Hotel.  It was an easy, competitively priced, and had a lounge. We have since been back to Seoul and tried another hotel out – will share that next week.

Reason for Choosing

For this trip, we were only going to be in Seoul for two nights, arriving in the afternoon, and leaving the day of checkout before breakfast (we had an early flight out). For the first night I was able to use a Marriott Rewards Credit Card Annual Certificate (Category 5 or below), which made the $266 price tag for the second night more palatable. One of the key discriminators for me in choosing was the lounge; I really appreciate lounge access, and being able to relax in the lounge with a drink (gratis) after a long day of touring a city.

The last reason was location. The Renaissance Seoul Hotel is in the Gangnam Business District. I thought this would be nice because there was mass transit nearby, which provided a great connection to where we wanted to see.

Map showing the proximity of mass transit to hotel (courtesy of Marriott website).

Map showing the proximity of mass transit to hotel (courtesy of Marriott website).

Lobby and Check-in/Check-out Experience

Much of the time when I check into a Marriott, it is in the lobby (as opposed to Hyatt which will sometimes make you go up to the lounge). Here the front desk was easily found, and the lobby overall was well laid out with a cafe, bar area, and conveniently placed elevators. Overall, Check-in was quick enough, and at Check-out we were able to purchase tickets for the KAL Limousine (bus service to Incheon International Airport (ICN)).

lobby

Lobby

Where the hotel stood out

The Executive Lounge met expectations for the spread, but stood out with some of the desserts (see photo below), which were particularly good. The drink selection (also below) was also more than sufficient.

Dinner_Snacks_Drinks_2

Snacks and Drinks in the Lounge.

The bed was one of the better beds we had experienced, but I will caveat this with us being pretty exhausted both nights (the first we traveled, and we spent the entire second day touring the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and city).

Bed

Bed

The breakfast spread. The Renaissance Seoul Hotel serves breakfast for elites and club level guests in their “Club Horizon” which is a nice area with a great view of the city, and a reasonable breakfast spread for Asia (I’d compare it most readily to what we’ve seen in Hong Kong verse what we’ve seen in Southern Thailand).

Breakfast Buffet

Breakfast Buffet in Club Horizon.

Wrapping Up

While we didn’t choose to stay here our second trip, we really did enjoy our stay and would stay here again. The proximity to mass transit and in general being in a walkable area was a big plus for us.

If you’re interested in more information about Seoul, this is a great resource, and I would also highly recommend a DMZ tour – it was very moving for me.

 

Filed Under: Hotels Tagged With: Hotels, Marriott, Renaissance Seoul Hotel, Seoul, South Korea

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