Hotel Reviews

When I’m in Austin, I always try to make sure I’m staying at the Driskill if at all possible.  It’s got the Texas flavor and kitsch-factor I’m looking for. And because since so many people took up residence in it, it supposedly is very haunted! I’ve stayed many times in …

I mentioned in my talk on business travel that I went a while without being able to spend points–so when I found myself in Hawaii for work travel, I really extended the trip. I did this by hopping over to Kauai and staying at the Grand Hyatt Kauai resort. Because …

I got the chance to stay at the Park  Hyatt New York in a suite and I took the opportunity to take a bunch of pictures of the experience. First of all, the aesthetic of this hotel is very modern.  While the suite at the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome was …

The Bare Pool Lounge is a pool at the Mirage that is adults-only and advertises “European Sunbathing”.  That is, top-less. I was a bit apprehensive about going even though I was promised free entry and drinks if I went (I had run into a promoter for it the last time …

The Mirage Las Vegas I am a platinum with MLife (through my Hyatt Diamond status) and I get strip-view upgrades at the Mirage every time I go. Since this trip was a girls weekend, I wanted to see how big I could go.  So I folded a $100 bill underneath …

The Hyatt Zilara has a restaurant that you can only access if you have a specific room type.  As a Diamond member of Hyatt, I was upgraded to this room type and was about to get reservations in the Chef’s Plate restaurant. I read up that the restaurant is more …

The first night of our stay at the Hyatt Zilara, we ate at the Tapas & Pintxos Restaurant (no reservations needed). For the menu, click here. We ate here the first night because we did not make reservations anywhere and it seemed like the easiest non-buffet place to eat. The first thing …

The Hyatt Zilara is freshly open and I just had to get a look! This all-suite property is adults only, and their rooms are definitely couple oriented.  I wasn’t able to get an upgraded suite with points or my suite upgrade certificate, but my room did not disappoint me. If …

On my most recent trip to Austin, I decided to stay in the Driskill, a historic property new to the Hyatt family.  It’s supposedly the most haunted hotel in the United States, but definitely not the first haunted hotel I’ve stayed in. The hotel definitely has an old-school luxury feel …

The Radisson Seattle Airport Hotel is a great stay—the rooms are nice, it’s near the LINK to downtown, and it’s one of the few Radisson’s I’ve ever felt like an elite at. I’ll be honest.  I was so very close to switching my stay to the Hyatt Olive 8.  I’m …