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Choice Hotels/Radisson Hotel Reviews Reviews

Hotel Review: Radisson Blu Hotel Champs Elysees-Paris

Radisson Blu Hotel Champs Elysées, Paris 78bis Avenue Marceau (8º Arr) Paris – FR-75008 Radisson Blu Hotel Champs Elysees is located in the heart of Paris, only minutes away from the iconic Arc De Triomphe and providing great views of this Paris attraction. A standard award room at this hotel costs 70,000 Club Carlson points (for standard award and 105,000 for premium award) at the new redemption rate. We redeemed for 50,000 Club Carlson points/night for standard award and 75,000 for premium award in July 2014. If you have Club Carlson credit card, the last night during each stay is …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

July 2014: Paris Trip Report

We arrived in Paris Orly Airport by EasyJet from Rome pretty late at night (around 11 PM). The Orly Airport is much closer to the city than Charles De Gaulle airport. Even though a cab is a perfectly economical mode of transportation for 4 passengers, we wanted to use the public transportation. The OrlyVal train was already closed by the time we got out of the terminal. We took the OrlyBus shuttle from the airport to Denfert Rochereau and took the RER B from there to Charles De Gaulle Etoille station (after transferring in between to Paris Metro). The exit …

Hotel Reviews IHG Reviews

Hotel Review: Holiday Inn Express, Rome – San Giovanni

Holiday Inn Express Rome – San Giovanni Via Assisi 51 Rome, 00181, Italy Holiday Inn Express Rome – San Giovanni is located a bit away from the historical center of Rome but available within convenient reach by metro. The hotel is located about 10 minutes walk from the Ponte Lungo metro station (Line A) and 5 minutes walk from Tuscolana Train station. Rome Termini station is only 5 stops away on metro Line A and one can get to and from Fiumicino airport by using FR 1 train that stops at Tuscolana station. An IHG reward night redemption at this …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

July 2014: Rome Trip Report

Day 1: We took the FrecciaArgento #9423 train from Venice Santa Lucia station to the Termini station in Rome. The Termini station also has the Metro station outside the train station. Rome has only two metro lines, Line A (Red) and Line B (Blue). Our hotel for our stay in Rome was Holiday Inn Express, San Giovanni which is closest to the Ponte Lungo stop on Line A. We took the Line A metro outside the Termini train station to the Ponte Lungo stop and walked for 10 minutes to get to the hotel. After checking in and freshening up, we …

Hilton Hotel Reviews Reviews

Hotel Review: Hilton Molino Stucky, Venice

Hilton Molino Stucky Venice Giudecca, 810, 30133 Venezia, Italy Hilton Molino Stucky Venice is a Category 8 (3rd highest category) Hilton property located on the island of Giudecca, a short boat ride away from the main tourist attractions of Venice. The hotel provides a complimentary shuttle to St. Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco) as well as another water-bus stop, Zattere. The hotel used to be a flour mill that was renovated and converted to this wonderful property. It sits right on the water (Giudecca Canal). You can sit on the bench in front of the hotel by the canal and …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

July 2014: Venice Trip Report

We got on a FrecciaBianca train bound for Venice from Milan Central station in the late afternoon. There were luggage racks at the end as well as mid compartment. I had read warnings on online forums regarding putting luggage at the end of the passenger car so we kept it in the mid-compartment luggage racks. The train had a dining compartment too but we had already had lunch at the Milan station. We arrived at the Venezia Santa Lucia station in the early evening. The weather Gods were not kind as there was a thunderstorm going on in Venice. Heavy …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

July 2014: Trip Report – 4 Hours in Milan

After breakfast, we got to the Lucerne Train station. We picked up some more sandwich supplies from the Coop store at the train station. We were heading to Venice and had a 4 hour connection in Milan. The journey to Milan was on Eurocity (EC 253) train, a 4 hour trip. I had opted for the shortest route from Lucerne to Milan, not necessarily the most scenic route. There are other scenic routes available between these two cities (although not as direct and more time consuming). Since we had around 4 hours in Milan, we wanted to utilize the time …

Choice Hotels/Radisson Hotel Reviews Reviews

Hotel Review: Radisson Blu Hotel, Lucerne

Radisson Blu Hotel, Lucerne Lakefront Center Inseliquai 12 – 6005, Lucerne, Switzerland Radisson Blu Hotel in Lucerne is located in the very convenient location of being very close to the Lucerene Train Station (Lucerne Bahnhof) only a 5 minutes walk. The hotel offers amazing lake and mountain views. A free night redemption at this hotel costs 50,000 Club Carlson points a night. I would consider this hotel one of the better top tier redemption’s in the Club Carlson program. Check-in was quick and we were upgraded to a  lake-view room. The lobby looked very chic, a bit different than the …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

July 2014: Lucerne Trip Report

We arrived at Zurich Airport from London in the evening. After clearing immigration, we walked towards the train station which is at the airport itself (there are plenty of signs). The automated kiosks and ticket booths are at the ground level and the train platform at the lower levels. This was the only train journey (Zurich Airport – Lucerne) for which I didn’t have a reservation and so we paid the regular fare which came out to be 24 Euro/person. The train journey from Zurich Airport to Lucerne train station only takes about 1 hour. Some trains go directly from …

Hotel Reviews Reviews Wyndham

Hotel Review – Days Hotel London-Waterloo

Days Hotel London-Waterloo 54 Kennington Road, London, SE1 7BJ GB Days Hotel London-Waterloo is located in the south bank of the Thames, minutes from the London Waterloo Train Station. The closest metro station is Lambeth North (Bakerloo line). Also minutes away is the Waterloo metro station (Bakerloo line, Jubilee line and Northern line). Being a good location is the prime selling point of this hotel. Another selling point is that a reward night at this centrally located property only costs 20,000 Wyndham Rewards points. We arrived early and the front desk informed us that they had both rooms ready for us. I was …

Hotel Reviews Marriott/SPG Reviews

Hotel Review: Renaissance Heathrow Airport Hotel, London

Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel Bath Road Hounslow England TW6 2AQ United Kingdom Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel is a Marriott Category 6 property located about 10 minutes driving distance from the London Heathrow airport (depending on the terminals as there are 5 of them). A free night at this property costs 30,000 Marriott Rewards points (25,000 points for Pointsavers).The hotel doesn’t have any complimentary shuttles to the airport but there are multiple transportation options available. The easiest (and most expensive) is of course the cab. There are also plenty of Heathrow Hotel Hoppa buses available. Not all buses go to every hotel and …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

July 2014: London Trip Report

We flew from Amsterdam Schipol Airport to London Heathrow on July 7 late evening. We met up with my parents at the airport who had flown in from Kolkata about 2 hours earlier and were going to be with us for the rest of the Europe trip. It was pretty late at night around 11 pm and we took a cab to the nearby Renaissance Heathrow Hotel where we were going to stay the night. I had researched about free public buses to the local hotels around Heathrow but it was very late at night (some buses don’t run this late) …

Choice Hotels/Radisson Hotel Reviews Reviews

Hotel Review: Radisson Blu Hotel, Amsterdam

Radisson Blu Hotel, Amsterdam Rusland 17, 1012 CK Amsterdam, Netherlands Radisson Blu Hotel, Amsterdam is located in the heart of Amsterdam, only about 15 minutes walk from Amsterdam Centraal Station and about 5 minutes walk from the “infamous” (Red Light District) from De Wallen neighbourhood. It is also within close walking distance from other tourist attractions of Amsterdam, namely Dam Square (650 m), Bloemenmarket (650 m), Anne Frank House (1.4 km), Jordaan neighbourhood (1.7 km), Rijkmuseum (1.5 km). A free night at this property costs 50,000 Club Carlson points. In my opinion, it is an excellent redemption option for Club Carlson …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

July 2014: Amsterdam Trip Report

We arrived at the Schiphol Airport around 9 PM from our flight from London. After immigration, we proceeded towards the train station which is located at the lower level of the Arrivals section. The fare from the airport to Amsterdam Centraal station is 4 Euro. I tried to purchase the tickets at automated kiosks at first but was unable to do so with my chip and signature card. I then went to the ticket booth and the same credit card worked fine this time. In my experience, the chip and signature cards work most of the time at the credit …

Trip Summary

July 2014: Our 2 Week Europe Trip – Introduction

Question:1.1 million miles and points !! What does it get you? Answer: A once in a lifetime two-week trip for four people to Europe !! 🙂 Yes, we are going on a 2 week Europe trip starting the 4th of July. We will visit 6 cities on this trip, starting with Amsterdam, then London, Lucerne, Venice, Rome and finally Paris. My parents will be skipping Amsterdam and will join us in London to travel with us for the rest of the trip. There will be no airline reviews on this trip as we are flying coach for the entire trip …

Hotel Reviews Marriott/SPG Reviews

Hotel Review: Sheraton Waikiki

Sheraton Waikiki 2255 Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815 Sheraton Waikiki is a Category 6 SPG property located in the heart of Waikiki Beach. It is located right next to another SPG property, The Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection resort. A free night at the Sheraton Waikiki goes for 20,000 – 25,000 SPG points, depending on season. I was able to book this hotel while it was still a Category 5 with Cash + Points (6000 SPG Points + $ 110) before the 2014 SPG changes took effect and it moved to Category 6. The hotel charges a resort fee ($31) which …

Destination Trip Reports North America

May 2014: Hawaii Trip – Day 5 and 6 – Hanauma Bay, Luau

Day 5: One of the most popular places in Oahu to go snorkeling is Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. Wanting to beat the crowds, we headed out around 8 AM. There is a $1 per vehicle parking fee and a $7.50 per person entry fee. We didn’t wait long to get our tickets but were then ushered into a small waiting area (interesting reading) before going in to see a 15 minute video. The video explains the history and rules of Haunama Bay. Once that is done you are headed down the hill to the beach. There is a rental stand where you …

Hotel Reviews IHG Reviews

Hotel Review: Holiday Inn Waikiki Beachcomber Resort

Holiday Inn Waikiki Beachcomber Resort 2300 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96815 Holiday Inn Waikiki Beachcomber Resort is located in the heart of Waikiki, not an oceanfront property but close enough to walk to the beach in 5 minutes. A reward night at this IHG property goes for 35,000 points. The location of the property is awesome. There are plenty of dining and shopping options all around the resort. Compared to it, Hilton is a bit away from all the action. We arrived at the hotel around afternoon and the front-desk agent informed us that the room was not ready and …

Destination Trip Reports North America

May 2014: Hawaii Trip – Day 3 and 4 – Dole Plantation, North Shore, Aloha Swap Meet

Day 3: Wanting to get an early start for this longer trek to North Shore, we checked out of the Hilton around 8 AM. We arrived at the Dole Plantation around 9 AM. Unfortunately, it doesn’t fully open until 9:30 AM. So we roamed around and looked at the Pineapple garden and took pictures. There are a few attractions available: the Pineapple Express (train ride through the plantation $8.50), a Garden Tour (guided tour through the garden so you can learn the history $5), and a Pineapple Maze (wandering through a plant maze $6). Keep in mind you can see …

Hilton Hotel Reviews Reviews

Hotel Review: Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort

Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort 2005 Kalia Road, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96815, USA Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort is a Category 7 property of the Hilton HHonors program where a free night redemption at the hotel goes for 60,000 Hilton points. Located on a wide stretch of the Waikiki Beach, this property is only 10 miles from Honolulu International airport. The resort boasts as many as 18 restaurants and lounges and also is conveniently located close to other shopping complexes. The hotel charges for parking (Self Parking: $27/night and Valet Parking: $33/night). There is also a resort fee of …