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Asia Destination Trip Reports

January 2014: Phuket, Thailand Trip Report

Day 1: I arrived at the Phuket Airport around noon and after looking at the various published fares for different taxi companies negotiated one down to 500 THB. I am not sure if I overpaid by a little or by a lot but I wasn’t going to let that ruin my vacation. 🙂 The cab ride is a short 15 minutes and after passing the other two Marriott properties (JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa and Marriott’s Phuket Beach Club) I arrived at the Renaissance property. Hotel Review: Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa  After getting to my room, I took a shower …

Hotel Reviews Marriott/SPG Reviews

Hotel Review: Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa, Phuket, Thailand

Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa 555, Moo 3, Mai Khao, Talang Phuket Island, 83110 Thailand Renaissance Phuket resort is a Category 6 Marriott property (Free one night redemption: 30,000 points per night) located close to Phuket International Airport. It takes only about 15-20 minutes cab ride from the airport to the resort. The standard cab rate for the ride is about 500 THB. The resort is located right on Mai Khao Beach. There are 2 other Marriott properties in the vicinity, the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa and Marriott’s Phuket Beach Club. This is the northern part of Phuket which is opposite …

Choice Hotels/Radisson Hotel Reviews Reviews

Hotel Review: Radisson Suites, Bangkok Sukhumvit

Radisson Suites Bangkok Sukhumvit 23/2-3 Sukhumvit 13, Sukhumvit Road, Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110 This is a Category 3 property (28,000 points for a reward night) of the Club Carlson program located on Soi 13 just off of Sukhumvit road in Bangkok. It is within walking distance to two train stations (BTS Asoke and BTS Nana) but the hotel also provides complimentary tuktuk service to both stations as well as the nearest MRT station. Arrived at the hotel really early at 7 AM and requested early check-in but was told to wait till 11 am. I was dismayed to see only …

Asia Destination Trip Reports

December 2013: Vizag – Araku Trip Report

For the last 2 years my parents (and our extended family in India) have decided that we will take a short 3-4 day trip when I visit India each year in December. This is one trip where I don’t use any miles or hotel points. In fact my parents and rest of the gang don’t even let me take my wallet out for anything, not even meals. This year the plan was to take the night train from Kolkata (my home city in India) to Visakhapatnam (Vizag for short) on Christmas Eve and stay there till December 29 and then take another …

Airline Reviews Reviews Singapore Airlines

Airline Review: Singapore Airlines – Business Class (Angled Flat seats) : Singapore – Kolkata (SQ 516)

Flight:  Singapore Airlines SQ 516 from Singapore to Kolkata Duration: 4 hours 5 minutes Aircraft: A333 (Airbus 330-300) Class: Business Seat: 11 A (Bulkhead Window) Seat Specification: Angle Lie Flat, Seat pitch: 60.0 “. Seat width: 24.5 ” I landed in Changi International Airport after my flight from Haneda around 1 PM. I had no plans to go out of the airport this year. I had already taken the Free Singapore Tour twice over the past decade, once with Karen. Last year we also ventured out on our own and visited the Marina Bay Sands hotel, the location of the highest infinity pool in the …

Airline Reviews Reviews Singapore Airlines

Airline Review: Singapore Airlines – Business Class (Angled Flat seats) : Tokyo (Haneda) – Singapore (SQ 635)

Flight:  Singapore Airlines SQ 635 from Haneda to Singapore Duration: 7 hours Aircraft: A333 (Airbus 330-300) Class: Business Seat: 11 A (Bulkhead Window) Seat Specification: Angle Lie Flat, Seat pitch: 60.0 “. Seat width: 24.5 ” After landing in Tokyo at Haneda Airport, my next flight to Singapore was leaving in only 1 hr 30 mins. I decided to check out the ANA lounge. The lounge was pretty empty, it being early in the morning. I decided to check out what kind of food was being served over there. There were small finger sandwiches, sushi, noodle, soup, bread and pastries.  I really liked the pork …

Airline Reviews ANA Reviews

Airline Review: ANA – Business Class (Angled Flat seats) : Los Angeles – Tokyo Haneda (NH 1005)

Flight:  ANA NH 1005 from Los Angeles to Tokyo (Haneda) Duration: 12 hours 10 minutes Aircraft: B772 (Boeing 777-200) Class: Business Seat: 2A Seat Specification: Angle Lie Flat, Seat pitch: 63.0 “. Seat width: 20 ” I arrived at the Tom Bradley International Terminal about 2 hours before departure. Check-in was quick and the agent handed me the boarding card and directions to the new Star Alliance lounge on the 6th floor of the Tom Bradley International Terminal in LAX. The new Star Alliance lounge is much better than the old one at the recently renovated Tom Bradley Terminal. The food selection is fairly limited …

Trip Summary

December 2013 – January 2014: India – Thailand Trip Introduction

I will be traveling for about 3 weeks for my yearly family visit to India starting mid-December 2013. Towards the end of the trip I will stop by at Bangkok and Phuket for 4 days. I earned 2 Marriott Category 5 certificates during our Portland and Fort Lauderdale trips with the Marriott quarterly promotions. I will be using those to stay at the Renaissance Phuket Resort for 2 nights. I will be doing several reviews on both airlines and hotels during this trip. Airline Review – ANA Business Class – Los Angeles to Tokyo (Haneda) Airline Review – Singapore Airlines Business …

Hotel Reviews IHG Reviews

Hotel Review: Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites, Otay Mesa, San Diego

Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites San Diego Otay Mesa 2296 Niels Bohr Court , San Diego , California   92154 This hotel is located at the last US exit on the 905 freeway on the way to Tijuana, Mexico. Me and Karen have stayed there a couple of times when we were doing a mattress-run for the “Big Win” promotion as well as when we were in San Diego to watch Whitney Cummings on her comedy tour. This is one of the very few hotels where they actually call you a few days before your stay to ask if …

Hotel Reviews IHG Reviews

Hotel Review: Holiday Inn, Dulles Airport

Holiday Inn Washington-Dulles Intl Airport 45425 Holiday Drive, Dulles , Virginia 20166 Holiday Inn Dulles Airport is located only 2 miles from the airport and provides complimentary shuttle to and from the airport. It is located in a commercial real estate area and the exterior is very ordinary. The interior however is actually pretty nice (considering its a Holiday Inn of course). Check in was quick and smooth. They offered 1,000 IHG Reward points or a free breakfast for platinum members and I chose the free breakfast. Business Center had only 2 computers with a printer. Thumbs up: Only 2 …

Hotel Reviews IHG Reviews

Hotel Review: Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Buffalo-Airport

Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Buffalo-Airport 131 Buell Avenue, Cheektowaga , New York – 14225 This hotel is located right across from the Buffalo International Airport (BUF). The hotel provides 24 hour complimentary shuttle to and from the airport. Check-in was quick and smooth. The front desk clerk inquired what time we were checking out and when we said that we were leaving very early in the morning next day, let us know that we will have our morning breakfast packed-to-go at the front desk during checkout. Excellent !! We had a 2 Queen room for this hotel and …

Hotel Reviews IHG Reviews

Hotel Review: Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites, Niagara Falls

Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Niagara Falls 10111 Niagara Falls Boulevard, Niagara Falls,New York 14304 Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites, Niagara Falls is located on the US side of the border, about 6 miles away from the Niagara Falls. It is about 20 miles away from the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. There is no complimentary shuttle to the airport so a rental or personal car is needed. This is basically a no-frills, basic amenity hotel for staying close to Niagara Falls. Our flight arrived late night at Buffalo airport and after picking up our rental car we drove …

Destination Trip Reports North America

September 2013: Niagara Falls Trip Report

We reached Buffalo Airport from New York by a late night JetBlue flight. After picking up our rental car from the airport, we drove to our hotel in Niagara Falls (Holiday Inn Express) which was less than 20 miles from the airport. Since it was around midnight by the time we reached the hotel, we went straight to bed. Next morning, after waking up and having complimentary breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and drove to the Niagara falls (US side). We used the Niagara Falls official parking which was only $10. Niagara Falls is comprised of 3 separate falls, …

Hilton Hotel Reviews Reviews

Hotel Review: DoubleTree Suites by Hilton, Times Square

DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel New York City – Times Square 1568 Broadway, New York, New York, 10036-8201, USA This Hilton HHonors Category 10 property is located right on Times Square as the name suggests. This is an excellent hotel choice for sightseeing in New York as many of the attractions (Top of the Rock, Empire State Building, Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise, Central Park) are all within walking distance and avoid need for a cab. I wholeheartedly recommend this hotel to prospective NYC tourists. The only downside is that it being in the highest Hilton category, it costs 70,000 – 95,000 …

Destination Trip Reports North America

September 2013: New York City Trip Report

Day 1: We arrived by Amtrak in the afternoon at NYC Penn Station from Washington Union Station. As soon as you get out of the station (which is located below Madison Square Garden), all your senses are like assaulted (in a good way). Yep, you are in New York. Since we were staying close by at the DoubleTree Suites – Times Square, we decided to just walk there instead of taking a cab. We ended up walking a lot during this trip. I would definitely recommend this hotel for its convenient location. After having lunch and taking a couple of hours …

Hotel Reviews IHG Reviews

Hotel Review: Crown Plaza Dulles Airport, Herndon, Virginia

Crowne Plaza Dulles Airport 2200 Centreville Road, Herndon, Virginia 20170, United States This IHG hotel is located only 3 miles from Dulles International Airport and provides 24-hour complimentary shuttle. It is located next to a big shopping area with movie theater and plenty of restaurants like Qdoba, TGIFridays and other dining options like Indian, Mediterranean, Mexican, Chinese, Thai etc. Marriot Suites is just opposite of this hotel. Checkin was quick and the front desk agent informed us that both of our rooms were upgraded to Club level floor. We have never stayed at these Club levels in any chains before …

Hotel Reviews Marriott/SPG Reviews

Hotel Review: Residence Inn Arlington, Pentagon City

Residence Inn Arlington Pentagon City 550 Army Navy Drive · Arlington, Virginia 22202 USA This Marriott Rewards Category 4 hotel is located less than 3 miles away from Reagan National Airport (DCA). The hotel provides complimentary shuttle to and from this airport (although there is no shuttle for Dulles International Airport which is around 25 miles away). The hotel is located right opposite of the Pentagon and if you request a “high floor with a view” you could get a room that has great views of the Pentagon along with really awesome views of the DC memorials & monuments. The front desk …

Hotel Reviews Marriott/SPG Reviews

Hotel Review: Fairfield Inn & Suites, Dulles Airport, Sterling, Virginia

Fairfield Inn & Suites, Dulles Airport, Sterling Virginia 23000 Indian Creek Drive – Sterling, Virginia 20166 USA We stayed the first night at this hotel for our week-long DC-New York – Niagara Trip. This Marriott Rewards Category 2 hotel is about 5 minutes from the Washington Dulles airport and provides a complimentary shuttle. The hotel was undergoing renovation till 2014 and one of the floors was closed during our stay. One thing about this airport hotel is that there is not much dining options within walking-distance. There are some restaurants in the area that offer delivery (Chinese and Pizza mostly). …

Destination Trip Reports North America

September 2013: Washington DC Trip Report

We arrived in DC on a Saturday evening after a long Southwest Airlines flight from Ontario, California. My parents had arrived from India a couple of hours earlier. Since we were all pretty tired by now, we headed straight for the hotel. We were staying at the Fairfield Inn & Suites, Dulles Airport. Day 1: After getting up early in the morning and having complimentary breakfast at the hotel, me and Karen went to the Dulles Airport to pick up our rental car. This was the only rental booked without points for this trip. We had booked an intermediate car …

Trip Summary

September 2013: DC/NYC/Niagara Trip – Introduction

During the Labor Day week Me and Karen took time off of work and went on a trip covering Washington DC, New York and Niagara Falls. My parents were flying in from India and met us in Washington DC. Itinerary for the trip:  Day 1: Ontario – Washington DC (Southwest Airlines) Day 2: Washington DC Sightseeing (Washington Monument, WW2 Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Capitol Building) Day 3: Washington DC Sightseeing (Museum of Natural History, Holocaust Museum) Day 4: Amtrak from Washington Union Station – New York Penn Station. NYC sightseeing (Top of the Rock, Times …