A Ritz-Carlton will be opening in Zermatt, Switzerland, and it'll probably be the most luxurious ski resort in Europe that's bookable with points. Marriott has signed an agreement with Mario Julen to open a Ritz-Carlton in Zermatt, Switzerland. This…
Hotels
Hilton's luxury footprint is continuing to grow. A couple of months ago I wrote about another great luxury beach property joining Hilton's portfolio. I wanted to provide an update on this, as the hotel now has an opening date, and is also accepting reservations…
I'm often asked by readers which credit card they should be using to maximize points for a given hotel stay, or if there's an overall best hotel credit card. Typically recommending which credit card is best for a particular bonus category (like dining,…
The Amex Offers program frequently has promotions for hotel stays, which can save you money or earn you bonus points for stays you’d make anyway. Amex has just rolled out its latest hotel offer, though it does appear to be highly targeted (between all…
Hilton's newest luxury hotel in the US has just opened... In September 2020 it was announced that the Monarch Beach Resort will join Hilton's portfolio as a Waldorf Astoria property. We didn't initially know the exact date that would happen, so there's…
Bora Bora is one of the most picturesque places in the world, and the Four Seasons Bora Bora is regarded as the best major hotel there. Bora Bora has been open to visitors from many parts of the world in conjunction with testing, so it's a destination…
There have been rumors in the past few weeks of Four Seasons introducing a new loyalty program. While that's not happening, the luxury hotel group has just announced some improvements to its existing invitation-only status. While Four Seasons is known…
A contract dispute may cause 22 Hyatt Place properties in the US to leave the Hyatt portfolio. Let's take a look at why, and which properties could be impacted. This follows a similar recent situation with 103 IHG properties and 122 Marriott properties.…
Airbnb has just taken a more drastic measure than any major hotel group when it comes to the recent (and upcoming) political unrest. Airbnb has announced that it will be canceling all reservations in the Washington DC metro area during inauguration week,…
Many resorts in the Maldives already operate on private islands, but the Waldorf Astoria Maldives is taking it to the next level, by opening a second private island right next to the first private island. The Waldorf Astoria Maldives opened in mid-2019,…
This is tragic. The Andaman is a Marriott Luxury Collection Resort in Langkawi, Malaysia. The hotel has sustained extensive damage after two major fires. The Andaman has dealt with two fires in the past day. Malay Mail reports that the first fire started…
Over the summer, Ford and I spent a weekend at the Four Seasons Surf Club in Surfside, Miami, for our five year anniversary. While we live in Miami, we've never actually done a "staycation" anywhere, and this is a hotel both of us have been quite interested…
This might be one of the coolest-looking low key additions we've seen to the Marriott portfolio in quite a while. It has this week been announced that Grand Universe Lucca has joined Marriott's Autograph Collection. The 55-room boutique hotel is in a…
The US isn't known for having many unique luxury resorts with a sense of place, though there are a few exceptions. I'd say one of those is Blackberry Farm. While this luxury Tennessee resort is expensive, it does include meals, and there's a way to get…
Hilton has just added its first LXR property in the United States. For those visiting the Los Angeles area, this is a nice complement to Hilton's existing luxury property, the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills. Hilton has announced that Oceana Santa Monica…
The Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur has an awesome new dining experience for avgeeks. The hotel recently introduced The Grand Getaway, which is described as follows: Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur is about to reimagine the culinary industry by blending fine dining,…
Since mid-2016, Hilton Honors has been offering a status challenge program (prior to that the program offered outright status matches). All things considered, Hilton is one of the most generous loyalty programs when it comes to giving out status, whether…
2020 was a rough year for most major hotel groups, though there was one exception -- Sonesta. The previously unheard of hotel group started the year with fewer than 100 properties, and now has plans to have 1,200+ properties, thanks to its latest acquisition.…
I know many people are missing trip reports on the blog, so I wanted to post a review of a hotel I stayed at in Austria over the summer, which I haven't gotten around to writing about until now. For context on this trip, on the way back from Turkey we…
As a selective germaphobe I'll probably regret asking this, because what you don't know can't hurt you (well, at least pre-coronavirus...ish). But I'll do so anyway, because collectively I swear OMAAT readers know everything. We all know that hotel bedding…
Over the past few years we've seen some significant changes to hotel loyalty programs. Some hotel loyalty programs have upped their game, while others have gotten worse. Then you add in the pandemic, and we've seen even more differentiation between programs.…
It's always fascinating to learn more about how people redeem their hotel points. I'm not talking about those of us who are obsessed with maximizing points, but rather just how the "average" member chooses to redeem. Marriott has published the list of…
What will likely be New York City's most expensive hotel is just months from opening. A few years back it was announced that uber-luxury hotel group Aman will be opening a property in New York City, and that's now nearing completion. It has officially…
We've seen some hotels get creative with trying to fill rooms in light of the pandemic, and that has come in many different forms. We recently saw the Anantara Veli Maldives sell unlimited stays in the Maldives for a year for $30,000. Well, there's now…
