I recently had to be in Chicago for a couple of nights (and before anyone asks, I both got tested and was traveling for a reason exempt from the quarantine requirement), and decided to book the Thompson Chicago. Why? Well, I've really come to love the…
Hotels
After a roughly five year delay, the Andaz Bali has finally opened today. The Andaz Bali is now open, and it marks the first Andaz property in Indonesia, and the first Andaz resort in all of Asia. For those of you not familiar, with Andaz, it's Hyatt's…
I recently took my mom to California, and the highlight of our trip was a three night stay at the Alila Ventana Big Sur. I reviewed this hotel in great detail back in 2019, so this time around am only reviewing two specific aspects of the experience…
The whole reason my mom and I recently traveled to California was to stay at the Alila Ventana Big Sur, which is probably my favorite Hyatt property in the US. I wrote a detailed review of this hotel just over a year ago, so this time around I'm going…
Oh, the Hyatt Carmel Highlands. Come for the views, stay for the... well, maybe don't stay. I recently spent five nights in California with my mom -- we spent the first night at the incredible Grand Hyatt SFO, then we spent three nights at the Alila…
There's a strange change coming to the Radisson Rewards loyalty program. It has just been revealed today that the Radisson Rewards loyalty program will be split into two as of June 2021: Radisson Rewards will remain the dedicated loyalty program for…
It goes without saying that there are much more important things going on in the world, but I feel like it's only fair for me to also share some criticism of Hyatt, for once, since I'm usually so positive about the brand. One of the reasons I'm so loyal…
Marriott has announced some "enhanced" contactless hotel features intended to respond to "consumer desires," but I'm not sure this is actually what we want. Actually, I'm pretty positive this isn't what most of us want. While we've seen hotels cut all…
During my recent trip with my mom to California, I had the pleasure of spending a night at the Grand Hyatt SFO. We were arriving late at night on United, and planned to drive the next morning to Big Sur. The Grand Hyatt SFO opened in 2019, and it isn't…
On Friday afternoon I covered how IHG Rewards Club significantly devalued award redemption rates without notice. The program has now issued a statement regarding this, which sheds some more light on what exactly changed. In May 2020, the IHG Rewards…
Hilton's CEO has warned that service cuts we've seen at hotels during the pandemic may be permanent, and that's bad news for consumers and those working in the hospitality industry. As you'd expect, hotels have adjusted their service protocols during…
Cheval Blanc's hotels aren't cheap, but they're extremely well regarded. In this post I wanted to cover the basics of Cheval Blanc, and also talk about the best way to book these hotels (which is is to book through a Virtuoso travel advisor, which will…
Belmond is one of the most iconic luxury travel groups in the world. In this post I wanted to cover the basics of Belmond, and also share why you're best off booking any Belmond travel experiences through a Bellini Club travel advisor. Belmond (formerly…
In early 2019 it was announced that InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) would acquire Six Senses, a luxury hotel brand. Up until now Six Senses hasn't really been integrated into the IHG Rewards Club program, but that has finally changed, as it's now…
It looks like there's a Waldorf Astoria coming to Miami. The hotel will only open way down the line and details are still limited, though as a Miami resident I found this news to be interesting, given the type of development we're talking about. The…
This past week I took my mom on a last minute trip to Big Sur, California. In this post I wanted to provide some background on that trip, before getting into the actual reviews of flights and hotels. My mom is the bravest person I know -- she was diagnosed…
Here's a rabbit hole I've found myself going down lately. I wanted to share what I've learned, including why I've had to follow up after the fact for many of my Hyatt stays lately. Just to be clear upfront, I've had similar experiences with other hotel…
We’re living in hotels full-time at the moment. In this post I wanted to review the Thompson Nashville. This is the second Thompson we stayed at, after the Thompson Dallas. How does this one stack up? Why did we decide to stay at the Thompson Nashville?…
We’re living in hotels full-time at the moment. In this post I wanted to review the Thompson Dallas, where we stayed shortly after opening in late 2020. This hotel is special to me for a few reasons -- it was my first Thompson stay (and caused me to…
About a week ago I wrote about how at least one Marriott property has been charging Bonvoy members a fee to redeem their points, which is outrageous. There's now a positive update on this front, as this hotel will no longer be allowed to charge this…
We’re living in hotels full-time at the moment. We've primarily been staying at Hyatts, and in a previous post I reviewed the Hyatt Centric Miami Brickell. For a slight change of pace from the typical Hyatt reviews, in this post I wanted to review the…
We’re living in hotels full-time at the moment. I'll continue covering Hyatt Centric properties, with a review of a third property of the brand -- in previous posts I reviewed the Hyatt Centric Miami Brickell and the Hyatt Centric Fort Lauderdale Las…
We’re living in hotels full-time at the moment. In a previous post I reviewed the Hyatt Centric Miami Brickell, and in this post I wanted to review the Hyatt Centric Fort Lauderdale Las Olas. Our rate at the Hyatt Centric Fort Lauderdale was a very reasonable…
Here's a fun topic that I'll share my thoughts on, and then I'm curious to hear how OMAAT readers feel -- what are the best luxury hotel brands in the world? It goes without saying that there's no right answer as to what the best hotel groups are, given…
