We were extremely disappointed with our recent stay at the Westin Colonnade in beautiful Coral Gables. The hotel boasts a 4 diamond rating, but not sure how they got earned that prestigious rating. We stayed in a townhouse room which is a bi-level room with a king bed in the upper level and a sofa bed on the lower level. The room didn’t have extra pillows nor blankets for the sofa bed, and when we made the request it took almost 24hrs to get the blankets/pillows. The workout room is small…I found no cups for the water cooler either.. the hotel staff that was in the room did not bother to come back and replenish it after inspecting the room. I stay at many Starwood properties and prefer Westin when travel, but would avoid this particular Westin in the future.
Tags: Coral Gables, Miami, Westin
We’re taking a flight from Wash Dulles to Ft. Lauderdale tonight and was prepared to stand in long lines since the increased security measures were put in place after the failed attempt to explode a device over Christmas. Surprisingly, it took us only 40 minutes from checking in at the ticket counter, through security, and on the shuttle to take us to our gate. I expected longer since we showed up 2.5 hours before our flight. It also helped that we’re leaving during non peak hours so the lines were light to begin with. However, I did notice the TSA still extra looks at the xray machines, and inspected our ID’s much more vigilant. I welcome the increase attention TSA only only wish this would be common practice rather than a short term response to an incident. OK, off my soapbox….expect longer times to get through security in general for future flights.
Tags: Dulles Airport
While visiting the Wash DC area this holiday, my family took me to the Washington National Harbor located off I-95 just over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge on the MD side. They are billing this area as Washington DC’s new resort and I can see why.
The area has several new hotels (Westin, A-Loft, Marriott, Hampton Inn, Wyndam, Gaylord); several restaurants; and condos for sale/lease. We were going to try Rosa Mexicano, but the wait was too long for us to endure. We instead tried Elevation Burger-an organic burger joint. I normally stay away from anything organic, or healthy when it comes to burgers…haha, but this place definitely gets a thumbs up. I tried the Elevation Burger which includes 2 grass fed beef patties with all the trimmings. For the most part, I could not tell a difference in taste between an organic burger or a regular fast food burger…which was a plus for me. I heard their milk shakes are tremendous, but since it was below freezing that evening, I passed on the shakes.
This place is definitely geared to host special events (especially at the Gaylord Hotel), but also great for casual business lunch/dinner.
Tags: steakhouse, Washington DC, Westin
In a recent trip to Dallas/Ft Worth, we decided to stay in Ft. Worth instead of the more cosmopolitan Dallas counterpart. Ft. Worth is more western than Dallas. It is not uncommon to see men with their black cowboy hats…yes, I understand it has to be black.
We stayed at the Sheraton Ft. Worth Hotel and Spa on Commerce street. I’m a fan of Starwood hotels, and this Sheraton did not disappoint us. The hotel does have a spa (I didn’t use their services), and indoor pool and jacuzzi. Location is great…walking distance to downtown Houston St. where you’ll find most of the bars and restaurants. Shula’s 347 restaurant is located inside the hotel.
If you’re looking for good barbeque, our local bartender recommended Ricksy’s. We decided to Billy Miners on 3rd St. which is famous for it’s fried catfish. I opted for their 8 oz burger instead.
As for the nightlife, also walking distance from the hotel is Houston st. We stopped at several bars, but spent most of our time at the Library where the beers were very reasonable and the atmosphere was festive. We stumbled into a Santa Pub Crawl that night at the bar.
I’m staying at the Walt Disney World’s Swan hotel, a Starwood property, for a conference this week. I think I’ve stayed at the sister property…the Dolphin, several years ago. It’s a resort style hotel filled with activities, a lap pool, a man-made lake, spa, etc… If you’re here for business, it’s worth getting the Resort Package which is an extra $10/day. It includes high speed internet, health club access, local and long distance calls. It’s definitely worth it because you’ll probably use these services anyway.
There’s a complimentary shuttle service to all the disney theme parks, and walking distance to Disney’s Boardwalk. Location and activities are terrific. The standard hotel room is just ok, although you get the standard sleeper bed which is one of the key reasons why I prefer Starwood properties.