Our room with a balcony at the Hotel Florida in Lisbon!
Showing posts with label hotels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hotels. Show all posts
Saturday, January 21, 2017
Portugal: The Hotels
Looking for hotels can be a really fun or really frustrating part of a trip. For our Portugal trip, it was fun! There were a ton of options, so it took a bit of time and research to make sure we were ending up somewhere decent, but within budget. Our budgets were low for Portugal (we were shooting for $800 for the 8 nights), and we had no trouble sticking to our budget! We spent more in Lisbon, but were able to make up for the pricier Lisbon hotels with cheaper Lagos, Sintra and Porto hotels. Here's where we stayed and what we thought of each place!
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Santorini, Greece: Blue Angel Villa and TravelKeys Vacation Rentals Stay & Post-Stay Experiences
Blue Angel Villa. The saga continues! I recently wrote about our booking and pre-stay experience with TravelKeys for the Blue Angel Villa in Santorini, and here I'll continue with a review of our stay and some post-stay drama. Quick recap: Shorty fell in love with the villa, which we then booked for 7 guests for 4 nights at $3,170.
Another quick disclaimer: I am not trying to nitpick the details of the villa in this review - I am just trying to give an honest review of what we were expecting from our booking process and what we ended up with when we arrived. The bottom line for us was that we were expecting something much different based on what had been presented to us, and when the reality didn't quite match, it was disappointing.
Panoramic view from the rooftop of the villa - it was stunning.
Another quick disclaimer: I am not trying to nitpick the details of the villa in this review - I am just trying to give an honest review of what we were expecting from our booking process and what we ended up with when we arrived. The bottom line for us was that we were expecting something much different based on what had been presented to us, and when the reality didn't quite match, it was disappointing.
Friday, July 15, 2016
Santorini, Greece: Blue Angel Villa and TravelKeys Vacation Rentals Booking & Pre-Stay Experiences
On our trip to Greece, the place that Shorty was the most excited
about was Santorini. In fact, the whole trip was based almost entirely
around her desire to wake up to the gorgeous Santorini views on her
birthday. She spent a massive amount of time researching places to stay.
Which town was best? Which side of Fira offered the best views? Was a
villa or hotel better? And in her research, she found photos of a villa
that she absolutely fell in love with: the Blue Angel Villa in Fira,
Santorini.
The view that Shorty fell in love with and weaved many daydreams out of!
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Monterey getaway!
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| *Image from Google Maps* |
And now the trip is coming up later this month, and I've finally booked a hotel! We'll be staying at the Best Western Plus Beach Resort Monterey. (Yeah. It's quite the mouthful, right?) A friend of mine stayed there with her hubby and pup over the holidays, and she said it was great. And since it's a Best Western, the prices are some of the most reasonable I've ever seen in the area. It's a little outside of Monterey, but I think we'll survive. I mean, we'll be ON THE BEACH! AND it's dog friendly? I may have found my new favorite hotel!
I'll be back towards the end of the month with a review of it, but to say I'm excited is a bit of an understatement. Now, to find some dog parks we can stop at on the drive up...
What weekend getaways are you planning for this year?
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
A few weekends ago, BF and I were bumming around the house and randomly decided to drive up to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks.
I know, so spontaneous!
It was already 4:30pm on a Saturday, so we hurriedly packed overnight bags, grabbed Emma's bed, and got on the road. We were on the road by 5pm, and on the way up we found & booked a dog friendly motel by the entrance of Sequoia National Park (Buckeye Tree Lodge Trip Advisor review) - and we had such a nice stay!
I know, so spontaneous!
It was already 4:30pm on a Saturday, so we hurriedly packed overnight bags, grabbed Emma's bed, and got on the road. We were on the road by 5pm, and on the way up we found & booked a dog friendly motel by the entrance of Sequoia National Park (Buckeye Tree Lodge Trip Advisor review) - and we had such a nice stay!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
A weekend wedding in Las Vegas
Back in October 2011, BF & I went to Las Vegas for one of my best friends' wedding.
It was a quick, but memorable, trip - BF had never been, and it had been over 7 years for me. Neither of us are huge fans of the desert. We don't really gamble, we don't drink all that much, and neither of us are keen on crowds. But SdlTC (gosh, even her initials are a mouthful!) was getting married there, so there we would be!
Awesome view of the strip from a club at the Palms!
In the end, the wedding and surrounding events were awesome and fantastic, but our stay in Vegas wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
It was a quick, but memorable, trip - BF had never been, and it had been over 7 years for me. Neither of us are huge fans of the desert. We don't really gamble, we don't drink all that much, and neither of us are keen on crowds. But SdlTC (gosh, even her initials are a mouthful!) was getting married there, so there we would be!
Awesome view of the strip from a club at the Palms!In the end, the wedding and surrounding events were awesome and fantastic, but our stay in Vegas wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Ireland & Italy: The Hotels
Over the course of our 14 day, 13 night trip to Europe last summer, we stayed in six different hotels and one villa. That's a lot of hotels!
I spent a lot of time on TripAdvisor prior to booking to research where we would stay as much as possible, and 6/7 of the places we stayed were great.
Since we were trying to keep to a pretty low budget, and our flights went about $500 over what we were expecting, we decided that we wanted to keep our total hotel budget under $1,000 per person, or around $150/room/night. With the exchange rate, this meant compromising on location or amenities in a few places.
Here's a run down of our hotels.
I spent a lot of time on TripAdvisor prior to booking to research where we would stay as much as possible, and 6/7 of the places we stayed were great.
Since we were trying to keep to a pretty low budget, and our flights went about $500 over what we were expecting, we decided that we wanted to keep our total hotel budget under $1,000 per person, or around $150/room/night. With the exchange rate, this meant compromising on location or amenities in a few places.
Here's a run down of our hotels.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Slieve League Cliffs and Donegal, Ireland
Well, we've been back for over three months. Three months! And for almost each day of those three months, I've spent at least a few minutes a day daydreaming that I was back in Europe on our trip. So I decided it's high time to get around to detailing what we did on our great big fabulous trip!
THE TRIP
First up: our flights over, and our first days in Ireland, which included the Slieve League cliffs and the town of Donegal!
First up: our flights over, and our first days in Ireland, which included the Slieve League cliffs and the town of Donegal!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Budget (woes)
As I may have mentioned, I'm a planner. I love to plan. And one of the aspects of planning is budgeting. While watching my "money" slip away as I build a budget is never fun, I still like to play with numbers and estimate what things will cost.
So, I couldn't help but build some budgets for this amazing trip we have in the works.
Of course, I sort of pad my budgets, and I base them on budget hotels, meals, etc. Hotel rooms? $150/night, though I'll be looking for $100/night. Food? $50/day, though we'll probably end up snacking for one meal a day, or buying stuff at the market instead of a restaurant. I think I'm pretty close on transportation, but I'd much rather come in under budget, than have something come up and be ridiculously more than we'd planned.
Here's the disclaimer of how I budgeted food. Breakfast = $10/person. Lunch = $15/person. Dinner = $25/person. I looked at what days we'd need what (arriving in afternoon, no dinner the night of the wedding, etc.) and came up with the food totals.
So, I couldn't help but build some budgets for this amazing trip we have in the works.
Of course, I sort of pad my budgets, and I base them on budget hotels, meals, etc. Hotel rooms? $150/night, though I'll be looking for $100/night. Food? $50/day, though we'll probably end up snacking for one meal a day, or buying stuff at the market instead of a restaurant. I think I'm pretty close on transportation, but I'd much rather come in under budget, than have something come up and be ridiculously more than we'd planned.
Here's the disclaimer of how I budgeted food. Breakfast = $10/person. Lunch = $15/person. Dinner = $25/person. I looked at what days we'd need what (arriving in afternoon, no dinner the night of the wedding, etc.) and came up with the food totals.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Awesome Resource: EuroCheapo
Just discovered another amazing travel website with discount hotels and travel tips. EuroCheapo is an "undercover" review site of budget hotels in Europe - they show up unannounced, check out the rooms, and then review them if they like them!
An awesome resource for places to stay all over Europe, and one I will DEFINITELY be using in the future. Bookmark this one, people, it's a keeper!
An awesome resource for places to stay all over Europe, and one I will DEFINITELY be using in the future. Bookmark this one, people, it's a keeper!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Places I Want To Go: Lapland, Finland
A friend of mine just told me about yet another amazing place I have to add to my "travel to before I die" list!
Lapland, Finland
A visit to the Hotel & Igloo Village Kakslauttanen is filled with adventure and amazement - go on a reindeer safari, stay in a glass igloo to see the Northern Lights, or witness the incredible Midnight Sun.
I would like to go to stay in a glass igloo to check out the Northern Lights, and to take a reindeer safari! But, I do think I'll skip the smoked reindeer sandwich...
Lapland, Finland
A visit to the Hotel & Igloo Village Kakslauttanen is filled with adventure and amazement - go on a reindeer safari, stay in a glass igloo to see the Northern Lights, or witness the incredible Midnight Sun.
I would like to go to stay in a glass igloo to check out the Northern Lights, and to take a reindeer safari! But, I do think I'll skip the smoked reindeer sandwich...
Monday, September 22, 2008
Boston - Where To Stay
Recently, my friend Demonic Blonde requested a travel post about Boston, since she and some friends will be traveling there in November. Now, I am no expert on Boston by any means. But, I have been there several times and it's my favorite East Coast city by far.
I love Boston. I love the feel of the city, the people, the transportation, pretty much everything except for the fact that my delicate California-born-and-raised self cannot survive in cold weather. In fact, I would love to live there at some point, if it weren't for said issue. Anyway. I'll be traveling there again next month for my own trip, but I figured I'd post a few blogs with some of the places I've been and will be planning to go. Here is the first, about hotels.
I've only stayed in two hotels in Boston on my trips thus far. The first time I went, my friend Miss M and I were a little late in reserving a hotel room (we were traveling at the same time as Harvard's graduation, oops), and the best we could find was the Holiday Inn Express. This hotel? Not recommended. The hotel itself is fine, exactly what you'd expect from a Holiday Inn Express. There's a Target within walking distance and a little diner next door that has good pie. But the neighborhood is hardly ideal for tourists. The T stop is a 5-10 minute walk, and not particularly appealing to two young women after dark.
Every time since then, I've stayed at the Boston Marriott Cambridge. Which rocks as a hotel as well as a location. It's on the pricier side, but if you get it at the right time of year you can get good deals. Basically, it's a dream come true - soft, heavenly beds, comfortable rooms, and the Kendall Square T stop is literally steps from the hotel. A close T stop is my biggest "pro" for a hotel in Boston - because with that, you can get anywhere around the city with ease (and a few minutes walk).
For this upcoming trip, we're staying at a new hotel that I've not been to. Again, we waited far too long to book our hotel, and my favorite was over $300/night, well out of my price range for this trip. If we were only going to Boston, I may have sprung for it (it's THAT good of a hotel), but since we'll have an additional 7 nights in hotels after Boston, we had to stick with our budget of under $200/night. So, with very little available and our departure looming, we turned to Priceline. We named the hotel we wanted (four stars), our location (Downtown, Waterfront, etc) and our price ($175/night). And then we rolled the dice. We are booked at the Seaport Hotel on the waterfront, and from the looks of the reviews on tripadvisor, I am super excited about our good fortune.
I love Boston. I love the feel of the city, the people, the transportation, pretty much everything except for the fact that my delicate California-born-and-raised self cannot survive in cold weather. In fact, I would love to live there at some point, if it weren't for said issue. Anyway. I'll be traveling there again next month for my own trip, but I figured I'd post a few blogs with some of the places I've been and will be planning to go. Here is the first, about hotels.
I've only stayed in two hotels in Boston on my trips thus far. The first time I went, my friend Miss M and I were a little late in reserving a hotel room (we were traveling at the same time as Harvard's graduation, oops), and the best we could find was the Holiday Inn Express. This hotel? Not recommended. The hotel itself is fine, exactly what you'd expect from a Holiday Inn Express. There's a Target within walking distance and a little diner next door that has good pie. But the neighborhood is hardly ideal for tourists. The T stop is a 5-10 minute walk, and not particularly appealing to two young women after dark.
Every time since then, I've stayed at the Boston Marriott Cambridge. Which rocks as a hotel as well as a location. It's on the pricier side, but if you get it at the right time of year you can get good deals. Basically, it's a dream come true - soft, heavenly beds, comfortable rooms, and the Kendall Square T stop is literally steps from the hotel. A close T stop is my biggest "pro" for a hotel in Boston - because with that, you can get anywhere around the city with ease (and a few minutes walk).
For this upcoming trip, we're staying at a new hotel that I've not been to. Again, we waited far too long to book our hotel, and my favorite was over $300/night, well out of my price range for this trip. If we were only going to Boston, I may have sprung for it (it's THAT good of a hotel), but since we'll have an additional 7 nights in hotels after Boston, we had to stick with our budget of under $200/night. So, with very little available and our departure looming, we turned to Priceline. We named the hotel we wanted (four stars), our location (Downtown, Waterfront, etc) and our price ($175/night). And then we rolled the dice. We are booked at the Seaport Hotel on the waterfront, and from the looks of the reviews on tripadvisor, I am super excited about our good fortune.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
San Francisco: Where To Stay
My all time favorite place to stay in San Francisco is the Union Square area. I've stayed there on several trips to San Fran, and have been pleased with each place I've stayed.
So when my boyfriend told me he had a conference up there, I immediately looked to Union Square for a hotel.
Union Square is within walking distance of many San Francisco attractions, and it has easy access to even more. My favorite reasons to stay there? (1) The Powell/Market Street cable car, and (2) there are two H&M stores.
So when my boyfriend told me he had a conference up there, I immediately looked to Union Square for a hotel.
Union Square is within walking distance of many San Francisco attractions, and it has easy access to even more. My favorite reasons to stay there? (1) The Powell/Market Street cable car, and (2) there are two H&M stores.
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