B&B Bathroom in a Room

 
I was thinking of a good buddy and our travels for work and this came to mind - looks okay, doesn't it? EXCEPT that there was no wall separately the bath from the rest of the room. It was weird. And then I thought, well, that's okay I guess. No wall is okay. A little weird to use the bathroom with no walls - felt like I was outside for some reason. But then the next morning I turned the water on and the shower head was YUCKY! I didn't know I'd have such an aversion to a dirty shower head but I did. This was at the Hampton Lake B&B in FL. It was too odd for me. The next trip to that site, I stayed in Gainesville and drove the 20-30 minutes to the plant. :-)

Springhill Suites - Rosenberg, Tx

Have you tried a Springhill Suites Hotel lately? We just did a couple of weekends ago in Rosenberg, Texas. We really liked it! The decor was really refreshing, and not because it was a new building. I loved the blues and the splash of orange. And the room was really nice. I like the furnishings - all comfortable and modern. I felt like I was in an IKEA catalog. Really. Free internet service that was stable and fast. That's hard to find nowadays, sadly, even with our home service of Time Warner. Booo.

Beekeepers in the Hill Country

Recently we went to a conference in Kerrville and stayed at the conference hotel because it has convention center facilities. The environment and scenery were very nice and the bathroom looked fairly recently renovated...but sadly the rest of the hotel did not. As long as the bathrooms are clean, we're good. Still, we think they could draw in huge crowds in the hill country setting if they updated the rest of their hotel.

Hyatt Lost Pines (Bastrop, Tx)

This is a fabulous resort and I highly recommend it. The scenery is lovely, the hotel is AWESOME and the service is excellent. I can't post all the pictures I want to share but I really enjoyed our few days there!

And near by is the Bastrop State Park so you have to drive through there - it's beautiful and made me feel as if I was back on the east coast. The tall pines and needles on the ground cushioned all the noise. The road went on and on and on for something like 13 miles I believe. We went at dusk and totally enjoyed the quiet. We didn't get out since it was so hot and humid but there was a lot to do there it appears (fishing, hiking, camping, etc.).



And if you get hungry and would like to sample some local fare, be sure to check out Gracie's, which is a block off of Main Street. Their little historic downtown are was super pedestrian friendly and while it wasn't a huge area, it was a nice way to spend an hour walking through shops before dinner. Gracie's has awesome home-cooked food and a great, friendly staff. On Friday nights, you may even catch some live music. We did and loved it. We even got to see a saw being played in person. Very beautiful sound. :-)

Marriott (Pittsburgh, PA)

If you're in Pittsburgh and you need to stay close to the airport, then the Marriott is a GREAT place to stay. I loved it! And it's got a bar/restaurant on site as well as great amenities. I love Bath & Body Works stuff so I was a happy camper. The airport is only 15 minutes away and you can fuel up on premises there. Nice!

Hyatt Place Las Colinas (Irving, Texas)

This past week, I went back up to Irving and rather than stay at the Hyatt Summerfield, I thought I'd try the Hyatt Place....love it! It was much newer, having been renovated when the Hyatt bought it. I believe it use to be AmeriSuites or something like that. The company rate we got was about $89 per night, which beat the $111 we paid at the Summerfield.



My favorite thing about this hotel...the sectional sofa! :) It was a great place to relax at the end of the day. Much nicer than sitting at the desk or on the bed and it goes a long way in making me feel as if I'm at home, or at least at a friend's house. No full kitchen but there was a bar with a little refrigerator. Worked fine for me. I think I have found a new home away from home when I go to Irving.



Oh, and the HD TV doesn't hurt either. It swivels so you can watch from the sofa or bed. The only thing I didn't like too much was the small closet door. Made getting the big suitcase in there challenging so I skipped that.

Irving, Texas

Last week I finally took a trip for work up to Irving...it's been a while! We stayed at the Hyatt Homewood Suites Los Colinas since it was near the office. That place was really nice and offers singles, two- and three-bedroom suites. Very nice if you really get along with someone, want a roommate and don't mind sharing a living room. You still get your own room and bath so it's nice to have company to chill out with and unwind. I shared a suite with a coworker in FL last year and we had a great time. Made being away from home for work seem like a little mini-vacation.

We also ate at Cadillac Ranch which I understand is franchised. I loved it! The atmosphere was very nice; lots of professionals for dinner (many from our company I noticed). The food was great. I had the oven-baked fried chicken with potatoes and corn. Very nice so I highly recommend it. This restaurant is in a little mall across the street from the hotel. It was all very convenient for us.

The Grand Summit Hotel (Summit, NJ)

The Grand Summit was on the pricey side in my opinion but since I had never been to Jersey, I didn't know that I wanted to try and drive from a far distance to get to the work site we were visiting this week. This hotel was only five minutes from our site AND it was nestled among beautiful neighborhoods and a thriving main street, Springfield Avenue.

The hotel is very nice and you can find plenty of information on the hotel website. It has plenty of modern amenities and tons of character. It's very close to local shops and restaurants as well as a huge mall that's very upscale. I loved it in Summit. I will post more photos this week of it.

Claremont, CA - Doubletree Hotel Revisted

Here's the view from Building 4 at the Doubletree. We went back there since it was nice the first time we were there. With all the traveling I have done this past year, I am finally gold level with the Hilton Honors programs. If you haven't picked a customer loyalty program, this is a really decent one to start with if you like Hampton, Hilton, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, etc. I have had enough points to get an airline ticket in addition to getting to gold level (next would be diamond level).

My upgrade got me a BIG room with a king bed, two cookies, two waters, seven vouchers for free breakfast buffet at their Orchard restaurant. The buffet was only okay and so we decided that it was very nice to have the vouchers or else we'd pass on the $15 buffet and go to McD instead. :o)

Believe it or not, I never remembered to take a picture of it. LOL. What's wrong with me?!

Hilton Grand Vacation, Las Vegas, NV

There are three Hiltons in Vegas and the one we stayed at did not have a casino, which was a plus for me. I'm not a gambler and I don't care for all the hustle and bustle (and smoke) of a hotel casino. Plus this Hilton was only $89 per night; not bad for a wonderful hotel in Vegas. They have very nice amenities that typical good hotels have plus a spa.





The staff at the hotel was very nice. My first room appeared not completely cleaned...receipts and a couple of beverages about the room from the last occupant. After I called down, they moved me to a lovely, lovely suite across the hall at no extra charge. I loved it! It was bigger than a couple of my old apartments from when I lived in San Antonio. I felt quite spoiled. And the view wasn't bad either.

Doubletree Hotel, Claremont, CA

Did you know that you get a warm chocolate chip cookie upon check-in at the Doubletree!?!?! And it was good, too. If you recall a year or two ago, on one of my blogs, I wrote that Midwest Airlines served fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies upon take-off. Well...Doubletree's cookie is even better than that. I'm just saying...these efforts are redefining "warm welcome" for me when I travel. I feel quite pampered. Speaking of pampered, there is also a day spa at this hotel. Haven't been in there but it's nice to know it's there should my day be so trying that I need some attention. They're open until 8pm. Nice.

Did you notice Wolfgang Puck is in hotel rooms now? Gourmet. And you get two bottles of water. That's nice, because I don't drink from the faucet in hotels. Most places, it smells slightly funny.

And below, I love it when they give us Neutrogena. It's the kind of soap that doesn't leave a residue. It's always a funny feeling when you stay somewhere with hard water and low quality soap...no matter how long you rinse, that feeling never leaves.