North America | That Time Of The Year!

Category: North America
- VTL Experience Part 2 – New York City Ground Experience
  
  Posted at 1:51 pm by TTOTY, on November 30, 2021
  
  My original plan was to book a room in TWA hotel (in JFK Terminal 5) and spend my time there watching plane take off and land from my room. After calculating the cost of stay (including late check out), it works out to be > $500 USD! I decided to go with a more cheapskate option – 44,000 IHG points for 1 night at Times Square Intercontinental hotel (with FOC early check in and 4pm late check out) even if I were to factor in a to & fro cab to Manhattan which cost about USD 75 – 80 per trip (inclusive of tips as the fare between JFK and Manhattan is a flat fee).
  
  Posted in Hotels, North America | 0 Comments | Tagged IHG, Intercontinental, Manhattan, New York, PCR test, VTL
- Intercontinental New York Barclay – an old gem in the Big Apple
  
  Posted at 10:59 am by TTOTY, on July 24, 2019
  
  At almost 100 years old, this old hotel built by the Vanderbilt family near the Grand Central Terminal still looks elegant and classy well into the 21^st century.
  
  How does it fair in the modern New York?
  
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  Posted in Hotels, North America | 0 Comments | Tagged Ambassador, Club Intercontinental, Grand Central Terminal, IHG, Intercontinental, Lexington Avenue, Manhattan, New York, Park Avenue
- Crowne Plaza JFK, New York
  
  Posted at 11:58 am by TTOTY, on July 17, 2019
  
  After my previous stays in Crowne Plaza LAX and Crowne Plaza EWR, I was not having much expectation from this hotel. Afterall, it is just for me to stay for a night after arriving from Panama at 1230am!
  
  Despite being the first to disembark and the had an all clear from the arrival machine, it took us more than 1 hour waiting to clear the CBP checkpoint!
  
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  Posted in Hotels, North America | 0 Comments | Tagged Crowne Plaza, IHG, JFK, New York
- Hilton Americas-Houston
  
  Posted at 10:29 am by TTOTY, on July 3, 2019
  
  After getting my HHonours Diamond status matching for 90 days, I decided to give my stays in Houston and Panama City in the Hilton chain a try.
  
  With the diamond status, I can get Lounge access and breakfast for 2 regardless of the room category booked. Logic dictates that I book the cheapest room!
  
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  Posted in Hotels, North America | 0 Comments | Tagged HHonours, Hilton, Houston, North America, USA
- LAX Crowne Plaza Hotel
  
  Posted at 3:55 pm by TTOTY, on July 16, 2017
  
  After the highlight which was Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, it was time to leave Canada. Our next stop was Tokyo but unfortunately the flight out of LAX is pretty early at 10am. Hence, a night’s stay in LAX cannot be avoided. One thing I dislike about airports in USA is that there are no hotels connected to the airport. This make transit in USA rather tedious as one has to take another transport from the airport to the hotel.
  
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  Posted in Hotels, North America | 1 Comment | Tagged Crowne Plaza, IHG, LAX, Los Angeles, North America, USA
- Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
  
  Posted at 1:14 pm by TTOTY, on July 16, 2017
  This is probably the highlight of our 2017 trip. As the travel period was in peak season, I paid CAD $999 (before tax) per night for my Fairmont Gold room! If I were to travel a month before, the room is as low as CAD $599 (before tax). How big difference a month made! I was deciding if I should go for the Fairmont Gold room, in the end I decided to take the plunge. What benefits will Fairmont Gold get u with the additional CAD $200?
  - Private check in area in the lounge (and avoid the long queue at the front desk)
  - Club Lounge with all day snacks, breakfast and evening canapes
  - Daily turndown service with Fairmont chocolates
  - Complimentary 1 hour evening kayak rental in Lake Louise (worth CAD $65)
  - Complimentary portable battery rental
  - Complimentary usage of board games available in club lounge
  For those planning to stay here, do book in advance. Your chances of getting a room via 3^rd party booking website (e.g. Expedia) for bonus miles earning may be low.
  
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  Posted in Hotels, North America | 1 Comment | Tagged Banff National Park, Canada, Club Floor, Fairmont, Fairmont Gold, Lake Louise, North America
- Banff Aspen Lodge
  
  Posted at 11:49 am by TTOTY, on July 16, 2017
  
  Banff which is situated about 2 hours away from Calgary is a small town within Banff National Park. It is a small town with most of the hotels and lodges situated along the main street which is Banff Avenue. Banff Aspen Lodge is one of these lodges. Like most hotels in Banff (with the exception of Banff Spring Hotel), it is a low rise building (4 storeys, including basement). As it is situated near the town centre, it is within walking distance to many restaurants and an IGA supermarket is nearby along Elk Street. Further down Banff Avenue, you will reach the central park. The Bow River Trail and the Bow Falls Trail are situated on either side of the banks of Bow River.
  
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  Posted in Hotels, North America | 1 Comment | Tagged Banff, Banff Aspen Lodge, Banff National Park, Canada, Expedia, North America, Shopback
- St. Regis Hotel Vancouver
  
  Posted at 9:37 am by TTOTY, on July 16, 2017
  
  Not to be confused with the luxurious St. Regis Hotels (which is part of Starwood chain), this is a standalone boutique hotel in Downtown Vancouver. The main draw for this hotel is the location. It is just next to the Granville station and just a stone throw away, Canada Place station (metro line to Vancouver International Airport and Glen-MacArthur outlet mall). There are also many bus stops nearby (you have a few direct buses to Granville Market from Granville Street). The hotel has many eateries nearby and also Canada Place, Robson Street and Chinatown are all within walking distance. There is a big Nordstorm nearby and many other shopping centres too.
  
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  Posted in Hotels, North America | 1 Comment | Tagged Boutique Hotel, Canada, Citi Prestige Card, Hotel Night, St. Regis, Vancouver
- Delta Hotels by Marriott Montreal
  
  Posted at 10:16 am by TTOTY, on July 15, 2017
  
  After completing my reviews of my flights, it is time to write on the hotels. The first will be Delta Hotels by Marriott which is situated in Downtown Montreal. Delta Hotels is a Canada-based hotel chain founded in 1962. It was taken over by Marriott since 2015 and hence you can get Marriott points for your stay in Delta. This hotel is conveniently situated between 2 metro (Place des Arts and McGill) giving you access to various parts of Montreal. It is also within reasonable walking distance to the Latin Quarter, Chinatown and even Mount Royal Park. As for eateries (and shopping complex), Complexe Desjardins and Eaton Centre are nearby. A short walk down will bring you to Rue Peel, which is where the tourism office is situated in (you can get your Montreal Passport here, and many day trip agencies are located here too).
  
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  Posted in Hotels, North America | 1 Comment | Tagged Canada, Citi Prestige Card, Delta Hotels, Marriott, Montreal
- San Francisco Hyatt Regency
  
  Posted at 10:26 am by TTOTY, on December 21, 2015
  
  Date : 22 to 26 November 2015 (4 nights)
  
  Price : SGD $900 (including tax)
  
  Type of room : King room
  
  Inclusive : none
  
  I booked this room utilizing Citibank Prestige’s 4^th night free. I chose this hotel mainly for the convenience, Amtrak Thruway Bus (continuation from my Amtrak Coast Starlight trip) stops right in front of the hotel. I definitely do not want to lug my luggage around San Francisco at 10:30 pm. I had wanted to book the Club room but as I will be spending most of my time away, I decided to just go for the King Room without any additional options (including breakfast).
  
  The hotel is located conveniently at the junction of Market Street, California Street and Drumm Street and just next to Embarcadero. The BART, Electric Street car, MUNI Metro and cable car is just at the doorstep of the hotel! This makes traveling around the city extremely convenient. The San Francisco Ferry building is just a stone throw away. Using the above transport options, one can go to Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39, Chinatown, Union Square and other places easily. There are eateries nearby with Walgreens and 7-Eleven nearby too.
  
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  Posted in Hotels, North America | 2 Comments | Tagged Amtrak, Bay Bridge, Citi Prestige Card, Citibank, Embacardero, Hyatt Regency, San Francisco, USA
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