Category: Hotel
Central Asia is not a uniform monolith. Prior to Soviet times, the region was settled by different groups of people with different cultures. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan being closer to East Asia, has more Turkic and Mongolian roots, whereas the people in Tajikistan, being closer to Afghanistan and Iran, boasts Persian heritage. Traveling west, the familiar … Continue reading Tajikistan
Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, is just a 30-minute plane ride from Almaty. Like Almaty, it sits at the base of the Tian Shan Mountain ranges. View of the mountains from the hotel room. I used a suite upgrade certificate for our 7-night mattress run at the centrally located Hyatt Regency Bishkek. The bathroom itself … Continue reading Colors of Bishkek
To truly appreciate the beauty of Taiwan, one needs to venture outside the cities. There are a few places around Taipei but the real beauty is in the central part of the island where the mountain ranges course through. At 7,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level, Alishan (阿里山) isn’t the highest mountain in Taiwan. … Continue reading Alishan – Tashan (塔山) Trail
Our final leg of this trip is a 4-day stay in Sydney, a sudden jolt back to “civilization”. After 3 months of laidback traveling, it’s a nice change of pace. The Hyatt Regency Sydney is Australia’s largest hotel, catering to business travelers and conference attendees, and the energy is very different than anywhere else we’ve … Continue reading Hyatt Regency Sydney and Eats
Nestled in the forest, Alila Ubud is a nice change from the beach front properties. Built in 1999, and incorporated under the Hyatt umbrella in 2019, without any recent renovations the property is showing its age. The best thing going for it is its location. Cicadas and frogs provide surround sound throughout the day and … Continue reading Alila Ubud
This is it! Andaz Bali is likely our favorite hotel ever. We made the switch over from the Hyatt Regency Bali next door in time for my birthday. This hotel opened during the pandemic, so the hard products are still very much brand new. A surprise birthday cake presented to me by Hyatt Regency Bali … Continue reading Andaz Bali
Two weeks after arriving in Bali, we’ve finally taken our first steps outside the confines of the hotel zone. Nusa Dua is a gated resort area, highly manicured, heavily guarded, and terribly boring. This is the perfect place for young families and tourists who want nothing more than to spend their vacation on the beach … Continue reading Hyatt Regency Bali
The original plan was to visit Oceania for 6 weeks, but ANA had other ideas. Our inbound flight from Sydney was canceled, and by the time I could reschedule our award flight, the schedule had been pushed out by almost 2 months. Instead of spending all that extra time in Australia, I decided we’d ride … Continue reading Grand Hyatt Bali
Thirty-six hours after leaving Osaka, we finally landed in Auckland. A direct flight would have been much shorter, but with the restrictions of award flights and last minute itinerary changes we ended up laying over in Tokyo and Sydney. View of Sydney, with the Opera House seen next to the harbor bridge. The 7-hour uninterrupted … Continue reading Park Hyatt Auckland
Traveling between Tokyo to Osaka can be done via Shinkansen or plane, and since we had to pick up mom and dad at KIX, we opted to fly into Osaka. I was fortunate enough to get assigned a window seat on the right side of the aircraft, which afforded me the chance to see Mt. … Continue reading Osaka
Anyone who’s watched Lost in Translation starring Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray will know the Park Hyatt Tokyo, which was prominently featured in the film. As the name suggests, it is a Hyatt property, and I wasn’t going to let my chance of staying at this place go. Instead of paying $1,500 a night, I … Continue reading Park Hyatt Tokyo
We returned to the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur on our last night in Southeast Asia while transiting between Cambodia and Taiwan. Throughout our time in Malaysia and Cambodia, I kept an eye on the standard suite availability for a possible upgrade, and was disappointed to see that availability was gone the day before we were … Continue reading Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur – Globalist Experience Part 2
The 4 nights we spent in Kuala Lumpur were split between Mandarin Oriental and the Grand Hyatt, located right next door. The Amex FHR booking for MO provided amenities such as free breakfast, welcome gift, room upgrade, $100 dining/spa credit, and 4-pm checkout, while the Hyatt globalist status had very similar, but better, benefits. Upon … Continue reading Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur – Globalist Experience
Los Cabos had served as a quick getaway for us back when we were still working. A nice place to escape to, away from the daily grind, at any of its all inclusive resorts. Immersive travel, it is not. Mindless, yes. With a two-week window between the dogs getting picked up and Angela arriving, we … Continue reading Chasing Status
After spending a night at the luxurious suite at the Palazzo, it was hard to say goodbye. Alas, good things must come to an end. Before checking out, I logged 10 numbing miles on the fitness center’s treadmill, instead of running outdoors in 90F weather. Dry heat or not, it’s still too hot. I used … Continue reading Wynn Las Vegas
The key to snagging luxury for a bargain in Vegas is to visit on weekdays. Weekend nightly rates easily reach over $500, but weekday rates can be as low as half that. So I purposely booked one night at the Intercontinental Alliance Palazzo for a Sunday night after our weekend in Utah and Arizona (weekday … Continue reading Intercontinental – The Palazzo Las Vegas
Being situated in Coastal CA is most ideal for us. We have the Pacific on one side, and, in my humble opinion, the most spectacular landscape in all of America on the other side. I am referring to the Southern Utah and Northern Arizona region, where you will find my 2 favorite National Parks - … Continue reading Virgin Hotels Las Vegas – Curio Collection
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