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Looking back on 2019 (and the last decade)

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2019 was a lot of things; a down year in travel it was not. I visited seven new countries as well as some new North American cities. My work travel has been mostly west coast based, which has certainly made life easier. I also had a long stint of time at home, which was much needed considering my flight mileage for the year was close to 150,000 miles.

The decade

The decade was an interesting one for me. The beginning of it I was fresh out of college in the middle of the Great Recession. I dreamt of traveling the world but didn’t have the means to do so, perhaps supercharging my desire. It wasn’t until 2011 that I took a job in Charlotte, North Carolina that I got the opportunity to start traveling for work. My job took me to Los Angeles every week, while my new girlfriend Leigh of 3 weeks (and now wife) stayed home. I was home so infrequently that I gave up my apartment and moved in with Leigh, only to never look back!

We traded Charlotte’s mild weather for Miami’s beaches in 2014. To say this was life-changing would be an understatement. If you’ve visited Miami before, you know that the culture is night and day from anywhere is in the US (I would have plenty of opportunities to practice my Spanish)! After nearly four years in South Florida – and making some lifelong friends – we moved West, to San Francisco. Moving to California was something we’d always wanted to do and two and half years in, we’re having a blast. The Bay Area has a never ending list of things to, so we do find that we drive for more day or weekend trips, versus getting on a plane.

In 2017, I finally (finnnnally) popped the question! We married in early September 2018 in Savannah, which is where Leigh is from. It was the sweatiest day of my life (see early September in Savannah).

I surprised Leigh with her parents being present for the BIG question

It’s been a hell of a ride thus far. On the one hand, we’ve lived the life that both of us always thought we might live: nomadically wandering the world. On the other I’ve been “gone” more than I haven’t been (due to work). As John Mayer put it, I miss the Home Life. In just six years, we’ve been to almost 35 countries and six continents (Antartica in the future?).

In Venice

Through a lot of trial and error, I end this decade much smarter than I started it.

Statuses

Airlines

United 1K

I began the year on a 1K challenge, which I barely hit. After a few months as a 1K, I immediately came to appreciate much of what United offers its elites. I just requalified for 1K and am excited with the the things that United is doing, like the introduction of PointsPlus and its robust international route network. I’m not sure how I feel about the move to a strictly revenue qualification system for 2020. At the end of the day, I live at a fortress hub and United is the best option out of SFO. 1K also comes with Star Alliance Gold status which provides a plethora benefits.

American Platinum

Weird. That’s the first time I’ve written out my soon to be Platinum status on American. After seven straight years as an Executive Platinum, I finally “broke up” with American. Why? First and foremost, they’ve decided to be uncompetitive on the west coast and their route network no longer works for me. Their further degradation of the Alaska relationship was the final nail in the coffin. The other reason I had no problem cutting ties with American is due to its continued downhill slide in just about everything. The leadership at American has provided no vision to their employees and its unclear to consumers whether they want to be a low cost carrier or a premium airline. What’s left is an airline that is good at neither and a new reputation that they no longer care about comfort or on time arrivals. I hit platinum primarily based on an inexpensive partner business class fare that earned me far more qualifying dollars than I actually spent. Platinum keeps me as oneworld Sapphire, which allows me business class lounge access when flying internationally.

Hotels

Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite

I managed to keep my Ambassador status another year which is great, because I really like my ambassador, Alie. While not earth shattering, I do find having an ambassador to be a nice perk. Having a single point of contact for everything is incredibly helpful when you’re busy. Given how big Marriott is now, it’s also the best way to ensure upgrades, special treatment, etc. Being Platinum no longer means much (other than free breakfast), so I’m happy being two levels above. With that said, I’ve become disenchanted with Marriott through the merger process. Communication was minimal and they absolutely did a bait and switch when they moved to peak/off-peak award pricing. The way it was represented to everyone is that it was based on the season, but in reality it’s dynamic pricing based on occupancy levels. Points Advance was effectively killed, and Suite Night Awards seem to be harder to confirm. At the end of the day, Marriott has hotels everywhere and the legacy SPG portfolio has dozens of aspirational properties that make it hard to leave Marriott.

Hyatt Globalist

Park Hyatt Saigon

Hyatt is new for me this year. I completed a challenge using my American Executive Platinum status that got me Globalist status after just 18 nights. Four months in, I’m really impressed with Hyatt overall. Unlike Marriott, where you need a VLOOKUP to figure out where breakfast is complementary, Globalists get free breakfast at every property. Globalists also get suite night awards that are incredibly valuable, allowing suite upgrade confirmation at time of booking. While still small in comparison, Hyatt has also done an excellent at increasing their footprint through some recent acquisitions. Looking to 2020, I’m planning to double down on Hyatt and make them primary hotel chain.

Hilton Diamond

Ah Hilton, my first hotel status. I’ve been Diamond off and on for years, though Hilton hasn’t been my primary hotel brand in 5 years. Why? I moved to SPG and fell in love (RIP) and frankly, Hilton doesn’t have a long list of aspirational properties, though that’s changing. This year I managed to get Diamond through a status challenge that only required 8 stays. Upgrades are hit or miss, though that’s primarily a function of the Hilton Aspire card providing diamond status, so the numbers are much larger. Because Golds get many of the same benefits – including free breakfast – I don’t put a huge price on Diamond status. Hilton has always been my “back pocket” brand and one I always try to keep some points. Remember, no matter where you go, there’s probably a Hampton Inn nearby.

Rental cars

Living in San Francisco – where we don’t own a car – I find rental car status to be valuable, but most probably don’t. I won’t got into a lot of detail, but I ended up with Avis Preferred, National Executive, and Hertz Presidents Circle, all of which give me access to better cars and easier check out.

2019 stand outs

Places

Moorea, French Polynesia

Our trip to French Polynesia was a random booking due to award availability at the Le Meridien there and two, United starting service to Tahiti with incredibly low fares. We spent five nights in Bora Bora but what really stood out was our two day, one night stay on Moorea, a small island just off the coast of Tahiti. Unlike its more famous cousin Bora Bora, Moorea offers visitors with far more things to do than lie on the deck of their overwater bungalow like in Boring Bora (as the locals call it). With plenty of hiking, water sports, and the ability to be self sufficient through renting a car (again, unlike Bora Bora), there’s non-stop things to do and the French Polynesian island that we said we will return. The Hilton Moorea offers a great points option for those visiting.

British Columbia, Canada

Victoria, BC

Another trip that was helpfully dictated by points. I’d purchased a Marriott vacation package using points, which netted some incredible deals. Part of the deal was a seven night stay at a Category 1-4 hotel. Normally a low category hotel is the last place I want to spend a week, but we find a gem in the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby at the Element hotel. As an extended stay hotel, it offered us the ability to cook for ourselves, not to mention it was pet friendly. Even though it wasn’t in the heart of the city, the hotel was less than 10 minute walk to the rail that takes you into downtown Vancouver. It also offered a great jumping off point to explore the region, such as Grouse Mountain and Whistler, where we stayed a night. We went around the July 4th holidays, so the weather was absolutely perfect for being outside. We also took the ferry to Victoria for a night and had a blast. In an effort not to backtrack, we took the ferry straight back to the United States, arriving at the Port Angeles terminal. We spent 10 days hiking, swimming, eating, and exploring the best of British Columbia and can’t of recommend visiting enough.

Lake Como, Italy

Not a bad view from the pool, Hilton Lake Como

Wow. That pretty much sums up how we felt about Lake Como. On the same trip we visited Florence, Cinque Terre, and Venice, but none of them struck us quite like our time on the lake. The scenery is jaw dropping and mixed with the culture and food of Italy, it’s a can’t beat destination. We were initially supposed to rent a boat for our anniversary, but the winds that day had other ideas, so we slummed it by the pool instead. We stayed two nights at the Hilton Lake Como using points. We will return.

Bonus round: Uruguay

Punte del Este

My dad, brother, and I have started a somewhat tradition of taking a trip every year. This year we went to South America, specifically to Buenos Aires and Uruguay. While Buenos Aires needs no introduction, Uruguay is probably not a place that many people have heard of. Getting inspiration from Anthony Bourdain, we added Montevideo to our list (along with some day trips). What we were rewarded with was a country as interesting as any place I’ve been. A socially liberal country – they’ve legalized weed and same sex marriage – with one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, Uruguay sits just across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires. While there are many similarities between Argentinian and Uruguayan culture – and they both love wine, beef, and fútbol – Uruguay has a distinctive flare and plays the part of the “less famous cousin” really well. We made a day trip to the beach town and capitol of the superrich Punte del Este, where we found warm weather and locals frolicking on the beach.

Best flight:

Qatar Q-Suite A350-1000

I almost feel stupid for even including this. Thanks to some dumb luck and a willingness to fly out of the way, we flew in the Q Suites for the second time in September. Honestly the flight was better than the first Q Suite experience, not to mention the new plane factor (spoiler: the A351 is my new favorite plane).

Best hotel:

St Regis Florence

On our trip to Italy, we stayed at two of the premier hotels not only in Marriott’s portfolio, but the world. Although the Gritti Palace was a close runner up, Leigh and I felt like the St Regis in Florence was on another level in terms of service. From coffee being delivered daily to the room, to the sabering of the champagne every night at the bar, to every other little detail in between, the St Regis Florence is a cut above anywhere else that we’ve stayed.

A close runner up: Las Alcobas Napa Valley – you can find my review here.

Did 2019 live up to all your travel ambitions?

Review: Las Alcobas Napa Valley

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I decided to surprise Leigh for her birthday with a trip to Napa Valley. From our house in San Francisco, it’s about 2 hours on a normal day. On the Friday afternoon we went, it ended up being 3+ to get to St Helena, which is on the northern end of the valley.

We ended up arriving around 5 on the first Friday in November. Despite all of the news about the fires in Sonoma and Napa counties, the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Having lived in the Bay Area during other devastating fires, I wavered on whether we should go through with the trip. Ultimately I decided that we should still go, especially since the Las Alcobas hotel is notoriously hard to book on points. Marriott has given hotels too much leeway – in my opinion – to deem what is and isn’t a standard room. At the Las Alcobas, it appears that they only make one or two available for the entire property.

Booking

I booked this weekend approximately 8 months in advance; prior to the March 9 addition of Category 8 hotels. My preplanning paid off: the Las Alcobas would be moving up to a Category 8, so locking it down at the Category 7 level of 60k points per night ended up being a steal, especially at a hotel the usually goes for around upwards of $1000/night.

The Stay

Driving north on Highway 128, you’d be forgiven if you missed the entrance. Upon turning into the property, the driveway winds up and around the (main) Acacia House and into a cul-de-sac, where the valet resides. We were warmly greeted by the valet attendant, followed by Angie, the front desk attendant that would show us to our room. Since I’d already checked in on the mobile app, there was no paperwork other than a signature.

The Acacia House

She gave us a brief history on the property, showed us the spa, and then walked us to our room. We went up to the third floor, to room 332. Though I was annoyed at how late we arrived, it turned it to make for an incredible entrance to the room. The Golden Hour was upon us, and the view was made that much more spectacular.

Grape harvest had just happened in the weeks prior, so the many of the vines had already turned a fire orange to crimson red color. This is absolutely the best time of year to visit wine country.

The room itself was spacious and was tastefully – but minimally – decorated. Considering the view, I see no reason to inundate the room with bright colors or other unnecessary things.

The main bathroom didn’t skimp on the marble
The half bath

One thing that made this room unique is that it had a Japanese toilets. If you’ve ever been to Japan, or even heard about Japanese toilets, you know that it’s a night and day experience from typical western toilets. Complete with automatic seat lifting and shutting, a heated seat, and remote to control all of the “other options”, this bathroom is exactly what I want in my house. If only I wasn’t renting…

The bathrooms also provided Momo toiletries, which incidentally is what W Hotels are switching to. After using the products I can say I’m a big fan. Though I do love Bliss toiletries, I think the aroma is outdated.

The room also had a French press with freshly ground coffee, which was nice, however the directions were confusing AF. We use a French press everyday and the instructions made little sense. I can imagine for those not familiar with how much coffee or time a french press takes, this sheet might be confusing. I loved the kettle too, since it had several temperature settings, which was perfect for the Napa Valley Tea Company tea that was provided in the room.

The hotel also offered daily fitness classes, which we never made it to.

The most impressive aspect of the room was the lanai. It had a daybed, two padded rocking chairs, and a fire pit. One of the reasons Napa Valley is so renowned for its wine is because of the temperature swings. It was between 75-80 degrees during the day, and high 40s at night. I can’t think of a better in-room design aspect at any hotel, and we absolutely put it to good use. There’s no better way to end a day than watching the sun go down over the vineyards.

The Property

Although it was 50 degrees, we decided to check out the pool the first morning. We wore our robes and slippers, all the while sipping our coffee to stay warm. The pool was heated, but Leigh and I both couldn’t help but think how nice a hot tub would’ve been.

We also decided to check out the spa before breakfast. Still in our robes, we entered the spa and were greeted by Lisa and Manuel. Atrio Spa‘s concept is global, in that they’re taking the best types of massages from around the world and combining them into one or multiple sessions. They make all of their own oils in house as well. If I could describe Atrio in one word: zen.

We wanted to take advantage of the steam room, which is free of charge for guests. When we told Lisa that we just wanted to relax, she helped us pick out our own essential oil to add to the steam. Our choice: eucalyptus and orange.

After about 30 minutes, we’d decided that we’d effectively rid ourselves from the previous night’s wine. We rinsed off in the locker room areas, then made our way to the spa lounge / relaxation room.

The lounge included tea service, some nuts, dried fruits, and flavored water. The feel was serene. We had some local tea that was fantastic. Leigh and I were both so relaxed I thought we might melt into the seats.

After our relaxing hour or so at the spa, we wanted to have a quick look at the fitness center in the event we gained some motivation to workout. We did not.

Walking to the fitness center, you walk past the bridge that takes you to Beringer Winery. Guests of the hotel can get BOGO tastings. At $40 each, that’s a nice savings at one of Napa Valley’s most historic wineries.

Food and Beverage

The night prior, we began our evening with a drink at the Acacia House. The vibe really felt like a living room that happened to have a bar. With seating for only about 15 people inside, it was inviting. I ordered the a mezcal negroni which was actually a nice combo. The smokiness of the mezcal played off nicely with the sweet but bitterness of the Campari. Leigh had a glass of wine. Drinks were average for the area: $14-$16 for mixed drinks and $12-$50 for wine.

Fast forward back to our spa morning, we made our way to breakfast (we changed out of our robes finally). As an Ambassador Elite, we received $39 each for breakfast; alcohol was excluded. We put the money to good use, though we still had plenty leftover.

The first day I order the fried chicken sandwich was massive. It was a solid west coast effort, however being from the south, I’ve had better. 😉 Leigh’s food was good, but not standout like either one of my meals. To be fair, she had a “boring” omelette one morning and huevos rancheros the next (which was a miss).

The next day I got the burger, which was a highlight. It was done diner style, with two thin patties, and was far juicer than it looks in the photo.

Service

Before arrival, I was in frequent contact with Mary, the concierge. She couldn’t have been more helpful with setting up a tasting at Alpha Omega winery, where guests get free tastings! Normally they’re $50 per person, so this is a great perk. She also helped with dinner reservations. Keith, the other concierge, was also a pleasure to deal with once we were onsite.

Overall the entire staff was wonderful: from the bartenders, to housekeeping, to the front desk, to the valets…everyone was smiling and looking for ways to improve your stay. I will say breakfast was incredibly slow both mornings despite not being crowded.

Summary

We’ve stayed at some great properties in North America, but I think Las Alcobas just might be my favorite hotel in North America. Everything about the stay was top notch and to make it better, I never felt nickel and dimed. Many high-end properties have a way of not including much in their exorbitant rates, however Las Alcobas included everything. Valet parking, free wine tastings, and a welcome half bottle of champagne: all included in the room rate. Noticeably absent from the property: resort fees.

The only fault I can find is the lack of award availability. At less than 70 rooms, I get that they can’t have everyone there on points, but it’s laughably hard to get in on points. With that said, I can’t recommend this property enough. We will be back, even if the hotel’s scarce award space doesn’t make an appearance.

Resort Fees and really expensive water

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Sheraton Kona Resort lobby

Greetings from SFO! I just arrived back from a weekend on the Big Island of Hawaii. While my brother and I had an awesome time, I can’t help but think about the bad taste that the hotel left me. The Sheraton Kona Resort is and was an overall fine place to stay; good location, killer views, and large rooms, but overall the property could use an update.

I may write a review of the property later, but I want to focus on a specific topic that really makes my blood boil: resort fees. These opaque fees typically include things like bottled water, local calls, WiFi, fitness center access, and maybe some activities that you may or may not want to use. Make no mistake, these fees are used by hotels to mask the total cost of a stay and typically range from $20-$50/night. These fees are used across hotel chains, so they’re equal opportunity offenders. The other thing about resort fees? They’re mandatory, meaning there is no employee or manager that can or will waive them.

The Sheraton Kona had a $30 a day fee, which included:

  • Designer tote bag
  • Complimentary Kona trolley rides
  • Guided cultural and historical tour of Kiholo bay 
  • Hula lessons 
  • Lei making 
  • Ukulele lessons
  • 2 bottles of water per day
  • Mid-day refreshments by the pool
  • Complementary access to hospitality room (if your room is not available for late check-out, they can check you into this room)
  • Complimentary access to fitness center
  • Unlimited use of lawn games
  • Unlimited bicycle rental
  • Unlimited local calls
  • 30 min of long distance calls per day
  • Complimentary use of binoculars 
  • Welcome lei and elixir
  • Complimentary wifi

This list was not reviewed with us at check-in, probably because providing value in the fee isn’t important, but collecting revenue is. What that means is that I would need to know that midday refreshments were offered at the pool as part of the fee, then ask when, where, and what time. We were not offered the “designer tote bag” and the welcome elixir consisted of watered down juice served in cone-shaped paper cups (fancy!). This just screams we want to make this fee worthwhile, doesn’t it?

We were there for three nights, Thursday through Sunday, and many of the activities or lessons don’t happen on the weekends. The only thing on the list that was of any value is the trolly ride into town, saving us some money on an Uber/taxi. That said, it’s already free, the only thing the hotel did was arrange a stop on property. Looking further down the list, local and long distance calls is a laughable perk, wifi is already included for those with any Marriott status, and calling 2 bottles of water in a place that has excellent tap water is ridiculous. At $30/day, this might be the world’s most expensive water!

For our stay, I used points, and unlike Hyatt and Hilton, Marriott does not waive resort fees for award stays. So after three nights of resort and parking fees ($20 a night), our total bill came to $150 before taxes. Since I have to pay taxes on the resort fees, the actual out of pocket becomes about $38/night. So much for a “free stay”! Rates for this property typically go for somewhere between $139-189, making the resort fee a hidden 15-21% markup.

Resort fees add up quickly

Even though Marriott is out of step compared to other programs, the fact that resort fees are even legal is something being challenged in court as I write this. Resort fees are becoming more prevalent, especially in the US, and as the lawsuit says that hotels collected about $3 billion dollars worth of fees in 2018.

There are some fees that can be worth it, but they’re few and far between. For instance, the St Regis New York has a $50 fee, but includes a $100 food and beverage credit and MoMa museum tickets. These kinds of inclusions are the exception.

My take

Resort fees assume that hotels know what customers want, using a one-size fits all approach. For me personally, even if the fees were clearly explained, I probably wouldn’t have used any of them because they don’t match my travel habits.

As I see it, the path forward on resort fees includes:

  1. Until (and if) resort fees are finally killed, Marriott needs to match their competitors and waive resort (and parking) fees for award stays. Nothing says thank you for your loyalty like a mandatory $150 hotel bill while still burning points.
  2. More broadly, the FTC needs to take a hard stance against resort fees and make hotels in include them in the rate they show. For a family staying for a week on their only vacation for the year, this amounts to hundreds of dollars of undisclosed fees that will likely alter their ability to pay for other things on their trip. Resort fees aren’t transparent and don’t show the full cost of a stay, which again, is the intent. The Department of Transportation did this several years ago with the airlines, which is why the price you see when searching is the price you pay (though with basic economy, it now includes less). Further, hotels like the Sheraton Kona are charging the fees and not providing additional service beyond what you would already expect at a resort in Hawaii. Resort fees cheapen the overall resort experience by nickel and diming customers with fees they didn’t know about.