TopDawg Travel

Archive for the ‘Places Visited’ Category

My fellow travel agent and I arrived at the hotel and were greeted with cold washcloths and a fruity (non-alcoholic) drink.  The desk person could not seem to locate our records (they use paper records here – how quaint).  He left with my passport in hand and then returned to pull my paperwork out of the box in front of him.  I did wonder what transpired with my passport in the back office. 

He gave me the check-in spiel – if I wanted to have the use of the safe in my room, I needed a lock.  There is no charge for the lock, unless I lose the key.  Then there is a $100 fee for the key replacement.  He checked out a remote to the TV to me (again, no charge).  And he handed me a card for pool towel check out.  He assigned me the room # 1810.  That was nice because it is on the top floor.  He then snapped a blue plastic strip around my right wrist which indicated that I was in the all-inclusive plan.  I would wear this wrist-let for the next 5 days.  It felt a bit like a one-sided hand cuff, but it does mean I eat and drink for no extra charge. 

I asked about internet access.  The price seemed to change as it left his mouth.  It ranged from $9 to $29.  The good thing is that you purchase a set number of minutes or hours.  I purchased 24 hours.  As long as you log on, and then log off when you are shutting down, you may use only a few minutes and 24 hours can last a whole week.  But if you don’t log off, it can be used up very fast.  I agreed to the 24 hour plan immediately and then he checked in the fellow traveler.  She was 2 doors down from me and we accompanied a bellman to the 8th floor.  He dropped me off and proceeded down the hall with her in tow. 

I walked into an oven.  It was hot outside and hotter inside.  I walked over and opened the drape.  I checked the balcony door and it was not locked.  I stepped outside and the heat was overwhelming.  I stepped back in and tried to lock the door, but there was not a working lock.  After checking the AC control, I called the front desk.  I want to say two-thumbs up for the response level of the staff.  There was a maintenance person in my room handling the lock ASAP.  The air conditioning was a whole other issue.

My fellow traveler and I agreed it was a good idea to adjourn to the bar for a drink.  After unpacking and laying out toiletries, we met at the elevator and headed to the pool bar.  There was a menu of drinks.  There were a number of fruity flavored margaritas, but not a straight up margarita.  The same was true of the martinis, the daiquiris and well drinks seemed out of the question.  We settled on mojitos.  Then we saw him break out a huge bottle of beer for a waiter and the next drink was destined to be beer.  “Sol” was the brand name, but it was beer and it was wet, so that worked for me.  We were both so hot and sweaty that we agreed to go put on swimsuits and take a dip in the infinity pool.  We gave up on making reservations for dinner as it was after 5PM and dinner reservations had to be made before 5PM.  We also were too late to get pool towels with our cards.  When we went to the front desk to see if we could check them out from there, there were no towels available for another 5-10 minutes.  We decided we could dip without a towel.  I grabbed the beer and headed to the pool, expecting a cool dip to help chill me out.  Oops.  Wrong again.  The pool is a bit warmer than body temperature.  But once in and kicking around, it did not matter.  I may have been warm but the sweat was gone and I was drinking a beer in the pool.  Life was ok by most any standard.   

Welcome to Puerto Vallarta.

Deal of the Day: Las Ventanas al Paraiso spa packages offer endless romance 

I have already written of my infatuation with Las Ventanas al Paraiso since visiting Los Cabos in May.  However, when I see the offers they have for spa and romance experiences through 2010, I have to re-visit their hotel here (I can wish to do it physically, though I can only do so with words).  Read more…

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As I mentioned in an earlier blog piece, when I find “good deals” I have decided to share them here. Again, this is something I have steered away from in the past, but decided that these extraordinary times called for sharing these opportunities more broadly. And a lot of what I say here is strictly just my opinion and my advice to my clients. So talking about the “good deals” in Hawaii is a natural.

First off, Hawaii is always a wonderful place to spend your vacation. And, of course, I am prejudiced. Having lived there for 28 years, I can not think of any other place I would rather be. That said, I now reside in Seattle. But Hawaii is where my heart lives. There are some incredible deals for visits to Hawaii right now, however. Take as an example, the Starwood Hotels and Resort’s Hawaii have a promotion going on until March 31, 2009. It is called Sunsational Savings. You can qualify for a third night free and a breakfast or meal credit daily. At some locations, there is also a free room upgrade available; at others there is a 20% spa discount; at other hotels there is a 15% off at select restaurants.

Tomorrow, January 20, will be the celebration of the reopening of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki. This hotel is offering the “1927 Package” which includes luxury Royal Grove accommodations for a four-night minimum stay (you get the first night at $19.27, with additional nights from $450 per night), dinner for two at the new Azure Restaurant, two mai tais and a memento gift. This 1927 Package is available from Feb1 through June 30, 2009.

The Aqua Hotels and Resorts have a “Nifty To Be Fifty Statehood” Special at all 12 of its Waikiki hotels during 2009. Some of the offerings include a $50 off the first night with a minimum three night stay. They also include a free amenity for guests aged 50+; a free 1959-inspired postcard; and, a half-hour mini-massage for $50.

The Embassy Suites Waikiki Beach Walk is offering guests up to four hours of free valet parking when lunching at one of several restaurants at the Beach Walk. The offer is valid daily from 11AM to 3PM. Some of these restaurants include the Cheeseburger Beachwalk, Roy’s Waikiki, Yard House, Kaiwa, Giovanni Pastrami & Taorimina Sicilian Cuisine.

I worked in Waikiki at Shaheen’s, an upscale clothing store, in the early 1970′s. I lived in the Waikiki “jungle” in the mid-1970′s. My memories of Lewers Street and Beach Walk make me want to go there just to take that walk down memory lane. Have you been there before – maybe a long time ago, like me? Waikiki Beach Walk has changed. Waikiki has changed. And I want to say, for the better! It is safer, more friendly, cleaner. A real pleasure to visit. If you want to share your memories of Waikiki, or talk about an upcoming visit, just add your comments here.

Vacationing at Loews Miami Beach Hotel  

    At the start of my first day of vacation in South Beach, I was in a conundrum of what to do first.  My stomach was growling as I arrived late at night and had not cared to go out for a late Sunday night dining experience.  The three hour time difference together with having flown just about as far as one can in the continental US…from Seattle to Miami….had left me feeling like sleep was the first and highest priority.  Rested and bright-eyed, I was more than ready for breakfast.  This hotel is in the middle of the diverse and very hip art deco section of South Beach.  I headed down to the breakfast bar called the  SoBe Coffee Bar, located in the Tower, which opens at 5:45 AM (until 2PM) and serves up fresh roasts and exotic blends with freshly baked lighter fare.  I had a coffee and muffin (huge, moist and yummy) while deciding whether to walk around SoBe and take pictures or head for the pool to take a little exercise and a dip.  In the same location, Wednesday through Saturday at 5PM, a Champagne Bar is open until 11PM.  Heavenly!

One of the things I most appreciated about the Loews Miami Beach was their people.  They give “service” a whole new meaning.  When we questioned our server, he admitted Loews has stringent hiring policies towards customer service and an extensive customer service training program.  The people learn to anticipate the guests’ needs and to take as much time as is needed to answer questions, provide services, and be as attentive or not as the guest requires.  It was extremely refreshing to be in a hotel that literally anticipates and then caters to every need their guests have.

Wow!  Have you ever had planning your vacation interrupted by a vacation action (taking of vacation impromptu)?  I call it “vacation planning interruptus”.  My vacation planning and research got interrupted by an impromptu trip to Honolulu for the first week of December.  So here I sit in a Starbucks (ah…have I been in Seattle too long???) in Waikiki at 5PM on a Thursday evening typing this.  I resisted this trip with all my heart cause to leave here is going to break that heart and it has only been held together for the past 10 years with spit and shoe polish as it was.  It was 10 years ago I left Hawaii after spending 28 years there.  And 8 and 1/2 years since I was last in the islands to see my lovely keiki graduate from high school. 

Nothing has changed…and a lot has changed.  Some for the best…some for the worse…and some, no change at all.  I could find my way around blindfolded.  The sun is just as bright and hot, the sky just as blue, the people just as warm and friendly and the bus system just as efficient.  And the politics rage just as they did when I left, crime is about the same, people are just as kind or as rude as they ever were, the pot holes just as big with temporary fixes of asphalt patch…yet sidewalks clean and Waikiki just as touristy.  They have a lovely hula show (for free) at Kuhio Beach every evening at dusk compliments of the Waikiki Improvement Association.  They light the tiki torches while blowing the conch.  There are incredible sunsets with blood red sails (and green and yellow and white sails as well), that sail across the sunset glow on the water.  The pink hotel still lights up, not only at sunset, but at sunrise…and even in the middle of the day.  There is still liquid sunshine that falls on you to ease the cooking heat of the sun.  There are a lot of cranes on the horizon and big buildings dotting the skyline.  And this month there are the additional delights of Christmas lights and decorations. 

 It is so hard to imagine that in a too few hours, I will be headed back to the cold, the dreary, the cloudy/rainy/snowy mainland.  I find myself in total rebellion of the concept or the thought. If I did not miss my TopDawg so much, I might write the rest of my blog from here forever.  But I need to go and get my fur fix, retrieve my TopDawg and start to plot my next return to paradise.  

Over the next few days I will post pictures and comments of my experiences of the past 5 days in Waikiki and Honolulu.  I will share some of my most favorite places, mention a few of my favorite people, and generally tell the story of a rebellious wahine who has to leave the islands of her heart and go back to her life.  Stay tuned…it is time to go catch a sunset through the palm fronds and breathe the fragrant pikake and plumeria flowers for a few hours more! 

Aloha and Mahalo!