Hotel Suite- Encore Las Vegas

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Dawn

Wynn Wedding

The hotel suites in the Encore Las Vegas are beautiful. The entire hotel, the Wynn/Encore combo, is 5 star first class amazingly beautiful.

I love this hotel. We liked staying here so much that we held our wedding at the Wynn Wedding Salon. I should lead with all of the outstanding things the hotel has to offer, but we don’t stay here anymore.

Two problems:

1. the air conditioning

2. bed bug attack

So I’ll start with the beauty they have earned. The art is incredible. You enter the lobby and mosaics line the floors, balls of flowers hang from the ceiling, koi ponds line the tower suites, the shops are all spectacular, and it smells great!

We are not gamblers, so my opinion of the casinos might not be as educated as others, but I will tell you the layout is very nice, it’s not crowded, and the service is better than most.

The pools are beautiful. The Encore’s is adult only, so beware if you have your munchkins with you. The whole hotel is targeted at adults. Most of the hotel suites, and by a large majority, offer only a king size bed.

Oh, the restaurants! Excellent, reason enough to stay there. The fine dining is exquisite, but the pancakes in the cafe are so freakin’ good…soooo good. We stay at other hotels, the Palazzo or the Skylofts(wow), and will take a cab (forgoing the included breakfast) and head for Wynn pancakes in the morning.

Wow views from the hotel suite

We don’t stay anymore probably because of the air conditioning, even thought the bedbug thing happened. It’s just uncomfortable at night. The sheets don’t breathe, probably a sateen blend, so you’re sweating anyway. But then the a/c just won’t cut it. We end up calling engineering and asking that the grate be removed (for maximum air flow) and we request a fan. I don’t think the units are capable of cooling the hotel down to the temperature I/we can sleep at.

The bed bug thing. Yep, my husband was tore up. Have you ever seen what bedbugs do to a person? It’s been about a year and he still has scars on his legs. We travel a lot. I get that it is a continual struggle for hotels and even the best can be bedbug free and then have a guest re-introduce them.

So I would have been okay if there had been ANY sort of apology. Instead there was deflection, marginalizing the extent of the injury, followed by flat out denial.

How disappointing! We held our wedding here! We had stayed over 50 times. But they treated us so badly. They did not care at all and told us that it must have happened somewhere else.

Umm. They tear up your body and leave blood on the sheets. It’s not really something you have trouble figuring out where it happened. Once they have a good blood meal (I can assure you they dined well on my husband) they might not hit again for 3-6 months. The insects hide in cracks of mattresses and behind picture frames, in carpet, even in the room next door. So location is difficult.

But APOLOGIZE. Extend you regret for such an unpleasant experience. Ask us to return again as your guest. Buy us a meal. Or just apologize.

They were so rude to my husband that I thought they should be given another chance, maybe he just talked to an unfortunate employee. I called, went up the ladder, and explained what had happened. We had been such loyal customers that I wanted them to give us any excuse to return! Anything!

Instead they were rude to me too, told me it didn’t happen, wasn’t their hotel, we were wrong.

Oh my.

So we don’t stay at that beautiful hotel anymore. Many hotels out there are working hard to deserve your business. If something goes wrong at the Wynn, they tell you to go pound sand like no other ever has before.

I have pictures of his chewed up leg, but I’d rather make the site pretty! You can check out Wikipedia’s thoughts on bedbugs here if you want to. HERE

The Palazzo is always good and within walking distance to the shopping and restaurants at the Wynn. The suites are nicer and lager than the Wynn’s, as elegant.

The Skylofts in the MGM are shockingly amazing. The rooms are not that beautiful, to me, more modern than I prefer. But the SERVICE, holy crap, is incredible, outstanding, could teach the Wynn 6 or 7 things.

Check out my rooms at www.somewhereihavenevertravelled.com

Hotel Suite- The Grand Del Mar

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Dawn

Welcome to the lobby

The Grand Del Mar is a surprisingly little known hotel in Del Mar, CA, with amazing hotel suites. How can you be an unknown triple 5 star resort?! When you say the name, most people think you mean an old hotel downtown.

This hotel is so gorgeous, it looks like something out of Europe, the old hotels that no one can afford to build anymore.

The service is also excellent. They remember your name! I am not sure how they do this, either they have uncanny facial memorization or they are taking pics. Either way, they know us when we pull up and I can’t say that of anyplace else we frequent.

The bar is a fun and cozy place to eat. Try the roast beef dip with potato chips, you won’t regret it!

If you are there on a Friday-Sunday, ask about high tea. You can reserve a spot for the nicest one in San Diego.

The suites are all similar, some have views of the golf course and others have views of the pools, but they are all very nice. I hear they had some female input in the design of the suites, deliberately female to make sure they took care of the female traveler.

They have pretty oil paintings and decorative iron work on the grates. The product is good, conditioner and shampoo. All rooms have robes, sometimes you have to ask for a second robe.

the bathroom: Nice product, conditioner, shampoo, body wash. Separate shower and tub (huge tub for two). Double sinks

the bed: super comfortable, new mattresses, white cotton linens, great pillows

the movies: consistently good, new and very up to date

the room service: always good. Really like the bagel and lox (seriously), pancakes are good, frittata good too. Takes about 45 minutes.

Check out my rooms at www.somewhereihavenevertravelled.com

Hotel Suite- The Plaza New York City

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Dawn

The hotel suite is graced with the new world sophistication of iPad controlled rooms and the old world elegance of 24k gold plated bathroom fixtures. The Plaza is a fully deserving landmark in New York City.

The iconic hotel is home to Eloise, the book series written with her living in a suite on the top floor. The hotel has a suite called the Eloise Suite and is a little girl’s fantasy suite! Pink striped door, pink everywhere in the suite, we saw a little girl walk in and scream in excitement over the cuteness.

We stayed in the Edwardian Suite. The room is outstanding, double the size of a normal suite, and has a spectacular view of Central Park. You can watch the white horse and buggy carriages stroll by from the comfort of your luxurious room.

It has a separate living room with a fireplace and television, more storage and closet room than the standard suite, and a second powder room.

The hotel suite also has a refrigerator (which I love in a suite) and a microwave (LOVE IT) hidden in a butlers pantry.

Our kids stayed in a standard suite which was identical to the bedroom part of the larger suite.

The Edwardian Suite

Hotel Suite The Edwardian

The bed: excellent mattress, white linens, great pillows

The room service: Very, very good. Faster than most at 15-20 minutes and accommodating for special requests that might not be on the menu (like banana splits)

The bathroom: 24k gold plated fixtures in shower with separate tub. Tub is on the small side and takes forever to fill (without exaggeration 20 minutes), great for me at 5″3 but complaints from my 6 footers in my family. The rose bathroom product is really lovely, even the conditioner, and the boys loved the light scent too (it’s not really rosy).

The staff: all interactions were pleasant. Room service staff was amazing

The movie selection: expansive, many super current selections
Check out my other hotel suite reviews at www.somewherihavenevertravelled.com

Last-minute NYC deals: Hotels from $71, vacations starting at $229! – Expires 2/22/12

United International First Class- San Francisco to Shanghai

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Dawn

The Flight- United First Class from San Francisco to Shanghai

We always fly on miles, at least whenever possible. We charge everything we possibly can and then pay it off every month to build miles. This trip was booked on miles and we paid $50 per ticket for two first class airfares from California to Shanghai.

: United First Class Lounge San Francisco Airport

The limitation of miles is that you cannot always get the seats, or time, or airport that you might choose if there were no other considerations. You have to be flexible. In this case, I flew from San Diego to San Francisco, then to Shanghai. Roland flew from LAX to Shanghai. Both of us flew United.

San Francisco International Airport’s United First Class Lounge is very nice. There is a pretty sculpture as you walk in, fresh sushi, sandwiches, and assorted snack-ish type things. There are full size waters and sodas, actually a full bar, that are already included in the price of your ticket. I always grab at least one full size water as a just-in-case insurance policy. I was stuck on a tarmac forever one time and Delta neglected to board the beverage carts. I was super grateful for my water!

First Class boards first. It’s a nice touch, makes it a little less stressful.

One of the tough choices is always to coat or not to coat. Lugging a large shearling coat across China did not seem particularly fun. But ruining the “Great Wall Experience” as I froze and desperately tried to get back to the heated car sounded like a bad plan too.

So I am large coat lugging, which means wearing it because of the carry on restrictions. It’s easily 85 degrees. I am flushed, quietly sweating, and schlepping my roller bag and purse.

Boarding early, stowing my stuff, and getting that coat off does not suck. As soon as you are settled, the attendants bring you a glass of champagne, heated nuts, and a nice lemon scented warm wet towel to freshen up with. None of that sucks either.

The flight attendant also gave me a Chinese immigration card. I filled it out right away and tucked it into the photo page of my passport. If I don’t do it right away, I have a tendency to forget and then find myself scrambling at the last minute. I didn’t want to be scrambling by myself in China.

: United International’s First Class Cubby

Usually they have pj’s to change into, if you like. I recommend doing this if you have the option. Right before you land, you can change back into your regular clothes and you still have a nice fresh outfit! It’s like getting a free one (from the packing universe).

My plane was fantastic. It was clean, new, nice wide t.v., and each seat had it’s own power outlet that did not require an adapter for US power. Nice. All of the United First Class seats fully recline. They have very nice, light, possibly down quilted blankets.

You are presented with your dinner menu and have a choice of a meat or seafood dish. I chose the filet with asparagus and a glass of wine from the wine menu. There are four or five selections to choose from.

There is dessert as well. I had the ice cream sundae, a personal weakness. The strawberry ice cream was delicious, but the vanilla was freezer-burned, so I was spared eating the vanilla (not so much the strawberry).

The flight from San Francisco to Shanghai is 10 hours 45 minutes, but this one went very fast. I slept a good 5 or 6 hours of it because I did not have my playmate!

Breakfast was being served within 20 minutes of my waking up. I headed to the bathroom and changed (I had brought lululemon’s in case they did not have the pj’s and they did not), repacked my iPad, book (lousy one this time), earbuds, lip balm, moisturizer, etc. I put my passport and customs card into an easily accessible pocket of my purse and landed at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

Oh the Places You’ll Go!

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Dawn

Somewhere I have never travelled

is the beginning of a poem by ee cummings. It is also the subject line of the first email I ever sent to my now husband on match.com.

As far back as I can remember, I have been afflicted with travel lust. But I had built my life in a way that was not compatible with that desire. At least that’s what I thought for my first 37 years.

Exploring the Colosseum in Rome.

At 37, I met my future husband, who had already traveled to 137 countries. His match profile was so full of travel pics, I thought he was a travel photographer. And we were off!

As of 2011, I’ve been to 19 countries, not even within striking distance of 137. We take 3 or 4 major trips a year and many more minor jaunts. We don’t usually stay in one hotel for more than 3 days, so I have slept in countless strange beds!

I’d like to share my experiences and offer one traveler’s opinion of the cities we explore, the hotels, chateaus, inns we stay in, and the food we eat.

Oh the places you’ll go!

Somewhere I Have Never Travelled

Travels With Dawn (Allred) Frasier