Euro Travel & More

We like resort as soon as we arrived, we were given a warm welcome by the front desk and shown to our rooms promptly.   Only minutes from the airport – this resort was managed by the Hilton group from what we’ve heard.  We had a whole strange of the Ocean view for watching the sunset and sunrise – additionally – there were restaurants, grill and a bar for those who wants to stay in the resort and relax.  About 10 minutes towards Kapaa, you can find beaches you can swim in – so don’t be disappointed that you don’t find one in the resort itself.

We loved the pool and since we didn’t have any kids with us – we were able to sun tan as long as we want.

Beautiful palm trees and lots of greens.

Waterfall by the pool.

Hot tubs and gym were available here – and they weren’t even crowded.

We took morning laps here before breakfast.

The rooms were nice and clean and unlike some resorts in Hawaii – this one is carpeted – I don’t like the ceramic flooring.  A free shuttle service is offered by the resort to the surrounding shopping center – and if you want to drive around the island you can – it’s pretty easy to get around. Parking was a wee bit expensive for a resort – but oh well, it’s better to have our own car since we like to venture out and check out the island.  Live music in the bar for you to end the evening and retire to bed.

I’ve stayed at the Trump Int’l Hotel, Las Vegas with my boss and engineers when I was working for a Spanish company in Madrid – because we needed to be there to look into a project for parking meters – I think it was a tender followed by some negotiation with the clients.  Anyhow, we were at the Trump International many times and each time I arrived in Las Vegas and enter the hotel I’ll have to say – I loved the grandeur of the hotel – unfortunately, there is this damn train that I can’t seem to get away from – and it definitely disrupt my sleep – so much – that I had to buy ear plugs. Other than that – the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas – treated us well – and we love the rates there.

And since there is no casino here – we could have our business meetings in the hotel itself and for those who loved to gamble or try their luck – the Ceasar casino and Wynn are not far from the Trump.  The strip and fashion mall  are just opposite of the hotel  – so if you need to shop or eat or do anything – they are just within walking distance.  Another thing to note is the resort fees that they charged – my hotel bills were paid by the company – but every time I see someone check in or out – there were always a big argument about it.   Different people were charged differently too – so irregardless whether you use the pool, gym or the shuttle you still have to pay this resort fees.

I do love the room, they were big and spacious and the penthouse that my boss stayed in on the 65th floor – was awesome – they even have their own butler there for the boss – I was so jealous!  but my boss had offered me his penthouse – but of course I didn’t change room with him.

I think every room has it own jacuzzi tub – and I do enjoy it a lot.

We eat our breakfast by the pool every morning before heading out to our business meetings – it’s nice to see people swimming first thing in the morning – but we were all dressed up in business suits.  Lots of sunbed here – no worry about not getting your tan.  For a little over a $100 a nite at the Trump – we cannot ask for more.

We stayed at the Westin Hotel in Halifax during our last trip up to the city and since Westin was rated as a 4 star hotel we were actually looking forward to checking out the hotel.  Located at the South end of Halifax – near the waterfront – it’s not as convenient as the Barrington Delta or the Sheraton Four Points but it was still a pretty decent place to stay at.

The Westin had a huge lobby and it’s especially great for businessmen since they need to receive their guests here – over here is where you can find the bell hop/concierge desk – but as you can see here – no bell hop or concierge is in sight.  But that doesn’t mean that they are not around.  The bell hops are friendly but since the hotel was running on full house – they were in and out of the hotel.  I would have thought that there would be a permanent concierge for such a big hotel but we didn’t see any during our 2 days stay there.

The front desk area is large and usually there are a few front desk clerk available – either on the phone or checking in their guests.  Our check in was prompt and we were treated with respect but unfortunately, they did not hear that we need a room with a cot in it since we had a 7 yrs old with us.

The lobby is inviting as you can see here. There were several restaurants in the basement and a lounge area with free wifi – unfortunately, the hotel was so packed we didn’t get a chance to check it out.

Our first room was too small for a cot – so we asked for a change of room – the second day – which they did.  Unfortunately, they gave us a handicap room – with no tub – so my poor kid did not bathe the night before we went home.   Everything was just weird for us in the handicap room.  The bathroom was small and had no counter top space and the heater didn’t really work right at all.

They brought the cot up after we spoke to the housekeeping maid on the floor – unfortunately, they didn’t have the right sheets for the cot – and we had to ask again for them.

We didn’t even get to go to the pool because the kid got sick from sleeping on the floor the first night and the second night the heater wouldn’t come on.  But service was good – they did try to help but if given a choice we won’t stay at the Westin because it is a old hotel – grand but dusty to max.

We were planning to go to PEI this summer – and had to postpone our plans because the kid got ill – but I had accidentally came across the newest hotel in PEI – thru’ a magazine I found at the local grocery store and decided to check it out.   The rates I meant – and it was very expensive!  a check on the website state that it is a boutique hotel – and usually boutique hotels are small and personable therefore they charge a little bit more.  But we are still booking the hotel – to try it out  – and check it out – after all what good am I to be called an ex-hotelier and not check out new hotels right?  this is what we called a site inspection.  Plus we can always meet up with our dear life insurance agent turned friend and discuss our term life insurance over a cup of coffee and some pastry in the hotel.  The hotel is located in Charlottetown and it even have a bigger pool.  So more on the Holman Grand hotel after I come back from our mini 1 week vacation.

Managing several business centers in the last 15 years when I was working in the hotel industry -  really make me realized how important it is  – business centers are to those traveling for business around the world.  But having said that any customer service jobs especially those in the front line are important – they can make or break the stay of a guest in the hotel.   But the customer service agents at the business center usually get to know their long staying guests a little bit more and leave a more lasting impression on the guests.

As a customer service agent (that was what I started as), we’ve received numerous gifts from returned guest of the hotel.  They are usually not something we need – but it was nice – especially if they were things or memorabilia from the country they are from.    But yes!  business center’s customer service agents are very important people to get to know too – for they actually act as the concierge and will probably be able to point you to whatever you need better than the concierge – because they don’t get a commission – and they will have the best for you.

Whether you are going for a week vacation or just an overnight trip to the city like we always do – you need to stay in a hotel – especially if you have kids in tow.  But like we all know – we don’t really lived in the hotel – 24hrs a day – all we need is a place to sleep and shower – but we still need something decent right?  and most importantly we don’t really want to pay so much for hotel rooms.

Corporate rooms are very cheap – so if you have a corporate account – beg the financial controller – to work something out with the hotel for you.  But what if you don’t have a corporate account like us?  you still can get good, cheap hotel rooms in the city!  how?  the trick is to find deals on the internet.  We did – on hotels auction and places like specials on expedia or hotels.ca – there is also another place online – where you can tell this program -how much you want to pay for the hotel – and they will have it up on bid with the hotels – that you want to stay in and book them at about the price range you can afford.   Last week we stayed at the Sheraton in downtown Halifax for only $99 – full amenities and very good service too .  So try it out yourself.

Whether you are a long-staying guest or a just staying in a hotel for one night – it is important that you get proper rest right?  We all know that hotels are not cheap to stay in and unless you are on company’s account – you have to fork out a good few hundred dollars sometimes for a night’s rest in a hotel.

Some people like to choose a newer hotel to stay in – not because they want to try out a new hotel but more so – because their mattresses are usually are in better condition.  So what happens if you chose an older hotel to stay in and found that the bed is not as comfy as you would like it to be?   Now the trick is this – when you make a hotel reservation – make sure you let them know what kind of bed you want – you don’t know how important this is – till you have slept on a bed that gives you a sore back or even a unrestful night.  You also need to let the hotel know that you will have a long flight ahead or driving a long time – the next day – so that when you don’t get the bed you want – you can take it up with them. So there you have it – yes – most importantly is the mattress that one sleeps in – i’ve had so many experiences – with hotels that had such bad beds – and they think nothing of it.  I will never make the same mistake again.

I’ve worked in the hotel industry for the longest time – from the back office to the front desk and have also traveled to the West and to Europe a lot because of work.  Once a General Manager in Asia asked me how different is the service in asia as compared to the west and I cannot begin to describe what I feel about the Western hospitality.

If you have met any of the Westerners in the hotels that I’ve worked in – they are amazed at how well and respected they are treated – so much so – that they get spoiled in Asia.  Many businessmen who comes into the hotels that I’ve worked in – tells me that they don’t want to leave Asia and once upon a time I didn’t understand at all.

But after living in the West for so long and traveled around the West for so long – I can now fully understand the difference.  How different?  very!  while the receptionist in Asia tries their very best to accommodate your needs – in the West – the General Manager in a hotel – would never return your call even though you try to contact them for a reservation because the reservation department don’t answer their phones.

When you check into the hotel – there are no bell hops to help you – and when you ask for a late check out they can’t give you a straight answers.  While Asian hotels will negotiate the room rates – or long staying rates – our Western counterparts – don’t seems to care if the rooms are filled or not?   People in the hospitality industry in the West are less attentive to the needs of their customers it seems. And yes – i missed the Asian hospitality – and one can never explain to the West how they can treat their house guests better – because they don’t really care – so it seems.  What are your experiences?  care to share with me?

For those who don’t know this Singapore is my home and me being in Canada doesn’t mean that I don’t know a thing or two about the happenings in Singapore.  The niece who was invited to the launch recently sent me some beautiful pictures of her and her friends – the beautiful people of course – during the launch party.  I asked her if i could use a few of her pictures for this blog – to show you all what a beautiful and amazing place Singapore is.

This is an outdoor pool i think – and the rates are at USD $400 a nite.

As promised – i’ve shown you the outside of the CourtYard Marriot on the previous post and now for the inside of the hotel.  The bedroom given to us was a very nice room – spacious with 2 queen bed.  The receptionist at check in was very nice and polite – but the bell hop was helping someone else during check in – so we carried our own luggage – to our room.  But it was a lazy Sunday – so having only one bell hop is understandable and we didn’t have very much – just 2 luggages and lots of shopping bag with acne body wash that we had bought for a friend’s kid.

The view was very pretty – as you can see here.  And our fear that the road may get too noisy from the reviews that we read – were unfounded – we didn’t hear a thing outside of our room.

I thought we had read that our tv was going to be an LCD tv – therefore we had brought along our xbox 360 to be hooked up to it for our stay.  But alas – it was a normal tv and what made it even more frustrating was the tv didn’t allowed us to play our xbox 360 onto it.  But – the saving grace was the receptionist had offered to give us the one in the conference room if it wasn’t in used.  Now that was very nice of her – but it came with a huge rack and totally took up part of the room.  By then we were too tired to try and return it and just left it in the room because it was already late – 9pm.

This was the breakfast room – it’s located right in the lobby – a really small area – no restaurant or a drinking hole but the wait staff and the kitchen staff were great – they made a waffle for my kid even though they didn’t have it in the menu.  Very sweet indeed!

This is the hotel’s pool – it’s tiny!

Boy! i sure missed those pools in Asia! hotel pools in Asia are Olympic sizes.