Tag Archives: Hotel

DEALS, TECH AND TOOLS

Hotel Tonight: Last Minute Half-Priced Finds

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By Rohan:

This weekend, my uncle and eleven year-old cousin came to town to help me celebrate my graduation. Since he had some business to take care of in Boston, he decided to take me and my brother along for some fun in the city.We love Boston, and usually have a motley of hotel options to choose from, especially since we go so frequently, whether it be for conventions, festivals, or simply getting away without breaking the bank. On the train ride there, our uncle gave us some shocking news: we don’t quite know where we’re staying.

 

He reassured us, told us not to panic, and opened up a fancy new app on his smartphone: Hotel Tonight. He was able to book two rooms at the Copley Square Hotel (a review to follow) for a little less than $160 each. This property is situated right in the heart of downtown Boston, with plenty of shops, restaurants, and tourist attractions within walking distance. How could this little app give him such a big discount?

Every day at 9:00 am, Hotel Tonight releases multiple properties per city in many cities in the US and abroad. Each property is discounted (sometimes up the 50%).  It’s like a game of roulette, sometimes you will land a huge discount at an amazing property, while in other cases, it might add some inconvenience to your trip.  Either way, we highly recommend picking up Hotel Tonight.  Living an hour away from New York City, a day trip to Manhattan can easily turn into an overnight one thanks to this useful tool.  Best of all, Hotel Tonight is completely free, and runs incredibly smoothly with a welcoming interface on both iPhone and Android devices.  Just another piece of travel tech making seeing the world that much easier!

 Thanks Hotel Tonight for your deals and discounts! Consider us a loyal customer!
DEALS, TRAVEL

Club Carlson Hotels – The Loyalty Program That Makes Us Fall In Love!

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By Lakshmi and Siddhi:

We’re in love!  Yes, we fell in love about a year ago in Sweden and then the romance was rekindled recently in London.  We can safely declare that for us, this romance is here to stay.  We are officially in a long-term relationship, with Club Carlson playing cupid in our romance with its hotels.

Ok, if you think we are going crazy, you are right.  Now let’s tell you why we are in this state of mind.

Last May we discovered and wrote about the 50,000 points giveaway from Radisson.  If you stayed a night at any Radisson property, you would be awarded with 50,000 points in Club Carlson’s program.  Siddhi and I were in Sweden, needed a couple of hotels and the bonus points steered us towards our maiden Radisson Blu experience.   We LOVED the service and better yet, loved the 100,000 bonus points we got.

Fast forward ten months later and we had a chance to use our points at the Plaza on the River in London.  This Carlson brand appealed to us for its picturesque location on the water and promising views of Big Ben.  Plus, we’d be lying if we did not admit that it was awesome to redeem our points for a pricey, waterfront property.

Now to the details on how this property made us fall in love with Club Carlson all over again.  First, we were “quadruple upgraded” to a two bedroom, two bathroom, waterfront facing suite with a living room and kitchen.  Take a look at the pictures at the end of this post and you’ll realize what a big deal that is.  We were provided late check out.  The people at the desk were incredibly friendly.  The concierge, incredibly efficient.  When we said that we were hoping to do laundry and noticed the machine in the room was not working, guess what they did?  Yes, they tried to fix the machine, but when they could not, our laundry was done free of charge and delivered overnight.

Let me not forget to mention that we had views of the Parliament and Big Ben and were within a few minutes walk of the Vauxhall tube stop.

Now to the grand finale – when we checked out, we discovered that we had stayed for FREE in a hotel that was going for 460 pounds per night that week.  And we had stayed without spending a dime for two nights.

We absolutely love the rewards offered by the Club Carlson program.  And more importantly we love how their hotels enable us as travelers.  That’s why this relationship will be forged forward.  And the next step in this romance? We are getting the Club Carlson Visa Card which will reward us nicely for signing up and for our many upcoming stays in Europe in the not too distant future.

Thank you Club Carlson for wooing us over.  We’re here to stay!

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TRAVEL

Movenpick Amsterdam – A Hotel That Won Us Over

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By Lakshmi:

A few years ago, we had made plans to spend Christmas in Amsterdam.  It is one of our favorite cities and we were very much looking forward to staying at Dam Square and found a great deal at the Swissotel.  But alas, an illness with a family member forced us to change plans and move our trip to peak Spring season and the best value we could get was away from Dam Square at a property on the water known as the Movenpick Hotel Amsterdam.

We had heard good things about the brand, but had never stayed there.  We were still saddened about not being in the heart of the city at Dam Square.  But we relented and decided to go for this property.

From our very first interaction over the phone to the support provided after we returned home, this hotel made our stay amazing and won us over.  Here’s how they did it.

– The hotel offers a shuttle pick up from Central Station.  We called from the station and due to construction were given explicit instructions on the right exit to take to the spot on the street where we would be picked up.  First handshake – success!

– The property is modern, designed beautifully and occupies prime real estate on the water adjacent to the beautiful Muziekgebouw concert hall.  We loved the aesthetics.

– The front desk staff could not have been any friendlier.  Given the girls excitement, they gave us a room facing the water that simply made each morning and evening that much more special.  And they always had pointers for us on things to do.

– Our concern about not being on Dam Square was more than addressed by these facts.  It is a short 15 minute walk or a few minute tram ride to the Square and most importantly being on the water helped us escape the bustle of the city whenever we wanted to.

– The breakfast was awesome.

– At the basement of the hotel is a bike rental place that we used to rent bikes and do a tour of the dutch countryside.  Great convenience.

– Now for the ultimate in service.  Upon getting to the airport, we realized that we had forgotten a key purchase at a locker in one of the city’s museums.  We called the museum, asked if they could ship it which they declined.  We called the hotel concierge and they immediately set the wheels in motion to help us.  Not only did they pick up our purchase, they mailed it to us without charging us a dime.  This despite our multiple offers to pay.

Amsterdam is absolutely one of our favorite cities in the world and we are glad to have found a gem to return to on future journeys.

To learn more about this beautiful property click here:

http://www.moevenpick-hotels.com/en/europe/netherlands/amsterdam/hotel-amsterdam/overview/

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