Stay Report: Hilton Addis Ababa (Ethiopia - January 2014)

Stay Report: Hilton Addis Ababa
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

Photo Courtesy of Hilton.com

I had a really long layover in Addis Ababa (over 14 hours) so instead of spending it at the airport, I decided to use my points and relax at the Hilton Addis.  Overall, the hotel is very large and expansive with lots of amenities, but definitely needs to be updated.   

After you exit customs and enter the arrivals hall, there is a Hilton booth/stall where you can wait for transportation.  The hotel does not provide complimentary transportation, rather there are two paid options; either the Hilton shuttle or a private car.  The private car costs a little more, and since I had been flying all night and had assumed the private car would be quicker, I had booked that option; I was very wrong.  I entered the booth/stall with another couple who had paid for the shuttle; they waited for 2 minutes and went into the shuttle while 15 minutes later I was still waiting for the private car.  When the car finally showed up, it was dirty with trash all over the floor, looked run down, was uncomfortable, and the driver was playing a rap song with a lot of cursing and inappropriate language.  It was definitely not the way you want to start your trip. 

Photo Courtesy of Hilton.com

The hotel is located near the UN building but there is not much around it in terms of walking. The hotel does provide maps for shopping and other amenities if you want to take a cab or private car.  The hotel is a big complex with lots of people and is very busy. From the outside, the hotel looked like it was nicely built for the 1980's and has not been updated since then.  From the entrance, you walk up an outside walkway to the main lobby.  When you enter the lobby, straight ahead are the check-in desks while to left is the sitting area and to the right are other services/desks (see below for the facilities available).  Check-in went smoothly, I was given my key and quickly went to my room.  The first room I went to had an odd smell to it so I asked to be switched to another room. 

Photo Courtesy of TripAdvisor.com

The room was a decent size but was very outdated as both the room and the bathroom looked very good for the 1980's.  As you entered into the room, on the left was the bathroom while on the right was closet.  The bathroom had a sink, a tub, and a toilet, all of which looked outdated and were very low to the ground.  Further into the room, against the left wall was the bed while against the right wall was the chest with drawers on the bottom and a TV on top and a desk next to it.  I had a room with a king size bed, so that was against the wall with a nightstand on either side.  The bed itself was large and decent but not extremely comfortable; it was not uncomfortable but not extremely comfortable either.  

We had access to the club lounge and we went there for breakfast as well as cocktail hour.  The Club is not that big and it is divided into two sections – the first section on the left contained the food and drinks while in the right section was the seating area.  The seating area was enough for 15-20 people, which was fine for breakfast as there were not many people; however, for cocktail hour there were TONS of people so it felt congested and tight. 

As I said earlier, the hotel has a very big complex and there are lots of facilities for the guests to enjoy including:

Photo Courtesy of TripAdvisor.com

• a money changer with good rates (note: remember to keep your receipt as we had charged food to the room and needed to pay that but the hotel needed a receipt from the hotel money changer to verify the exchange)
• Airline offices – Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways
• Safari and Tour Group Bookings
• An Olympic size pool (which was very busy in the evening time)
• a promenade with shops
• a restaurant near the pool (with decent food but service was a little slow and hectic)
• a spa and sauna with one of the best, and cheapest, massage I have ever had.

Photo Courtesy of Hilton.com

While the facilities provided for the guest are a great positive, a huge negative was the lack of customer service.  After the issue with the airport pick-up, I had asked the hotel to make note of it when I checked in.  When I followed up, I had to talk to multiple individuals because nobody spoke to each other.  It was very frustrating repeating the same information due to lack of communication amongst the staff.

Overall, it was an interesting stay at the Hilton Addis.  The positives were the nice facilities and amenities available to the guest.  The negatives were the poor room quality and the poor front desk customer service.  It was definitely not the Hilton experience I was expecting, but it was better than sleeping at the airport.

Stay Report: Le Meridien Jakarta (October 2013)

Stay Report: Le Meridien Jakarta
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

photo courtesy of TripAdvisor.com

I was going to Jakarta for holidays and was looking for a hotel that was nice and provided convenient access to sights and services. I decided on the Le Meridien Jakarta as I have previously had good experiences with the brand.  It was very easy to book through the Starwood app/website and I received my confirmation.  

The hotel does not provide an airport shuttle, but can arrange for transportation.  The hotel is located in a decent area of Jakarta, on the corner of a major street and a side street with the major streets having shops and restaurants.  While these shops were within a 10-15 minute walk, most other sights, shopping and restaurants required transportation.  The hotel was located outside the downtown area, which meant less noise but also more transportation time.  Hotel-approved taxis could be found inside the hotel, or right outside the hotel were plenty of other taxis (motorcycle and regular) to take you wherever you go (and these were a less costly).

photo courtesy of Starwood.com

From the outside, the hotel looked grandiose and nice.  The grandeur of the hotel continues into the lobby.  As you enter, on the right is the check-in desk while straight ahead is the restaurant and access to the pool, spa, and fitness center.  The lobby was decorated very nicely, with a mixture of modern and traditional, but it was a bit dark at times.  Check-in was quick and efficient and I received the key to my room.

photo courtesy of Starwood.com

I had booked a standard room with a king-size bed, and when I entered the room size was more than standard; it was a large room.  As you entered into the room, there is a hallway with closets and storage on the left hand side.  At the end of the hallway, there was a door on the right which led to the bathroom and straight ahead was the actual room.  The first part of the room was a large sitting area with two couches, a TV set in an armoire, and large windows which provided nice views.  The bathroom was quite large and contained a double sink, a Jacuzzi, and a stand-up shower.  The bathroom and the room shared a wall, and in the room this is where the bed was located.  The shape of the room was odd in that the bed was off to the corner, but the layout also provided privacy from the main part of the room.  The bed was a nice and comfortable king-size bed.  On either side of the bed were night stands which contain plugs for all your electronic devices.  Next to the bed, and going across the entire wall, was a nice window which faced the main street and the shops and provided a nice view of Jakarta.  Overall it was a spacious room with a comfortable bed and a really nice bathroom.     

photo courtesy of Pinterest.com

The hotel is full-service so they have many facilities available for the guests including restaurants, pool, spa, fitness center, and wifi.  As I spent most of my time outside exploring the city, I was not able to experience many of the facilities but I did try both the wifi and the room service.  The wifi was complimentary and had decent speeds and the room service was nice and accommodating to guest requests.   Overall, the customer service at the Le Meridien was excellent; the staff were attentive, provided great customer service, and were generally smiling and pleasant.

In the end, it was a nice stay at the Le Meridien.  While the location is a bit outside the city and thus requires taxi or other transportation, in return you get a hotel with a spacious room, comfortable bed, access to shops and restaurants, and good customer service. 

Stay Report: Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain (Trinidad & Tobago - December 2015)

Stay Report: Hyatt Regency Trinidad, Port Of Spain
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

When looking for a hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad we wanted something that was nice but also that was central to many shops and restaurants so that we would be able to have easy access to the sights and sounds of the city.  The Hyatt Regency Trinidad fit all that criteria, as it’s a very nice hotel that is centrally located and provides easy access to the city sights and sounds.  The only negatives are the design of the bathroom and, more importantly, the lack of customer service by some agents.  

The hotel’s location is very convenient as it is located in the middle of downtown right next to Freedom Square.  Behind the hotel is a nice waterfront and along with the waterfront is a nice path that provides nice walking as well as nice views of the water.  The entrance to the hotel is really nice and grand.  You enter the hotel into a grand foyer.  Straight ahead are floor to wall windows which look directly out into the sea and provide nice light into the hotel.  The lobby is somewhat divided into two sections, with a pathway in the middle of the sections.  You enter the first section when you enter the hotel, and in this section on the right is the check-in desk while on the left are chairs to sit and relax.  Check-in took a while as there were many people and our check-in attendant was neither efficient nor very nice (we had booked a Club Room, and this information had to be repeated to the attendant at least 6 times throughout the check-in process).  As you cross the pathway you enter in the second section which houses the hotel bar and lounge, which has chairs both inside the hotel as well as outside next to the water.  The pathway in the middle provides access to the various amenities of the hotel.  On the left side of the hotel, the path leads to the Business Center and the Regency Club. 

The Club is located in an odd place, but it is really nice and expansive and provides a lot of amenities.  The Regency Club also opens up the water and they have some chairs where you can sit on the water, and this is a nice touch but this also means the Club has an open access from the outside.  Because of this they are very strict in terms of access to the Club, which is understandable, but this can be done in a customer-service friendly and respectful way.  Unfortunately this did not happen with us as we encountered a very un-friendly, non-customer service, and disrespectful way of enforcing the policy.

On the other side of the lobby, the pathway leads to the ATM machine, the elevators to the rooms, the 24-hour coffee shop and the main hotel restaurant where meals are available.  The elevators for the rooms are built with technology so you enter your key into the slot, enter your floor, and the device tells you what elevator will assist you.  It’s a bit of a learning curve but you never waited long for the elevator.   

The rooms either have a sea view or a city view; our room had a city view.  As you entered into the room, on the left was the open bathroom concept.  By open I mean there is only door that separates the toilet from the sink, and that too is a glass door which does not cover many sounds nor smells.  Every other aspect of the bathroom is open.   The oddest design is the shower, which has a shower curtain on one-end, but has glass walls which can see out and can be looked into from the bedroom – essentially offering no privacy or seclusion at all.  Across from the bathroom was the closet.  As you entered further into the room, on the right hand side was the TV with drawers underneath and next to that was the desk.  On the left-hand side were the two double beds.  The beds were big and comfortable and the room was spacious, however standing in room you could clearly see into the shower.

As a full-service hotel there were many amenities for the guests including free wifi, a pool, a fitness center, a business center, and airport transfer.  Since we were there for many days, we were able to use some of the amenities including the free wifi, the pool, and the airport transfer.  The wifi was decent speed and was strong enough to stream videos on youtube; the pool was a medium size and nice, although it seemed a bit small for the size of the hotel; and the paid airport transfer was very convenient and easy to book.

Overall, the Hyatt Regency is a nice full-service hotel in Trinidad.  The hotel is in a good location, has many amenities, and provides comfortable beds.  The negatives are the open bathroom concept and the lack of customer service.

Stay Report: Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel (Singapore - March 2011)

Stay Report: Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

photo courtesy of Yelp.com

I was traveling to Singapore for a short-period of time, so I wanted to stay at a central location that was close to the sights and activities.  The Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel fits that description and seems to be on the iconic hotels of Singapore – iconic for its design and location right on Orchard Road.

The hotel is located towards the end of Orchard Road and situated above one of the entrances to the Orchard Road MRT system.  The hotel lobby is on the street level, and in the basement level are shops and food stalls as well as the access to the MRT system.  The hotel’s location provides convenient access to transportation and services.  The design of the hotel is very iconic and can be identified from the tall, Chinese-inspired tower.  

photo courtesy of Marriott.com

From the street level, you walk down a very long walkway inside a very large and grandiose lobby to get to the check-in desks.  On either side of the walkway are chairs and tables for the restaurant as well as for guest relaxation and leisure.   At the end of the walkway is the check-in desks located behind a large desk and in front of a large wall.  On the other side of the wall are the elevators which take you to the guest rooms.  After a quick and efficient check-in, I proceeded to the room.

When I got to the room, I noticed two things: first were the huge windows which provided nice sunlight and views; and second was the size of the room which was a decent size but smaller than I expected.  The rooms are nicely decorated, provide a relaxing atmosphere, and have some amazing views of Singapore and Orchard Road.  The layout for this particular room was such that as you entered, on the right hand side was diagonal wall.  As you continued along the wall, you entered the main part of the room where there was a bathroom on the right hand side and storage plus a TV along with left side of the wall.  The bathroom was decent, again not too big but not cramped and had all the basic amenities such as a tub, a sink and a toilet.  Back in the room, there was a sitting area with a couch and a desk in front of the TV.  Behind of the couch were the beds, and this room had two beds which were comfortable, big enough for one and maybe cramped with two, and provided a good night’s sleep.  There was a nightstand in between the two beds.  The windows were next to the bed and covered the entire length of the room, which was nice as they let in natural sun light and provided nice views of Singapore.  The addition of the windows also made the room feel bigger than it actually was.

photo courtesy of TripAdvisor.com

As it was a short stay, and my main purpose was seeing the city, I did not have the opportunity to experience all the facilities the hotel provides such as the spa, pool, or fitness center.  I did experience the wifi, which was complimentary and had decent speeds.  In the end, it was a pleasant stay at the Marriott Orchard Road.  While the room rate is higher versus other hotles, in return you get a comfortable room with good service and, best of all, excellent location and access to transportation and restaurants.

Stay Report: Crowne Plaza Muscat (Oman - February 2011)

Stay Report: Crowne Plaza Muscat
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

Photo Courtesy of IHG.com

We had planned a long layover in Muscat so that we could see the city and decided to stay at the Crowne Plaza Muscat.  Overall, the hotel is very nice with good service, comfortable rooms, and a nice view as it is situated right next to the water.  The only downside is the location, in that is somewhat far from the main city center – it is about a 20 minute walk or a 5-10 minute taxi ride from the city center to the hotel.  The hotel is situated on a hill overlooking the sea.  The location is a bit odd as you drive away from the business area and enter into more of a residential area, and that is where the hotel is located.  The hotel is one side of the hill facing the sea while on the other side, and across the street, are houses; so it is bit of an odd location.

Photo Courtesy of TripAdvisor.com

The hotel itself is laid out very nicely.  As you enter, on the left hand side is the check-in desk and on the right hand side is a lounge area.  Straight ahead are windows which open directly to the water, providing a nice view and letting in nice sunlight.  Beyond the lounge area are stairs which lead downstairs to the restaurant and pool area.  A full, and expansive, breakfast buffet was included and the dining room opens up to the pool area so you can sit and eat breakfast while looking out onto the pool and water.   The breakfast buffet was very nice, with lots of options, and provided a nice start to the day.  The pool was very nice, but it seemed a bit small given the size of the hotel.  There was also a private beach available, but I did not have a chance to experience it.

Photo Courtesy of IHG.com

Check-in was quick and overall the service at the hotel was very good.  I had been communicated via email with the GM prior to my arrival (I had to rearrange travel) and they were very accommodating and very nice – so overall good service.  The lobby is the main floor and the guestrooms start from the lobby area and go higher.  The bottom floors, heading towards the water, are reserved for dining, meeting, and pool area.  Our room was located on the main floor so we entered through the double doors next to the check-in desk and went to our room.

Photo Courtesy of TripAdvisor.com

The room itself was nice and comfortable.  As you entered, on left hand side was the bathroom and on the right was the closet and shelves.  The bathroom was nice and spacious and decent for the hotel.  As you walked further into the room, on the left hand side were two double beds and on the right hand side was the TV, a chest with drawers, and a desk.  Straight ahead was a window that overlooked the water – the vistas from the hotel was very nice and glad the design was made to show that.  The windows also allowed natural light to come into the room.  The beds were very comfortable and provided a nice rest.

Overall, the only negative was the location in that the hotel was not near the city center.  The positives of the hotel included good customer service, nice views of the water and the service was also good. 

Stay Report: Thistle Guest House (Christchurch, New Zealand - April 2013)

Stay Report: Thistle Guest House, Christchurch
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

photo courtesy of Thistle Guest House (NZ)

Christchurch suffered through a devastating earthquake in 2011.  The earthquake devastated a great part of the city, with a majority of the destruction being centered in and around the city center.  Because of the destruction, as well as the focus on rebuilding, there were not many places to stay available in Christchurch.  The only places available were B&B’s, and one of the best reviewed places was the Thistle Guest House so I decided to book my stay here.

The Thistle Guest House is a small B&B that offers home-style accommodation in a warm and friendly environment.  The B&B is run by a husband and wife team who live on the property, and they are the ones who pick you up from the airport (pick-up is included in the rate, but drop-off is not).  The place is small with approximately 10 rooms in all.  Some of the rooms have a bathroom in them, while others share a bathroom.  There is a communal kitchen to cook and store stuff as well as a parking lot if you are driving.  The hotel is located close to downtown – about a 10-15 minute bus ride away.  The hotel is conveniently located to various bus stops and about a 3 minute walk is a shopping area with some restaurants and a grocery store.  

photo courtesy of Thistle Guest House (NZ)

One of the amenities the hotel provides is airport pick-up.  This is a nice amenity as it takes the worry off of the arriving customer.   I had communicated my flight details prior to my arrival, but it still took some time (and calling) for the airport pick-up to take place.  It takes about 30-45 minutes (longer with traffic) to get from the airport tot the hotel, and that provides a nice time to chat with the owner of the B&B.  From the outside, the B&B looks like a regular house on the street.  

You enter the house through the front door and enter into the ‘lobby’ area where is a check-in desk as well as a console for maps and information.  I had coordinated everything with the owners through email, and they were very responsive and accommodating, so everything had been settled prior to my arrival.  To the right of the lobby is a sitting room with books and couches.   Beyond the lobby is a hallway, with the kitchen in front and then down the hallway rooms and stairs.

photo courtesy of Thistle Guest House (NZ)

My room was at the end of this hallway, on the first floor.  Since I wanted a room that contained a bathroom, my options were limited to two rooms and by the time I booked only one room was available.  Overall, the room looked like a regular room in someone’s house – with some amenities.   You entered the room on one side of the square, and straight ahead on the right was the entrance to the bathroom – which contained a toilet, a sink, and a shower (with hot water).  The queen-size bed was against the back wall and on either side of the beds were night stands.  Against the side wall was a set of drawers, and in front of the bed was a fridge with coffee/tea kettle on top of it, another set of drawers, and a TV in the corner that had cable.

The B&B also offered a lot of amenities including free wifi (which was decent speed); a large full-size kitchen and access to pots, pans, dishes, and any leftover food that previous guest had left to share; as well as laundry facility.  Overall, it was a nice and pleasant stay in the Thistle Guest House which provided a nice clean and comfortable room, a decent price, good location and nice amenities.

Stay Report: Holiday Inn Melbourne on Flinders (Australia - April 2012)

Stay Report: Holiday Inn Melbourne on Flinders
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

photo courtesy of Trivago.com

In my travels to Australia, I was going to split my time between Sydney and Melbourne.  Since I was spending most of my time in Sydney, in looking for a hotel in Melbourne I wanted to find a hotel that was situated in the middle of downtown and had easy access to sites and transportation.  The Holiday Inn Melbourne on Flinders provided a comfortable bed and an updated room in a convenient location in the middle of downtown, with easy access to sights and transportation. 

The hotel is located right in the middle of downtown, and is right next to a streetcar line stop so it provides easy access.  From the outside, the hotel looks very integrated into the downtown landscape, and it looks like an older building that has been renovated into a hotel.  The inside looks modern and updated.  As you enter into the hotel, on the right hand side is the lobby/relaxing area while straight ahead are the check-in desks.  Right next to the check-in desks was a hallway which had a restaurant on the right hand side, meeting rooms straight ahead, a business center on the left hand side, and access to the elevators.  The hotel looked modern and updated, and you felt nice when you stepped inside the hotel.  After a quick and efficient check-in, I received my keys and went to my room.  The modern and updated look continued into the rooms.

The rooms were a bit on the narrow side, not too narrow to make it tight but it definitely was not a

photo courtesy of IHG.com

spacious room.  I had a room with a king size bed and with two people it was getting a bit crowded – I don’t think the room could fit more than 2 people in it.  As you enter the room, on the right was the bathroom while on the left was the closet and storage area.  The bathroom was also a bit narrow and had standard facilities of a bathtub, a toilet, and a sink.  Further into the room, against the right wall was the king size bed with a table on either side.  In front of the bed was the TV with additional storage as well as a desk facing away from the window.   Right in front of the bed was a lounge chair that looked out to the window.  The bed was extremely comfortable and very large – definitely big enough for 2 people and provided a relaxing night sleep.   As you entered into the room, you saw the window on the wall in front of you, and this window allowed for great views of downtown Melbourne.  The views let in nice sunlight, but the hotel also provided thick curtains if you wanted to get a goodnight sleep.

photo courtesy of whereisfatboy.com

There was free wifi in the room, and there was also a business center with computers on the first floor next to the check-in desks.  The business center provided high-speed internet service along with printing facilities.  This was the only hotel service I tried, even though the hotel also offers an outdoor pool as well as a fitness center.  The best amenity, in my opinion, is the location as the hotel is right on the tram stopline, is walking distance to many shops and restaurants, and is about a 5-10 minute tram ride from the main bus station.  

Overall, it was a nice and pleasant stay at the Holiday Inn Melbourne of Flinders.  A comfortable sleep in a modern hotel that has a good location and good customer service.

Stay Report: Hilton Madinah (Saudi Arabia - March 2014)

Stay Report: Hilton Madinah
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

photo courtesy of Hilton.com

In my previous trip to Madinah, I stayed at a different but spent a lot of time in the Hilton’s restaurant as the hotel is very close to the Mosque.  For this reason, when I was returning to Madinah I decided to book my stay at the Hilton Madinah.  As I said, the hotel is located very close to the Mosque - you walk out of the hotel, turn right, and walk for 30 secs and you are at the mosque. That was about the only good thing about the hotel.

We pulled up to the hotel entrance on the first floor and then took the escalators up to the second floor to the lobby to check in.  The first floor contained the entrance to the street while the second floor contained the check-in desks, the business center, and the restaurant.  The lobby was not very big but looked updated enough; unfortunately this is where the updates ended.  Check-in was extremely slow and inefficient, and the staff were not courteous at all.  I finally was able to check-in, received my key, and proceeded to my room. 

photo courtesy of TripAdvisor.com

The room looked outdated and needed to be overhauled as the rooms looked very good for the late 90's but seemed not to have updated since then.  As you enter the door, on the left hand side was the entrance to the bathroom.  The bathroom contained a sink, toilet, and bathtub which were nice but the bathroom also needed to be updated.  Across from the bathroom was the closet, the fridge, and other such items.  In the main area were 2 double beds with a night stand in between – the beds seemed to be the only thing that had been updated in the room as they were very comfortable and in comparison to the new Hilton standard beds.  Across from the beds was a chest with drawers on the bottom and a TV on top, and next to that was a desk.  In between the bed and the window were some tables but there was also room to put in a roll-away bed.  Instead of a sofa-bed, this Hilton had upgraded to the new Hilton rollaway which are way more comfortable than the sofa-beds; at least you can get a decent nights rest on the roll-away.

photo courtesy of TripAdvisor.com

The hotel had a couple of facilities available for guests.  Breakfast was complimentary and while the selection was good, the seating area was very small and could not accommodate the crowds.  When we went early in the morning, we could easily find a seat but as we left -- and the crowds getting bigger – the seating became limited and it was more of a 'fight for your chair and your life' type of situation!  Another facility in the hotel is the lounge on the second floor.  The best part of the lounge are the windows alongside one part which faces the Mosque and provides nice views of the crowds and of the Mosque itself.  The lounge itself contains comfortable and relaxing chairs, and the lounge serves food but the food is bad, expensive, and the service is EXTREMELY slow.  The last facility is the business center, which is located in the lobby level and contains two computers with fast internet access and a printer.  At the time I went, wifi was not available neither in the hotel nor in the rooms so the only way to access the internet was through the business center.

Overall, the location of the hotel along with the beds and the business center are the positives.  Everything else, from the outdated look, the lack of customer service, and the slow service in the restaurant, are all things that need improvements!  An example regarding the lack of service – we were three people staying in the room so we asked for additional toiletries.  The request was made on the day I arrived into the hotel and two days later, and multiple requests later, still never got the shampoo (nor other items we requested).  One pleasant note on the service:  we did have a medical issue and needed another fridge in the room and that the hotel was responsive to that.  It took multiple tries and explanations but eventually they brought a bigger fridge.