Stay Report: Hilton Garden Inn Houston/Galleria Area (Houston, Texas - November 2012)

Stay Report: Hilton Garden Inn Houston/Galleria Area

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picture courtesy of Booking.com

I am always on the lookout for good, quality hotels within the Houston Galleria area.  I have previously stayed at other Hilton Garden Inn’s so when they opened up a property near the Galleria, we were excited to try out the product.  The hotel is located right behind the Galleria – the Galleria is located on the main street Westheimer and from there you go down a side street and 2 blocks later is where the HGI is located.  There are a lot of other hotels in the area, including a new Homewood Suites, a new Courtyard, and an older hotel that used to be the Staybridge Suites.  The location and the surrounding hotels are the positive about the location – the negative about the location is that the hotel is located right next to a gentleman’s/strip club.  By next door I mean the two businesses share a wall; they are that close.  While you cannot hear the noise from the club inside the hotel, it is still a little odd that you are pulling up to a hotel next to a strip club.

The hotel itself is the standard HGI – there is nothing fancy about it but the hotel provides a good HGI experience.  The hotel's entrance is situated close to the street so that the main entrance is right off of the street and the parking area is behind the hotel; there is plenty of parking available, but the hotel does charge for the parking.  Inside the lobby of the hotel is a restaurant, the check-in desks and the guest waiting area.  The waiting area has seats for guests to lounge in as well as additional seating area to do work and/or eat.  Once check-in was done, we received our keys and took the elevators up to the room.

The rooms were standard HGI rooms; a decent size so it did not feel too cramped but did provide enough room to more around.  We had chosen a room with 2 double beds so as you entered the room, on the left hand side was the bathroom and on the right hand side was the closet.  The bathroom contained a sink, a toilet, a shower, as well as bathroom toiletries.  Again, the bathroom was a decent size so not too small but also not grand.  The closet was also decent in size and had a place to hang your clothes, a shelf on top, as well as an iron and ironing board.  In the main area of the room, on the left were the 2 double beds with a nightstand in between.  In between the beds and the window (which faced out onto the parking lot) was a sitting chair.  Against the opposite wall was a desk and a chest with drawers on the bottom and a TV stand on top.  All the furniture and decorations were modern and up to do date HGI furnishings so the hotel did not look old.  The beds were comfortable and provided enough room for a comfortable sleep.

The hotel provides certain amenities for the guests to enjoy including wifi, parking, a restaurant, a pool, a fitness center, a business center, and meeting rooms.  Since I was there only for a short period, I was only able to enjoy the wifi (which was complimentary) and the parking (which had a costs).  The restaurant was available in the mornings and there are certain rooms/rates in which breakfast is complimentary but generally breakfast is not included.  The wifi was complimentary and the speeds were decent enough for email and videos.  Overall, the hotel provides a comfortable stay near the Galleria – nothing fancy but a good stay.  The only negative would be the location of the strip club next door, as that does not elicit a family-friendly atmosphere for the hotel.

Trip Report: Qatar Airways, Houston to Lahore via Doha (September 2019)

Trip Report: Qatar Airways, Houston to Lahore via Doha
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

I was traveling to Lahore, Pakistan from Houston and for this route there are a couple of options: Emirates, Qatar, and Turkish.  I usually take Turkish (see review here) or Emirates (see review here) but this time I took Qatar Airways.  I have flown Qatar regionally (see review here) but it has been over 10 years since I have flown them long-haul and everyone keeps talking about how Qatar's onboard product is nice and one of the best.  I was not that impressed when I flew them 10 years ago (which is why I haven't been back) and I wasn't overly impressed with them on the regional flights, but the price and flight timings were good so I decided to try them again.  Also, Emirates' service has dropped somewhat in the last couple of years so while the entertainment system is great, their onboard service is not as great as it once was.  

The flight from Houston was scheduled to depart at 6pm and arrive into Doha at 4:40pm the next

day, and then our next flight was scheduled to depart Doha at 8:10p and arrive into Lahore at 1:40am.  Both flights were scheduled to be operated by an Airbus A350-1000.  Booking the flight and managing the reservation were simple and easy both through the website where you could select your seat, request special meals, and request special assistance.  You could also check-in 24 hours prior to the flight, either through the app or the website; I choose to check-in at the airport.  The flight was scheduled to depart Houston at 6pm and I got to the airport about 2:45pm and this early there was not much of a line so checking in, checking the luggage (two bags at 23kg each), and receiving the boarding pass was quick.  For those in economy, there was a chance to purchase an upgrade to business class; the business class would only include the Houston to Doha sector (no additional sectors or transfers) and would not include access to the lounge in either Houston or Doha.  The price for the upgrade was double that of a single economy ticket, and while the chance to upgrade is welcomed the price was extremely high especially given that you would not be able to access all the amenities (and considering other airlines like Turkish allow similar upgrades, from Houston to Istanbul, for half the price and you still get access to the lounge in Houston).  

Boarding was to commence at 5pm so many passengers were congregated near the gate at this time waiting for the boarding announcement, but none came; only after passengers asked was an announcement made that boarding would be delayed due to late arrival of the aircraft.  Boarding finally commenced at 5:30pm and was done by Groups, with the first group being those with families and those needed special assistance.  Boarding took a long time, was a bit chaotic and hectic, but finally all passengers were on board (I do have to point out that Qatar was not as strict on its carryons as other carriers such as Emirates has been).  After a safety video was shown, we finally took off about 30 minutes behind schedule.  The operating aircraft was an Airbus A350-1000 with a 3-3-3 seat layout.  Each seat came equipped with a PTV with a screen that was a decent size, a USB port, headphone jack, space below the screen to store your own device, a plug, a decent size tray table, and three seatback pockets one of which contained a folder with the airline magazine, the safety card, and bunch of other literature.  The seat was well-equipped for the long-haul flight.  The seat width was generally good and so was the seat pitch, as they were both generous enough for the long-haul flight.  The seat comfort on the other hand was a bit tough. especially after the 12th hour, but kudos to Qatar for making the seat last that long.  On the seat itself was a pillow and blanket as well as headphones and amenity kit - the amenity was standard and included toothbrush, tooth paste, socks and eyeshades and they were a welcome addition.   The PTV had a selection of movies, TV shows, news, music, and games and while the selection was decent, it was not wide enough to keep one entertained for 15+hours. 

Once boarding had been completed, a menu card was handed out regarding the inflight meals (I am

not sure why menu cards are still printed as the menu can be digitally added to the PTV screens and save tons of paper!).  Once we reached cruising altitude, the inflight service started with dinner and drinks.  A complimentary meal was served along with complimentary drinks - I ordered a special meal so those were served first followed by the regular meals.  The meals itself were limited in portion quantity and quality and not appetizing, pleasing, nor filling for the long-haul flight (this was not just my opinion but other passengers who congregated in the back had the same issue with the food).  I found that on all my flights, the catering on Qatar was definitely well-below expectations.  Coffee and tea were served after dinner, the meals trays were cleared, and then the lights were turned off so passengers could get some rest.  Throughout the flight drinks were available in the back along with a select few snacks (and I do mean few) and passengers could help themselves.  Mid-flight the crew did come around with snacks and light drinks, but generally the cabin crew were not present throughout the flight.  Before landing, breakfast was served (even though we landed at night) and again the catering at Qatar was not good as the food was low in quality and quantity.  We landed at Qatar, deplaned, went through security, and then roamed Doha International until the next flight.  

Doha International is a brand new purposely built terminal and I have been there before and the same issues I had then continued; there is only one food court for all the passengers, the food and drink selections are severely limited, the food and drink are nowhere near where the gates are, the service is extremely poor, and the prices are ridiculously high. 

The second flight was also supposed to be operated by an Airbus A350-1000 but instead got switched to a Boeing 777-300ER and immediately upon boarding you could tell the difference.  The plane's quality and interior were a bit older and not as comfortable, so I could not imagine traveling on those for 15+hours.  The plane was in a 3-4-3 seat layout and were designed in the same way as the Airbus except these had the older PTVs, no space underneath them, and the USB, headphone jack, and cable jack were on the side of the seat.  As the plane was only 40% full, all passengers could stretch and many moved to the rear section where many passengers got an entire 4-seater to themselves.  Again, upon boarding each seat had a pillow, blanket, and headphones and once boarding was completed menu cards were handed out.  After reaching cruising altitude, complimentary meal and drinks were provided followed by coffee and tea.  Again, the catering was subpar as both the quantity and quality of the food were abysmal.  We landed in Lahore, taxied to the gate and deplaned. 

My return flights were both on Airbus A350-1000 and I had the same experience.  Qatar has a nice hard product - they have new planes with nice amenities but its the extras that Qatar lacking.  Qatar has all the ingredients to make a good airline, but none of it comes together to make it cohesive or work.  The planes are nice and have all the amenities, but the onboard service is poor and the food quality is terrible.  In Doha (and in my experience in many other stations as well) the ground staff barely want to do their job and have horrible customer service (and it has been that way for a couple of years now).  My fellow traveling partner opted for the upgrade from Houston to Doha and said that the only good thing about Qatar Business Class was the lie-flat bed, the pajamas, the slippers and the amenity kit.  The food in business class was not good at all and the size of the individual pods was very tight and narrow and made the entire experience cramped and uncomfortable.  We flew Turkish business class earlier in the year (check out the review here) and when comparing the two, both have issues with their ground staff but Turkish has been quality food, their hard product may not be as up to date but its better in terms of quality, their staff has better customer service, and their pricing is more competitive.  As I said, it had been a while since I had flown with Qatar long-haul and my previous experience was not good so that is why we had avoided them but I wanted to try them again to see if anything had changed; in my opinion, nothing has changed and Qatar's product does not seem worth the time nor money I would spend on their product.

Stay Report: Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Houston Intercontinental Airport (Texas - September 2019)

Stay Report: Fairfield Inn Houston IAH Airport

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I fly out of Houston Intercontinental a lot, especially for long-haul travel, so usually when I travel I like to arrive the day before my flight to get a proper rest and ensure that I am ready for my flight.  There are many hotels in and around IAH airport and I have tried many of them trying to find a good one that I can consistently use.  I am looking for a nice and clean hotel that has good rooms, decent service, usually allows a later checkout (since the flights are later in the afternoon/evening) and free parking; complimentary breakfast is a bonus.  While this list is basic, it has been a struggle finding a decent hotel that fits this criteria (you can see reviews of my previous stays on this blog).  I was traveling internationally in September out of Houston so needed a hotel, and all the places that I have normally stayed were either sold out or ridiculously expensive.  The only decent hotel that was affordable was the Fairfield Inn Houston IAH Airport.  I have stayed at Fairfield Inn's before and they are a mixed bag - some of them are nice but some of them look like upgraded motels and that is what I am looking for - so based on this I was hesitant to stay but it was only one night so I went ahead and booked it.

Booking and managing the hotel was very easy through the Marriott website and the Marriott app.  The morning of my arrival I was offered the chance to check into my room through the app, but I decided to wait until I got to the hotel.  The hotel is located off the same road as the airport, but on the other side and is set a bit back from the street so it is a bit secluded (and surrounded by trees, so does not look all that safe especially at night).  The hotel shares a parking lot and compound with a TownePlace Suites (also by Marriott) and it was a bit confusing as to which way the Fairfield Inn was and where the main entrance to the hotel was.  As soon as you entered the hotel, you can tell that the hotel had been updated and modernized as everything look updated and new.  As you entered into the lobby, on your right was the sitting area for lounging as well as the sitting area for the breakfast in the morning.  Further ahead on the left was the check-in counter, and then continuing down was the business center on the right and the elevators to the left.  Like I said, the lobby looked updated and modern and fresh so it gave a nice first impression to the hotel.  Check-in was quick, I received my key and took the elevator up to my room.

The hallway to my room was very long so it seemed like the hotel is very large and expansive.  After I finally got to my room and opened the door, there was a bathroom on right hand side and a closet on the left.  The bathroom was standard with a sink, a toilet and a tub but the size was large and it was spacious.  The bathroom also had towels and bathroom toiletries from Paul Mitchell.  The closet was spacious and had options to hang or shelves to store the items, and there was an iron and ironing board in the closet as well.  Further into the room, there were two double beds on side of the room with a nightstand in the middle.   Across from the beds was a chest with drawers on the bottom and a TV on top, as well as safe on the bottom.  There was a desk next to the chest and then next to the desk was a stand with the fridge at the bottom and microwave and coffee maker on top.  The room provided a lot of amenities for the guests to enjoy, it was spacious, the beds were large and comfortable to sleep in, and overall it was a nice and comfortable room. 

Fairfield Inn has some standard amenities for the guests to enjoy at all its hotels including complimentary parking, complimentary wifi, complimentary breakfast, and a fitness center.  This hotel had all that plus a business center, with complimentary printing, as well as meeting rooms.  The fitness center was in an odd location, right next to guest rooms, but was spacious and had tons of equipment and room to work out.  The parking was vast (although you may not want to park right next to the forest); the wifi was complimentary and fast enough to stream videos and check email; and the breakfast was a standard complimentary hotel breakfast which means it was not fantastic but had decent options for an average breakfast.  As my expectations were low, the quantity and quality of amenities that the hotel had far exceeded my expectations and I was pleasantly surprised.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by my stay at the Fairfield Inn IAH Airport.  Based on my previous experiences with the brand, I was not sure what to expect so I kept my expectations low; however, my expectations were far exceeded by the hotel.  The spacious rooms, the updated decor, the comfortable beds, the decent breakfast, and the location right next to the airport were all pleasant aspects; and I cannot think of a negative aspect of the hotel.  I will definitely stay here again and hopefully I have the same great experience as I did this time.

Stay Report: Crowne Plaza Chicago West Loop (Chicago - November 2019)

Stay Report: Crowne Plaza Chicago West Loop

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I was meeting friends in Chicago and were looking for a place that was walking distance to Chicago downtown.  We had originally booked an AirBnb but that fell through so about 4 days prior to my arrival I looked and found the Crowne Plaza Chicago West Loop.  The hotel had good reviews, was within walking distance to many sights and local transportation, and had two rooms available.   I had booked the two rooms together and after I booked through the app I contacted the hotel to 1) confirm all 4 names of the guests were on the reservation and 2) ensure that the rooms would be held near each other.  Two days prior to the arrival I contacted the hotel again to confirm that all 4 members of the party were on the reservation and each could check-in without having me be present.  Unfortunately, this did not happen as my friend could not check into the room 'for security reasons' even though his name was on the reservation and his ID name matched.  The hotel said that they needed to contact 'the person whose booked the reservation to confirm the credit card' and even when I did it for my friend, I had to do it again for my other friends as well; it was not a great start to the reservation.



The hotel itself is located right across one the many walkways from downtown Chicago.  The hotel is located in Greek Town and there are many shops, restaurants, and access to transportation all within a 5 minute walk of the hotel.  As far as location, the hotel is very nicely located to either walk or transport yourself to many of Chicago's destinations (we walked from the hotel to the Willis Tower and it took about 10 minutes).  The entrance is set off of the road along an entryway, and that is the only odd thing about the hotel.  As you enter the hotel, the check-in desks are on the left while there is a sitting area on the right.  The sitting area leads into the attached hotel restaurant and bar and right behind the sitting area are the elevators and stairs.  The stairs lead up to the meeting rooms and the fitness center, which are both located on the second floor.  As my friends had already checked in, the only think I needed to do was pick up the keys and put the incidentals on my credit card - it was very easy (not a lot of communication from the front desk attendant) and I received my key and went up to my room.  

The hallway itself looked clean and modern and it was fine, but it was a little short; I am 6'1 and my friend is 6'3 and we both felt like heightwise the hotel was smaller than what we had experienced in other hotels. As for the room, you enter into an entryway which has the bathroom on the right and the closet on the left, and further up the entryway leads into the bedroom area.  The bathroom was large and contained a sink, a toilet, shower, as well as bathroom toiletries.  The closet was also a decent size and contained shelves, an iron and ironing board, as well as places to hang your clothes.  In the bedroom area, this room had two queen size beds with a nightstand in the middle.  Across from the beds was a chest with drawers on the bottom and a TV on top; the chest also contained the safe and the coffee maker.  In between the bed and the entrance to the balcony was a desk, and the balcony was a nice addition as it provided a nice ambiance and outside view to the room.  The beds themselves were comfortable, large, with lots of pillows, and provided a nice sleep.  Overall, the room was comfortable and there were tons of amenities for the guests to enjoy but there was a serious lack of lighting in the room.  There was a light in the hallway, a light in the bathroom, but in the bedroom there were only reading lights and lamps that were above the bed and at night it made for a dark and dimly lit room.

The hotel is full service so there were many facilities for the guests to enjoy including wifi, a fitness center, a restaurant, meeting rooms, business center, and parking garage.  Because we were mostly walking outside I was only able to try the wifi, which was complimentary and had pretty decent speeds.  The wifi was fast enough to check email, stream videos, and do searches as well.  You could also access the internet from the 'business center' which were computers and a printer set up in one part of the lobby.

Overall, it was a nice stay at the Crowne Plaza Chicago West Loop.  The location was nice - within walking distance to restaurants, sights, and services; the amenities were plentiful for guests; and the rooms were comfortable.  The only downside was the management or lack their of and their lack of customer service towards guests and especially IHG members.  Everyone one of the management staff that we interacted with was not customer friendly, did not have a good attitude, and never acknowledged nor appreciated the IHG membership.  

Trip Report: SriLankan Airlines, Colombo to Pakistan (September 2019)

Trip Report: SriLankan Airlines, Colombo to Pakistan
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

I needed to travel from Colombo to Pakistan and there were a couple of options available - either through the Middle East, through Southeast Asia, or direct flights.  The direct option was the best in terms of overall flight times as well as the flight schedule worked for my schedule.  SriLankan is a part of the oneworld alliance so I used AAdvantage points to book my flight.  I booked my flight on American's website and then I called SriLankan to confirm the details and to get the SriLankan confirmation, but this seemed more difficult than it needed to be.  After speaking to two different agents at SriLankan, as well as emailing them, I gave up and worked with an American Airlines agent who provided me the information.  With my SriLankan reservation number, I was able to go online and modify my reservation, select my seat assignment, as well as select any special meals.

The SriLankan flight from Colombo to Karachi operates 5x's a week and departs Colombo at 12:20pm and arrives into Karachi at 3:20pm for an estimated flight time of 3hr 30min.  24hours prior to my flight I was able to checkin via the website, and confirm my preselected seat assignment.   My flight was scheduled at 12:20pm, but there is a lot of security checkpoints at Colombo International so I was advised to get to the airport 3hours ahead of schedule; in the end, there was a lot of waiting around as security and immigration were extremely quick.  Even though the flight was not scheduled until 12:20pm, at 10am they started announcing for passengers to go through security at the gate even though after security there is nothing to do but sit and wait for the flight which we did until proper boarding happened at 11:15am.  Boarding was supposed to happen in groups and by sections, but many passengers were not listening to the airlines instructions and the airline staff eventually gave up and just let everyone board at the same time. 

The operating aircraft for the flight was an Airbus A321 with a 2-2 seat configuration in business class and a 3-3 seat configuration in economy class.  The seat itself had a seatback PTV with a headphone jack and USB port, a full tray table, a pocket underneath which contained the airline magazine and the safety card, and there was a pillow on each seat.  The seat itself was generally comfortable and both the seat pitch and width were comfortable, especially for this short flight.  Once boarding was complete, there were some empty seats in the front so passengers were allowed to move around to more comfortable seats.  Once pushback started, a safety video was shown and then we taxied to the runway and took off for Karachi.

Once we reached cruising altitude, the inflight service commenced with lunch and drinks.  I had

preordered a special meal and that was delivered along with the regular meals - and the meal consisted of a main dish, a salad, and dessert.  While the quantity was fine, especially for this mid-range flight, the quality of the food was a bit subpar and it was the only disappointing thing on the flight.  Tea and coffee were also provided after the meal service and then once the trays were cleared, it was up to the individual passenger how they wanted to spend their time.  Some slept, some read, while others watched movies or TV shows on the PTV screens.  The selection was decent but a bit limited so I was not sure if this was their full range of videos or if they had limited it given the short flight time (because it was enough for this flight time but definitely would not be enough for their longer flights to London).  For the remaining flight, the FA's mostly stayed in the back and never walked through the cabin so if you needed anything you did have to walk to the back; they were responsive to FA call buttons.  After a while, we started our descent into Karachi and landed on time and quickly taxied to the gate.  

Overall, I was impressed with my flight with SriLankan.  I have been trying to fly with this airline for about 5 years but always one thing would happen and I would not have the opportunity.  I finally got the opportunity and they are an impressive mid-range airline.  They operate a mid-range number of flights and given their range and destination of flights I think they offer a good service with competitive rates and good amenities.  The seat was nice, the onboard amenities such as USB port and PTV screens was nice, and a complimentary meal was provided.  The negatives were the poor quality of the food, the limited entertainment selections, and the long waiting time in Colombo.  Based on this experience, I would definitely choose to fly with SriLankan in the future.