We recently stayed in Portland, Maine and I wanted to share photos of this adorable hotel. So here’s my review: Press Hotel in Portland Maine!
Review: Press Hotel in Portland
Review: Staypineapple Hotel in NYC
With Broadway back, we had a staycation weekend in NYC. We found the Staypineapple Hotel in midtown and prices weren’t too bad for a Saturday night. It was such a cute hotel I wanted to post about it! Here’s our review: Staypinapple Hotel.
20 Things to Know About Great Wolf Lodge
As Great Wolf Lodge newbies, we weren’t quite sure what to expect on our weekend. Yes, I did some reading, but there’s still nothing like going yourself.
1. Your wristbands are room keys Continue reading “20 Things to Know About Great Wolf Lodge”
Review: 2 Niagara Falls Hotels with Kids (Best Western Plus Cairn Croft Hotel and Clifton Victoria Inn at the Falls)
On our trip to Niagara Falls, we stayed at two different hotels. Our time was limited, and we chose one hotel in the heart of the tourist district, and one that was slightly further away. Here’s our review of both.
Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel
Review: Staybridge Suites in Corning, NY
We stayed at the Staybridge Suites on our visit to the Corning in Corning Museum of Glass.
Review: Glen Lodge in the Adirondacks
We were looking to raft in the Adirondacks near Lake George, and came across the Glen Lodge and Market when researching. Their rafting/lodging special was too good to pass up ($199/person for 2 nights’ lodging, breakfasts, rafting day and dinner). We came with 2 families, booking three of the lodge’s seven rooms.
The rooms were all upstairs. They had plenty of space and were stocked with tables, chairs, toiletries and a hair dryer. While not fancy, it was quite comfortable and warm. One treat was Lake Champlain chocolates on the nightstand. Continue reading “Review: Glen Lodge in the Adirondacks”
Chicago: Embassy Suites downtown Chicago with Kids Review
**This is the last in our series on Chicago. In this series are our reviews of the Shedd Aquarium, the Willis (Sears) Tower and the Museum of Science and Industry). **
When we stay in a hotel, our preference is a suite – that includes breakfast (and even better for one that includes happy hour). We really enjoy having our kids sleep in a separate area, but not necessarily next door. We often end up at the Embassy Suites in downtown Chicago (600 N. State Street). (While we sometimes get rooms to review for the blog, we paid for this one ourselves).
Continue reading “Chicago: Embassy Suites downtown Chicago with Kids Review”
Avoid the Nightmare Rental – Tips to Choosing a Vacation by Owner Property
Recently I spent a girls’ weekend in Philadelphia with other travel writers. With six in our group, we wanted a place we could hang out, and a good location. It didn’t have to be luxurious, but it should be nice. Instead of going the hotel route, we went the rental by owner route. We hated our rental.
How can you avoid the mistakes we made when renting from an owner? Here’s how, using an in-depth review of the Perle Mesta Inn B&B in Philadelphia as our example.
How the services work
Several established companies offer room/home rentals by owner. These companies act as a listing service and do some vetting (but do not manage the properties, nor do they physically see them).
When I looked at how it works on FlipKey (disclosure: they paid for our rental), owners can create a free listing. They upload all the details and photos, and can take payment through the site. They pay FlipKey a 3% charge for each booking. Guests booking pay a 5-10% booking fee.
We’ve been very happy with our VRBO.com rentals both domestically and internationally. My friend Paige used airbnb.com extensively during her 11 month family trip around the world, and was happy with their services.
The key is to ask lots of questions. Don’t assume that the rentals are heavily vetted or inspected personally.
How are the rentals vetted? Continue reading “Avoid the Nightmare Rental – Tips to Choosing a Vacation by Owner Property”
Philadelphia: Embassy Suites with Kids Review
**This is part of a series on Philadelphia with kids. Please see all the posts in the series here, or check the bottom for individual links.**
The two times we’ve visited Philly with the kids we stayed at the Embassy Suites in Center City Philadelphia. As I mentioned in my intro Philadelphia post, our ideal hotel is one offering economical suites (so we don’t have to share the bedroom with the kids), one with a free happy hour, free breakfast and a hotel that’s convenient to the sites or public transportation. The Embassy Suites is all that in Philadelphia (and FYI – we are not receiving any compensation for posting this, and we paid full freight for our room).
The hotel is on the Ben Franklin Parkway, in close walking distance to everything we did on the trip. It’s close to the Franklin Institute (kids’ hands-on science museum), Barnes Foundation and Rodin Museum. It was walkable to Independence Mall (about 20 minutes at a good pace), the Eastern State Penitentiary (maybe 20 minutes? We stopped en route at the Rodin Museum) and if you like walking (we do), you can walk to South Philly from there too. Continue reading “Philadelphia: Embassy Suites with Kids Review”
Review: Yotel
I’ve been wanting to check out Yotel for some time, and finally made it there when I went to a toy show. One of the nice women working in the information area agreed to take me to see some rooms. I didn’t realize how generous she was going to be, as she took me to a lot of rooms to give me a good idea of the various types they have. My kids were in heaven and wanted to stay there.
Yotel is at 10th Avenue and 42nd Street, an easy walk from Times Square (and Port Authority). The hotel is more economical than many, with rooms starting at $149 (in winter, for the smallest room for 2) and going up from there.
Yotel is a very funky hotel with smaller than average rooms (think cruise ship), and they actually call them cabins. The space is well designed though, and you kind of forget about the size when you realize how much else it offers. Like great design! Yotel in NYC is the only actual freestanding hotel in its group – the other three are airport hotels at London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports, and Amsterdam’s airport, where you can book by the hour without worrying feeling like you’re in a brothel.
