Excalibur Las Vegas Room Review Excalibur is now the lowest tier property in the Las Vegas portfolio of MGM. When Excalibur opened in 1990, it was the largest hotel in the world (around 4,000 rooms). Rooms can often be found under $100. As a disclaimer to this review, I didn’t … Read more
Las Vegas Reopened Too Soon This weekend I visited Las Vegas. The state of Nevada allowed casinos to reopen on June 4th and many did. The decision was likely made based on economics and not health considerations. I don’t know the figures regarding visitors to the Strip. I would guess … Read more
Flamingo Las Vegas Flamingo Room Review Flamingo Las Vegas is an historic casino hotel on the strip. Opened in 1946, the property was owned by Bugsy Siegel (and his many mob ties) and had a total of 105 rooms. It is the oldest resort still in operation on the strip. … Read more
The Talbott Hotel Chicago Review UPDATE: The Talbott Hotel is no longer part of Hyatt. The Talbott Hotel in Chicago is part of the Joie de Vivre brand recently acquired by Hyatt. This means, in theory, guests receive the same benefits for Hyatt elite status as they would at any … Read more
Kimpton Buchanan Hotel San Francisco Review The Kimpton Buchanan Hotel is one of two (soon to be three) Kimpton properties in San Francisco. The building was originally a 4-story office building before they added on an additional 4 floors and converted it to a 131 room hotel. It reopened as … Read more
Andaz Napa Review The Andaz Napa was originally built in 2009 and opened under the Avia brand before Hyatt purchased the chain in 2011. The property reopened as a Hyatt Andaz in Fall 2012. Not much was changed about the property; which means the rooms are now 11 years old … Read more
Caesars Palace Octavius Room Review Caesars Palace is a huge property. The rooms are spread across various towers: Julius, Augustus, Octavius, Palace and Forum. Additionally there is the Nobu hotel within a hotel. The Octavius Tower, which opened in 2012, is the most recently built of the hotel towers. The … Read more
How to Status Match Hotel Loyalty to Caesars Rewards Diamond If you have elite status with a hotel chain, it is very easy to get free Caesars Rewards Diamond status. If you are going to Las Vegas, this can get you free/discounted rooms, no resort fees, $100 dining credit, free … Read more
SingleFlyer Top Posts of 2019 Below are the top 10 posts I wrote in 2019 (based on page views). I’m always surprised by which posts get the most readers. I find that a few of my posts are like a fine wine… they get better with age! Some of my … Read more
2019 Year of Travel in Photos 2019 was an incredible year of travel. I spent the most days traveling of any year of my life. Below is a photo journal of my year of seeing the world. January I rang in the New Year on the Big Island of Hawaii. … Read more
The Cromwell Las Vegas Review The Cromwell is a hotel that should not exist. Built in 1979 and located at the center of the strip, the hotel only has 188 rooms. Compare that to over 4,000 rooms of Caesars Palace or even 2,600 at The Linq. In 2007 it became … Read more
Hyatt Regency John Wayne Airport Newport Beach Review The Hyatt Regency John Wayne Airport Newport Beach Review (doesn’t that just roll off the tongue?) is located in an office park location near the Santa Ana Orange Count (SNA) airport. I stayed for one night before Thanksgiving after a late flight … Read more
NoMad Las Vegas Atelier Room Review The weekend before Thanksgiving is a slow time for Las Vegas. When I looked at my M life offers, I noticed I had complimentary nights at the new NoMad Las Vegas. The NoMad is a hotel-within-a-hotel, occupying the top four floors of the Park … Read more
Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel & Casino Review Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel & Casino is part of Caesars Rewards. As far as Vegas Strip properties go, it is one of the older ones. It first opened in 1973 as the original MGM Grand, at the time the biggest hotel in the … Read more
What makes for a good hotel shower? One of the most variable features of a hotel room is the shower. I also would say it is one of the more important parts of a hotel room to get right. Which is why in all of my hotel reviews I mention … Read more