Alaska Airlines moved their operations from Terminal 2 to the newly renovated Terminal 1 at SFO. They also opened a new Alaska Lounge, the second largest in the network, across from gate B6. The lounge is located one floor up from the gate level, so once through the glass doors … Read more
After nearly two decades of development, the Thompson Palm Springs finally opened in October 2024. Originally planned to be condos, then an Andaz property, and finally the Thompson, the hotel is two blocks from Hyatt Palm Springs. The hotel has 168 rooms including the Upper Stories, an adult only portion … Read more
I spent Thanksgiving at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa, a resort property in Orange County, California. The sprawling resort, built in 2003, has 517 rooms in a four story building with five wings. On the property are a number of restaurants, a spa, three pool areas (including … Read more
Mission Pacific Dreamscape Suite Review The Mission Pacific Hotel and partner property The Seabird Resort are new builds in Oceanside, CA. Mission Pacific is a JdV by Hyatt branded Category 5 property. Both properties opened in May 2021. I booked my three night stay in February with cash for $336 … Read more
Kissel Uptown Oakland Signature Suite Review The Kissel Uptown Oakland, which opened just a month prior to my stay in 2022, is part of the Hyatt Unbound Collection. I have had good luck at my previous Unbound properties including the Párisi Udvar in Budapest, The Driskill in Austin, and The … Read more
Alila Marea Encinitas Ocean View Suite Review I booked three nights in March, 2022 at the Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas, which is a Hyatt property, using points. The room was 25,000 Hyatt points per night and I used a Tier Suite Upgrade to reserve a suite at the time … Read more
Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Penthouse Suite Review The Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa, formerly known as the [Hyatt] Grand Champions Resort, opened in 1986 and has been managed by Hyatt since 1987. The branding was changed to a Regency in 2013. The property has undergone various renovations and … Read more
Winter Road Trip through the Southwest For my midwinter February break, I had planned a week in Costa Rica. As much as I wanted to travel internationally, COVID made me rethink my plans. This past summer I enjoyed road tripping around the Western USA but there were still places I … Read more
SingleRoadTrip: Leg 2 – Sacramento to Page, AZ Catch up on Leg 1 of my trip here. Day 5 – Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe to Reno – 160 miles I started off the day with a walk around the Capitol Building in Sacramento, just across from the Hyatt Regency. … Read more
Hyatt Regency Sacramento Governors Suite Review In looking for a hotel in Sacramento, I noticed that all room types at the Hyatt Regency were being offered at the same price. I decided to book the top category of room, the Governor’s Suite. These rooms are recently updated and are Premium … Read more
SingleRoadTrip: Leg 1 – Seattle to Sacramento Day 1 – Seattle to Portland – 173 Miles The first day of my trip was a quick Seattle to Portland down I-5. I stayed the night at the new Hyatt Centric Downtown Portland and had dinner with a friend in the area. … Read more
Summer Road Trip 2020 Recently I changed careers, and I now have about 8 weeks off every summer. This is the first summer at my new job, and wouldn’t luck have it, COVID prevents me from flying overseas. So I decided to pack my bags and head out on a … Read more
Amtrak California Zephyr Train San Francisco to Chicago After riding the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Seattle, I was hooked on the idea of traveling by train. This time I convinced my mom to join me for an adventure on the California Zephyr. We were able to book a … 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
Napa Valley Wine Train & Tour During a stay at the Andaz Napa, I took the Napa Valley Wine Train with some family members. While there are a number of itineraries that you can book, we opted for the Grgich Hills Winery Tour. The tour included a one hour train … Read more