BOOKING

I made a booking the day before check-in after planning our last minute trip to Philadelphia. When I looked on Monday, literally every hotel in the city was sold out. Nothing at Starwood, Hyatt or Marriott. Worried that our only option was going to be the airport hotels, I kept checking back a few times a day. By Tuesday, some availability opened up at a Hyatt property and I jumped on it using 12,000 Hyatt GP points. Still not satisfied, I kept checking back. On Friday, the day before check-in, I hopped on the SPG website and found the LM Philly to have availability. Either $405 for a standard or 12,000 Starpoints—that’s an easy one! I also noticed that, despite possibly being nearly sold out, many room types were available, including suites. I applied a Suite Night Award and a few hours later got an email that my SNA had been cancelled…? It implied that I cancelled it myself, but, when I went on SPG.com to reapply, it gave me the standard “cannot apply SNAs to this reservation.” Confused, I called the property and explained the situation. The front desk agent was extremely polite and said, “no problem, those SNAs can be difficult; I’ll just go ahead and block off the suite for you and the SNA will probably be applied shortly.” By the time I checked the app, I saw that he had, in fact, blocked off a “Superior suite, non-smoking room: King Bed, Non-smoking, 500-525 sq ft / 46-49 m², City View, Living Area, Free High-speed Internet, 42 Inch LCD TV.” In the end, the SNA was never deducted from my account.

CHECK-IN

We arrived at the hotel around 10am; our room clearly wasn’t ready and we were told that, because another SPG Platinum Guest was in room, it could be closer to 4pm. They also confirmed that we were in a suite for the 1-night stay. Oh well, no problem, we planned for that. We dropped our bags with the bellman and hit the road to explore the city. We got a call around 1pm that our room was ready.

Lobby

The SPG Platinum amenity was either 500 Starpoints or a “continental” breakfast for 2. They explained that, because the LM doesn’t have a buffet, the Platinum amenity is a really good deal because you can order à la carte from the menu at Amuse, its restaurant.

I reserved a “Classic Non-smoking Room, Smoke-free • 21 Sq.m/225 Sq.ft – 26 Sq.m/275 Sq.ft • Stocked Refreshment Center • Free High-speed Internet • Contemporary Furnishings • 42 Inch LCD TV Remarks,” but we received a “Superior suite, non-smoking room: King Bed, Non-smoking, 500-525 sq ft / 46-49 m², City View, Living Area, Free High-speed Internet, 42 Inch LCD TV.”

• Classic Room: King or 2 Doubles – 225-300 sq ft – BOOKED
• Deluxe Room: King or 2 Doubles – 260-300 sq ft
• Executive Room – 260-300 sq ft
• Superior Room – 275-325 sq ft
• Superior Suite: King or 2 Doubles – 500-525 sq ft w/ living room – RECEIVED

In all, we ended up with a 4-tier upgrade, but the first 4 room categories are essentially the same size, just on higher floors with better views.

ROOM

Were put on the top (10th) floor. Interesting design; it appears that the hotel was once open air with balconies and has since been closed off with a roof?

View from the 10th floor looking down

The Superior Suite we were in had a great view facing the “LOVE” statue and Philadelphia City Hall. Entering the room, there is a bathroom with sliding door on the left. Then a small living room area to the left with the bedroom behind a dividing wall. Not that it’s necessary, but there is no door separating the living room and the bedroom. In place of a built-in closest, the room has a armoire.

Entry way looking on to living room and bedroom

Armoire

We found this Le Méridien very cozy and pretty modern. I’ve stayed at a few LMs and this one is definitely on the more modern end of the spectrum. All around, we had a comfortable room and it was very up-to-date. Carpet is plush; walls appear freshly wallpaper-ed/painted. I typically prefer the added character at the LM when compared to a Westin. Also, it’s a steal that the LM Philly is 12k/night and the Westin, just around the corner is 16k/night.

Living room of Superior Suite

Living room of Superior Suite

Bedroom of Superior Suite

Bedroom of Superior Suite

Bedroom of Superior Suite

BATHROOM

Like the room, the bathroom was fresh and clean. Subway tile in the shower. And, it’s shower-only, the most accurate test in determining if a hotel is newly renovated. I mean baths are so 300 BC to 2009 AD…

Bathroom of Superior Suite

Bathroom of Superior Suite

Bathroom of Superior Suite

GYM

SERVICE

The service was fantastic. The concierge brought our bags up, asked about our stay, gave us tour of the room and asked if he could help with any recommendations. Over and above.

AMUSE RESTAURANT

Since we opted for the breakfast option as our Platinum amenity, it allowed us to enjoy complimentary breakfast at Amuse, Le Méridien Philadelphia’s on-site restaurant. Amuse doesn’t offer a breakfast buffet or even a “continental breakfast,” so the Platinum amenity typically entitles you to the “L’Express American Breakfast” ($18), but, in practice, you’re essentially given a $18 credit per person to order anything you wish.

After eyeing the TENDERLOIN STEAK & EGGS but being told it was a little tough, I went with the SMOKED SALMON + POACHED EGG ($18): avocado + brioche + crème fraîche + lyonnaise potatoes.

McCown went with the CAGE FREE & LOVING IT OMELET ($14), which includes a choice of 14+ ingredients including:  Vermont white cheddar, chicken apple sausage, asparagus, country ham, etc…

The food was delicious and, again, the service was over and above superb.

BOTTOM LINE

Our stay at the Philadelphia Le Méridien was great. Although the property occupies a historical building, the decor and design is very modern inside. And, given that it will only run you 12k Starpoints/night vs 16k/night for the nearby Westin, it’s a great value, too.

The post Le Méridien Philadelphia Hotel Review first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

First in this series was Charlotte, North Carolina-CLT, and now we have flights out of Philadelphia-PHL. There are easily 60+ million people that can reach Philadelphia International Airport in less than a 4-5 hour drive or train ride, making it a highly accessible airport and one that can be easily leveraged for very good Avios redemptions. I have compiled this map to help assist in visualizing and then planning just how far a British Airways Avios will take you on US Airways:

Legend

Some great values are Philadelphia to:

• Most of Western Europe (the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands) for 40k Avios roundtrip in economy.
• Freeport-FPO, Nassau-NAS and Bermuda-BDA for 15k Avios roundtrip.
• All of the Caribbean for 20k Avios roundtrip.
• A bunch of cities in Eastern Canada (Ottawa-YOW, Toronto-YYZ, Toronto-YYZ & Quebec City-YQB) for 9k Avios roundtrip.
• Just about any Zone 1 city in green is probably a great value at just 9k Avios roundtrip.

When you’re ready to book, follow this guide: How-to: Book US Airways Flights With British Airways Avios. And, don’t forget that you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards Points to British Airways to book flights with Avios.

BOTTOM LINE: Philadelphia-PHL is US Airways’ central hub and provides the largest selection of flights that can be booked with Avios. Some make great sense (i.e. Bermuda for 15k miles, Quebec City for 9k miles) whereas others are better off booked with regular US Airways/American miles (i.e. West Coast flights).

The post US Airways Flights: Using British Airways Avios out of Philadelphia-PHL first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

While the snow has stopped, it sounds like the damage has been done and the frigid temperatures are here to stay. Our suggestion for the weekend? A weekend trip to hit the ski slopes now that they’ve all been coated with feet and feet of fresh powder! Here are the ski slopes that were best affected by the winter weather:

West Virginia fared exceptionally well in this lineup (that’s the first–and last– time I’ll ever say that WV fared well at something). Take a look at the map, at least 3 resorts are less than a 3 hr drive from the Baltimore/DC area. Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and even New York are also within 2-3 hours drive of a resort.

• Timberline Four Seasons – West Virginia – 7″+ past 3 days
• Snowshoe Mountain Resort – West Virginia – 18″+ past 3 days
• Canaan Valley Resort – West Virginia – 12″+ past 3 days
• Wisp Resort – Maryland – 10″+ past 3 days
• Kissing Bridge – New York – 9″+ past 3 days
• Sugar Mountain – North Carolina – 8″+ past 3 days
• Beech Mountain – North Carolina – 7″+ past 3 days
• Bryce Resort – Virginia – 8″+ past 3 days
• Whitetail Resort – Pennsylvania – 7″+ past 3 days
• Roundtop Mountain Resort – Pennsylvania – 8″+ past 3 days
• Get latest data and conditions of other resorts here: http://www.onthesnow.com/skireport.html

BOTTOM LINE: Get out this weekend and hit the slopes! I just wouldn’t suggest drinking the water if you find yourself in WV:

The post Weekend Pick: The Best Way to Escape the Winter Storm first appeared on Weekend Blitz.