Weekend Blitz

We loved staying right in the center of the Recoleta district of Buenos Aires on our trip to Argentina. While there are many wonderful neighborhoods in BA (all with very different personalities), this area is considered by many to be the most affluent neighborhood in the city, filled with lavish homes and fancy shops and restaurants. The famous Recoleta Cemetery is also located in this area, so there’s plenty to see and do all around.

We booked with Hyatt Cash+Points for $125 + 10,000 points per night. Cash rates are easily in the $500+ range, so it makes redeeming points a very attractive offer.

We used a Suite Night Award and were booked into a [...]

The Park Hyatt Dubai is a Hyatt Category 5 property, meaning award nights will cost you 20,000 points or 10,000 + $125. Booking with points didn’t make much sense, though, as we were able to book a special 3-night minimum Ramadan rate of about ~$150 US/night + tax. Best of all, when booking with cash or Points + Cash, you can apply a Diamond Suite Upgrade which will land you in a suite and get you access to the minibar for free. More on that later.

We arrived at the Park Hyatt Dubai around 9:30 pm on a Thursday night during Ramadan after a very long travel day from the US (see Etihad B787 “Business Studio” EY 130 Washington-IAD to Abu [...]

When we arrived in Mendoza (after bussing over the Andes – see our review of our bus trip here), we took a cab to the Park Hyatt Mendoza. The front facade of the building is perfectly gorgeous and majestic, just like many of the other Park Hyatts we’ve visited (have I mentioned it’s my favorite hotel brand?!).

The 5-star hotel is a bit smaller than several other Park Hyatts, but it’s perfect for a small city like Mendoza. I really love how Park Hyatts stay true to the culture and history of the city and especially loved the restored 19th-century Spanish colonial façade.

The hotel lobby is grand and full of marble, with large, [...]

Our impression of the Keraton started long before we stepped foot in the hotel. Admittedly a bit wary about spending the next few days in Jakarta (thanks to our friendly hotel owner in Bali!), I was a bit on edge as we arrived at the airport — where we were the only tourists around. My thoughts of dread quickly turned around, though, when we were met with a hotel representative at baggage claim with our name and the Keraton logo on an iPad. He grabbed our luggage and escorted us out of the airport.

Fleet of Mercedes

We came upon a huge fleet of Mercedes Kompressors and we jumped in one with chilled towels (with [...]

We were head-over-heels excited to be able to squeeze in a quick stopover in Bangkok on our travels from Myanmar to Vietnam. It was our second visit to the city and we couldn’t wait to go back to our favorite spots and uncover more treasures in the bustling capital city.

Bangkok was our first foray into Asian culture back in 2011 and we’ve found ourselves daydreaming about the city ever since we left. The food, the people, the glistening gold temples — everything about this place we loved and we were thrilled to return.

View from our room on the 26th floor

We hurriedly booked our nights at [...]

If one word describes Inle Lake as a whole – and, more specifically, Inle Resort & Spa, it’s peaceful. Time stands still as you find yourself captivated by the Inle fisherman on the lake and the morning fog slowly giving way to the mountains. We spent most of our time at Inle Lake relaxing and enjoying the beautiful views. The slower speed was welcome after spending time in the “big city” of Yangon with honking cars and busy people.

Inle Resort & Spa

After about an hour’s drive from the airport, we arrived at Inle Resort & Spa, which is right on the lake’s [...]

On a recent trip to Nashville, we booked a night at the Sheraton Nashville Downtown. The location was fantastic for walking around and exploring and its proximity to Broadway – the place to be at nighttime – was one of its selling points. Although we were only there for a night, we had no complaints about our stay and thoroughly enjoyed our time at the hotel.

The hotel recently went through a $25 million renovation, completed in April 2014. Along with updates to the guest rooms, the lobby looks brand new and the wine bar was looking pretty fancy, too. The lobby was large and open, very spacious with many sitting areas. The bones of the hotel looked to be an Embassy [...]

Friends who had visited Myanmar before us had completely skipped Mandalay, but we wanted to take our time exploring as much of the country as we could, so we (somewhat hesitantly) added a few nights in Mandalay, Burma’s second largest city, to our itinerary.

View of Mandalay from the Hotel Yadanarbon’s rooftop

It’s only about 445 miles north of Yangon (but, in case you’re wondering, if you’re going roughly 25 mph on a train, that’ll take you about 16+ hours). When we arrived on the overnight train around 9am, completely and utterly exhausted, we found scores of people at the train station, all hounding us to [...]

On the eve of Jeffrey’s & my big Asian Adventure, I wanted to spend some quality time with my mom before Jeffrey and I packed up and headed out for months.

Disclaimer: I’m an idiot and haven’t signed up for the referral to make any money off any of the below credit card offers. This is this genuine advice as I see things. I have both of the cards listed below, however, take my advice with caution: I’m far from an expert on financial/credit matters, but happy to help where I can!

My mom had just applied for the US Airways Premier World MasterCard over Thanksgiving, so she received the Companion Certificate in the mail in late December. A little more on the [...]