Gotta get out of this place

[SEC_Chick]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
So? Glorietta vs. del Coronado? Spill it!

Sorry it took so long, but upon arriving back home, it seems our phone line had gone out, so no DSL all weekend.

First, Coronado is a great place to vacation, right on the beach. Weather was cooler than what I left in Houston, but nice. Whether I would stay there or somewhere closer in would depend on the kind of trip I had planned. Good variety of restaurants and anything in SD isn't that far a drive (I think it was about a 20 minute/$25 cab ride out from the airport).

GBI: Some of the rooms are very nice and are outfitted like the mansion's bedrooms would be. Others are just like normal, fairly nice hotel rooms. They have a very good free continental breakfast (MUCH better than what was provided by the dC for the conference). Cookies and lemonade in the afternoons. Fairly good coffee and tea provided all day. I wouldn't want to stay here as a business traveler though, because there isn't room service and if I have to work late, I sure as heck don't want to have to scrounge around for food. Good service overall. It is literally across one 4 lane street from the DC, so you have easy access to the shops/restaurants.

dC: I guess after all of the hype, my expectations may have been a too high. The food wasn't overwhelmingly great, and while it's nice looking, to me it felt like I might as well have been staying at the Houstonian. Better and more variety in amenities obviously, than GBI, so it depends on whether you will be taking them up on that and whether that's important to you. If you are planning on being out in the city it might not matter. Personally, I don't think it lived up to all of the hype.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by SEC_Chick
Sorry it took so long, but upon arriving back home, it seems our phone line had gone out, so no DSL all weekend.

First, Coronado is a great place to vacation, right on the beach. Weather was cooler than what I left in Houston, but nice. Whether I would stay there or somewhere closer in would depend on the kind of trip I had planned. Good variety of restaurants and anything in SD isn't that far a drive (I think it was about a 20 minute/$25 cab ride out from the airport).

GBI: Some of the rooms are very nice and are outfitted like the mansion's bedrooms would be. Others are just like normal, fairly nice hotel rooms. They have a very good free continental breakfast (MUCH better than what was provided by the dC for the conference). Cookies and lemonade in the afternoons. Fairly good coffee and tea provided all day. I wouldn't want to stay here as a business traveler though, because there isn't room service and if I have to work late, I sure as heck don't want to have to scrounge around for food. Good service overall. It is literally across one 4 lane street from the DC, so you have easy access to the shops/restaurants.

dC: I guess after all of the hype, my expectations may have been a too high. The food wasn't overwhelmingly great, and while it's nice looking, to me it felt like I might as well have been staying at the Houstonian. Better and more variety in amenities obviously, than GBI, so it depends on whether you will be taking them up on that and whether that's important to you. If you are planning on being out in the city it might not matter. Personally, I don't think it lived up to all of the hype.

Thanks so much.

[NotFromHere]

Let's say someone was planning a vacation, and on the short list is Palm Beach. Mainly because a friend will be there at that time.
Question, is West Palm Beach reasonably close to Palm Beach? What's the attraction? What are the nicer hotels? Restaurants?
Is March a good time? Is April better?

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by NotFromHere
Let's say someone was planning a vacation, and on the short list is Palm Beach. Mainly because a friend will be there at that time.
Question, is West Palm Beach reasonably close to Palm Beach? What's the attraction? What are the nicer hotels? Restaurants?
Is March a good time? Is April better?

West palm is across a bridge from Palm beach. Think of it as Oakland (WPB) vs. SF (PB), except with a shorter connection. All the big names have hotels there. The four seasons was quite nice. March and April should be nice. We went in may, which is definitely shoulder season, if not past it.

Personally, there wasn't much attraction for me. It's a beach, with warm water, waves, and loads of sun. If you like golf, there's that. Shopping, too, Rodeo-drive style (Worth ave.?). But I suspect it might be just your speed.

[bold_n_brazen]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
West palm is across a bridge from Palm beach. Think of it as Oakland (WPB) vs. SF (PB), except with a shorter connection. All the big names have hotels there. The four seasons was quite nice. March and April should be nice. We went in may, which is definitely shoulder season, if not past it.

Personally, there wasn't much attraction for me. It's a beach, with warm water, waves, and loads of sun. If you like golf, there's that. Shopping, too, Rodeo-drive style (Worth ave.?). But I suspect it might be just your speed.

The National Enquirer is headquartered in Palm Beach County.

[robustpuppy]

For departures by March 31.

http://www.lufthansa.com/online/port...st=54278849841

[Hank Chinaski]

I'm going to Beijing for the Olympics. we'll be there for awhile and also Shanghai. I want to stay in a third place, preferably more off the beaten path. Anyone been there and have a suggestion? Right now I'm thinking Taiyuan ( for Pingyao).

[notcasesensitive]

Recommendations? We'll obviously carve out at least a day for Volcanos. We are deciding between Fairmont Orchid and the new Sheraton property. I'm sure the Orchid is substantially nicer, but the call of the Starwood points may lead us over to the Sheraton instead...

Discuss (accomodations, required attractions, etc.).

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by notcasesensitive
Recommendations? We'll obviously carve out at least a day for Volcanos. We are deciding between Fairmont Orchid and the new Sheraton property. I'm sure the Orchid is substantially nicer, but the call of the Starwood points may lead us over to the Sheraton instead...

Discuss (accomodations, required attractions, etc.).

which volcano? if you're talking kilauea, won't you have to go all the way across the island? That's a haul, IIRC. I would consider finding lodging near the park, which will allow you to go view the lava at night. It's a lot more impressive that way, because you can actually see it not just feel its heat. (seeing the hillside glow is pretty damn cool, er, hot).

ETA: But check the park website, because things are constantly changing with respect to what you can see.

[bold_n_brazen]

Originally posted by notcasesensitive
Recommendations? We'll obviously carve out at least a day for Volcanos. We are deciding between Fairmont Orchid and the new Sheraton property. I'm sure the Orchid is substantially nicer, but the call of the Starwood points may lead us over to the Sheraton instead...

Discuss (accomodations, required attractions, etc.).

Went there on my honeymoon. Stayed at Kona Village, which was really very nice and all inclusive. Probably better for a honeymoon than a normal vacation.

We did the helicopter tour, which was cool. Also a lot of diving.

I have a friend who is a massage therapist there, so if you want, I'll hook you up.

[notcasesensitive]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
which volcano? if you're talking kilauea, won't you have to go all the way across the island? That's a haul, IIRC. I would consider finding lodging near the park, which will allow you to go view the lava at night. It's a lot more impressive that way, because you can actually see it not just feel its heat. (seeing the hillside glow is pretty damn cool, er, hot).

ETA: But check the park website, because things are constantly changing with respect to what you can see.

We might stay overnight at the hotel at Volcanos park. I'm not sure whether we'll prefer to do that or just to have a really really full day of it over there. Will probably do a helicopter tour as well.

I researched this trip a couple of years ago, but it was put on hold because of job/city changes, so finally back to planning now. We'll be on the Big Island for a week, so not planning to rush around a lot.

And yes, I already am the proud owner of Big Island Revealed.

(bnb - where does your friend work?)

[bold_n_brazen]

Originally posted by notcasesensitive


(bnb - where does your friend work?)

I believe she is on her own...

I can get her info for you if you want.

[Cletus Miller]

Originally posted by notcasesensitive
Recommendations? We'll obviously carve out at least a day for Volcanos. We are deciding between Fairmont Orchid and the new Sheraton property. I'm sure the Orchid is substantially nicer, but the call of the Starwood points may lead us over to the Sheraton instead...

Discuss (accomodations, required attractions, etc.).

The Sheraton Keauhou (sp?) Bay Resort was one of our most disappointing hotel stays ever. The rooms are so-so, there is basically nothing nearby (but that's probably a problem with the Fairmont, too), the descriptions on the website (esp. w/r/t views from the rooms, if you care) are misleading at best. Service was, in general, very average Sheraton, rather than resort-y. Nice pool, altho with the two-plus story waterslide, it seemed part of an attempt to attract families, which may not be what you're looking for.

We thought the location was pretty decent from a getting around perspective, but there isn't a nearby sandy beach and it's right on the cusp of a rainy area (got rained on most days--including a couple of drenchings). If you want continuous sun and sandy beaches, the Orchid is by far the better bet.

Traffic is pretty bad in the area between the two (around the airport and through town), so if you're going places a lot, you might want to figure out if they are mostly south (Sheraton) or mostly north (Orchid)--Volcanoes are south, but that's basically a whole day in either case, especially if you want to go down to where the lava is flowing.

[notcasesensitive]

Originally posted by Cletus Miller
The Sheraton Keauhou (sp?) Bay Resort was one of our most disappointing hotel stays ever. The rooms are so-so, there is basically nothing nearby (but that's probably a problem with the Fairmont, too), the descriptions on the website (esp. w/r/t views from the rooms, if you care) are misleading at best. Service was, in general, very average Sheraton, rather than resort-y. Nice pool, altho with the two-plus story waterslide, it seemed part of an attempt to attract families, which may not be what you're looking for.

We thought the location was pretty decent from a getting around perspective, but there isn't a nearby sandy beach and it's right on the cusp of a rainy area (got rained on most days--including a couple of drenchings). If you want continuous sun and sandy beaches, the Orchid is by far the better bet.

Traffic is pretty bad in the area between the two (around the airport and through town), so if you're going places a lot, you might want to figure out if they are mostly south (Sheraton) or mostly north (Orchid)--Volcanoes are south, but that's basically a whole day in either case, especially if you want to go down to where the lava is flowing.

Very helpful. Thanks!

[i was penske]

Originally posted by notcasesensitive
Recommendations? We'll obviously carve out at least a day for Volcanos. We are deciding between Fairmont Orchid and the new Sheraton property. I'm sure the Orchid is substantially nicer, but the call of the Starwood points may lead us over to the Sheraton instead...

Discuss (accomodations, required attractions, etc.).

Visit my temple and say hi for me, and also look for my name in the lava fields alongside the Queen K.

Aloha.

I WAs Penske