Author Archives: Shelli

About Shelli

Shelli Stein is a health and fitness entrepreneur who travels the world in search of culture, food, and fun! Besides contributing to Travel with Grant, you can find her at Joy in Movement.

a metal hook with letters

My Hotel Pet Peeve: Bathrooms with no Towel Hooks/Racks (and my Simple Solution)

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As I take a look at what I pack each time I take a trip, I realize that one item in particular is pretty weird. I figure if I take weird items when I travel, others must do the same thing. Grant isn’t very weird, so maybe I’m the weirdest member on the TWG team! The expression “misery loves company” doesn’t apply here, because after all, with the advantages we miles and points people have, what’s to feel miserable about? But it sure would help me feel better if I knew you all took some weird necessary items along with you when you travel :)

So I’ll start by telling you mine. For a while now, I’ve been mystified and frustrated by the bathroom designs I see in some hotels. It’s not one particular chain, and I even see this in boutique and one-off hotels. Why don’t they give us towel hooks in the bathrooms? Maybe even towel racks? Am I asking for too much here? What are they thinking I should do with my towels?

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a black letter b and b

Part 4: Interview with a Professional Uber/Lyft Driver – Is Uber’s Upfront Pricing Good or Bad for Drivers?

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The controversy between Uber, its drivers, and its customers seems to be a never-ending story. You might recall the 3 part interview series with Harry Campbell, our go-to guy on everything Uber & Lyft, that we ran a few months ago. And now there’s another part of the Uber saga we want to make sure you’re aware of. I recently spoke with Harry and asked him if there was anything new that TWG reader’s ought to know. He sent me this article about Uber’s upfront pricing. Make sure to read it (it’s a long, very detailed post, but very enlightening).

Image source: https://qz.com/956139/uber-drivers-are-comparing-fares-with-riders-to-check-their-pay-from-the-company/

Uber rider paid $25.65 (left) while the Uber driver received $15.00 (right). Image source: https://qz.com/956139/uber-drivers-are-comparing-fares-with-riders-to-check-their-pay-from-the-company/

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a heart made of coffee beans

Shelli’s World Coffee Tour – Buenos Aires & My Conversation with a Barista Champion

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I guess it’s time for a true confession. I’m a coffee snob. And when I travel, I have a passion for supporting local roasters and coffee houses. Let’s just say I’ve BEAN Around the World and I’m feeling like now is the time to start sharing the love… and caffeine, one city at a time. Recently, I had the pleasure, and it was a pleasure indeed, to explore the coffee scene in Buenos Aires! I’ve got lots to share with you, so let’s open the TWG cafe society doors and talk coffee, Buenos Aires style.

Usually, I explore the coffee places in different areas of each city, so no matter where you are, you’ll know a place that’s worth checking out. Let me say upfront that I had a WONDERFUL time exploring the coffee scene in Buenos Aires, and that if you drink coffee, you’re in for a real treat. Many, if not most, of the coffee places in Buenos Aires are one-off places. If they do have more than one location, they’ll for sure have a shop in the hip and trendy Palermo area, so let’s start there.

The first place I explored is called Felix Felicis & Co Coffee. Maybe it was the jet lag, but my usual amazing sense of direction failed me the morning I went here. I got very turned around in Palermo, I kept asking people if they knew where this place was, and they only wanted to send me to Starbucks :(

I was exasperated and stopped into a restaurant in one final effort to ask directions. This guy overheard my conversation with the waitress and said to me, “I’m Gustavo and I work at Felix Felicis! I’ll take you there!” He was at the restaurant ordering a breakfast burrito. We all had a good laugh and my new best friend in Buenos Aires emerged! This is the part of NOT using technology when I travel that I love. Even in my exasperation, I knew the adventure, as it always does, would lead to good laughs and new friends. It always does!

Felix Felicis Co Coffee

Felix Felicis & Co Coffee

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a yellow sign with black letters

It’s Not Me, It’s You – My Breakup Story with Hertz

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I see myself as a glass half full kinda girl. I don’t enjoy ranting, but today I just have to rant. So be forewarned, I’m DONE with Hertz. I am so done and fed up, and breaking up ain’t hard to do.

Here’s the story. I rent cars A LOT. Back in 2013, a Hertz satellite office opened up in a Chevrolet dealership in my neighborhood. Sweet! And for a while, it indeed was sweet. The two guys who worked there, Travis and Chris, were great. Good with customers, fun senses of humor, they knew never to give me a Nissan Versa (the seats are hard as rocks), and it was actually a pleasure to rent from them. So Hertz got all my business.

Hertz let Travis go, I think because he was the manager and the more expensive employee. For a while, Chris held down the fort by himself. But the car dealership hired Chris away from Hertz. I still see him, and he’s treated better and making way more money than when he was with Hertz.

That’s when the troubles started. Continue reading →

a screenshot of a hotel

An Introduction to Hotel Hustle (My Favorite Hotel Award Search Tool)

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It seems to me in the travel world of my dreams, the best possible world would be the one where we make a choice, set an alert either for availability or price, and then technology kicks in and does the rest. I don’t have coding or software design skills, so for me, it’s still like living in the world of the Jetsons that my travel dream world has been here for some time already. But in my dream world, of course, this all goes off without a hitch :)

I’ve found that Hotel Hustle is the best and easiest hitch-less hotel tool to use, and I was reminded of this just yesterday. Grant hasn’t written about Hotel Hustle, so I wanted to make sure that the TWG posse is aware of just how great Hotel Hustle is. Hotel Hustle is the brainchild of Seth Miller, The Wandering Aramean. Seth writes code to relax, and I’m sure glad he does! The basic idea is that it’s a hotel award search tool.

Hotel Hustle Searching for Hotels

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