Category Archives: Trip Reports

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Trip Report: Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile

We spent the second half of our time in Paris with four nights at the Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile, the hotel whose mistake rate was the impetus for this entire trip.

Location: The Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile is a 950-room hotel located in the Palais des Congrès shopping and convention center in Paris’ 17th arrondissement, right on top of the Porte Maillot Metro/RER station within walking distance of the Arc de Triomphe and about a 15 minute train ride from central Paris. The hotel is currently undergoing a major renovation, which means a bit of extra walking to access the hotel through elevators and corridors that would normally be used for emergency exits or convention access, but the hotel has done a decent job of ensuring clear signage to help people navigate the spaces. We did get lost a few times when walking through the shopping center though – there are signs and floor markings to guide you from the hotel’s (currently closed) main entrance to the elevators that take you to the temporary lobby, but if you come in from a different entrance or are on the wrong level of the shopping center it can be tricky to find the right elevator.

Directional signs and arrows on the floor direct guests from the hotel's main entrance to the back elevators. Photo by the author.

Directional signs and arrows on the floor direct guests from the hotel’s main entrance to the back elevators. Photo by the author.

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Guest Post: 600 Euro Compensation for Delayed Flight in the European Union (EC261/2004)

Good morning everyone, I hope your weekend is off to a great start.  I am home in San Francisco this weekend and it is supposed to rain all weekend.  Therefore, I plan on posting and scheduling several blog posts over the next 48 hours.  This first post is from my close friend Jim who is a long time traveler and travel hacker.  We actually have a trip to South America together next weekend (more info to come).  He was recently on a delayed United Airlines flight and he shared his experience with me regarding claiming 600 Euros (~$633).  Enjoy the guest post!

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New Writer Q&A with Shelli

Good morning everyone, I am bringing on one more writer (for now) and her name is Shelli.  In case you didn’t know, I have added a few new writers over the last few weeks, including Whitney, Tonei, and Will The Tactical Traveler.  I’ve known Shelli for the last few years and we met while I was living in Orange County (she lives down the coast in San Diego).  She has her own health and fitness blog (Joy in Movement), but her other great passion is travel.  She travels often and embodies the healthy traveler and solo traveler mindsets.  I am sure you will enjoy reading her blog posts here as well as on her own site.  Shelli has decided to break the rules and instead of answering my standard Q&A, she has decided to share her top 5 fun travel memories from 2016.  Take it away Shelli!

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Tonei’s 2016 Year in Review: A Record-Breaking Year of Travel and Reselling

Buenas tardes from Cancun! I wanted to tell you all a little bit about how my last year went. In 2016, I blew past my previous record for miles traveled, went all in on gift card reselling, moved to Mexico, and picked up a handful of credit cards and bank signup bonuses along the way.

Travel

I flew just over 197,000 miles last year, a significant increase from my previous record of 125,000 miles in 2015. The change was mostly because I did a lot more flying across oceans – my 2015 trips were entirely in the Americas, but I spent a lot more time in Europe and Asia in 2016.

Tonei's 2016 flight map, courtesy of openflights.org

Tonei’s 2016 flight map, courtesy of openflights.org

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Suggestions for My Upcoming Solo Trip to Spain

Good morning everyone.  Happy New Year’s Day!  I just got back from 10 glorious days in my south Florida hometown and now I’m having a difficult time re-adjusting to the chilly Charlotte weather.  In a little over 1 week, I’m heading to Barcelona, Spain for a week and I was hoping to get some suggestions from you beautiful people on what I should do while I’m there.  It will be my first visit to Spain and my first solo trip internationally.

Air:  A few months ago, I snagged a roundtrip ticket on TAP Portugal for $300 via Priceline.  Spain has always been high on my wish list and I figured $300 was probably as good as it gets for roundtrip fare.  I’ll be on a redeye from JFK to Lisbon, Portugal and then a 2 hour 45 minute layover around lunchtime before continuing on to Barcelona just in time for dinner.  I’m assuming 2 hours and 45 minutes isn’t enough time to leave the Lisbon airport even if it’s just for lunch…right?  I used Citi Thank You points to get my flight from Charlotte to JFK.

Hotel:  I’m staying at the Alexandra Barcelona by DoubleTree for the first 2 nights and then was thinking I could take a train or get a cheap flight on Vueling to Nice, France for a side trip.  The last 2/3 nights I’m staying at the Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona.  I still have Hilton Diamond status so I’m hoping I can get decent room upgrades on my stay. Continue reading