Category Archives: Trip Reports

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Westin Denver Airport Review: Go from Gate to Hotel Room in 25 Minutes (or Less)

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Good morning everyone, happy Friday.  Last week, my girlfriend and I had a late night flight into Denver International Airport (DEN).  Due to a slight delay, we landed after midnight.  If you’ve ever flown into DEN, you know the airport is in the middle of nowhere, with no hotels closeby.  That was true until recently when the Westin Denver Airport hotel opened.  Nightly rates were $300+, so I opted to use 12,000 SPG.  Thankfully, the hotel is attached to the main terminal, so I was able to get from the gate to our room in 25 minutes.

According to the DEN Airport website, the Westin Denver International Airport has 519 guest rooms, 35 suites, and was “designed to resemble a bird in flight—its curved roof mimicking the concave shape of Jeppesen Terminal’s white peaked roof.”  Underneath the hotel, is the RTD train that connects DEN airport to Denver’s Union Station.  The one-way trip takes 40 minutes, costs $9 per person and runs pretty frequently.  In this post, I will share how to get to the hotel from the various terminals and show photos of our room.  Enjoy!

a train going through a building

Image source: https://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3685

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Hotel Review: Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos All-Inclusive Resort

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I had intended to review another property in Cabo, but due to the problems, I left after one day and booked my remaining 5 days at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos.

This property was great and I really had no problems during my stay. The stay cost me 20,000 Hyatt points per night, so 100,000 points total for the stay. Since this property is an all-inclusive, they usually charge more for the room depending on the number of occupants; single occupancy is the cheapest. This makes sense as they are essentially paying for the food and drink of all occupants. I was surprised that the 20,000 points per night was the same for 1 or 2 occupants, but the cash price was not. For only 7.3 million Hyatt points, you could live here for a year, all-inclusive. Well, you would have to find someone to do your laundry as that’s not included, but everything else is!

a large hotel with a pool on the beach

Image source: https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/mexico/hyatt-ziva-los-cabos/sjdif

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Reminder: Denver / Front Reminder: Range Travel Hackers Meetup on Saturday, July 28

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Good afternoon everyone.  I will be in Denver this weekend and organized an event with the Front Range Travel Hackers Meetup group.  I have been to a few of these Meetup events and they are always very fun and informative.  If you are in the Denver / Front Range area, please join us this weekend.  Please RSVP to the Meetup event so the organizers can tell the restaurant how many people to expect.  I’m looking forward to drinking some good beers, seeing some familiar faces, and meeting new travel hackers.  Cheers!

  • Where: Kokopelli Beer Company, 8931 N Harlan St, Westminster, CO 80031 (Google Maps)
  • When: Saturday, July 28, 2018 from 12:30 – 3pm

a group of people sitting around a table

If you have any questions about the Meetup, please leave a comment below.  Have a great day everyone!

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NYC: Here’s What You Can Do For Free!

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Free is good, right? Even a pay-what-you-wish policy is great for saving money. And in expensive cities, it’s wonderful when premier attractions, museums, and performances offer free or pay-what-you-wish experiences. On a trip to Madrid, I was able to enjoy the world class museums for free by going on certain nights.

And in one of my favorite though expensive places like New York, it’s especially helpful to know which attractions have free or pay-as-you-wish visiting times. Here’s the information I use when I’m planning my days in NYC. I hope you’ll find it as useful as I do!

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Is there a “Price Protection” Service Available for Airline Tickets?

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Travel life is good. Travel life can also be frustrating. I’m wondering if I could have done anything differently so as not to have spent $71 more than I did on an American Airlines ticket. Maybe I’m too much of a wishful thinker, and you’ll tell me to forget it and chalk it up to the airfare game, but maybe one of you will teach us all some fantastic ninja trick that will keep this from happening in the future.

I don’t have status with American, so keep that in mind as I lay out my frustration. A few months ago, I purchased a one-way ticket on American Airlines from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to San Diego (SAN). It cost me $339. I’m not sure why I purchased it so far in advance except that because I travel so much, I like to wrap-up itineraries as soon as I know my plans. Maybe this travel habit should change. Continue reading →