Category Archives: Trip Reports

Aloft Bogota Colombia Airport Hotel Review (SPG Category 1 + Free Airport Shuttle)

Posted on February 8, 2017 by Grant. 11 Replies

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Good Wednesday morning everyone. A few weeks ago, I returned from my short week-long trip to South America. Before I left for my trip, I wrote Trip Planning and Award Booking for South America: Bogota, Buenos Aires & Iguazu Falls. Shortly after returning from my trip, I wrote Grant is Back from South America: Upcoming Hotel Reviews & Trip Reports. I am sorry for the delay, but I am finally starting my trip report. Starting chronologically, I will start with my 2 night stay at the Aloft Bogota Airport Hotel (pictured below is an artist rendition, the actual hotel does not look as colorful in real life).

Image source: https://www.starwoodhotels.com/alofthotels/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3600&language=en_US

Continue reading →

SF Travel Hacker Meetup @ Super Duper Burgers (Saturday February 11 from 12-2pm)

Posted on February 7, 2017 by Grant. 1 Reply

Good morning everyone, happy rainy Tuesday from San Francisco. It’s been months since my last SF travel hackers meetup so I have decided to take my (burger-eating) talents back to Super Duper Burgers this Saturday afternoon. If you are free this Saturday, please join me and other Bay Area travel hackers for burgers, fries, miles, points, MS, and more. As a reminder, this location is on Market Street between Montgomery and Powell Street BART stations.

Where: Super Duper Burgers, 721 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94103 (Google Maps)
When: Saturday, February 11 @ 12-2pm

No need to RSVP, just show up on time (rain or shine) and be ready to eat and talk. Have a great week everyone!

My Criteria for the Perfect Hotel Lounge and my #1 SPG Lounge

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Shelli. 4 Replies

Do you have a favorite hotel lounge? I don’t mean one that’s good, but rather one that takes good and turns it into GREAT. Seems to me many lounges are fine, or even good, but in each hotel chain there are usually a few standouts. Before I tell you my favorite great one, it makes sense to define the qualities that make for greatness. See what you think of my 13 criteria. Here’s my list (in no special order):

1. REAL food. For me, snack foods don’t count. And include salad, please! Too many lounges put out bowls of what they call salads, but they are usually unidentifiable and filled with some kind of dressing. I’m talking about a simple green salad with some vegetables.

2. Fresh fruit. During the day, it’s great to be able to stop into the lounge and get a piece of fruit.

3. A concierge who is outside of the lounge. I’ve seen this set-up in a few places and it makes total sense. It keeps the lounges quieter and less congested. Continue reading →

Reminder: OC Meetup Saturday, February 4 @ 12pm at In-N-Out (Tustin District)

Posted on February 4, 2017 by Grant. 5 Replies

Good morning everyone. I hope your weekend is going well so far. This is just a reminder that my miles and points / travel hacker meetup is going on today (Saturday, February 4). If you are free today, I would love to meet you and talk travel, miles and points, MS, and ~~politics~~ blogging.

Where: 2895 Park Ave, Tustin, CA 92782 (Google Maps)
When: Saturday, February 4 @ 12-2PM

There is no need to RSVP to the OC Meetup, just show up at 12pm and be ready to talk talk travel. I hope to see some of you there! Have a great weekend everyone!

Tahoe Winter Weekend: Snowboarding @ Mt. Rose, Hampton Inn Truckee, Snowshoeing & Snowmobiling

Posted on February 2, 2017 by Grant. 3 Replies

Good morning everyone, happy Thursday. Last weekend, my brother and I went on a road trip from San Francisco to Tahoe (in the Sierra Nevada Mountains). Along the way, we stopped in Roseville (just outside Sacramento) and visited Topgolf (read: My First Time to Topgolf: Family-Friendly Driving Range with a Sports Bar).

After leaving Roseville and our cheap 10,000 Marriott point Fairfield Inn Roseville, our first stop was Mt. Rose, a snow-covered mountain about 15 minutes outside of Reno, Nevada. We were planning on staying at a hotel in Reno, but changed our plans at the last minute, but we had already committed to Mt. Rose lift passes. The mountain is not as popular or crowded as Squaw Valley or Northstar, which was nice. Lift passes are $105/day, which might be more/less than the other mountains, I’m not sure. Here are some pics from around the base of the mountain near the ticket window and atop the slopes. #snowboarderforlife