DISchurners Hotel Reviews Thread (extension of I love credit cards so much! thread)

[wanderlust7]

Hyatt House Shibuya
Tokyo, Japan
June 2024
Hyatt Category 4

We stayed here for 5 nights as the first stop on our Japan and South Korea summer trip. One room was booked on points and upgraded to a King Suite with a suite upgrade award. The second room was a standard 1 King booked with points and 2 FNC (1 was DH’s and 1 was mine). I wanted the stay credit, so put the second room in my name and made the points reservation Guest of Honor (DH is Globalist). You can’t combine awards though, so the FNC nights couldn’t be GoH.

The King Suite allows 4 people, but since I had the FNCs to use up, I decided to do the second room. The only connecting room types are the 2 Bedroom Suite (not bookable on points), plus the Twin Suite and the 1 King (they only have 4 that connect). Since I had the wrong suite type, I figured our rooms probably wouldn’t connect, but I hoped at least they could be close. The Globalist concierge put notes on the reservations, and I e-mailed the hotel (they didn’t respond), but we ended up with rooms on different floors. We mostly used the suite. DS decided he wanted the sofa bed. DH went to the second room to sleep and turn the aircon on as cold as he wants. I ended up never seeing the standard 1 King room!

The King Suite was very nice. Spacious, with a kitchenette, dining table, and combo washer/dryer in the master bathroom. It was so handy to have the washer/dryer. It dried very well doing small loads. I was a little surprised there was no toilet in the master bathroom, just one toilet room in the living area.

Globalist breakfast was with dated vouchers. We got 4 vouchers for the first 3 nights and only 2 for the last 2 nights. Maybe we would have gotten 4 for all nights if I had changed the King Suite to 4 people on the reservation. The kids are perfectly happy sleeping in and getting convenience store food, so it was fine. Breakfast was a smallish spread by Japanese hotel standards, but I enjoyed the lychee, curry soup, and tofu skin and turnip stew (last 2 being rotating items). My goal was to just eat enough, so I have space for all the other delicious food in Tokyo!

The location is awesome, connected to Shibuya Station. We flew into NRT and took the Narita Express. I watched a video on how to buy tickets on the machine. It was helpful since even with English, the options aren’t that intuitive. It was relatively easy to follow the signs to NEW South Gate to find the entrance to the hotel. The only slightly difficult part was maneuvering with our luggage on the crowded platform to get to the exit (this was around 8 pm on a Monday).

The hotel is in the extremely new Shibuya Sakura Stage development. Many stores and restaurants weren’t open yet when we were there, and the Lawson’s was only open until 6 pm (from the website, it’ll be open until 11 pm starting July 25, 2024). We found a different Lawson’s that was across the street from the complex. The hotel will be an even more convenient place as time goes on.

When we left, I asked the front desk to help me send 1 luggage to KIX airport and 1 to our next hotel, the Roku Kyoto. He wanted me to fill out the form myself, but I didn’t know what to put as the address for the airport. I asked him to please do it as I didn’t want to mess it up. He ends up calling someone about how to fill out the airport form. So why did he think I would know how to do it? My expectation is that hotel front desks will fill out the form for you. I would think it’s better to have the address in Japanese than English. I’ve even had them call the next hotel to let them know it’s coming. But this is the second time this has happened, the first being the Yamato desk in the Hilton Tokyo Bay. It cost about 3000 yen/luggage (the one to the airport was a little more). It went on the folio but didn’t count as eligible spend.

A side note about picking up the luggage at KIX. There are 2 pick up locations, 1 on each side of the large check-in area. The information desk told me that they usually put it closer to the location of your airline (which is on the form), but not always. We tried there first, but alas; it was at the location allll the way on the other side lol.

I feel the front desk service is not quite up to par compared to other hotels we have stayed at in Japan. But the hotel itself is very new and nice. We have plans to stay here again. I usually like to try different hotels but looking at the shopping areas the kids want to go to next time (Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku), this really is the best Hyatt option.












Entrance to the hotel on the left:

 

[wanderlust7]

ROKU KYOTO, LXR Hotels & Resorts
Kyoto, Japan
June 2024
110k Hilton points (used FNCs)

We stayed here for 2 nights in 2 rooms using FNCs (3 were DH’s and 1 was mine). The standard award rooms are the Deluxe King and Deluxe Twin, which can connect, and I was able to arrange that ahead of time. The 4 of us (2 adults, 2 kids ages 12 and 15) could have all stayed in the twin room, but it would have been 12,650 yen extra/night to make up the sofa into a bed for DS (over 12, so can’t bedshare). As the kids have gotten older, we like the extra space.

I had originally booked the rooms using 3 FNCs (DH’s) and 1 room on points. When I got my FNC, I was able to find availability (by stalking) and canceled the points room. DH and I are both Diamond with the Aspire. They used to offer an experience credit of 10,000 yen for the first night and 5000 yen for each additional night. Breakfast was up to 3 people. DH’s room was grandfathered into this. By the time I was able to use my FNC, the benefit was select items in the minibar and breakfast only for 2. When 1 member books 2 rooms, the benefit only applies to the room the member is in. So – we got 10,000+5000 credit, minibar for 1 room the first night, breakfast for 4 the first day (2 rooms, 2 members), breakfast for 3 the second day (2 rooms under the same member, grandfathered for 3). They charged the 4th person as DD with the child rate, which I thought was fair. They were very clear about all this in our e-mail communications as well as at check-in, which I appreciated.

Breakfast is a nice spread with a buffet and menu you can order from. There is an upcharge for steak, which I tried once since I wanted to use up our Aspire credits. It was very tender.

The rooms were beautiful and felt luxurious. It was my favorite of the trip. They connected through the closet area, which gave it a nice flow, though it blocked part of the storage.

The hotel location wouldn’t be good for first time visitors as it’s only close to Kinkakuji. DH and I have been to Kyoto some years before. While there are some places we would have liked to revisit, they weren’t priorities. My goal was to relax, enjoy the hotel grounds, and eat, which we accomplished lol. The hotel grounds are so serene and beautiful. I would have liked to visit the gardens at the Shozan hotel next door (free by showing our room key is what I read), but we didn’t get around to it. We did enjoy the thermal pool, time slot reservation required.

The first night, we had a kaiseki dinner at Keiryouyuka, which is an open-air restaurant next to a stream at the Shozan. We could charge to our room here, but not apply the experience credit. I chose this restaurant because I saw on the Shozan website (Japanese only) that they were doing fireflies viewing. Around 9:30 pm, they turned off the lights in the restaurant and then we saw many fireflies around the stream and even on the railing. A waitress somehow caught one and gave it to DD, where it just stayed on her hand. She’s usually afraid of bugs, but I guess not fireflies lol. It was a magical experience for all of us.

The kaiseki dinner was lovely too. It was many courses of small, delicious food. The waitresses were sweet and tried to explain the dishes to us even though they don’t speak much English. There are 3 price levels you can choose for your meal. I had to specify which we wanted when I made the reservation with the Roku concierge. I spent a lot of time translating the menu trying to decide lol. But it’s really only a few dishes that differ. I got the least expensive for DS and the most expensive for DH and I lol. DS will eat most things, but isn’t a foodie like me. The main thing that differed was that we got abalone and wagyu. DD is a picky eater and chose the kids bento. It’s meant for 6-year-olds, but the restaurant allowed it after confirming that’s enough for her. It did turn out enough as the rice balls were huge. She ate most everything, so I’ll call it a win.

The next day, we did the afternoon tea at the Roku (could apply the experience credit to this). On the restaurant’s suggestion, we did it for 3 people instead of 4. We barely finished everything, so it was a good call. We enjoyed it, the dishes were delicate and beautiful.

For dinner, DH and I went to Muroi, which is a kaiseki restaurant nearby mentioned in Flyertalk reviews. It had 1 Michelin star in 2021. We left the kids in the hotel room and got them convenience store food lol. It’s a tiny restaurant that seats 10 max, but there was only one other Japanese group of 3. It was a wonderful, up close, and personal foodie experience. The chef has worked in Europe, so spoke good English. The places he’s worked at (on his website) is quite impressive. Each dish was so delicate with many components. He showed us his notebook where he jots down and illustrates his inspirations. It’s 20,000 yen per person plus 10% tax and 10% service. Not cheap, but a similar experience back home would cost at least 2-3 times more. At the end of the meal, he walked us outside and showed us a shortcut to get back to the Roku, through the underground parking of the Harvest Club across the street.

The nearest convenience store is the 7/11. We followed shortcut directions posted on Flyertalk to turn right at the spa to the small employee parking lot. Our room was at one end of the hotel, so finding the spa made it further. Next to the employee parking lot is a small path next to a hillside of bamboo. That leads to a residential neighborhood, walk uphill a little to the main road and turn left. 7/11 is on the right. It probably took us 5-10 minutes to get there. Muroi is further down the road, which is why the Harvest Club shortcut made more sense, but we didn’t know that going there.

We had 2 Aspire $200 credits to use. I had planned out an estimate that would use that up. I asked to split the charge across 2 cards at checkout. It came out to $201 and change. Pats self on back lol. There were several mini bar charges on our bill but was resolved quickly. The only one that we should have been charged for was the 1000-yen apple juice DS accidentally drank going by the common non-alcoholic drink rule for free mini bars, but it wasn’t listed as complimentary on the list.

The hotel called us a taxi when we left. It was a little over 3000 yen to Suiran in Arashiyama. Around the same price as our taxi ride from Kyoto Station when we arrived. We had a lovely stay. The Roku is a beautiful hotel with good service in a picturesque setting.

 

[wanderlust7]

Suiran, a Luxury Collection Hotel
Kyoto, Japan
June 2024
94k, 82k Bonvoy points (also used FNCs)

Stayed here for 2 nights. We needed 2 rooms since their regular rooms only fit 2. The Tsukinone Superior King and Tsukinone Superior Twin connect, and I was able to book those as awards. 1 room was with 85k FNCs (1 Brilliant anniversary FNC, 1 was a special spend offer). The 94k night needed to be topped off. The second room was with points, which knocked out most of our Bonvoy points balance.

DH used to have the Amex Brilliant, but downgraded it in January. Oddly, he still has Platinum status, so we got breakfast for 2. The kids got convenience store food again (a recurring theme lol). It might sound bad, but they looove the convenience store food in Japan.

The breakfast was my favorite of the trip. You pick either Japanese or Western option. The appetizer is an assortment of small dishes (both Japanese and Western items, seems everyone gets the same thing) and shot glasses of 4 different juices. Japanese main entrée was a piece of fish, tofu, miso soup, onsen egg, and choice of rice or porridge. I don’t usually like runny eggs, but I liked this style of onsen egg with the sauce that came with it. The Western option was pastries, bread, bacon, and an omelet. I forget if there was a choice of anything, but that’s what we had. I preferred the Japanese option.

The building is older with low ceilings, so the rooms felt like a step down especially coming from the Roku. It was all clean and in good condition though. The bathroom has 2 sliding walls to close it off, similar to the Conrad Osaka. The rooms connect in the most typical way, through the shared wall next to the TV.

The hotel is located in Arashiyama, on a quieter end, but only 5 minutes’ walk to the main shopping street. I have fond memories of the area from when DH and I visited years ago. The kids weren’t interested in the monkey park, DH and I had already been, so I decided to do something scenic.

We took the Sagano Romantic Train from Saga Torokko Station to Torokko Kameoka Station. I booked it ahead of time online and was able to get the open air “Rich Car No 5”. It was very odd, but nobody checked our tickets and there was nowhere to scan in. From there, we took a bus to the Hozugawa River Boat. We bought the boat tickets on site. They don’t seem to have set departure times. You get a group number and then just wait for your group to be called on the screen. It was very efficient. There was a store and snack stall while we waited. The boat ride is down river and there were some small rapids. I got a bit wet sitting on the side. It was very scenic. Towards the end, a snack boat comes and attaches to the side. We bought grilled dango (rice flour balls) and a drink. They were selling grilled octopus too. The best part was the boat ride ends right next to the hotel!

The first night, we had dinner at Boruta. The Suiran concierge made the reservation for us (you can also make it online). It’s such a hidden gem from Flyertalk reviews. I wouldn’t have even known it was a restaurant passing by. It’s a small, family run, wagyu restaurant. Everyone except DD had the set dinners. The appetizers were delicious and then the piece de resistance, the melt in your mouth A5 wagyu. DD ordered the katsu curry and tempura shrimp from the a la carte menu. The curry was too spicy for her, so we ate it for her. It was delicious. The tempura shrimp looked really good too, but she ate it all. I was glad they had the a la carte menu because it’s not on their website. The waitress was nice and spoke decent English.

Boruta is very close to the Saga Torokko Station, where we took the Sagano Romantic Train. That station is right next to the JR Saga Arashiyama Station. There’s a Family Mart steps from Boruta and a Lawson closer to the station.

The second night, we had dinner at Unagi Hirokawa. It’s a Michelin starred eel restaurant (not sure which years). They’ve gone reservation only, whereas before there would be an hours long line. Google maps is a little off and took us to the wagyu restaurant next door. Luckily, there was a sign there pointing us the right way. The restaurant was rather disappointing. I love unagi, but the tiny, edible bones were much more noticeable here than when I’ve had it before. I don’t understand why it’s so famous (and pricey too).

The rest of the time, we shopped in the cute stores and ate some street food. Arashiyama was a lot more crowded than I remember it, even though we were there on weekdays.

The Suiran pays for a taxi to or from Kyoto Station. We chose to use it on departure and had arranged a time when we checked in. We were ready about an hour before expected, so asked if we could change the time. It was not a problem and the taxi arrived quickly. We were off to Kyoto Station to shop a little before boarding the Haruka train to KIX airport to fly to Seoul. While looking for lunch at Kyoto Station, we ran into DS’s old classmate whom he hasn’t seen in years!

The Haruka train is Hello Kitty themed. There’s a discount for foreigners to buy it online. I then had to exchange it for paper tickets at a machine. There was a line, so I spent the time reviewing the instructions on their website. You have to scan everyone’s passports at the machine. You also need the credit card used to buy the tickets.

We had a lovely time at the Suiran. Service is good and the location is awesome for Arashiyama. I was happy to be back in the area after so many years.






Side view from balcony:



Suiran entrance:



Breakfast:





Train:



Boat:



Snack boat:

 

[wanderlust7]

Andaz Seoul Gangnam
Seoul, South Korea
June 2024
Hyatt Category 5

We stayed here for 6 nights on our first visit to South Korea. 1 room was an Andaz Suite King, booked with points and upgraded with a suite upgrade award. This room could have fit the 4 of us with a rollaway and one kid on the sofa. They might have counted DS (age 15) as an adult and not covered his Globalist breakfast according to Flyertalk reviews. It was a bit of a splurge, but I decided to book the second room (2 Twin) with points. 5 nights were the standard rate of 20k/night, last night was peak at 23k. Cash rate was not very expensive, so ended up getting only around 1.5 cent per point. We did Guest of Honor for this room, so I got the stay credit, and everyone’s breakfast is covered.

The Andaz Suite King and 2 Twin rooms can connect, which I requested, and the hotel confirmed ahead of time. The rooms are at the end of the hallway and “connect” via an extra door between them. We were given door stoppers to keep the room doors open, but they disappeared towards the end of the stay. This type of connection is not quite as convenient as connecting inside the rooms. But better than being on different floors lol!

The rooms were spacious with modern décor. DH commented that the workmanship could be a little better. There was occasionally a slight sewage smell, but it wasn’t bothersome enough to ask them about it. Our rooms were on the 5th floor and the suite faced a busy road, so there was street noise. The kids’ room faced a residential street and was quieter.

Since this is an Andaz, snacks and non-alcoholic drinks from the minibar were included. There was a variety of Korean snacks and drinks. We were also gifted a bottle of wine and fruit in both rooms. The tiny grapes were especially good. You can squeeze it and the flesh pops right out. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to drink the wine and left both bottles behind (I hope housekeeping took it home).

Breakfast is a huge spread. One side is the hot items with many Korean choices and the usual Western eggs, bacon, etc. One side is the room temperature/cold items like bread, pastries, fruit, smoked salmon, cold cuts, cheese, etc. There were small bottles of yogurt drinks with Pokemon characters. My favorite item was the fried chicken and tteokbokki, especially when it was fresh. The breakfast sandwich was good too and the bread is Andaz branded. I wanted to like the kimchee stew, but it was too spicy for me. Even though I can eat spicy, I guess not to Korean levels lol. One thing I didn’t like was you have to order the juice instead of it being self-serve. Most of the time, they didn’t come by to say they were clearing the buffet like other hotels did.

The hotel is connected to Apgujeong subway station. There’s an entrance steps from the front door. After a few days, we figured out that you can also get there underground by going to B1 using a different elevator than the ones to the rooms. There are a few restaurants there, which we didn’t get to try. The location was convenient, even though most of the things we wanted to do were across the river.

I also considered the Hotel 28 Myeongdong, which is an SLH (when I was booking, they were still under Hyatt). That would have been more in the heart of the action, but I wanted to use the suite upgrade award (can’t do that at an SLH). We saw the hotel entrance when we were in Myeongdong. It’s on the street with all the chicken restaurants. Such a bustling place with the outdoor dining areas for each restaurant.

We found a CU convenience store on a side street behind the hotel. We bought our T-money cards for the subway there. I was able to load money on them and get them registered to the kids so they can get the child and teen rates. I only needed to tell them the birthdates, they didn’t ask for passports. For that part, they got someone who spoke better English, maybe it was the manager. Before we left Seoul, we stopped by another convenience store to spend down the small amounts we had left.

Overall, we had a good stay and enjoyed the extra space. Maybe if we visit again, I’ll pick a hotel across the river. No regrets for this time though.

Suite living room, with the rollaway I originally requested thinking we'd stay in one room. They took it away the next day:



Suite bedroom:



Suite bathroom:



Twin room:



Twin bathroom:

 

[wanderlust7]

Hotel Figueroa – Unbound Collection
Los Angeles, CA
July 2024
Hyatt Category 5

Stayed here for 3 nights while taking DD to Anime Expo. Booked it with points (standard rate 20k/night) and upgraded to a 1 Bedroom King Suite with a suite upgrade award. We were further upgraded to a Casa! DH is the Globalist, but he didn’t come, so we didn’t get breakfast. You can’t combine awards, so I couldn’t do a Guest of Honor and use a suite upgrade award. Since reviews say the standard rooms are small, I decided to prioritize the suite. DD tends to not eat much in the mornings anyways.

The Casa is quite big with a full-size living room, large dining table, wet bar, half bath, and separate bedroom with master bathroom. I was excited about the huge terrace thinking it was private. But nope, all hotel guests can access it and people used it to watch July 4th fireworks. Oddly, there were only sheer curtains, so I felt there was some loss of privacy in the living room. Only for the patio door though since the other windows were high above. Being in the middle of downtown LA and on a lower floor, there was a lot of street noise (sirens were common).

There were 2 boxed waters when we arrived. I left a note (and tip) for housekeeping asking for more water, from then on, we got 4 boxes. I would also ask the front desk for a couple on our way out for the day.

The location is great for Anime Expo (and LA Live, Crypto Arena, LA Convention Center). Cross the street and you’re practically there. The area’s not great though, I wouldn’t stay there if we’re in LA for other purposes. While going to the convention, we saw the unfinished Park Hyatt LA at Oceanwide Plaza, covered in graffiti. Will be a great location for conventions when (if?) it’s finished.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Hotel Figueroa – Unbound Collection
Los Angeles, CA
July 2024
Hyatt Category 5

Stayed here for 3 nights while taking DD to Anime Expo. Booked it with points (standard rate 20k/night) and upgraded to a 1 Bedroom King Suite with a suite upgrade award. We were further upgraded to a Casa! DH is the Globalist, but he didn’t come, so we didn’t get breakfast. You can’t combine awards, so I couldn’t do a Guest of Honor and use a suite upgrade award. Since reviews say the standard rooms are small, I decided to prioritize the suite. DD tends to not eat much in the mornings anyways.

The Casa is quite big with a full-size living room, large dining table, wet bar, half bath, and separate bedroom with master bathroom. I was excited about the huge terrace thinking it was private. But nope, all hotel guests can access it and people used it to watch July 4th fireworks. Oddly, there were only sheer curtains, so I felt there was some loss of privacy in the living room. Only for the patio door though since the other windows were high above. Being in the middle of downtown LA and on a lower floor, there was a lot of street noise (sirens were common).

There were 2 boxed waters when we arrived. I left a note (and tip) for housekeeping asking for more water, from then on, we got 4 boxes. I would also ask the front desk for a couple on our way out for the day.

The location is great for Anime Expo (and LA Live, Crypto Arena, LA Convention Center). Cross the street and you’re practically there. The area’s not great though, I wouldn’t stay there if we’re in LA for other purposes. While going to the convention, we saw the unfinished Park Hyatt LA at Oceanwide Plaza, covered in graffiti. Will be a great location for conventions when (if?) it’s finished.

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You did well to use the suite upgrade rather than breakfast. I have stayed in a standard room there before with DH and it was TIGHT! The plated breakfast was pretty good, though

 

[platamama]

The Glasshouse Edinburgh Autograph Collection (Marriott)
Edinburgh, UK
Aug 2024

3 nights - Glasshouse Edinburgh, 660 GBP + 252,000 points in lieu of standard cash price of $2860 total at time of booking for 3 adults in a Calton Hill Suite (we had the Macallan suite). Had a rollaway bed added to the room, first night was a nice regular bed but the following nights it was a standard less comfy rollaway. On the website it says the cost for a rollaway bed was 50 GBP daily (now it’s 75 GBP) but since I booked on points, it was included per my booking request and for no additional fee. Continental breakfast for all 3 of us was included due to Platinum status (value 15 GBP/pp/day). I asked for scrambled eggs & bacon for a 5 GBP per person upcharge. Oatmeal was included for free. Food was decent. Coffee came in a pot to the table, tea was also served at the table. The fruit was mostly canned peaches and canned mandarin oranges, some fresh whole fruit (pears, apples). There was bread, cereal, cold cuts, cheese, yogurt, boiled eggs, and oatmeal toppings bar. A full Scottish breakfast would be a 15 GBP upcharge per person (30 GBP if you were not Platinum). We also received 3 vouchers for a drink at The Snug, which we used for whisky tasting. The Calton Suite was roomy and there was plenty of room for all of us. It was nice to have double sinks outside of the toilet/bath/shower space. The door between those areas was full frosted glass panel. Items in the minibar were free; I don’t know if they restocked daily because I didn’t take anything out of it until the last day - doh! I was able to pay for the 660GBP fee with Marriott gift cards (redeemed $850 that I got for $575 net after Amex offers) - note this was supposed to be done at check-in but I didn’t read the fine print and did it on the day before checking out. The front desk person did balk a bit, but ended up taking care of it that evening sometime because it was all worked out by the time we checked out the following morning at 8:15am. I only had a 19 GBP charge remaining that went to the CSR card on file. Saved $2045 using 252K points (.8 cpp) and additional $175 (breakfasts) for being Platinum status. Total OOP was $600 for 3 adults for 3 nights.

In a safe, clean area of town, very easy access from airport via the tram (7.50 GBP/person one way). It was very nice having room access to the outdoor green space that had views to Calton Hill.

 

[platamama]

Doubletree Edinburgh City Centre
Edinburgh, UK
Aug 2024

Stayed for 2 nights in a 2 Double bed room. I find it hard in Europe to find places that would fit 3 adults to a room, and while I dislike double beds for me and DH to squeeze into, I had to accept this was going to be the trade-off for using points instead of cash. I used 120K HH points for a room that cost $1530 at time of booking, which made it 1.3 cpp for HH points, a far higher redemption value than I can typically get so I was satisfied with that.

It is located on the west end of the city center, close to Edinburgh Castle as the crow flies but still a 15 minute walk away because of how the roads are. Breakfast was free for all 3 of us since I'm Hilton Gold through my Amex Platinum (lost Diamond status when I closed my Aspire card) and it was the best breakfast we had during our stay in Scotland. I was sad that we only got breakfast for one morning because we had to leave at 3:30am the next morning for our early flight home. Looking at photos on the hotel's website I see we missed the view from the rooftop bar, darn it (guess we'll have to go back some day)!

I forgot to take pictures of our room so I grabbed this from the website, it's what our room was like. One window opened up about 5 in. for ventilation, but otherwise it was rather stuffy:

This part of town had more graffiti, sirens, and loud drunk people singing in the evening, but still felt safe. We lucked out that a Fringe show that we decided to see kind of last minute was playing just a 5 minute walk away. There was a place called Nando's after the show that had tasty sandwiches that we ordered to go.

What I do have photos of are the in-house menus and my dinner:




The chicken entree:


The food was good! We were so busy on this trip that eating well sadly took a back seat, so this was one of the few nice meals we had. I put the charges to my room where my new Surpass was on file, and the $50 quarterly credit has posted.

ETA: Sorry the photos are blurry, they aren't in the original file. I struggle with figuring out the .heic conversion from my iPhone to .jpg format that I need for the DIS, and I end up choosing lower resolution to make the file size small enough for me to email myself the photos. If anyone has tips for this I'd love to hear what you do!

 

[wanderlust7]

ETA: Sorry the photos are blurry, they aren't in the original file. I struggle with figuring out the .heic conversion from my iPhone to .jpg format that I need for the DIS, and I end up choosing lower resolution to make the file size small enough for me to email myself the photos. If anyone has tips for this I'd love to hear what you do!

I upload the photos from my phone. It gets saved as a draft and then I copy/paste the text on my computer.

Nice that they gave you breakfast for 3!

 

[wanderlust7]

Conrad Orlando
Orlando, FL
November 2024
90k Hilton points (used FNC)

Stayed here for 2 nights after staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek (using our timeshare points). Used up 2 FNCs and 2 Aspire credits. Had a third Aspire credit that I hoped to use on check out day lunch, but they closed my folio, and I couldn’t charge to room.

DH didn’t go on this trip, so I e-mailed to ask to prepay incidentals on his Aspire. They sent a payment link and that went fairly smoothly. Except I should have specified I wanted to prepay $200 because the first link they sent was for $400.

Check out at WBC is 10 am and we made it to the hotel around 10:30. I figured we’d have to store our luggage, but the person checking us in was very nice and found us an open room with an awesome view. It was an accessible unit, but worth it to be upgraded to Pool View with Balcony. A lovely view of the pool and the lagoon behind. The standard award is Nature View. We were upgraded in app to Partial Nature View with Balcony. Glad I didn’t take that.

I asked for late check out and was told they can do until 1 pm. I guess it didn’t get put on my account because when I checked out at 1 pm, they said it was at 11 am and that’s when my folio was closed. I guess the lesson is to double check and to specifically ask for the folio to stay open.

After checking in, we took rideshare to MK. I didn’t realize the hotel has a free shuttle! Sigh. Should have thought to check.

The next day was just R&R. We did the free kayaking in the lagoon and the family slide that’s part of Evermore Resort. The pool is heated, but the lagoon is not. It was cold that day, so we didn’t stay long at the slide.

The Conrad is on one side of the lagoon. The Conrad pool is exclusive to Conrad guests. We didn’t end up using it, but walked past once and they had yummy, sugared grapes out. I think everything else around the lagoon is part of the Evermore Resort. I was confused before we went how far everything is, but it’s really not that far.

Since we had the Aspire credits to use, plus the $50/day F&B credit for being a Diamond member, we tried all their restaurants. First night was Sophia’s Trattoria. Food was good, but perhaps not that memorable. Service was very friendly. Lunch the next day was Papaya Club. This was my favorite, and I would have eaten there again on check out day if not for the folio snafu. We had the pupu platter with a variety of appetizer dishes plus the brioche sandwiches. Everything was delicious and service was particularly personable.

Dinner was at Ceiba for fancy Mexican. We had a lovely window view of the Epcot ball. Our dining time coincided with the MK fireworks, but too bad that was on the other side of the room (we could still see it though). The guacamole was very good; maybe the most expensive guacamole I’ll ever have with lump crab and caviar lol. The steak in the tacos was especially flavorful and tender. I had the Marigold cocktail because I saw it mentioned in a review. I like spicy, but maybe not in my cocktails.

Overall, I was very happy with the dining experiences. It’s quite pricey, so I was glad to have the Aspire credits to use. It ended up being $200 x2, $50 x2 and I only paid $35 OOP. I had a cocktail at each meal and the kids sometimes had mocktails.

We had a late flight, so on check out day, we were just hanging around the resort. We had lunch at the Food Hall of Evermore Resort. DS had a burger, me and DD had personal pizzas. I was impressed how good it was for food court food. I actually liked my margarita pizza better than the one at Sophia’s. Total was about $50, probably a third of what we would have spent at Papaya (though that wouldn’t be OOP!).

Above the Food Hall, they have foosball, air hockey, and shuffleboard. Outside, there is cornhorn and a giant Jenga. We checked out the arcade that’s a small walk away next to the villas pool, but the kids were disappointed. There are some food trucks around the resort selling ice cream and drinks, but oddly, you can’t charge to room.











From second floor of Food Hall:

 

[Artygal90]

The last review of this hotel on this thread was 5 years ago, so I thought I'd report back from my weekend trip!

DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando - Disney Springs™ Area
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/mcofhdt-doubletree-suites-orlando/

Travel Dates: December 5-8, 2024

Redemption Details
- I booked this hotel because the Disney value resorts were totally sold out for this weekend and I was trying to keep my actual cash outlay on this trip low.
- Room was a 2 queen suite with a living room pullout sofa, sleeping up to 6 people. We had 4 adults and got a rollaway for $15/night so no one had to share.
- The cash rate for 3 nights was around $800 including the mandatory nightly $23 resort fees.
- I redeemed 180,000 Hilton Points (60k per night) for the stay

Pros
- This property has Early Theme Park Entry as a perk, which was huge for us since we were not paying for Lightning Lanes this trip.
- Front desk staff was helpful and it was easy to communicate with them through the "Chat With Us" feature in the Hilton app.
- The $30 daily Hilton credit could be used at all the food and beverage locations on property, including the grab-and-go market which was open 7 am - 11 pm and had plenty of snacks and quick meal options like Easy Mac, sandwiches, or frozen meals you can heat up in the microwave. The full breakfast buffet seemed overpriced at $23/pp.
- Free coffee in the lobby was nice! I liked just being to grab some in the morning and go rather than having to fuss with the in-room coffeemaker.
- The kitchenette has a sink, mini fridge, microwave, lots of storage, and a table with four chairs. You definitely would have enough room to prepare some simple meals in your room.
- Plenty of space! We had four adults, all with luggage, plus a rollaway and never felt cramped.
- The property felt clean, nicely updated, and was decorated for Christmas. I did not smell any mustiness that I read about in the Google reviews.
- The 2 beds in the main bedroom were very comfortable.

Cons
- The pullout sofa was SO uncomfortable. I am not particularly picky about hotel beds but I had a hard time sleeping on it, even after a full park day where I walked 10 miles. I could feel every spring in the mattress. I feel this makes the pullout much less useful unless you have small kids/teenagers who can sleep anywhere.
- The shuttles run more frequently than other off-site hotels (once per hour starting around 7 am), but require prebooking and don't start early enough to get you to the parks in time for rope drop except maybe for Epcot. I think this would be fine for a group that isn't splitting up and doesn't need to get to the parks early, but if you do they won't work for you.
- The bathtub enamel was chipped and the body wash dispenser was missing.
- The A/C did not heat/cool the two suite rooms evenly - one room would be stuffy while the other room was freezing cold. Super-thin blankets on the rollaway and pullout didn't help with this.

My Ultimate Verdict
This was a good redemption for my group, which was for 4 adults on a budget who all needed separate sleeping surfaces and mostly just needed a place to crash after going to the parks. The Early Theme Park Entry perk was a huge advantage for us and worth the points on its own. However, if I were paying cash for a hotel, I would look elsewhere first unless I *really* needed a single room that sleeps 6. I really missed the ease of WDW transportation and the uncomfortable pullout couch makes the room less attractive for me.

 

[miztressuz]

Atwell Suites Miami Brickell
Miami, FL
40k & 41k IHG points
(dynamic pricing have seen up to 60k)

Stayed 2 nights pre-cruise using up my 2 FNCs. I get one capped at 40k from the old IHG Select card and had one uncapped from the IHG Premier, so this worked perfectly for my dates.

Atwell Suites shares the building with the Hotel Indigo, with access to all the same facilities. Bonus for Atwell is complimentary breakfast in the Bar at the 24th Floor and I think the rooms are bigger.

We had a wonderful room which come with balconies on the 24th floor. The hotel location was great for picking up the free Coral Way trolley to the cruise terminal. We got on with room for the luggage. By the Bayshore stops there were more people waiting with luggage which became awkward and many standing in the aisle.

The trolley stop is right on the corner of 11th and 2nd before it heads into the Brickell Metrorail station on the next block. From pictures there used to be a shelter to indicate the stop but there's construction of a new residential building on that block, so just trust the maps and flag down the trolley when it drives up. (I'll try to edit with some pictures)

For us it was a good location with access to transit, food, and drugstores for last minute necessities.

 

[E2ME2]

Awesome Reviews.
I'm searching for reviews of the following 2 hotels (these are the top 2 that I have narrowed my search to investigate)
1) Towne Place Suites - Lake Buena Vista (On Palm Parkway)
2) Drury Plaza Hotel - at Disney Springs (On Hotel Plaza Blvd)
I have booked a stay for 2026, based on our cursory tours of both, but would love to hear feedback from folks who have actually stayed at these hotels, to get a good side-by-side comparison.
TIA for your information.

 

[afan]

Awesome Reviews.
I'm searching for reviews of the following 2 hotels (these are the top 2 that I have narrowed my search to investigate)
1) Towne Place Suites - Lake Buena Vista (On Palm Parkway)
2) Drury Plaza Hotel - at Disney Springs (On Hotel Plaza Blvd)
I have booked a stay for 2026, based on our cursory tours of both, but would love to hear feedback from folks who have actually stayed at these hotels, to get a good side-by-side comparison.
TIA for your information.

I would check the Orlando hotels forum https://www.disboards.com/forums/orlando-hotels-and-attractions.15/

This thread is used for reviews of hotels all over the world that people have stayed at primarily using hotel points to book, not for Disney related hotels.

 

[E2ME2]

I would check the Orlando hotels forum https://www.disboards.com/forums/orlando-hotels-and-attractions.15/

This thread is used for reviews of hotels all over the world that people have stayed at primarily using hotel points to book, not for Disney related hotels.

THANKS!