I have been missing in action

OK. You are correct. I have been missing in action for the last several months. Life took their toll, and although I was traveling quite a bit, I did not get to write down my experiences. I apologize to my reader (there must be one of you!). In the meantime, I did get myself a spunky new Sony Alpha A35 camera (only to have Sony release the A57 couple of weeks later, thank you very much). I also started dabbling with Photoshop, so at least the quality of the pictures will be better. See, the wait was worth it.

In my virtual absence, I have managed to do several trips: a couple of days in New-York city, Cancun, Los Angeles, Seattle, Richmond and a short stay close to home to fulfill the Radisson new bonus.

I’ll do my best to keep up, and post some reviews (or at least pictures) of those trips in the next couple of weeks, before I will head out to Barcelona for another trip.

The New-York trip was a great one. No more cheap seats on the bus, but a more expensive (but still relatively cheap – as I got it on some miscellaneous Amtrak points) seat on the regional Amtrak train. The time difference between the Acela and the regional train is 30-45 minutes, while the price differential can be as much as double. Going on vacation to New-York city regularly,  I am in no rush to get in or get out, and the regional train is just fine. I still get my power; I still get my free WiFi, and the seat is much more comfortable than any airline seat. All in all, it is a pleasant experience apart from the lack of decent waiting area in both Washington and New-York stations. The waiting area looks like an afterthought (which I bet it is), too small and uncomfortable.  

This time we are not staying at our usual spot in New-York (the Staybridge Time Square at what used to be 8,000 points and $60 a night. On a different note, it is time to evaluate the stay as now it would be 12,500 points and $70 a night, I’m sure I’ll delve into on a different post). Taking advantage of the Hilton mistake rate for New-Years (selling a room in Hilton New-York for $20), I have managed to negotiate two nights for slightly more than $100 a night in the Hilton New-York for the night I needed to be there. It was a great deal all around. There are many things to like and many things to hate about the hotel. It is big, no strike that, it is humongous. I usually don’t particularly care about the very small boutique hotels, especially when in a big city like New-York, but this hotel was just too big. You lose the personal touch when you are just low Gold member in such an environment. The wait for the elevators can be long and the lines in and out of the restaurant and hotel in general were slow. It felt too much as a bolt in the machine rather than a welcoming stay. The hotel is also a little further away than I would like from the Broadway theater area.

Other than those small problems, I enjoyed the stay at the Hilton very much. I did not get upgraded to the executive lounge area (not that I expected to), but breakfast at the restaurant was more than adequate. The room was big for New-York and comfortable and one did not need to be a circus artist to get in and out of the shower as happens in many of the New-York hotels. If I can ever get a similar rate in this hotel I would definitely stay again.

One of my objectives in this trip was to find a Chase branch and open a checking account. As recently I’ve got the Freedom card. The added benefits for having a checking account is the 10&10 program – which gives you 10% bonus miles on every dollar spent, plus 10 miles on every transaction. Therefore, the Freedom card is saved for small transactions (usually less than $10, although the real number comparing to the Sapphire card is $10.30 for bonus categories) and for transactions that get the x5 bonus at the quarter. Be that as it may, as I don’t have a Chase bank in my state, I opened a bank account in New-York. Getting the $150 bonus for opening a new bank account did not hurt either. Not bad for one hour of signing forms and sitting in an air-conditioned space.

The last night in the city we have moved to the Waldorf Astoria taking advantage of the Q3 bonus program in Hilton (stay 4 nights, get one free). It was nice to be able to use the certificate for the Waldorf. The room was not ready for us to check in around 1 in the afternoon, which was disappointing. We also did not receive any upgrade, but being a mere Gold member, I really did not expect to get one. We did get coupon for one drink each on the bar (which we took advantage of, excellent drinks and service), and for breakfast in Starbucks in the lobby (which we did not use). The hotel itself has the grand interior and exterior (despite the renovations), but alas, the room itself was a disappointment. It was large for New-York but not laid out. The closet space was a room for itself which was more a wasted space than anything else. Not surprising, the room and infrastructure were dated and in need for some renovation. All in all, well worth the certificate though.

I have yet to edit many of the pictures from the New-York trip, and will try to add more soon. Hopefully the other travel installment will come up soon as well.