Hilton Waikiki Beach review

While vacationing in Honolulu, a friend and I stayed at the Hilton Waikiki Beach. We did not use points, but rather paid the full price for the rooms. This was probably the most expensive out of pocket hotel I stayed at since I usually love finding deals. My friend wanted to stay at the Hilton because of the points so I compromised because it was located close to the beach.

The lobby was grand and had lots of seating. Every night there is live music, happy hour and dessert hour. The hotel also has a delicious eatery called MAC 24/7 that was featured on Man v. Food. We had dinner and breakfast there and both were very good. I thought the prices weren't too bad considering it was a hotel (about $15-20 per entree).

Check-in was 3 p.m. but I arrived a bit early so I asked if I could check in early. The receptionist found a room available on the 10th floor with an ocean view, which is actually a small upgrade from the room we paid for, which was a "city view" room. Kudos for early check - in and ocean view room.

Unfortunately, there is a huge building directly blocking the view, I think it's the Pacific Beach Hotel, but it was still pretty nice because I could see plenty of waves and sand on either side. The room came with a balcony, which proved useful for drying wet swim suits and shoes.

Again, no wifi available in the rooms until you were a Gold HHonors member I think. Wifi was available in common areas though. I didn't mind not having wifi since I was on vacation as I try to "disconnect" from electronics whenever I am on vacation.

One of the big pluses was we were on the same floor as the heated pool --- yes heated so no freezing waters! I loved it. There's a bar at the pool too and lots of comfortable lounge seating to soak up the sun. I swam in the pool and we also laid out for a bit, catching the breeze and enjoying the sunshine.

If I ever went back to stay at this hotel, I would request a room on the 10th floor for easy pool access. It's great for an early morning swim before breakfast and then hitting the beach or late night swim without the hassle of going to the beach.

The beds were comfortable, the room was clean. The bathroom had a shower only, which I appreciated since for some reason I have never stayed at a Hilton with a clean bathtub. It always seemed to "icky" to take a bath --- there have been hotels with nice, gleaning bathtubs that invited a soak, but not at Hiltons.

The toiletries were all Hawaiian inspired --- mango honey body lotion, coconut shampoo and conditioner, I smelled like a tropical fruit bowl. I loved it.

Again, there weren't a lot of rack space for hanging up towels so we used to the slide bar on the shower. The bathroom was a great size and the glass let in natural light. The closet was IN the bathroom, which I thought was genius for getting dressed after a shower and such. Now I am thinking of putting a closet in my own bathroom, or at least a mini-clothes rack.

The service was nice, but our room was made up pretty late in the day. We got up around 6 a.m. every day (my friend woke up even earlier for a jog on the beach) and would go out and explore, come back at 12 p.m. and our room still wasn't made up. I think our rooms were cleaned around 2 p.m., which is later than I prefer since that is optimal nap time. However, not too big a deal.

There was a safe in the room for valuables at no extra charge, another small plus. I find it rather annoying when hotels charge a small fee for using the safe.

I would stay at the Hilton Waikiki Beach again, but I would try looking for a deal next time.

Seattle to Honolulu on Hawaiian Airlines review

A friend and I spent the long weekend in Hawaii. It was the first time either of us have gone so I was pretty excited. I envisioned relaxing beaches, plenty of sunshine and loco moco.

I flew Hawaiian because it offered the cheapest roundtrip, plus I was curious to fly the namesake airline. The flight was about 5.5 hours.

When I stepped on board, I noticed the seats were arranged so the ones by the window came in pairs with about 4 seats in the middle. I loved this! I was lucky enough to get an aisle seat close to the front and the man sitting next to the window seat was quiet and didn't bother me, which is perfect.

The seats themselves were made of fabric so they were not too comfortable, but I noticed I could recline further than on Delta. There were individual screens, but all entertainment were available through purchase and I wasn't in the mood to cough up $7.99 for a movie.

I settled in to read my beach novel --- I find flights a great place to read. No distractions, and if you sit next to someone quiet, no interruptions.

Shortly after take off, the crew came out with beverage service. I read on the back of Hana Hou that beverages include Passion-Orange-Guava juice and pineapple juice! Score!

I had the Passion-Orange-Guava juice to start, it was delicious, very "tropically" and a great way to start my vacation. I took a brief nap (planes make me very sleepy) and when I woke, meal service started.

I was pretty impressed Hawaiian offered a meal at no extra charge. And I was more impressed to find the meal was very good. Fresh cut fruit (honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon, pineapple and grapes) with cheese and crackers and chocolate covered macadamia nuts. It was light and healthy. I was happy to find they served all natural cheddar and all natural Pepperidge Farm crackers.

I continued to read for a while, flipped through the magazine and used the lavatory. The lavatory had coconut soap, which I liked. I later found out that there is A LOT of coconut and A LOT of pineapple in Hawaii.

I was getting hungry after a few more hours so I went to purchase a snack. The downside of Hawaiian is you cannot purchase meals. On other major airlines, you can purchase meals since there is no complimentary meal service. However, Hawaiian airlines sell a wide array of snacks like cookies and chips.

Again, loving the Hawaiian flavors. When I went to the gallery to purchase some chips, I realized the snacks all came in "family size" not "individual packets". The steward was kind enough to tell me they would be starting another snack service in about an hour with individual bags of chips so I saved my money and returned to my seat.

Surely enough, an hour later came the snack service. The crew was also serving complimentary cocktails in the economy cabin, which I thought was a nice welcoming gesture. I didn't have a cocktail, but I think it was coconut rum and guava juice.

All in all, a pleasant flight. I would probably choose Hawaiian again if it was the cheapest, but I am not sure if I would necessarily pick it over another airline if it came to comfort. The biggest plus was the meal service. The seats were not super comfortable though. I hope they upgrade to leather or some version of a smoother covering.

The other thing is I had to travel to a way off terminal to catch the Hawaiian flight. When I landed in Honolulu, I had to take a shuttle to reach the main baggage claim area which took about 15 minutes waiting time. I wonder if other airlines might have better landing spots.

On the return flight, the meal was a hot plate with a bun stuffed with chicken (like an Asian style bao), salad and shortbread cookie.

A word of advice: my friend and I booked the Speedi Shuttle to our hotels and back when we bought our tickets. I think the shuttle service has some sort of agreement with the airline, but it takes FOREVER. I arrived at the hotel two hours after landing even though the hotel is 9 miles from the airport.

They also insist on picking you up three hours before your departing flight and was not flexible to change the pick up time. I had no checked baggage and wanted to depart only 2 hours before my departure flight, but Speedi Shuttle would not consider my request. So I found myself waiting AT my gate more than 2 hours before departure because it took me about 45 minutes to get from my hotel to the airport (this time it was a direct drive) and through security. I wouldn't use Speedi Shuttle again, probably try a different shuttle service or even take a cab.

Hilton Austin review

I stayed at the Hilton Austin for two nights.

Overall, the service and staff were great. I didn't interact with them much except at check in, when I asked for some toothpaste (was delivered promptly) and when I asked to extend check out (done with no problems). So kudos for the professionalism.

The downside involved the room and amenities. First, the bed was super uncomfortable. It felt like an old spring mattress...which I have to say I am not used to after sleeping on memory foam. The blankets were thin so I was glad the thermostat was easy to control/turn off and on.
Unfortunately, the pillows were flat as the sheets. I kept rolling the pillows underneath my neck for comfort to no avail. The first night, loud neighbors were randomly yelling to each other down the hallway around 2 a.m. This is not Hilton's fault obviously, but I wonder if the guests are the partying/stay up late type. After all, the hotel is located downtown.

There was no night light in the bathroom so when I had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, I was blinded by the lights each time. For some reason, there was only one rack for towels. No small rack for hand towels and all the towels were rolled up and placed under the sink. I think this unnecessarily encourages one-time towel use because where am I supposed to hang my hand towels? Throw them back under the sink?

I liked the soaps and lotions. I have eczema and I am sensitive to some cleansers but the Peter Thomas Roth products seemed fine for my skin.

The wifi cost $14.95 per day unless you were an hhonors member. I have only stayed at Hilton brands a handful of times so I didn't want to sign up for another rewards club (in addition to Marriott and IHG) but I did this time so I didn't have to pay for wifi in the future. The staff at the front desk signed me up in minutes and told me everything was going to be emailed to me.

Unfortunately, I did not receive an email so I have to call and inquire/sign up again. I kind of wish she gave me my hhonors member number right there so I could use it in the future.

Austin to Seattle on Alaska Airlines review

I flew round trip from Seatac to Austin last week. The flight was about three and a half hours long, which is just long enough that my butt was feeling numb by the end.

The first thing I noticed was the flight had new seats. I was flying economy and the seat felt more comfortable, the headrest could be tilted forward, which I really appreciated as I forgot my travel pillow at home.

This flight had electric plugs between each seat, very useful if you want to listen to your iPod or such without worrying about your battery life. This is the first time I saw the plugs in economy, I assume they are more common in First Class.

I am not a frequent flyer on Alaska, but I am a Delta Medallion member which allows me a free checked bag on Alaska. Point.

Somehow, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself in an aisle seat behind First Class, which means faster boarding and exiting time! Another point. When I flew Alaska in the past, I was always near the back so these small perks come to mean a lot.

The service was pretty great. The air stewardesses were very polite and wore all smiles. I slept through the first beverage service, opted not to order a snack and then got some water later.

I brought a Starbucks latte with me on board and immediately, I wished I hadn't gotten it right before the flight. There were no cup holders! So I was holding the latte for quite a while, not wanting to chug it until we reached cruising altitude and the bathrooms were open.

This was probably the most pleasant Alaska flight I had. There were gorgeous views of mt. Rainier from the flight window as we got closer to Seattle. No screaming babies. Very polite passengers next to me.

So as of now, I rank my top flights:

1) Emirates
2) Jet Blue
3) Alitalia


I rank my worst flights:

1) American Airlines
2) Continental
3) Qatar