Today I have a guest post from a recent friend, Sue Henly.  Sue and I met at a travel event, and charmed me with her Australian accent.  I think she’ll charm you with her writing as well.
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In the soft grey light of early morning, we sit quietly on a bamboo mat, wicker baskets of sticky rice beside us, across from a shuttered colonial mansion heavy with bougainvillea.  Birds chatter in the flame trees until a gong sounds, momentarily startling them into silence.
Around a corner, dozens of barefoot monks and novices appear in a swish of saffron, golden bowls hanging …read more

The Stardust Hotel & Casino long ago bit the dust, and I do mean that literally as well as figuratively — it was imploded on March 13, 2007.  The implosion was accompanied by a big extravaganza, complete with fireworks, prior to the building crumbling down. The casino-hotel complex was nearly completely rebuilt in 1991, meaning that it was a fairly new building at the time of its demise.
The Stardust opened in 1958, and had a rather checkered existence.  There were numerous rumors that it was a front for mob activities, and several managers and associates has criminal histories that …read more

There are great room, good rooms, and then there are the truly horrible.  We all love the great ones, get by with the good ones, but no one should be stuck with a truly horrible room.  What do you do when that’s the one that you’re sent off to?
Last Friday night, I arrived in Las Vegas, caught a cab, and was off to my hotel, arriving there 10:30 pm.  I had a reservation at a major hotel, and my credit card had already been charged for one night.  At the front desk, I was told that I could have a …read more

Being stuck at an airport is never any fun, whether it’s long ground time between flights, or a flight cancellation and serious delay.  Wandering an airport can be fun. . . for the first couple of hours, at least.  But when you’ve checked out every last gift shop, book store, restaurant or bar, and what have you, it’s easy to become bored to tears.
So what are you going to do?  Well, at LAX, if you have enough time to get away, you can leave the hustle and bustle of the airport and head to the beach!

he Ocean Express trolley service …read more

I’ve been checking out a lot of hotel rooms lately, and have seen some that are very ordinary and some that are truly spectacular.  Those truly spectacular ones often have price tags to match.
It would be nice to think that for a special occasion, money doesn’t matter.  But in the real world, it does.  Even for a honeymoon, special event, or romantic getaway, we all have a budget.  Sometimes it will be greater than others, but we all have a budget to work within.
This got me thinking about what I’ve spent for a room, and whether or not it was …read more

I’ve been visiting a lot of hotels lately, in preparation for adding in more reviews of hotels, spas, and restaurants here at Flyaway Cafe.  I’ve made it my practice to not write a review immediately after a visit, because everything seems GREAT or HORRIBLE then.  I take time to look at the photos, see how I feel about the visit a week or so later, and then start forming a detailed opinion.
Have I found myself telling friends all about the place – either raving or complaining?  Or has the visit failed to stand out as a memory at all?  A …read more

Vacation time, whether far away or close to home, should be an escape from the ordinary, a time to see and do different things.  Some of the same old rules from home shouldn’t apply when you’re on vacation!  And that’s especially true with so many people choosing to vacation close to home.
With only a couple of weeks till school starts, there’s still a chance to get in a little special treat before the kiddos have to get back on a schedule!
What can you do, though, with limited time and money, that can still be fun for both the kids and …read more

I was in Las Vegas last week, and if you haven’t been recently, well. . . you haven’t been at all.  The landscaped has changed so much over the last several years.  With the demise of many Las Vegas institutions, and the building of new ones, the skyline along the strip doesn’t bear many of the original founding names.
Today’s Matchbook Monday is a little trip down Las Vegas memory lane, back to the glory years of the desert, and the once infamous Desert Inn.  The Desert Inn was once the home to reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, who rented a …read more

I’ve seen a hotel room or two in my career.  Everything from a rundown dilapidated hotel, with no heat, but they’d send up a space heater, to lovely resort properties that cared about your every need.  So, today’s reader questions, from Marty, is one that is near and dear to my heart.
Marty asks:
Q.  I was wondering what flexibility you have, if any, in choosing what hotel to stay at?  I’m imagining that you probably have to stay at the airport location for whatever hotel chain that your airline has designated?  Is it the same chain in every city?  And …read more

I spend a lot of time in hotels, and I’m pretty good at sizing up how the stay is going to be in the first minutes after I walk into a hotel lobby.  Just as first impressions are important in business and personal relationships, so are they important in setting the tone for a hotel stay.
Take a read and see if you agree that these items do not bode well for a good stay:

Lines.  All the time.  To check in, to check out, to ask a question.  If the lobby is always full of lines, you need more staff.  …read more