point fu

I've posted before about my general feeling about hotels . The short version is that I don't really like western "posh" hotels because they're expensive and yet they still don't offer the amenities I actually want:  in-room espresso a Toto Washlet in the room a free, communal hot spring bath that's open late so I can soak my feet after a long day of sightseeing liquor vending machine so I don't have to pay $47 (and wait 45 minutes) for two gin and tonics from room service on-site laundry machines In other words, I'm annoyed that Japanese businessman hotel mainstays like APA and Dormy Inn are ( largely ) only in Japan. When I do have to stay at a western hotel I generally try to save some money or at least snag some bonus points. There are a lot of ways to do that – search with Rocketmiles , look for Amex offers, use Hotels.com's "say 10 nights, get one night free", etc. On our recent trip to Israel , though, I tried a ne...

We unexpectedly needed a hotel near Waikoloa for 2 nights and booked the Hilton Waikoloa Village day-of largely due to it being the cheapest on Kayak. In one sentence: If I had kids I might consider staying here. But if you don't, I wouldn't. FEES Our room was listed at $256 but at checkout the rate was actually $100 more due to mandatory resort and parking fees and other miscellaneous charges SIZE This hotel is the size of Disneyland , so the walk from the parking lot to our room was fully 20 minutes for able-bodied pushy New Yokers :) Yes, there's a super-cool tram from reception, but at 10pm the wait for the tram was 15 minutes. The tram HOURS This hotel is clearly aimed at people with kids. The bar in our wing of the hotel closes at 10pm. If you want to walk 15 minutes back to the main wing, the bar there stays open until midnight. After that, and you have to drive back into town. Despite this hotel being very popular with Japanese tourists, the beau...

(updated Aug 2025) As I've said many times before , I'm not a big hotel person – I'd rather be out seeing the sights and meeting up with people than ensconced in the stylishly-bland, comfortable nowhere of a posh urban hotel. There are exceptions, though. Visiting a traditional Japanese ryokan inn immediately comes to mind. While they're often located in beautiful settings, the hotel itself is the primary destination. Beautiful seasonal food, soaking tubs and onsen baths, and lots of quiet time for just chilling out for a couple of days. For experiences like these, I'm very much a hotel snob. Wood-fired hot tub bliss Our first-ever trip to Vermont back in 2010 was specifically to visit Frog Meadow Farm in Newfane. A friend in San Francisco was describing it to us and it sounded a lot like an American ryokan for gay men: seasonal breakfasts, a wood-fired soaking tub, a massage studio, miles of private hiking and cross-country skiing trails, orchards and honey...

( updated April 2025 ) I love Washlet bidet toilets. I've had one in my house since my first visit to Japan 20 years ago and I love it when my hotel room or my plane has one. And it's not just me, the NYTimes wrote about them , and several competing brands have appeared in the US in recent years. If you want a Washlet in the sky, you don't have much of a choice – only ANA and JAL have them, and only in the premium cabins. (I think they have an exclusive arrangement with Toto, as we've not seen the Washlet appear even in the super luxurious middle eastern airlines that have butlers and onboard showers).  ウォシュレット! But what about hotels? As the spokesmodel in this commercial says, "I can't go on vacation anymore". A few of us were discussing this the other day and I said that yes, in fact, the presence of a Washlet would be a slam dunk for me when choosing a hotel. So I went poking around to find places outside of Japan that have them and start...

I don't post a lot about hotels. When I'm traveling I'm usually out and about and I don't really want to spend much time in my room. AirBnB Now, I have friends who absolutely LOVE AirBnB, but unless I need a unique attribute of one of their properties (e.g., size, hot tub, location, or "local charm"), I HATE being an AirBnB tenant. Here's why: Key pickup : I want to get off my plane – whenever it chooses to land – saunter into the city at my own pace, and be checked into my room in 5 minutes or less when I arrive. There's nothing worse than sitting on the sidewalk in pouring rain or blazing sun waiting 40 minutes for the host to show up. Or schlepping your bags in said weather an extra 9 blocks to get to a key concierge. Or (this has happened to me TWICE), the host cancels while I'm on the plane there . Or worse, cancels on you after a 6 hour drive because they don't like your race . And AirBnB expects you accept an alternate acco...

During our recent trip to Hawaii, we found ourselves suddenly in need of a hotel in Kona. I fired up Kayak and Hotel Tonight and Hilton Waikoloa Village was the cheapest option. But once we arrived it became clear that quoted price of $256 was just the beginning . The hotel has a mandatory $30 a day "Resort Fee" per room. For that $30 you get: On top of the resort fee, you have to pay $30 a day for parking. Since it's on a private road there's literally no option to park in a public space and then walk to the hotel. The only parking lot is a full 20 minute walk from our room, so it's clear that you're supposed to spring for the valet option which costs even more. (And if you're not a complete cheapskate, you can also add in a tip for the valet each time s/he fetches the car for you as you come and go). Now, given how far away your car is, you're also somewhat captive there, and they completely take advantage of this fact: a single, Don Juli...

I generally prefer B&Bs to big hotel chains, but if I do have to stay in a hotel,  I just stay at a  Kimpton  if one is available. They're reasonably priced, each one is unique, they have free wifi if you sign up for their loyalty program, there's decent free coffee in the lobby in the morning, free wine in the lobby before dinner,  emergency condoms  in the amenity kit, and some of them have free loaner bicycles. Welp, it looks like they just got acquired by IHG . All discussions of hotel points aside, any time a small, unique, innovative, tightly-run business gets acquired, all of the things that made it unique and attractive are the first things that get cut. Maybe it'll be different this time, but I doubt it.  Thankfully Virgin is launching a hotel chain , so at least there's a new entrant to that space... 

UPDATE: it's open now! review here . I'm not a big hotel person. Most travelers roll their eyes at people who go to another country and then eat at McDonald's, but that's kind of how I feel about people who travel and stay at a Hilton, Westin, or other big hotel chain. Ideally I stay with someone local. My favorite thing about traveling is seeing people's day-to-day lives and taking part in it. If that's not an option I'll look for a small B&B or guest house so I have the chance to get to know the proprietors. If that's not an option, I'll look at AirBnB. Failing that, then I look to a local pension.  If I end up having to stay at a big chain hotel, I just stay at a Kimpton if one is available. They're reasonably priced, each one is unique, they have free wifi if you sign up for their loyalty program, there's decent free coffee in the lobby in the morning, free wine in the lobby before dinner, emergency condoms in the amenity...