Breaking news: this was just annouced through Club Carlson’s Twitter profile merely minutes ago:

It looks like Club Carlson has graced us with yet a fourth “stay one, get one” promotion – this time with Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts. Registration is limited to the first 20,000 registrants, and if you complete a stay during the promotional period (June 28, 2012 and August 28, 2012), you’ll receive an additional 50,000 bonus points! I’m thrilled that Club Carlson is going all out with these promotions!

While there is only one Park Plaza hotel in North America (in Minneapolis, MN), this promotion might be useful if you’re traveling to some parts of Asia or Europe during the promotional period because that’s where the bulk of the Park Plaza hotels seem to be. Kevin and I had a lovely stay at the Park Plaza Bangkok Soi 18 back in April, and rates seem to be in the $50 range. For those readers who live in the Minneapolis area, you all lucked out, and I’m jealous. Take a look at the map of Park Plaza hotel locations below:

I’ll be updating this post with more detailed information as I come across it, but for now don’t delay – go register!

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Update 1-7-13: Good news – looks like American Airlines has extended this challenge until March 31, 2013.

As a points and miles fanatic, it sends chills down my spine when I hear stories about people who miss out on free travel opportunities by letting their unused miles expire. As a matter of fact, the truth is that close to 40% of earned frequent filer miles expire without ever being used (thank goodness for AwardWallet – can’t imagine my life without it!). It’s especially bothersome to me when I personally know someone who has suffered from a mileage-loss; and the seed of inspiration for writing this post comes from just that…

My dad recently told me that my aunt lost all of her hard-earned AAdvantage miles due to account inactivity. Though my aunt’s attitude was, “oh well”, I, on the other hand, started researching solutions for her. The good news is that there is hope for those who might be in the same boat. Getting your miles back could be as simple as spending $30 and completing a re-engagement challenge. Here’s how:

With American Airlines’ AAdvantage Program, there are two options to reinstate your expired miles at the moment. The first option (the more expensive one) is to reactivate the account, but that’s going to cost you between $200 and $600 depending on how many miles you’ve had.

The second option is to participate in a “re-engagement challenge” whereby you pay a $30 non-refundable registration fee, and you complete specific AA and/or partner mileage-earning activity within 6 months of registration. This challenge is valid on miles that expired on or after December 31, 2002, so you can go as far as 10 years back on this one. After looking over the requirements, it seems like a no-brainer if you’re planning on flying AA sometime soon. For example, you can restore up to 50,000 of your expired miles simply by taking a purchased round trip flight. Take a look at the specific details of the challenge found in the image below (click to enlarge):

As far as the round-trip, no minimum distance is necessary, so any short hop would suffice. Also, while credit card sign-up bonuses do not qualify for mileage activity in the challenge, earning extra miles hrough the online shopping mall and/or regular credit card spend would.

If you’re interested in enrolling in this challenge, you’ll need to call AAdvantage at  1-800-882-8880 (select “AAdvantage Account” on main menu), and ask the agent to register you for the re-engagement challenge.

Has anyone had any success with this in the past? If so, please share your experiences.

Of course, as a future note, you can skip this challenge all together simply by being more aware of your account balances and expiration dates. Like I mentioned earlier in the post, I use AwardWallet to keep track of my points and miles balances (though unfortunately American Airlines no longer allows you to track your AAdvantage miles with AwardWallet anymore… boo).

So what are some ways to keep your mileage balance active so you’re not a victim of the dreaded mileage-expiration? Without going into a lengthy post with ideas to keep your account active (hint: that post may be coming very soon), I’ll leave you with some simple suggestions:

You can keep your points and mileage account balances “active” simply by joining a dining program, spending with a co-branded credit card (such as the Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® Visa Signature® Card which I have and love), making a purchase through the shopping portal, or by participating in several of those free points and miles promotions that pop up here and there. Be on the lookout for a more detailed post with more ways to keep your accounts alive very soon!

For now, keep track of those miles, and don’t let them go to waste!

Related Post:

36 Easy Ways to Prevent Miles and Points From Expiring (And Earn Some Too!)

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With only 2 nights in Kauai, most of our time on the beautiful island was spent enjoying the grounds at the Grand Hyatt Kauai (related post). We didn’t have much time to do any of the cool adventurous excursions such as the helicopter tour or zip-lining, but we are certain that we will return to Kauai again in the near future to experience it all.

I mentioned in an earlier post that dining at the Grand Hyatt Kauai is extremely expensive, and I provided the price of a hard boiled egg as an example (see below for proof). With that said, we took it upon ourselves to find some great eats nearby, without being restricted to the resort’s restaurant selections.

A hard boiled egg for $7? No thanks! We're off to find some great cheap eats in Kauai!

Here are three restarants that we tried while in Kauai:

Keoki’s Paradise: On our first night, we had dinner at a nearby restaurant called Keoki’s Paradise. Keoki’s Paradise is located inside the Poipu Shopping Village, just a few miles away from the Grand Hyatt Kauai. Though the food wasn’t nearly as exceptional as the other two spots we found (the food was good, but Kevin and I are tough critics), I felt this place was enjoyable because of the wonderful ambience. It’s an indoor/outdoor restaurant nested among lush gardens, ponds, and tiki lamps, which was very beautiful at sunset. There was also live music (acoustic singer), which added to the already-fun, and lively atmosphere. There was a mixed crowded ranging from families and couples all ages, and a full dinner for two cost us around $75 including gratuity.

Koloa Fish Market: The Koloa Fish Market is a local hot-spot that’s about a 7 minute drive from the Grand Hyatt. Since it’s a small in-and-out joint without a designated parking area, we parked our car in the Big Save Mart supermarket parking lot and walked on over. The Koloa Fish Market is a tiny deli that serves good cheap eats and the freshest fish we’ve had in Hawaii, period. Since it’s just a take-out deli without a seating area, the Koloa Fish Market does not have a website, but I challenge you to Google the place and see the hundreds of 5-star reviews. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover – this place can easily be mistaken as a shack, but it’s certainly a must-try (and only open for lunch); we liked it so much that we ate here several times during our short two-day stay (did we mention that we love to eat constantly?), including on our trip back to the airport. Plate lunches run in the $8-$10 range, and I highly recommend that you try the wasabi cream ahi tuna lunch plate (my favorite), the lau lau lunch plate (Kevin’s favorite), the scallop salad, and the spicy Korean ahi poke.

Me in front of the Koloa Fish Market in Kauai

Kevin’s lau lau lunch plate

My wasabi cream ahi tuna lunch plate

Josselin’s Tapas Bar and Grill: To celebrate our last night in Hawaii, we chose a “fancier” option for dinner – Josselin’s Tapas Bar and Grill. Josselin’s is located inside the Kukui’ula Village Shopping Center, and is about a 5-7 minute drive from the Grand Hyatt Kauai. We chose this place because of the food’s rave reviews…and their signature “sangria cart”. The ambiance is trendy, upscale, modern, and unique, featuring an array of Tapas (sharing plates) ranging from fresh seafood, fusion-dishes, and international favorites. Everything is made to order in their open kitchen, and we had fun ordering a bunch of small plates to sample from their extensive menu. We ordered the scallop pillows, Kekaha shrimp dumplings, slider sampler, organic beet ravioli, and the sesame crusted mahi to share… along with two carafes of their famous lychee sangria… yum. Everything we tried was absolutely delicious and flavorful. A full dinner for two ended up costing us around $125 including tax, gratuity, and alcohol. We can’t wait to go back!

The sangria cart at Josselin's Tapas Bar and Grill.

For those of you who have visited Kauai, what are some of your favorite restaurants and local spots to dine at? Please share below!

Related Posts:

• Hotel Review: Grand Hyatt Kauai
• Avoiding Fees While Shuffling Around My Hawaii Trip #Winning
• Hotel Review: Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach

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[Update:] Reader Tim just alerted us that the KLM has reached their 50,000 luggage tag quota. I hope everyone had a chance to make one!

Kathy from Will Run For Miles points out that you can get a free custom/personalized luggage tag from KLM Airlines. I had fun making my luggage tag using one of my favorite pictures from Hawaii. Click here to go ahead and make yours too!

Get your own personalized free luggage tags!

Ready to style your suitcase? KLM is giving away a limited number of free luggage tags, to make you stand out in the crowd. Personalize your baggage and give them a unique makeover!But that’s not all, we’re also giving you 5 more tags to share with family and friends! Surprise them with that great picture you took from that special day, and share it via Facebook or Twitter. All for free, including shipment. Tag away!

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Poor Kevin; our last two weekends consisted of hotel-hopping and mattress-running because his crazy, points-obsessed fiance (aka yours truly) needed to collect her precious points. Last weekend we spent our Friday night at the Radisson in Piscataway, and then we spent Father’s Day road-tripping for hours to no-wheres-ville, NJ for yet another another mattress run at the Country Inn & Suites in Millville, NJ (related post).

This weekend was kind of the same story – we spent a whole 8 hours at the Radisson Newark-Carteret (in by 11 pm, out by 7 am kind of ordeal). At the time, little did Kevin know that this would be his last sight of any trace of this season’s Club Carlson promotions. Yes, I know there’s the Park Inn Plus One promotion that would get us another 44,000 points each, but after heavily considering it, I don’t think I have it in me to get myself to drive 3 hours one way to the nearest Park Inn in Harrisburg, PA. With that decision, I learned that yes, I do apparently have limits to this addiction hobby.

It’s definitely a wrap for me, and in the end, I’m 100% content that between the two of us, we racked up ~200,000 bonus points with an out-of-pocket expense of about $270. Those 200,000 points can get us between 4 and 22 free nights at any Club Carlson hotel worldwide, depending on the category. We’re pretty psyched about that because I’m sure that will inspire some impulsive weekend getaways (those are 3 of my favorite words together)!

And now on to a mini-review of our stay at the Radisson Newark-Carteret…

The hotel is located directly off of the NJ turnpike, which is great for a commuter, but definitely not the most scenic because it’s located in the heart of industrial-nothingness. I suppose the guests of use this hotel merely as a sleeping point for an overnight connection at EWR because there’s virtually nothing to do in the vicinity.

When we arrived at the hotel on a Friday night at around 10:30 pm, all we wanted to do was hurry up and get into the room to sleep because we were both exhausted from a long work week, and I had a 17 hour work day ahead of me starting at 9 am the next day. I became frustrated when I walked into the hotel and saw a massive amount of people crowding around the front desk. It ended up being that because of some bad weather earlier on, many flights experienced inevitable cancellations, and the hotel was booked to capacity with frustrated travelers. The worst part was that there was only one person simultaneously checking guests in/managing the front desk/taking calls/paging the shuttle driver, etc.; it was chaotic.

When it was my turn to check in… 25 minutes later… I was very cranky to say the least. In the past, I have never waited more than 10 minutes to check in, and having to wait for so long at such a late hour was not something I wanted to deal with. It was quite obvious that the hotel was understaffed that evening, and the woman who was checking guests in was not the most pleasant to begin with. In my opinion, that’s a poor way to set the tone of the stay.

We were relieved once we got up to the room – there weren’t any problems from there on, thank goodness. In fact, our room was quite comfortable, and we both got a great night’s sleep despite our short stay there. In addition, the hotel does offer complimentary breakfast and free airport transfers to EWR. Like I said earlier, I can’t imagine anyone choosing this hotel for anything other than an airport hotel, but it certainly was adequate for what it was.

Inside the lobby of the Radisson Newark-Carteret hotel

The beds were SO comfortable - they were not Radisson's typical Sleep Number beds, which I'm not particularly a fan of.

A shot of the workspace and TV. The TV was definitely a bit outdated, but we didn't turn it on anyway.

I love when there's complimentary bottled water!

A shot of the bathroom sink vanity area

The shower/tub

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As you may or may not already know, American Express currently has a Shop Small promotion running through July 4, 2012, allowing you to get a $10 statement credit after spending $10 or more at a small business in Boston, Chicago, and/or Philadelphia. This promotion is great for those who reside in one of those three cities or those who plan to visit during the promotional period.

In the past, during similar city-specific American Express promotions, we were able to purchase a gift card from a major chain store with headquarter offices in that city or even donate to a local charity to take advantage of the promotion. This time around, the promotion is strictly limited to small businesses, and the T&C states that non-profits, charitable organizations, and mass retailers will not qualify.

For those who live outside of Boston, Chicago, or Philadelphia, you may still participate by purchasing an e-gift certificate from a participating small business. I personally have purchased a number of $10 gift cards from http://www.tastesofchicago.com (one $10 e-gift card per registered American Express). Since I will be attending the Chicago Seminars again this year, I will be able to use my gift cards for a free dinner at Lou Manalti’s (there’s one only a few miles away from the event). Shall we do a Chicago deep dish pizza “DO”?

MilesQuest notes that a purchase from The Spice House worked for him too.

If you haven’t done so already, you can sync your AmEx card to your social networking profiles by visiting https://sync.americanexpress.com/

Then you can register for these city-specific promotions via social media the using the following methods:

• Foursquare: Sync eligible card with Foursquare, check in at an eligible small business, and then add the offer to your synced card.
• Twitter: Sync eligible card with Twitter and tweet #AmexShopBos, #AmexShopChi, or #AmexShopPhi to add the appropriate offer to your card.
• Facebook (Link, Like, Love): Sync eligible card with Facebook and add the offer to your synced card.

… or skip the social media route all together, and register directly using the links below:

• Boston – https://enroll.amexnetwork.com/US/en/bos/
• Chicago – https://enroll.amexnetwork.com/US/en/chi/
• Philadelphia – https://enroll.amexnetwork.com/US/en/phil/

Please feel free to share other successful online purchase options for out-of-staters!

Related Posts:

• Quickies: Sync Up AMEX With Twitter & Accor Hotels 3 Nights for the Price of 2 Sale
• Free Money and Gift Cards Via Twitter & American Express
• Free $25 Bonus With $200 Loaded on Prepaid American Express Card

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June 30 seems to be an important deadline for several promotions in the point and miles world, so this is just a friendly reminder about some of the deadlines that are approaching; I don’t want you to miss out on an opportunity! If I missed anything notable, please feel free to post a comment, and I’ll update the list accordingly.

June 30 is…

…the last day to register for SPG’s “Nice Choice” Promotion. If you haven’t already done so, don’t forget to register for this promotion since the deadline is quickly approaching. You can choose between three earning periods: May 1 – July 31, June 1 – August 31, or July 1 – September 30. Since I haven’t had any SPG stays recently, I went ahead and registered for the latest earning period, July 1 – September 30. I will only have 2 or 3 stays during this time frame at most, so my best option is double points after the second stay. Not sure which “choice” is right for you based on your stay patterns? Take a look at Loyalty Traveler’s very in-dept breakdown and analysis of the promotion to help steer you in the right direction.

…the last day to register for Marriott Reward’s “Summer Bonus” Promotion. Earn up to three free nights with Marriott Rewards Summer Bonus when you stay at any participating Marriott hotel worldwide. Register by June 30, 2012. Stay twice at any participating hotel between June 1 and August 31, 2012. Earn one free night after every second paid stay, up to three free nights. Enjoy your free nights at any of 2,900+ category 1-4 hotels.

…the last day for 5x points on grocery store and movie theater spend of up to $1,500 (aka 7,500 bonus valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points) with the Chase Freedom Visa. Last week, I briefly posted about Chase Freedom’s quarterly bonuses, including a reminder to activate your Q3 bonus categories. With all of the attention on Q3 already, let’s not forget about Q2 just yet! We still have until June 30 to receive 5% cash back (5x UR points) at grocery stores and movie theaters. I just peaked at my account activity from April 1 onwards, and realized I hadn’t even spent $500 at grocery stores! After that discovery, I headed to my local Stop & Shop and purchased some gift cards to fully maximize this promotion.

…the last day to register/complete a stay for Hilton’s Q2 promotion. Hilton HHonors members can earn double points or double miles for stays between April 1 and June 30, 2012. You can register here, and as always, be sure to refer to the FAQ/T&C of the promotion.

…the last day to book and complete travel with American Airline’s Reduced Mileage Awards (a perk given to Citi AAdvantage Cardholders). Here’s full list of available reduced routes. I’ll hand it over to New Girl In the Air, as she does a great job at explaining this promotion.

Did I miss anything worth mentioning?

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Posts from our recent Asia trip are suddenly beginning to make their way on the blog, finally! This post is part of a larger trip report from our two-week trip to Hong Kong, Macau, Bangkok, Phuket and Singapore back in March and April.

During the beginning stages of our trip planning, we deliberately left a day unbooked in between Hong Kong and Macau because we were unsure about how much time to spend in each place. We originally intended for 4 nights in Hong Kong and 1 night in Macau, but after exploring Hong Kong for 4 full days and spending 3 nights, we were ready to move on to our next destination, Macau!

Despite the iffy reviews, the night before we left Hong Kong, we went ahead booked The Westin Resort Macau on a whim using points and cash (2,800 SPG points + $45). The reviews were saying that it was a quieter and slightly-dated property, away from all of the Macau action, but a last minute $45 rate for a Saturday night in Macau was a steal in our eyes. Also, we weren’t really discouraged by the reviews in the first place because we already knew that there was a continuous and free shuttle service between the Macau ferry terminal and all of the hotels.

When we arrived in Macau, we located the designated hotel shuttle pick-up area directly upon exiting the ferry terminal. We hopped on the shuttle to the Westin, which was about a 20-25 minute ride. When we arrived at the hotel, we were pleasantly-surprised by how nice and welcoming it was. Sure, the resort is a bit older than the newer and trendier high-end “big name” Vegas-style casinos that have popped up all over Macau, but this place proved to be nicely maintained, and the decor and layout of the Westin almost has a Caribbean island feel to it, which was fun.

The check-in process was a breeze, and the entire resort was filled with warm and friendly staff members. There’s a also selection of complimentary seasonal hot teas in the lobby that you can sip throughout the day as you please. After check in, Kevin and I grabbed a quick lunch at the hotel because we were were starved (and the hotel was participating in the SPG 20% off dining promotion); lunch was just okay – nothing to write home about, but we really didn’t have any other nearby options to consider.

In observation of World Wildlife Fund’s global Earth Day effort, the hotel invited all guests to join together in the lobby for a candle lighting ceremony (and a complimentary sangria drink) between 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm as they celebrated conservation by powering down part of the hotel for an hour. Though we mistakenly happened to nap during that time (jet-lag hits again!), I was happy know that the hotel participated in the movement.

There’s a free shuttle service that runs daily every 30 minutes between the hours of 9 am and 12 midnight between the hotel and the Macau ferry terminal (it also stops at the Venetian by requests). After our unplanned nap, I was quite disappointed that we had slept for several hours and woke up past 11:00 pm. We decided that we were too awake to call it a night, so we quickly got ready and headed to the Venetian for a night out. We ended up missing the very last shuttle by a few minutes, but taking a taxi there ended up costing the equivalence of $6 – no complaints.

The good thing about The Westin Resort Macau is that it is located closer to the Venetian, House of Dreams, and Hard Rock (Taipa district) than when we stayed in Casa Real Hotel the next day, which is directly on the Macau peninsula. Also, the rooms and the grounds are very well maintained. Our room was quite cozy and definitely appeared to have been renovated over the last decade. The only notable “negatives” about our stay was that our balcony definitely gave away the age of the hotel as it appeared very run down (and not aesthetically pleasing), and the hallway leading to the room had a distinct mildewy smell of some sort. Other than that, we had a pretty delightful stay; can’t refuse a great last-minute points + cash rate (especially for it being a Saturday night)!

Inside the lobby of The Westin Resort Macau

Another lobby shot

...and some more lobby

I was very happy about their participation in the Earth Day 2012 festivities!

Our room was nice and cozy, and the beds were comfortable.

Armoire and work desk.

Another shot of the room/beds

The outside patio was super large, but kind of dull and icky.

Very large and spacious bathroom and full bath tub

The shower

Lots of bathroom countertop space! There was even a digital scale in the bathroom (first time I ever saw that in a hotel)!

The toiletries

I came across an interesting article and video today on Wired that claims that a distraught female passenger (and former TSA agent) was on her way to her brother’s funeral and was charged with battery for groping a TSA agent after allegedly previously being inappropriately groped during a security screening.

The woman never made it to her brother’s funeral; instead, she was put in jail and faces charges for the incident.

Take a look at the original video and news article here. I’m curious to hear your take on this incident. Do you think the female passenger is guilty of the battery charges against her? Discuss your thoughts in the comments below.

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Wow, as I write this review, I’m wishing I was back in Hawaii, or more specifically, on the beautiful island of Kauai! During our recent trip to Hawaii, Kevin and I had the pleasure of spending two nights at the wonderful Grand Hyatt Kauai. Rather than slacking on my trip reports as usual (I promise the rest of the Asia trip reports/hotel reviews are coming soon!), I figured I’d bang out my review of the Grand Hyatt Kauai while it’s still delightfully-fresh in my memory. The Grand Hyatt Kauai is located on the south side of Kauai on Poipu Beach, and it surely is a stunning property.

I booked a 2-night stay at this gorgeous resort for free using my two free-night certificates from my new Hyatt Credit Card, easily saving us over $900. The cool thing about the free-night certificates is that not only is the room rate covered 100% without any blackout dates, but you’re also exempt from paying the resort fees as well (which includes free parking, free wifi/fitness center access, etc.).

We left Honolulu bright and early on a 5:31 AM flight to Lihue (Kauai’s airport), and before boarding the plane, I decided to quickly call the Hyatt and ask them approximately how much a taxi would cost from LIH to the resort since the hotel does not provide a shuttle from the airport. The agent on the phone responded by saying a taxi ride would be between $45-$50 each way. Yikes, no thanks. That’s when I decided that renting a car would be the better option since self-parking was included in my lovely rate of $0 a night. I quickly reserved a car from Car Rental Savers at the rate of $15 per day for a 3 day rental.

I strongly recommend that you rent a car from LIH if you’re staying at the Grand Hyatt Kauai for a few days. It was an impulsive decision for us, but we are so happy we did so because it gave us the freedom to explore the island at our leisure and try restaurants that are off the resort (we found some killer mouth-watering local spots that I’ll be sharing in the Kauai trip report shortly). Plus, since the drive from the airport to the resort was less than 25 minutes, we had a chance to stop at a nearby supermarket on the way (Big Save Mart) to stock up on water bottles, wine, and snacks to bring to the resort before checking in.

When we arrived at the hotel (around 7:30 am), we were beyond impressed and amazed by how beautiful the hotel grounds were. First off, this hotel is extremely vast, and truthfully, we didn’t even get to fully explore the entire resort during our short 2 days there. Everything from the high ceilings in the lobby, the luscious gardens, the fiery tiki torches that light up the resort at night, and what seemed to be an endless amount of pools, waterfalls, and lagoons, was extremely striking to us.

The standard room for a free-night certificate is a garden view room, but since we arrived at the hotel so early, there weren’t any rooms available yet. In fact, the hotel was at capacity, and we did not get into our room until after 10:30 am (which is still early for check in). We were delighted to receive a complimentary upgrade to a pool view room, which offered us beautiful views of the property at all times.

Over our two day stay, we spent most of our time enjoying the resort’s beautiful pools and lagoons. There are quite a number of pools to choose from including a “lazy-river” style pool, a salt water lagoon, an active pool with a volleyball net, and even a pool with a fun water slide in it. Shipwreck Beach (the resort’s private beach) was pretty as well, but the waves were a bit rough, and it was rocky in some spots, so we did not spend much time in the ocean. Kevin and I enjoyed climbing up to the top of the cliff on Shipwreck Beach to catch some great views; we even got to see giant sea turtles swimming in the water below us which was pretty neat!

My favorite pool at the resort was the salt water lagoon (which is nested on a gorgeous sandy-beach nook) because it was super refreshing to take a dip in and then cuddle up with a nice read in one of the many surrounding hammocks. Another key note is that the resort advertises a beach luau twice a week, and I heard it was pretty spectacular. Unfortunately, on the Sunday night we were there, they decided not to have the luau because there were too many private and corporate events happening on the resort grounds that evening. I was a little disappointed with that news, but at least Kevin and I got to experience a luau on Oahu.

As far as dining on the resort, there are plenty of restaurant options varying from pool-side snacks to fine dining, but we decided not to eat at the resort at all for two reasons: one being that food and drinks at this resort are very expensive ($7 for a hard boiled egg as an example), and the second reason being that we don’t usually eat on resort grounds to begin with; instead, we hunt for local favorites in all of the places we visit.

Another attribute of the resort that I thoroughly enjoyed was their commitment to fitness. When I’m away, it’s nice to be able to stay fit, and being in an environment that’s conducive to staying healthy is important to me. The fitness center here is large and is fully loaded with new equipment. There’s also a number of fitness classes available free of charge ranging from power walking, Zumba, water aerobics, and conditioning classes. Kevin and I participated in the 7 am sunrise walk and then continued on with a jog of our own; it was certainly a great way to start our mornings!

We really did have an enjoyable two night stay here thanks to the Hyatt Credit Card which lets you stay two nights at any Hyatt in the world for free. Though many people often choose to burn their two free nights at the ultra-luxurious Park Hyatt Paris, I was craving some fun in the sun at the Grant Hyatt Kauai was the perfect remedy for that! Enjoy the photo tour below!

A glimpse of the Grand Hyatt Kauai from one of the resort's gardens.

Another stunning shot of one of the gorgeous pools and landscaping.

There are many beautiful parrots and exotic birds that reside throughout the grounds.

A shot looking down at some of the beautiful and inviting swimming pools

The water slide at the Grand Hyatt Kauai

The sandy nook that leads to the salt water lagoon - my favorite place to hang out!

A shot of the refreshing and calming salt water lagoon.

The resort's beach, named Shipwreck Beach, features a gorgeous cliff with stunning views of the ocean.

A shot of the bed

The sitting area/balcony inside of our room.

Another angle of our room

Breath-taking view from our pool-side room balcony

Very large and spacious bathroom

Portico amenities. The bathroom was also stocked with a travel-size Aquafresh toothpaste.

We passed a beautiful rainbow on a nearby beach during our morning jog.

We came across a beautiful private beach during an early-morning jog.

Kevin and I on top of the cliff on Shipwreck beach.