Posted by Marshall Jackson on February 27, 2010 under Starwood Preferred Guest, Travel Tips | 
Just completed a 2-night stay at the W Atlanta Midtown. I recently reviewed this property so I will not post a full review, just some observations. Check-in was quick, and polite. I had entered a request for a high-floor city view room in the comments section of my reservation when I booked it on spg.com. I think this was the first time I’d ever had a front desk person mention a request I’d placed in the reservation comments, and I received a 17th floor “Wonderful Room” with a city view.
The stay itself was typical W, and everything was fine. The hotel seemed busier than during my last visit, and I’m always glad to see signs of business picking up. One nice thing I noticed is that I received turndown service each night. Maybe it’s been happening before and I wasn’t paying attention, but I like it. Looking forward to returning to the area in April with stays planned at both the Midtown hotel and the W Buckhead which I will review in full as it’s been quite a while since I’ve stayed there.
I’ll be at the W Seattle the week of March 8th, and I will be sure to post a review of that hotel as well.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on under Airport Lounges, Delta Air Lines |
One visit isn’t a trend, but I thought it was worth sharing. The A Center Sky Club in Atlanta is usually my first stop once I get to the A Concourse at Hartsfield. It’s quieter, and well…just better in my humble opinion than the other club on A Con. So as luck and habit would have it, I found myself in the A Center Sky Club waiting for my 4:20PM departure back to DCA yesterday afternoon.
The first thing I noticed was a lot more space on the bar than usual was occupied with snacks. Cheese and crackers, the usual weird sweet and spicey nut mix, dried fruit, hummus, crudites, Nutella, Biscoffs, and some really good chocolate chunk cookies. While they still aren’t up to the old World Club standard, I’ll call this an improvement over my last several visits, and a return to what Delta was offering a couple of years ago.
Granted, this isn’t real food like many foreign carriers offer in their lounges, but it’s a step up from what it was. What are you noticing out there? Was this a one-off experience on my part, or has Delta put a little extra pocket change into the snack offerings at Sky Club?
Special Note: Just in case anyone from Delta stops by to read this as I’ve seen you do from time to time, the bartender on duty in the A Center Sky Club between 3 and 4PM on February 26, 2010, was the best I’ve met at a Sky Club. Very outgoing and polite. Separate note heading Delta’s way about that.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on February 26, 2010 under American Airlines, Bonus Miles/Points, Credit Cards |
I received a promotion in this week’s mail from Citi. The offer I received is for a 20 percent bonus on every dollar spent on purchases with my Citi AAdvantage Master Card through May 31, 2010. You have to call an 800 number and register using the invitation number included with the invite. So, 1.2 miles per dollar spent. Still not quite as good as the SPG Amex, but I’ll take it, and use my Citi card more than I have been. I’ve read reports on Flyertalk of offers as high as 1.5 miles per dollar, so it could definitely be worth your trouble if you get the offer.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on under Commentary / General Info, Delta Air Lines, Starwood Preferred Guest |
My Delta flight from Atlanta to DCA was right on time tonight. I was feeling so good, I decided to take Metro (DC’s subway system) home, and walk the half mile or so from the station to the house. Remind me not to do that again in the winter with luggage. Brrrr. I have a few things to blog about this weekend. I won’t give a full review of the W Atlanta Midtown since I recently posted one, but I will give a quick synopsis of the stay. I will also post about my Delta flights, which were fine, and offer some thoughts on my Delta Sky Club experience today. They’ve added back some better munchies. Not great, but better and they deserve a shout out. Stay tuned, I think I have more flying planned in the next 2 months than I’ve had in a number of years. My Tripit.com calendar is starting to take up multiple pages!
Posted by Marshall Jackson on February 25, 2010 under Commentary / General Info |
Yes, I am on Twitter. Follow me @MJonTravel.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on under Delta Air Lines |
Dear Delta Air Lines,
I like to fly you when I can. Your leather seats, nice cabin lighting and great flight attendants really are the best. But that pesky little problem with your mobile website still is not resolved. Delta, please fix your mobile website. It simply does not work. If you would like to discuss this further, you know where to find me.
Best regards,
Me
Posted by Marshall Jackson on February 24, 2010 under Commentary / General Info, Delta Air Lines |
Hello from the W Atlanta Midtown “Living Room.” Good stay so far, though I’m on a slightly lower floor than previously. Oh well, I’ll survive! I’ve been up since just before 3AM. The 6AM launch to Atlanta from DCA on Delta was delayed by an hour and fifty minutes for snow that was forecast, but never really materialized. Life goes on. But I do need to check my Delta.com profile as I received a phone call and an email to advise me that my flight was delayed, a fact that I already knew the night before. But no complaints about Delta notifying me, just an observation about the irony since I already knew.
I have to wonder why Delta instituted its “proactive delay” program today, and so many hours before the actual flights to boot. Could it be the first manifestation of the unintended consequences of hard limits on that amount of time passengers can be held aboard a flight before being allowed off? Just sayin’……
Posted by Marshall Jackson on February 23, 2010 under Delta Air Lines, Travel Tips |
My 6AM Delta flight from DCA to ATL on 2/24 is already delayed 1 hour 50 minutes. And the next couple of flights are delayed at least that much. Heads up.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on under Random Musings |
Not time for bed yet, but I’m already anticipating that I will not be able to sleep very well tonight. Why? I have a 6AM flight to Atlanta. I’m only 15 minutes away from the airport, but I like to give myself a little room for error. So I have a 4:30AM cab coming to pick me up. No way will I be able to sleep! Am I the only one that suffers from this affliction?
Posted by Marshall Jackson on February 22, 2010 under Starwood Preferred Guest |
Widely blogged about all over Boardingarea.com today, but I felt like getting my 2 cents in.
Starwood Preferred Guest announced today that SPG Platinum members will now receive complimentary in-room internet effective March 1st. You can read Starwood’s announcement about the new benefit here. I think this is a great enhancement to the program. Now I’m even more motivated to earn SPG Platinum status this year. Next Starwood stay: W Atlanta Midtown beginning 2/24.
