Posted by Marshall Jackson on January 1, 2010 under Marriott Rewards | 
Mrs MJonTravel and I just completed a New Year’s Eve stay at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel. I picked the hotel because of its location within walking distance of our evening festivities. The room was nice enough, and the location unbeatable, but our short stay seemed plagued from the beginning.
Check in
After parking our car, we entered the lobby area to find a long line awaiting check in. In fact, I can say with confidence that I’ve never seen that many people in a check in line in any hotel anywhere. The mere sight of such a line set a bad tone for the stay. But in the hotel’s defense, they were obviously going to be packed for New Year’s Eve, and within a minute or two, additional staff descended on the front desk, and the line moved quickly enough. In the end, checking in was only a 10 minute ordeal, but it sure did look ominous at first.
The Room
We experienced our first snag of the evening when neither of the keys would allow us access to the room. I tried both repeatedly, but had no luck. So off I went back to the front desk and its enormous line. Thankfully, a manager was directing traffic by the front desk and I went straight to him. I asked if it would be possible to get 2 functioning keys without waiting in line again, and he cheerfully obliged. He even accompanied me back to the room to ensure they worked, and sure enough, the new keys did.
Our assigned room was 10108, a King Room with partial harbor view, and we were quite pleased with it. The room was equipped with a large and very comfortable bed, flat screen television, and the work area was very well lit, with ample desk space. Wired and wireless internet access were available. Too bad I wasn’t doing any work! 
The bathroom was spacious as well.
While getting ready for the evening, the in room hair dryer to decided to stop working. Not a problem for me obviously, but Mrs MJonTravel on the other hand, needs a hair dryer. I called down the front desk and they offered to send one up. It took a while, but the new hair dryer eventually arrived, and all was well. The staff member was very apologetic about the delay, and I expect it was related to the hotel being filled to capacity.
One item of note. In the middle of getting ready, I heard someone outside the door attempting to get in. I opened the door, and found that another couple had been assigned our room. Their key card envelope was marked 10108 as well. They returned to the front desk, and for whatever reason, I decided to check our folio on the in room television. Of course, it had someone else’s name. No doubt, the folks who were just trying to enter. I have no idea why, but I did not bother to call the front desk about this. This would become a problem later in the evening. Upon returning from our New Year’s Eve festivities, we again found that our keys would not open the door! Another trip to the front desk, but at least it was late (or very early in the morning) and there was no line.
I had new keys in hand soon enough, and headed back to the room where MrsMJonTravel was still waiting. The stupid keys still didn’t work! By this time, I was good and hacked off. I mean, it’s New Year’s for crying out loud! Back to the front desk. I think I was polite, but I wanted to make it clear that I was not happy. The clerk called someone over to help investigate what the issue was, and somehow he knew what was up as soon as he heard the room number. It seems the hotel had blocked the room, because they were not sure who was in the room! I guess a phone call was too much to ask. In any event, I got 2 new keys and an escort back to the room to make sure they worked….and this time they did. Thankfully!
I hope this was a one-off event, but it certainly wasn’t the best first impression. Note to self: next time someone else tries to get into your room because they’ve been mistakenly assigned to it, call the front desk.
Around the Hotel
The Renaissance is steps from numerous fun activities such as the National Aquarium, and an untold number of restaurants. You can check out this website for more details. The Inner Harbor is a very nice area loaded with things to do and see. Camden Yards and the Baltimore Orioles are within walking distance. There are a number of other hotels in the vicinity as well, but none as close as the Renaissance. The hotel itself is directly connected to The Gallery, a very nice mall. You will not suffer from a lack of things to do or see if you stay here.
Due to the shortness of our stay, I did not have the opportunity to check out the fitness center or utilize the hotel’s business services, so I’m unable to comment on them.
The Bottom Line
I’m going to try not to allow the fact that I had to pay 3 visits to the front desk for room key issues and our room being assigned to someone else color my opinion too much. Things happen from time to time, but an awful lot of little problems happened during this one night stay. The location was unbeatable, and each staff member I interacted with was unfailingly polite. If you want access to restaurants, activities and shopping, you’ll have to look hard to find a better spot to be in downtown Baltimore. Hopefully, the problems I experienced were one-off things that won’t happen again. If any readers have experiences with this hotel, feel free to share them in the comments.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on November 8, 2009 under Guest Post, Marriott Rewards |
I’m honored to have MrsMJonTravel herself author a guest post for the blog. The only published author in the house, she also does her share of business travel for her day job. I hope you’ll enjoy her review of a recent stay at the Renaissance Schaumburg.
I recently completed a one-night stay at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel. Despite its suburban location, it’s got quite the chi-chi décor. The lobby is a large open area that is divided off into more intimate sections by large wood bookcase-type pieces.
Check in was speedy. They made an imprint of my credit card, and I was on my way up to the 4th floor. I was a little concerned by the location. My door faced out into the large open lobby area, so I was a little concerned about noise echoing up. However, since I fell asleep shortly after going back to room, it wasn’t the issue I thought it might be.
The hotel features two restaurants that are open for guests arriving after 7 pm. There’s a Sam and Harry’s Steak House and a more informal bar/restaurant called The Gathering. I opted for The Gathering. Service was very good, and the blue cheese steak salad was excellent. The TVs showed the last game of the World Series, but the noise level in the bar/restaurant didn’t detract from my ability to converse with two colleagues.
The room featured a king size bed, flat screen TV, and a TV in the mirror of the bathroom. I didn’t discover the TV in the mirror of the bathroom until I was getting ready the following morning. Maybe I’m technologically inept, but I could only get it to turn on when I had the other TV on. I put it on the same channel as the other TV so I could watch the news as I dried my hair, but the 10 second delay just created an annoying echo, and I ended up turning it off. The other big annoyance was the lack of a quality AT&T signal. I could only get my iPhone to work by leaning next to the window.
I didn’t have a lot of time to check out much of the hotel, but I did walk by the gym, which looked pretty nice and was adjacent to an indoor pool. I tried to access the business center twice, but each time the door was locked.
I took advantage of the two free hours of WiFi in the lobby to do some work. I did this from 11 am til noon and enjoyed a very quiet, rather empty lobby. It was a very pleasant way to work.
Since I was there for a conference, I can say that the conference rooms are pretty nice. I spoke in the Nirvana room. I thought that was cool. Our conference luncheon buffet had Chicago hot dogs and Chicago style pizza. I thought that was a nice touch.
All in all, not bad for the ‘burbs of C-town.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on November 7, 2009 under Commentary / General Info, Marriott Rewards, United Airlines |
And all through the hotel lobby, it was not quiet. And that’s a good thing! Hello from the Renaissance Long Beach. Enjoying a cocktail and 2 hours of free internet in the lobby bar. MrsMJonTravel and I made a full day of it with a trip up to Simi Valley and a tour of the Reagan Library. A great experience all around, but I think my favorite was walking through one of the 707’s that served President Reagan and many other Presidents of the United States as Air Force One.
Our trip out yesterday could not have gone smoother. Both flights on United were very nice and remind me that United can be a great airline to fly on. We were blessed with really good crews on both legs, especially the widebody flight from ORD to LAX. I will post a full review of our United trip when we return. I have some observations on United that I feel like sharing, and a cross-country first class trip seems like the ideal time to share.
Avis upgraded us to cherry red Mustang, and boy will it fly! Kind of helps make up for the 20 minute wait for the shuttle yesterday at LAX. Seriously, I saw 3 Thrifty buses… Thrifty!!! Before Avis finally rolled around. Not acceptable. But other than that, a great trip so far.
Renaissance upgraded us to the Club floor as a Marriott Rewards Silver, something I haven’t seen at Hilton in over a year as an HHonors Gold. Granted, the lounge is closed for the weekend, but the fridge is stocked with water and sodas, and the turndown lady even stopped by last night.
I know this post contained a lot of rambling. Things will come into focus after vacation, I’m sure. I’ll post again before I leave, with some details of the guest posts coming this week too!
Posted by Marshall Jackson on November 1, 2009 under Marriott Rewards |
This has been out there for a while. Sorry for the late post. But you can earn a $50 dollar Amex Gift Card for certain stays at Renaissance Hotels. Here’s a link.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on under Commentary / General Info, Marriott Rewards, United Airlines |
MrsMJonTravel and I will be departing on Friday, November 6th, for an exciting 7-night cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas. We fly out on Friday, and set sail Sunday. We’re planning to do a little touring around and visiting with friends before we sail. I spent some United miles and got us first class seats to LAX with a connection in Chicago each way. We’re leaving from Reagan National (DCA) which is just minutes from our home. Being so close to DCA makes the connection almost worthwhile as opposed to trekking the 26 miles out to Dulles for United’s nonstop flights, though I’m not sure I’d chance Chicago in the middle of winter. We’ll be spending 2 nights at the Renaissance Long Beach before sailing on Sunday.
While I’m away, there’ll be some exciting guest posts as well as some “Best of MJ on Travel” content for good measure. I’ll share more details on the vacation content later this week including an introduction of our special guest posters.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on October 24, 2009 under American Airlines, Commentary / General Info, Hilton HHonors, JetBlue, Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest, US Airways |
Airline Earnings
Airlines were out with their earnings announcements this week (and late last week). The results: the discounters shined a bit, and the legacies didn’t. However, most everyone surprised just a tiny bit to the upside, especially United. Consensus seems to be that things have stopped getting worse, and the airlines are experimenting with some fare increases.
On the surface, American’s numbers were noticeably worse than its peers. I wonder why?
I wonder if the airlines that charge for the first checked bag are losing business to those that don’t? Something tells me that they may be. I continue to believe that JetBlue’s policy of one bag for free and charging for the second is the right move, and I bet you money that Southwest matches that policy within 18 to 24 months, if not before.
Hilton HHonors Changes
I posted my first reaction to Hilton’s upcoming devaluation of HHonors. But we really need to wait and see what happens in January. You see, Hilton issued it’s new point chart, but won’t announce category changes for its hotels until January. Hilton has been ok to me this year aside from lounge access. I’m keeping an open mind, but have moved 2 stays to Marriott and Starwood. The Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express remains the best of the affinity cards in my opinion.
Continental Joins Star This Week
Continental makes the move to Star Alliance on October 27th. I’m still considering where to stash my Star miles, and Continental becomes a lot more viable with it’s entry into Star and associated OnePass enhancements. My US Airways Dividend Miles account should be the logical place. It’s predecessor, the Piedmont Frequent Flyer Bonus Program was the first miles scheme I ever joined (at age 17), but the recent history of US Airways’ actions in the mileage arena make me a tiny bit leery.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on October 20, 2009 under Hilton HHonors, Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest |
Hilton HHonors announced today on FlyerTalk.com that they will be increasing the number of points required for HHonors redemptions. These changes are effective January 15, 2010, and you can review more details on Hilton’s website. Given that hotel rates are lower than they’ve been in years, this increase in the number of points required seems odd at best.
Granted, HHonors points seem to be easier to come by than some of the other programs, and the HHonors Surpass Card from Amex offers a very attractive collection of benefits. However, this move has me seriously considering whether or not HHonors will be worth the effort in 2010. I’ve already cancelled 2 paid Hilton stays for November, and rebooked with Marriott and Starwood. I’ll keep an open mind, but this coupled with my inability to secure lounge access as an HHonors VIP Gold member since changes were made to HHonors last year may cause me to book away from Hilton in 2010.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on April 24, 2009 under Alaska Airlines, Commentary / General Info, FREDDIE Awards, Marriott Rewards, Royal Caribbean |
Time for another random post. Today, I’m blogging from the TGI Fridays at DCA. I’ll bet many of you have been here. I’m not flying today. Instead, I’m waiting to pick up Mrs. MJ on Travel who is arriving from OKC via DFW on American. I got here early, brought my laptop, and decided to make use of the time here.
As you’ll note in my previous post, I had a fabulous time last night co-hosting the online chat for the 21st annual FREDDIE Awards with Steven Frischling from Flying with Fish. I was honored to host alongside such an accomplished traveler and blogger as Steven, and thanks again to Randy Peterson for the opportunity. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and Marriott Rewards really cleaned up last night. Steven has posted a fantastic summary on his blog. It was a great evening, and I hope you were able to be there in person or join us on the chat.
My trip to Atlanta next week has been postponed until next month. I won’t be able to accomplish my primary reason for being there until then due to circumstances outside my control, so I’m rebooked for May 12th. These many weeks off the road are starting to get on my nerves but that’s the cost of doing business I guess. Travel runs in cycles for me, and right now, I am in a down cycle. I don’t have anything else booked until May 22nd, and that’s to Miami to catch our cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas. Have I mentioned that I’m looking forward to that?!?! And totally by chance, Dan from Things in the Sky will be on the same cruise. I’m sure we’ll visit to talk about planes at some point during the cruise.
For what it’s worth, DCA, while not running over with people, is quite busy tonight. Security is jumping and there’s even a handful of people waiting to use the Clear (R) kiosks at the center pier. Friday at the airport…gotta love it! I’ll post more this weekend.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on April 23, 2009 under Alaska Airlines, FREDDIE Awards, Marriott Rewards |
I hope you were able to catch the FREDDIE Awards tonight either online, or live in Fort Lauderdale. Had a great time co-hosting the online chat with Steven Frischman of Flying with Fish.
Congratulations to Alaska Mileage Plan and Marriott Rewards for winning Program of the Year in North America.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on October 30, 2006 under Marriott Rewards |
Just completed a two night stay at the Dayton Marriott. It’s an older Marriott close to downtown Dayton, but still not really near anything. However, if you have to be in Dayton, and prefer a full-service hotel, I have to say that the stay was pleasant.
The front desk staff was friendly and acommodating, and the room, while smallish, was equipped with the new Marriott “Revive” bedding which makes for a very comfortable rest. I was on the Concierge Level which occupies the 5th and 6th floors of the hotel. The Concierge Lounge was located on the 6th floor, and had a very nice spread for Breakfast, Dinner and dessert in the evenings. I did not dine in the hotel restaurant, but did partake of some lighter fare in the bar, “Gambits.” The staff was friendly and efficient. I never wanted for a thing.
The hotel is equipped with an above average gym, indoor pool, and business center in the lobby area. All rooms are wired for high-speed internet, and the common areas offer wireless access. As is standard at full service Marriott Hotels, there is a $9.95 fee, but roaming access is offered for $6.99 per day if you are a subscriber of some carriers including T-Mobile.
Overall, the Dayton Marriott was a nice hotel equipped with everything most any business traveler needs. I’ll certainly stay again.
