January 13, 2012
Fairmont Hotels is offering an interesting promotion. Choose the deal that most appeals to you:
- Up to 30% off the room rates
- Free breakfast for two
- Stay for a free night
All of these deals include 10% off Air Canada flights, and some of them include bonus air miles. This promotion applies to their resort properties worldwide so it may appeal to US travelers as well as Canadian and international travelers. Some properties may have blackout dates so verify the qualifications before booking.
I love Fairmont Hotels (Lake Louise is my all-time favorite!) and all of these deals sound good to me! Choices, choices!
This promotion is good for travel through April 30, 2012 but note the hotel must be booked by February 7, 2012, so act fast if you are interested.
To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in early 2012.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Current Affairs, Hotel Living |
December 21, 2011
Feel uncomfortable when your hotel room curtains do not close all the way?
My hotel room has a 3-inch gap in the curtain closure and the room overlooks a courtyard. So it’s easy to see into rooms, especially at night when the lights are on. I know … since I took a glance out the window to see how many other rooms could be peeped into.
For times like this when you want closure to the issue, a few things will work and all depends on what may be in your suitcase:
- Use duct tape to tape the curtain panels closed. A small amount of duct tape wrapped around a pencil and tossed into your bag before you travel is a good pre-emptive measure.
- Use a chip clip to pull the curtains closed. Again, this needs forethought to have a multi-purpose clip in your bag … the type of clips typically sold to keep bags of chips or snacks closed.
- Use a slacks hanger from the closet. Assuming the hotel hangers are not permanently affixed to the closet rod (said hotels are usually off my list once I find this!), a slacks hanger does the trick!
Option 3 worked perfectly for me in my current hotel room. I’m now comfortable in my room sitting at the desk knowing the courtyard peepers will have to find another place to peep.
To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in early 2012.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Hotel Living, Safety |
December 9, 2011
We’re down to just hours. By this time tomorrow the winning name will be selected. Enter now for your chance to win 2 nights at any Marriott Courtyard in the continental U.S. It’s easy, it’s fast and it’s a great holiday gift if you win. Go here for the details and I hope I’ll be contacting you shortly!
To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in early 2012.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Current Affairs, Hotel Living |
October 26, 2011
Ever hang up your hotel towels to be used for the next day and the maid replaces them with clean towels anyway? More often than not, my attempt at helping to reduce water usage is thwarted by a maid who ignores the hanging towels, ignores the sign posted in the bathroom suggesting “Help Save the Environment” and insists on replacing the towels. I’m really not sure why. You would think they’d be happy to leave the towels hanging – it’s less work for them.
I’ve talked with other travelers and hear this same frustration often. One traveler told me that he’s tried all sorts of things to keep his towels for another day of use. He has written a note to leave the towels, pinned the “Help Save the Environment” card to them … even hung up the towels in the closet. Finally this last solution worked for him!
I can understand the replacing of the towels if the hotel does not have a stated program for reducing water usage, but my experiences are with hotels with such a program. That’s what is all the more frustrating.
Today, however, I am happy to report that my used and hanging towels were left right where I hung them – and no new towel replacements were brought in!
If a hotel is going to have a program for helping the environment and saving water and promote it to their guests, they ought to ensure that their employees are following it too! So thank you to the maid who left my towels for me to use another day.
What’s your experience – have you had the towel-nabbing maids, too?
To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in 2011.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Hotel Living |
August 26, 2011
I like maid service … every day. I like clean towels, a bed that’s made up, empty garbage cans and plenty of coffee.
So why did I hang the “Make a Green Choice” card outside my door on this visit to the Westin? I’d like to say it’s for the sole reason of “being green” and reducing the number of towels and sheets that need to be laundered, but that wouldn’t be the truth.
Here’s why the Green Choice card is dangling on the outside of my hotel room door:
- I want to try something different, get out of my comfort zone, and see how long I can deal with an un-maid room, and
- I’d like to see my SPG reward points grow a bit faster.
How am I doing?
Well, the sign wasn’t hanging outside my door today. Two days without maid service and I’m waving the white flag. I need my room cleaned!
I’ve been out of my comfortable zone long enough. It’s time to get this room back in ship-shape order.
A messy person I’m not, though I am spreading my stuff around the room more than normal since I’m not doing my morning pre-maid straightening up. When I return to my room in the evening, I feel let down that the hotel took my seriously about my “green choice.” I half-way expected my room to be magically cleaned up anyway.
Instead, here’s what my room looks like: Full garbage cans, no coffee bags and 3-day old towels. (Yes, I could’ve asked for more coffee or clean towels to be brought to my room but I wanted to do the full experiment.)
What have this experiment told me?
I tried something new. I survived. And I did reduce the amount of laundry to be washed. I also learned my limit –2 days of maid-free. And I recognized that I need a respite. Give me one day of maid service and I think I’ll be ready to do it again. I’m part-way through a ten night stay, so this happy medium may work out well – more reward points and more conserving of water – all good things.
What about you? Do you “do green” for green reasons? For points or money? Or do you prefer to not “do green” at all?
To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success … How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in 2011.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Hotel Living, Travel |
June 28, 2011
If you’re like me and travel a lot, you could sometimes use a friendly reminder. Send out that report before 5 PM, get to the gym before dinner, join that conference call … all tasks that can easily get lost when on the road. The reminders on my phone can get lost in all of the other notifications I get throughout the day.
Wakerupper.com helps me get over these hurdles and keeps me on track, especially when I’m traveling. You can set up free phone call reminders for anything – so much more than just a wake-up call! You can even leave yourself a little note to be read back to you when the call comes in. My busy life just got a bit more manageable.
Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Hotel Living, Travel, Web/Tech |
April 29, 2011
One of the many challenges of travel is to figure out how things work in different environments. In a hotel room, we need to figure out how to turn on and off the lights, how to change the temperature, how to work the coffee pot, turn on the television and turn on the shower. Sometimes even figuring out how to flush the toilet can be interesting.
I am definitely challenged my hotel room this week, which happens to be in Oslo, Norway:
How to turn off the bedside lamps? Ah, reach behind the table and pull up a switch.
How to change Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Hotel Living, Travel |
April 5, 2011
Would you like a tip that could reduce the size of your bag of liquids when you travel?
Carol Margolis shows her favorite tip for getting maximum days out of a small bottle of hair conditioner.
To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Hotel Living, Travel |
March 4, 2011
I eat in restaurants a lot. Fifty weeks of travel last year alone with this year following the same pattern. So that’s a lot of restaurant meals.
Many of these restaurant meals are at hotels. Some hotels I stay at often, while others are for a one-time event.
One of the hotels I’ve been frequenting a lot lately is the Hilton Garden Inn in Aberdeen, Scotland. About seven stays of two weeks each – more than enough time to try every item on their Granite City Restaurant’s menu, at least several times each. And enough time to get really bored with looking at the same foods night after night.
But I didn’t’ get bored – not at all. In fact, I was sad when I had my last dinner at the HGI restaurant.
How could I have gotten so attached to one hotel restaurant? Easy. It was Chef Brian and his team.
Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Food and Drink, Health, Hotel Living |
February 15, 2011
If February 14 didn’t meet your expectations, Cambria Suites is offering the opportunity for a do-over with its second annual Valentine’s Day Redo Contest. The all-suites brand from Choice Hotels invites consumers to share stories of their Valentine’s Day gone wrong for a chance to win one of three vacation prize packages at the Cambria Suites property of the winner’s choice. The grand prize includes airfare for two, a three-night stay in a premier suite, a $1,000 Visa® gift card, a $150 dining credit for the hotel’s bistro and a personalized welcome package.
Between February 15 and 28, people can enter the contest by submitting their personal story in 200-words or less on the Cambria Suites Facebook page. Whether a significant other forgot about the day or best friends got into a fight, entries should demonstrate why people deserve a Valentine’s Day redo. Winners will be chosen based on their story’s originality, creativity, and adherence to the contest theme.
Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Games, Hotel Living, Pearls of Travel Fun |
February 7, 2011
For safety reasons, I will usually use a hotel’s valet parking service when arriving at a hotel late at night. Otherwise I’ll use the self-parking as the rates are much lower.
Though tonight I got an unexpected and wonderful surprise. It made such a great first impression that I was already sold on this property and I hadn’t even checked in yet!
The Houston Marriott West Loop by The Galleria has a solo woman traveler’s special valet parking rate – just $13.00 a night! The regular rate for valet parking is $25.00 a night and self-parking is $13.00. But because I drove up alone (which I do 95% of the time), I received the special rate.
I thought the valet guy was kidding. I asked, “Is this a Monday special? Or You’re Just Feeling Nice?” No – he said this is always the case. Still, I had my doubts. As I checked in, the desk agent saw my valet ticket and asked if I was traveling alone. With a nod of my head, she confirmed the $13.00/night rate. Any last doubts were now gone.
This is a great safety feature for women traveling alone. Women like me who always have the head-debate going on – “Is it worth the extra money?” And it’s priceless to the hotel as well, as the cost of one parking lot incident could cost millions.
Now I don’t have to decide; it’ll be valet parking for me!
I hope I see more hotels with this great benefit.
If you know of other properties that offer smart deals for solo women travelers, please share!
Posted by Carol Margolis under Hotel Living, Safety |
