World Traveller 73 
A great airport hotel should be convenient, hospitable and add ease to a travellers journey. Our return to the San Francisco International Airport had us visiting for fifteen hours. Instead of returning to the Westin San Francisco Airport, we decided to stay at the San Francisco Airport Waterfront Marriott. Was this a wise decision over the tried and tested Westin San Francisco Airport Hotel?
This post is one chapter on my trip to the Republic of the Maldives. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and Air Canada’s Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
✈️ Read more from this trip:
- Introduction: Breakaway to the Maldives via Qatar Airways Q Suites
- The All New American Express Centurion Lounge: Seattle Tacoma International Airport
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Seattle – San Francisco
- San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront USA
- Air France KLM Lounge, San Francisco International Airport, USA
- Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class: San Francisco – Doha
- Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge: Doha Hamad International Airport
- Al Maha Lounge, Doha Hamad International Airport
- Qatar Airways Business Class: Doha – Malé
- Trans Maldivian Airways: Coral Lounge, Malé
- Trans Maldivian Airways: Malé – W Maldives
- The W Maldives
- Trans Maldivian Airways: W Maldives – Malé
- The St Regis Maldives Lounge, Malé Noovilu Sea Plane Terminal, Maldives
- Trans Maldavian Airways: Malé – Vommuli
- The St Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort
- Trans Maldivian Airways: Vommuli – Malé
- The Leeli Lounge, Malé Velana International Airport, Maldives
- Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class: Malé – Doha
- Qatar Airways Premium Arrivals Business Class Lounge, Doha, Qatar
- The Westin Doha Hotel and Spa, Doha, Qatar
- Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class: Doha – San Francisco
- United Airlines Business Class: San Francisco – Vancouver
Review: San Francisco Airport Waterfront Marriott, USA
“A Newly Renovated Airport Marriott that’s isn’t as Customer Centric as it Could be, especially given it’s Isolated Airport Location”
Booking The San Francisco Airport Waterfront Marriott, USA:
We had a long fifteen hour connection in San Francisco between our flights from Vancouver, Canada, before we departed on Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class San Francisco – Doha.
While we had previously stayed at the neighbouring The Westin San Francisco Airport, we decided to see if heading a little further up the road to the San Francisco Airport Waterfront Marriott would be worth the additional effort.
When booking at the San Francisco Airport Waterfront Marriott, I was able to get a AAA rate of $224 USD which booked into the basic 1 King Bed, Guest Room. I booked direct on the Marriott Bonvoy website. As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Level member, I would also be entitled to Upgrade to best available room, including select suites.
I did find that the prices at the airport hotels in Millbrae adjacent to the San Francisco Airport were generally cheaper than hotels in downtown San Francisco by about $100 USD per night. Since we were only here for a fourteen hour layover, I didn’t see the value in going in to the city for a better, but shorter stay.
Marriott Bonvoy Reward Opportunities:
The San Francisco Waterfront Airport Marriott Hotel prices awfully expensive in the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program. The property generally prices between 45,000, to a staggeringly high 63,000 Marriott Bonvoy reward points, for a standard level room. For context, this is a higher price point than our last Marriott Bonvoy redemption in Hawaii.
I found this to be a little rich for an older airport hotel property, especially when you can easily find rooms at the cheaper aLoft San Francisco or the nearby Residence Inn San Francisco Millbrae Station for under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points each. Both are much newer properties, but don’t offer an M Club Lounge.
If you value Marriott Bonvoy Points at 0.005 cents, you’ll come out ahead by redeeming points against a room at the property if you rate is above $315 USD. You’ll possibly find some outsized value in the event the cash rate is exceptionally high on a weeknight, but you’re probably better off paying a cash rate assuming you can find a good deal or package.
Getting to the San Francisco Waterfront Airport Marriott Hotel:
We arrived into San Francisco International Airport on Alaska Airlines First Class Seattle – San Francisco. Prior to arriving to the hotel, the hotel did things right in getting us oriented. The Rooms Controller forwarded us a link by email setting out matters to expect, food and beverage information, local restaurant information, shuttle information & tracking. All of this was easily available for viewing on a mobile device.
Based on this, we were able to obtain the shuttle information. This included a great photograph of the shuttle, and clear directions on where to collect the shuttle at the airport.
The arrival process couldn’t be much easier and I have to congratulate the San Francisco Waterfront Airport Marriott for making the arrival process so easy.
The San Francisco Waterfront Airport Marriott was located about fifteen minutes shuttle ride away from the San Francisco International Airport.
One of the hotels’ best features is that it is located overlooking the San Francisco International Airport landing runways and the Bay Area. However, there’s not a lot of anything else in this light industrial neighbourhood.
We boarded the shuttle and made it over to the hotel without any issues. Our stay pattern had us arriving at 11:30 PM, and departing the hotel the next day at 2 PM, encompassing a fourteen hour stay.
Checking into the San Francisco Airport Waterfront Marriott Hotel:
After a quick shuttle ride, we arrived at the hotel. On arrival to the hotel at 11:30 PM, the hotel’s front doors were completely locked, without key card access. We rang the door bell, but it appeared there was no one monitoring the reception. We were eventually let into the hotel by another hotel guest.
Aside from the first impression of being locked out with no one to receive us, the lobby contained a great large restaurant and lounge; “The Flights View Lounge”.
The Flights View Lounge’s atrium had great views out to the water. Unfortunately, the lounge had closed by the time we had arrived and was pretty much pitch black.
We checked in at the front desk. As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium member, I was entitled to a choice of either a welcome gift, bonus Marriott Bonvoy Points or 1,000 Points per Stay or U.S. $10 food and beverage (“F&B”) credit per Stay.
During check in, when I asked the front desk about the breakfast option (food and beverage credit), I was told “we don’t do that here“. I didn’t get presented with the food and beverage credit option. We were solely directed towards the M Club Lounge for elite food and beverage offerings. Unfortunately, the M Club Lounge was only open for set limited hours, which made it harder to access.
A day in advance, we were assigned a soft upgrade courtesy of Marriott Bonvoy Titanium status to a 1 King Bed Waterfront from the Guest Room – 1 King we had booked. While it wasn’t a substantial upgrade, it did offer a nicer view.
The Room: Guest Room – 1 King – Waterfront
We were assigned room #3107, which we self interpreted to be on the 3rd floor. We self navigated up to the rooms. Although we were travelling with bags, there was no luggage or porter assistance offered or available at midnight.
It was a bit of a walk through diagonal hallways over to room # 3107. The hallways had some recent refurbishment with new wall coverings and new carpets.
The Bedroom:
Once inside, we arrived to a compact Marriott Airport Hotel Room that was 350sq feet / 32 sq m. While the room was freshly renovated, it was pretty much standard Marriott fare.
The room featured a standard Marriott King Sized bed, and featured a 48 inch flat screen television that was comfortably viewed from the Marriott bed.
In Room Amenities:
The room featured a comfortable chaise style couch, which was a nice refreshing change from the usual couches and occasional chairs that you see in hotel rooms. The chaise allowed you to easily stretch out and get comfortable.
We did happen to find the previous guests’ miniature liquor bottles on the floor behind the chaise. It was something that grossed out MrsWT73, but didn’t really happen to bother me all too much.
The room also featured a small desk area. While it was good for occasional use, I wouldn’t expect to get too much work done here thanks to it’s small size. Surprisingly, the only water available in the room was the $7 USD bottle of Arrowhead water available for purchase. We did ask at the front desk for some bottled water and were eventually offered 2 regular bottles of water from the pantry courtesy of Marriott Bonvoy Titanium status.
Along with almost all Marriott hotels, a standard filtered coffee maker was available.
Based on the floor plan, the floor didn’t offer too many suites for upgrades. Our waterfront room was one of the larger ones located in the middle of the floor.
The Bathroom:
The bathroom of the Guest Room 1 King Waterfront was a standard variety compact bathroom. It offered space for only one person with a single vanity sink and toilet.
The bathroom was recently renovated and featured in a slick grey colour scheme. Instead of offering individual plastic bottles for shampoo, the toiletries were dispensed from dispensers in the shower.
The waterfront room view actually had a nice view that we appreciated the next morning. It had a view of the San Francisco Airport landing runways.
Overall, the room was nicely upgraded. The only down side to the room was its slightly compact foot print that was consistent for a hotel of this particular older generation.
Food and Beverage:
Due to the hotel’s location, there are not a lot of opportunities to dine off property located around the hotel. You’ll be walking between 15 – 20 minutes through a light industrial area in order to get to any alternate off property restaurants. This makes access to food and beverage facilities on the property essential. Unfortunately, we had mixed results trying to access food during our stay.
M Club Lounge:
On the date of our arrival, I ventured down to the M Club Lounge. Disappointingly, the lounge was not accessible outside of breakfast or evening snack hours and was completely locked up. As such, we weren’t able to pop into the lounge in order to collect a bottle of water.
On our visit, the lounge was open as follows:
- Weekday Breakfast between 6:30 AM – 9:00 AM (rather short for breakfast hours!)
- H’ors D’oeuvres between 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
- Dessert between 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Unfortunately, the lounge was not open outside these times for relaxing, or for picking up a soft drink.
Once inside, the M Club was nicely decorated consistent with a recent renovation.
The food in the M Club Lounge was pretty average Marriott fare. On our breakfast visit, there were cut fruit, scrambled eggs with salsa accompaniments, and some tator tots potatoes available for consumption.
While it met the mark for an overnight stay, I wouldn’t relish revisiting the lounge for breakfast on a multi day stay.
While the M Club was a nice to have feature, it was limited by the fact that it had decidedly short hours of operation. The food was also a little plain, compared to some of the other Marriott Lounges that I’ve had the opportunity to visit.
Flights View Lounge:
The Flights View Lounge is the hotels’ primary restaurant. During our visit, it offered:
- Breakfast between 6:30 AM – 10:30 AM
- Lunch between 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- Dinner between 4:00 PM – 11:00 PM
While it had a nice looking environment, our travel schedule (which wasn’t all to extreme) didn’t allow us to get in any snacks, as it was closed on arrival. I was a little surprised that the lounge was completely closed at 10:30 PM. For breakfast, the hotel didn’t seem to keen on offering the Food and Beverage Credit, so we didn’t take a full price breakfast in the restaurant.
Around the Hotel Property:
Waterfront Walkway:
Arguably the best feature of the hotel isn’t something that’s actually run by the hotel itself. It’s the waterfront walkway that’s situated right outside of the property on the Bay side on the water.
I took a walk down the south eastern direction of the walkway, but it ran out of real estate about about ten minutes of walking. The walkway does continue towards the San Francisco International Airport, which would be the better direction if you were planning on using the walkway as a running track.
The walkway is the hotels’ nicest feature. Although, despite some nice plane spotting opportunities, I don’t think that it’s nice enough to draw me back for a second stay.
Gym:
The hotel offered a small 24 hour gym. While the gym is nice to have, it’s not a particular place that I would imagine spending a lot of time in thanks to it’s odd and some what fluorescent lit layout.
Hotel Pantry:
The Hotel does offer a small pantry for picking up some snacks. Unfortunately, for arriving after the supper hour being closed, the pantry didn’t offer a whole lot of meal replacement items. My diet these days, doesn’t consider a giant bag of popcorn as a legitimate meal replacement item.
While I can appreciate that the hotel may not want to cannibalize any food and beverage sales by offering larger food products in the pantry, the items that were on offer in the pantry were expensive. We picked up a $15 USD Can of Underwood Pinot Noir (that retails for $6 USD at Fred Meyer) as it was the only drinks available after midnight. I didn’t see much value here.
Checking Out of the San Francisco Airport Waterfront Marriott Hotel:
Our check out the next day, our check out was without incident. We didn’t have any surprises on the bill and our points posted within thirty six hours.
It was a pretty anonymous and transactional stay. While we didn’t have any issues with our stay, I didn’t elect to raise any concerns with the front desk.
We departed the hotel on the complimentary shuttle and headed onwards on Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class San Francisco – Doha and onwards Qatar Airways Business Class Doha – Malé.
Bottom Line: The San Francisco Airport Waterfront Marriott Hotel
The San Francisco Airport Waterfront Marriott met the basic needs for an airport hotel stay. With a great initial impression thanks to clear shuttle and welcome instructions, our stay over fourteen hours was, frankly, pretty boring.
Many of the food and beverage outlets weren’t open during our visits. While our stay pattern wasn’t that unusual, the hotel wasn’t all that accommodating in delivering elite benefits for an airport hotel that likely has travellers arriving at all sorts of hours.
With a lounge that stopped serving breakfast at 9:30 AM, there wasn’t any sleeping in after a late arrival. The pantry wasn’t really set up for meal replacements and was unusually expensive. There are a lack of restaurants near the property, which makes any traveller that much more reliant on the hotel offerings, which aren’t always available due to limited hours of operation. The hotel housekeeping wasn’t all that stellar, and the hotel didn’t seem to keen on offering food and beverage credits in the main restaurant.
Perhaps my expectations are too high, but overall, I’d probably give this place a miss next time, in favour of another San Francisco Airport property.
If you have stayed at the San Francisco Waterfront Airport Marriott, how did you find your stay ?
Alaska Airlines operates a large hub of activity from it’s home in the lower states from Seattle Tacoma International Airport. As Canadian travellers who fly Alaska Airlines, we frequently find ourselves connecting through busy Seattle Tacoma International Airport. Today’s connection experience had us departing from the North Satellite Terminal, on a positioning flight to San Francisco. We would get the opportunity to test out their First Class service with an important VIP on board.
This post is one chapter on my trip to the Republic of the Maldives. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and Air Canada’s Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
✈️ Read more from this trip:
- Introduction: Breakaway to the Maldives via Qatar Airways Q Suites
- The All New American Express Centurion Lounge: Seattle Tacoma International Airport
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Seattle – San Francisco
- San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront USA
- Air France KLM Lounge, San Francisco International Airport, USA
- Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class: San Francisco – Doha
- Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge: Doha Hamad International Airport
- Al Maha Lounge, Doha Hamad International Airport
- Qatar Airways Business Class: Doha – Malé
- Trans Maldivian Airways: Coral Lounge, Malé
- Trans Maldivian Airways: Malé – W Maldives
- The W Maldives
- Trans Maldivian Airways: W Maldives – Malé
- The St Regis Maldives Lounge, Malé Noovilu Sea Plane Terminal, Maldives
- Trans Maldavian Airways: Malé – Vommuli
- The St Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort
- Trans Maldivian Airways: Vommuli – Malé
- The Leeli Lounge, Malé Velana International Airport, Maldives
- Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class: Malé – Doha
- Qatar Airways Premium Arrivals Business Class Lounge, Doha, Qatar
- The Westin Doha Hotel and Spa, Doha, Qatar
- Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class: Doha – San Francisco
- United Airlines Business Class: San Francisco – Vancouver
Review: Alaska Airlines B737-8, Seattle Tacoma International Airport – San Francisco International Airport
I had a really difficult time locating Qatar Q Suites Business Class award availability from the United States to the Maldives. Despite my best efforts, I wasn’t able to locate any saver award space out of any city other than San Francisco, with the more “convenient to us” Seattle drawing an empty blank.
As a result, we had to position from Seattle to San Francisco to get our comfortable ride onwards from North America to the Middle East and onwards to the Maldives.
Boarding Alaska Airlines First Class:
We departed the all new American Express Centurion Lounge Seattle and took the train over to the North Terminal by taking the SEA Underground Train.
Once we were over at centrally located Seattle Tacoma International Airport Gate N12, it was a pretty light boarding experience today without much crowding.
Alaska Airlines likes to board it’s planes really early, so we boarded right at the boarding time printed on the boarding card. We were on the plane before we knew it.
Alaska Airlines
First Class (E)
SEA – SFO (Seattle Tacoma International Airport – San Francisco International Airport)
AS 1112
March 6, 2023
Booked: Boeing 737-800
Flown: Boeing 737-800
Departure: 8:50 PM
Arrival: 10:57 PM
On Board Alaska Airlines First Class:
After an invitation for Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan MVP Gold and active military members, First Class passengers were given an invitation to board.
We boarded the empty aircraft through door 1L and were the second passengers on board the familiar Alaska Airlines First Class seating.
The Alaska Airlines First class puffy blue leather seats are comfortable, pleasant and soft. It’s perhaps the oldest school domestic First Class seat today. For a short two hour hop from Seattle to San Francisco, these leather seats of goodness were perfectly plush for a smooth soft ride.
Pre Departure Services:
Alaska Airlines has recently economized the pre-departure beverage offering. Today’s pre-departure beverage service was completely absent. Instead, we were offered the typical boxed water which was served at room temperature (without refrigeration).
I don’t happen to mind the boxed water but MrsWT73 doesn’t enjoy the taste of it, finding it metallic and less refreshing than bottled water.
Riding with a VIP:
Flying with the Prime Minister of Finland
While we were settling into Alaska Airlines First Class, we had a few minutes prior to the rest of the cabin boarding. Looking out of the window, I happened to notice a number of limosines on the Seattle Tacoma apron.
The convoy seemed to have a number of tactical officers next to the plane. Based on this, I assumed they were likely waiting for, or perhaps boarding a VIP of some sort.
While we were seated, we had a number of ground agents discussing logistics with the “in charge” flight attendant. We were then joined by an entourage of travellers, which included an “aide de camp” dressed in a military uniform with a Finnish Flag.
The entourage took over the entire first class cabin, surrounding us on all sides with aides, an armed aircraft protective officer and what I’d later discover to be the President of Finland – Mr. Sauli Niinistö. He ended up joining us in row 2 by seating across from us in 2F, after he didn’t seem to keen on his assigned 1F in the bulkhead.
It turns out that the President of Finland was on an official visit to the State of Washington to bolster green and technology supports. While his entourage and security kept an eye on us, it would mark my first occasion where we had been surrounded by “an entourage” flying Alaska Airlines. The group pretty much bought out the whole First Class Cabin with the exception of our two seats. With Finnair also being a member of One World, it seemed to make sense that they were also flying One World Alaska Airlines.
We got underway reasonably quickly out of Seattle Tacoma International Airport. While it felt like we had expedited clearance, we departed on a southerly tract without delay.
Food and Beverage:
Once airborne, a light meal service was offered. Alaska Airlines offered the ability to pre-select a meal within fourteen days up to twenty four hours before a flight. However, there weren’t a whole lot of choices for an under two hour flight.
Menus were offered by the in flight menu card located in the seat pocket. The featured wines in Alaska First Class were McBride Sisters Wine Company.
While I pre-ordered a cheese plate, I ended up being offered a protein version with chicken and hard boiled egg whites on them. I paired this with a glass of cold McBride Sisters Chardonnay, which was offered with several friendly refills throughout the flight.
Although it was a little dry, it was pretty tasty as a snack. The food was more than I might have expected for under a two hour flight. It was much more than my last United Airlines flight under two hours, that typically offers a snack basket or pre-wrapped snack.
In Flight Entertainment:
Alaska Airlines offers a comparable offering of in flight entertainment delivered through your smart phone device and the Go Go Entertainment application.
Along with free texting, the flight was wifi enabled. The price point of a flat $8 USD for wifi streaming was also pretty reasonable for a longer haul trans continental flight.
The in-flight entertainment system worked without any drop offs. The content wasn’t too extensive for a short haul carrier, but there were enough movies to keep us entertained.
We had a quick arrival into San Francisco International Airport. We allowed our VIP Entourage to deplane around us. The fourteen of them scampered off into the terminal as a group. We gathered our luggage and headed onto the San Francisco Waterfront Airport Marriott hotel for the evening.
My Thoughts on Alaska Airlines First Class:
Alaska Airlines First Class provides a competitive and, at times, better service than it’s competitors American or United Airlines. The service is often friendlier, and in most cases, you get enough of a meal as a snack while flying Alaska. The plush Alaska Airlines First Class seat is a nice retro bonus, since it allows for comfortable flying.
If you regularly travel in Alaska Airlines First Class, do you find it worth the extra expense ?
After establishing itself as one of the most popular American Express Centurion Lounges, the Seattle Tacoma International Airport Centurion Lounge expanded into a brand new location that is three times the size of its old location. With the old lounge being exceptionally compact and over crowded for a premium airport lounge, would the new lounge offer any additional features or space? Read on to see how our in depth experience of the Centurion Lounge Seattle fared.
This post is one chapter on my trip to the Republic of the Maldives. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and Air Canada’s Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
✈️ Read more from this trip:
- Introduction: Breakaway to the Maldives via Qatar Airways Q Suites
- The All New American Express Centurion Lounge: Seattle Tacoma International Airport
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Seattle – San Francisco
- San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront USA
- Air France KLM Lounge, San Francisco International Airport, USA
- Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class: San Francisco – Doha
- Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge: Doha Hamad International Airport
- Al Maha Lounge, Doha Hamad International Airport
- Qatar Airways Business Class: Doha – Malé
- Trans Maldivian Airways: Coral Lounge, Malé
- Trans Maldivian Airways: Malé – W Maldives
- The W Maldives
- Trans Maldivian Airways: W Maldives – Malé
- The St Regis Maldives Lounge, Malé Noovilu Sea Plane Terminal, Maldives
- Trans Maldavian Airways: Malé – Vommuli
- The St Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort
- Trans Maldivian Airways: Vommuli – Malé
- The Leeli Lounge, Malé Velana International Airport, Maldives
- Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class: Malé – Doha
- Qatar Airways Premium Arrivals Business Class Lounge, Doha, Qatar
- The Westin Doha Hotel and Spa, Doha, Qatar
- Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class: Doha – San Francisco
- United Airlines Business Class: San Francisco – Vancouver
Review: The All New American Express Centurion Lounge, Seattle Tacoma International Airport, Washington, USA
American Express has finally upgraded their lounge offering in Seattle Tacoma International Airport. We’ve visited the past American Express Centurion Studio Seattle several times. It was usually a crowded experience.
MrsWT73 got a sneak peak into the new lounge space a few days after it had opened. On this visit, we’d get the opportunity to conduct a full review.
We arrived into Seattle on an Alaska Airlines Vancouver – Seattle flight. While I’ve reviewed that short flight dozens of times before, I won’t be doing so again.
Locating the Lounge:
The American Express Centurion Lounge has relocated from the Seattle – Tacoma “B” Gates concourse. The new lounge access point is now located in the Seattle Tacoma International Airport Main Terminal right across from the TSA security check points and the food court seating.
The all new American Express Centurion Lounge Seattle is a little more difficult to find. Without noticing the American Express branding on the second floor elevator shaft, or with the knowledge that many of the Centurion Lounges are accessed through glass elevators, you’d be hard pressed to know the new Seattle Centurion Lounge is hiding on the second floor of the Main Terminal Concourse.
The new Centurion Lounge location is great for departing Seattle Tacoma International Airport travellers, but it is slightly less convenient for connecting travellers like us.
Visiting the lounge requires accessing the main concourse and if you’re in an outer gate when you arrive, you’ll need to walk or take a SEA Underground Train into the Main Terminal. On the bright side, having the lounge in the Main Terminal makes the lounge accessible to more travellers, since it’s located in a common terminal that’s not dedicated to any one specific carrier.
Accessing the Lounge:
We took the elevator up to the second floor, and arrived to the American Express Centurion Lounge Reception. There was no line when we arrived and we were attended to immediately.
Access to the American Express Centurion Lounge network is granted through an American Express Platinum Card, or a American Express Centurion Card.
Effective February 1, 2023, there have been a few changes to the access policy. Primary Cardholders get free access. The United States Platinum Card and United States Business Platinum Card Members will be charged a $50 USD fee for each guest (or $30 for children aged 2 through 17).
United States Platinum Card and U.S. Business Platinum Card Members will qualify for Complimentary Guest Access for up to two guests per visit after spending $75.000 in eligible purchases on their Platinum Account between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022 and in each calendar, year thereafter.
Fortunately, international American Express Platinum Cardholders still get a free guest. As a result, I was able to guest in MrsWT73 without her having to present her own American Express Platinum Card.
American Express has also recently adjusted guest rates for visitors to the lounge. The New Guest Rates For All Paid Guests are as follows:
- Guests aged 18+ are $50 each
- Guests aged 2-17 are $30 each
- Guests below age 2 are free
- Guest rates apply to all paid guests regardless of card type or country of issue.
We had no wait to enter the lounge when we arrived in the early evening at 8 PM. The all new lounge finally offers extended hours and is open to a much more normal 11 PM. This was a vast improvement and a welcome extension from the previous lounge hours that some how got away with closing at 7 PM throughout most of the pandemic years.
Inside The American Express Centurion Lounge:
The all new American Express Centurion Lounge is a massive generational improvement that addresses many of the shortfalls of the past crowded and compact Seattle Centurion Studio Lounge experience.
Bar Service:
Immediately upon entering, the all new American Express Centurion Lounge Seattle you’ll find table and chair along with bar seating located along the right hand side behind the reception. The area, and its bar space are nicely decorated with a high lighting display.
The light colour and seating surfaces will probably not wear as well in a high turnover area. However, it sure looks sharp when it’s new and adds brightness to otherwise dark airport areas.
The bar seating remains popular, with easy access to entertainment through television screens above the full service bar.
Dedicated Centurion Card Holder Seating:
Opposite from the bar and its seating area, there was a reserved seating area for Centurion Card holders. This space represents the closest seating near the front for Centurion Card Holders. The seating space offered Seattle Tacoma Main Terminal Concourse views from on top of the mezzanine.
Moving past the bar and Centurion Lounge seating, I found myself at the Seattle Centurion Lounges’ very first Coffee Bar.
Blue Roast Coffee Bar:
The American Express Centurion Lounge has developed the Blue Roast coffee bar that has been designed for the coffee loving crowd in Seattle. As a city that brought us Starbucks’ Coffee and Seattle’s Best Coffee, it seems appropriate that a flagship lounge in Seattle offer a great coffee concept.
Food Service Buffet Area:
Moving further into the lounge beyond the coffee bar, a long narrow hallway leads to a primary table dining area that happens to be located next to the food service buffet. Along with any American Express Centurion Lounge, the buffet offers a great selection of food with chair and booth seating.
Lounge Seating:
Continuing past the buffet, almost all the traditional lounge seating is located at the very rear of the lounge floor plan. Passing along a short hallway with loungers, a further left turn brings to a longer lounge seating room that offers traditional lounge seating.
The traditional lounge space at the rear of the lounge is large enough that it offers heaps of seating combinations. Between couches, occasional chairs and communal work tables, there is seating for every style of traveler.
The main lounge seating area is split into two separate rooms. The furthest room offers flexible communal seating that is suitable for working, along with a quieter work environment
The main lounge room offered a combination of short lounge chairs, and high back lounge chairs typically found in a Delta Sky Club. While I’m not always a fan of the high back chairs, they do work in high density seating environments.
Most travellers might miss this traditional lounge seating space unless they were really looking for it. You’ll have to navigate through two turns and be well into the depth of the lounge prior to getting to this lounge area.
The traditional lounge seating was completely deserted in the early evening, making this a comfortable and quiet place to pass the time.
By any measure, the all new American Express Centurion Lounge Seattle is a substantial improvement over the past lounge’s limited space constraints.
By offering a much larger footprint, the new lounge remedies the previous weakness of the lack of space found in the old compact lounge. It will also offer a much quicker intake into the lounge, and likely eliminate the queues that were present at the old Centurion Lounge Studio space.
Food and Beverage:
The American Express Centurion Lounge Seattle offered a terrific buffet with a variety of foods. Despite it being a later visit around 8 PM, there was still enough food available to satisfy our taste buds for a later dinner.
Food Hot Buffet:
Tonights dinner menu offered a smoky kale salad, a dirty rice featuring chicken with pork, a roasted sweet potato with coconut lemon grass curry, a simple jasmine rice, and if that wasn’t enough, a blackened chicken cobb salad.
In addition to the main entrees, there were also vegetarian caprese sandwiches, and PM Power Bowls with chicken & quinoa with mint yoghurt and red pickled onion. On top of all that, there were hearty smoothies with rolled oats, banana yoghurts and cinnamon. Clearly, you’re not going to be short food dining at this Centurion Lounge with enough food offered to substitute an actual meal from the terminal.
Full Bar Service:
Over at the full service bar, the lounge offered an excellent selection of interesting cocktails. Today’s offerings had an emphasis on whisky based drinks. I enjoyed a Matcha Tonic with top shelf Botanist Gin, Fever Tree Tonic and Matcha.
Along with an excellent cocktail list, the American Express Centurion Lounge offered a great wine list. Along with five white wines, two sparking wines and five red wines, there was something for everyone on the list.
I enjoyed braised chicken snack as a late dinner and a Matcha Gin & Tonic, prior to getting onto our Alaska Airlines First Class Seattle – San Francisco flight.
In Summary:
The all new American Express Centurion Lounge Seattle is a much more comfortable version of the Centurion Lounge. The all new version offers many more options for seating. It’s larger size will result in less line queuing at the entrance, and it’s visitors will likely be much more content while they pass their time away.
If you’ve visited the all new American Express Centurion Lounge Seattle, did you enjoy the new surroundings?
After waiting around for several years for international travel to re-open, and a general lack of reward availability for business class cabins, I decided that I had to change course when it came to planning to travel. In this case, frequent flier points became the preferred currency of choice, as you could easily cancel a business class ticket, without worrying about your currency being stuck and held with the airlines for several years in the form of “credits”. With this in mind, I located and booked some Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class Award availability from North America to the Maldives. We would end up on a terrific journey across two luxury resorts. See how we put it all together here…
This post is one chapter on my trip to the Republic of the Maldives. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and Air Canada’s Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.
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✈️ Read more from this trip:
- Introduction: Breakaway to the Maldives via Qatar Airways Q Suites
- The All New American Express Centurion Lounge: Seattle Tacoma International Airport
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Seattle – San Francisco
- San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront USA
- Air France KLM Lounge, San Francisco International Airport, USA
- Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class: San Francisco – Doha
- Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge: Doha Hamad International Airport
- Al Maha Lounge, Doha Hamad International Airport
- Qatar Airways Business Class: Doha – Malé
- Trans Maldivian Airways: Coral Lounge, Malé
- Trans Maldivian Airways: Malé – W Maldives
- The W Maldives
- Trans Maldivian Airways: W Maldives – Malé
- The St Regis Maldives Lounge, Malé Noovilu Sea Plane Terminal, Maldives
- Trans Maldavian Airways: Malé – Vommuli
- The St Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort
- Trans Maldivian Airways: Vommuli – Malé
- The Leeli Lounge, Malé Velana International Airport, Maldives
- Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class: Malé – Doha
- Qatar Airways Premium Arrivals Business Class Lounge, Doha, Qatar
- The Westin Doha Hotel and Spa, Doha, Qatar
- Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class: Doha – San Francisco
- United Airlines Business Class: San Francisco – Vancouver
Trip Introduction: Breakaway to the Maldives via Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class.
Planning the Trip:
Planning Flights:
Flights from Canada to the Maldives
With the pandemic turning the mileage redemption world upside down, my focus lately has been on paid business class deals. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find many paid discounted fares to and from the West Coast of North America to the Maldives.
In the early periods of the year 2022, Asia was almost completely closed for transiting air travel, and with the Maldives seeing a lot of luxury travel demand during the pandemic, any travel discounts were rare and remote. With the fact that there were a lot less planes flying everywhere these days, and airlines trying to maximize several years of lost revenue, business class reward availability was at an all time low.
As a result, we set our eyes on Qatar Airways Q Suites to and from the Maldives. Qatar Airways was one of the few carriers maintaining a full schedule through the pandemic and as a result, had a lot more seats by volume. Qatar Airways Q Suites are redeemable through many One World mileage programs including American Airlines’ AAdvantage at 70,000 points or Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan at 85,000 points for Business Class North America to India Sub Continent.
With no easy way to earn American Airlines AAdvantage Points in Canada, we had been mostly accumulating our points in Alaska Mileage Plan. There is no Canadian American Airlines AAdvantage credit card and the Royal Bank of Canada Avion Visa Card devaluated their conversion rate into American Airlines Advantage down to 70% of a dollar earned, which is a far cry from the days when they occasionally offered a fall promotion of 125% transfer bonuses. Thanks to the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Mastercard, and Alaska Airilnes’ hub in Seattle, we’ve been travelling with them heavily for the past ten years.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan sometimes has less access to reward space than other award partners. I didn’t have a lot of luck looking for award space Qatar Business Class on Alaska Airlines. Alaska Airlines rewards from North America start at 85,000 for “saver” award space availability and go up to 200,000 for standard award space availability. After checking through the dry seasons of the Maldives between January – March, I was only able to locate a handful of seats when the reward calendar opened at 300 days out. I also happened to find more space available on Monday’s for some unknown reason.
With that in hand, we were able to book 2 business class reward tickets on Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan getting to experience Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class on three segments including Qatar Airways Q Suites San Francisco – Doha, Qatar Airways Q Suites Male – Doha and Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class Doha – San Francisco. Although we over paid a premium of 15,000 miles redeeming through Alaska Mileage Plan over AAdvantage, it was our only option for our particular needs. Taxes and fees on the outbound to the Maldives were $105.15 USD, and on the return it was $178.87 USD.
It was not a bad value as retail flights were approximately $4,800 USD per person to get to Male from the West Coast of the United States.
I was not able to find Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Award Availability from San Francisco – Seattle – Vancouver. As a result, I ended up just ending the reward in San Francisco and purchasing a non stop United Airlines First Class Ticket home for $380 CAD as it was slightly cheaper than Air Canada flights on the same route.
The routing ended up looking like this at the end of the planning stages.
YVR-SEA-SFO-DOH-MLE (Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Award)
MLE-WWW (paid by hotel – Trans Maldavian Airways Seaplane)
WWW-MLE (paid by hotel – Trans Maldivian Airways Seaplane)
MLE-VMM (paid by hotel – Trans Maldivian Airways Seaplane)
MLE-DOH-SFO (Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Award)
SFO-YVR (paid – United Airlines)
Planning Hotels:
The Maldvies has been well covered in terms of it’s luxury resorts. It’s really important to pick your resort carefully. Having now been to four different resorts in the Maldives, I’ve set out my thoughts on what you should be looking at when it comes carefully choosing a resort in the Maldives.
We decided to split our stay between the W Maldives and The St Regis Maldives Vommuli. We were both Marriott Bonvoy Titanium / Platinum level members, so we would take advantage of the free Marriott Bonvoy Elite Breakfast benefit at each hotel.
We decided on The W Maldives mostly as a result of its’ reputation and it’s world class rouse reef for snorkelling. The snorkelling at the house reef at the W Maldives is reported to be amongst the best in the world and the best within the Republic of the Maldives. This five night redemption cost 398,000 Marriott Bonvoy points with the fifth night free, or an average of 79,800 Marriott Bonvoy points per night. After actually having visited, the W Maldives still shines after being open for seventeen years with an excellent house reef that still sparkles after all these years.
We decided on The St Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort as we were also looking for a little luxury. The St Regis Maldives Vommuli remains one of the most aspirational Marriott bonvoy points award redemptions in the world. Our six night redemption initially cost 541,000 points (with the fifth night free), or an average of 90,160 points per night.
Watching the availability closely, I did notice that the pricing reached a low point about 3 – 4 weeks before our trip. I was able to cancel and re-book at 484,000 points(with the fifth night free), or an average of 80,666 points per night saving almost 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. I was excited for the opportunity to get to try it, and see whether the hype actually measured up to the product. It was pretty close to perfect in the end.
While we considered the Ritz Carlton Maldives Island, I ended up passing on this property as a result of the lack of free breakfast for Marriott Elites at Ritz Carlton properties. The Ritz Carlton beach also appeared to be entirely man made. In the end, we were really happy that we had the two resort mix of the W Maldives and St Regis Maldives. We didn’t end up feeling like we missed out by not visiting the Ritz Carlton Fari Islands. The mix between the W Maldives and the St Regis Maldives happened to be just perfect for our extended stay.
I needed a one night stay in San Francisco on the way to the Maldives. While we had previously stayed at the Westin San Francisco Airport, for this trip we thought we’d try something different. As a result, we booked in at the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront on a $211 USD rate for an over night stay.
With a nine and a half hour connection in Doha, we could have stayed airside, hung out, at the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge, at the Oryx Airport Hotel for $400 USD) a night. None of these really looked all to appealing so we ended up returning to the Westin Doha Hotel and Spa for a quick stay. We had stayed here before and it was among the closest Marriott Airport hotels to the airport. As such, we checked in here for a brief seven hour stay before our flight back to the United States.
Our points and miles redemption summary:
While this trip was fairly heavy on point redemptions, it was worth it in our view since we hadn’t had a great trip like this since the start of the pandemic. Given several years of accumulating points with no where to use them, we were happy to redeem them on travel at world class luxury resorts.
In summary, we earned and redeemed:
- Redemption: Alaska Airlines Qatar Airways X 4 (2 return tickets for two) Seattle – Male, Male – San Francisco at 85,000 Alaska Airlines Points per ticket = 340,000 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles
- Earned: 4,610 Air Canada Aeroplan Miles (1,519 + 828 + 744 + 1519) on United Airlines Business Class San Francisco – Vancouver as an Air Canada Elite 35 K
- Earned: 4,885 Points (2,220 Base + 1,665 Elite + 1,000 Extra) Marriott Bonvoy points at San Francisco Airport Waterfront Marriott as a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level member.
- Earned 7,775 Points (5,170 Base + 2,585 Elite + 0 Extra) Marriott Bonvoy points at W Maldives as a Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Level member.
- Earned: 31,098 Points (17,770 Base + 13,328 Elite + 0 Extra) Marriott Bonvoy points at St Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort as a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level member.
- Earned 4,325 Points (1,900 Base + 1,425 Elite + 1,000 Extra) Marriott Bonvoy Points at the Westin Doha Hotel and Spa as a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Level member.
While it was a little complicated finding Qatar award availability, it was actually much easier to put all this together than our last trip to Jordan.
If you have visited the Maldives, what tips do you have to maximize value ?
This week’s travel had me on a return to Prince George, British Columbia in the northern part of the province. As a town located in the cross roads intersection of the northern town, it offers a large amount of accomodations for business travelers. This trip would have me staying at the Courtyard by Marriott Prince George; a brand new hotel built within the last five years. The stay would end up being really enjoyable as far as business stays go, and the hotel got everything right during my visit.
Review: Courtyard by Marriott Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
“A brand new property, the Courtyard by Marriott is now the place to stay for Marriott Bonvoy loyalists when visiting Prince George, Canada ”
A recent work trip to Prince George, British Columbia, Canada had me returning to a city that I hadn’t visited in five years. As a central hub to northern British Columbia, there were quite a few hotels in the area designed to accomodate business travellers of all kinds.
Booking The Courtyard Prince George:
As a town located in central Northern British Columbia, the rates are highest mid week and tend to drop off on the weekend. The hotel generally offers rates between $156 – $196 CAD ($115 – $145 USD) during the week, with rates as low as $132 CAD ($97 USD) on some Saturday and Sunday nights.
I booked my a base standard Guest Room – 1 King Bed, Sofa Bed, Guest Room for approximately $169 CAD ($125 USD) on my stay. I booked through the Marriott Bonvoy website, which as a Marriott Titanium Member, entitled me to a complimentary upgrade to the best available room, including select suites, complimentary access to the Marriott Executive Club Lounge (of which there wasn’t one at this property), and a complimentary late check out up to 4 PM.
Marriott Bonvoy Redemption Opportunities:
The Courtyard by Marriott Prince George offers competitive room redemptions with the new variable redemption rates. While I can’t imagine many wanting to redeem points at this hotel, rooms are typically around 22,000 points per night on a constant basis. I have did happen to see some 17,500 point redemptions on weekend nights.
If you value Marriott Bonvoy points at $0.008 a point, you’d have to spend more than $176 USD to come out ahead for a 22,000 point redemption. While this represents reasonable value,, I can’t actually imagine anyone redeeming points at this particular property, nor can I imagine the rate being higher than $176 USD making redemptions worthwhile, since most travellers here are likely on the business travel circuit.
Getting to The Courtyard Downtown Prince George Hotel:
I arrived into Prince George International Airport on an Air Canada Express flight. I picked up a National car rental, since it’s quite a distance from the airport to the downtown area of Prince George.
It was a short twenty minute drive from the Prince George International Airport to the hotel. The hotel was easy to find.
The hotel is located in the downtown area of Prince George. For many years, this area was best avoided due to a rougher street environment. There are still elements of this today, so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend walking around the downtown area randomly at night, if you stay here.
I parked out front and headed inside to check in.
Checking into the Courtyard by Marriott Prince George Hotel:
After parking my rental car in the front loading zone, I went to check in to the hotel.
I had a professional and friendly check in at the front desk. The check in was exactly on Marriott script. While this might sound a little impersonal, at the time of my stay I was in the middle of a two city work week trip, and I appreciated the general consistency.
I was thanked for my loyalty, offered 500 Marriott Bonvoy points as a Marriott Elite Welcome Amenity, and explained parking options.
Parking was free around the hotel, but I was also offered secure parking in the hotel’s underground for $12 CAD per night. As I was on a business stay, I ended up taking the secured parking. The neighbourhood around the hotel is a little less than desirable as a result of a homeless population in the area, so I went with the security of underground parking.
Lastly, a 2 PM Marriott Bonvoy Titanium late check out was honoured without any haggling or negotiation.
The lobby contained a small market with sundries available for purchase. This was located immediately beside the front desk. While didn’t get the opportunity (or need) to purchase any additional items, it was nice to find things available for purchase if needed. Given Canadian alcohol licencing regulations, there were no alcoholic drinks available in the market.
I always appreciate when hotels try to make things easy for guests and having a Market available surely added to the convenience factor as there wasn’t much grocery or convenience store alternatives around the hotel.
The Room: Guest room, 1 King, Sofa bed, City view:
After I parked my car in the underground parking, I headed up to the room. Thankfully, the hotel has one elevator that connects parking to the lobby and hotel room floors, so there was no need to change elevator banks.
The hallways of the Courtyard Prince George offer a modern design consistent with the property being a new build that’s been open for five years.
The Bedroom:
I booked a standard Guest Room – 1 King basic level room. As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level member, I was entitled to an upgrade to the best available room on arrival, including select suites.
I wasn’t provided any room upgrade except to the top floor. Having said that, there is not a lot of suite inventory in this particular hotel. I entered into the room and found a comfortable and modern design for a hotel room.
The hotel room offered the usual Courtyard by Marriott oval shaped sofa bed. While it’s an unusual design, it’s pretty comfortable for a sofa bed.
The room featured a compact rail desk. While it was small in size, I was able to get a little work done at the desk. Being a modern new hotel, there were a number of USB charging ports, power points and other charging workstations for this property.
There was also an integrated space for the carry on rolling suitcase. This avoided the need for the additional luggage rack.
The corner of the room offered an integrated coffee maker, fridge and microwave built into a triangular cupboard. The room also featured actual glassware, which was an upscale touch for a hotel that is in the mid range category.
While not the most aspiration of views, the room offered a view of the Prince George Convention Centre and of forested fir trees that are common throughout Northern Prince George.
The Bathroom:
The bathroom offered a modern space with a stand up shower and a single vanity sink. The bathroom was clean and functional.
Similar to an aLoft, there aren’t many suites available at the Courtyard Prince George. It is a cookie cutter room that is mostly the same across the entire floor.
The room was really quiet in terms of its orientation. The outward facing room on the top floor had minimal noise. I slept much better than at my other hotel stay earlier in the week. The hallway noise was non existent.
Around the Hotel Property:
The Courtyard by Marriott Prince George isn’t considered a full service hotel. As a result, it offers limited amenities.
Fitness Centre – Indoor Pool:
The Courtyard by Marriott Prince George offered a small indoor pool. The pool was a little dark, which might be expected for a place that occasionally reaches -20 Celsius and doesn’t want to loose a lot of heat through glass windows.
Fitness Centre – Gym:
The hotel also offered a small gym and workout space. There were at least four treadmills available, which limited the need for waiting for equipment.
While I didn’t use either the gym or the pool, it’s nice to have an option available to guests.
Printing Station:
In modern day conveniences for business travellers, the hotel offered a printing station. This was kiosk oriented computer terminal designed for printing exclusively.
Why hotels don’t offer this more often is beyond me. I ended up using this place to print off some last minute touches on a presentation update when I was in town.
Food and Beverage:
The Courtyard by Marriott Prince George offers a limited Bistro restaurant. The hotel hotel is situated a short walk from a few downtown restaurants, but it’s always appreciated to have an on property restaurant option.
Bistro Restaurant:
The Bistro Restaurant operates only during meal time hours. During our visit, it operated between 06:30 AM and 10:00 AM Tuesday to Saturday. It is fully closed on Sunday and Monday. In the evenings, service appeared to be offered between 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM, despite not being published as such on the website. There is no lunch service.
I do generally find that the Bistro Restaurants in Courtyards by Marriott are over the top expensive for what you get. Even though I was travelling on expense, I found that this place was too rich for my travel budget.
The Bistro Restaurant is located just off the lobby. It is in a bright and contemporary space that is designed for communal gathering.
The Bistro offers a licensed bar. It was fairly popular amongst business travellers during my week day visit.
Around the Neighbourhood:
I ended up walking to the Keg Restaurant Prince George for dinner, and enjoyed The White Spot Restaurant for breakfast while I stayed at the property. Both were located relatively close to the hotel and convenient enough to provide alternative dining options.
Checking Out of The Courtyard by Marriott Prince George Hotel:
On departure day, I visited the front desk to check myself out of the hotel.
I had no surprises on the bill with everything “as expected”. The check out was instant and exceptionally pleasant.
My Marriott Bonvoy points posted to my account within 48 hours as promised.
The Bottom Line: The Courtyard Prince George Hotel
The Courtyard by Marriott Prince George met all my expectations for a business stay.
The Courtyard by Marriott Prince George offered clean accommodations that were centrally located. The rooms were well designed, the staff were personable and genuine. Lastly, everything worked as promised. I can’t underestimate the value of staying in a clean and new property, and this alone would probably bring me back to this location.
I’d be really happy to return to this property the next time travels took me to Prince George as it met all my needs without much effort.
If you have stayed at The Courtyard by Marriott Prince George, did you enjoy your hotel stay ?
I returned to the Four Points by Sheraton Kelowna Airport for a recent business stay. Having stayed at the property several times previously, I would be interested to see whether the hotel was still the place to stay when in Kelowna. The hotel provided a basic stay experience, but I couldn’t help but feel that the hotel had slipped a little from its opening day. The hotel seemed to be wearing and operating on a cost cutting environment, despite the rebound of travel after the pandemic. Read on to see how our stay experience fared at this property.
Review: Four Points by Sheraton Kelowna Airport, British Columbia, Canada
If you’re looking for a hotel in Kelowna, please also see our review of The Delta Hotels by Marriott Grand Okanagan Resort Kelowna, the Fairfield Inn and Suites Kelowna, and the Hyatt Place Kelowna.
“Slightly past it’s prime, the Four Points by Sheraton Kelowna Airport appears to be cutting its way to profitability, with limited Marriott Bonvoy elite benefits, despite a convenient location to Kelowna International Airport”
Firstly, a disclosure. I’ve been a repeat customer at this property for seventeen nights since it opened. As a frequent traveller to the region, I have stayed at this hotel for repeated work trips through the region. This review would be of my most recent trip to the property in a post pandemic world.
The Four Points Sheraton Kelowna Airport is owned by Argus Properties which is a privately owned real estate development company centred in Kelowna, British Columbia. They also happen to operate some competing hotels that include the Eldorado Resort and the neighbouring Hampton Inn and Suites by Kelowna Airport.
The Four Points by Sheraton Kelowna opened in the summer 2013. It’s been running for about eleven years and has matured. While it used to be the newest place to stay, it’s moved into the mature category in it’s mid life cycle with newer hotels that have since opened up in town. Initially operating under the Starwood Preferred Guest program it evolved into the Marriott Bonvoy program. It’s not had a full renovation since it has opened, despite being in a highly competitive hotel environment in the Kelowna area.
Booking The Four Points by Sheraton Kelowna:
The Four Points by Sheraton Kelowna Airport is one of the closest hotels to the Kelowna International Airport. As a result, it can tend to completely book out and occupancy rates can be higher than expected. This is especially prevalent during the winter season as many travellers connect through this property on their way to Eastern Canada and Europe if they happen to be skiing at Big White Ski Resort which is located about one hour away.
The room rates at this property are highly variable and depend on what is happening at the time of your stay. I’ve seen rates in the summer as low as $197 CAD and as high as $394 CAD for a stay.
During my spring visit in April, the rates were pretty average. We were able to get a room for approximately $219 CAD ($180 USD) for a weeknight night stay.
As always, I booked through the Marriott Bonvoy website, which as a Marriott Titanium Member, entitled me to a complimentary upgrade to the best available room, including select suites, and a complimentary late check out up to 4 PM.
Marriott Bonvoy Redemption Opportunities:
The Four Points by Sheraton Kelowna Airport was a Marriott Bonvoy Category 5 prior to the move to variable pricing. As a result, rooms are typically approximately 25,000 – 35,000 points per night, with about 30,000 points a night as an average standard. Similar to other properties, the rates were pretty flat all year round and were lowest on Sunday nights.
If you value Marriott Bonvoy points at $0.008 a point, you’d have to spend more than $240 USD to come out ahead for a 30,000 point redemption. There might be some outsized value redeeming points on a room, if the cash rate is high during summer months.
Getting to The Four Points by Sheraton Kelowna Airport Hotel:
I arrived to the Kelowna International Airport on an Air Canada flight from Vancouver.
The Four Points by Sheraton Kelowna Airport operates a complimentary shuttle service. However, this is “on request” and requires an advance reservation.
Not wanting to be stuck waiting for the shuttle, I opted for a Hertz Rental Car instead.
After collecting the rental car, I drove across Highway 97 to the hotel, which is located immediately across the street from the airport.
It’s worth mentioning that if you were absolutely stuck, and the weather was fine, you could potentially walk the distance from the Kelowna International Airport to the Four Points by Sheraton Kelowna. The distance is about 400 meters and it’s about a ten minute walk, including a slope and a walk across a four lane highway. Be forewarned though that in winter, this isn’t likely recommended as the sidewalks aren’t likely to be maintained and may be icy, muddy or snowy.
The property is located near the airport but quiet a ways out of town from Central Kelowna. Although there is a Nesters Supermarket across the street from the hotel, and a Starbucks Coffeeshop next to the hotel itself, there isn’t much in the neighbourhood that is of interest. If you’re doing business in Kelowna, and staying at this hotel, you’ll need a rental vehicle to get around.
Overall, it was fairly easy and simple to get to the Four Points by Sheraton Kelowna Airport. I didn’t have any challenges accessing the property thanks to it’s convenient hotel location.
Checking into the Four Points by Sheraton Kelowna Airport:
Before the check in counter while I was getting my rental car paperwork processed, I took this as an opportunity to check in advance to see if there were any possible suite upgrades available. I did this by checking the amount of inventory available for sale on the Marriott Bonvoy App. Sure enough, fifteen minutes before I checked in, there were 3 suites available for sale. These was the highest number I could reserve in the Marriott app.
As I arrived by rental car, most of the parking lot was blocked off for a “special event”. I self drove around to the back side of the property, self parked and walked into the lobby.
My particular reservation had me attending for a work meeting that was hosted by the hotel over two days. Most of the attendees to this event were what I’d describe as “elite light” travellers.
There was no wait at the front desk. When I was attended to, i asked about the possibility of suite upgrades for this short stay? I got the usual “…but we’ve already upgraded you in to a Deluxe Room…”
It got awkwardly silent.
I countered with “…so you’re saying there are none available?” The response was silent with the action of getting rushed through the transaction with presentation of the key without further mention of the elite benefits. There wasn’t any mention of welcome amenity and I was presented with my key folder and given my room assignment.
Marriott Bonvoy Elite Members at Platinum Elite or higher are supposed to receive a complimentary upgrade to the best available room, subject to availability on the day of arrival, for the entire length of stay. Complimentary upgrade includes suites, rooms with desirable views, rooms on high floors, corner rooms, rooms with special amenities or rooms on Executive Floors.
In addition, Platinum Elite Members and above receive one Elite Welcome Gift (of their choice where multiple options are offered) on a Stay of one or more consecutive nights as described…. If the Elite Welcome Gift is not offered at time of arrival, compensation applies.
While this isn’t a rant or preach of Marriott Bonvoy benefits, it is a bit disappointing miss out on a suite upgrade; especially when you know it is there. In my past seventeen stays at this property, I’ve only ever been upgraded to a suite on three occasions. Every time, it has been through prompting at the front desk.
Based on this, I have to conclude with a reasonable track record over the past ten years and seventeen nights stayed, that the hotel isn’t too kind to those on Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status. In fairness, I didn’t further chase this issue while I was on property, but it certainly coloured my impression of the stay, right from the moment of arrival.
I wandered my way up to the upgraded “Deluxe” Guest Room. When I got to my room, I folded through the key folder and located a complimentary beverage coupon to be used at the on site Gulfstream Restaurant along with my parking pass for complimentary parking. Secure parking was additionally available in the hotel underground for $12 a night. I think I would have rather had the suite upgrade, but it’s the thought that counts.
The Room: 1 King Bed, Deluxe Guest Room
There are only three categories of rooms at the Four Points by Sheraton Kelowna Airport. The entry level room is the Traditional Guest Room (286sq ft), followed by the Deluxe (384 sq ft), followed by a few combinations of the One Bedroom Suite (587sq ft) and a single two bedroom suite (1,300 sq ft) for sale in the system.
The hallways are dark and brown, consistent of the Four Points era that the hotel was built. My Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level status to the upgraded room only got me up to the third floor out of six. I was assigned room #320.
The Bedroom:
The Deluxe Room #320 faced southwards towards the business park. It was a bit of an increase in size from the base level room by offering another 98 sq feet as a result of being in the larger and wider portion of the middle hotel building.
The room was decorated in the standard hotel browns of many Four Points properties. The room is looking quite dated in today’s competitive hotel environment, being surpassed by many other hotels in the category within the Kelowna area.The room had a king sized bed.
The room offered a small living space that consisted of a double sofa bed, along with a single reclining chair.
I wouldn’t necessarily call this area “spacious” but it made do for the two nights that I had to spend at this property.
The desk featured a rail desk that offered a limited place to work. The desk portion was actually pretty narrow and didn’t offer much space to stretch out and set up a work station.
The room contained a 42 inch flat screen television housed in an attractive mount and surround. The 42 inch flat screen is almost small for this particular category of hotel, as we’ve seen screens enlarge to 50 and 55 inch versions in most hotels these days.
There was a single bottle of water in the room. Unfortunately, it was another sign of cost cutting; one where there used to be two bottles offered. It was either coffee in the morning, or water to enjoy now.
The single chair was functional, and I used it to Face Time home for those calls.
The view from the room was particularly industrial. It had a view offer the office park complex, the Hampton Inn by Hilton by Kelowna Airport, and a parking lot filled with Vivid Cannabis Tour trucks.
The entrance part of the room offered a multi function cupboard that allowed for clothes hanging, a microwave, the in room safe, and a tea and coffee station.
The floor layout demonstrated that there were limited suite upgrades available with two per floor generally available.
In terms of sleep quality, I found that my sleep was just average to below average. There is quite a bit of hallway noise in this property; worse than in competing hotels. The doors to the rooms are designed to slam shut. This noise effect echoes down the hall way and into other rooms.
On my second night, I was woken up at 3:40 AM by a repetitive beeping noise. In the pitch darkness, I sourced the noise to the telephone handset that some how, despite being on the charging device, had drained down to low battery. The design of the phone made the wireless hand set beep out loud for charging. I ended up yanking the phone out of the wall, so I could get back to sleep.
My stay experienced involved diagnosing phone hardware issues in the middle of the night. As a result, I didn’t have a very restful nights’ sleep for my two nights on the property, as compared to other hotels in this category. While it’s not apparent if phones are not working just by looking at them, I can’t help but think that this isn’t a new issue to a hotel that’s been around for eleven years.
The Bathroom:
The bathroom was coloured in modern whites with floor tiles. Most of the toiletries were converted into dispenser pumps to avoid single use plastic waste.
In another apparent cut that’s not widely advertised, the hotel has moved to housekeeping every second day. This doesn’t appear to be advertised on any public facing websites, and it was only until the second day of my stay that I realized that housekeeping wasn’t coming by.
This meant that the single bottled water provided had to carry your through your stay, unless you happened to find housekeeping carts in the hallway during the day.
Around the Hotel Property:
The Four Points by Sheraton Kelowna Airport has some limited amenties.
Pool / Fitness Centre:
The Four Points by Sheraton offers an indoor hotel pool. The hotel pool consists of a small pool and hot tub.
There is a waterslide installed at this property but for some reason it is permanently closed.
There is also a small fitness centre consisting of two treadmills, two elliptical cycles and a small free weight station. The gym is accessible twenty four hours a day.
The hotel provides some basic features. While I didn’t use the exercise room on this particular trip, it’s been a welcome addition for past stays at this location.
Food and Beverage:
Boulevard Restaurant
The Four Points by Sheraton Kelowna Airport offers a trendy on property dining at Gulstream Restaurant. It tends to get busy in the evenings, as there is not much around the property otherwise.
I ended up redeeming my drink voucher at this location. The hotel was kind enough to allow me to take the beverage back to my room.
Other Stay Observations:
I ended up spending two days worth of time as a meeting participant at and event held within the conference rooms at the property. The catering for the meetings was favourable and the staff were friendly.
Unfortunately, the hotel appears to be expanding on the western end of the property. As a result there was a lot of construction noise during the event. It’s odd as a meeting attendee to watch event organizers have to get the hotel to stop construction to address the construction noise during what is a paid event at the hotel in order to actually hear the meeting information. It was simply odd as a meeting attendee.
Lastly, I ended up eating off property during one night of my stay. As I parked my car in the back parking lot after dinner, I couldn’t help but notice all the dark (suites) rooms in the far left window vertical row of the hotel. All the suites were dark, except for one on the fourth floor above the sole tree. This meant that they were likely empty.
Returning inside, with a flick of a few thumbs on the Marriott Bonvoy app, it was more proof that suites remained available for sale throughout my stay. Why the hotel won’t accomodate an upgrade per the terms and conditions of the Marriott Bonvoy program is beyond me.
Checking Out of The Four Points by Sheraton:
On departure day, I checked out at the front desk. The hotel didn’t ask how the stay was, and just stated that I was “good to go“. Since I was rushing for a same day flight home, I didn’t get into my experiences for the stay. My bill posted accurately, and I received my Marriott Bonvoy points relatively quickly.
I did receive a survey several days after the day. I ended up completing the survey and outlined the issues I had with the stay. I got a pretty canned generic answer fairly promptly after completing the survey, which was appreciated but I didn’t get the impression anyone was taking anything I had to say too seriously.
Providing the highest level of hospitality is our number one priority and I sincerely apologize for failing to meet your expectations. I sincerely apologize that we were not able to accommodate your request for an elite upgrade. As a titanium elite member we highly value your continued loyalty to Marriott. We try our best to meet all requests made by every guest, elite upgrades are subject to availability and we were unfortunately unable to grant your request for this stay. I have shared your feedback with our leadership team to ensure the necessary guidelines are in place and reviewed to prevent this issue from occurring in the future.
It still didn’t explain why suites remained available for sale at the property to the general public throughout my stay. This remains a mystery and the only conclusion I have is that the hotel doesn’t want to expend the additional labour and costs in cleaning them over a standard room.
The Bottom Line: The Four Points by Sheraton Kelowna Airport
I used to give this property high marks having stayed multiple times (17 nights) over the past decade. Unfortunately, this hotel is no longer leading its game in Kelowna.
From the lack of daily housekeeping, to telephones that wake you up with beeping in the middle of the night, to noisier than average hotel hallways, to the unwillingness to provide available suite upgrades per Marriott Bonvoy Terms and Conditions, to daytime construction noise during conferences / meetings in the hotel, to hotel rooms that are looking dated, to waterslides that are permanently shut, I feel that this place has been surpassed by many newer hotels in the Kelowna area, such as the comfortable and new Hyatt Place Kelowna.
Usually, we see older hotels provide more inclusions and benefits given that they need to stay competitive in the marketplace. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case here. Given all of the above, it will be a while before I am back to this property; unless I happen to really need to stay near the Kelowna Airport.
If you have stayed near the Kelowna International Airport, was this hotel on your stay list ?
Like most of you, I enjoy dining at restaurants that are independent and are not affiliated to a franchised collection of restaurant ownership. The Diplomat Steakhouse in Regina is the only location of The Diplomat Steakhouse restaurant which has been in operation for over forty years. Our recent trip to the Canadian prairie city of Regina Saskatchewan, had us visiting the elegant Diplomat Steakhouse for a pleasant traditional steakhouse dining experience. Read on to see what The Diplomat Steakhouse has to offer.
Restaurant Review: The Diplomat Steakhouse, Regina, Canada
About The Diplomat Steakhouse:
The Diplomat Steakhouse Regina happens to be one of those restaurants that’s been around forever. The Diplomat Steakhouse opened it’s doors almost forty four years ago and describes itself as being one of Canada’s Landmark Steakhouses. The Diplomat has been in operation since the year 1979.
Since it’s unusual for a restaurant to last more than ten years in any restaurant life cycle, and with so much history to the property, it was high on the list for me to visit during my recent return to Regina, Saskatchewan.
Getting a Reservation:
I got a reservation at the Diplomat Steakhouse through the Open Table Reservation system. It was an easy process and there were spaces available almost every evening up to 7 PM. Along with Regina’s quieter dining scene, I didn’t see many people coming in later in the evening. During our visit, the last tables were sat at about 7:30 PM.
In addition to the convenience of booking through Open Table, I earned an easy 100 points for dining at the restaurant.
Locating the Diplomat Steakhouse Restaurant:
The Diplomat Steakhouse is located in the downtown central business district at 2032 Broad Street, Regina, Saskatchewan. The Diplomat Steakhouse happens to be located in a high traffic location near many downtown business and leisure hotels. The restaurant has an imposing brick building structure, that is absent of any windows.
On the night of our dinner reservation, we walked over to the restaurant from the Delta Hotels Regina. It was about a ten minute walk through streets with sometimes muddy sidewalks as a result of the winter weather.
The Diplomat Steakhouse is convenient and easy to reach from most downtown hotels. It’s also a short drive from many other locations within surrounding Regina.
Inside the Diplomat Steakhouse:
The setting inside the Diplomat Steakhouse is classy traditional formal. Immediately upon entering the Diplomat Steakhouse, you’ll find a “wall of fame” of guests that have visited over the restaurant’s forty years of operation.
The restaurant has had quite a few notable guests ranging from Hollywood Actors’ Charlize Theron, John Corbett, David Copperfield and Kid Rock, just to name a few. There are also quite a few Canadian actors such has William Shatner, Carly Rae Jepsen, along with several Canadian Politicians.
I even located an autographed photograph of Peter Mansbridge, Chief Correspondent of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s nightly national news broadcast “The National”.
Moving through in towards towards the restaurant seating, restaurant patrons will pass by artwork called “Saskatchewan Heritage” that was specifically commissioned and designed by artist Pepito Escanlar.
The “Saskatchewan Heritage” is a prominent piece of artwork that’s twelve feet long and five feet high and specifically commissioned for the province of Saskatchewan’s one hundred and fiftieth anniversary and the Diplomat Steakhouse’s thirty eighth’ year in operation.
The “Saskatchewan Heritage” artwork features several prominent aspects of Regina life ranging from the Wascana Government Buildings, to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s training facility, the Queen Elizabeth’s Statute at the provincial legislature, along with Saskatchewan’s grain elevators, just to name some of the highlights.
Passing past the artwork, you’ll be led into the main restaurant dining room. You’ll pass by a large and elaborate large bottle wine display anchored by past Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.
Getting into the main part of the restaurant, the decor is very traditional with royal burgundy reds, crisp white table cloths and elegant seating throughout the restaurant.
Being named “The Diplomat”, the restaurant offers seating under a variety of framed past serving Canadian Diplomats. Some of the Diplomats date from as early as the Confederation of Canada, whereas others were more currently serving.
The restaurant also featured an elaborate bar area that contained a substantial amount of wine. The wine inventory was perhaps not all too surprising considering that the restaurant has received several (8) Wine Spectator Awards of Excellence and has been ranked as one of the top one hundred restaurants in Canada.
On the Diplomat Steakhouse Menu:
We settled into the table at the Diplomat Steakhouse. We were offered a large booth sitting, which was quite comfortable for the evening.
The Diplomat Steakhouse Menu offered a broad and diverse array of traditional steakhouse items. The appetizers consisted of familiar favourites such as escargot, garlic bread and scallops and bacon, but also contained some interesting items such as baked french onion soup and mushroom victoria.
The star of the menu were the prime aged steaks that ranged between offerings of filet mignon, new york strip and tomahawk rib eyes. The menu was rounded out with contemporary dishes such as bison tenderloin, but also featured classic traditional dishes such as chateaubriand for 2 along with tourneous rossini and steak maitre’d.
In addition to many cuts of meat on offer, there were a whole range of table side dishes such as steak diane, mid east kebabs, chicken and seafood dishes. The menu was large, elaborate, but on point. Unlike many franchised restaurants which usually offer a more limited menu, there was enough on the menu to meet every option and taste for a steakhouse visitor.
The Diplomat Steakhouse also offered a great dessert menu. It offered several traditional items such as Cherries Jubilee , Crepes Suzette and Peaches Flambé.
All of this was accompanied by a substantial wine list worthy of a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. The wine list contained old world and new world selections, with a surprising amount of large format bottles.
The Meal: Steak of Course!
Since we were at The Diplomat Steakhouse for steak, I went for the New York Striploin. The Prime Aged Steaks were served with a starter dish, a side dish along with vegetables.
My starter today was Baked Onion Soup. While it was not slathered in cheese like the usual French Onion variety, it was pretty tasty with natural peppery seasoning with a hint of wine. It was a perfect break from the usual Ceasar Salad I find myself eating at the competing Keg Steakhouse Restaurants in their Keg Classic’s offering.
My ten oz New York Striploin was served with a triple baked potato and some pan seared vegetables. I also enjoyed a side of Bearnaise Sauce, which complimented the steak quite nicely. Although the cut was a little thin, it was perfectly cooked, enjoyable and flavorful.
My travelling partner MrsWT73 enjoyed a light green salad. After several days in the landlocked Canadian Prairies, she reported high marks for the freshness of this dish.
We enjoyed dinner and passed on dessert.
We had a short walk back to the Delta Hotels Regina at the end of the evening, through an almost deserted downtown core.
My Thoughts on The Diplomat Steakhouse:
The Diplomat Steakhouse Regina had been on my visit list for quite some time. After about thirty years of waiting, I finally got the opportunity to take it off my list by enjoying a luxurious dinner within its walls.
The Diplomat Steakhouse offers a great legacy dining experience. It’s not every day that you get to visit a restaurant that has been running for over forty years, and has visitors from all over Hollywood consisting of actors, television performers and politicians. The food was also pretty good, and comparable to what you might expect at a Keg Steakhouse Restaurant. The menu is diverse and complex with a great wine list to accompany your meal.
If you have visited Regina, Saskatchewan, does The Diplomat Steakhouse make your restaurant list ?
On a very occasional basis, work takes me to the central Canadian Prairie City of Regina, Saskatchewan. While this happens to be a regular stopover on the regular Canadian trans-continental driving trip, there aren’t many business hotels in the city that regularity cater to business travellers. My return to this primary business hotel in Regina, the “Delta Hotels Regina”, marked my stay for this particular trip. Read on to see what your Delta Hotel’s Regina experience would be like.
Review: Delta Hotels by Marriott Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
“The Delta Hotels Regina offered a comfortable stay in Regina’s leading business hotel, with inspiring prairie landscape views from it’s skyscraper hotel rooms”
I had previously visited and stayed at this property several times over the past thirty years, mostly when it was flagged as a Ramada Renaissance hotel. My last stay was about fifteen years ago (in it’s current variation) as the Delta Hotel Regina. With a recent business trip to the city, I’d get the opportunity to return to a property that I had stayed at, almost thirty years ago.
The Delta Hotels Regina was built in the year 1988 and is attached to the Saskatchewan Trade and Convention Centre. Delta Hotels by Marriott are positioned within the Marriott portfolio’s business hotel brands. The Delta Hotels brand states that they are “Hotels Are Exactly Where You Want To Be For Business Trips or Getaways“.
With this description, the Delta Hotels Regina meets that mark. There isn’t a lot of business hotel inventory in downtown Regina. Aside from the more upscale Autograph Collection The Hotel Saskatchewan, there is a Double Tree by Hilton and a Wingate by Wyndham Regina, there aren’t a whole lot of choices in the central business district.
Booking The Delta Hotels Regina:
The room rates in Regina are highly dependent on if anything is happening in the city at the time. With few other business hotels, the hotel be had for a low as $169 CAD on the weekend or as high as $364 CAD on the most expensive weeknights.
During our spring visit in April, the rates on the Easter Long Weekend were pretty soft. We were able to get a room for approximately $254 CAD ($180 USD) for a weekend night stay.
It’s worth a mention that the hotel offers a nice corner room in both the standard and suite categories. This has always been my favourite room configuration as the hotel offers a double sided window that provides great views out of two angles of the room. As such, I always try to book a corner room whenever I stay.
As always, I booked through the Marriott Bonvoy website, which as a Marriott Titanium Member, entitled me to a complimentary upgrade to the best available room, including select suites, and a complimentary late check out up to 4 PM.
Marriott Bonvoy Redemption Opportunities:
The Delta Hotels Regina Ottawa Marriott Hotel was a Marriott Bonvoy Category 4 prior to the move to variable pricing. As a result, rooms are typically approximately 15,000 – 22,500 points per night, with about 20,000 points a night as an average standard. The rates were pretty flat all year round and were lowest on Sunday nights.
If you value Marriott Bonvoy points at $0.008 a point, you’d have to spend more than $160 USD to come out ahead for a 20,000 point redemption. There might be some outsized value redeeming points on a room here if the rate is high during event or conventions in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Getting to The Delta Regina Hotel:
We arrived to Regina International Airport on an Air Canada Express flight from Vancouver. We had a Hertz Rental Car booked and self drove to the hotel in a Toyota Camry; with a complimentary Hertz President’s Circle Upgrade. The hotel was only ten minutes away from the airport. It was easy to access the hotel, with minimal traffic and stop lights.
The property is centrally located in the Regina Centra Business District. This part of town consists of some central business office towers, the centre for SGI insurance, the downtown Cornwall Centre Mall, and the occasionally exciting Casino Regina. While the downtown area is not super engaging outside of the regular work week, the hotel is centrally located to all corners of Regina.
The hotel is located off Saskatchewan Drive. We parked in the hotel loading zone and headed inside for our check in. The hotel loading zone it pretty small, and only has space for one row of vehicles.
It was easy and simple to get to the Delta Hotels Regina. As a result of its central location, it was centrally located to all parts of Regina.
Checking into the Delta Hotels Regina:
I walked into the lobby of the Delta Hotels Regina. The lobby offers a small seating area in front of the reception desk and the hotel elevators. The hotel elevators are also conveniently connected to the underground parking garage, which made it easy to transfer to the rooms.
The hotel is also part of the Saskatchewan Trade and Convention Centre. As part of this combination, the hotel offers a substantial amount of convention space available on it’s second floors. The convention level is easily accessed through double escalators from the lobby, which are surrounded by a bit of a dated, but relaxing feature fountain in a mall like atmopshere.
The front desk processed our check in. I had completed on line check in through the Marriott App. As a result, the check in process was really quick. I was thanked for my Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Level loyalty and I was provided with a pre-completed parking pass for underground parking in the garage at $23 CAD per night.
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum / Titanium and Ambassador level members are offered a complimentary welcome gift, breakfast or one thousand Marriott Bonvoy points. It may have been training day at the front desk. When I asked if it was possible to select breakfast in the hotel restaurant as a Marriott Bonvoy Welcome Amenity, I was told that breakfast was limited to the hotel’s executive lounge. Despite this, I was also given two breakfast vouchers in my key folder.
During check in, I also found out that I had received a complimentary upgrade to a “suite”, courtesy of Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Level status. This turned out to a multiple level category room upgrade from the base level “One Queen Bed – Guest Room“, to a “Suite – Club Room, Club Level, Executive Suite – 1 King, Sofa Bed.”
It’s always a great deal to get a suite upgrade for a room that’s several hundred dollars. However, it’s also worth pointing out that the premium for a suite was under a hundred dollars from the rate that we paid.
Lastly, a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level 4 PM check out was offered without any hesitation or fighting. While it’s unusual to get a late night check out in a suite category these days, I was really happy with the Delta Hotels Regina for offering this benefit that’s consistent with the terms and conditions of the Marriott Bonvoy program.
The Room: Suite – Club Room, Club Level, Executive Suite – 1 King Sofa Bed.”
After checking in, I self parked the car in the underground garage which was only accessible through the hotel’s room key. I led myself and my luggage up to the suite. It’s worth mentioning that there are no hotel rooms between floors #3 and #9, as the hotel co-shares space with an office tower. I had been assigned suite #1110.
Our room was located close the Delta Executive Lounge located on the tenth floor. We proceeded to our room on the eleventh floor. From the triple elevator bank, we were a short walk to the room through a darker inside hallway.
The Living Room:
I entered inside the Suite – Club Room. I found myself immediately in a large angled living room with a sofa bed with occasional chair. The room also had a small coffee table with two additional tables and chairs. It was a perfect space for entertaining or gathering, if travelling with a group.
The sofa bed itself was more functional that comfortable for sitting on. This isn’t something that’ specific to this particular property. Rather, I’ve generally found that most suite sofa’s aren’t all that comfortable for longer term stays.
The hotel was set up in a rectangular octagon shape with eight sides to the building. As a result, the living room space had a number of angles to it that did not involve any right angles.
The living room space offered a rail desk, along with a suitcase storage platform.
The room also contained a mini refrigerator in the cupboards underneath the desk. As always, this was handy to make sure that our bottles of water were cold.
Along with our past experience with the Delta Vancouver Suites, the Delta Hotels Regina offered a rail bar for in room coffee. The Delta Hotels Regina offered the standard “no nonsense” drip coffee variety.
The Living Room coffee table offered us a surprising Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite welcome amenity. While it’s usually the exception rather than the rule that an “in room” welcome amenity is offered, I found an awesome bag of chips, a Marzen German Beer, a few granola bars and a “it’s time for a break” Kit Kat chocolate bar. This was a really nice touch on the part of the hotel.
The Bedroom:
Moving into the bedroom, the bedroom was separated from the living room by french doors. Being glass, these were transparent and didn’t have any opaqueness to them. If you were sharing with another couple, and you were looking for a completely private sleeping area, you’d be better off booking two separate and private rooms.
The bedroom featured a comfortable and standard King Bed. Consistent with being an older building, there was plenty of space on both sides of the bed itself to manoeuvre.
There wasn’t additional television in the bedroom, along with the usual Delta Hotels decor. There were also those flat prairie views that seemed to stretch on for miles.
The Bathroom:
The suite offered one single bathroom. The bathroom was located off the bedroom area. The bathroom offered a single vanity for one; perhaps the only negative aspect of the larger suite. With a bathroom so large and a room that potentially sleeps up to four people, it would have been handy to have a second vanity sink.
The Delta Hotels Regina Suite – 1 King offered I think what is possibly the largest shower that I’ve ever experienced in a Delta Suite and perhaps the whole Marriott Bonvoy chain. In a rectangular room formation, the shower was large enough to fit three people comfortably.
Room with a View:
There is a lot that can be said about Saskatchewan Hotel Views. Being in the middle of the Canadian Prairies, the views go on forever. Our North Eastern facing view over looked the Casino Regina, the city’s industrial area and the train yard that services freight East and West across Canada.
Unfortunately, the suite didn’t feature any kitchen or wet bar sink space that you sometimes find in the suite category. This was perhaps the only thing that was missing from the Delta Regina room configuration.
Getting to the sleep quality of the room, while the hotel hallways were mostly quiet, the neighbouring train yard was not as peaceful. Occasionally, there was some shunting train noise heard in the morning. While this wasn’t prevalent at night, it was heard around 9 AM in case you were planning on using the hotel for a long sleep in.
Overall, the rooms was a generous size for a single business traveller and would also be large enough for two (or even four) travelling together. The room is a perfect size for families and is a reasonable option instead of two separate rooms.
Around the Hotel Property:
The Delta Hotels Regina property contains all the features of a full service property. While it doesn’t offer more than expected, it will meet all your expectations for a city hotel.
Conference Centre:
The upper floors of the hotel offer a substantial amount of hotel conference space. It also offers heated walkway access to the Cornwall Centre Retail mall that’s located next door.
Business Centre:
The hotel offers a small business centre located on the main lobby floor, just adjacent to the front desk. The business centre was unmanned, and was accessed through your in room key card.
The business centre offered a single computer with internet access and a printer. I did use the business centre on my travels to print some documents and everything worked as expected.
Delta Signature Club:
The Delta Regina Hotel offered a Delta Signature Club lounge. As a reminder, Marriott Bonvoy members with Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite, Titanium Elite and Ambassador Elite (top level status) have guaranteed access to Delta Hotels Lounges (resorts are excluded). At the Delta Hotels Regina, the Delta Signature Club was located on the tenth floor immediately after you got off the elevator.
The timings food breakfast and appetizers were posted on the door and varied over the weekend. Despite this, the lounge was open for access at all hours of the day and night. Unlike some other lounges, we were able to arrive after hours and help ourselves to beverage items outside of regular service hours.
The Delta Hotels Regina Signature Club was set up in a converted hotel room. It was slightly compact on space. It was perfectly fine if you happened to be the only ones visiting, but it quickly got more congested with others in the room.
The Delta Hotels Regina Signature Club Lounge was exceptionally well stocked with amenities. We were able to pick up wine glasses for the room, along with re-stocking of water and soda’s at all hours of the day.
We passed through the lounge during the evening appetizer hour. The lounge featured a lounge special of liquor, beer and wine at $7 CAD each, along with some light appetizers.
It was pretty handy and convenient to have the executive lounge at the hotel. It was a bit of a walk to other food and beverage outlets, such as the Casino Regina. As a result, it was nice to have something available nearby.
Pool:
The Delta Hotels Regina offered an indoor pool and waterslide. The indoor pool was perfect for winter guests who were travelling with families.
The pool area offered a small children’s pool, hot tub and waterslide landing pool.
The pool area at the Delta Hotels Regina complimented the needs of this property. The pool was about what I would expect for a hotel that features harsh winters and a short summer season.
Food and Beverage:
1919 Kitchen and Bar
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Breakfast
The Delta Hotels Regina offered a single restaurant inside the hotel’s property. The hotel’s was open during breakfast hours and supper hours. It was closed during lunch hours.
The 1919 Kitchen and Bar was located off the main lobby. The restaurant also offered an in house take away coffee and bakery bar, which we didn’t happen to use. During our visit over a weekend, there wasn’t a lot of people using the restaurant.
The hotel offered full Marriott Bonvoy Platinum elite breakfast in the 1919 Kitchen and Bar. During the time of our stay, I’m really happy to report that the property offers it’s marriott elites access to the full breakfast buffet with hot and cold items, or any a – la -carte items ordered off the menu.
The breakfast buffet offered a medium amount of food. The buffet offered scrambled eggs, turkey sausages and bacon, along with sliced fruits, fresh orange juice and a pot of coffee served table side.
In our case, we ended up ordering off the 1919 Kitchen and Bar a – la – carte menu. We were able to order any item
I enjoyed the broken yolk BLT, with two over easy eggs, slab bacon, arugula, cured tomato, basil pesto aioli, onion loaf. It was really tasty and something a little different than the usual eggs and bacon that you typically find on the road.
MrsWT73 had the egg white omelette with all natural turkey, feta cheese, confit tomato, spinach and mushroom along with breakfast potatoes. MrsWT73 reported high marks for this dish, reporting it as tasty and filling.
The 1919 Kitchen and Bar was more than expected for a hotel breakfast restaurant. I really appreciated having the ability to choose between the faster ready made buffet, or the a – la – carte breakfast options.
Checking Out of The Delta Hotels Regina:
On departure day, I checked out at the front desk. The hotel reconfirmed the email address and sent an email folio to my account. There were no surprises on the bill with everything as expected.
My Marriott Bonvoy points posted to my account within 48 hours, as promised.
The Bottom Line: The Delta Hotel Regina
The Delta Hotels Regina is pretty much the only real business hotel in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Despite a somewhat dated building, the hotel offers everything that you’d expect for a business hotel.
The treatment as a Marriott Bonvoy Elite was much much better than I would have expected, and I enjoyed access to the Delta Signature Club Lounge, and also enjoyed a great breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant: 1919 Kitchen and Bar.
If you visit Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada is the Delta Hotels Regina on your business hotel stay list?
In honour of a local girls weekend in celebration of a special birthday, I ended up at the Fairmont Pacific Rim for a weekend stay. The Fairmont Pacific Rim is one of Vancouver’s most luxurious hotel properties, and is the crown in the Fairmont portfolio for the city of Vancouver. We would end up having a luxurious stay, complimented by almost every imaginable amenity. Read on to see what a stay at the Fairmont Pacific Rim looks like.
Review: Fairmont Pacific Rim Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
“The Fairmont Pacific Rim was a posh and perfect stay for a girls weekend; the rooms were quiet and comfortable, with a great Coal Harbour location with excellent restaurants nearby”
The Fairmont Pacific Rim is the Fairmont’s flagship property in Vancouver, Canada. Between the historic Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, the Fairmont Waterfront, and the Fairmont Vancouver Airport, the city is well served with luxury properties.
Booking The Fairmont Pacific Rim:
The property is bookable on the Fairmont website. As a premium property in Vancouver competing against luxury properties like the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver, you’re looking at a top end rate starting at around $500 CAD ($367 USD), going up to $1,000 CAD ($735 USD) on weekend nights in the summer. These are among the most expensive non private hotel properties in Vancouver, and are priced accordingly.
The hotel is a member of the All Accord Limitless Program. All Accord Members who are gold level members or higher (30 nights & 7,000 Status points or 2,800€ spend) may be entitled to a room upgrade, when booking through direct channels.
The Fairmont Pacific Rim is also a member of the American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts program for those with access to an American Express Platinum Card. Assuming you are not looking to earn All Accord Elite status, booking through the American Express Travel website will afford you with a series of benefits from the American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts program which include:
- US $100 Property credit to be used during your stay
- Room upgrade upon arrival, when available
- Noon check-in, when available
- Daily breakfast for two
- In-Room Wi-Fi, exclusions apply
- Guaranteed 4:00 pm late check-out
Dependent on the rates, you may end up being ahead if all these inclusions offer value to your travel circumstances.
Getting to the Fairmont Pacific Rim:
The Fairmont Pacific Rim is located in downtown Vancouver, Canada. The property commands a prominent location just off the waterfront promenade near the Vancouver Convention Centre and one block away from the Vancouver Cruise Ship Terminal.
The property is accessible from the Vancouver Skytrain Canada line with connectivity to the Vancouver International Airport. While most arriving to this property will probably be through private car service, it’s nice that there is a convenient public transit option that runs with regular frequency.
The Coal Harbour neighbourhood contains quite a number of “off property” restaurants and also is within a two minute walk to the seawall promenade that fronts the Vancouver Convention Centre all the way along to Stanley Park and The Westin Bayshore hotel. It’s a pretty upscale neighbourhood, although with a north facing orientation, it can tend to be on the shady side at times.
During our stay, we visited the nearby Nightingale Restaurant owned by celebrity chef David Hawksworth. In terms of walking convenience, it doesn’t get much better than the Fairmont Pacific Rim.
Arriving to the Property:
The night before, I was in town another social event with my husband. After that concluded, on the next day, I ended up walking over to the Fairmont Pacific Rim property, where I met up with a bunch of my girlfriends before a night out on the town.
The Fairmont Pacific Rim contains an outdoor loading and arrival area that is located on the east side of the building.
Immediately inside the lobby doors, you’ll find the hotel lounge and lobby seating area. The lobby can tend to be quite a busy place; it’s not always quiet and serene.
We were quickly attended to at the front desk, which was draped in a red backdrop. We had received a base level room consistent with what was booked with no further upgrade.
The Room: Deluxe, City View Two Queens
On receiving our room assignment, we headed up to our assigned room #1021. The elevators were easily accessed off the lobby. The property offered great first impressions. Everything was exceptionally clean and well maintained.
The Bedroom:
The Deluxe City View Two Queens room was pleasantly decorated in modern brown and earthy tones. While earth tones can look a little dated at times, the combination fit quite well here.
The bedrooms feature Stearns and Foster beds, which are quite comfortable overall. They are paired with luxury linens, for a comfortable feel while sleeping.
In room slippers were provided, which is something that I always appreciate when travelling in strange hotel rooms for cleanliness reasons.
The bed site featured modern electronic conveniences, such as the ability to music, alarms and control the television.
The room had a small desk area along with a little counter space. I didn’t end up using the desk, but there was enough there for a small work project or to use the house phone.
As can be expected, the Fairmont Pacific Rim room was well stock with everything that you need for a stay. This included proper stemware, and a small selection of alcohol consisting of wine and spirits.
The room also contained a fully stocked in room mini bar with champagne, white wine and several local microbrewery Stanley Park Noble Pilsner beers.
The room also featured a Nepresso Coffeemaker, along with still water that had been placed in your room.
Along the lines of being well featured, the room featured a “chocolate” welcome amenity. The chocolate welcome amenity features a selection of house made chocolate bars using Valrhona chocolate.
The Bathroom:
The bathroom had a “spa like” feel to it with contemporary flooring and tile. The bathroom featured a luxurious white patterned marble looking countertop with two vanity sinks. This was appreciated given there were a number of us sharing the room for the night.
The bathroom offered a stand up shower, along with a separate detached water closet.
Room with a View:
The room did offer exactly what was described; a city view. The Fairmont Pacific Rim is located within a skyscraper jungle, so some of the rooms will not be mountain and water facing. This happened to be one of those rooms that didn’t have an “ideal” view.
It terms of sleep quality, the room was exceptionally quiet and peaceful. The room featured dark blackout blinds, which made for a dark and pleasant sleep.
Around the Property:
The Fairmont Pacific Rim offers a number of full service amenities. For a full service luxury hotel in the middle of the city, it does a terrific job at offering a little of everything you’d need from a luxury hotel.
Fitness Centre:
The Fairmont Pacific Rim offers a fitness center. The gym is in daylight space, and was almost deserted when I visited.
Outdoor Pool & Cabana:
The Fairmont Pacific Rim offers a wonderful outdoor pool space. The outdoor pool offers inner city peek a boo views to the Burrard inlet between the Vancouver Convention Centre towards the water.
During my visit, there happened to be a lot of snow around the city and consequently, the pool deck. It’s not often you get to see snow and palm trees in the same photograph.
Despite this, the pool was open for business. Given the temperatures, there weren’t many taking advantage of the pool deck. I could see some potential for this space in warmer weather.
The Pool and Cabana space also offered a small hot tub on the deck.
The Fairmont Pacific Rim also offered a seasonal outdoor beverage station, which was closed during my February visit.
I left the pool area wanting to return in warmer weather. This space would be ideal in the warmer July and August months in Vancouver.
Food and Beverage:
The hotel contains both the Botanist full service restaurant and the Lobby Lounge. While I didn’t get the opportunity to try the Botanist Restaurant, we did enjoy a few drinks in the Lobby Lounge.
The Lobby Lounge and Raw Bar:
The Lobby Lounge and Raw bar is located on the ground floor of the Fairmont Pacific Rim.
On our Saturday night visit, The Lobby Lounge was an exceptionally popular place. We didn’t have any trouble getting seated after dinner at nine pm. We had asked about getting reservations, but were told just to turn up.
We enjoyed a round of drinks. There was an extensive cocktail menu along with wines at around the $20 CAD price point. The atmosphere was great with live music and the environment had a celebratory feel to it.
My Thoughts on Fairmont Pacific Rim:
I really enjoyed our stay at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. The hotel was exceptionally clean, with terrific amenities. The room was well featured with every possible convenience. The location of the hotel was also exceptionally convenient in Coal Harbour, and was walking distance to many restaurants. For a girls’ weekend out, having the Fairmont Pacific Rim as our home base was just about perfect.
If you’ve visited the Fairmont Pacific Rim, what did you find the best feature of the hotel was?
I needed a hotel to stay at after a colleagues retirement celebration event at the nearby Vancouver Club. The Delta Hotels by Marriott Vancouver Downtown Suites happened to fit that bill. I had previously stayed a this property on a mattress run, in order to get Delta Hotels Privilege Gold Level elite status. With the hotel now under the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program, As a returning guest now under Marriott Bonvoy oversight, how would my hotel stay fare?
Review: Delta Hotels by Marriott Vancouver Downtown Suites, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
“The Delta Vancouver Downtown Suites Hotel is Vancouver’s Terrific Marriott All Suite Hotel offering, that is only hampered by being in a slightly edgy neighbourhood, and somewhat compact rooms”
There are times when you need a local hotel to accomodate a sleep over after a social engagement. With a fellow executive hosting a retirement celebration at the nearby Vancouver Club, I needed a nearby hotel for the evening so I wouldn’t have to worry about driving after the event. As a result, I ended up at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Vancouver Downtown Suites; a hotel within walkinge distance to our event.
The Delta Hotels by Marriott are positioned within the Marriott portfolio’s business hotel brands. The Delta Hotels brand states that they are “Hotels Are Exactly Where You Want To Be For Business Trips or Getaways“. With this description, the Delta Hotels Vancouver Downtown Suites property pretty much meets that mark.
We’ve stayed in quite a few of the Marriott hotel offerings in downtown Vancouver. These include the nearby Vancouver Downtown Marriott Pinnacle Hotel, The JW Marriott Parq Hotel, The Westin Bayshore Hotel, and The Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre. Please feel free to check out those reviews if you want to see what other Vancouver hotel options look like.
Booking The Delta Hotels Vancouver Downtown Suites:
The room rates in Vancouver, Canada are highly variable dependent on the travelling season. When the cruise ships are in town during the summer weekend months, the rates are terrifically inflated on the weekend. The summer months of July and August also see really high rates.
During our winter visit in February, the rates on the weekend were pretty soft. We were able to get a room for approximately $250 CAD ($180 USD) for a weekend night stay.
It’s worth noting that all rooms at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Downtown Vancouver Suites are actual suite rooms. This gives it a slight advantage from some other downtown hotels in the neighbourhood. You won’t be getting a large old school suite with a lot of space, but you’ll certainly have a smaller detached living space for one, that fully fits the definition of a suite.
As always, I booked through the Marriott Bonvoy website, which as a Marriott Titanium Member, entitled me to a complimentary upgrade to the best available room, including select suites, and a complimentary late check out up to 4 PM.
Marriott Bonvoy Redemption Opportunities:
The Ottawa Marriott Hotel was a Marriott Bonvoy Category 6 prior to the move to variable pricing. As a result, rooms are typically approximately 42,000 – 62,000 points per night, with about 50,000 points a night as an average standard. The rates trended upwards in the summer months and were lowest on Sunday nights.
If you value Marriott Bonvoy points at $0.008 a point, you’d have to spend more than $336 USD to come out ahead for a 42,000 point redemption. As a resident of Vancouver, I don’t find that this represents spectacular value. It may work in your favour if you’re redeeming against a popular cruise ship weekend night stay where rates are outrageously expensive.
Getting to The Delta Vancouver Downtown Suites:
As a local Vancouver resident, I ended up self driving to the property in northern downtown Vancouver. The Delta Vancouver Downtown Suites is a twenty six floor tower that is co-shared with the Simon Fraser University – Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue.
The property is well situated for sightseeing, around downtown Vancouver. Assuming you’re packing an umbrella for the winter months when it’s normally raining, you wouldn’t need to access a rental car in order to get the most out of a visit to downtown Vancouver, Canada.
The Delta Hotels Vancouver Downtown Suites property is located near many transportation hubs. It’s located two blocks from the Vancouver Skytrain Canada Line; which makes it easily accessible from the Vancouver International Airport. It’s also about five blocks from the Vancouver Cruise Ship Harbour Terminal; perhaps just out of walking distance if you happen to have a lot of luggage.
In any case, the hotel’s loading area is accessed off Seymour Street. The frontage of the hotel on neighbouring Cordova Street does not have any loading area or access. Navigating through Vancouver’s one way street system, we drove north up Seymour Street to get to the hotel and the arrival area.
The hotel does not have great street visibility from Seymour Street, as it’s tucked back half a block from it’s Seymour Street address.
The loading area is urban in nature and is pretty small, with space for only a few vehicles. I sent in MrsWT73 to get self parking instructions and to identify the correct garage; which wasn’t obviously marked with a Delta or Marriott logo.
We eventually located the parking garage, which was located to the right of the alleyway. The parking garage was a secure underground. We ended up self parking the vehicle ($43 CAD – with in and out privileges) and heading up to the front desk.
It is worth mentioning that the Delta Downtown Vancouver’s Suites location at Seymour Street and Hastings Street is located near the Centre of the Downtown East Side. This neighbourhood, which located about five to six blocks away from the hotel in an easterly direction, happens to be the centre of the drug opioid crisis in British Columbia. As a result, there tends to be a lot of property crime in the particular area.
Most of the hotels’ parking garage structures mark the reality of this circumstance. While this isn’t attributable to the hotel itself, its worth a mention that if you’re parking here, you’ll want to remove everything from your car before leaving it overnight.
It’s a marked difference between The Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel, which is located just five blocks away in a westerly direction from the Delta Hotels Vancouver Downtown Suites, but in a much more pleasant and liveable neighbourhood.
Despite the threat of property crime, given its central business district location, I wouldn’t expect you to have any personal safety or security concerns during your stay at this property. The personal crime safety levels aren’t likely to be greater here than at any other location in downtown Vancouver.
Checking into the Delta Downtown Vancouver Suites:
The Delta Downtown Vancouver Suites check in desk was located near the front doors. With three kiosks open and working, there was no wait at check in. There was no specific Marriott Bonvoy Elite Line, as is usually the case these days at smaller hotels.
The lobby is located in a modern looking atrium between the Delta Hotel and the Morris Wosk Centre for Dialogue. While atriums can look pretty dated, this one looked sharp, contemporary and modern looking. It had attracting looking lobby chairs, flexible work space and a cascading staircase that descended from the hotel’s conference room facilities.
We were promptly greeted at the front desk. Earlier, I had completed on line check in through the Marriott App. As a result, the check in process was really quick. I was thanked for my Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Level loyalty.
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum / Titanium and Ambassador level members are offered a complimentary welcome gift, breakfast or one thousand Marriott Bonvoy points. I took the points since I had an early departure the next morning. I was also offered an additional one thousand Marriott Bonvoy points as a result of the hotel not being able to offer an executive lounge. The lack of lounge wasn’t as a result of a pandemic closure, rather the hotel did not appear to be configured to have space to offer this amenity.
During check in, I was also told that I had received a complimentary upgrade to a “suite”, courtesy of Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Level status. This turned out to be a one category room upgrade from the base level “Suite – One King“, to a “One King Bed, City View Guest Suite” on a high floor. Perhaps unusually, this did not turn up in the Marriott Bonvoy app during the days before my stay or during the stay itself.
I was also provided two chocolate chip cookies in a bag; a nice snack and a welcome touch. The cookies were slightly overcooked and brittle, but it was much better than nothing at all.
Lastly, a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level 4 PM check out was offered without any hesitation or fighting. This was really appreciated as MrsWT73 had some social engagements the next day. The flexibility of the late check out allowed for her to confirm her plans, then worry about the hotel situation later.
The Room: A One King Bed, City View, Guest Suite – High Floor 16th and Above:
After checking in, I self led ourselves and our luggage up to the suite. Consistent with the security circumstances, the hotel had a private security guard in the lobby, and hotel elevators are key carded for access. While the security wasn’t over the top, it was nice to have on hand.
Getting off on the twenty fourth floor, I led myself to Suite #2202. The hallways were a combination of older maple wood trim, mixed against more modern grey carpeting. With only nine suites per floor, each floor was pretty quiet and peaceful.
Upon entering the suite, I found myself in a compact urban suite. The space was primarily oriented for a single traveller. However, there was more than enough room for two travellers to co-exist for a shorter stay.
Immediately upon entering the suite, there was a small foyer area. The foyer area contained the room’s coffee maker and other coat hook zones. We were travelling with both evening attire and ski gear, so we had ourselves a lot of luggage for an overnight stay.
Living Room Space:
After passing by the foyer area, I immediately found myself in the living room space. The living room space was a small format living room. The couch contained a small sofa bed (perfect for those traveling with teenagers / children).
There was also a small desk area in the living room. While I wasn’t there to work for this particular visit, the desk space was a little on the smaller side. The living room didn’t have a whole lot of counter space for storage.
Unfortunately, the suite room didn’t feature any kitchen or wet bar sink space that you sometimes find in the all suite hotel category. This was perhaps the only thing that was missing from the Delta Hotels Vancouver Downtown Suites room configuration.
Bedroom Space:
Off the living space was the bedroom area. Much like the living room, the space as a little on the compact side. The king bed didn’t have a lot of room on either side for ingress /egress.
The room had decent sky line views. Since the hotel is located inland from the water, and is lower than many of it’s surrounding towers, you’re likely to get other tower views. These views aren’t sensational, but it’s far better than looking into another concrete wall or alleyway.
The bedroom contained a second flat screen television. There wasn’t a lot of artwork in the bedroom, and it almost appeared a little bland.
The one bedroom suite featured a single bathroom. The bathroom offered a stand up shower and single vanity sink.
There were some reasonable views from the east side of the hotel. Despite Vancouver behind a harbour city, the view was mostly of land skyscrapers.
The hotel only offers nine suites per floor. This makes for a really quiet stay within the hotel. The hotel hallway noise was virtually non existent.
Getting to the sleep quality of the room, while the hotel hallways were quiet, the neighbouring streets were not as peaceful. The nearby streets of Hastings and Cordova seems to serve as a major access way for Ambulances to zip East / West across Vancouver.
As a result, the nights’ sleep was often interrupted by the sounds of ambulance siren noises. This is perhaps not surprising when you consider the fact that the hotel is located near the downtown east side neighbourhood and these ambulances are getting to and from those persons in medical crisis. Again, while this isn’t directly within the hotels’ control, it’s safe to say that a stay here will be very much urban in nature, along with the sounds that come with such a stay.
Overall, the rooms was perfectly sized on the compact side for a single business traveller but slightly snug for a couple travelling together. I wouldn’t expect a large amount of extra space while booking a suite at this property, but you could have a whole family stay if you absolutely needed to in a pinch (instead of getting two separate rooms).
Around the Hotel Property:
The Delta by Marriott Vancouver Downtown Suites property contains many of the features of a full service property. While it doesn’t feature a swimming pool, it did feature some additional amenities.
Conference Centre:
The upper floors of the hotel on floors two and three contain the hotel’s conference facilities. The space leads into the open air atrium. It was a compact but reasonably pleasant space to spend a conference break.
The hotel also features an elevated walkway to the parking garage on level three. It’s possible to get to the parking garage without getting wet during Vancouver’s rainy season.
Fitness Center:
The Delta Downtown Suites offers a small fitness centre. The fitness centre was located on the fourth floor. There were a limited amount of treadmills and elliptical machines. The gym featured daylight windows; a great feature for any hotel gym.
Given the compact space of the gym, I did find that the gym was often full and at capacity at peak times such as in the early evening or early on the weekend mornings.
Food and Beverage:
With the Delta by Marriott Vancouver Downtown Suites having a great urban location, there are many terrific dining options that are off property and in the neighbouring area.
Despite the options off property, it’s nice to know that the Delta Vancouver Downtown Suites does offer an “in house” restaurant called Stock and Supply.
Stock and Supply – Kitchen and Bar:
Stock and Supply is the hotel restaurant for the Delta Vancouver Downtown Suites. Stock and Supply is a smaller format bar and lounge, which contained a fair number of visitors during the evening hours.
The Stock and Supply offers happy hour between 2 – 5 PM and 9 – 10 PM.
Checking Out of The Delta Vancouver Downtown Suites:
On departure day, I used the Marriott App to check myself out of the hotel. With a short line at the front desk, I went with the electronic route which was easier than battling a line.
MrsWT73 provided the hotel a courtesy notice to let them know she was leaving at the front desk at about 2 PM. There was a bit of a line with quite a few line cutters, which perhaps marked the only low point of the stay.
I had no surprises on the bill with everything as expected.
My Marriott Bonvoy points posted to my account within 36 hours as promised.
The Bottom Line: The Delta Hotels by Marriott Vancouver Downtown Suites
The Delta Hotels by Marriott Vancouver Downtown Suites offered almost everything that you’d expect in an all suites hotel.
While the neighbourhood was a little “edgy”, the property met all our needs for a short weekend stay. The neighbourhood was louder than expected, but the hotel was more than hospitable and friendly.
The hotel also happened to be well located for doing what we needed to do in Vancouver. It would be a convenient stop for anyone looking for connectivity to Vancouver International Airport (by rail) and to Vancouver’s Cruise Ship Terminals.
If you regularly visit Vancouver, is the Delta Hotels Vancouver Downtown Suites on your “go to” list, for an all suites hotel ?
Every now and then, there is a great travel accessory that really enhances your travel. I’ve usually been suspect of technological fads, but really came to understand the value of Apple AirTag’s and their ability to track checked luggage. An Apple AirTag can be strategically placed in your suitcase and offer a peace of mind comfort guarantee of the whereabouts of your checked luggage. Read on to see how the system works and our live experience with it when dealing with lost luggage.
Review: Apple AirTag – Will it Help You Recover Your Lost Luggage?
Apple Computers introduced Apple AirTags as part of their technology launch on April 30, 2021. Over the previous two years, they have developed a bit of a niche travel following.
What is an Apple Air Tag?
An Apple AirTag is a small tracking device that Apple has scaled down to be consumer friendly. It allows for near GPS like tracking of objects it’s affixed to. It connects to the grid by using the data links of other iPhones, Ipads and Apple Computers within the area, in order to report a location back to it’s home user on the Apple Find my Friends network.
The program is set up to allow for locating lost devices. It offers the ability to sound a “ping” or mark and object as lost – pending recovery. All of these features make it ideal for putting Apple AirTag’s in suitcases. However, does it actually work?
Installing an Apple Air Tag:
It’s exceptionally easy installing an Apple AirTag. After ordering them through the Air Canada Aeroplan e-store, they arrived to my household doorstep.
The Apple AirTags installation process involved activative the CR2052 battery, and pairing the device to your iCloud account through Bluetooth.
Like everything technology oriented these days, the product doesn’t come with any instructions. However, it’s pretty easy to locate what you need to do online with a little research. I was able to complete the pairing process inside about ten minutes. As part of the registration process, I had to complete terms and conditions along with legal notices that it is illegal for unauthorized tracking of persons not associated to you.
Once it is set up, it’s “set and forget”. It requires no ongoing maintenance and runs completely in the background. Aside from a battery change, there isn’t much more that needs to happen in order to maintain the tracking of the object.
Setting the Stage:
Losing my Luggage “in Real Time”:
It seems to be the state of the travelling world when the very first time you try out an Apple AirTag, you end up losing your checked luggage.
On a recent trip from Vancouver to Ottawa, I ended up checking a pair of downhill skis and a medium standard sized suitcase that contained all my ski equipment including helmet, ski boots and ski clothing.
On my flights back, which was on an Air Canada Ottawa – Toronto – Vancouver routing, I had intentionally built myself a comfortable two hour and fifteen minute connection tine at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
On the day of travel, I ended up with a late departure from Ottawa due to the late arrival on the inbound aircraft. My comfortable two hour and fifteen minute connection at Toronto Pearson went down to fifty five minutes.
As I landed off my first flight leg in Toronto, I had an expedited walk from one end of Toronto Pearson’s Terminal One airport to the other end. As I managed to get on board my next flight, I checked into the app to get updated on the progress of my luggage. I would end up finding that my bag was located somewhere in the middle of the terminal while I was seated on the outer end of the terminal on board the aircraft (represented by the purple “X”).
The location finder on the app isn’t super conclusive on whether your bags are with you. However, there was enough there at the time of push back to suggest that my luggage “was not with me” and was likely sitting somewhere in the terminal in Toronto Pearson International Airport.
It’s worth noting that the AirTags do not report a live stream of their location. You won’t happen to see the Air Tag move like an object on a video games screen. Rather, you just get a general location as to where your items are located.
Confirming my Bags are Actually Missing:
When I landed at Vancouver International Airport after my transcontinental flight, I popped open the iPhone “Find My” app again. It took a little while for the system to update itself after travelling some two thousand miles.
When the system did refresh, it displayed my luggage 3,353 kilometres away at Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal One. Clearly, my bags were unofficially lost. I’d learn about this as soon as I de-planed and walked into the concourse at the Vancouver International Airport. As a result, I would find out within five to ten minutes of touching down at Vancouver International Airport; a pretty good result.
Clearly, having an Apple AirTag can help you almost immediately identify that the checked bag (or item) is not with you and where the likely location is.
Reporting the Bag as Lost:
On receipt of this news, I wandered down to the Vancouver International Domestic Arrivals Hall and queued up at the Baggage Services desk. There was a short line during my visit. What’s even more concerning is that there is also a priority line for Air Canada Super Elites; a telling circumstance of how many bags are being lost.
Once I got to the front, the host verifying my information through the Apple AirTag. She asked how long it was since the Air Tag last refreshed and opened my ticket for the lost luggage.
For anyone that’s ever lost a piece of luggage, the airline tracing systems aren’t super helpful. They contain inspiring messages such as “Tracing Continues. Please Check Back Later“
I went home with my carry on bags and settled in for the evening. Given that there were no additional flights leaving Toronto for Vancouver that evening, I was pretty content that I’d get some information the next day.
The Next Day:
Learning my Bag was En Route Home:
The next morning, I woke up. It was a weekend day and I was at home and not in the office. As a result, I had a bit more time to devote to this electronic search than would otherwise have been the case.
Checking into the “Find My” app, I learned that my bag had likely been loaded onto an Air Canada flight from Toronto to Vancouver. My bag was reported to be “last seen today at 4:59 AM“, with what appeared to be a location matching an outer gate area on the Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal One.
I had to do a little reverse engineering, but I reconstructed the flight schedules and determined that the bag was likely travelling on two possible Air Canada Toronto – Vancouver flights and would likely be arriving to Vancouver between 10 – 11 AM Pacific Standard Time. I event went so far as to determine whether these two flights had matching gate departure location from the the airport terminal on that morning. Not wholly conclusive, but pretty likely to be expected.
Learning that the Bag is in Vancouver:
After checking on a repeated basis throughout the morning, the bag turned up on the grid at Vancouver International Airport. Unlike the imagery from the arrival night, the bag was showing up at the baggage processing facility at Vancouver International Airport.
There is certainly a bit of a thrill, when you see your bag on what is likely a luggage cart in the middle of the Vancouver International Airport apron (pictured on right). If not a thrill, it’s a relief that it’s another task off the list that you won’t have to keep worrying about.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the AC Baggage Tracer system was still lagging and showing the bag as missing with “Tracing Continues – Please Check Back Later“.
I ended up hopping in the car and driving to the Vancouver International Airport. I was headed there anyway to collect MrsWT73 from another trip, so I was hoping to kill two birds with one stone.
Locating my Luggage on a Tracking Basis:
On arrival to the Vancouver International Airport, I ended up using the tracking feature in the Apple AirTag in order to get re-united with my lost luggage. Coming in from the Vancouver International Airport parkade, it was reasonably easy to locate my luggage using the features in the iPhone “Find My” app.
The maps even contained a GPS blue dot representing your own location. It was pretty easy to navigate towards and I had no challenges getting into the immediate area of the lost checked bag.
The closer you got, the screen changed to a “Hot” vs “Cold” searching feature. Ideally, this would pin point you to the exact location. In my case, i was in a baggage hall with dozens of similar looking black bags. It wasn’t an exact science, but I eventually got to within a meter or two and was able to figure it out.
In the end, the trick worked. i was able to locate my black medium Briggs and Riley bag sitting on a stopped conveyor belt in the domestic arrivals hall at Vancouver International Airport. As I said, while it wasn’t an exact science, but with a little patience, I was able to search and find what I was looking for.
I examined the bag and noted that the airline hadn’t re-tagged it onto it’s newer flight. It still contained the baggage routing tag from my earlier flight.
Clearly, Air Canada hadn’t gotten around to updating the bags that hadn’t been re-united with their travellers. I ended up just picking up the bag. With a courtesy notice to Air Canada that I had re-connected with my luggage, I was on my way much quicker thanks to the Apple AirTag.
When using the Apple AirTag, the total time lost for my checked bag was 15 hours. I’d imagine it would have been much closer to 36 – 48 hours (and that’s being optimistic) had I left it to the airlines.
While the last time Alaska Airlines lost my checked bag, I received a $200 USD travel voucher for my inconvenience, Air Canada left me with this kind note which left me with nothing but warm feelings (laughing).
My Thoughts Apple AirTags:
The Apple AirTag’s are perhaps not as precise as you might expect them to be. They won’t show the exact moving location as it passes along the baggage conveyor belts of an airport, or the position as it sits on a baggage tug. The Apple AirTag will more or less give you a general idea of where you bag is, and it is indeed possible that the AirTag may provide a few false positives along the way.
Despite this, I clearly got reconnected with my bag in a faster time than leaving it strictly to Air Canada to process and locate my tracked bag. By using a little detective work, I was able to reconnect myself to my lost luggage much quicker than expected. I’d become a happy user of this feature, as it takes nothing to have them installed in your checked luggage and costs nothing to use.
If you travel with checked baggage, do you find that using an Apple AirTag enhances your travel experience ?
Mont Tremblant Ski Resort is known for being one of Eastern North America’s largest ski resorts with a great deal of vertical feet elevation. It’s located about one hundred. and fifty kilometres from Ottawa. I would end up extending my business travel week by adding a personal day at the end of it to take in a day of skiing at the resort. Would this end up being a wise decision given the distance required to get to the ski area?
Activity: Is it Worth Day Tripping to Ski at Mont Tremblant Quebec, from Ottawa, Canada?
As a frequent visitor to our nation’s capital of Ottawa, Canada, I’ve often wondered if it was worthwhile to take a day at the end of the work week, and tag on an extra ski day over the weekend. In this post, I’ll go over my experience trying to accomplish this on a recent trip.
Planning a Visit to Mont Tremblant:
The Ski Resort of Mont Tremblant is located approximately one hour and forty minutes drive away from Ottawa, Ontario. The province of Quebec has a winter tires law that all vehicles should have winter tires installed on them during winter months. Unfortunately, my issued rental car did not have winters tyres installed so I felt a little suspect driving through the province of Quebec with a non road legal vehicle.
While there is a Mont Tremblant airport, the nearest airport is the Kelowna International Airport (Airport Code: YTM), it is seasonally served by Air Canada Express and Porter Airlines. The next nearest alternative is Montreal International Airport (Airport Code: YUL). With no air service between Ottawa and Tremblant, the only option for me was to drive.
Getting to Mont Tremblant:
I set off from the Ottawa Marriott Hotel towards Mont Tremblant by rental car. The city had just received a massive fifteen centimetre dump of snow the night before. This was one of those snow dumps which didn’t have signs that it was coming the night before; as it was complete “dry in the sky” before I went to bed. Needless to say, it was a little slow going on the roads.
I eventually located the highway exit for Mont Tremblant on the secondary Quebec highway 323. Unfortunately, the highway itself was closed for a car accident, and I had to route around on highway 325 in order to bypass a truck that had slid off the road and into a ditch.
The driving conditions were pretty blustery. While google maps promised a travel time of one hour and forty five minutes, the journey ended up being approximately two hours and forty five minutes as a result of the weather conditions and the car accident road closure.
Eventually, I arrived to Mont Tremblant at about 10:30 AM. I was relegated to the far parking lot of Tremblant P3 since all others had filled up with morning skiers. I had hoped to get there a little earlier, but there wasn’t much I could do about the road conditions or car accidents.
Arriving to Mont Tremblant:
After taking a short shuttle bus to the main lower lodge, I headed inside to collect and print a lift ticket. As can be guessed, it was a cold day in Eastern Canada with temperatures around -12 Celcius.
I took the short cabriolet gondola up to the upper village where I could join the lines for the main Tremblant Télécabine Express (Gondola). It was a snowy morning having just had the same dump of snow in Ottawa, so things were looking a little grey.
My ticket was scanned without any issue. Since I was travelling as a single, I was able to gain access to the singles line which allowed me to bypass this large queue.
Skiing Mont Tremblant:
With Mont Tremblant being a single lift mountain, it was pretty quick to get up to the top. I got off the Télécabine Express Gondola, and there we were; a whole 875m or 2,871 feet of elevation above sea level.
Starting the day on Versant Soleil:
The day started off with blistery windy and stormy conditions with the weather system just finishing for the day. Needless to say, this made for some great powdery skiing. It wasn’t hard to find some terrain that had decent snow on it.
I started off on Versant Soleil, which wasn’t very sunny despite it’s name.
Skiing Versant Nord:
As the day rolled on, the weather started to break. I later explored Versant Nord, which was it’s own ski area almost in itself. I’d later find a separate parking lot and series of lifts over on this colder side.
The grin from my face represented the grin of cold temperatures down to about -15 degrees Celcius. It was definitely some hearty conditions for skiing.
I was also able to locate some gladed skiing. Skiing in Eastern Canada often offers gladed skiing which is a unique experience of skiing through thinned out trees. It’s terrific during powder days, and can often be used as a great against wind. It was pretty packed out by the time I got there, however.
Lunch Break – Doubling Down on Poutine:
While Quebec is known for it’s gastronomie cuisine, I wasn’t sure what I might expect to find for lunch. Since it was freezing cold, I was hoping for something that might warm me up. That dish ended up being a serving of French Poutine; a dish of cheese curds and gravy over fries.
It was truly terrific and just the snack I needed to warm up and get going again.
Versant Sud:
I spend the last of the day on Versant Sud, or the south side. As the day wound down to the end at 4 PM, I enjoyed Lac Tremblant views as I explored this side of the mountain.
With the skies now clear, it made for pleasant views over the Mont Tremblant pedestrian village where I had started the day earlier.
Mont Tremblant had more than enough to keep me satisfied for a few days worth of skiing. I’m not sure how I’d fare if I spent a whole week here, but for a day or two, and with the addition of fresh new snow, there was more than enough to explore.
Exploring Mont Tremblant after the day:
After the day’s worth of turns, instead of taking the Cabriolet Gondola back down to the bus loop, and bypassing all the shops, I opted to walk down through Mont Tremblant village.
I saw a few people walking through the village, but most had already ditched their skis at their hotel rooms. The village represented their best attempts at a European styled resort, with pedestrian only streets along with a few retail and restaurant outlets.
It was a pretty good representation of a European village. If I were staying for longer, I’d probably enjoy a little exploration through the village.
I ended up bussing back to the car in distant parking lot P3, and self driving back to the Ottawa Marriott Hotel. My return journey took about 2 hours, which was much better than my almost three hour drive in.
Was it Worth Driving into Mont Tremblant for a day?
This question on whether it was worth driving into Mont Tremblant for the day is one that I happen to still struggle with. Having Whistler / Blackcomb Mountain about two hours from my house makes for great skiing in my home backyard. It seriously colours my decision making ability when great skiing is available almost at your home doorsteps.
Firstly, I was expecting the drive to be about one hour and forty minutes. That drive, thanks to terrible snow conditions, and avoidance of closed roads due to car accidents, ended up being almost three hours. The fact that I didn’t have a rental car with street legal winter tires, also made the day a little more worrisome than it needed to be.
Despite the long drive in, which ended up being without incident, the skiing was pretty reasonable. There was more than enough terrain to make it worth a one and a half hour drive. I’m just not sure whether it was worth a three hour drive.
I don’t know that I’d be in a rush to complete this trek again on my next winter visit to Ottawa. I think I’ve chalked this up in to the book of experiences having done this.
Summary: Trekking to Mont Tremblant from Ottawa
It was a bit of a longer trek than expected from Ottawa to Mont Tremblant for the day.
While I’d feel the need to do this if I lived in Ottawa and needed to get my downhill skiing fix on, I’m not so sure that I would do this on a regular basis as a visitor to Ottawa looking to extend a business ski week.
As a hard core skier like me that’s always looking for winter turns, you’re not likely to be disappointed with trying out Mont Tremblant out for a day. You just might not be in a rush the next time around.
World Traveller 73 
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