World Traveller 73 
My returning flight home from this particular trip was on Air Canada’s Signature Business Class Boeing 777 – 300 ER product. This aircraft offered Air Canada’s best Business Class seat that is typically used on international flights. This cabin is marketed as Air Canada Signature Class on some domestic routes. For some strange reason, this was the cheapest flight of the day, likely due to it’s first in the morning departure time outside of the usual business travel hours.
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Review: Air Canada Signature Business Class B777-300 ER, Toronto Pearson International Airport – Vancouver International Airport
My returning flight home departed early in the morning from the Toronto International Airport – Terminal One. Today’s flight was on Air Canada’s Signature Business Class on their Boeing 777 – 300 ER product. Air Canada markets its best domestic flights as Signature Class; these flights include a fully flat reverse herringbone seat.
After having a late night and early rise at the nearby Westin Toronto Airport hotel, I travelled back to the Toronto International Airport by rental vehicle. I had an early 8 AM flight leaving Toronto, so the airport was just getting going at the early hour when I pulled into Hertz at 6:05 AM.
I was pretty tired at this point, having driven over 625 kilometres across southern Ontario for a series of business meetings. I was looking forward to getting on board and relaxing all the way home.
Checking into Air Canada Business Class:
As per usual, I checked in using the Air Canada app through my smartphone about 23 hours in advance. The Air Canada Business Class cabin on the Boeing 777-300 ER is split into two separate cabins. The first cabin stretches from row 1- 7, whereas the second cabin stretches across 4 rows between row 8 – 11.
I received my pre-assigned seat (10K) on the shady “non sunny” side of the plane. I usually prefer to travel closer to the front of the aircraft in the larger cabin. This second cabin seating made for a nice change of pace.
Consistent with a paid Air Canada Business Class ticket, I was placed into boarding group 1, which was the highest possible boarding group.
After checking in through the Air Canada App, I was able to see the upgrade lists. The popular Toronto to Vancouver flight has gotten exceptionally hard to upgrade on with Air Canada E-Upgrade Instruments, unlike when I flew this route during the pandemic. Today, there are often 15 or more persons waiting for an e-upgrade; competing for a single digit handful of seats.
There were also a fair amount of standbys waiting to get aboard. As a result of this being a wide body aircraft that would be more likely to go out with empty seats.
After getting to the airport, I was travelling with my work colleague for this particular flight. We had a bit of baggage to check as a result of traveling with trade supplies. Heading over to the dedicated Air Canada Business Class check in located on the far right hand side of the airport ,we used my complimentary 2 free checked baggage allowance that was included with my business class ticket.
After dropping the bags, we headed through security. There’s typically a very large security screening line at the Toronto International Airport. Although I had priority security screening with the Air Canada Business Class ticket, and was able to use the Priority Screening Lanes courtesy of the American Express Platinum Card, there was also a Nexus Lane available in addition to the general boarding lane. The Nexus Lane ended up being the shortest of the four lanes, whereas my colleague ended up in the general line as he was flying in economy and didn’t hold any of the memberships or nexus card(s).
After security, we briefly stopped by the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge – Toronto Domestic to pick up a quick coffee. Since I had reviewed that lounge before, and it’s a regular stop on my travels, I won’t review it again. I had complimentary access with my Air Canada Business Class ticket, and I ended up using a Aeroplan Elite Maple Leaf Lounge one time day pass for my colleague, since I had several expire last year.
Boarding Air Canada:
At about thirty five minutes prior boarding, we left the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge and headed down to the gate. Regretfully, we found a massive amount of people standing around the gate area, which quickly meant that there no plane ready to go.
We had a gate announcement that the assigned aircraft had gone mechanical. Air Canada was in the process of towing over another substitute Boeing 777-300 ER to our gate 128. Given that Toronto Pearson is such a spread out airport, this took a little time to get the aircraft towed up to the gate.
We had a further delay waiting for the ground crew to cater and load the plane with food, followed by the usual baggage delays in loading all the cargo onto the aircraft. The delays ended up being approximately 75 minutes. Given Air Canada’s on time performance being ranked lowest of the major carriers for 2003 at 63%, I’ve come to expect these sorts of delays when travelling with Air Canada.
Air Canada
AC 189 – Business Class (Z)
YYZ – YVR (Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal One – Vancouver International Airport)
Sept 20, 2024
Scheduled: 8:05 AM – 10:04 AM / Actual: 9:16 AM – 10:54 AM
Booked: Boeing 777-300 ER
Flown: Boeing 777-300 ER
On Board Air Canada Business Class:
A few times a day, Air Canada frequently flies it’s largest capacity aircraft on a domestic route between Toronto and Vancouver. Today’s flight was on the second highest capacity Air Canada Boeing 777- 300 ER. Thankfully, I was not flying in the back on the Air Canada High Density Boeing 777 – 300 ER, which is incredibly unpopular.
Like most other Air Canada aircraft, this aircraft features the Collins Aerospace Business Class seat, which offers a reverse herringbone fully flat seat. The suite offered a reasonable amount of personal space to allow for relaxing and working.
There was a pillow and blanket waiting for me on the seat when I arrived. I ended up settling into seat 10K. Given that I was in the second cabin, there were no travellers that ended up across aisle from me in 8G and 9G.
I was initially assigned into 9K, which was located in the second cabin bulkhead. Since this was close to the galley and washroom, I ended up moving myself back a row during seat assignment at purchase. I don’t particularly enjoy the bulkhead seats or the noise from the galley. I was happy to move myself away as much as possible.
The Air Canada wide body cabin still looks great after being in service for many years. The whites, blacks and greys look contemporary and professional and far better looking than United Polaris Business Class’s grey’s and blues, in my humble opinion.
The Air Canada Business Class cabin seat offers a compartment for storage and charging of devices. The compartment also contains a wired remote which can control the in flight entertainment system.
The compartment is a generous size, and it easily swallows up my wallet, cell phone and computer chargers. The compartment contains a standard empower plug in, along with USB – B charge ports.
The seat itself also offers a large 18 inch monitor, which is touch screen. It’s typically easier to control the entertainment system through the touch screen.
The Air Canada Business Class seat is super comfortable. The space is functional and fits well on an ergonomic basis. Having a spacious reverse herribone seat is much more comfortable when flying five hours on a trans continental flight than an upright barca-lounger seat. If you can find a wide body aircraft for your transcontinental flight and the price is right, I highly recommend the upgrade.
Pre Departure Services:
While most United States carriers offer an open bar pre-departure beverage, Air Canada usually offers a small bottle of Naya Water. On today’s flight, there was a small bottle of Naya water waiting at the seat.
However, given the fact that the plane was already 75 minutes behind schedule, activities were kept to a minimum. There was no further purser introduction aside from the usual menu presentation.
Air Canada has modernized the Air Canada Signature Class business class menus to make them a little more contemporary.
Given the morning hour, the menu consisted of the usual breakfast items. Air Canada is well known for it’s familiar parsley omelette, which made it’s usual appearance along with golden brown pancakes as the alternate option.
The breakfast menu also featured a number of Signature Class domestic wines. While there was no champagne on offer, there was a Crémant de Bordeaux Brut made entirely from Semillon which looked appealing. The whites consisted of Riesling from Germany and Rioja from Spain.
The list was rounded out by a Rosé from Côtes de Provence – France and two reds: a less than exciting Pinot Noir from Niagara Peninsula, Canada and a Dāo red wine from Portugal.
I can appreciate that a Canadian airline should be highlighting Canadian products but I have yet to find a Canadian wine that I’m over the moon in love with. Given the early hour of the flight being at 5 AM from my home Pacific Standard Time Zone, I didn’t get the opportunity to indulge.
The Air Canada Signature Class menu also offered a number of spirits. For the first time, there were a few very simple cocktails listed on the menu. This was rounded out with the usual soft drinks and juices. There was also a list of snack basket items.
While the wine and spirit was much larger than expected in Air Canada Signature Class in comparison to a narrow body flight, the product wasn’t over the top exciting as a result of the fairly mainstream labels.
Departing Toronto International Airport:
We departed Toronto International Airport as the sun rose up for another day. We had a pleasant cruise up to altitude without many bumps.
I can never get over how flat Ontario is when compared to my home in the Pacific Northwest. It’s always very apparent when ever I’m in a plane and I get a great view of the area.
In Flight Entertainment System:
During the climb, I fiddled with the in flight entertainment system. I located the flight map, which had us on a straightforward track across Canada.
The Meal: Breakfast
After about an hour and a level flight at altitude, it was time for breakfast.
Per the usual Air Canada service procedure, a towel service was offered. The Air Canada towels certainly aren’y luxurious and spa standard by any meals, but it’s a nice old school touch.
Given that this was a longer flight, the first breakfast tray was presented first. This consisted of mixed fruit, a warm ciabatta roll with butter and jam, and a chai seed pudding.
I was then presented with my one hundredth’ and one parsley omelette. This version was presented with pan fried chicken sausage, Parmesan cheese, spinach and roasted potatoes and tomato cumin chutney. Today’s potato cubes were pretty soft and moist with crisp being very far away on the spectrum.
The breakfast service was pleasant for a medium haul flight. As I have been travelling on many short haul flights, I appreciated the extended nature of the breakfast and not being served everything at once. The food was enjoyable, but not super memorable.
After the breakfast, I pretty much fell asleep for the majority of the flight. The early week of wake ups of being in Central Time Zone had taken their toll on me, knocking me out and wiping out my ability to stay awake.
Landing at Vancouver International Airport:
Our descent into Vancouver International Airport had us on a track over the water with a medium arc turn back towards runway 26L. It was a bright and sunny day when we landed back in Vancouver about fifty minutes off schedule at 10:51 AM.
We ended up pulling into gate 48 at Vancouver International Airport. Even while seated in row 10, I was off quite quickly.
I ended up bidding “good bye” to my work travelling colleague, with another Air Canada flight and work trip finished off in the books.
The Bottom Line: Air Canada Business Class B777-300 ER
The Air Canada Signature Business Class on the Boeing 777 – 300 ER remains an exceptionally comfortable way to fly on a transcontinental flight. Although we were given a usual delay departing Toronto, I’ve grown not to be too surprised about these delays.
The best part of the flight was the comfortable Collins Aerospace reverse herringbone business class seat. While the food was better than you might expect on a narrow body flight, and the wine list was more extensive, both the food and the wine were fairly average and not super exciting in flavour and taste.
Still, there remains no more comfortable way to fly across Canada. I would happily return to an Air Canada wide-body aircraft in Signature Class any day.
If you fly domestically within Canada, do you intentionally seek out Air Canada “Signature” Business Class?
I needed a quick overnight stay near Toronto Pearson International Airport. There aren’t many new or exciting options around the Toronto International Airport so for the sake of variety, I’ve been on the hunt for a better hotel stay. After having stayed at the Toronto Airport Marriott, the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Conference Centre, and the Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Toronto Airport, I decided to change it up this time and stay at the Westin Toronto Airport. I discovered that this was the best hotel of the bunch, with comfortable spacious rooms and pleasant guest treatment.
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Review: The Westin Hotel Toronto Airport, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
After a day of running around through Ontario’s southern portion of the province, I needed a short one night stay near the Toronto International Airport prior to my flight out on Air Canada Signature Business Class Toronto – Vancouver.
The Marriott Bonvoy portfolio around the Toronto International Airport isn’t all that inspiring. While all the hotels have all been refurbished to brand standards, most of the properties are quite old and less than aspirational.
Having stayed at many of the Marriott Bonvoy properties, please see the following reviews if you happen to be comparison shopping Toronto Airport Hotels:
- Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Toronto International Airport
- Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Conference Centre
- Toronto Airport Marriott Hotel
Given that I had stayed at many of these properties, I decided that I would try something new. As a result, I booked myself into the Westin Toronto Airport for this one night stay.
Booking the Westin Toronto Airport Hotel:
I booked the hotel through the Marriott website. Initially, the pricing was what you would expect on a weekday at around $226 CAD ($167 USD). I ended up booking a base level Traditional – 1 King, and ended up getting a solid Marriott Bonvoy Upgrade into a Deluxe – Larger Guest Room, courtesy of Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Level status.
The hotel primarily caters to business travellers. Accordingly, the rates during the weekdays are typically high (between $260 – $371 CAD / $192 – $274 USD), where as on the weekend the rates drop to around $175 – $250 CAD / $129 – 184 USD.
During our stay, Marriott Bonvoy redemption rates were between 21,000 to 38,000 Marriott Bonvoy points valued at approximately $168 CAD – $308 CAD at a 0.8 cent valuation. As a result, if you plan on redeeming points, you’ll have to have a close assessment to see whether your points are worth more than the posted room rates.
Getting to the Westin Toronto Airport:
The Westin Toronto Airport is located as an “off airport” property hotel, situated approximately 5 minutes drive away from the Toronto International Airport.
I arrived to the property by rental car from meetings in the southern area of Ontario via Route 401 to Route 427. It was easy to locate the property courtesy of the Dixon Road highway exit. There was also a convenient (but busy) Shell Gas station on Dixon Road that allowed me to refill the rental car, prior to returning it the next morning.
While there was a convenient unloading area at the front of the hotel property, I ended up self parking my vehicle at the rear of the property. I ended up pulling a ticket and driving into the parking lot, which was located at the rear of the hotel. Self Parking was $32 CAD a night, with unlimited “in and out” privileges.
There isn’t much within walking distance surrounding the hotel other than a Church’s Fried Chicken, a Ruth Chris’ Steakhouse and a Keg Steakhouse immediately across the street. As a result, you’ll need access to a vehicle if you plan on accessing anything other than these few limited options.
Overall, I was satisfied with the hotel’s location and proximity to the Toronto International Airport. While it wasn’t attached to the airport, it was close enough to be convenient. While the Dixon Road area of Mississauga is pretty drab and unexciting, the hotel’s location was really easy to access from the Greater Toronto’s area’s freeways. The Westin Toronto Airport also had ample gas stations around, making it an easy exercise in refilling the rental car.
Checking Into the Westin Toronto Airport Hotel:
After self parking the car, I entered the hotel through the rear hotel entrance. I had no problems self parking, with a number of spots available. Having driven over 600 kilometers in 4 days over a series of work meetings, I was pretty happy to leave the rental car for the evening.
The Westin Toronto Airport Hotel was initially built in the early seventies in the year 1971. The hotel has been completely refurbished since then, although the lobby has a feel from the era of the swinging seventies.
The lobby features large atriums, an exposed interior stairway, along with elevated seating areas that offer a grand view over spaces. It was fairly quiet when I arrived at 8:30 PM on a weekday evening.
It was very easy to find the front desk. There was no line when I arrived and I was attended to promptly.
During the check in my Marriott Bonvoy Titanium status was warmly recognized. I had an explanation of the property features. I was also informed that I had been upgraded to a Deluxe Larger Guest Room, despite this not showing as my room assignment in the Marriott App.
I ended up taking the 1000 points as the Marriott Bonvoy Elite welcome bonus. I did manage to confirm that the Marriott Bonvoy Elite breakfast for Platinum and Higher was a coupon for the full buffet at Atmosphere’s restaurant.
Unfortunately, my schedule didn’t allow for this wonderful induglence. I ended up taking the points instead, figuring that I would get breakfast elsewhere at the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge – Toronto Domestic or perhaps on board my flight on Air Canada Signature Business Class Vancouver – Toronto the next day.
The Room: Deluxe, Larger Guest Room, 1 King, Airport View
I had initially booked the base level Traditional Guest Room – 1 King. Given that I wasn’t expecting to spend much time on the property, I didn’t have any expectations of an upgrade.
Despite this, my Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level status provided me with access to the “Best Available Room at Check In, including Select Suites“. At this property, this meant a one category upgrade to a Deluxe – Larger Guest Room – 1 King, which was greatly appreciated.
I was assigned room #1118, which was near the top floor. After I stepped off on the floor, the hallways had a bit of a dated impression, which was quickly elevated after I got into the room.
I stepped inside the Deluxe – Larger Guest Room. I was immediately struck by the larger space than the Fairfield Inn & Suites Orillia that I was staying in earlier in the week. The room space was a much nicer space than the rooms I’ve been assigned at the nearby Toronto Airport Marriott Hotel, given how much larger it was.
The Westin Toronto Airport Deluxe – Larger Guest room was generously apportioned at 380 sq feet offering a larger and spacious stay. There is nothing like a roomy hotel room to make your stay more comfortable, as you get the opportunity to just stretch out and get comfortable.
The room featured a comfortably appointed Westin Heavenly Bed. The Westin bed offered a comfortable and well appointed bedding ensemble, complete with crisp sheets, and a comforter duvet. Duvet’s are usually absent from most of my hotel stays. As a result, it was nice to see this level of home at an airport hotel on the road.
The room featured a small mini sofa, against a window that offered some distant airside views.
The room had a tiny desk space that was among the smaller desk spaces that I’ve seen in a hotel room. I wouldn’t recommend setting up shop to work at a desk like this. However, it was sufficient for an overnight airport stay.
In a further sign that things are returning to normal after the pandemic, my room had a Marriott Bonvoy welcome amenity placed inside it. The welcome amenity consisted of a nice note from management, along with a can of house made sparkling water, and a trio of tasty macaroons.
The room featured an in – room coffee maker, along with proper Westin glassware. Surprisingly, the coffee was unbranded, despite a Starbucks coffee outlet in the lobby of the hotel.
The hotel room featured a smaller bathroom, which was located just off the entrance.
The hotel room’s closet was located closer to the bathroom, making it a little inconvenient to change clothes. Most newer hotels feature a larger bathroom area; the layout of this particular closet was a little dated in comparison to modern standards.
The bathroom itself was a standard Westin variety. It offered a single vanity sink, a shower tub combination and light weight Westin robes.
There weren’t many suites available on the floor. My room #1118 was one of the larger rooms on the floor, aside from the larger suite at the end.
The room featured a distant view of Toronto Pearson International Airport airside operations. While I wouldn’t grade this as one of the best airside views (that honour goes to the Sheraton Nice Airport) this view was pretty reasonable.
Overall, I was really impressed with the extra space. While I was looking for a brief overnight airport stay, I appreciated having the extra room. The soundproofing on the room was solid, and we didn’t have much airplane noise despite being located right next to the airport.
Food and Beverage:
Atmosphere Restaurant
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Breakfast
The full service hotel offers the Atmosphere Restaurant immediately on site. The atmosphere’s restaurant was completely closed by the time I got sorted after arrival at 9 PM. I ended up crossing the street to the Keg Steakhouse, so I wasn’t able to test out the faciliites.
Crosswinds Bar and Grill:
On the other hand, the lobby Crosswinds Bar and Grill was open with a few weary travellers enjoying a drink. The seating area appeared to have a nice view over the hotel lobby. However, given a short six hour sleep planned on this visit, I didn’t end up “tying one on” into the late hours.
Westin Gift Shop:
The Westin Toronto Airport offered a small sundries gift shop. The gift shop contained a few items and was open twenty four hours. Unlike some airport hotel gift shops, this version was pretty minimal and didn’t offer a whole lot.
Starbucks Coffee:
The Westin Toronto Airport featured a small breakfast hour Starbucks Coffee outlet. I always appreciate having a coffee outlet in the hotel. This version was open when I left the hotel at 5:30 AM the next day.
Around the Property:
No Executive Lounge:
One thing that happens to be missing from this Westin property is an executive lounge. In this sense, the property is at a disadvantage from the Toronto Airport Marriott Hotel and the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Conference Centre.
However, it turns out I didn’t miss the lounge as much as I thought I would. It turns out I wouldn’t end up spending any time at the property during snack time, or when I would typically expect to have used the executive lounge.
As a result, I enjoyed my stay here at the Westin Toronto Airport over these other two airport properties. The Westin Toronto Airport also features some other options around the property that add value to a stay.
The Indoor Pool:
Along with a full service hotel, the Westin Toronto Airport offered an Indoor Pool and Fitness Studio. The Westin Workout Fitness Studio and pool was located on the third floor.
During my visit, the pool was open 5:30 AM – 11 PM. It was accessible by key card.
The pool was a reasonable size for one that was located on the third floor of a building. It was empty when I visited.
Westin Fitness Studio:
The Westin Workout Fitness Studio was co – located with the pool. During my visit, the hours of operation of the gym were twenty four hours per day.
On my visit, there were a few bored teenagers looking for something to do who were hanging out in this space. However, it was pretty quiet otherwise.
Checking out of the Westin Toronto Airport Hotel:
The next morning, I checked out of the Westin Toronto Airport Hotel. I was headed for an Air Canada Signature Business Class Toronto – Vancouver flight, which was departing at 8:05 AM.
I had a terrible 5:45 AM Central Time Zone departure time, made all the more worse that it was the equivalent of 2:45 AM Pacific Standard Time zone.
Despite this early departure, everything was accurate on my bill. My check out through the front desk was pleasant and efficient.
My Marriott Bonvoy points for the stay posted as expected approximately 4 days after my stay.
The Bottom Line: The Westin Toronto Airport Hotel
The Westin Toronto Airport Hotel was a better than expected stay that I found was slightly better than my recent stays at the Toronto Airport Marriott and Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Convention Centre. While I did’t miss the lounges offered at these locations, I enjoyed the larger room that the Westin Toronto airport offered.
I would easily stay again at this property if given the choice between the three Marriott Bonvoy airport hotel locations.
If you visited the Westin Toronto Airport, does it remain your first choice for a Toronto International Airport hotel stay ?
A recent business trip to Orillia, Ontario, Canada had me staying in the city for three nights. With a limited Marriott Bonvoy footprint in the area, I ended up at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Orillia for a three night stay. The property ended up being quite busy during our stay. Despite this, I had a great stay otherwise. Read on to see how the Fairfield Inn & Suites met our business needs while we were in the Orillia, Ontario area.
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Review: Fairfield Inn and Suites, Orillia, Ontario, Canada
“A brand new Fairfield Inn that represents the new evolution of the Fairfield Inn & Suites brand. A popular location, the property offered great Marriott Bonvoy Elite recognition, along with a comfortable and quiet stay.”
My week of meetings was taking place in Orillia, Ontario, Canada; which was located about an hour and ten minutes north of Toronto, Canada. There isn’t a great selection of hotels in the small lakeside town of Orillia, Ontario. It’s giant water front lake and geographic location on Highway 11 make it an ideal stop over location for travellers passing through the area.
Booking the Fairfield Inn and Suites Orillia:
There aren’t many hotels in the town of Orillia, Ontario. The Fairfield Inn and Suites Orillia is the only Marriott Bonvoy option for miles around at the time of our stay.
The Fairfield Inn and Suites Orillia generally offers rates between $160 – $275 CAD ($118 – $200 USD) during the week, for a standard guest room. The highest rates appear to be mostly on the weekends, likely representing most of the users of this property being families and leisure travellers.
Being the only Marriott Bonvoy property around for miles, and the only new hotel in Orillia, the Fairfield Inn and Suites Orillia tended to sell out well in advance. If you’re planning a visit, make sure you book well in advance.
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.
It is worth mentioning that there are only a few suites at this particular property. As a result, the likelihood of getting an upgrade into an actual suite (with a separate living room) is limited. The likely Marriott Bonvoy Elite upgrades offered will be a soft upgrade into a higher floor category, a better view or quieter area away from the elevator.
Marriott Bonvoy Redemption Opportunities:
The Fairfield Inn and Suites Ottawa Airport offers competitive room redemptions with the new variable redemption rates. Marriott Bonvoy rates were between 16,000 to 25,000, which represents value on some nights but not on others.
If you value Marriott Bonvoy points at $0.008 a point, you’d have to spend more than $128 CAD room rate to come out ahead for a 16,000 point redemption, or $200 CAD room rate if you happen to find a 25,000 point redemption. While this represents reasonable value under certain circumstances, you’ll want to make sure that your redemption is value based in order to get the most out of your Marriott Bonvoy points.
Arriving to the Fairfield Inn and Suites Orillia Airport:
After arriving off Air Canada Express Business Class Regina – Toronto, I had rented a car from Hertz at the Toronto International Airport in Ontario, Canada. It was an easy one hour and fifteen minute drive up Highway 400 to get from Mississauga to Orillia.
The Fairfield Inn and Suites Orillia is located off the highway on a newer commercial mall shopping complex. Located just behind the mall, the property was easy to find using Google Maps.
The mall near the hotel contains a number of casual / fast food restaurants that make for a convenient stay at the Fairfield Inn and Suites Orillia. During our visit, I happened to visit State and Main Restaurant, along with Chick-fil-A for a spicy chicken sandwich. There is nothing like having convenient restaurants near your hotel, as it makes it easy to locate food and beverage after your day.
I booked direct on the Marriott Website. Given high travel demand, I ended up with a paid night averaging about $260 CAD a night for 3 nights. I also took advantage of a Marriott Bonvoy promotion that allowed for an extra 2,000 points over every two night stays.
Arriving to the Property:
The Fairfield Inn and Suites Orillia was easy to find. I found free parking on the property and headed inside to check in. While there was limited parking on the front side of the hotel, there was ample parking surrounding the property.
The Fairfield Inn & Suites Orillia is a brand new build. As a result, the lobby and public spaces are completely new and sparkling pretty.
The lobby was anchored by a large breakfast space. Fairfield Inn’s offer a complimentary breakfast as part of their brand standard for all travellers.
I had a a warm check in experience. I was provided with a welcome bonus of 500 Marriott Bonvoy points as a Titanium welcome amenity. I was also given a pleasant explanation of the property features and the breakfast hours.
Self parking was free at the hotel. There was no parking pass needed for the vehicle dashboard, something that I appreciated, given it’s simplicity.
The Room: Guest Room – 1 King, Sofa Bed
I had booked a base Guest Room – 1 King room. My Marriott Bonvoy Titanium status elevated my stay to a higher room assignment on the forth floor. As a result of heavy travel demand, I did not get a further room category upgrade.
My assigned room #423 was located at the very end of the hallway far near the elevator.
The Guest Room – 1 King was a standard 282 sq feet room that was “as expected” for a Fairfield Inn.
The Bedroom Area:
Immediately upon entering the room, we found a giant king size bed. The Fairfield Inn had crisp white linens that offered a comfortable sleep experience.
As a single business traveller, the room was perfectly comfortable for one person, with sufficient space to stretch out in. A single occasional chair marked the accent space in the room.
Despite arriving at night, the room was fairly well lit. Although the room had some dark spaces, it remained a functional space that was suited for work and relaxation.
The room featured a small desk space that could be used for work. The space was a little short on power charging ports, with only 4 power port plug ins and no additional USB charging drop ports.
The room featured a simple filtered coffee maker. I didn’t end up using the coffee maker
On my arrival to the room, I received a wonderful Marriott Bonvoy Titanium welcome amenity consisting of a few bags of potato chips, a small Aero chocolate bar and two bottles of water.
I have to congratulate the Fairfield Inn and Suites Orillia for offering this. It’s great to have some elite recognition and it still elevates the stay when you get a welcome amenity such as this.
The amenity bag featured a property description sheet. The sheet offered information on where. theice machines were located, the hours of breakfast and hours of the pool and fitness centre.
The room featured a view over the highway and an adjacent lake. While the view wasn’t all that exciting, it was nicer than looking into another building of an office park or other similar concrete structure.
Like with most Marriott properties, the bed and linens were super comfortable. Despite being located close to the highway, I did not get a lot of highway noise with windows being well sealed and sound proof. The bed was of good quality and I had decent sleeps as I adjusted to the Central Time Zone.
The Bathroom:
The room offered a standard single vanity sink, which was as expected for a hotel of this category. The bathroom was perfectly spacious for a single traveller, but it may be a little more compact for a couple travelling together.
The room offered a stand up shower with no bathtub option. This wasn’t an issue for my travel circumstances, but it may be of concern if you’re travelling as family.
While the hotel was marketed as a Fairfield Inn and Suites, there were only one or two suites located on our floor. As a result, I wouldn’t expect too many upgrade opportunities based strictly on suite availability.
Food and Beverage:
Much like all other Fairfield Inn’s, there is no on site full service restaurant at this property.
Per the brand standard, there is a complimentary breakfast served in the lobby. During my visit the hours of breakfast were as follows:
- 6:30 AM – 9:30 AM on weekdays
- 7:00 AM – 10:00 AM on weekends & statutory holidays
The breakfast at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Orillia was full featured. It offered an equal distribution of continental items, along with hot breakfast items.
There was a baked waffles station, which simple offered maple syrup toppings.
There was also a scrambled eggs and egg and cheese pre-made omelette section. There were also the usual Marriott salsa’s and shredded cheeses to make this food area a little more exciting.
Having breakfast in the lobby of your hotel makes the stay very convenient. I can’t imagine many having any concerns about the breakfast being offered at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Orillia.
Around the Property:
The property offered both a gym with free weights and an indoor pool. The gym offered a few treadmills, elliptical cycles and free weights.
The pool was the standard indoor variety. It was fairly small for exercising, but would certainly keep the kids entertained after a day’s of travel.
Overall, the features of the Fairfield Inn & Suites Orillia was about as expected for a Fairfield Inn. Having the property located close to a commercial mall was also helpful, as it was just a short five minute walk away for most restaurants and a few retail big box opportunities.
Checking Out of the Fairfield Inn & Suites Orillia:
I had no issues checking out of the Fairfield Inn & Suites Orillia. Strangely, my bill was split into a Deposit Amount of one night’s stay with incidentals, and a balance portion of my remaining two nights stay. I thought this was a little unusual since I was doing expense reconciliation, which required an extra step of math, but everything was added up accurately.
It took approximately 4 days to get my Marriott Bonvoy points posted to my account, and all promotional bonuses posted correctly.
My Thoughts of the Fairfield Inn Orillia Airport:
In general, the Fairfield Inn and Suites Orillia Airport represented a great stay in the Orillia, Ontario, Canada area.
Along with any brand new hotel build, the stay at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Orillia was clean and sparkling. The stay was made warmer with great Marriott Bonvoy Elite recognition, a great room assignment and a convenient location that had many restaurants and amenities that were within walking distance of the hotel.
I would easily stay again if I needed an overnight stay in the Orillia, Ontario area.
If you have stayed in Orillia, was the Fairfield Inn and Suites at the top of your list?
I ended up taking advantage of a cheaper connecting flight and routing myself through Regina international Airport on my most recent transcontinental flight from Vancouver to Toronto. I had the pleasure of experiencing to back to back Air Canada Express Business Class flights on their Canadair 900 series aircraft. This would be my second flight of the day. As a second flight, I’d pick up a second meal as I traveled towards Toronto.
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Review: Air Canada Express Business Class CRJ-900, Regina International Airport – Toronto Pearson International Airport
This flight was the continuation of a flight I had taken earlier in the day. In order to lower the cost for my employer, the cheapest available ticket in business class was on a connecting flight on Air Canada Express through Regina International Airport. I started the day in Vancouver, travelling on Air Canada Express Business Class: Vancouver – Regina, and continued onwards on this particular segment.
This trip also happened to coincide with Air Canadas’ potential strike notice. As the pilots and employer were in the middle of collective bargaining, the strike notice indicated that Air Canada may issue a seventy two hour slight notice. The publicly released statements suggested that Air Canada Express would continue to operate while mainline Air Canada might suffer a labour disruption. As it turned out, the parties were able to come to tentative agreement which avoided any labor disruption.
This trip was purchased and paid for through my employer’s corporate preferred traveler program. I credited these flights to Air Canada Aeroplan frequent flyer program.
Connecting through Regina International Airport:
I arrived into Regina international Airport on Air Canada Express Business Class: Vancouver – Regina. While there was an Air Canada Maple leaf Lounge – Regina, given the tight connection, I did not have the opportunity to visit it on this particular journey.
Immediately after disembarking, the priority boarding line for the upcoming flight to Toronto was already about 20 persons deep. As a result I ended up joining the queue right away.
The boarding call was announced at thirty minutes prior to flight departure. I boarded with Boarding Group One, which was consistent with a business class ticket. By virtue of line design, I ended up bypassing many in the line who were in Group 2 or lower.
Air Canada Express
AC 7904 – Business Class (Z)
YQR – YYZ (Regina International Airport – Toronto Pearson International Airport)
Sept 16, 2024
11:53 AM – 5:01 PM
Booked: Canadair 900
Flown: Canadair 900
On Board Air Canada Business Class:
I been fortunate to have reviewed the Air Canada Express CRJ-900 several times previously. Please see the following posts if you’d like a little more description of the cabin and the experience.
- Air Canada Express Business Class: Vancouver – Regina
- Air Canada Express Business Class: Regina – Vancouver
- Air Canada Express Business Class: Winnipeg – Vancouver
- Air Canada Express Business Class: Ottawa – Halifax
- Air Canada Express Business Class: Halifax – Ottawa
Getting back to today’s connecting flight, the aircraft was the same as on my flight to Regina. For those just joining us, the Air Canada Express Business Class cabin is set up in a slightly compact 1 – 2 configuration.
The snuggle seats on the right hand side of the aircraft offered a snug space for two travellers. I’d pick these seats if I were travelling together with a partner.
Instead, I ended up on the single side of the aircraft on the left hand side in the row of single seats. While some may find single seats exposed to aisle traffic, and offer less privacy, I didn’t mind the seating at all.
Unlike my flight from Vancouver to Regina which was 5 out of 12 occupied, this flight from Regina to Toronto was fully sold out at 12 / 12 occupied. I wasn’t able to get my same Seat 2A, settling for a seat assignment in Seat 3A; one row behind.
It’s also worth mentioning that CRJ-900 offers really limited cabin space for rolling suitcases with overhead bins on the right hand side of the cabin being large enough to hold suitcases. The bins on the left hand side of the cabin are small and only hold a jacket or small personal article. By the time I had gotten on board, the overhead bin space was already fully claimed. With a little negotiation with the flight attendant, my rolling Tumi ended up in the closet up front along with another travellers bags.
There are no television screens on most Air Canada Express Canada air CRJ 900 aircraft. As a result, you’ll probably end up “raw dogging” your flight, unless you happen to bring your own entertainment on your smart phone or other device.
Taking today’s flight into consideration, the cabin of the Canada air 900 series regional jet compact overhead bin space was a bit of a limitation. Despite being in the first boarding group I had to use the crew storage in order to store a rolling suitcase.
Pre Departure Services:
As is typically expected, Air Canada does not provide a whole lot when it comes to pre-departure beverages. The usual mini bottle of Naya water was located on the seat. Unlike my flight out, this one was not chilled and served at room temperature.
Air Canada has recently eliminated the printed menu and instead offers a menu within the Air Canada app. Today’s menu offered a lunch style meal, set against a flight that operated through the afternoon hours of noon to 5 PM.
The meal selection offered for the lunch was limited to two options, a meet and vegetarian option. While both options had some potential to be interesting, much like most other Air Canada catering, neither ended up being super exciting.
Departing Regina International Airport:
We departed Regina International Airport without any delay. As you might expect for a small airport, there was no weight on the taxiway, nor was there any wait for departure clearance.
I was able to take in some views of the Saskatchewan parliament buildings on the Wascana Lake on our climb to altitude.
The departure and boarding experience was prompt and I didn’t have any challenges or concerns with getting out of Regina.
The Meal: Lunch
After we climbed up to altitude, the in-flight service started. Like many Air Canada business class flights this started with an hot towel service.
Instead of getting into the meal right away, a beverage service was offered. I ended up sticking with water and Krispy Kernels Roasted Salted Almonds.
I was a little worried that I wasn’t going to get my first choice of meal as I was seated in the third row. Fortunately many people were going vegetarian so I was able to enjoy my first choice.
Lunch today consisted of Honey Ginger Sesame Chicken, Shandong flat noodles, carrots, bok choy and edamame. This was presented with Heritage mix salad, julienne apples, pomegranate seeds served with warm bread and served all at once.
While the meal itself had some potential. It was a pretty bland offering that was very light on spice. The chicken was exceptionally chewy and not in a favourably tasty way. As a result, much like my earlier parsley omelette on my earlier flight, I would chalk the enjoyment of this up to being full at the end of it, without much other meal time supper satisfaction.
After lunch, without any in flight entertainment, it was time to stare at the window.The flight attendants came around with a second drink service and I stuck again with water.
While I continue to be impressed at Air Canada for offering a full meal service on short haul business class flights, I wish they would make the food a little more exciting and tasty. While it’s pretty good for your first time. After you get served the same meals on a monthly basis it seems to get old fairly quickly.
Landing at Toronto International Airport:
Despite Toronto International Airport being one of Canada’s busiest airports, we didn’t have any arrival delay today.
We arrived straight in and taxied to the gate. On our taxi, I happen to see an Eithad Boeing 777-300ER. It was one of the cool Middle Eastern Three aircraft that I didn’t get the opportunity to see from my home base in Vancouver
We drove all the way around to gate D7 which allowed for us to disembark right onto the ramp. I can’t recall ever “arriving” to this part of Toronto International Airport. It was where my last connecting flight from Toronto to Thunder Bay departed from.
After heading up a flight of escalators, I ended up walking through the Toronto Pearson International Airport – Terminal One towards Hertz for a rental car for the week.
In some, my Air Canada express business class flight from Regina Toronto was smooth, comfortable but entertainment free. I would remember to bring my own entertainment next time.
The Bottom Line: Air Canada Express Business Class
Much like most of my other Air Canada Express Business Class flights, I was watered, fed, and enjoyed some priority services. While there was no entertainment on this particular flight, I would remember to bring an iPad loaded with content for my next regional jet journey. Well the food was pretty straightforward, I can see how it the food can get bland and repetitive. Otherwise I was perfectly happy travelling with Air Canada Express Business Class.
If you’ve flown Air Canada Express Business Class do you find that it meets your needs ?
This particular flight was designed in part, to avoid an Air Canada labour disruption. On my travels from Vancouver to Toronto, I ended up taking a connecting flight through Regina. The connection was to lower the cost of the airfare for my employer but also to potentially avoid strike action notice. The flight was similar to other Air Canada express flights that I taken. The medium haul route offered a full meal along with comfortable service.
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Review: Air Canada Express Business Class CRJ-900, Vancouver International Airport – Regina International Airport
I had a week long work trip departing from Vancouver to Toronto. Consistent with my corporate travel policy on getting things at the lowest cost, the cheapest available ticket in business class was on a connecting flight on Air Canada Express through Regina International Airport.
This trip happened to coincide with Air Canadas’ potential pilot strike notice. As the pilots and employer were in the middle of collective bargaining, the strike notice indicated that Air Canada may issue a seventy two hour slight notice. The publicly released statements suggested that Air Canada Express would continue to operate while mainline Air Canada might suffer a labour disruption. As it turned out, the parties were able to come to tentative agreement, which avoided any potential labor disruption.
This trip was purchased and paid for through my employer’s corporate preferred traveler program. I credited these flights to Air Canada Aeroplan frequent flyer program.
Pre Ordering Business Class Meal:
This flight provided the opportunity to pre-order a business class meal. Air Canada has introduced pre-ordering on flights from select Air Canada hub cities. Pre-ordering is available 30 days in advance up to 72 hours before your flight.
I was given an invitation and email link to pre-order from the email that was on the reservation account. I signed in and in a very straightforward method, I was able to pick one of two entrées.
While the system is still new hopefully Air Canada will expand this to offer more than just two entrées to choose from.
Checking into Air Canada Business Class:
I self drove to the airport and parked at the valet of Park and Fly – Vancouver. It was a pleasant September morning as I arrived to the Air Canada Priority Check in area in the domestic zone of the Vancouver International Airport.
I wandered through the recently updated and upgraded security screening check point at Vancouver International Airport “C” Gates. The Canadian Air Security Transport Authority had recently upgraded this security screening check point with was recently upgraded with computed tomography (CT) technology, allowing all liquids and computers to remain within bags. There was minimal wait for screening and I was through to the secure in minutes.
My co-workers had booked away from Air Canada for this trip and weren’t prepared (as I was) to play strike roulette. As a result, they travelled on the non stop Porter Airlines Vancouver – Toronto, which departed earlier than my connecting flight. Since they’ already left, I didn’t have any “professional courtesy” meet up responsibilities.
Instead, I headed directly to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge – Vancouver Domestic. Since I’ve visited before, please feel free to see the other post in the event you’d like to see more of this lounge.
After a short lounge visit, it was off to Gate C40 which was located in a far away portion of the Vancouver International Airport. It has a very small holding area with a space that is mostly used for Canadair Regional flights.
The boarding call was announced at thirty minutes prior to flight departure. I boarded with Boarding Group One, which was consistent with a business class ticket.
Air Canada Express
AC 8190 – Business Class (Z)
YVR – YQR (Vancouver International Airport – Regina International Airport)
Sept 16, 2024
8:03 AM – 11:19 AM
Booked: Canadair 900
Flown: Canadair 900
On Board Air Canada Business Class:
I been fortunate to have reviewed the Air Canada Express CRJ-900 several times previously. Please see the following posts if you’d like a little more description of the cabin and the experience.
- Air Canada Express Business Class: Vancouver – Regina
- Air Canada Express Business Class: Regina – Vancouver
- Air Canada Express Business Class: Winnipeg – Vancouver
- Air Canada Express Business Class: Ottawa – Halifax
- Air Canada Express Business Class: Halifax – Ottawa
Getting back to today’s flight, I was among the first to board today’s flight to Regina. The Air Canada Express Business Class cabin is set up in a slightly compact 1 – 2 configuration. If you happen to be travelling in the back in economy class, the set up is a compact 2 – 2 configuration.
The snuggle seats on the right hand side of the aircraft offered a snug space for two travellers. I’d pick these seats if I were travelling together with a partner.
Instead, I ended up on the single side of the aircraft on the left hand side in the row of single seats. While some may find single seats exposed to aisle traffic, and offer less privacy, I didn’t mind the seating at all.
Today’s cabin was only 5 out of 12 occupied, meaning that there was ample space to stretch out. It’s worth mentioning that the CRJ-900 offers really limited cabin space for rolling suitcases with overhead bins on the right hand side of the cabin being large enough to hold suitcases. The bins on the left hand side of the cabin are small and only hold a jacket or small personal article.
Given that there was only five others on board today, the design of the cabin didn’t develop into a storage issue on today’s flight.
Pre Departure Services:
There wasn’t much in the way of pre-departure services on today’ Air Canada Express flight. Other than a pleasant welcome, there was a cold bottle of Naya Mini (330ml) water waiting at the seat. I was surprised to see that the bottle was well chilled and actually cold.
Air Canada has recently eliminated the printed menu and instead offers a menu within the Air Canada app. This has mixed results because if you’re operating without data on your phone and some international location, you won’t always have access to the printed menu. Given that I was in Canada, I didn’t have any issues accessing the menu for today’s flight.
Given we were during breakfast hour, there isn’t too much to choose from when it comes to the regular Air Canada catering for business class.
Departing Vancouver International Airport:
We departed Vancouver international Airport on runway 26L. We had an immediate left turn headed away from our westerly track, headed eastward towards Central Canada.
We had a brief in flight announcement of our cruising altitude and anticipated good weather all the way over to Regina.
The Meal: Breakfast
After a smooth climb up to cruising altitude, the in flight service started.
The first part of service involved a towel service. The Air Canada Express towels aren’t too fancy, and they seem to be pretty worn in comparison to what you might expect in a hotel or spa.
The first service item was a wonderful coffee. While in flight coffee is never super hot, today’s flight was about as good as it gets; freshly served unbranded coffee from a stainless steel coffee pot.
After coffee was poured, the main breakfast course was presented all at once. Since the non egg menu option usually comes without meat, I usually go with the tried and tested parsley omelette.
The parsley omelette was presented with pan fried chicken sausage with parmesan cheese and spinach, roasted potatoes, tomato cumin chutney. It was also presented with fruit salad, yoghurt, along with warmed bread, butter, and jam
While it’s a pretty straightforward an uninventive option, it generally meets the goal of filling you up.
After breakfast was fully completed, the flight attendants came around for a second beverage service. I stuck with water. This was presented with Krispy Kernels Salted Almonds.
Overall, aside from not having all that much in the way of variety in the form of taste, the food offering was more than expected for a short regional flight of two hours in length.
Landing at Regina International Airport:
It’s always a stark contrast landing in the Canadian Prairies after coming from the mountains of the Pacific Northwest from my home town of Vancouver, Canada. As the flight descended towards landing, i got my first view of the flats of Saskatchewan came into view.
I stuck to the window as we glided down towards the ground. The views of downtown Regina seemed pretty simple and straight forward.
I arrived to Regina International Airport. We pulled up next to the gate next to a Westjet 737-800 that was in the middle of a boarding process and destined for Toronto.
I disembarked and entered the Regina International Airport. It’s a small place with only a few departure gates.
Surprisingly, there is also Air Canada’ smallest business lounge; the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge – Regina located within the secure side of the airport. Unfortunately, I ended up chatting with a co-worker who happened to be on the same flight headed to Regina. As a result, I didn’t get the opportunity to visit the air Canada Maple leaf lounge in Regina, during this quick 40 minute connection.
I ended up connecting onwards on the same aircraft on Air Canada Express Business Class: Regina – Toronto. As a result, I got ready to re-board the same flight that I arrived on.
The Bottom Line: Air Canada Express Business Class
While I don’t come to expect too much on a two hour business class flight, Air Canada express offers more than United Airlines offers on its short haul services. The cabin was clean and mostly comfortable, the food and beverage was more than expected and I got to my destinations on time. Overall I couldn’t ask for much more.
If you’ve flown Air Canada Express Business Class do you find that it meets your needs ?
This is the final week remaining for MBNA World Elite Mastercard holders to convert your MBNA Rewards points into Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles on a one time 1:1 conversion basis. If you were among those that were holding the terrific Alaska Airlines Mastercard, and wish to covert your miles from MBNA Rewards into Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles, you have seven days remaining to take advantage of this conversion window before it’s closed completely. Below, we set out whether this conversion represents value to you.
Final Week for MBNA Rewards Mastercard to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Points Transfer
As a reminder, this is the final week to convert your MBNA Rewards points into Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles. This offer expires in 7 days.
To redeem points, cardholders must call during the redemption window ending October 31, 2024 at 1-888-876-6262
- Your First and Last Name as it appears on your Mileage Plan Program Account
- Your Mileage Plan Program Membership Number, and
- The Number of MBNA Rewards Points you wish to redeem (up to maximum available rewards balance)
Now is the time to start planning your conversion over from MBNA Rewards to Alaska Mileage Plan points. Call today!
This post below was initially published on August 3, 2024.
Unfortunately, we’ve gotten some bad, but not horribly unexpected, news from holders of the old MBNA Alaska Airlines Mastercard that was converted last year into the MBNA Rewards Mastercard.
While MBNA had initially indicated that there would be an ability to convert MBNA Rewards points into Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan on a 1 to 1 basis, it appears that this transfer option is going to be much more limiting that we would have normally expected.
Why Alaska Mileage Plan:
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is a Member of the One World Alliance. It’s position with the competing Air Canada’ Star Alliance made it a natural credit card to have in your wallet.
Having a credit card that allowed for points accumulation in a competing frequent flier program allowed for a really nice balance between the two programs. With a healthy mileage balance in both programs, you could often find reward space in one program, when you could not find space in the other.
The MBNA Alaska Mileage Plan Mastercard was exceptionally valuable and had become the card that I’d typically pull second, assuming my American Express Platinum Card was not accepted by the merchant.
What is the MBNA Rewards Card?
Previously, credit card holders of the MBNA Alaska Airlines Mastercard were informed that their card was being converted from a card that earned Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles and a great Famous 2 for 1 companion fare, into the MBNA Rewards Mastercard.
In the conversion, which was communicated by mail, the new MBNA Rewards Card indicated that card holders would start earning MBNA Rewards Points as of August 31, 2023.
The MBNA Rewards Card offered the ability to redeem for travel and merchandise, at a floating MBNA Rewards point redemption rate. However, I wasn’t able to find much value in MBNA Rewards flight redemptions.
Transcontinental flights regularly came in at an uncompetitive 55,000+ points compared to RBC Avion’s fixed 35,000 points (maximum $750 point ticket price)
At the time of credit card conversion, there was also a mention that:
“within the next year, you’ll also be able to redeem MBNA Rewards Points for Alaska Airlines Miles on a one – to – one basis. 1 MBNA Rewards Points = 1 Alaska Airlines Mile”
Despite the mention of point transferability, over the past year, MBNA was exceptionally quiet about the points transfer announcement. While the company offered sign up bonuses for meeting specific levels of spending and while it was mentioned in a few flyers, all outward marketing of this feature came and disappeared; including reference to any such ability on public facing websites.
The MBNA Alaska Airlines Transfer Announcement Offer:
MBNA Rewards Mastercard credit card holders got a message in the mail this week within the last month of the first year of their conversion, which ends August 31, 2024.
Sadly, the news is quite limiting, compared to what many were expecting.
Transfer is Allowed One Time Only:
The announcement indicated that MBNA would be offering a one time window to convert MBNA Rewards points into Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan points.
This is an unusual offer with credit cards such as the RBC Avion Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards, usually having a standing “anytime” conversion feature to external points programs.
Transfer Period to Only Occur between August 1, 2024 to October 31, 2024
The announcement indicated that MBNA would be offering a window:
“to complete an optional, one-time redemption of your accumulated MBNA Rewards Points for Alaska Airlines Miles from August 1, 2024 to October 31, 2024.”
The letter also indicated that this is a one time “”take it or leave it” scenario:
“Please note that the redemption of MBNA Rewards Points for Alaska Airlines Miles is a one time option (ie: only one redemption request will be accepted) and any redemption request received outside the redemption window will not be completed”
How to Redeem:
To redeem points, the letter indicates that cardholders must call during the redemption window at 1-888-876-6262
- Your First and Last Name as it appears on your Mileage Plan Program Account
- Your Mileage Plan Program Membership Number, and
- The Number of MBNA Rewards Points you wish to redeem (up to maximum available rewards balance)
How Long This Will Take:
MBNA Rewards promises that these points will be deducted from your MBNA Rewards Account within 1 – 2 business days, but it may take up to 4 -10 weeks for your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles to appear in your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan account.
My Take on This Offer:
Regretfully, this is much worse news than we had hoped.
It’s one thing to involuntarily convert existing card member customers from one credit card to another. However, the one time points conversion solution isn’t something that’s likely to resonate with many hard core Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan aficionado’s seeking business class reward redemptions, or those that got value from the Alaska Airlines Famous 2 for 1 Companion Fare.
I can’t help think that MBNA went into this arrangement with the belief that they would be able to negotiate a standing transfer arrangement with Alaska Airlines. However, it doesn’t appear that they were able to get to agreement with Alaska Mileage Plan, and have come up with this compromise as a one time interim solution.
It’s especially baffling since MBNA offered a number of sign up bonuses for this card in order to retain customers. By offering a one time transfer arrangement, MBNA is almost incentivizing customers to transfer their points out and eventually close their cards.
Regretfully, the MBNA Rewards Mastercard is now a vastly different credit card than the MBNA Alaska Mileage Plan Mastercard.
As a result of the lack of value of MBNA Rewards points, I’ll be taking advantage of the one time Alaska Airlines Transfer feature and moving all my 62,000 MBNA Rewards points over to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.
I’ll be closing my MBNA Rewards card shortly thereafter. I will likely pick up a no fee Mastercard for use at Costco Canada, which is really the only place that I use a Mastercard credit card.
In Summary: MBNA Sunsets the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Conversion Feature
I was really disappointed to see the end of the MBNA Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Mastercard. Although Alaska Airlines served mostly West Coast destinations such as Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary and Edmonton in Canada, I was still able to get a lot of miles out of this credit card.
The MBNA Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan credit card was exceptionally valuable for my travel patterns by allowing high value redemptions on Alaska Airlines, a great companion fare, along with the ability to earn miles on an US Based carrier’s frequent flier program, in my home country of Canada.
While I’ve tried to make it work with the MBNA Rewards Mastercard, and enjoyed a 35,000 point sign up bonus for use of the card, the lack of a standing conversion to Alaska Mileage Plan is an absolute deal breaker for me. As a result, I can’t see any value left in retaining an MBNA Rewards Mastercard. My intentions are to convert all the points towards the end of the offer period and start new somewhere else.
If you have the MBNA Rewards Mastercard, will you be keeping the card?
Air Canada was quick to announce that it has reached agreement with it’s pilots on Air Canada mainline and Air Canada Rouge aircraft. Air Canada and the Airline Pilot’s Association (ALPA) representing Air Canada’s pilots were able to reach agreement after ratification of their collective agreement after a voting period. In this article, we discuss what this means for travellers.
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Air Canada Avoids Strikes: Pilot Collective Agreement Finalized
Air Canada announced today that the airline has ratified a new collective agreement between Air Canada and the Airline’s Pilot’s Association (ALPA) representing Air Canada’s mainline pilots.
In a press release, Air Canada has announced that its employees and the employer have ratified a collective agreement that will see pilots continue to fly without any further strike activity.
The Highlights:
Highlights of the agreement announced by Air Canada were as follows:
- The term is for 4 years, retro active to September 30, 2023
- The agreement covers more than 5,200 pilots at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge.
- The agreement maintains Air Canada pilots’ position as the best paid in the Canadian commercial air transport industry, while providing the company the stability and flexibility to pursue its growth strategy.
Conversely, the Airline Pilot’s Association (ALPA) union offered this information:
- Voting occured between Oct 1, 2024 – Oct 10, 2024
- The contract offered up to 42% increase over four year term
- The Airline pilots association (ALPA) indicated that 67% of pilots voted in favour of the agreement.
- We can infer from this, that 33% of it’s pilots voted against the proposed collective agreement.
- The contract is in place immediately, and expires Sept 29, 2027
The contract negotiations were widely covered in national news, as a result of the strike notice that had been previously issued by the Airline Pilot’s Association permitting them to cease Air Canada operations with seventy two hours notice.
What this means for Air Canada travellers:
Air Canada travellers should be pleased that Air Canada has been able to finalize pilot compensation for their Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge pilots.
The Airline Pilot’s Association had previously issued a strike notice, which had the potential to impact up to 110,000 travellers per day.
Now that the Employer and the Employees have reached consensus, the risk of strike interruption to travellers has pretty much fallen to zero for the foreseeable future.
The only collective agreements expiring in the near future are those of the flight attendants on Air Canada mainline and Air Canada Jazz (Express), which expire on December 31, 2025.
As a result, we should have travel stability on Air Canada for the next year, Gate Gourmet catering strikes not withstanding.
What this means for Air Canada’s Pilots:
I have to feel for Air Canada’s pilots. They previously had a ten year collective agreement that saw modest wage increases. As might be expected, the messaging for that collective agreement likely went along the lines of taking minimal wage increases to promote the stability of the airline over a longer term.
One of the risks of a longer collective agreement term is that it’s not usually adjusted throughout the term, unless there happens to be a clause in the collective agreement that allows for a mid term top up adjustment.
There didn’t appear to be such a clause in the past Air Canada agreement. As a result, there ended up being a large disparity in the pilot compensation marketplace throughout North America, compared to what position they were currently remunerated.
In addition, the Air Canada compensation salary band seems to be exceptionally large. The pay bank between an Air Canada narrow body first officer compared to an Air Canada capitan on a wide body seems to be exceptionally large. While I don’t profess to be an expert on aviation consultation.
If you add a large amount of pilot shortages in the market place, involving class leading attractive compensation efforts in the United States, it’s easy to understand why Canadian pilots were feeling short changed.
I think the bigger issue is that 33% of pilots did not vote in favour of the collective agreement. This means that Air Canada essentially has one in three pilots who feel that they are not fairly compensated. This would be a challenge for any Employer to overcome, when a third of your work force isn’t satisfied with their compensation.
My Thoughts: Air Canada Reaches Agreement with its Pilots
Air Canada has reached agreement with its pilots, as represented through the Airline Pilot’s Association. The deal brings together closure of a turbulent period which saw Air Canada’s pilot compensation slip when compared to the marketplace, as a result of a past ten year collective agreement.
Their new collective agreement will result in a 42% wage increase over 4 years. While only 67% of pilots ratified the collective agreement, it can be interpreted that 33% of pilots did not support the collective agreement and were hoping for something better.
Since the pilot’s association was able to get 50.1% in favour of the agreement, this closes a chapter in contract negotiations for the next while. At the very least, this will provide a little stability for Air Canada travellers until the Air Canada flight attendents start negotiations in the winter of 2025.
What do you make of Air Canada’s collective agreement with their pilots ?
Marriott Bonvoy and Air Canada Aeroplan have announced a long term strategic partnership that will see elite status awarded to high value travellers in each of their respective loyalty programs. The new reciprocal relationship has a few strengths and weaknesses, with one side being a better winner than the other. Read on to see what the new partnership has to offer.
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Marriott Bonvoy & Air Canada Aeroplan Launch Strategic Partnership
Marriott Bonvoy and Air Canada Aeroplan have announced a new strategic partnership that should benefit both elite members in both the hotel and air travel categories.
The offer is now up on both Air Canada Aeroplan websites and Marriott Bonvoy websites.
What’s in it for Aeroplan Elite Status Members:
Aeroplan 50K, 75K and Super Elite Members qualify for complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status.
Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status is normally achievable after twenty five eligible qualifying nights. Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status offers:
- Additional 25% more Marriott Bonvoy Points
- Priority Late Check Out (subject to availability)
- Enhanced Room Upgrade
What’s in it for Marriott Bonvoy Members:
Marriott Bonvoy Titanium and Ambassador Elite Members enjoy exclusive benefits with Aeroplan as a 25K Elite Status Member.
Air Canada Aeroplan Elite 25K status is normally achievable after 25,000 Status Qualifying Miles, 25 Status Qualifying Segments and $3,000 Elite Qualifying Dollars. Air Canada Aeroplan Elite 25K status offers:
- Priority Airport Check In
- Two Complimentary Checked Bags
- Priority Boarding – Zone 2
- Two Free Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Passes (domestic / transborder)
- Star Alliance Silver Status
I happen to think that Marriott Bonvoy Titanium and Ambassador Elite members are the bigger winners here, since it is harder to earn Air Canada Aeroplan Elite 25K status, than it is to earn Marriott Bonvoy Gold status. This is especially considering that most Marriott Bonvoy American Express credit cards offer 15 Elite qualifying nights, meaning that you’d only have to stay an additional 10 nights to get to Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status.
New Options to Convert Air Canada Aeroplan Points to Marriott Bonvoy Points:
There are also options to convert, earn and redeem your points between programs.
Participants can continue to convert Marriott Bonvoy points to Aeroplan points. However, you can now redeem your Aeroplan points for Marriott Bonvoy points.
The Marriott Bonvoy and Air Canada Aeroplan relationship offers a transfer rate of 1:1 if you want to transfer Air Canada Aeroplan points into the Marriott Bonvoy program. In my view, while this isn’t a great conversion rate, it’s always better to have options to route your points, in the event you end up with extras in any one program.
Registration:
Registration is required for this promotion. This appears to be a one time registration, although the Terms and Conditions specifically state that the status match can be terminated without notice. However, there is no time line or deadline in order to register.
Registration can be completed through this link on the Air Canada website.
Amazingly, the Air Canada website is just about as bad as the Marriott website when it comes to stability and speed in loading. The link took me to the Marriott website, where I had to enter my Aeroplan number.
As expected, I got an error message from attempting to register as I was already an Air Canada Aeroplan Elite member.
After clicking on the link, I was easily able to register MrsWT73 who does not currently have Air Canada Elite Status. Mrs WT73 had recently abandoned Air Canada status in favour Alaska Mileage Plan Gold 50K status, as a result of better international business class earn rates on British Airways through the One World Alliance.
After entering her Air Canada Aeroplan number, I was linked within seconds. The new Air Canada Elite 25K status showed up instantly, despite the landing page suggesting it would take up to two business days, and the terms and conditions suggesting that it may take up to 7 – 10 days.
Aside from the clunky websites, the registration process was easy and painless.
What do I think about this promotion?
It is great that Marriott Bonvoy and Air Canada’s Aeroplan have teamed up to offer a reciprocal relationship between both programs. This is similar to the United Airlines Mileage Plan relationship between United Airlines and Marriott Bonvoy.
In my view, the big winners here are Marriott Bonvoy Titanium and Ambassador Elite members who are easily able to claim Air Canada Elite 25K status without spending $3,000 status qualifying dollars with the airline. For Canadian travellers, this won’t move the needle much since you’re likely already staying in Marriott Bonvoy hotels.
The largest drawback of this promotion is that Air Canada’ boarding Zone 2 will be even larger than before. Unless you happen to be travelling in Air Canada paid business class in Zone 1, you’ll be with every other Air Canada Aeroplan Elite member 25K through 35K, 50K, and 75K.
If you happen to be short a few Marriott Bonvoy qualifying nights, you can get 15 Marriott Bonvoy Elite qualifying nights by holding a Marriott Bonvoy American Express credit card available through a sign up link.
The Best offer is available below through a referral link.
American Express Marriott Bonvoy (CANADA)
55,000 Marriott Bonvoy Point Welcome Bonus with $3,000 minimum spend
American Express Marriott Bonvoy (CANADA)
55,000 Marriott Bonvoy Point Welcome Bonus with $3,000 minimum spend
The Bottom Line: Marriott and Air Canada add reciprocal relationship
Marriott Bonvoy and Air Canada Aeroplan have added a reciprocal relationship that affords Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status to it’s highest Air Canada 50K – 100 K members, and Air Canada Elite 25K status to Marriott Bonvoy’s highest Titanium and Ambassador level members.
The largest winners are the Marriott Titanium and Ambassador members who are able to get a suite of benefits on Air Canada, including priority boarding, 2 free Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge passes in domestic Canada and trans-border zones, and two free checked bags, just for status matching.
As always, it’s still worth taking the effort to register, as more leverage is better than less leverage. At least you’ll get two free Maple Leaf Lounge passes out of the arrangement.
What do you make of Marriott’s and Air Canada’s new relationship ?
My last day of wine tasting in Oregon was centered on Louis Jadot’s creation and expansion into the United States at Résonance Winery in the Carlton Hills area. My visit was a dignified private wine tasting visit marked with some excellent wines and a world class view.
This post is one chapter on a weekend trip from Canada to Portland, Oregon, United States of America. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. For parts of the trip, please see this index.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter “X” or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
✈️ Read more from this trip:
- Trip Introduction: Thirty One Years Later, Returning to Timberline Resort – Mount Hood for Summer Skiing, Oregon, United States of America
- Argyle Winery: Tasting Oregon Pinot Noir Wines
- The Nines – A Luxury Collection Resort, Portland, Oregon, USA
- Exploring Palmer Snowfield, Summer Skiing on Mount Hood, Oregon, USA
- Résonance Winery: Louis Jadot’s Pinot Noir Cellar Door
Résonance Winery, Louis Jadot’s Oregon Pinor Noir Cellar Door – Oregon, USA
On my last day of this trip, I had one last winery to visit. Given that tasting fees were nearing $50 USD per tasting, this put a bit of a dent in the wallet with every winery I visited.
While most tasting fees were refundable with the purchase of $100 USD of product (or a set number of bottles), as an international visitor from Canada, I was limited at two bottles duty free coming back over the international border unless I was willing to pay a 35% combined tax rate on the wines.
I ended up researching and selecting Résonance Winery to visit as the last cellar door stop on this particular trip. My visit to Résonance Winery ended up being outstanding.
About Résonance Winery:
The cellar doors at Résonance Winery were opened in the year 2013. The story has it that the lead wine maker of Louis Jadot visited the area after leading wine making at Louis Jadot for forty two years.
After a visit, the President of Louis Jadot and the wine maker agreed to acquire the winery and mark Louis Jadot’s first operation outside of France. As a result of the partnership in investment, the winery has had the benefit of a lot of working capital. The winery itself is absolutely gorgeous and impressive.
Arriving to Résonance Winery:
I checked out of The Nines – A Luxury Collection Hotel Portland. It was a short one hour and fifteen minute drive from Portland into the sloping hills of Carlton.
All tastings at Résonance Winery are by appointment. I was easily able to get an appointment on line just a few days before my visit.
I arrived to the entrance of the winery. There was a long drive past Résonace’s slope side vines up to the tasting room which was located at the top of the hill. Arriving to the tasting room, there was an impressive cellar door that offered a modern state of the art facility.
I checked in with reception. I was offered an indoor or outdoor tasting option. Given that it was an early 11 AM, I went for the outdoor tasting option.
I was promptly led outside to a beautiful tasting patio that was partially covered in trees and umbrellas. The tasting area offered a tremendous and inspirational view over the Carlton valley.
Setting into Tasting:
After being seated in a shady spot, I was given the choice of the tastings for the day.
I was given a choice between two sets of wine, tastings; an entry level tasting at $45 USD waived with a $150 USD purchase, or a Premier Cru tasting at $65 USD waived with a $200 USD purchase.
I ended up with the entry level tasting, which was an excellent introduction to Résonance Winery.
First Taste: 2021 Résonance – Les Coteaux Chardonnay
The first pour today was a 2021 Résonance Les Coteaux Chardonnay. This was presented in a open bold glass.
From the tasting card, Les Coteaux means “the hills” in French which represented both hillsides of our estate vineyards: the Résonance Vineyard and our Découverte Vineyard, both in the Willamette Valley. The wine was organically dry-farmed, showing a dual estate vineyard blend with elegance and complexity.
The tasting note described the wine as expressive nose of citrus, yellow fruits, wheat, dry herbs and subtle wood. In mouth, the wine is fruity and ample, with a nice volume, balanced by a persistent freshness.
First Pinot: 2023 Résonance Rosé of Pinot Noir
Résonance completed a small batch of Résonance Rosé of Pinot Noir. While Rosé’s aren’t really my thing, this one was pretty good for a bridging wine to get toward the Pinot Noirs. The fact that it was served on a nice patio overlooking the valley didn’t hurt either.
Second Pinot: 2023 Résonance Les Coteaux Pinot Noir
Next up, was the first Pinot Noir on the tasting list; a 2023 Résonance Les Coteaux Pinot Noir. Their entry level Pinot Noir, the wine was market under the Les Coteaux series.
Les Coteaux was defined as meaning “the hills” in French, which represented both hillsides of our estate vineyards: the Résonance Vineyard and our Découverte Vineyard, both in the Willamette Valley.
From the tasting card, the Résonance Les Coteaux Pinot Noir was described as expressive nose of cherry, raspberry, blueberry, and purple flowers. A nice fruity presence on the palate, with a bright freshness balancing the tannins, and warm cedar on the finish.
In terms of tasting itself, the Les Coteaux Pinot Noir was a smooth introduction to Résonance Pinot Noirs.
Third Pinot: 2018 Résonance Decouverte Pinot Noir
Fourth Pinot: 2018 Résonance Vineyard Pinot Noir
I ended up testing out both of these fine Pinot Noir’s back to back. As their best wines available on their tasting menu today, these represented the best of todays’ starter tasting.
The 2018 Decouverte Pinot Noir was drawn from Résonance’s second estate vineyard, in the heart of the Dundee Hills. Organic vines on volcanic Jory soil and sundrenched hillside slopes help imbue the wines from this site with all of the red-fruit character and freshness that make this American Viticultural Area so beloved.
In contrast the 2018 Résonance Vineyard Pinot Noir
Both of these tasted much better than the Les Coteaux Pinot Noir. However, when pressed, I really enjoyed the Resonance Vineyard Pinot Noir. I would end up purchasing a bottle to take home with me back to Canada.
After the tasting, it was a six and a half hour drive back up to Canada through Seattle. Without much border traffic, I got lucky at the border and didn’t have to pay any tax on my four bottles of wine, despite being over the duty free limit.
My Thoughts on Visiting Résonance Winery:
I had a pleasant and dignified visit to Résonance Winery. With an upscale facility, and a beautiful tasting area, a visit to Résonance Winery more than made the mark for an elegant and sophisticated Pinot Noir tasting visit.
If you’ve visited the Carlton Valley in Oregon USA for wine tastings, what wineries are must visit locations ?
For the first time in thirty years, I was able to get back to Mount Hood, Oregon for a summer skiing experience. The Timberline Resort operates summer skiing throughout most of the summer months between June – August. While I had first visited this operation about thirty years ago, thanks to life’s major activities of getting married, having children, getting set up in houses and other commitments, I hadn’t had the opportunity to return until this trip.
This post is one chapter on a weekend trip from Canada to Portland, Oregon, United States of America. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. For parts of the trip, please see this index.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter “X” or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
✈️ Read more from this trip:
- Trip Introduction: Thirty One Years Later, Returning to Timberline Resort – Mount Hood for Summer Skiing, Oregon, United States of America
- Argyle Winery: Tasting Oregon Pinot Noir Wines
- The Nines – A Luxury Collection Resort, Portland, Oregon, USA
- Exploring Palmer Snowfield, Summer Skiing on Mount Hood, Oregon, USA
- Résonance Winery: Louis Jadot’s Pinot Noir Cellar Door
Exploring Palmer Snowfield: Summer Skiing on Palmer Glacier, Mount Hood, Oregon, USA
The main reason for my trip to the state of Oregon was to return to visit the summer skiing at Mount Hood. The Timberline Ski Resort features summer skiing on Palmer snowfield. I had previously visited Timberline Ski Resort for summer skiing in 1993.
About Palmer Snowfield at Timberline Ski Resort:
The Timberline Ski Resort forms one of the ski areas surrounding the Mount Hood area in Oregon. While I’ve never had the opportunity to ski Timberline Ski Resort during the winter months, I’ve only visited for summer skiing.
The Palmer Snowfield is located right at the top of the Timberline Ski Resort. It was previously known as Palmer Glacier. However, it’s south facing slope and the impacts of global warming have resulted in the name downgrade to Palmer Snowfield.
Arriving to Timberline Ski Resort:
I departed The Nines – A Luxury Collection Hotel Portland and self drove up to the Timberline Ski Resort. The easy drive took about one hour up highway 28, eventually leading up to the summer time base of operations located near Timberline Lodge.
It was a scenic drive up with great views of Mount Hood visible from most portions of the drive. Mount Hood is super impressive no matter how you look at it.
Timberline Ski Resort offers summer parking shortly down the road from the Wy – East building. There is also closer parking for the guests and residents of the Timberline Hotel. While the regular parking was pretty full when I arrived, there were a number of tourists visiting leading to parking space turnover. I was able to find parking after a few minutes.
Getting up to Palmer Snowfield:
After parking the car, I got dressed up in summer ski gear in the parking lot. With warm temperatures, this meant ski pants along with a long sleeve shirt and long sleeve hoodie without a thick winter coat.
It was a short walk to the Wy – East building. During the winter season, the Wy – East building is the “on mountain” higher elevation restaurant facility. In the summer, the building becomes the base of operations accessible by road access for the Timberline Lodge hotel.
Inside the lower level, I visited guest services for a lift ticket. The lift tickets were $105 USD for a day worth of skiing. There isn’t any legitimate way to get a discount for summer skiing; even purchasing a summer seasons’ pass is well north of $900 USD+.
Lift ticket in hand, I walked with my ski equipment past the Timberline Lodge Hotel. The Timberline Lodge hotel is most famous for being seen and serving in the opening credits of Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”, representing the hotel that Jack Torrance stayed as a winter caretaker during the winter months.
Passing the Timberline Lodge, it was a short walk towards the Magic Mile Chairlift. The Magic Mile Chairlift was the first of two chairlifts spinning during the summer months. It is also open to tourist passenger traffic, in addition to summer skiers.
Riding Magic Mile Sky Ride Chair Lift:
The first lift known as Magic Mile Chair Lift, offered ascending views over mountain desert terrain. It’s pretty bizarre riding in the summer without the sight of snow underneath you.
The Palmer Chair Lift offered views up to the Palmer snowfield. There was also the ability to pick out
One of my favorite features of Mt Hood are the horizon views that stretch for miles. With an elevation of 11,249 feet (3,429 m), there is the ability to gaze for miles.
Riding the Palmer Chair Lift:
The Palmer Chair Lift is the next chairlift in order to access summer skiing. The Palmer Chair Lift is only open to summer skiers, unlike the Magic Mile that handled alpine sightseers. Unlike the Magic Mile Chair Lift, this one required a few steps to climb up to access the loading zone.
The Magic Mile Chairlift also offered a mid point uploading feature. This required alternate loading of chairs for most of the morning until the supply lifted.
Summer Skiing on Palmer Snowfield:
Getting off the Palmer chairlift at the top, there were a number of choices for ski slopes.
On the skiers right hand side of the chairlift, there were a few partially maintained slopes for public access.
The left hand side of the chairlift offered ski camp slopes that were closed. Fortunately, the ski camps start early, and these lanes gradually opened up at around noon.
The views from the top of Mount Hood were pretty spectacular. With a clear bluebird day, there were terrific southernly facing views looking towards Mount Jefferson in the south.
In terms of snow quality, the snow conditions were surprisingly good for the month of July. The soft corn snow had a firm enough base to it to allow for some responsiveness from the skis, without the snow feeling too sloppy and mushy.
The Timberline Ski Area offers a tracked ski out back to the parking lot. While I only used it at the end of the day, it made for a convenient way to get back to your wheels.
Après Ski at Timberline Lodge:
There isn’t much in the way of restaurants or Apres Ski bars at the Timberline Resort, expect for at the historic Timberline Lodge. Most of the Après is of self catering style from the back of your pickup truck in the Timberline Resort parking lot.
Since I didn’t have a cold six pack with me, or a group of friends to hang out with, I ended up going into the Timberline Lodge. The Timberline Lodge is a historic looking lodge that has been lovingly maintained over the years.
I ended up locating a bar on the upper floor selling drinks to go. With a local Apple Cider in hand, I set myself up on the back patio with a great view of the summer ski field.
After the day’s skiing, I returned back to the The Nines – A Luxury Collection Hotel Portland for the balance of my two night stay.
My Thoughts on Skiing Timberline Resort Palmer Glacier:
The Timberline Resort Palmer Glacier snowfield is a pretty convenient and unique summer ski experience.
There aren’t many places in North America that offer summer skiing that’s easy to reach, doesn’t involve a huge hike, and offers terrific weather. In addition to that, the quality of the snow is generally pretty good along with a solid pitch for advanced intermediate skiers.
It was great to return to this resort after thirty years to re-experience an Oregon summer ski.
If you’ve gone summer skiing, which resort was your favorite?
The Nines – A Luxury Collection Hotel had been on my list of properties to try for quite a while; well back to the days of the Starwood Preferred Guest program. However, perhaps I waited a little bit too long into the Marriott Bonvoy evolution of the loyalty program in order to test this property out. My stay was marked with getting locked out of my room during an event; read on to see how the hotel dealt with this situation.
This post is one chapter on a weekend trip from Canada to Portland, Oregon, United States of America. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. For parts of the trip, please see this index.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter “X” or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
✈️ Read more from this trip:
- Trip Introduction: Thirty One Years Later, Returning to Timberline Resort – Mount Hood for Summer Skiing, Oregon, United States of America
- Argyle Winery: Tasting Oregon Pinot Noir Wines
- The Nines – A Luxury Collection Resort, Portland, Oregon, USA
- Exploring Palmer Snowfield, Summer Skiing on Mount Hood, Oregon, USA
- Résonance Winery: Louis Jadot’s Pinot Noir Cellar Door
Review: The Nines, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Portland, Oregon, United States of America
“Once a Starwood Preferred Guest favorite, The Nines offers most of the same wonderfulness, with a little Marriott Bonvoy backsliding”
I happened to be on a road trip through the Portland, Oregon area for a weekend of summer skiing at Palmer Snowfield up on Mount Hood and a little wine tasting through the Williemette Valley. I needed a place to stay for my two nights in town.
Since I’m always seeking Marriott nights for that next redemption, even though I’ve already qualified for Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Platinum, it made the most sense to stay in downtown for the best selection of hotels.
In terms of selecting different hotels, The Nines – a Luxury Collection Hotel looked to be the most appealing, along with the Ritz Carlton Portland at a much higher price point. The Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront looked a little dated. The Hi Lo Hotel by Autograph Collection also looked to be reasonable contender, along with The Bidwell Marriott Portland. In the end, I went with the great reputation of The Nines – A Luxury Collection Hotel, as being a past Starwood Preferred Guest favorite.
Booking The Nines:
During my friday and saturday night visit, the weekend rates were quite soft. I ended up paying about $235 USD per night on a summer weekend night, which came to approximately $275 USD by the time all taxes and fees were included.
As with other hotel stays, my booking strategy was to book the cheapest room possible and hope for a Marriott Bonvoy Platinum / Titanium level upgrade to a better room.
I would end up getting a mild upgrade courtesy of Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite status. My base level Superior Guest Room was upgraded one category into an outer facing Deluxe One Guest Room. I might add that there were higher room categories available and for sale the day I arrived. As a result, I can only conclude that the hotel policy is to limit category upgrades for Marriott Elites to a slightly better room as opposed to the very best available room.
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 Opportunities:
The Nines – A Luxury Collection Hotel has variable pricing, dependent if you are travelling during the popular summer travel months, or the softer winter travel months. The hotel also had higher pricing during the weeknights, with rates dropping on the weekend. Rooms can be found for as little as 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy points with variable pricing up to 63,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. It is worth checking out to see whether there are any Marriott Bonvoy point redemptions available in order to maximize value.
As a refresher, If you value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.8 cents per point, it only makes sense to redeem points under the right circumstances. For example, it would only make sense to redeem 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for a room valued at over $320 USD. If you are redeeming against a room that is 63,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, then you’d have to have a room rate over when those same points are worth approximately $504USD. While it’s unlikely you’ll get this much value out of your Marriott Bonvoy points, it is possible that room rates could get this high during a peak travel season.
Marriott Bonvoy members get the fifth night free when redeeming five or more day stay. Keep in mind that by redeeming five nights, and getting the fifth night free, will increase the value proposition by lowering the average number of points per night.
Arriving to The Nines:
I arrived to The Nines – A Luxury Collection Hotel by rental car. Driving from Argyle Winery’s cellar door, I arrived into downtown Portland. Using Google Maps, I had no problems locating the hotel.
The hotel is set across from the Pioneer Courthouse in the historic Meier and Frank building that dates back to 1909. The building occupies a full city block, and is in a glazed terra cotta style as a masonry skin.
On arrival, there was a sandwich board outside advertising valet parking for the high price of $53 USD. Since there were a number of parking garages within two blocks of the hotel, I ended up self parking the car for $11 USD overnight, without “in and out” privileges.
I unloaded my rental, and went off to self park my car at the independent garage(s). I asked for advice from the valet, but the instructions weren’t super clear. The valet initially sent me to a garage that was closed. I ended up finding another garage just down the street.
There has been a lot of recent discussion on the safety of downtown Portland. The Nines – A Luxury Collection hotel finds itself in a neighborhood that has some homelessness, but with some precautions, I didn’t find it entirely “unsafe”.
There is a strange mix of luxury nearby. On my arrival, there was a Porsche 911 parked in the valet zone at the front of the hotel and there were a number of high end retail stores in the mall kitty korner to the hotel that included a Louis Vuitton & Gucci storefront along with trendy Din Tai Fung. While I wouldn’t expect the cleanest streets, I didn’t find the neighbourhood to be completely unsafe or terrible.
Checking into The Nines:
The hotel check in was located on the eighth floor. As a result, I took the bank of elevators up to the check in level. The check in was located behind the elevator banks and in the atrium of the Meier and Frank building.
I was politely checked in by a Marriott Bonvoy associate “in training”. As indicated earlier, I was pro-actively upgraded one category to a Deluxe outer facing room from the base level Superior that I had booked. While I ended up with an outside facing room, instead of one that faced the inner darker courtyard, it was hardly a memorable upgrade. While there were Studio Suites available for sale, these didn’t seem to be available for upgrade reasons.
I ended up selecting breakfast as my Marriott Bonvoy Titanium welcome amenity. Breakfast was served in the Urban Farmer Restaurant, which was located in the atrium.
While I didn’t have to pay one during my visit, it seems that The Nines has recently instituted a Destination Amenity Fee (Resort Fee). I happened to notice these charts around The Living Room lobby bar, highlighting the mostly useless inclusions. The inclusions offered a $30 USD food and beverage credit, along with “live entertainment” and wine tastings during the evening hours only.
The Room: Deluxe Guest Room – 1 King
I was assigned room #920, which was one level up from the lobby level on the eighth floor. There were pleasant views from the lobby waiting area of the surrounding city scape.
I wandered down to #920, which was located at one of the far corners of the hotel. The hallways were decorated in a modern contemporary color that was unique and different than my usual Marriott stays.
Entering the Deluxe Room, I found myself in a green hallway accented with black. The room presented in very good to excellent condition with an upscale look and feel.
Consistent with a historic building, the room was pretty compact at 230 sq feet or 21 sq meters. Despite the small space, The Nines made the best use of the space.
The room offered a small desk, along with patterned wallpaper against the accent wall.
There was a small blue chaise lounger that rounded out the space of the room.
There was a large flat screen television, located next to a small desk workspace.
Being a Luxury Collection vranded property, the room was well equipped. The room offered a Nespresso classic coffee maker, along with a full set of glassware.
In addition to glassware, there was also a full set of snack bar and minibar drinks. This was pretty convenient, as there wasn’t any obvious convenience stores around the hotel in this downtown neighbourhood.
The hotel did provide a few bottles of Nestlé Pure Life water on a complimentary basis. These were not replenished on a daily basis.
The room did offer room service, along with a hotel calendar of things occurring in and around the hotel.
In a bit of a low rent touch, there was a “tip’ envelope in the room. In my humble opnion, this is a bit out of place in a property branded as a “Luxury Collection Hotel”.
The bathroom appeared equally as chic, with a corner oriented single vanity sink. The bathroom offered a small stand up shower that was encased in tiled flooring.
The bathroom itself, much like the room, was quite compact and best suited for one. Being a single traveler, I didn’t find this to be too much of an issue. Couples travelling together may find the space a little tight.
The toiletries were provided by Byredo Le Chemin and were available in both dispenser and individual soap bar formats.
In terms of sleep quality at The Nines – A Luxury Collection Hotel, the property offered a “pretty good” sleep quality. There was a little bit of hallway noise from other guests. In terms of noise from the outside, I didn’t have any neighbourhood noise or other distractions during my sleep.
Around the Hotel Property:
The Nines – A Luxury Collection Hotel is an urban business hotel with amenities that you would expect under this category. As a result, the hotel is quite full featured for an inner city hotel.
The Nines Fitness Centre:
The Nines offered a fitness centre. While there was no swimming pool that is sometimes common at inner city full sevice hotels, the fitness centre was larger than expected.
While I didn’t get the opportunity to use the gym on this visit, it’s nice to have this amenity available for those staying on a longer week long stay.
Food and Beverage:
The Nines offers two restaurants in the hotel and one evening lobby lounge. The Urban Farmer is located in the hotel’s inner atrium, and the Departure Restaurant and Lounge located on the roof top of the property. The lobby lounge is entitled The Living Room and offers evening cocktails.
The Living Room:
The Nines offers an evening cocktail lounge. During my visit, it was operating between 3:30 PM to 11 PM. It got pretty quiet towards the end of the evening as I returned home and it was pretty still.
The Living Room offers inner atrium views of the Meier and Frank building. It makes for a bright but, in my opinion, not particularly engaging space.
The one advantage of this particular space was that it offered quite a few seating combinations.
The Urban Farmer:
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Breakfast
I visited The Urban Farmer on two occasions over my stay for breakfast. Marriott Bonvoy Elites are offered breakfast in the Urban Farmer restaurant, if they elect breakfast as their welcome benefit.
The Urban Farmer breakfast menu was better than expected. The men offered upscale choices such as Dungeness crab omelettes, shrimp and grits, avocado toast and fried chicken sandwiches.
Marriott Bonvoy Elites at Platinum level or higher will be given a $30 USD credit against any item on the menu. This covered almost all of my breakfast, although not quite all of it. Previously, the hotel offered a full $40 USD per person, which would have completely covered the whole breakfast.
I enjoyed an Avocado and Spinach Eggs Benedict with a potato rostie ($28 USD).
On my second day, I enjoyed the Dungeness Crab Omelette and an orange juice ($35 USD).
The food was pretty tasty and enjoyable. I ended up ordering a bit on the heavy side. Despite this, the food was pleasant, digestable and not greasy.
Getting Locked Out:
My stays throughout the Marriott program have been pretty uneventful. Typically, everything runs smoothly and without issue. However, on this particular stay, I ended up having a service issue that was eventually resolved.
On the morning of my first night, I had plans to get up to Palmer Snowfield on Mount Hood for summer skiing. The snowfield was only open between 7:30 AM to 2 PM. As a result, my plan was to get up for 7AM, enjoy early breakfast at the Urban Farmer, then out the door for 8AM for the ninety minute drive up to Mt Hood; arriving at about 9:30 AM.
After getting up early, and finishing up breakfast, I ended up returning to my room where my skis were stored. I tried my key cards on the door and they wouldn’t work.
Returning to the front desk, I ended up getting the cards re-keyed. I did get a verbal caution from the front desk that occassionally, there were additional issues wirth the door that sometimes required additional intervention.
I returned to the room door for a second time, where the key failed to work again. I returned to the front desk who contacted maintenence by radio. I was asked to return to the room to wait while maintenance worked on the door.
I met up with the maintenance tech at the door. After fiddling with the door lock for anout 5 minutes, he indicated he needed to get additional tools to work the problem. At this point, I was quoted that this would take an hour to further fix the issue.
I ended up going back to the front desk to wait in the lobby. I politely expressed my displeasure at this since it was cutting into the main reason for this particular trip. I was initially offered a complimentary breakast in Urban Farmer, but when I explained that as a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium, this was of limited value to me as it was already free, I ended up getting referred to a manager to discuss compensation, the next morning.
They ended up getting into the room after about 45 minutes. The whole process cost about an hour of time, which was a bit of a let down since I missed part of my paid activity.
On check out, I raised the issue with the fornt desk manager who offered an appropriate amount of Marriott Bonvoy points as goodwill compensation. These points posted well before my stay credited. The hotel also took care of my breakfast overages and “comped” my breakfast charges of $8 and $4 beyond my platinum allowances.
Bottom Line: The Nines
My stay at The Nines was representative of my recent stays with the Marriott Bonvoy program; slightly enhanced but no where near as elevated it used to be under the legacy Starwood Preferred Guest era.
While I got an upgrade, it wasn’t to the highest room categories. The food and beverage allowances were not as generous as they used to be, and I ended up getting stuck out of my room when I needed to be somewhere else.
While these are first world problems, and I won’t likely remember this in ten years time, it wasn’t the smoothest stay experience.
If you have stayed at The Nines – A Luxury Collection Property, did you experience a smooth stay ?
My first day of wine tasting in the Willamette Valley of Oregon was marked with a call to Argyle Winery. The commercial facility was large enough to accomodate walk ins without an appointment, and also offered a variety of decorated Wine Spectator rated wines. With a long winery history, Argyle Winery became my first exposure to tasting experiences of Oregon’s World Class Pinot Noir wines.
This post is one chapter on a weekend trip from Canada to Portland, Oregon, United States of America. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. For parts of the trip, please see this index.
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✈️ Read more from this trip:
- Trip Introduction: Thirty One Years Later, Returning to Timberline Resort – Mount Hood for Summer Skiing, Oregon, United States of America
- Argyle Winery: Tasting Oregon Pinot Noir Wines
- The Nines – A Luxury Collection Resort, Portland, Oregon, USA
- Exploring Palmer Snowfield, Summer Skiing on Mount Hood, Oregon, USA
- Résonance Winery: Louis Jadot’s Pinot Noir Cellar Door
Argyle Winery, Willamette Valley: Tasting Oregon Pinot Noir Wines, Oregon, USA
On my initial getaway day travelling from Vancouver – Canada to Portland – United States of America, I picked up a Hertz rental car from the local edition in my neighbourhood.
With my Hertz Presidents Circle upgrade, I got assigned a somewhat boring 2024 Chevrolet Impala LT . Regardless, it was better than putting 1,500 km on my Audi for the weekend, along with saving of the time and labour involved with cleaning all of the summer flies across the front of the car at the end of the trip.
The plan for today was to drive 600 km from Vancouver, Canada to Portland, Oregon, USA. I departed on a Friday morning, expecting that there would be not a whole lot of traffic. Although, because it was summer, there ended up being quite a bit of holiday traffic. As a result, my planned five hour drive took approximately eight hours, by the time I got to the state of Portland, USA.
About Arygle Winery:
The cellar doors at wineries in the Willamette valley of Oregon have gotten quite wise with their business models. Like most other places throughout Oregon, the wineries charge approximately $50 for tasting. The fees are typically refunded based on hundred dollar plus purchase. As a result, hopping from winery to winery can lead to an expensive afternoon. Given the time line of my arrival, and these fees, I ended up only at Argyle Winery today.
I ended up selecting the Argyle winery based simply on its brand recognition. I would later discover that they’ve actually catered several important state dinners at the White House, based on a tour of their cellar door.
Arriving to Argyle Winery:
After a stop and go eight hour drive, I rolled into the parking lot at Argyle Winery. The Arygle Winery was located in the Dundee Hills area of the Williamette Valley of Oregon Oregon, approximately one hour south of the city of Portland.
I was met with a very modern facility that took advantage of the sun soaked warm temperatures with a large outdoor patio space.
I was met at reception and offered a glass of Argyle winery 2018 Reserve Brut sparkling wine. I was asked if I had a reservation. Given the late time at 4:15 PM, most of the serious wine seekers had already come and gone.
Since the caller door was open until 6 PM, I still had a few hours to enjoy a leisurely tasting. I was offered an outdoor table on a walk-in basis. I was led to a table.
I passed by the interior of the winery on my way outside. It was decorated up as a contemporary farm house space.
As I was led outside, I was really happy to see some large comfortable chairs, which is the perfect relief after that long drive.
Setting into Tasting:
I was given a choice between two sets of wine, tastings; a sparkling tasting and a variety flight pasting. During my visit, each of these was priced at US$45, fees, which would be redeemable against any two bottles purchased.
Being a traditionalist, I decided to go with the variety flight featuring Argyle, wineries, traditional wines.
First Taste: 2021 Argyle Winery Spirit House Chardonnay Dundee Hills
The first pour today was a 2021 Argyle Spirit House, Chardonnay. This was presented in a open bold glass.
From the tasting card, the wine was listed entirely from the Knudsen Vineyard, Spirithouse Chardonnay grew through a cooler September, highlighting the bright, beautiful acidity and mineral tension. Citrus, white peach, and baking spices are framed around a creamy textured middle and long, persistent finish. Built for long term ageability, the wine was entirely barrel fermented and allowed to age gracefully on full lees for 18 months in French oak, of which 20% were new.
The taste wasn’t too heavy on the oak, but would require some structured food to pair along with this wine.
Next up, the Williamette and Dundee area of Oregon is known for their outstanding Pinots. As a result, I got into the many Pinots that Argyle Winery had to offer.
First Pinot: 2021 Argyle Pinot Noir Knudsen Vineyard
First up was their 2021 Argyle Pinot Noir from the Knudsen Vineyard in Dundee Hills.
From the Tasting Card, there were flavours of red cherry, blood orange, and savory spice open into delicate floral complexity. The silky tannins and floating weight are balanced with crisp, high elevation acidity, providing tension to the long finish. After fermentation and free run draining, the wine was allowed to age elegantly on its lees for 16 months in French oak, of which 25% were new.
Second Pinot: 2021 Argyle Pinot Noir Lone Star Vineyard
Secondly, was a 2021 argyle Pinot Noir their Lone Star Vineyard. From the tasting card, the Lone Star Vineyard Pinor Noir was described as allowing the Argyle team to tap into the ruddier side of this iconically dark-fruited vineyard. High-toned notes of red fruit peek through and are accented by dark fruits such as blackberry and black cherry. Lone Star’s inherently savory spicy qualities are also present, with toasted cinnamon, green cardamom pods, mixed peppercorns, and bay leaf rounding out the flavor profile. Accent any meal with this structured and elegant Lone Star gem!
Third Pinot Bonus Round: 2021 Argyle Winery Nuthouse Pinot Noir from Eola Amity Hills
My last Pinot Noir was an off menu surprise that was included for free. It was the best of the bunch, a 2021 Argyle Nuthouse from Ella Amity Hills.
From the tasting card, it was described as a classically Eola-Amity Hills blend telling the perfect story of our estate vineyards in this AVA, this Nuthouse Pinot Noir is brooding with crunchy cassis and deep black raspberry notes. Its mouthwatering acidity mellows the textured tannins and adds a layer of depth, personality and longevity.
This was the best of the bunch and clearly evaluated as a winner rating as 94 Points Wine Spectator, 90 Points Wine Enthusiast, 92 Points Vinous, 94 Points International Wine Report, 92 Points Decanter.
After an enjoyable tasting, I took a wander through the Argyle Winery. Argyle Winery has a modern purpose built tasting rum and bar. The space is occupied with both an indoor seating arrangement and an outdoor patio seating arrangement during my visit. They had a stage that featured live entertainment that they were just in the process of dismantling.
I didn’t realize quite the history of legacy of the Argyle winery. In the back of their cellar door tasting room, they have been featured at many state dinners. where they’ve been honoured to display their wines. 
The Argyle Winery cellar door tasting room also featured a small VIP room decorated in wine rack product where they could conduct training and tasting.
All in all, I had a pretty good visit to Argyle winery. It was a well set up modern facility, that wasn’t too commercial and over the top. Add some great wines and it made for a pretty enjoyable wind down after a long drive.
After the tasting, I headed off to The Nines – A Luxury Collection Hotel Portland for a two night stay.
My Thoughts on Visiting Argyle Winery:
You’ll be hard pressed not to go wrong with a visit to Argyle Winery. The modern facility is everything that you would expect from a modern place within the Willamette Valley.
Without any wait for tastings in the late afternoon, Argyle Winery made for a perfect first stay’s stop prior to a visit to Portland, Oregon.
World Traveller 73 
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