Another post made me think of how I look at hotels.
I love them. Nice ones, that is. They are exciting, new, they are a base for an adventure, but they are part of an adventure. A little piece of another world. A wonderful world where you are pampered and people make your bed and clean up after you. A maintenance free, worry free, work free life.
And if I am going, I want it to be nice. After all, I'm not only spending money, I'm also spending my time, my vacation days, and those are limited, and have value that should also be maximized.
I look for value. Value does not mean cheapest hotel room. Value means getting a lot for what I am paying. I look for the few nicest options and than try to figure out which one I can get for less money.
In the last post I listed the costing of my hotel and flight reservations, but just to communicate why I think that I maximized value, in this posting I'm including photos of some of the hotels we'll be staying in.
Chengdu:
That's just a basic room. 50% of the time we get upgraded to a suite.
Shanghai:
Singapore:
Now, there are even nicer hotel rooms out there, which I did not get due to price, but considering what I'm paying for the 35 days, I think I am getting a great value for my trip.
Place you are staying and service you are getting does impact the overall feeling of vacation.
Hotels and their value
June 20th, 2014 at 02:51 pm
June 20th, 2014 at 03:26 pm 1403278000
June 20th, 2014 at 03:27 pm 1403278034
June 20th, 2014 at 03:52 pm 1403279561
In Asia luxury hotels are really much nicer.
As for breakfast, DH is a platinum with Marriott, so we get free breakfasts in all non-resort Marriotts. There are also other perks in concierge lounges - free water and other drinks, lattes made for you (not a crappy "latte" machine like here), and in Asia many times they have dim sum, FREE ALCOHOL and nice desserts...
But, having free breakfast is not a criteria for me. For very little money you can go on the streets and get something like that:
http://houseofhaos.com/2014/01/24/jinli-walking-street-chengdu-sichuan-china/
June 20th, 2014 at 04:12 pm 1403280757
Personally, I'm disappointed staying in an American chain with other westerners, eating American foods, only visiting 'recommended' [read commission] shopping centres more American looking than those in USA, traveling in nearly 'hermetically sealed' buses with tour guides who speak English more grammatically correct than half the population of the USA full of other westerners. I know I can walk into any hotel in my city for that experience.
In South East Asia I prefer to stay in businessmen's 3 star, Asian chains whose location is the most important factor. I spend my travel dollars on immersion in the culture and really wide entertainment opportunities which is different in Beijing than Shanghai than ChengDu in spite of them all being in PRC. We eat in restaurants or street food, shop in markets and tiny kiosk-like shops, bargain like the dickens with a smile, ride buses and subways as much like the locals as practical. I've often taken those government sponsored tour buses with 90% is Mandarin, the guide tries out his English and I follow along in my guide book or notes I prepared in the G-awful long flight.
I'd suggest including world heritage site Angkor Wat in nearby Cambodia as part of your itinerary. That has potential to give you a unique experience.
June 20th, 2014 at 04:31 pm 1403281896
We always eat local food, and love it. I'm just as comfortable eating on the street as I am at a opulent dim sum restaurant on a high floor of a skyscraper. I mostly eat regular local food, but do splurge on those fancy experiences occasionally. I love wondering the city, and don't want to waste my time on any attraction I haven't chosen myself. To me, vacation is about freedom and lack of schedule.
I don't think that my local experience is diminished by a nice hotel. A lot of travelers there nowadays are Asian, service is wonderful, and the latest trend is luxury in Asian style, which I appreciate. (and in these places I don't have to stress out about roaches. I come home after a whole day of walking and relax)
I've been to Cambodia, and those were nice experiences. In Siem reap it was raining really hard when we went, so it was pretty much clear of other tourists and serene.
In Angkor, we went at dusk and cimbed up the temple, when it was no longer hot and almost everyone was gone. Also really awesome. I spend a lot of time in many counties in Asia and had a lot of experiences even more unique.
June 20th, 2014 at 05:18 pm 1403284711
How much would you expect to pay for a 35 day trip for 2 people with airfare from to so many places and over a month of hotel rooms?
June 21st, 2014 at 12:43 am 1403311384
But I do think it would be fun to be in a hotel like that for one night... not sure we could afford it... We'll be staying at the Premier Inn when we visit my husband's dad in the UK (we can't stay with him) and it's really just a base for us as Snafu says, so location is key. Premier Inn is clean, comfortable and not too expensive (we paid $48 for the hotel in his hometown and $103 for the hotel in London in a very nice area for our last night).
When do you leave for your trip?