Tag Archives: Marriott

Playing Travel Delay Roulette. And Losing. And then Sort-of Winning.

View from Cortyard Marriott, Portland Waterfront

View from my room at the Courtyard Marriott Portland Waterfront

So yesterday morning my group of five travelers (ranging in age from 21 to 83) woke themselves up at the ridiculously early hour of 3:30am (12:30am West Coast time if you are counting) to catch a 6:15am flight out of Portland. We normally wouldn’t try to leave that early going East coast to West coast but we were trying to make a wedding on the West coast after seeing the play my daughter directed on the East coast the night before. Tough scheduling.

We had a non-eventful trip to the airport and then Gate. Very pleasant actually; no traffic from Freeport to Portland, easy car-rental return, easy Premier check-in line (thank you United) and TSA-Pre security. We like the choices for breakfast at PWM (Portland International Jetway): great breakfast bagel sandwiches at The Great American Bagel and Starbucks (I think there is also a Burger King for those so inclined). Am I the only person who eats low carb except on long air travel days because I just have to self-soothe on those days…).

We boarded the plane in a timely manner, and then the captain’s voice: “We have to power Continue reading →

A Classic Quick Shopping Trip to San Francisco

Peacock mural, San Francisco

Mural as seen from traffic, San Francisco Tenderloin district

One thing that you do when you live in “the country” is make trips to “the city” for various things that you don’t have in your country locale. So today I’m doing an overnight to San Francisco for shopping and a doctor appointment.

Depending on traffic, we are about 3.5 to 4 hours from downtown San Francisco. We usually stay at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis on Mission, but evidently there is a giant Oracle convention in town and rates were jacked up to $750 a night for a standard room and no rooms on points available (in other words, Marriott is saying unless you are here with the convention, don’t book with us). So, we are trying the JW Marriott Union Square up on Mason. The rates there were also ridiculous ($550 for standard room) but we are using 40,000 points (which is a lot, but I have over 300,000 points so I might as well use them).

Being a frequent visitor to San Francisco, we have always had a “base” hotel where we stay.  For years, it was Campton Place off of Union Square. Everyone from the doormen to the reception knew us by name. Then they changed owners and became Taj Campton Place and it all changed, so we migrated to the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, where the doormen knew us etc…until Borders Books closed down.  This was our favorite spot on a San Francisco shopping trip–giant bookstore, family full of geeks, always left with arm loads of books after browsing to our hearts content. When they closed down
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