Year: 2021

Photo Review Marriott Waikiki Beach Hotel

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We recently had a short two night stay in Waikiki. Thanks to the Marriott points temporary discount I was able to use two of my 35k free night certs that are usually useless on Oahu.

Due to my low Gold status I did end up in a nice beach view room. We really enjoyed the large balcony and view of the nearby hotels.

Pros of this hotel include location at Waikiki and near the Zoo. Friendly staff and recently renovated rooms.

Cons of this hotel include $50 resort fee per night, $45 per night parking fee and location on Waikiki which is Branson Missouri west with tourists and traffic. Noisy night and day and also tons of homeless citizens all over the beach. Also the band at the hotel next door plays late into the evening which you can hear in your room. Street racing on the street below with horns, people yelling all night etc.

Overall I would stay here again and enjoyed most of it. The check in using the Hawaii covid website is a real pain as the hotel won’t take a printed QR code, they make you log in and go through 2 factor authentication to show them it on your phone while a line forms at the check-in desk.

A photo review of Marriott Courtyard North Shore Oahu Hawaii

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A quick review of our recent stay at the North Shore Marriott Courtyard Laie, Hawaii on Oahu.

Courtyard North Shore
Patio Area
Beach access 50 yards from Hotel on NE side of Oahu
Resort Pool, hot tub, surf board checkout, pickle ball, snorkle gear, volley ball area are all available at little to no cost. Cabana are very reasonable as well.
Beautiful and well kept property (lobby area with activities desk, hula and lei lessons)
A good fitness center and laundry is available
The Polynesian Cultural Center is across the parking lot with plenty of restaurants. BYU University is a few blocks away as well.
Loaner bikes are helpful as there is a nice bike path along this part of the highway
Very Clean well-appointed rooms. They do lack balconies but good views all around.
Good WiFi and internet TV with Showtime on Demand, YouTube and Netflix
Bathroom

Pros of this property: Located on the NE end of Oahu close to the North Shore big wave and surfing areas. Close to BYU University and the Morman run Polynesian Cultural Center which is a big tourist draw. Beautiful tropical area. Away from the busy Honolulu areas.

Cons of this property: Points cost is high for Marriott and only likely to get worse with the devaluation move to dynamic awards. Cast price is about average for Oahu. A long drive to Pearl Harbor sites. Laie Hawaii is a “dry” town so no alcohol sales in this area. Most restaurants are closed on Sundays with the exception of the hotel Bistro and McDonald’s nearby.

Travel Meeting Backgrounds

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Seems like a ton of people have posted zoom or other platform virtual meeting photos so I thought I’d share some of my favorite travel related ones.

United Airlines has several. I prefer the ones that make me look like I’m in a different place instead of just scenery.

credit: United Airlines, of course
Polaris Lounge credit: United Airlines

Here are some cruise ship related ones from Cruise Critic

Credit: CruiseCritic.com

Most hotel chains have posted meeting background wallpaper photos for use. Smart marketing I think and it doesn’t cost them much anyway. Here are some from Montage Hotels

Credit: Montage Hotels

And here are some from Marriott as well.

Credit: Marriott International

So have fun and enjoy. Backgrounds like these aren’t hard to find of course. I felt guilty even posting this because you can just Google your favorite brand, location, etc. for meeting or zoom backgrounds and you will find a ton of all types of subjects so have a little fun.

Credit: Air France

Win a Trip to Munich

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By entering here: SALVATORFEST you can win a free trip for two to Munich in March of 2022.

Escape to SalvatorFest in March 2022

The exact dates are not yet announced but drinking in Munich with free travel sounds good to me. Munich is a lovely place and fun city for a few beers. I’d rather go for Octoberfest but Munich is nice most of the year.

This prize consists of “roundtrip coach airfare for the First Prize Winner and Guest from the international airport in the continental United States that is closest to the First Prize Winner’s residence (as determined by Sponsor) to Munich Germany, and (iii) two (2) consecutive nights hotel stay in Munich, Germany at a hotel selected by Sponsor. Accommodations will include one standard room with double occupancy and a morning breakfast.” They value this at $3,500. Click Here for the official rules. This contest ends by 3-15-21 with winner announced on about 3-18-21. Good Luck.

Big Southwest Sale $50, well maybe

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So it’s been awhile since posting. I guess Covid and less travel will do that to you. Plus I’ve been busy getting a new job, moving and well traveling some.

Southwest currently has a new sale. Good deals starting at about $50.

Seems like a good deal plus my wife is A-List and has a companion pass !

So among the many changes in the past 6 months one of my sons and his family moved to Hawaii. He’s in the Army and also has a new daughter. I’ve been avoiding flying because wearing a mask with asthma isn’t my idea of fun for more than 10 minutes but I still haven’t met our new granddaughter yet. I saw this sale that Southwest has and was thinking it would be a great way, well cheap way to get from our new home airport in St. Louis to Honolulu using my wife’s companion pass. Sure it’s cattle car festival seating but I’m tough.

So I started searching and found some potentially great deals. <$500 for both of us roundtrip….or did I.

STL-HNL May 2021

The sale goes through May and I’m trying to put this off a bit due to work and vaccine roll-outs but before another big trip in August. Found a good date on May 7th only to find no return dates… No worries I’ll look at April.

STL-HNL April 2021

OK? How about March

STL-HNL March 2021

How odd but I’m flexible how about next week?

STL-HNL Feb 2021, seems worse

Now I’m no fool. I know that Southwest isn’t the best way to get to Hawaii from most of the country but I didn’t think it would be that bad. It’s like the Hotel California. You can check-out anytime you like but you can never leave. Maybe I’ll check out my companion pass on Alaska Airlines 🙂