For this episode I want to look back on 2019, some of the highlights of things I’ve seen and learned and then look ahead to 2020 to help galvanize you and me to try something different and employ some strategies to make travelling more enjoyable and hopefully a little less expensive.
Let’s go back and look at some of my favorites of this past year:
Best hotel stay:
Aria
- Gorgeous
- Well appointed rooms, as one would expect
- I like the way the casino feels---it’s very open, fresh looking
- Maybe the most comfortable bed in Vegas
- Booked through Chase LHRC
- Rate was just above $100
- Priority check-in
- $100 f&b credit---used at Carbone
- $30 breakfast credit
If you are interested in adding bank provided booking portals to your travel repertoire in 2020, start off right by checking out a recent post by BW on BougieMiles.com about the Mastercard Luxury Hotel and Resorts Portfolio. It’s underreported, but can be just as good if not better than FHR and LHRC.
Ok everyone, let’s go over these booking portals one more time:
Amex = Fine Hotels and Resorts
Chase = Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection
Mastercard = Luxury Hotel and Resorts Portfolio
Are we having fun yet?
We’ll get to this again a little later
Best meal of 2019
Alinea
- Pricey---$600 a couple and up
- A true food “experience”
- Over a half dozen courses
- A trip to the kitchen to see the show
- It’s a world renowned restaurant and while I like to promote budget conscious choices, it’s sometimes fun to splurge
Honorable mention: Carbone