Wheeling, West Virginia / SpringHill Suites

November 2012, Weekday, 1-night, King guestroom #501

Platinum perks

I received a goody bag with a small bottle of water and two snacks--cheese crackers and peanuts.

Guestroom #501

This guestroom is located on the top floor at the end of the hall. I had called the morning of my arrival to request a room in a quiet location without a connecting room door. The agent who answerd the telephone assigned my room during the call.

The guestroom layout and furnishings are exactly the same as the SpringHill Suites at my home airport--GRR. Every SpringHill Suites I have stayed in has always had a separate sitting area with a sofa, chair, and desk with chair, as well as a sink, small fridge, and microwave. A flatscreen TV on the armoire between the two areas could be rotated so it was visible from the bed or living room.

New Philadelphia, Ohio / Holiday Inn Express

November 2012, Weekday, 2-nights, King guestroom #424

Status perks

I got to choose one beverage and one snack from the gift shop. I did not receive an upgraded room because the manager told me that the suites are all located in the center by the elevator, and I had requested a quiet room. Looking at the floor diagram on the back of the guestroom door, there are actually huge end suites at this hotel--at least there were two on my floor. The room I had been assigned was right next to a longer suite room, so it did not appear that all the suites are located by the elevator as I was told. I appreciated that the manager considered my request for a quiet room; however, I think one of the suite guestrooms would have been better soundproofed since the bed is then farther away from the door.

I included a photo of the floor diagram for guests who want to see the room layout before arrival.

Guestroom

This hotel has four floors, so guestroom #424 is located on the top floor. 

The guestroom is a good size and it contained a microwave and small fridge in addition to standard room amenities. There were plenty of outlets, and the lighting was good. The TV was a newer flatscreen model, and the room contained a suitcase bench.

The decor in the guestroom was pleasant and the seating was comfortable. The bathroom was a nice size with plenty of counter space. I thought the bed was too hard, and the pillows were low quality, which I have found typical in a Holiday Inn Express.

I thought the Internet connection speed was unacceptable. I had trouble submitting my online work, and had to reenter some things. This hotel was full; however, I had this trouble at 4 AM too, when I would not expect as many guests to be using the service.

Food & Beverage

Breakfast both mornings included: breads, milk, juices, yogurt, cereals, fresh bananas, sausage gravy with biscuits, and the HIX pancake maker and cinnamon rolls. One morning, the egg item was cheesy omelets, and the next morning it was scrambled eggs. The room was comfortable and clean.

Business center

There were two working computers and a printer in the business center. The equipment worked fine, although a mouse pad would definitely have helped! I have never had so much trouble trying to control the mouse as I did on these computers.

Fitness center

The fitness center contained three working cardio machines and a flatscreen TV. It did not open until 6 AM, and the lock was programed, so the room was not accessible before then.

Misc. and overall

This is either a new building or a completely gutted and rebuilt Holiday Inn. I found information about an older Holiday Inn at this address before my stay. The entire facility looked new. There are several restaurants nearby. A Bistro and Mexican restaurant are located next door. I would not recommend the Mexican restaurant. It was clean and nice looking; however, the food was not very good or authentic. Restaurants across the streets included: Texas Roadhouse, Long John Silvers, Hog Heaven, Burger King, and Denny's.

There is a Hampton Inn next to Texas Roadhouse across the street. If I needed to stay in this area again, I would probably choose this Holiday Inn Express again as long as I did not have a huge amount of work to enter online. The Hampton Inn looked like a basic Hampton Inn, and the building was older than this Holiday Inn Express. 

Grand Rapids, Michigan / JW Marriott

September 2012, Weekend, King concierge guestroom #2311

I gave a review of this property in February and April 2011, so this review is only a brief report of differences from those stays.

Status perks

This was my first stay at this hotel as a Platinum member. I had Gold status at the time of my other stays. The only difference in treatment was the Marriott offering of bonus points or an onsite amenity. I chose the amenity--merlot wine and cheese--which was a better value than I have received at other hotels. Usually, the wine is a half bottle, and the JW delivered a full 750 ml bottle of Canyon Road with the cheese plate.

Guestroom 2311

This guestroom is a non-corner city view room. It offers an excellent view of Rosa Parks Circle. I observed only one difference in the guestroom from my previous stays. The brand of bathroom amenities had changed--Aromatherapy Associates brands were provided this stay.

At check-in, I asked the agent if he had been able to give me a corner room, and he said that there were not any available on the concierge floors. He said he could give me a corner room on the 12th floor, and still code my key for concierge floor access, if I wanted. I initially said I wanted to do this, and then changed my mind after seeing the room on the 12th floor. The corner rooms I have been in on the concierge floors do not have connecting room doors; the corner rooms on the 12th floor do. And, even though 12 floors seems like a decent height, the view from the 12th floor is not nearly as great as the view from the concierge floor rooms. The corner room on the 12th floor had a river view; however, the fireworks would not have been fully visible from this room because other buildings would have obstructed the view.

Food & Beverage

The cheese plate delivered with the wine was excellent, and we also ordered a Club Sandwich from room service. The order taker happily accommodated my request for a different bread type when I placed the order. The sandwich was excellent quality and a great price--only $11.34 with the 20% delivery tip added--although it did not arrive within the stated time. I had been quoted a delivery time of "no later than 11 PM," which was about 34 minutes from the time I had placed the order, and it arrived at about 11:07 PM. The room service server apologized for the delay during delivery; however, I probably would not have placed the order, if I had known it was going to be over 40 minutes before it was delivered.

Concierge lounge

The concierge lounge offered similar foods and beverages as I have listed in my previous reviews, although the food items were not as impressive this time. There was not any sushi or seafood this evening, and the hot food item was not as good as the pot stickers we had during a previous stay. It was some kind of dough puff pieces that were not stuffed with anything substantial. The beverages and service were both excellent, as has always been our experience at this hotel. Beer and wine is complimentary, and high quality mixed drinks cost $5.

Our stay was during the Celebration on the Grand, and the view of the fireworks from the lounge was fabulous. Staff members turned out the lights in the lounge when the fireworks started for even better viewing.

Sacramento, California / Fairfield Inn & Suites Sacramento Airport Natomas

August 2012, One-night, Weekday, King suite #318

Status perks

As a Platinum member, the agent at check-in asked if I wanted bonus points or an item from the gift shop. I did not initially receive an upgraded room, or even my preferred guestroom type. I was assigned a guestroom with two double beds, which I did not realize until after I arrived at the room. I then returned to the front desk to ask if a king room was available. My profile preferences are for a king room on a high floor; however, I had booked the least expensive room type at the last minute. I had checked out of the nearby Homewood Suites with the hopes of catching an early flight home. That did not work out, and I had a room reserved at this hotel, just in case.

view from entrance hall

Guestroom #318

This king suite is located next to the elevator, and the head of the bed was against the same wall. I was worried that the elevator noise might be bothersome; however, I did not hear any noise from the elevator or from the hallway at any time during my stay.

dry bar

There was a short hallway into the guestroom where the dry bar items were located: microwave, mini-fridge, and single serve coffee maker with dry condiments. The spacious bathroom was also located off this hall, next to the entrance door. The heavy bathroom door would not stay open. Fortunately, there was a footpad on the door, so I could prop it open. This may have also helped block out any hallway noise, since the door opened across the front of the entrance door.

The living room area included a couch, soft chair, desk and chair, end and coffee tables, lamps, a flatscreen TV, and plenty of storage cupboards. There was an ethernet cord and telephone on the desk. A second telephone was on a nightstand in the bedroom.

The bedroom area contained a second flatsceen TV in a stand with more storage,  a suitcase bench, nightstands with lamps and an alarm clock, a closet, and king size bed. There were plenty of outlets in the living room; however, there were not any visible outlets in the bedroom. There was one available outlet behind the nightstand, although it was not easy to reach.

The guestroom was clean, and the bedding and amenities were satisfactory.

Food & Beverage

I checked out of this hotel before breakfast was setup in the morning. In the dining area, I observed fresh apples in a bowl,  and the locked beverage and sandwich cooler had been unlocked, although there were not any breakfast sandwiches out yet at 4 AM. Since I live in the eastern time zone, 4 AM is not really that early for me.

I had returned my rental car when I tried to catch a flight home the day before, so my evening dining choices were limited. I saw three choices within walking distance: a truck stop type restaurant across the expressway on/off road, Burger King, and Black Bear Diner. Employees at the hotel had told me that the Black Bear Diner was fantastic. It was acceptable, although I would not classify it as fantastic or even good. I guess it depends what you like. I think if I had ordered a burger, I would have liked the food better. I should have followed my instincts and ordered a burger after seeing the many burger choices on the menu. Other than the plethora of burger choices, this restaurant was just like Cracker Barrel (not a restaurant I would normally choose to dine in), right down to the corn muffins, and the "pay at the register on your way out" setup. I do think that this restaurant was probably the best choice of the three located near this hotel.

Fitness center
The fitness center contained a couple of cardio machines, and a working TV on the wall. It overlooked the outside pool. The room smelled kind of musty, and it was extremely hot. I observed an air freshener on the drinking fountain in the fitness center. Another drinking fountain was located in the hallway outside the fitness center.

Business center
Two computers and a printer were located on a counter in the lobby across from the front desk. I observed tape and paper clips in the area, although other business supplies were not provided. I used a stapler and scissors at the front desk.

Shuttle

I had to wait until 3 AM the morning of my departure to find out if I would be able to get on the first flight out of SMF for no charge (the flight I had booked was not until afternoon). Before I went to bed the night before, I told the front desk agent that I might want to get on the first airport shuttle at 4 AM, and that I would not know until morning. I asked if this would be a problem, and I was told no. It almost did turn out to be a problem, and there were other guests that did encounter a problem trying to get on this shuttle.

After I confirmed that I could get on the early flight that morning, I called the front desk, and asked to get on the 4 AM shuttle. I went to the lobby 10 to 15 minutes early so I could print my boarding pass (and, because when I called, the employee had said that the shuttle leaves right on time!). Since the business center is located in the lobby, I overheard other guests trying to get on the same shuttle. One guest came to the lobby, and another one called. I heard the employee tell both guests that the shuttle was full, and that the next one did not leave until 4:30. The guest in the lobby hung around just in case. After we were all on the bus (8 of us and our luggage), they squeezed the guest waiting in the lobby on board too. During this time, the employees kept saying that the shuttle holds nine, and that it was full.

It was a good thing that the airport was not too far away, because the bus barely held nine. We were packed in that bus, and all of the guests were of average size; we did not have any oversized passengers on board.

Sacramento, California / Homewood Suites Sacramento Airport Natomas

August 2012, Weekday, 3-nights, King studio #329

Status perks

I received the bonus points I have chosen for my on-property benefit. 

kitchen view from couch

Guestroom

The guestroom was a standard Homewood Suites studio suite on the top floor. I had originally been assigned a studio suite on the second floor overlooking the courtyard. My profile preferences are for a high floor room away from the elevator. Since top floor rooms tend to be quieter, I inquired if a top floor room was available at check-in. The agent said he could reassign me to this room, but that it was on the expressway side of the building.

view from entrance

I happily accepted the top floor room. The courtyard view is nicer; however, when a hotel is full (as this one was), guests often congregate in the courtyard after the evening social, and traffic noise does not usually bother me.

view from couch--bathroom on right

The kitchen area of the guestroom contained a sink and dishwasher with supplies, full size fridge, microwave, stovetop, dishes in the cupboard, coffeepot with supplies, and a table with two chairs. Microwave popcorn was not provided, as it usually is. When I asked about this at the front desk later, I was told that the hotel was out of popcorn, and that I could choose an item from the gift shop.

view from bed

A full size sofa, desk and chair, and flatscreen TV on an armoire, were located between the kitchen area and the king size bed. Two nightstands, lamps, an alarm clock, and a telephone were located next to the bed. The two large windows had screens in them, and they could be opened.

The bathroom shower area contained the toilet, and a tub with shower. The bathroom vanity, and a large closet with glass doors, were both located outside this area.

outside bathroom area

The bed was comfortable, and it was quiet in the guestroom. The lighting was good, and there were plenty of outlets available. There was an ethernet cord and second telephone provided on the desk.

My guestroom was not cleaned after my first stayover night. It is possible this had something to do with the guestroom change I had made at check-in. I had to call the front desk after arriving in my guestroom because I could not access the Internet with this guestroom number, so it appeared as though they did not change their records correctly after the room reassignment. I inquired about housekeeping when I went to the front desk to get coffee for the second morning, and the agent said he would take care of it. My guestroom was cleaned the next day.

Food & Beverage
Complimentary freshments each evening included: fresh salad, soda, beer, and wine. I did not notice what kind of beer was available, although I did observe Coke brand cans with ice for the soda option.

The salad was fresh, and the topping ingredients were slightly varied each night. I thought the salad offering was good. Hot food items were also served each evening. Chicken was served the first night, meatball subs the next evening, and chili with fries the last night. The hot food containers looked scarce as the evening progressed. Items were well stocked when the evening social began; however, when I went to the lodge room a couple of times more than an hour after the evening social had started, I observed empty or nearly empty serving dishes. I did not stick around to see if or when these were refilled.

Breakfast in the morning consisted of: scrambled eggs, potatoes, breads, cereals, cut/canned fruit, fresh bananas, milk, juices, coffee, and tea.

Fitness center
The fitness center contained three cardio machines with cardio theater. One of the treadmills did not work the first day, and all of the machines had been turned off the second day that I tried to use them. The employee at the front desk that morning was able to get both treadmills working, although he could not get the stair stepper to work. He commented that this happens infrequently enough for him to forget how each machine operates. The posted sign on the fitness center said that it did not open until 6 AM; however, there was already one guest using the room when I arrived at 5:30 the first morning. Another guest also arrived before 6 AM that day. The fitness center is not close to any guestrooms.

Pool and outside area
This hotel has an outside pool, hot tub, basketball hoop, grills, and plenty of spacious sitting areas. I was only outside in the courtyard once to do some work on my laptop. The Internet connection was good in the courtyard, and the table seating was comfortable. Although I did not use any of the other amenities, everything looked clean and well maintained.

Misc.
This hotel is a newer hotel in an area that was still being built up at the time of my stay. It offered easy access to the expressway and main roads without a lot of traffic. There is a Holiday Inn Express and a Hampton Inn next door, and a couple restaurants within walking distance. Most of the restaurants were chain type restaurants (Sizzler, iHop, KFC, Panda Express…), although there was also one unique restaurant [Malabar] where I dined one day. I had the Mahi Mahi from the lunch menu, which was excellent.

The hotel has an airport shuttle, although I did not use it.

Schaumburg, Illinois / Chicago Marriott Schaumburg

August 2012, Weekday, 1-night, King concierge guestroom #1425

Status perks

I had booked a basic hotel room with a category 1 - 4 certificate, and received an upgrade to a concierge guestroom.

Guestroom

The guestroom was a basic guestroom with the addition of a small portable fridge. I think the refrigerator was in the guestroom because I have "refrigerator preferred" checked on my Marriott profile. It did not look like there were refrigerators in all of the guestrooms on this floor when I walked by guestrooms with the doors propped open by housekeeping (the fridge was by the guestroom entrance door).

Guestroom furnishings included a king bed, flatscreen TV on a storage unit/armoire, desk and chair, safe in the desk drawer--large enough for a small laptop, soft chair and footstool, small end table, floor lamp, two nightstands, and lamps on all the tables.

A folding luggage rack, iron, ironing board, and bathrobe were in the open (doorless) closet by the entrance door. A small counter next to the closet area and across from the bathroom, contained a single serve coffee maker with coffee, condiments, tea, and two bottles of water. The room had good lighting and plenty of available outlets.

This guestroom is near the middle of the hallway. It was well soundproofed and comfortable.

Food & Beverage

We had one round of beverages and a sandwich in the bar. The service and food quality were both excellent.

Pool & outside areas

We chose this hotel for the outside pool, because we wanted to relax the last night of our vacation. Unfortunately for us, the weather did not cooperate. After a week in the 90s, the temperature dropped, and the sky was 100% cloudy during our stay. This hotel has an inside and outside pool, and the hot tub is located inside. The hot tub was a good temperature, although we would have enjoyed it more, if it had been outside. The seating in the outside pool area was decent. There were a few tables with chairs, and several comfortable looking loungers. We sat at one of the tables for a short time, but didn't stay long. The pool temperature must have been acceptable, because we observed a couple of kids using the outside pool even though it was not hot outside.

Concierge lounge
Even though the lounge room is not overly spacious, we did not have any trouble finding a place to sit in the morning or in the evening. The seating was comfortable. Unfortunately, I did not finish this review immediately after our stay, and I do not remember the specifics of the food items. I know that we did not have shrimp (as I had read by another guest before this stay), or any other fantastic items. I do recall that I overheard some guests complaining about only being able to get one or two bottles of water a day. I did not think their complaint was justified, since there were also two bottles of water in the guestroom, which were restocked everyday.

Misc.
This hotel is located in a quiet business park area. There is plenty of parking onsite, and there is no charge for parking. I observed the shuttle from the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center waiting near the entrance when we checked out in the morning. The Renaissance was full the day that we stayed at the Marriott, and it appeared as though the driver was there to pick up guests to shuttle over to the Convention Center. I think this Marriott would be a great location to stay for business or leisure, and I would definitely choose this hotel again.

Original Wisconsin Duck Tour and Upper Dells Scenic Tour

August 2012 

Duck boats

I originally thought we would book the Wisconsin Duck Tour with a 20% coupon I had, and then decide if we wanted to take another tour later. We ended up booking the package Duck Tour and Upper Dells Scenic Tour. Booking the package was a better deal than purchasing the tickets separately, because the cost was then 50% off for the second set of tickets. If you are not interested in more than one tour, I received the 20% off coupon by subscribing to Wisconsin Dells Deals via email. I was not able to use the 20% discount with the package discount.

View from our seat-Duck boat

The Original Wisconsin Duck Tour departs from the location on Wisconsin Dells Parkway, which is about 2 miles north of the Hilton Garden Inn where we were staying. It is on the same side of the road, and there is a sidewalk, so we decided to walk there. When we bought our tickets, we were told that the Duck Tour departs every 10 - 15 minutes. We observed a tour departing when we arrived around 9:20 - 9:25 a.m. 

Because we were the first passengers for the next tour out, we were able to sit right up front where we had a better view; however, we did not depart 10 - 15 minutes later. It was 1/2 hour later before the boat was filled, and the tour did not leave until all of the seats were filled, which was just before 10 a.m.

View from Duck tour

The ride was informative and fun. We had a great view, although I thought we would have been better off if we had taken a seat in the back. The diesel fumes every time the boat went in the water were quite strong. My husband seemed to think that this would be around us no matter where we had been seated. We went in and out of the water a few times, sightseeing by land and water. We observed deer during one of our trips through the woods on land, and that is the only wildlife we saw.

Duck boat route--
Up the river, back out on land,
and down the hill back into the water

Other than the fact that we waited so long before departing, this was an enjoyable excursion. If you are only interested in the Duck Tour, and purchase tickets with a 20% discount, this is a great value. The tour was a little over an hour long.

Lower Dells-Duck tour

Upper Dells boat

The Upper Dells Scenic Tour departs from downtown, and there is a shuttle between the two locations. We did not go on the scenic tour first because that trip did not start until 10 a.m. If we had known that the Duck Tour was not going to leave until 10:00, we would have taken the shuttle downtown and gone on the scenic tour first. I imagine the Duck Tour fills up quicker later in the day, and therefore, rides probably do head out every 10 to 15 minutes in the afternoon. 

Upper Dells

We were told that the Scenic Tour leaves every 20 to 30 minutes, and again we waited until the boat was nearly full before departing. A boat had just departed, and it was 45 minutes later before the next boat was almost full. I think if we had reversed the order of our trips, we still would have waited up to 45 minutes for the Scenic Tour to depart, and then only 10 to 15 minutes for the Duck Tour.

If it is a hot day when you are going on the Scenic Tour, I definitely suggest a trip in the morning or late in the day, rather than in the middle of the afternoon like we did. The Scenic Tour boat travels in the sun with no cover (unless you sit inside the boat on the lower level where the view is not as good). It was very hot with almost no breeze on the top of the boat. Since the Duck Tour travels through the woods, and there is a cover/roof on the boat, you can be in at least partial shade on that tour.

Upper Dells 2nd stop

The seats on top of the boat for the Upper Dells Tour were webbed lawn chairs, which were connected to each other, and not to the floor. There were three chairs on each side, with a skinny aisle in the middle. Since most people travel in pairs, there were a few empty seats in the center. There was not much room between the chairs, and I was surprised that there was not a weight limit posted for roof seating because the web chairs were not high quality, nor were they very sturdy.

Since the chairs were not attached to the floor, and it was such close quarters, the rows of connected chairs were bumped by almost every passenger going to the front of the boat. The chair sections slid back and forth every time this happened. And, since the chairs were such low quality, I observed one oversized passenger pop a bolt out of a chair when he sat down, and then he sat sideways in the broken chair for the remainder of the trip. The size of the seats on top of the boat reminded me of folding chairs. The cushioned bench seats inside the boat looked comfortable, although we did not try them. 

Second stop--Upper Dells

This tour had a couple stops, which we enjoyed. There was a restroom and a concession stand at both stops. They told us that the second stop was a difficult and steep walk, but we did not think it was that bad. A few of the passengers on our boat had difficulty walking, and everyone was able to walk the route without any problems.

Upper Dells

This was supposed to be a 2-hour excursion, and our trip was about 15 minutes longer than that. The extra time was not too much of a problem, except that it was way too hot to be on top of the boat. It was 90+ degrees and mostly sunny the day of our tour. I was surprised that we did not travel faster on the return trip since we were a bit over on our time, and it was so hot out. We certainly would have appreciated a stronger breeze and less time in the heat!

Overall
We did not have any real complaints or compliments about either trip. Both excursions were "okay" and mildly enjoyable. With the discount, our cost was around $70 for two people for both trips. That was not counting tips or purchases, which were pushed on both tours.