Originally Posted by colpuck (Post 12272195)

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)

I have to do defensive driving for that damn CRP do. Why can't I drive to a do and not have any trouble?

Originally Posted by Mackieman (Post 12273157)

Morning, Box. Today is the first day of school; oh my how glad I am that I never have to darken the door of an educational institution again as a student. :D

Originally Posted by ssullivan (Post 12273290)

Starwood may have more suites to offer as upgrades to its top tier members than some of the other programs, but the others have their merits too (easier access to complimentary breakfasts, free Internet, more hotels with lounges, etc.). Having top tier in Hilton, Marriott, and SPG I see both the good and bad in all three, and honestly, it's hard for me to say one is the clear winner over the others. They all seem to have their mix of outstanding, average, and awful hotels; and they all have their benefits as well as their areas they fall behind on. If you want to go after upgrades to larger suites, and plan on staying in a lot of properties that offer them, by all means, go for SPG Platinum. Keep in mind that coming from a program like Hilton or Marriott, you'll see fewer lounges overall at full service properties, and fewer comped breakfasts, things that Marriott and Hilton both heavily promote to their top tier members. A lot of it really comes down to where you're going to be traveling, and what you value most out of a loyalty program.

Originally Posted by ConciergeMike (Post 12277043)

Ask their Air Force about that. They have been in asset-preservation mode with their F-14's since the Shah fell.

Originally Posted by ConciergeMike (Post 12277043)

They have been in asset-preservation mode with their F-14's since the Shah fell.

Originally Posted by Anglo Large Clawed Otter (Post 12277055)

Saha's World-Class Training Facility

Originally Posted by colpuck (Post 12277053)

There is still a bunch of those rotting at the AF base in Atlanta.

Originally Posted by Anglo Large Clawed Otter (Post 12277055)

Saha's World-Class Training Facility

http://www.flickr.com/photos/strebkr/3075302949/

Originally Posted by icurhere2 (Post 12277090)

Fixed the link for you.

Originally Posted by Anglo Large Clawed Otter (Post 12277103)

I didn't realize that would run on a Commodore 64. :-:

Originally Posted by ConciergeMike (Post 12273537)

Social Studies Content Knowledge New Jersey required passing score: 157

Score Mike needed: 165

Score that Mike put up: 184

w00t!! :cool:

Originally Posted by ssullivan (Post 12273619)

Marriott has really struggled to keep Courtyard relevant. They've tried some things, which have improved it, but overall, I still find them to be lagging behind similar brands.

Here's my impression of where the Starwood, Marriott, and Hilton brands line up.

Budget:

Hampton > Fairfield, no real Starwood entry.

Hampton beats Fairfield in quality and appearance of room furnishings, bed comfort, generally better access to things like HDTVs in the room and lots of easily accessible outlets by the desk and bed. Hampton also has some nice touches like the lap desk. Breakfast at both is generally meh (unless you're a fan of concentrated juice, frozen foods, and reconstituted powdered eggs), with no clear winner.

Mid-Scale:

Hilton Garden Inn = Aloft, > Courtyard > Four Points

Many Courtyards suffer from their age; tons of them were built in the 1980s and early 1990s to the old design — sprawling motel type structures with a huge center outdoor courtyard. These result in excessively long walks between some rooms on the back of the property and facilities in the lobby area. Marriott has done some nice things with the new generation of the Courtyard room but seems to fail miserably when getting individual properties to fully execute it. Lately a lot of Courtyard's effort on improving experience has been focused on the lobby, not the rooms, while things like the bed still lag behind their competition. There's also the room layout, which in many properties is just downright odd. I can't tell you how many Courtyards I've stayed in with a cramped sink/closet area, then a door leading into the room with the tub/shower and toilet, only to find this enormous amount of empty floor space in that room that is totally wasted.

Most Hilton Garden Inns are less than 10 years old, and overall have been better at implementing the improvements to that brand that Hilton has rolled out since its inception. Hilton Garden Inn is the clear winner when it comes to amenities for mid- and top-tier loyalty program members. Courtyard gives Golds and Platinums virtually nothing; Hilton Garden Inn offers a choice of amenities, including complimentary breakfast or bonus points — and often gives both to Hilton Diamonds. I also find Hilton Garden Inn's bedding to be more comfortable than Courtyard's, and the rooms to be better laid out. Hilton Garden Inn is also the only entrant in this category that consistently offers some form of evening meal service; it's never anything wonderful, but there have been more than a few occassions where a room service sandwich, salad, or burger has been a life saver for me on a busy evening when I had tons of work to get done.

Aloft is still very new, and it seems that while the contemporary decor appeals to some guest, it turns off others. Rooms are somewhat plain, but Aloft does bring a different sense of style to the segment, and usually has better technology (every Aloft I've stayed in has had blazing fast Internet, and they always have connections to the HDTV for a variety of electronics), better gyms, and a cool bar area. From a loyalty program perspective, Aloft doesn't offer much (a few bonus points to SPG Platinums).

Four Points is very much a mixed bag; I've seen some that were generally great (Four Points Memorial City in Houston, a former high rise full service Radisson), and others not so much. You really have to do your research on this one before booking.

Upgrades are generally non-existant in this category, save for the occassional suite, if the property even has one (and often there is literally, only one).

All Suite/Extended Stay

Homewood > Residence Inn > TownePlace

I find Homewood Suites, Hilton's clone of Residence Inn, to generally be newer and nicer than most Residence Inns I've stayed in. The big killer for me on Residence Inn is the 50% reduction in base point earnings, which is just stupid. Marriott's justification for this makes absolutely no sense at all to me, and many times has driven me to a non-Marriott hotel.

I've stayed in TownePlace once. It's too budget for my tastes; it's trying to compete with Extended Stay America, Value Place, and the like.

Embassy Suites > Springhill Suites (I haven't stayed in Starwood's new element brand yet, so no opinion there)

Embassy Suites has some really, really old hotels out there. But if you can find a nicer, newer one, of which there are plenty, then you may be in for a great value. Generally I find the newer, better Embassy Suites to have very spacious, true suite rooms, great beds, and at the better properties, the complimentary breakfast is really very good. The better ones also do a great job with the evening reception, some even serving top shelf liquor and local microbrew beers.

I haven't stayed in one of the newer design Springhills; the older ones are fine, but somewhat bland. The bed suffers from the same issues as Fairfield's bed, and the older properties show their roots from the brand's origin as Fairfield Suites. Marriot has been ridiculously slow at getting properties to upgrade to the new design. Within the lower-end Marriott brands, I generally believe Courtyard > Springhill > Residence Inn/Fairfield (toss up due to reduction in points at Residence Inn versus motel-style rooms at Fairfield with full points) > TownePlace.

Full Servie

It gets tough for me to really express preferences here. I honestly think the number of outstanding Hilton/Doubletree properties I've stayed in is pretty equal to the number of outstanding Marriott/Renaissance properties, and pretty equal to the number of outstanding Sheraton/Westin properties. Granted, I'm fortunate with a work schedule that has allowed me to be top tier in all three of those programs, to be able to pick and choose the best of the three in each city I travel to. If I had to name the worst full service hotels I've stayed in over the last five years, you'd see a few Sheratons, Westins, Hiltons, and Marriotts on it. If I had to name the best, you see a few Sheratons, Westins, Hiltons, and Marriotts. Again, it's hard to say. Generally I prefer the decor of newer full service Hiltons and Westins to the others; even the newest of Marriotts are still very conservative in the appearance of their furnishings. It's obvious that Marriott is often going after an older customer here, which is fine. When you get down to it, though, many of the differences are cosmetic; amenities are pretty universal across the different full service brands.

I've also been generally pretty happy with W, but I'm rarely willing to pay a big premium to stay in one. The current economic climate has caused Starwood to really drop the rates at many Ws, but there have been times when I've looked at the options in a city and wondered why I should possibly stay at a W when there was a brand new Westin or Hilton property, with a room that was equally nice for $150/night less.

Originally Posted by Steph3n (Post 12275587)

grrr Texas Sept 1, now all people must be buckled up, no more exemption for large trucks or over 18 in the backseat. Hello Nannny!

Originally Posted by Anglo Large Clawed Otter (Post 12275651)

Seatbelt laws have proven to be effective. Unbelted persons in large trucks or in a back-seat are that much more likely to end up dead or permanently disabled, which tends to increase the costs of goods and services through litigation, as well as State/Federal Medical-Assistance Programs (like Medicaid), that shell out your tax-dollars to provide care for disabled persons rendered indigent by their disability.

Originally Posted by Anglo Large Clawed Otter (Post 12275687)

There are serious Constitutional impediments to your proposed solutions.

Originally Posted by icurhere2 (Post 12275822)

I'll admit the following:

* I wear a seatbelt in the car 100% of the time, even when just moving in the driveway.
* I wear a full-face helmet when riding a motorcycle, even though I have a brain bucket.
* I always have my seatbelt fastened on an aircraft unless using the lavatory.

There's no law requiring me to do these 100% of the time. I just make decent choices.

Originally Posted by Steph3n (Post 12275922)

^ i'll be checking this out Oct 25th.....I need to get to BNA/MEM anyway.