Hotel Reviews

An upscale bargain hotel in Riga – Radisson Blu Daugava

My second hotel in Riga, as part of my Baltic Explorer trip, was the Radisson Blu Daugava hotel. I had picked it based on value alone – at 15,000 points for two nights (a value of $30/night), and I didn’t expect a whole lot. It turned out to be a great bargain upscale hotel in […]

An affordable luxury place to stay in Riga – Radisson Blu Ridzene

The Radisson Blu Ridzene was my first hotel in Riga, part of my Baltic Explorer trip. I wanted to stay in the best location in Riga and was looking for a comfortable hotel without paying a fortune. I had picked the Ridzene out of four Radisson Blu hotels in Riga it turned out to deliver:

Budget stay in perfect location – ibis Siam, Bangkok

For my recent stay in Bangkok to attend the TBEX travel convention, I picked the ibis Siam as my first hotel. I have previously stayed at the ibis Sathorn and ibis Nana in the city and ibis hotels are some of the cheapest hotels I’d recommend in Bangkok. They are some of the best designed

Bargain stay near Tallinn’s Old Town – Park Inn Central Tallinn

As my second home in Tallinn as part of my Baltic Explorer trip, I chose the Park Inn Central Tallinn. It was just a few blocks from the Old Town and my first hotel, the Radisson Blu Sky, it looked great in the online photos, had good reviews and I booked it at a price

Perfect stay at Radisson Blu Sky Tallinn

As my first hotel in Tallinn on my Baltic Explorer trip, I selected the Radisson Blu Sky, using points of the Club Carlson program and the Bonus Award Night feature of my US Bank Visa card (no longer available). It is one of the top rated hotels in Tallinn on Tripadvisor and it proved to

Bargain PointBreak in Helsinki – Holiday Inn West Ruoholahti

As the first hotel of my Baltic Explorer trip, I scored the Holiday Inn Helsinki West Ruoholahti during IHG Reward Club’s PointBreaks for only 5,000 points per night (worth $35!). It was a little bit outside of downtown Helsinki and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a nice

Hotels – how to spend less and travel better!

Trying to pick the right hotel for your next vacation can be overwhelming – in many places, you’ll find hundreds of chain hotels or independent ones. They all look great in the photos and have good reviews – and some not so good ones! There are even some hotels that look like great deals –

Stylish stay in the heart of Helsinki – Radisson Blu Plaza

The Radisson Bu Plaza Helsinki was the second hotel of my Baltic Explorer trip and I was looking forward to staying at an upscale hotel in the center of Helsinki with all the sights in easy reach! I booked the hotel with points, using the (now expired) Bonus Award feature of the Club Carlson affiliated Club

Radisson Hotels – Solid full-service hotels at a limited service price

Radisson is the midscale, full-service brand of the Carlson Rezidor Group. After a miserable stay in the 90s, the chain went through a re-branding exercise in the 2000s and modernized significantly. I’ve stayed a few times with them and I’d consider them comparable to a Holiday Inn – reliable, if not very exciting…

Intercontinental Hotel Group – Facts & Figures

The Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG) is one of the largest hotel companies in the world, with over 4,900 hotels in close to 100 countries, offering over 700,000 rooms! With 168 Million guests per year, chances are you have been to one or at least heard of one of their hotels! Their brand Holiday Inn is

Pleasant surprise at Park Inn Davao!

We had planned a getaway to the island of Samal of the coast of Davao. Our flight from Manila arrived after the last boat and we chose the Park Inn as our home for the night in Davao! As the closest hotel to the boat pier and with a big SM Mall and plenty of

Mid-scale rooms with full service: Park Inn Hotels

Park Inn is the midscale, full-service brand of the Carlson Rezidor group. While I had heard about them before, I stayed with them because of their participation in the Club Carlson rewards program – and I liked it! Read on why I did and why you you should check them out!

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