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 […]
When I’m traveling solo, like on my Baltic Explorer adventure, I sometimes pick a restaurant from Tripadvisor or guidebooks, but most of the time by walking around and finding one I like. The Cock, a self-described “eatery, rotisserie and bar”, was one of the latter. Two places I had looked up online were closed and
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 –
Probably the most popular tourist attraction, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and my personal favorite, the sea fortress Suomenlinna should be on the top of your list for a visit to Helsinki. Between the gorgeous setting on the islands, six museums and lots of cafes and restaurants, there should be something for everybody to enjoy
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
In today’s world of travel, you have lots of choices of airlines from all over the world, offering different products – yet all we see on the various search engines is a price point. But are those two tickets really the same, the only difference the price? Certainly not – and to figure out whether
Singapore Airlines (SQ) has a number of lounges at their home airport Changi. As a First Class passenger, you have access to the First Class lounges in Terminal 2 and 3, but there is something unique at Terminal 3 that’s worth making the trip there, even if you are flying out of Terminal 2: The
Despite having lived in Singapore and having flown on Singapore Airlines (SQ) enough in Business Class to earn PPS status, I had never flown them in First Class! Having read so many glowing reviews of their First and Suites class, which are considered some of the best in the business, I was looking forward to trying it
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…
If you are planning to fly with carry-on only on a low-cost carrier like Ryan Air, easyjet or AirAsia, you will not only face a size limit for your carry-on, but also a weight limit! To keep your carry-on as light as possible and safe time and money by avoiding to check-in luggage, I recommend
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
Singapore Airlines (SQ) is the flag carrier of Singapore and one of the most highly awarded airlines. SQ was my home-carrier while I lived in Singapore and I traveled a lot with them, both on business and for leisure. I was fortunate enough to fly mostly in Business Class, making it my second most-frequent business