On my recent trip “Bali on a Budget” I was looking for an affordable hotel under $50/night in Ubud that is a reflection of the town: a small, independent guest house near the center of town, with typical Bali decor, friendly service and modern amenities. Based on online and a site inspection, I picked the […]
In my introduction to Bali – an island that fulfills many dreams – I pointed out that you can enjoy all that Bali has to offer at any budget. You will find anything from hostels for a few dollars to private pool villas with butlers for hundreds of dollars per night. At any price point,
On my “Bali on a Budget” trip I visited Ubud and Lovina Beach and to stay on budget, I wanted to take the bus to get there! Perama Tours runs a number of scheduled bus routes criss-crossing the island to many of the places visitors might want to go. Read my review to see if
As part of my “Bali on a budget” trip, I visited Lovina Beach on the North Shore of Bali to get away from the crowds of Southern Bali and explore the quieter side of Bali. I was looking for a hotel close to the beach for under $50/night and found Hotel Melamun from online reviews – and it is
Most visitors to Bali head to the beaches of Southern Bali, like Kuta, Legian, Seminyak or Nusa Dua or the forests and rice paddies of Ubud. If you are looking for a quieter beach to relax on Bali, there are lots of choices and on my most recent trip, i visited Lovina Beach in the
Last week, I reviewed the Experience you can expect at Best Western hotels and I mentioned that Best Western was working hard to move their brands into the midscale and upscale segments and has kicked out more than 1,200 properties that do not meet their brand standards. They have also embarked on a redesign of
For my stay in Faro on Portugal’s Algarve coast as part of my Iberian Explorer Trip, I selected the Best Western Dom Bernardo hotel. I want to explore Best Western, their rewards program and promotions this year (together with Choice and Wyndham) and this was one of the few options on the Iberian peninsula. Like
If you are looking for a place to stay in Ubud, you will find many small independent hotels around town – or beautiful resorts among the rice paddies. If you are looking for a thoroughly modern hotel that can handle larger groups in the center of town, your choices are few. The evitel is addressing
Wyndham Rewards has been rated the best hotel rewards program, yet it has been widely ignored by travel bloggers and points enthusiasts! What is the reason for the wildly different opinions – is it really the best or is it forgettable? Wyndham has completely revamped the program over the last two years, making it a lot
Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, is one of the underrated cities of Europe. It rarely makes it into a top anything list and it gets a fraction of the tourists you find in London or Paris. But it has a lot to offer from historic buildings and museums to fairy tale castles and beaches and great food
Hilton HHonors is a popular rewards program and they frequently advertise that you can get a free night for only 5,000 points – yet those category 1 hotels are the unicorns of the reward world – very rare, only 1% of all Hilton Group hotels. So, when I saw that a new Hilton Garden Inn
You live in one of Asia’s big cities and would love to get away to see some unspoiled nature and exotic wildlife! But you only have a week to go and need to watch your budget! No problem, Sarawak in Southern Borneo is easy to reach and easy on your wallet, but offers amazing wildlife in