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GBN: I thought of you as we stayed at several Marriott properties this trip. I suspect that next to you I am the most loyal Marriott guest amongst regular TrainWeb posters. This trip included stays at full service Marriotts at: Huntsville, AL, St. Louis Union Station, and South Bend, IN plus Courtyards at Troy, AL, Bettendorf, IA, Traverse City, MI, and Louisville plus the marvelous Dearborn Inn in Michigan. Mr. Hilton only hosted us three times and a few assorted properties rounded out the stay.
Posts: 561 | Registered: Jul 2003
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By the way Mr. Silver Star, it appears I gave you some bum information. If you chose to use the I-290 I-355 I-80 routing to get from Union, IL to Michigan, I now find heavy road construction in progress on both 290 and 355. 290 I knew about, but that on 355 came as a surprise.
Sorry for any inconvenience my misinformation may have caused.
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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GBN: No problem even if we had followed that routing. However, we had to nix the visit to the IRRM as we awoke in the Quad Cities area to massive t-storms (which ended up resulting in a lightning strike at the musuem). We waited out the BAD weather then drove through nice eather to our next stop, South Bend, by staying behind and south of the nasty stuff.
Posts: 561 | Registered: Jul 2003
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While most of these thoughts were expressed at a recent posting of mine at another topic, i believe they bear repeating here.
My admitted bias towards Marriott brands arises in great part because the entire property (as distinct from designated rooms - European owned Holiday Inn being case in point) is smoke-free. Further, they have been extremely generous with a Child Welfare Agency client of mine, and regarding my Father, who clocked out from a Marriott managed nursing home, my Sister reported to me that he had exemplary care from the staff (even if he "did not exactly cooperate"), and when it came to 'settling up', they were contacting me for delivery instructions of his endowment return BEFORE I even had my Powers of Office as his Estate's Executor.
Oh and just in case some are wondering, of the 19 nights I either have or have planned to be away from home this year, here is the "scorecard" (brand stays/nights):
Marriott Courtyard 5/6 Hyatt 1/4 Marriott Full Service 2/3 Amtrak 2/2 Holiday Inn Express 1/2 Comfort (nothing else in town) 1/1 Independent (mistake) 1/1
Regarding auto rentals, my favoritism towards Hertz (even if Enterprise seems to be "the Official Auto Rental Company" of this forum), arises because "they bailed me out" from my own negligence (left the headlights on - my own buggy takes care of that little 'detail') at 1AM on a November 2002 morning at Riverside CT. Somehow I think the response from an independent or loosely franchised auto rental concern would have been "secure the car and call us in the morning".
Finally, allow me a word on Enterprise (FWIW; they also seem to be 'top of the pops' over at Railroad Net as well). These are the people the insurance company sends me to when my buggy has to go to the hospital (aka Al's Auto Body; and KNOCK ON WOOD it's always thanks to someone else - not me); I'm treated as if I'm part of the "be legal with Eagle' crowd, and I find myself driving about in some wind up toy that is GOING to get me in a collision because it cannot get away from a stoplight at a speed fast enough to keep the jerk behind me happy. I realize they have expanded the scope of their business of late (I see they now have airport counters), but they are still "insurance rentals' to me.
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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I think one reason railfans use Enterprise is because they will pick you up at the train station and take you to their rental office, and, as we all know, some of the AMTRAK stations are not exactly "downtown" and easy to find taxicabs at (especially at stations where there are only 3 trains a week, and at which the tri-weekly trains are often several hours late).
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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Here is one location on the Amtrak system where Avis and Hertz are on the top of the convenience pile. Twirl it around to see what I mean.
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Regarding smoking rooms in hotels and motels, in Wisconsin, for one, they are now a thing of the past. Effective July 5, all public places -- including hostelries -- have to be completely smoke-free.
This is lovely because up to now most Wisconsin motels put us in smoking rooms because we travel by auto with our Lab. Yuck.
We stay in Super 8s mostly, because I am cheap and they almost always have a liberal pet policy. Ambience does not concern me; besides accommodation for the pup, I care only about a clean and comfortable bed and free wi-fi.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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Well, I'm a Marriott fan as well, Mr. Norman (20 nights so far this year, most on business travel). Among other things, all Marriott properties are NON SMOKING.
So far this year, I've been in Cambridge, MA, Boca Raton, FL, Champaign, IL (lousy Marriott Courtyard -- I complained), Irvine, CA (not a Marriott), Scranton, PA (actually Moosic), Knoxville, TN, and next week in Minneapolis. The following week I'll be in Charlotte (not a Marriott).
And no, I'm not limited by government regs to $70 a night. GSA actually calculates per diem individually for hundreds of different locations. For example, in downtown Chicago it's $212. And even when it's low (Minneapolis is $100 per night), hotels usually offer a "government rate" that meets the per diem
Thank you, taxpayers!
Posts: 614 | From: Merchantville, NJ. USA | Registered: Aug 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: Here is one location on the Amtrak system where Avis and Hertz are on the top of the convenience pile. Twirl it around to see what I mean.
That's nice and convenient! (Isn't Google Street View incredible??).
My dad (80 yrs old) STILL travels for work---he loves it---and has traveled his entire adult career. He was a loyal Marriott guest from day one. A few years ago, he was given the "hidden" status that is above Platinum. I don't know what it's called, but he has a dedicated phone number just for him, and they already know his name when they answer the phone. He's also a lifetime 1K Premier Exec with United Airlines (definitely not my favorite airline!).
Now if only Virgin America's frequent flyer program would have "levels" for their guests. Right now, it's just points....nothing else. I've flown so frequently with them that I'd be a top-tier guest and would like to enjoy some of these perks! And as for my hotel preferences.......since I'm always in Vegas, it's Wynn/Encore or Venetian/Palazzo. But outside of Vegas, I love the Holiday Inn Express chain. I've only run into one that was so-so....the rest have been excellent. Especially the HI Express in Tehachapi---outstanding. But if I'm in a major city with the "mega" hotels, then I go for the Hyatt-Regency, Omni, Four Seasons, etc.....
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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