Category: Hotels

Caribbean, Hotels

The Ritz-Carlton Club, Great Bay, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

Cold weather is on the way, and a young man’s fancy turns to the Islands. It’s time to start looking at catalogues and checking travel sites. I’ve started posting about exceptional places to stay while on vacation — see reviews of Havana Cabana in Key West, Playa Largo in Key Largo, the Marriott Crystal Shores in Marco Island, and the Marriott Beach Club in St. … Continue reading The Ritz-Carlton Club, Great Bay, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

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Caribbean, Hotels

Marriott St. Kitts Beach Club, Basseterre, St. Christopher and Nevis

Ah, what a week. The Marriott St. Kitts Beach Club is a broad resort and hotel/casino on the Atlantic beach in southeastern St. Kitts, right where the island narrows to a long peninsula separating the Atlantic and the Caribbean. An easy walk takes you to over to Frigate Bay and the Strip, a string of very local beach bars and restaurants. More about those later. … Continue reading Marriott St. Kitts Beach Club, Basseterre, St. Christopher and Nevis

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Florida, Hotels

The Luminary Hotel, Fort Myers, Florida

Let me tell you about our hotel in Fort Myers. We were spending a couple of extra days after a Friday to Friday stay at the Marriott Crystal Shores, probably our favorite vacation spot. Where to stay? In February, beachside hotels cost a king’s ransom. We settled on the Luminary Hotel in downtown Fort Myers, and it was a great choice. The Luminary is part … Continue reading The Luminary Hotel, Fort Myers, Florida

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Florida, Hotels, Top Places

Marriott Crystal Shores, Marco Island, Florida

On this trip to Marco Island, we stayed, as we have in past years, at the Marriott Crystal Shores. Here’s the property from the 300 square foot balcony/lanai of our unit, or villa — The villas directly on the beach are pricier, but we prefer the view down the pools, with an opposite view over the islands. You can catch the sun setting over the … Continue reading Marriott Crystal Shores, Marco Island, Florida

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DC and Maryland, Hotels, Other foods

POV at Pier 450, Ridge, St. Mary’s County, Maryland

After lunch at the College Park Diner, Nancy and I headed down to Southern Maryland, where local seafood is a national treasure. As a rule, the waterside seafood places are old school, informal, often veering on dive status. Now however, there’s an elegant option. Pier 450 used to be Scheible’s, an old school marina, restaurant, and motor lodge. Scheibles closed around ten or fifteen years … Continue reading POV at Pier 450, Ridge, St. Mary’s County, Maryland

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Florida, Hotels, Other foods

Sol by the Sea and La Marea at Playa Largo Resort and Spa, Key Largo, Florida

UPDATE: Playa Largo has been rated one of the best resorts in Florida. See here. Wow! Nancy and I went to Key West via an afternoon flight to Ft. Lauderdale. Now, Ft. Lauderdale is a long drive from Key West, but we chose that route rather than a direct flight so that (a) we could see our good friends Bob Leland and Vicki Doff in … Continue reading Sol by the Sea and La Marea at Playa Largo Resort and Spa, Key Largo, Florida

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Hotels, Midwest, Other foods

Spoke & Steele at Le Méridien, Indianapolis, Indiana

After our 10k state capital walk in Lansing that was broken by a good lunch at Meat BBQ and completed by a drenching rain, Nancy and I dried off and refreshed. The next morning we drove down to Indianapolis for our 32nd state capital walk. My expectations for Indianapolis had been lowered by a college classmate who lives there, Susan Barrett (née Swingle). Susan made … Continue reading Spoke & Steele at Le Méridien, Indianapolis, Indiana

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Hotels, Midwest

Where to Stay in Detroit: The Element Detroit at the Metropolitan

While Liza and family went off to New Orleans for a very long weekend, Nancy and I, freed (or deprived) of our Nanny obligations, went to … Detroit. Actually we resumed our quest to complete 10k walks in all 50 state capitals, and targeted Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. That took us to Detroit on Day 1. Lansing, of course, is the capital, but we wanted … Continue reading Where to Stay in Detroit: The Element Detroit at the Metropolitan

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Florida, Hotels

Havana Cabana, Key West, Florida

Nancy and I spent a day at Havana Cabana last year with our neighbors, Scott, Julie, AJ, Hudson, and their posse — they of the Great Hammons-Cole-Guy September Barbecue. (See here.) You have a posse, don’t you? Anyway, much as Nancy and I loved the Barbary Beach House where we stayed that trip –and we really loved it — we decided to stay at the … Continue reading Havana Cabana, Key West, Florida

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Florida, Hotels

Havana Cabana, Key West, Florida

As the sun sinks slowly in the west, we offer one more report from Key West.  Our neighbors, Scott and Julie Hammons and their son, Hudson, were in Key West for part of our stay, as was the redoubtable AJ Guy, and they invited us to spend a day at the Havana Cabana.  Scott works for DiamondRock Hospitality, and one of his projects was the … Continue reading Havana Cabana, Key West, Florida

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