Category Archives: hotel

Insider Tips: Making the Most of Your Stay at the Westin La Cantera

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Sarah Vernetti

I was thrilled to be invited to Westin La Cantera’s mom blogger getaway. Over the course of three days, we ate amazing food, learned about Texas wines, had breakfast with Tweetie Bird, splashed in the pool, enjoyed some mom-time at the spa, and met exotic creatures. I could start a new blog and have months worth of posts covering this getaway!

Instead, I’ll boil it down for you. I’m giving you the insider tips that can help make your stay at the Westin La Cantera extra-special!

Wine Tasting for Resort Guests and the General Public

We were fortunate to have the opportunity to sit down for a wine tasting with sommelier Stephen Krueger. He selected four Texas wines for us to try, and I was pleasantly surprised. The Inwood Estates “Cornelious” tempranillo, made from grapes grown near the Texas/New Mexico border, was my personal favorite.

Believe it or not, the Texas wine tasting is open to the general public and costs only $10! Tastings are held everyday from 5-6 in Steinheimer’s Lounge.

Cool Off in the Hill Country

They don’t call it the Hill Country for nothing! Due to the increased elevation, guests will find a nice breeze and cooler temperatures, 3-4 degrees cooler than downtown San Antonio. We ate lunch outside in July, and it was actually comfortable. You certainly don’t find that in other parts of the city.

Know What You Eat

The food at the resort is so good. It’s hard to know where to begin: BBQ Pork Nachos, Chef Armstrong’s chili-rubbed beef, the breakfast buffet at Brannon’s Cafe…everything I ate was delicious. The coolest part? The resort is all about the farm-to-table philosophy. In fact, we got to try grilled peaches with micro-arugula, topped with a flower. And guess where that flower came from? Right outside, from a plant on the La Cantera property.

Fantastic Kids Club

You may be asking yourself how you’re supposed to enjoy all of the wine tastings, fancy flower-covered food, and tranquil awesomeness if you’ve got the kids in tow. That’s where the Westin Kids Club comes to the rescue. Kids can do either a half-day or full-day program, which includes all sorts of fun activities like arts and crafts, movies, swimming, and jumping in the bounce house. And the kids club isn’t limited to the busy travel season. It’s open everyday, whether there are lots of kids staying on the property or only a few. My daughter loved the kids club when we stayed at the resort over Easter weekend, and she loved it again this time.

Special Rates for Residents of Texas and Oklahoma

Residents of Texas and Oklahoma qualify for special rates. Just book online or call and use the code RESFLOAT. Special rates are valid for those arriving Thursday through Saturday, and guests must show a valid ID to prove their state of residence. Also, families can consider booking the Legendary Summer Getaway package, which includes discounted tickets to Six Flags. Specials are subject to change. Call the resort if you have questions regarding special packages or discounts.

Hopefully, these tips will help make your stay at the Westin La Cantera even better. Click here to get a peek at our Westin getaway!

Note: I received a complimentary two-night stay, spa services, food, and a few other perks. However, all opinions are my own. I was not asked by the Westin to write this post.

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Posted in hotel, Texas, travel and tagged blog, Hill Country, hotel, San Antonio, staycation, Texas, travel, Westin La Cantera. Bookmark the permalink.

Thunderbird Hotel: Feeling the Retro Vibe

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Sarah Vernetti

While planning a trip to the artsy town of Marfa, Texas, you’ll find plenty of interesting accomodation options. Stay in a yurt at El Cosmico? Opt for the historic Hotel Paisano? In my case, the decision was pretty easy to make: I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to stay at the retro-fabulous Thunderbird Hotel.

Where to begin? The hotel offers a vinyl library, sweet-smelling Malin + Goetz bath products, and old-fashioned room keys. The pool is small but clean, and the rooms are furnished in a style that I can best describe as “Donald Judd meets Texas.”

We stayed in a standard room that consisted of a queen bed, desk and chair, and a large bathroom.

The hotel first opened in 1959, but was redesigned and renovated in 2005. It maintains the retro vibe, but with a modern twist. There is an attention to detail that can be seen in the pad of paper, pencil, and postcards that sit on the desk in each room. The light blue, orange, and white reflect the West Texas world that sits outside.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay. The only problem was the overly-sensitive smoke alarm. The first morning, it went off after I took a shower. I informed a hotel emloyee, and someone showed up quickly to remedy the problem. However, it went off again the next morning.

The hotel website states, “The Thunderbird is everything a small hotel should be, providing privacy, hospitality and stylishness without pretension.” I consider this a pretty accurate description. Thanks for a great stay, Thunderbird Hotel!

Note: I paid the standard price for our room, and I did not inform anyone at the hotel that I planned on writing this review. All opinions are my own.

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Posted in hotel, travel and tagged hotel, Marfa, Texas, Thunderbird Hotel, travel, West Texas. Bookmark the permalink.

Napa Valley Marriott Hotel: Friendly Service and Quiet Rooms? Yes, Please!

Posted on July 25, 2010 by Sarah Vernetti

I’ll admit that I’m a little crazy when it comes to customer service. I try my best to be nice to others, especially those who work with the general public since I know it isn’t easy. I expect the same politeness in return. I’m pleased to say that the Napa Valley Marriott went above and beyond in terms of making us feel welcome and helping us when we had questions.

Even though our stay was fairly short (2 nights), I could give a dozen examples of their hospitality: the friendly smiles at the registration desk, the quick service of the hotel’s courtesy shuttle, the helpful late-night Twitter message from the hotel when my friend and I were stuck without a cab in downtown Napa. (Speaking of cabs, just know that if you call for a cab or a Friday or Saturday night, you’ll be waiting 60-90 minutes. We had no clue!)

So, how was the hotel itself? The location was convenient–not far from downtown Napa and an easy drive north to St. Helena. This isn’t the place to stay if you’re envisioning your Napa trip filled with scenic vistas right outside your window. But it is located near restaurants and shops, and allows easy access to Highway 29.

The room reminded me of other Marriott rooms: two comfortable beds, refrigerator, clean bathroom, flatscreen TV.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this hotel was that it was absolutely silent at night. I didn’t hear so much as a door slam or voices in the hallway during either night of our 2-night stay. My friend and I are both moms, so part of the purpose of our trip was to relax and get some sleep without midnight requests for another glass of water or a special stuffed animal! Mission accomplished in our quiet hotel room!

Although we didn’t go swimming, the hotel does have a nice pool with lots of comfy-looking lounge chairs.

I would absolutely recommend the Napa Valley Marriott Hotel to any traveler who is looking for convenience and good customer service. (And you should follow them on Twitter, too.)

Disclaimer: I received a discounted rate from the hotel. I also follow the hotel on Twitter and have communicated with them in the past. However, all opinions expressed here are my own, and I was not asked to write this review.

A Mother/Daughter Stay at the Horseshoe Bay Resort

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Sarah Vernetti

Marriott’s Horseshoe Bay Resort is located along Lake LBJ in the Texas Hill Country. E. and I enjoyed a two-night stay at the resort hotel in late June.

An easy drive from San Antonio (and I would imagine, Austin), the resort is located just minutes from US 281 and the small Hill Country town of Marble Falls.

The grounds at the resort reminded me a little bit of Scottsdale, Arizona–lots of palm trees, ferns, and carefully manicured landscapes. Also, the resort features the Japanese-inspired Palm Trail, a walking path that runs past lily ponds, fountains, and sculptures.

Our standard room reminded me of those found at other Marriott hotels and featured two comfortable queen-size beds and a nice bathroom. I’ve always had good experiences at Marriott hotels in terms of cleanliness and peace-and-quiet, and this was my experience again at the Horseshoe Bay Resort. One particularly nice feature in our room was the empty (in other words, non-mini-bar) refrigerator. This is especially helpful for those travelling with babies and young children.

Our room overlooked the main pool and a zero-entry (beach-entry) kids’ pool. E. loved the kids’ pool’s fountains and the waterfall-like feature in the main pool.

Speaking of water, we also enjoyed the resort’s beach along Lake LBJ. The resort provided beach toys to guests, and E. had a great time wading in the shallow water and playing in the sand. Snacks and drinks were available for purchase nearby, and there is yet another pool and hot tub overlooking the beach.

Overall, we had a great time at the resort, and I definitely consider it to be family-friendly.

Disclaimer: I received a discounted rate at this hotel and I follow the resort on Twitter and have therefore communicated with them prior to my visit. However, the resort did not ask me to write this post. All opinions are my own.

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Posted in Hill Country, hotel, kid stuff, Texas and tagged beach, Hill Country, Horseshoe Bay, hotel, kid stuff, Lake LBJ, Marble Falls, Texas. Bookmark the permalink.

Adventures on Maui: the Hyatt Regency

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Sarah Vernetti

Over the next several days, I’ll be writing a series of posts on our recent trip to the island of Maui.

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa, located on the western end of the island. When you drive to Kaanapali Beach from the airport, the Hyatt is the first in a fairly long row of resorts in this area.

The grounds of the hotel are amazing. A large Japanese garden spills into the lobby and contains a variety of birds: warm-weather penguins, flamingos, swans, and cranes. E. loved looking at the birds everyday as we came and went from the hotel.

The public areas of the hotel are decorated with Asian art from Japan, China, and Thailand. Many of these artworks date to the 18th or 19th century.

We were very happy with our room. The bed was very comfortable. The bathroom area was nice and large, and the room also included an actual walk-in closet, rather than the small, creepy sliding-door kind found in many hotel rooms. I liked that the room also included an empty frig, in addition to the super-expensive mini-bar fridge. We also had a fairly large flatscreen t.v.

Only one complaint about our room: the balcony was very small. Although there was a small table with two chairs, it would have been almost impossible for all three of us to sit or stand on the balcony at the same time. And even if Nick and I wanted to sit there while E. was asleep, reaching the farthest of the two chairs from the door took some effort. But hey, the mountain view rocked. (Sorry. Bad joke.) We actually had what would be termed by some hotels as a partial-ocean view. Nice!

The highlight(s) of this hotel, in my opinion, are the two pools. The regular pool is quite large and is located near the beach. This pool feeds under a waterfall and into the grotto (complete with swim-up bar), which then feeds through another waterfall and into the kids’ pool area. The kids’ pool features two slides (one of which was tame enough for E. to ride down on my lap), several spraying fountains, and a large bridge. A portion of the kids’ pool is covered with tiny sand-like rocks that E. loved to play in. The best part was that this wasn’t actual sand, so it was much easier to get E. cleaned up at the end of the day.

The hotel is located on Kaanapali Beach, although this portion of the beach is much narrower than it is further up by the Marriott and some of the other resorts. However, we did spend time at this portion of the beach and had lots of fun. Also, the wider portion of the beach is only a ten minute walk from the hotel, so it was still very convenient.

All opinions are my own, as if anyone had any doubt. I wasn’t compensated by the Hyatt Regency in any way to write this review.

Wandering Off

Category Archives: hotel

Insider Tips: Making the Most of Your Stay at the Westin La Cantera

Thunderbird Hotel: Feeling the Retro Vibe

Napa Valley Marriott Hotel: Friendly Service and Quiet Rooms? Yes, Please!

A Mother/Daughter Stay at the Horseshoe Bay Resort

Adventures on Maui: the Hyatt Regency

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