Since my daughter attends college in NYC, I have been there many times in the past 3 years. We stayed at the W before, and I am not impressed with the property. We normally stayed at the Westin Time Square.
I'm thinking of adding a blog post. My fear was that the price goes up (when we went it was 85k to 90k per night, but I could easily see it jumping up, especially after getting rewarded 3 Keys lol)
I want to say your videos are really good and I enjoy watching it (no offense to Shaby) it's like from a real person, not like other "staged" youtuber. please keep the good work, I follow every single video and learn something from it, very helpful!
So, comp breakfast is only for 1 person? Sebby didn't get it for free? Unfortunately, plat should get free access to private onsen. The upgrade for plat is ok.
Comp breakfast is for 2, any more would be extra.* Agree, Plat should get free access to the private onsen, or it should be less than $50 USD. That was the most expensive private onsen we've been offered in Japan.
One thing to remember when comparing this product to other first class or business class product is that this is considered a domestic flight so comparing it to other international business class amenities doesn't make sense. The comparison should be to other domestic first/business class products. If you think of it in those terms the product offering is actually quite good in comparison to others. We've flown Hawaiian from HNL-PHX and back many times and its always great. We recently had to fly HNL to LAX on United because our Hawaiian flight got cancelled and nowhere near the same experience.
Japan is still cheap at the current exchange rate, but I think that will be short lived as interest rates fall. I've visited when the exchange rate was nearer to US $1=¥100 and visited this year at a US $1=¥150 rate. The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto is a bargain at 85k points. Many Japanese hotels provide five-star service in comparison to the US, but this was like ten. 👍
Late comment but we visited in January of 2020 and had a far better experience. We stayed for four nights, were upgraded to an Otemanu view OWB and utilized the half board package which for us was both good quality and generous. We found the service warm but unobtrusive. We went back to Bora Bora in October of 2020 and were disappointed by our stay at the St. Regis. We found it to be more generic property wise, more crowded, service was a bit overbearing and the views of the mountain weren’t as good. The rooms were bigger and more luxurious, but honestly we were there for the water and views. The food was a slight notch above, but without the half board program was more expensive. We decided we wouldn’t got back until Le Meriden (now Westin) reopened. Luckily we are booked soon and I have high hopes. The primary concern now is crowding as they’ve significantly increased the number of bungalows.
See at you Westin ;) Definitely agree that StR has more rooms and felt more "resorty" in that sense. We were also on a beach room though so it didn't feel as busy.
I like Bora Bora by Pearl Resort due to its location and the resort is owned by the locals. All other resorts on Bora Bora except Conrad are owned by foreign hotel chains. Conrad is owned by a 2nd generation local Chinese businessman. The locals seem not happy about foreign companies occupying their most beautiful Island and making a profit.
Always splurge on an over the water bungalow-villa. There is no point in traveling out to Bora Bora with beach-garden front. You can get that in Hawaii and let’s face it, what a 😴that would be.
Just flew from Narita to LAX. Points wise, using Delta (Amex) was 265,000. However, United (Chase) was 155,000. Whole thing, very strange. Wondering if Delta points are worthless compared to United.
If you fly to/from US, Delta miles are pretty bad for business class. They basically tanked the value, knowing that people will redeem. You want to fly [non-US] to [non-US]. i.e., Tokyo to Paris, which will probably run closer to 80k. Also why Delta is a terrible transfer partner for upside travel.
@@MandyRoams I have more Delta (Amex) points than any other airline. Am guessing that travel from Asia to Asia or Asia to Europe is reasonable (I live in Tokyo, so this this may work in my favor, eventually).
4:05 I would recommend looking into a travel router for these situations. The router can be the one device to use the code and it can re-broadcast the wifi to all your other devices.
Omg, I was just there in June. No snow. Had a clear view of Mt. Yotei from my room. Their breakfast was to die for. So many good solid selection. The service was top notch. I stayed on the residence side. The hotel side is more lively and noisy with families with small children. Edit: Oops, I misread. I was at Park Hyatt Niseko, not the Ritz.
Hi, I came over from Ask Sebby, and subscribed immediately. :) I've been to Japan multiple times over the past few years and stayed at different levels of hotels from capsule hotel/spa to Toyoko Inn to Comfort Inn to Marriott.
Might do a "worth it: $ vs. $$ vs. $$$" in the future haha :) We've done a lot of affordable ones in the past but not really worth a video in it's own right.
Ever experienced an equipment swap? Fortunately, very infrequently (just once). Like you, disappointed but not mad. Natto is an acquired taste and texture but if you eat it with some soy sauce, a dab of mustard and some chopped green onions, it actually tastes pretty good. Besides, it's healthy for you. 'Asian Glow'. 🤣 I'll have you know, I light up the sky. Great trip report. Video - 👍 And Subscribed. Cheers 🥂
Would I stay there? You don't even have to ask. 😉 Can I afford it? Now THAT'S another story. You make it look mighty tempting. I wonder if I should take out a 2nd mortgage on the house? 🤔 Video - 👍 LIKE Kanpai 🍻
