Triangle Trip

Priority Club, with Intercontinental Hotel as the flagship hotel, has joined Starwood’s (SPG) to free hotel nights after each hotel stay. Here’s the link to the Priority Club offer. In case you are interested in the SPG free night’s offer, here’s the link again.

The Priority Club offer is as follow:

* Stay 2 nights from May 4 to July 3, 2009 and get 1 night free
* Maximum of earning 4 free nights which can be redeemed from July 3 to December 26, 2009

The SPG free weekend nights offer is much better than Priority Club’s free nights’ offer. Below are the reasons why:

1.  SPG’s free weekend nights’ offer allows you to earn unlimited free weekend nights after two hotel stays from May 1 to July 31, 2009. In addition, SPG’s offer period is two weeks longer than Priority Club’s. However SPG is looking for two hotel stays which means you may need to check-in and check-out of hotels to maximize your rewards during the promotion period. For those who are not familiar with the hotel stay concept, an eligible stay is one or more consecutive nights at a particular hotel. SPG will not give you credit for a multiple hotel stays if you check-in/check-out on consecutive nights at the same property .

2.  There are no blackout dates for redemption. As long as it’s a Friday, Saturday or Sunday and rooms are available, SPG will allow you to use the free weekend night.

3.  SPG’s properties are generally nicer than Priority Clubs’ properties. SPG properties are also in metropolitan locations.

Here are a few minor setbacks on the SPG offer:  Priority Club’s 4 free nights can be redeemed on any day – not just weekends. Another minor downside on SPG free nights offer is SPG’s free nights expiration date: September 30, 2009 compared to Priority Club’s December 26, 2009.

Given the two minor setbacks, SPG’s free weekend nights’ offer is superior to Priority Club’s offer. Below are links to two other offers which may be attractive to you:

*  Hilton’s 1000 Bonus Point offer

*  Marriott’s Double Nights Offer

Here’s a link to my original post regarding the SPG offer.

Portland, Oregon is known for its Pinot Noir, fancy restaurants – steakhouses in particular. Yes. Believe it or not, there are several great steakhouses in the Pacific Northwest where they are known for fish. During my time in Oregon, I had the opportunity to dine at some of the best steakhouses in Portand. Below is a review of the top 3 steakhouses in Portland:

1.  RingSide Steakhouse – Ringside is a family owned and operated restaurant with locations downtown and Glendoveer. The place is a bit west of the center of town. You will get great steak and a wide variety of meats at RingSide. RingSide also has special sauces to go with each steak. Be sure to get the steak with the peppercorn sauce. RingSide also offers a great selection of Portland Pinots and California Cabs. This is a great place to dine like a local!

2.  Jake’s Grill – Jake’s is part of McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant chain but it certainly does not feel like one when you are inside restaurant. Jake’s has the classic American grill look and feel with a very local Pacific Northwest atmosphere. Best dish at Jake’s is the shrimp cocktail appetizer. The jumbo shrimp is fresh and awesome. My personal favorite steak at Jake’s is the New York. Jake’s also offer a wide selection of scotches – they are so so when it comes to wine selection. You will also find nice cigars and see people smoking outside before 9PM. Portland allows smoking after 9PM.

3. El Gaucho – El Gaucho is a Pacific Northwest steakhouse with restaurants in Oregon and Washington. El Gaucho offers live Latin guitar as a part of your dining experience. In addition to the standard USDA steaks,  El Gaucho als offers “carved table side” and “flaming swords.” The “carved table side” is a selection of meats cut at your table. The “flaming swords” are kabobs which is also served at your table. El Gaucho also has a cigar room where you can dine and enjoy a fine cigar before, during and after dinner.

If you are not ready to try the local joints, go to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse for a consistent steak. Portland’s Ruth’s did some experimentation with the menu when we were there. We did not like the experiments and the chef was very accommodating and still offer me my personal favorite: two petite filets with shrimp. It was a good experience overall.

Honorable Mentioned: Shula’s Steakhouse – which was located inside the Marriott on Broadway but recently closed. Shula’s was a great place to catch Monday Night Football. I was said to hear that they have closed down. I believe it’s a restaurant called Mez which is very lamed compared to Shula’s Steakhouse.

If you are a travel expert and are familiar with Starwood hotel brands, you would always choose to stay at a Westin over a Sheraton. However if you are ever stuck at one of the worst airports in the US, you should pick the LAX Sheraton over the LAX Westin. The other SPG property around LAX is the ghetto Four Points which you should not even consider.

So why is the LAX Sheraton (known as Sheraton Gateway) better than the LAX Westin? Below is a detailed analysis:

1.  Room – The Sheraton Gateway rooms are newer top to bottom compared to the Westin LAX. The LAX Sheraton has newer bathrooms, flat screen LCD TV and newer carpets. The LAX Westin still has big old tube TV with dirty carpets and dingy bathrooms.

2.  Club Lounge – The LAX Sheraton Club Lounge offers free breakfast with oatmeal, fresh fruit, cereal, broiled eggs, coffee and juice. They also offer cocktail in the evenings. The LAX Westin has a lounge that only offers coffee and tea throughout the day. Internet is also spotty inside the LAX Westin.

3.  Food/Bar – Shula’s restaurant is inside the Sheraton Gateway. Enough said… The LAX Westin is on par with the Sheraton Gateway bar, but it cannot be compared to having Shula 347 Grill inside the hotel.

4.  Shuttle buses from airport – I think the shuttle buses are operated by the same operator but there seems to be more buses that go to/from the LAX Sheraton than the LAX Westin. Perhaps it is because the LAX Sheraton is closer to the airport. I also noticed the LAX Westin buses are more full as many people use the LAX Westin Parking facility as an alternative to expensive LAX Airport Parking but more convenient than LAX long term parking.

5.  Price – Although the Sheraton Gateway and Westin at LAX are similar in price, you would assume to get more amenities when you are at a Westin. With corporate/client discounts, the LAX Sheraton is at times cheaper than the Westin. Despite the being the weaker brand, the Sheraton at LAX will give you a better value.

The above reasons are why you will see the LAX Sheraton Gateway is a Starwood Category 3 hotel and the LAX Westin is only a Starwood Category 2 hotel.