Hyatt Andaz Wall Street
New York, United States

Alaska Airlines First Class - BOS to SEA
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Seattle, WA, United States

I've been extolling the virtues of JetBlue's Mint class cabin ever since JetBlue unveiled their first class service, but if you're flying into or out of Seattle, you can't go wrong with Alaska Airlines. I'm not personally a big fan of Alaska Air's first class product but there's one big reason to fly Alaska Air if you have a pet: they're one of the very few (if not only) domestic carriers that I know of that has a first class cabin that accepts pets.

Sheraton Seattle Hotel
Seattle, WA, United States

Out of all of Starwood's brands, the Sheraton is the one that sticks out to me as the least looked-after. I suppose the Sheraton is Starwood's business hotel brand but so far, I've usually had better treatment with more comfortable rooms at Hyatt's Regency hotels than at the Sheraton.

Hyatt at Olive 8
Seattle, WA, United States

I wasn't sure what to expect with the Olive 8. It wasn't a Grand Hyatt, not a Park Hyatt, and not a Regency. I was glad I didn't pass it up as it was one of my more relaxing Hyatt stays considering the comfortable room up in the Quiet Floor, the well-designed and well-equipped gym, and the friendly staff at the openly-designed lobby (that I forgot to take a picture of).

Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

The Hyatt Regency Minneapolis is one of the better Hyatt Regency hotels I've visited and also contains the largest and most complete hotel gym I've ever been to. It functions well as a business hotel (several conventions were going on here during our stay) and has fairly large meeting rooms and halls. The Hyatt Regency may not be as centrally located as Starwood's properties downtown but it's a perfect place to stay in if your convention happens to be at the Walker Art Center.

Minneapolis, Minnesota Restaurants
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Minneapolis has a budding restaurant scene with great places opened up by award-winning chefs. These are some of the restaurants you should try if you're in the area.

The Westin Portland Harborview
Portland, Maine, United States

The Westin Portland Harborview is my favorite hotel in Portland, ME as long as I'm willing to walk a little further to most of the interesting places. The service is friendly and the common rooms and amenities were upscale (there was a wedding reception held here during our stay). The pictures below are from both a Traditional King Bed room and a Junior Suite (we were upgraded halfway through our stay).

Hyatt Place Portland-Old Port
Portland, Maine, United States

The Hyatt Place at Old Port in Portland, ME is a pretty good place to stay in a central location to most of the shops and restaurants in the city.

Hyatt Regency San Francisco
San Francisco, CA, United States

The Hyatt Regency San Francisco near the Embarcadero center functions great as a business hotel with its many meeting rooms and large halls. Boasting the world's largest lobby, it also has great views of the pier (although mine was a partial one off my balcony).

W San Francisco
San Francisco, CA, United States

The W San Francisco is one of my favorite hotels in San Francisco with its excellent service, vibrant design aesthetics, and youthful atmosphere. It's also in a central location located right next to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Yerba Buena Gardens as well as to the 1-Star Michelin Mourad and the 3-Star Michelin Benu. The W is one of the few hotels I'd go out of my way to stay at in San Francisco.

Park Central Hotel San Francisco
San Francisco, CA, United States

The Park Central Hotel boasts one of the best views in the city. Pictures below are of the 18th floor Grand Deluxe room. Just be aware when searching for Starwood hotels in San Francisco that the Park Central Hotel costs more than it initially looks due to additional taxes and fees tacked on to the final folio.

Le Méridien San Francisco
San Francisco, CA, United States

The Le Méridien San Francisco was my first Starwood hotel stay in San Francisco and it did not disappoint. The room pictures below are of the 6th floor Studio Suite.

JetBlue Mint - BOS to SFO
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
San Francisco, CA, United States

JetBlue Mint, as of this writing, is the best currently operating domestic first class product. With its fully lie flat seats (massage functionality!), first class meals and service, and even suites equipped with their own privacy doors, no other domestic airline comes close at this tier.

The Williams Inn
Williamstown, MA, United States

We were in Williamstown, MA to visit the famous Clark Art Museum. Since our dog was with us, we needed a dog-friendly place to stay. The Williams Inn exceeded our expectations in that regard.

Park Hyatt Toronto
Toronto, Canada

My wife wanted to go somewhere during the winter holiday season and she gave me a few options. Not one to normally like traveling during hectic holidays, I voted for Toronto anyway. It was a last minute decision for us to make this trip so that meant that we were bringing our dog along. Since we also needed a pet friendly hotel, the Park Hyatt Toronto was our hotel of choice for this particular trip and it did not disappoint.

Grand Hyatt New York
New York, United States

I tend to stay at Hyatt properties while I'm in New York and for the final stopover of our three month journey, my wife and I stayed at the Grand Hyatt New York. As the flagship Grand Hyatt property, the hotel has an interesting history and a centrally convenient location which had us looking forward to our visit.

The Line Hotel
Los Angeles, United States

The Line Hotel in Los Angeles, California is a relatively new hotel located in the heart of Koreatown. Opened in January of 2014 by the team behind the Ace and NoMad New York hotels, it features a modernist style on the inside as well as the outside. This was our first hotel in the U.S. after we concluded our three month tour of Denmark, Spain, France, and Japan and I was glad to be back on home soil.

Grand Hyatt Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan

After wandering through Osaka, Kyoto, and most of Hokkaido, we made our way to Tokyo on the final leg of our Japan tour where we stayed at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo. Recently awarded The World's Best Hotels 500 in 2015 by Travel + Leisure, the Grand Hyatt Tokyo made for high expectations.

RIHGA Royal Hotel
Hiroshima, Japan

The RIHGA Royal Hotel Hiroshima is a great place to stay if you're sightseeing in the city. It's conveniently located near Hiroshima Castle, the Atomic Bomb Dome, the Peace Memorial Park, and other parks and gardens.

Hilton Frankfurt City Centre
Frankfurt, Germany

As our last city on our European tour, the Hilton Frankfurt City Centre in Frankfurt, Germany was an enjoyable stay for us. Despite generally billed as a business hotel, it was close enough to the shopping centers, restaurants, and museums (like the MMK) that it was also in a fairly convenient location for seeing the city.

Grand Hôtel de l'Opéra
Toulouse, France

The Grand Hôtel de l'Opéra in Toulouse was the last hotel we stayed in throughout our trip through southern France. Housed in a former 17th-century convent, the Grand Hôtel de l'Opéra is located in the heart of Toulouse situated right across from Place du Capitole. It's convenient location near the city center's shops, restaurants, and museums makes it an obvious choice for a place to stay.

Hotel Villa Soro
San Sebastian, Spain

The Hotel Villa Soro is a late 19th century luxury villa located in the center of San Sebastián. As one of the more picturesque hotels in San Sebastián with its manicured lawns and regal furnishings, it has recently been renovated and declared a Historical Heritage of San Sebastián. Although it's just a 10 minute walk from Kursaal, Old Town, and Zurriola beach, you're also able to rent bikes from the hotel or you may want to arrange a ride into town depending on the weather.

Hotel Villa de Ábalos
Ábalos, Spain

The Hotel Villa de Ábalos is located in the small quaint village of Ábalos and served as our home base for touring the La Rioja region and its wineries. It was certainly a departure from our usual hotels in the city with all of their modern amenities and that's not a bad thing. With cozy rooms, wooden window shutters, and an interior that harks back to 17th century stone, wood and wrought iron, the family run hotel and its welcoming owners made our stay feel like we were visiting a home.

Hotel Torre de Villademoros
Villademoros, Spain

For someone who prefers not to follow his wife's hectic travel itineraries, I was relieved to find the relaxing Hotel Torre de Villademoros which was a great find on our road trip along the northern coast of Spain. Located in Valdes somewhere in the middle of our trip from Luarca to Salinas, the hotel is situated a biking distance away from the Bay of Biscay (fortunately, bikes can be rented at the hotel as well).