Hotels | Love Wife, Hate Travel

Hotels aren't actually as important to me as comfortable air travel. After all, whereas spending hours on a plane unable to sleep and wishing it was all over only to realize there's five more hours to go is pretty terrible, I can at least actually leave the hotel whenever I want and simply treat it as a bed to go to when the day is over. However, a comfortable, spacious hotel with great amenities is the difference between waking up refreshed and ready to go and waking up and needing to escape.

The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto
Kyoto, Japan
Kyoto Hotel Okura
Kyoto, Japan
The Prince Sakura Tower Tokyo, Autograph Collection
Tokyo, Japan
Hyatt Regency Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan
Sheraton Miyako Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan
Westin Miyako Kyoto
Kyoto, Japan
Hyatt Kyoto Regency
Kyoto, Japan
Hotel Nikko Kansai Airport
Osaka, Japan
Hyatt Regency Buffalo New York
Buffalo, New York, United States
Grand Hyatt New York
New York, United States
Park Hyatt New York
New York, United States
Hyatt Andaz Wall Street
New York, United States
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.
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.