New Bern, NC - Lawson's Landing Cafe

My clients took me to lunch at an interesting and different kind of restaurant.  Lawson's Landing Cafe' is located inside the North Carolina History Center.  The cafe' has a clean modern vibe and while you eat you have wonderful views of the water.  For my lunch I had a huge chicken salad sandwich on a croissant and the sides offered are beyond the usual chips or fries - sweet potato casserole, mac & cheese, pasta salad, etc.  The food was delicious, the service was attentive, the restaurant was really clean and the view was wonderful - what else could you ask for?

Lawson's Landing Cafe

529 S Front St, New Bern, NC 28562

(252) 637-9307

Toronto, Canada Area - Hilton Garden Inn Toronto Airport

Hilton Garden Inn
3311 Caroga Drive
Mississauga, Ontario L4V 1A3 Canada
Phone:  905-678-0041

For my hotel ratings I use a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being the lowest score and 5 being the highest score. 

Location: 4  Convenient to the airport and there is an airport shuttle.  The hotel was not close to any restaurants or shops.

Attitude of Staff: 5 Very friendly 

Cleanliness of carpets and flooring: 5 New hotel so it had not have time to become dirty!

Freshness/ Smell: 5 Everything smelled fine 

Bathroom: 5 Very nice large walk in shower

Air Conditioner or Heat: 5 Worked wonderfully 

Towels: 4 The towels seemed a little scratchy

Pillows: 5 Very nice pillows five provided, some down some poly

Bed: 5 Clean soft sheets and nice comfy bed

Breakfast: 4 Cold items were serve your buffet and hot items were made to order 

Noise: 4 Only occasional noise from other rooms

Cleanliness of room: 5 Room was clean

Internet: 0 I did not try the internet

Fridge and Microwave provided in the room 

Notes: I did not use the parking, the pool or the exercise room so I cannot comment on these items

Comments: I was upgraded to a suite which had a little sitting area with a second TV.  This would be a nice choice for people traveling together as one person could watch tv and the 2nd person could still rest or sleep undisturbed.

I did have one serious problem.  I ate dinner in the hotel restaurant.  I had ordered the taco salad.  The salad had a good taste and I ordered extra salsa.  I noticed the salsa had a tangy taste that I had not tasted in salsa previously.  I thought it was just 'different.'   I became very ill with food poisoning.  I almost missed my flight the next morning due to being ill.  My doctor said it was probably the salsa was bad.  It took me about a week to fully recover from being so sick.   

Toronto, Canada - Best Western Plus Roehampton Inn and Suites

Best Western Plus Roehampton Inn and Suites

808 Mount Pleasant Road

Toronto, Ontario, M4P 2L2, Canada

 Phone: 416/487-5101  

Stay: August 6 - 10, 2012

For my hotel ratings I use a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being the lowest score and 5 being the highest score.

Location: 4  Convenient to restaurants and shops, easy to find

Attitude of Staff: 5 Very friendly offering directions & suggestions on places to eat

Cleanliness of carpets and flooring: 2 Carpet dirty, corners and grout in bathroom dirty, white socks filty

Freshness/ Smell: 4 Everything smelled fine only a slight odor in the halls 

Bathroom: 3 Very small and the hot water was never really hot, slightly hotter in the mornings than at night

Air Conditioner or Heat: 5 Worked wonderfully and rattled a little which makes me sleep

Towels: 3 Hard and scratchy two towel sets provided

Pillows: 5 Very nice pillows five provided, some down some poly

Bed: 5 Clean soft sheets and the most comfortable mattress I have ever experienced

Breakfast: 3 Hot buffet, well stocked but same items every day, overcooked dry eggs, half raw bacon

Noise: 4 Only occasional noise from other rooms

Cleanliness of room: 4 Only slight dust on the gloves after swiping the furniture
Internet: 3 Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't 

Fridge and Microwave provided in the room 

Notes: I did not use the valet parking, the pool or the exercise room so I cannot comment on these items

Comments: There was a metal door stop mounted on the floor in the bathroom and I seemed to constantly want to step on it and hurt my foot, it was hard to avoid stepping on the door stop in the tiny bathroom.  Part of the week only one elevator was in service making for long waits for the elevator.  I did watch a little television and there seemed to be more channel selections than I needed! The lobby was very attractive.  I would stay in this hotel again as it seems to be the best option for the area for the price paid and the bed was wonderfully comfy.

** Remember for cleanliness that I do a 'white sock test' on the floor and a 'white glove test' on the furniture because I don't care if I pay $500 or $50 the least I can expect is for a room to be clean.

** Remember that I always ask for Extra Towels and Pillows so if I am only receiving 2 towels do you only receive 1 when you don't ask for extra?

For my hotel ratings there is a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being the lowest score and 5 being the highest score. The ratings can be explained as follows:

1 = Please don't make me stay here again

2 = Below what I would consider Average for the hotel type, price, etc

3 = Average 

4 = Above Average

5 = Exceptional and I would rather stay here than at home!

A New Way of Life - Well Not Life but Travel Blogging!

I have noticed that all of my observations and comments are based upon my opinion of how I feel at the hotel, restaurant, rental car counter, etc.  I have devised a new way of rating that will be easier to understand.  I have made a chart of specific items that I will observe while I am at a hotel, restaurant, rental car counter, etc.  I will explain the rating system fully and everyone will have a very good impression of what I saw and felt and how the cleanliness and customer service stands up to other hotels or restaurants based on the chart.

** Remember for my cleanliness rating that I do a 'white sock test' on the floor and a 'white glove test' on the furniture because I don't care if I pay $50 or $500 the least I can expect is for a room to be clean.

** Remember that I always ask for Extra Towels and Pillows so if I am only receiving 2 towels do you only receive 1 when you don't ask for extra?

For my hotel ratings I use a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being the lowest score and 5 being the highest score. The ratings can be explained as follows:

1 = Please don't make me stay here again

2 = Below what I would consider Average for the hotel type, price, etc

3 = Average 

4 = Above Average

5 = Exceptional and I would rather stay here than at home!

I will also provide a little narrative as to why my choices are what they are for the particular observation.

Here is an example of a chart for a fake hotel:

Nice Dreams Hotel, Orlando, Florida - August 12-16, 2012

This is a totally fake hotel!!  This is Just a preview of how I will rate hotels.

Location: 4  Convenient to restaurants and shops, easy to find

Attitude of Staff: 5 Very friendly offering directions and suggestions on places to go and see

Cleanliness of carpets and flooring: 2 Carpet dirty, corners and grout in bathroom dirty, white socks filty

Freshness/ Smell: 4 Everything smelled fine only a slight smoky odor in the halls

Bathroom: 3 Very small and the hot water was never really hot

Air Conditioner or Heat: 5 Worked wonderfully

Towels: 3 Hard and scratchy two towels provided

Pillows: 5 Very nice pillows five provided

Bed: 5 Clean soft sheets and the most comfortable mattress I have ever experienced

Breakfast: 3 Hot buffet, well stocked but same items every day, overcooked dry eggs, half raw bacon

Noise: 4 Only occasional noise from other rooms

Cleanliness of room: 4 Only slight dust on the gloves

Fridge and Microwave provided in the room

Notes: I did not use the valet parking, the pool or the exercise room so I cannot comment on these items

Comments: The bathtub was very slippery.  Part of the week the internet worked fine and then it stopped working and no one seemed to have a clue as to how to fix it.  I would stay in this hotel again as it seems to be the best option for the area for the price paid. 

Tampa, FL - Miguel's Mexican Seafood & Grill

This is my second visit to Miguel's Mexican Seafood & Grill so I thought I would share my impressions of this second visit.  We have planned to visit Miguel's Mexican Seafood & Grill on Sunday and I visited their website and looked up the hours and the hours listed on their website showed the restaurant open seven days a week.  When we got to the restaurant the parking lot only had 3 or 4 cars and there was a tiny index sized sign on the door saying they were closed for Superbowl Sunday.  Several would-be patrons arrived, read the sign and left.

Determined to eat at Miguel's we returned on Monday evening with friends hoping that we would not find another small 'closed' sign.  On Monday we were greeted and seated right away at a large table near the bar.  The restaurant was about 2/3 full and waiters were busy serving tables.  It seemed that anytime a waiter passed our table if a drink needed to be refilled or if we needed anything that waiter was glad to help.  I don't know if it was our proximity to the kitchen so that every waiter had to pass our table or if Miguel's has made an effort to improve customer service but the service was much improved this time.

The food was good.  The salsa that was so wonderful last time was slightly bland this time.  It was a little too salty and not very hot.  I suppose that's what happens occasionally when the sauce is house made and up to the interpretation of the person making the salsa.  The salsa was still good and the food was delicious and our party had an enjoyable evening.

I have read some reviews that said the food at Miguel's is expensive for 'Mexican Food.'  I agree it is slightly more expensive than dinner prices at your average Mexican restaurant.  The three taco plate that I got was $11.95.  You must consider that the taco shells are made fresh, the tacos came with fresh made guacamole and Miguel's has a more upscale appearance and seems to be cleaner and nicer than the usual local Mexican restaurant in spite of the location which did seem a little questionable.  I would eat here again and my friends said they would visit Miguel's again also.


Miguel's Mexican Seafood & Grill

3035 West Kennedy Boulevard Tampa, FL 33609-3136(813) 876-2587 Hours: Sun 11am–9pm; Mon-Thu 11am–10pm; Fri-Sat 11am–11pm

Sarasota, FL - Hotel Indigo

This is my first stay at a Hotel Indigo.  I have seen the advertisements but I have never had a chance to try aa Hotel Indigo before this trip to Sarasota.  Hotel Indigo in Sarasota, FL has a light & airy feel to it.  The decor in the lobby and the guest rooms is distinctively beach cottage themed.  It seems that that this hotel brand has done everything it can to be different from other hotel brands.

I felt wanted and appreciated as a guest from the moment I walked through the door.  The lobby and the rooms all had wood look flooring.  Everything in the lobby and my room smelled fresh and clean.  The bathroom was huge with a walk in shower that would easily held 4 people.  The bedroom seemed a little small but I am sure this is due to the space taken up by the larger bathroom.  There was plenty of room around the king sized bed for me to be comfortable. The decor was pretty and bright and the furniture and bedding all looked new and clean.

I did seem to hear more hall noise and noise from other guests.  I suspect this is due to the hard flooring choices. It was not at a level that bothered me or kept me awake.  I prefer the hard surface clean flooring over carpet that harbors no telling what germs in it's depths.

The view from my room was beautiful and I really enjoyed the sunset over Sarasota.

I did have breakfast in the hotel restaurant.  The restaurant has the same light and clean feeling as the rest of the hotel.  The server was cheerful and attentive and the food was good.  The breakfast prices seemed to be about the same as other hotel's restaurants. I did see the board for dinner specials for $25 that included dinner, soup or salad and a glass of wine.

I enjoyed my stay and I felt appreciated as a guest at this hotel.  I would happily stay here again and this is a perfect hotel for anyone whether you are a woman traveling alone or a family.  I felt safe in the parking lot and hotel.  There is a parking deck under the hotel and a few parking spaces in the front and to the side of the hotel.  I was always able to park in the front or the side of side of the hotel.

Hotel Indigo
SARASOTA

1223 BOULEVARD OF THE ARTS 
SARASOTA, FL 34236 UNITED STATES 

Hotel Front Desk: 001-941-487-3800 | Hotel Fax: 001-941-487-3801

Tampa, FL - Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore

One nice thing I can say about this hotel is that it has a big parking lot and the parking is free.  I was able to park right across from the entrance which I always appreciate.  The location is very close to the airport but I was not awakened by airplanes all night.  The lobby is very pretty and the front desk staff is eager to help.  The girl gave me ideas for restaurants and even offered to schedule me and my coworker on the shuttle but we had a rental car.  The shuttle will go most anywhere within a couple of miles. 

My room was nice with a big cushy king sized bed and lots of down pillows which I love.  The carpet looked like it could use a good cleaning.  It wasn't dirty all over I just noticed a couple of stains.  Since I am at diamond level with Hilton I had access to the concierge lounge.  The girl at the front desk said there would be drinks and appetizers in the evening and breakfast in the morning in the lounge.  On visiting the lounge in the evening I did discover hot and cold appetizers and free sodas and water but any alcoholic drinks were for purchase and the price of the drinks seemed expensive.  This seemed a little weird to me and I haven't ever been in a concierge lounge where the alcoholic drinks were not free. I only got a soda and some cookies.

As much as I was disappointed in the evening reception in the concierge lounge the breakfast exceeded my expectations.  I had expected a continental breakfast and I had a pleasant surprise.  A full breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, and hot oatmeal along with fruit, coffee, juices, tea, breads and muffins.  It was a nice breakfast and the lady tending the breakfast bar was very nice and she was working to keep the area clean and well stocked.  

My overall stay in this Hilton was nice.  The hotel seems to be aging a little and the carpet can use cleaning in certain areas.  I did not try the hotel restaurant or the pool/hot tub.  The pool area looked very nice when viewed from my room.  This Hilton is very convenient to the airport and businesses around the airport.

Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore

2225 North Lois Avenue, Tampa, Florida, United States 33607-2355
Tel: 1-813-877-6688    Fax:  1-813-879-3264