{"id":1532,"date":"2016-03-09T06:03:54","date_gmt":"2016-03-09T14:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandtraveltips.com\/?p=1532"},"modified":"2016-03-19T07:59:30","modified_gmt":"2016-03-19T14:59:30","slug":"why-the-paris-park-hyatt-vendome-sucks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/milespointsreselling\/2016\/03\/09\/why-the-paris-park-hyatt-vendome-sucks\/","title":{"rendered":"Why The Paris Park Hyatt Vendome Sucks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note: This was originally publish on Portland Travel Tips in 2014. \u00a0I am reposting miles and points related posts from that site to here.<\/em><\/p>\n

I just completed a short trip to Belgium and France and wanted to share some of my thoughts.\u00a0 This trip was a new experience for my wife and I.\u00a0 I have been collecting miles and points for about 4 years now.\u00a0 We have redeemed those points for many domestic trips, but this was our first international trip with points.\u00a0 We flew business class, stayed in fancy hotels, and did it all for $600 in taxes and fees. \u00a0On our flight home, I was continually thinking about something Rick Steves said in an interview a few years back when he was asked about the difference between a tourist and a traveler.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll give you an example. A few years ago, my family was excited to go to Mazatl\u00e1n. You get a little strap around your wrist and can have as many margaritas as you want. They only let you see good-looking local people, who give you a massage. There\u2019s nothing wrong with that. But I don\u2019t consider it travel. I consider it hedonism. And I have no problem with hedonism. But don\u2019t call it travel. Travel should bring us together.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For the most part of our trip, especially at the Park Hyatt Vendome, I felt like I was on a cruise ship, minus the boat.\u00a0 Instead of a wrist bracelet, I had my hotel elite status. \u00a0I had twice daily housekeeping service, heated stone tiles in the bathroom, a rain shower, and I was surrounded by good looking people with money. \u00a0What was there not to like?<\/p>\n

What was not to like was that the Park Hyatt was missing something that I value, highly, when traveling abroad.\u00a0 People.\u00a0 The hotel is not in a residential area.\u00a0 It is in a mostly commercial area surrounded by high-end stores like Cartier, Tiffany\u2019s, Mont Blanc, and more.\u00a0 This is what window shopping looks like by the Park Hyatt.<\/p>\n

\"Cartier<\/a><\/p>\n

I do not travel to pretend I am a part of the 1%.\u00a0 I travel to experience new cultures, to learn about myself, and others.\u00a0 The Park Hyatt, is no different than a cruise ship occasionally dropping you off at port so you can see the sights and say you\u2019ve been there.<\/p>\n

When I travel I prefer to stay in neighborhoods where people live.\u00a0 The restaurant food is better, people are friendlier, and you can experience a new place in a more intimate way. As opposed to just dropping in and retreating to the confines of your luxury suite at the Park Hyatt.<\/p>\n

Part of the reason I chose to travel in this way was because I wanted to experience something new. I have never flown international business class, I have never stayed at a $1200 a night hotel, and to a large degree I was influenced by mile and point bloggers who present this as the <\/em>way to travel.<\/p>\n

What I learned about this way of travel is that the bloggers are wrong.\u00a0 For me, at least, it is not the<\/em> way to travel.\u00a0 In fact, I hardly consider it travel at all.\u00a0 The bloggers (who are the face of this hobby) have lost perspective (or maybe they never had it).\u00a0 Instead of the flight and hotel being the vehicle by which you experience a new destination and culture.\u00a0 The destination has become the vehicle by which you experience a hotel and flight.\u00a0\u00a0 Like passengers on a cruise ship, it is hedonism, and there is nothing wrong with that.\u00a0 Just do not call it travel. “Travel should bring us\u00a0together.”<\/p>\n

Let me give you an example of how travel should bring us together. \u00a0My favorite lodging in Italy was a place called Manuel’s Guesthouse in Cinque Terre. \u00a0Manuel had about five rooms to rent in his house. \u00a0He had a wonderful terrace that doubled as his outdoor kitchen. \u00a0In the evenings you could chat with him, his nephew, and fellow travelers from all over the world, while taking in this view.<\/p>\n

\"Manuels<\/a><\/p>\n

By limiting yourself to lodgings where your hotel elite status gets you a suite upgrade you are missing out on what travel should be about. \u00a0Connecting with people. \u00a0Next time, I will confine my hedonism to the flight and skip the fancy hotel.\u00a0 This trip reaffirmed my love of small B&Bs and pensions, located in residential neighborhoods.\u00a0 I may not have a nightly turn down service and bottles of Evian every morning but I will happily trade that for a more intimate connection with the people and place I am visiting.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Note: This was originally publish on Portland Travel Tips in 2014. \u00a0I am reposting miles and points related posts from that site to here. 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