QF009 visits the US of A [dedicated to taipeiflyer and HUGE AL]

[Keith009]

Venetian pool

Village of Merrick Park

Bal Harbour shops

Lincoln Rd Mall, South Beach

Next: AA637 MIA-MSY F; W New Orleans-Poydras St; New Orleans

p/s best not to update TRs when drunk - damn that has taken to omany edits. greetings from Drunkenistan!

 

[Keith009]

Sector - MIA-MSY
Flight number - AA637
Class - First
Seat - 6E
Aircraft - B737-800

The family component of the trip had come to an end, and I was to go on to NOLA whilst my folks flew back to SIN via LAX and HKG. They were checked in all the way to SIN with bags tagged the same. However I received an sms from mum whilst they were in LAX which suggested that Cathay insisted on reissuing their boarding passes on to Cathay stock - something I've never heard of prior (except for QF due to the API requirement)! Good to know I guess. They also liked the new OW lounges, and as I understand - gorged on food so that they can go to sleep immediately after take off. They got the new J and unlike me seemed to prefer it to the old one.

My check in experience was much less complicated - just a boring short segment in AA "F" to MSY. Due to some repacking the night before I'd managed to balance out the weight of both suitcases - and they weighed 45 and 50 pounds respectively. I noticed that the flight number had changed along with the retiming of the flight, which meant that there'd been cancellation and rebooking. I kept my originally assigned seat though.

I was at the airport extraordinarily early to see the folks off, who departed an hour before I did. So it was pretty boring as I could not access the AC. I decided to head to the gate early and Ipoded myself up. There was a surprisingly big crowd at the gate early, which I didn't expect at that hour. Ended up having a jolly good chat with the chick next to me who happened to work for Border Protection and was off to MSY on a conference with 20 other colleagues on the same flight. She was also an EXP and was waiting for her upgrade to clear - and apparently she was number 1 on the list.

MIA isn't nearly as entertaining as other airports as there wasn't an upgrade list to watch. Actually, the airport was positively dreary and had the ambience of a hospital ward.

I'd chosen my seat, the last row in F based on FEBO logic before realising that there'd be no meals on this flight - just a drinks service. Helps to pay closer attention to the flight info on AA.com I suppose.

The MIA-based crew was very attentive and friendly - I kept getting top ups of my Coke despite not having asked for it. Always nice to see cabin crew that take their jobs seriously.

And before too long we'd made a punctual arrival at MSY, off to NOLA - the last stopover in my itinerary before the entire adventure came to an end!

Next: W New Orleans-Poydras St; New Orleans

 

[Keith009]

W New Orleans - French Quarter
Chartres St

This was the W I didn't stay at as it was much pricier than the other one, yet the other one had better reviews.

I walked past it on the way to the pub, and so decided to walk in to check it out.

This W seemed to have a very European style, which would appear to fit in with the rest of the French Quarter. Has a very nice courtyard.

I liked the look of the pool. Would be a nice spot for posing if I stayed here.

It is located right in the FQ which means it's ideally located for nightlife and restos. The other W isn't too far away either.

 

[Keith009]

W New Orleans
333 Poydras St

There were 2 Ws in NOLA and I was quite torn between which to pick. This W seemed to attract much better reviews and seemed to have a better bar scene (another Whiskey Blue). OTOH the other W was in the middle of all the nightlife. All was moot when the W on Poydras came up with a much cheaper rate.

The decor here was my favourite of all - the entire hotel was made to look like a chic nightclub. It simply exuded chicness. So along with the W Chicago-Lakeshore, I'd suggest that decor-wise this W is one of the trendiest in the system. Perhaps this hotel was recently remodeled after Miss K paid a visit, but it seemed to be a lot more cutting edge than the other Ws I've stayed at on my trip.

The Living Room was well-designed, and there was ample seating as well as cool spots to mingle. Besides Whiskey Blue there was also a Living Room Bar. Whiskey Blue was busy, and enjoyed the presence of a young and beautiful crowd (despite the proximity of the hotel to the financial district which would normally imply a more businessy and uhh...mature crowd - no offence!!). OTOH the Living Room was quite dead, but this could be due to the weekdays. So Living Room wise the W SF and W NY-USq are a lot more happening. I'd managed to convince some people I'd met to take their drinks out to the Living Room as I felt it was just so much more atmospheric there than Whiskey Blue - which was basically a cordoned off corner of the Living Room. Besides, I felt the bartender at the Living Room bar was much more adept.

Welcome Desk

Whatever Desk

Living Room

 

[Keith009]

Whiskey Blue

I'd booked a Wonderful Room, the cheapest room category. At check in I was given a choice between a non-smoking corner Spectacular Room on the top floor, or a smoking Fantastic Suite on a lower floor. I was also invited to check out both rooms before making up my mind.

The bedroom of the Fantastic Suite was identical to the Spectacular Room. The Spectacular Room was located at a corner and appeared to have a larger floor plan than others; the Welcome desk agent proudly announced that as a "preferred room" it had a much larger bathroom than the other rooms.

Both the Fantastic Suite and the Spectacular Room came with a large plasma TV, an ipod dock which was practical, and very nice black walls. I feel black walls give hotel rooms that extra edge in the cool factor. Both were also equipped with fax machines. Bathrooms were spacious, and the Fantastic Suite had an extra toilet for the lounge room.

The lounge room of the Fantastic Suite was extremely big - even came with a dining table and wet bar.

The Fantastic Suite didn't smell at all smokey and so I'd elected to take the suite - figured extra space can't hurt.

Spectacular Room + bedroom of Fantastic Suite

 

[Keith009]

Bathroom

2nd WC in Fantastic Suite

Living room of Fantastic Suite

 

[Keith009]

There wasn't any free wifi in the Living Room, however complimentary internet was provided by Wired! which comprised of 2 computer terminals with printing facilities, located directly behind the Whatever Desk. In-room wifi was quite affordable relative to the W NY-Union Sq though.

I ate once at the hotel's restaurant Zoe and whilst the food was great there isn't a whole lot of range. Dinner was basically a free-for-all menu where you constructed your own meal, select your own entree and couple it with sauces, garnishes and sides. I felt there was much cheaper and a greater variety of food at other restaurants in the vicinity, such as Mother's across the road, the French Market, or simply head into the French Quarter.

Service was great, and the staff were very cool people per usual W standards. The concierge took pains to describe the dos and don'ts with food in NOLA after hearing of my shellfish allergy - apparently almost everything in NOLA is cooked with shellfish ingredients of some sort, even non-shellfish dishes.

The hotel is about a 15 minute walk to the nightlife on Bourbon St in the French Quarter, with Canal St just around the corner (the Sheraton and the Westin on Canal St are within a 200m radius). There was a chic shopping mall just on Canal St, about a 5 minute walk away. It was rather misty at the wee hours in the morning and made the streets looked more frightening than they appeared - so I ended up cabbing home most mornings after emerging bleary eyed from Bourbon St. The cab ride wouldn't cost more than 8 bucks each time. It wasn't so bad when it was dawn though as there'd be sunlight and the mist would've largely cleared.

I was extremely satisfied with my stay, and along with the W SF and W Chicago-Lakeshore this property now ranks as one of my favourite hotels in the world. The fact that it's not in the FQ itself is advantageous in that one could actually leave the craziness behind and get some rest before staring all over again later in the day. I developed a bar hop routing when I was in NOLA: 1) Whiskey Blue 2) Living Room Bar 3) Whatever tickles my fancy on Bourbon St 4) and if I'm still going - continue party in suite.

Definitely the stay of choice in NOLA!

Next: New Orleans

No more W stays till September!!!!

 

[docjames]

p/s best not to update TRs when drunk - damn that has taken to omany edits. greetings from Drunkenistan!

You drinking again? I thought you were off after near death!

 

[Keith009]

You drinking again? I thought you were off after near death!

I was only on the wagon for 30 days (plus the 48 hrs downtime to let all the meds wear off) due to the meds. Thankfully it's shellfish I'm allergic to not booze.

 

[docjames]

I was only on the wagon for 30 days due to the meds. Thankfully it's shellfish I'm allergic to not booze.

Ah yes, just didnt realise the 30 days was up! Phew!!

 

[thegurio]

Still enjoying the TR mate... Its great vicariously through you! I get to stay on the couch and crack another beer and not spend any money... he he he

One thing - maybe it might be my screen but some of the piccies seem dark, still sorta see-able but not great. Minor complaint amidst the great mountian of info.


One other thing - do W have any hotels in Aus or are they all US/Europe based? i just had a look at their site and cant seem to see any.

 

[Keith009]

Still enjoying the TR mate... Its great vicariously through you! I get to stay on the couch and crack another beer and not spend any money... he he he

One thing - maybe it might be my screen but some of the piccies seem dark, still sorta see-able but not great. Minor complaint amidst the great mountian of info.


One other thing - do W have any hotels in Aus or are they all US/Europe based? i just had a look at their site and cant seem to see any.

Grrr I’d posted a lengthy reply but somehow lost it thanks to poxy internet connection.

Thanks mate.

You can blame my photographic skills for the poor pics – I hadn’t wanted to use flash to avoid disturbing other people especially in the Living Rooms and on the plane. I also have a fairly coughpy camera anyway which doesn’t help with my below average photographic skills – who wants to contribute to the “Buy QF009 a new camera so he can produce better trip reports” Fund?

It however is THAT dark in the lobbies of most Ws. Remember they double up as bars, sometimes as nightclubs. There's even a queue to get into the W LA-Westwood on weekend nights (if you aren't a guest and just visiting for the bar) - as Whiskey Blue overflows and takes over the entire Living Room, even the pool area. Hence Living Room and not 'lobby.' My first time at a W was the W Chicago-Lakeshore and I'd thought that I'd stepped into a nightclub by mistake till a Welcome Ambassador (porter - all great eye candy with black, off-white or brown Armani uniforms ) ran up to me, and I saw the big W sign. Love 'em all!!

There used to be a W in Sydney, located in Wollomooloo. It is now the Blue Hotel. It was a v noice W too, located on the wharfs. The long and short is that Starwood had divested a lot of its overseas properties (the Sheraton and 4P in Sydney are still corporate owned though), and the new owners of the W Sydney had decided to switch their management contract to the Taj Group for reasons best known to themselves. The Blue Hotel now has more or less the same décor physically; it just lacks the W vibe...Whatever without the Whenver or Whoever…

There aren’t many of these properties outside the US and Canada, the brand itself only started in 1998 (with the first pty being the W NYC on Lex). It is meant to be inspired by the Royalton in NYC, which is designed by Phillip Starke (that or the Dream Hotel – can’t remember which).

They’ve also recently launched aLoft which is a mid priced version of W, like what 4P is to Sheraton (though lots of Sheratons in the US are mid-scale at best - as nice as the Sheratons overseas can be; in fact there was at one point a branding discrepancy in the US as 4P improved, with designer soaps, a Chief Beer Officer, etc to the point where they were somewhat nicer than Sheratons; that's now changed hopefully with more focus on Sheraton like the introduction of Bliss Vanilla and Bergamot amenities in Sheratons). aLoft Sydney is meant to open in 2009 or 2010; it is located in Mascot and obviously meant to be an airport hotel or motorist halfway resthouse like a lot of the debuting properties in the US and Canada, with the exception of the aLoft Toronto.

Outside the US and Canada, there’s the W Maldives Resort and Spa – a crazily expensive all villa hotel located on its own island. There’s also the W Seoul-Walkerhill with the uber cool Woo Bar. Alas I know that the latter uses Aveda products instead of Bliss Lemon and Sage amenities - they SO need to have Bliss around the globe, try the the Fabulous Foaming Facewash or the Soapy Sap Showergel and you'd know what I mean!!

They’re slowly expanding – there’s the W Istanbul (1APR08), W Hong Kong to be located in Kowloon (30JUL08 - the GM told me that it's bookable from FEB when they go online with their reservation systems but no action so far), W Shanghai-Pudong (2009), W Macau Studio City (2009), W Dubai x 2 (2008 and 2011 respectively), W Santiago (???), W Bali-Seminyak Resort and Spa (2010-2011), W Bangkok and an aLoft Bangkok (2010-2011ish), W –random mountain resort in Switzerland- (2010), W Milan (2008), W Athens (2009) etc. There’re lots more but that’s all I can think of at the top of my head. Might have got some dates wrong – there’s a whole thread of this in the Starwood forum on FT.

Marriott has recently announced its copycat brand – Edition. Posted the news here on AFF some time ago: http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/community/all-other-loyalty-programs/marriotts-answer-w-introducing-12175.html It’d be designed by the same person behind the Mondrian in WeHo and the Gramercy Park in NYC, Ian Schrager. The idea is basically the same – and the name’s pretty clever “14th St Edition”, “Wall St Edition”, “E Ontario St Edition” “5th Avenue Edition” “Paris Edition” “Milan Edition” “South Beach Edition” “Madrid Edition” – you get the idea. They’ve already announced a whole heap of properties even internationally and is expanding much faster than W ever did, in line with Marriott’s shock and awe strategy.

But I think W (an exclusive Whatever/Whenever/Whoever experience --- though I think they only market with the “Whoever” tag to “special interest groups"…) has a much nicer ring. Them and Westin are the main reasons (well, more so W) why I stick with SPG. I even have bedsheets (in the styles of W San Francisco pre refurb, W Seattle, W Chicago Lakeshore, W Chicago City Center, and W NYC Tuscany) bought from W The Store, and after this trip a whole shelf full of Bliss Lemon and Sage amenities…

And they say that I head up the W PR Department on SQTalk…

 

[Tooner]

I agree 009 - the W Sydney was very noice, and was the reason I joined SPG in the first place. It was good too, staying at the hotel, eating at Otto, and then having the bouncers welcome you to the bar passing the hoi polloi queuing up!

 

[moa999]

There used to be a W in Sydney, located in Wollomooloo. It is now the Blue Hotel. It was a v noice W too, located on the wharfs. The long and short is that Starwood had divested a lot of its overseas properties (the Sheraton and 4P in Sydney are still corporate owned though), and the new owners of the W Sydney had decided to switch their management contract to the Taj Group for reasons best known to themselves. The Blue Hotel now has more or less the same décor physically; it just lacks the W vibe...Whatever without the Whenver or Whoever…

Don;t think Starwood ever owned the W Sydney. The owner sold the company and Taj Hotels (part of the Taj Group) purchased it and decided to rebrand it as part of its corporate portfolio.

Taj now owns 52 hotels across 12 countries.
Only about half have the Taj name.

 

[Keith009]

Don;t think Starwood ever owned the W Sydney. The owner sold the company and Taj Hotels (part of the Taj Group) purchased it and decided to rebrand it as part of its corporate portfolio.

Taj now owns 52 hotels across 12 countries.
Only about half have the Taj name.

That's probably right. I'd incorrectly assumed that all Ws were corporate owned but on further research it seems that only the ones based in the US are.

There's a thread on FT about when, why and how the W Sydney ceased being a W:
You Won't Believe This--HORRID Customer Service--W Sydney no more SPG! - FlyerTalk Forums

 

[Hawkeye]

<snip>

...W Hong Kong to be located in Kowloon (30JUL08 - the GM told me that it's bookable from FEB when they go online with their reservation systems but no action so far) ...

<snip>

I've been checking on this every day for the last couple of weeks. I have an xCIR22 in December including HKG, and I am very keen to try the W. Stayed in the Sheraton H and T last year - great harbour views, but otherwise a bit naff!

It must be the influence of your TR's, because I've always been a Sheraton/ Westin man thru and thru. I struggled with the "bling" at the W Dallas, Victory when I initially stayed there, but by the end was quite enjoying the up-tempo nature.

Great TR, by the way, but that goes without saying!

 

[Keith009]

It's all about the bling!!

I've been checking on this every day for the last couple of weeks. I have an xCIR22 in December including HKG, and I am very keen to try the W. Stayed in the Sheraton H and T last year - great harbour views, but otherwise a bit naff!

If you've been to HKG a fair bit the LM Cyberport might be an option if you don't mind being off centre. It's near Stanley Market. It's only a HKD90 cab ride to Central, or HKD8 on the bus (bus station is next to the LM) - takes about 15 and 30 mins respectively. And it's an Art and Tech LM so it's almost as cool and trendy as a W but without the happening factor. These things get delayed a fair bit and I'd make an alternate reservation at the LM or the Sheraton until the W HK gets confirmed.

But be warned that the W HK is not in the best location - it's on Kowloon and it's in a new development that's somewhat nearish to the airport! :shock:

I'm actually quite disappointed as I was hoping that it'd be somewhat near Lan Kwai Fong. Same with W Pudong - what kind of pty developers would build Ws in such godforsaken locations?!

But I'd still stay at the W HK in Sept in the name of research.

Great TR, by the way, but that goes without saying!

Thanks!

 

[Keith009]

New Orleans!!

It was with some trepidation that I decided to include NOLA as one of the stops on my holiday. I was both hard sold and persuaded against a visit to the city in equal measure. But I'd researched the city extensively, and was quite convinced that I'd be roight. Hey they have 2 Ws so that should mean something!

And I'd never regretted for a single moment my decision to visit NOLA!

The experience was actually bittersweet. My city tour included a Katrina destruction tour. Heartbreaking would be understating it - not only to witness the physical damage, but also economic and emotional. But it was also inspiring to witness the city's determined fight back to life.

NOLA is heaven if you like seafood. I'd read a lot about the boiled crawfish and was massively looking forward to it, but we all know how that went south. Nevertheless I did get a good taste of Southern Louisiana cuisine - gumbo, roast beef po boys from Mother's, and all kinds of hearty meat dishes.

And finally, 2 words: Bourbon St. Pumping all day and night, there's something for everyone. Great live music. Great diversity. Partaaaaaaaaaay!

Fulton St

French Quarter

 

[Keith009]

Bourbon St by day ---> I do not bring out my camera at night

 

[Keith009]

I'd also promised my tour guide that I'd tell everyone that I wasn't shot, stabbed, robbed or otherwise harmed.

I'd add to that - NOLA rocks!!

Has it really been 7 weeks since I'd left home?!

Next: The Windy Finale - MSY-xDFW-xJFK-(LAX)-xSYD-MEL AA720 F /AA384 F /AA7366 (QF108) J /QF459 whY