Travel | Miles | Photography
On our way to South Luangwa National Park from Lusaka, we stayed a night at the Protea Hotel in Chipata. Protea is part of the Marriott hotel portfolio and is ubiquitous in Africa. I had never heard of this brand until I was searching on Marriott’s app for hotels in Chipata. About two and a half hours from South Luangwa National Park, Protea Hotel proved an excellent accommodation to break our journey.
Continue reading “Review: Protea Hotel, Chipata, Zambia”
During the second week of July, my wife, 9-month-old son, and I took a trip to Grand Cayman Island. Rather than do a separate hotel review, I will combine everything into one post since there are a few relevant details that many of you may benefit from. We chose Grand Cayman Island for a few reasons. First of all, it’s about a 3.5-hour flight from Chicago, and that’s approximately the maximum time my son will be confined to an airline cabin before he really starts getting restless. When he was five months old, we took him on an 8-hour flight to Hawaii, and he was perfectly fine. Once he hit the 7-month mark, even a 2-hour flight wasn’t easy. So, with those considerations in mind, Europe, Asia, and Hawaii were out of the question. The second reason we chose Grand Cayman is that its beaches have been spared from the seaweed problem (sargassum) that has plagued destinations such as Cancun, Dominican Republic, Barbados, and Florida. Most of these destinations do their best to remove it every morning, but despite their efforts, it’s still noticeable. The third reason we chose Grand Cayman is that it is infant/toddler/kid-friendly.
For this trip, I found saver-level award tickets (tickets that require the least number of miles for a given route) on American Airlines for 30k miles per person round trip. Since my son is a lap infant, his ticket was free. The cash price for a round-trip flight from Chicago to Grand Cayman was $455 per person. Redeeming 60k miles for $910 worth of airfare was a decent redemption.
Owen Roberts International Airport does not have jet bridges, so you must walk down the stairs and onto the tarmac before entering the terminal. The minute you land, you’re greeted by a musical band playing local music. It’s a perfect way to get the vacation vibes going.
We stayed in a boutique hotel called Sunshine Suites Resort. It’s a 3.5-star hotel that is clean, comfortable, and very reasonably priced (usually between $140-$180/night). I saw its 4.5-star rating on Trip Advisor, with over 2,000 reviews, which was good enough for me. If you need luxury accommodations with an ocean view, this hotel is not for you. The main reason I booked this hotel is we got to use all the amenities of the 5-star Westin Hotel, which is a 5-minute walk down the street. Their pool, beach, beach towels, lounge chairs, gym, and access to its restaurants and bars are all included in the mandatory $35/day resort fee. The nightly price of the Westin was 3x the price of the Sunshine Suites. Since we would be out at the beach for most of the day anyway, we needed a comfortable place to sleep, shower, and get dressed. Sunshine Suites provided all that and more, including complimentary breakfast. You can click on the video below to get an idea of the rooms and the property. FYI, if you don’t want to walk to the Westin, you can go to the front desk at Sunshine Suites and request a driver to drop you off in their golf cart. It works the same way if you want to return from the Westin. Just let the front desk at the Westin know in that case.
The breakfast offerings were decent. There was a nice variety of pastries, pancakes, cereal, parfait, boiled eggs, toast, oatmeal, bananas, muffins, coffee, tea, orange juice, and apple juice. Sunshine Suites also had a restaurant called Sunshine Grill, which served lunch and dinner. This is not complimentary and does not come as part of an “all-inclusive” package. The fish tacos they served were delicious. I would have fish tacos if I could return and have one meal in Grand Cayman.
The Westin Hotel
Since we had access to all the amenities of the Westin, we would have breakfast and make our way there for most of the day.
Once you cross over the pool to the beach area, you will be greeted by Westin employees who direct you to lounge chairs and open the umbrellas if you choose to have them open. Towels are available to the right of the pool and must be checked out with your last name and room number of the property you’re staying at. Seven Mile Beach is simply amazing. I would rank it right behind the Maldives for water clarity among all the beaches I have visited. There is no seaweed or litter; it’s perfectly maintained, and the waves are calm for water activities.
Seven Mile Beach’s water clarity makes it perfect for snorkeling, so bring an underwater camera and snorkeling gear. You can also rent the gear from the hotel. Seven Mile Beach faces west, and if the horizon is clear, you will be treated to some spectacular sunsets. Even if the horizon isn’t 100% clear, the sun reflecting off the clouds will make for a beautiful and colorful sky.
If you’re reading this, a point of interest that might be worth visiting is Stingray City. It wasn’t age-appropriate for a 9-month-old, but if you have kids who are a bit older or you want to experience swimming with stingrays, it’s only a 10-minute drive away. Keep in mind that when driving in the Cayman Islands, you drive on the left side of the road as it is a British territory.
Some of you have asked if the food, water, and snacks are expensive, and for the most part, they are costly. If you purchase from the hotel or even convenience stores right next to the hotel, it will cost you three to four times what you are used to paying for bottled water. I asked a local where I could purchase a case of water, and he directed me to a large wholesale club called ‘Cost U Less,’ which was just a 7-minute walk away. If you’re familiar with BJ’s Wholesale Club on the East Coast, this was their sister store. It even had the Wellsley Farms brand, the store label for BJ’s. You don’t need a membership, and while the prices aren’t U.S. wholesale club prices, they are far cheaper than any other place you will find on the island. If you’re staying at an Airbnb and decide to cook rather than eat out, this is a perfect place to shop for your ingredients since they also carry fresh produce, seafood, and meat.
We had a great time at Grand Cayman Island, and the service and hospitality at the Sunshine Suites and Westin were top-notch. I’ve never seen two hotels so well coordinated when transporting passengers between the two properties and accommodating each other’s guests at their respective restaurants. If there is one other essential tip you take from this, BRING MOSQUITO REPELLANT and bathe yourself in it. They are relentless, and if any parts of your body don’t have the repellant touching it, they will find it, guaranteed. As always, thanks for reading.
My wife and I got to experience this beautiful property courtesy of our AMEX free weekend night certificates. Unfortunately, the American Express Hilton Honors Ascend Card no longer has this benefit on the cardmember anniversary. You have to spend $15,000 in a given year to get the free night, and I don’t think it’s worth forgoing points with Chase or AMEX Platinum/Gold to pursue a free night with Hilton in most instances. Since my wife and I have the AMEX Hilton Honors Ascend Card, we combined our free nights into a weekend stay. The nightly rate for our room was $450, so we got $900 worth of value plus $50 credit toward dining for the annual fee we paid for both cards ($95 per card).
Walking into the hotel, take the elevator to the third floor. There is no second floor; the third floor is where the check-in desk, lounge, restaurant, and lobby are located. Upon checking in, the receptionist verified our Hilton Gold status, courtesy of the AMEX card, and upgraded us to a room on the 9th floor. We could choose 1,000 Hilton points or a $50 dining credit as Hilton Gold members. We took the dining credit (I don’t recommend taking the points in this scenario). The receptionist was kind enough to give us a mini-tour of the hotel, Estuary restaurant, and some of the amenities this hotel offers.
My first impression when walking in was that this hotel did not have many 90-degree angles. The architect made a concerted effort to make the interior as curvy as possible. The lobby was beautiful, and since the hotel was only 45 days old when we stayed, it still had that brand-new scent.
Our room was on the 9th floor, with a nice view of New York Street below. Keeping up with the theme, the room was curvy but spacious and very comfortable.
As an avid coffee drinker, I always appreciate it when a hotel provides a Keurig-type machine with pods. The coffee was complimentary, per usual, but the snacks were completely overpriced. If you need snacks, there is a CVS across the street where you can get the same offerings for 1/4 of the price.
The bathroom provided two sinks and a separate blurred door to the toilet so two people could use the bathroom simultaneously while still having some privacy.
The toiletries were Shanghai Tang, and the scent was very nice—not too overpowering but not too light either. The room also provided slippers, a safe, laundry bag, iron, and bathrobes.
Estuary is the restaurant on the premises on the 3rd floor. We went there for breakfast on Saturday morning and ordered a custom-made omelet and buttermilk pancakes. Both were delicious, albeit smaller in portion than your typical brunch diner.
The Estuary Bar area was spacious, and seating was plentiful during the day. If an event is going on at the hotel, it’ll likely get packed in the evening and into the late night. 
Since the hotel was only 45 days old during our stay, the Rooftop Bar was not officially open to guests, so I could only take pictures from behind the glass door. The 3rd-floor terrace was open for use.
The fitness center was one of the better ones I had seen at a hotel. Upon entering, guests are greeted with towels, earphones, and apples.
Although I forgot to measure the internet speed, I had no speed or Wi-Fi connectivity issues. If you plan to park your car at the Conrad, parking in their garage is $36 a day. I used the ParkWhiz app and found a garage two blocks away, allowing me to park for $14. There is also metered parking on the street, but it has a three-hour time limit during business hours and is free overnight. One of the most appealing aspects of staying at Conrad DC is that the National Mall, White House, Capitol building, Smithsonian, and many other points of interest are only 10-15 minutes away by walking. I also want to acknowledge the receptionists on the 3rd floor who always gave us complimentary bottles of water whenever we walked by. The staff made an excellent stay that much better.
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