This was my second time staying at the Langham in NYC, but my first time staying at the Langham as an AMEX Platinum cardholder—a whole new experience! Don’t get me wrong, I had a great first stay; it was what I expected for a 5-star hotel; however, as an AMEX Platinum cardholder, I felt like the experience was so much better. One of the card’s benefits is a $200 credit for booking hotels that are part of Fine Hotels & Resorts or The Hotel Collection. When I checked in, the staff immediately upgraded me to an executive suite with a kitchen on the 21^st floor. Along with the upgrade, I was informed that I had a $100 credit for any of the following: spa, room service, or breakfast for two at their Michelin-star restaurant, Ai Fiori. I was also informed that I could check out at 4pm, which was very convenient since our flight was at 5:30pm on Sunday.

When we went to our room, my cousin and I first noticed the view through the large windows—we could see down 5th Avenue and the beautiful Chrysler building.

*View of Bank of America Tower and the Conde Naste Building (with H&M sign)*

ChryslerBuilding — *Beautiful view of the Chrysler building and looking down on Fifth Avenue*

The second thing we noticed was that we had a powder room—when does that ever happen? Needless to say, we had more than enough room. We even had some of our friends and cousins come up to hang out with us in the room; six adults and a baby were hanging out comfortably. All the cafes around us were closed, so we ordered lattes from room service (using my $100 credit), and they were excellent!

*Full kitchen via AMEX Platinum upgrade*

*Soap, shampoo, and conditioner were all Chuan, a holistic proprietary brand owned by Langham.*

Another huge selling point for the Langham is its location. The hotel is centrally located in Manhattan, so we could walk to most of our destinations on Saturday. We walked to Washington Square Park, Times Square, and the Highline. The next day, we had to check out by 4pm and catch our flight at 5:30pm, so we didn’t have much time to waste. We woke up at 8am and called the doorman to arrange a ride to Central Park at 11am using the hotel car service (which is free!).

Pro Tip: The hotel has a Jaguar that will drop you off wherever you want to up until 59th Street. They start taking appointments at 8 a.m., and they are on a first-come, first-served basis.

After our ride set up, we got ready and cashed in on our complimentary breakfast at Ai Fiori—which was phenomenal! My cousin and I decided to order a couple of things and share. We ordered the buttermilk pancakes, uova in Purgatorio, and the house potatoes—everything was phenomenal. You can see the picture below.

If you asked me what the stay was like after my first time, I would’ve said it was great—all the basics of a 5-star hotel. But staying here as an AMEX Platinum cardholder made this experience next-level amazing, to say the least! It is rare to have a travel experience where you don’t compromise on something, whether it be the room, service, or location. But I can genuinely say there was no compromising at the Langham NYC; everything was at the top of its game—the room, the service, the amenities, the location, and the (free) food were all a 5 out of 5.

Review and pictures by Salma Hatia

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.

Booking

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.

Sunshine Suites Resort

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.

SunshineSuitesNight — *Sunshine Suites at night*

SunshinePool — *The pool at Sunshine Suites at night*

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.

WestinEntrance — *If you don’t want to walk here from Sunshine Suites, go to the front desk and request to be dropped off via a golf cart. This was a very convenient way to move around with our son.*

WestinGCpool — *The pool and swim-up bar at the Westin*

WestinBack — *View of The Westin from the beach area*

WestinPools — *The pool has a pedestrian bridge that crosses over to the beach. You can swim underneath to get to either side.*

ZaynMePool — *First pool experience for Zayn*

Seven Mile Beach

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.

Concluding Thoughts

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.