Travel – Page 19 – Traveling Tiger

2016 Fall Hotel Promotions

It isn’t uncommon for loyalty programs to run seasonal promotions, and hotels are no different. Currently, the larger brands are running some rather profitable promotions. If you are a member at one, or many, of these chains, it is always a good idea to subscribe to the email notifications offered by the chains.

Hilton HHonors

Hilton is running a spectacularly good promotion currently. In fact, it’s an extension of the current promotion given the way it was received by the traveling community at large. There are very few restrictions – largely based on the rate you pay. All hotels and resorts qualify, and there are no requirements for the length of stay. Once you are registered, you earn double points for all stays until December 31, 2016. Simple as that!

Starwood Preferrred Guest

SPG’s new promotion, More For You, won’t be open for registration until September 12th (running until December 18th), unfortunately. However, until then they have a game open where you can win many instant prizes – including Starpoints and free night certificates. Better still, all entries (limited to one per day, per account) goes into a final draw of 5 free nights and 50,000 Starpoints.

Marriott

The 2016 Fall promotion being run by Marriott is similar to Starwood’s game, but instead of entering daily online, you are required to stay. With every stay after your second, however, you earn an additional 2,000 Marriott Rewards points (up to 10,000). Each stay will also enter you in the grand prize drawing of 100,000 points. There can be 100 winners!

Hyatt

Hyatt’s current promotions are for points redemption and purchases instead of earnings, but a full list can be found here. If you find out otherwise, please let me know!

International Hotel Group

For a few seasons now IHG has been running a customized promotion known as Accelerate. What I mean by this is that while the promotion is available for all IHG members, the earnings and criteria are customized for each member. You can find your personalized offer here and register at the same time. Since it is customized, I can’t lay out the specifics, but I can show you what I was offered!

Closing

Regardless of which loyalty program(s) you belong to, it is in your best interest to opt in for their emails and even their physical mailings. They offer quite a few things. I was invited to stay at the Westin Lagunamar for a timeshare pitch thanks to this. Five days and four nights for $499? Yes, please! Happy earning!

Vacation Report: Stowe, VT, Day 5

Stowe, VT, Day 1: Arrival to Burlington

Stowe, VT, Day 2: Farmer’s Market!

Stowe, VT, Day 3: Cider Doughnuts & Cheese

Stowe, VT, Day 4: Mt. Mansfield & Montpelier

Stowe, VT, Day 5: Return to Raleigh

Flights

On my return from Stowe, VT I flew back from Burlington, VT (BTV). The first flight was from Burlington to Detroit, and then routed from Detroit to Raleigh.

The full route can be seen here, courtesy of the Great Circle Mapper.

I only managed to upgrade to First Class for the first segment, as the second was a popular flight. Even with Diamond Medallion Status, it’s a gamble when flying out of a Delta hub city! As with the flight up, I went for window seats.

Breakfast at McCarthy’s

My girlfriend’s family usually reserves McCarthy’s for their last morning in Stowe, as it was my last day, they made an exception. I had quite a nice breakfast with made-from-scratch corned beef hash, fresh 12-grain wheat toast, and an omelette with spinach, Feta cheese, and artichokes.

Menu cover at McCarthy's - no plastic is a common trend in Stowe — Menu cover at McCarthy’s – no plastic is a common trend in Stowe

Mediterranean omelette with freshly made corned beef hash

After breakfast, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to pose with the bears at the entrance. 🙂

Carrie and I with the bears outside McCarthy's — Carrie and I with the bears outside McCarthy’s

Back to BTV

The return drive to Burlington International Airport was smooth, even with construction on I-89, and the route to the airport was marked clearly. Avis was a breeze, as always – it is worth signing up for their Preferred program, and it’s free! As I saw on my arrival, Burlington does offer TSA PreCheck, which had my hopes up. Unfortunately it was the “lite” version, where you still have to remove toiletries and laptops from your bags. At least you don’t have to get undressed, so there’s that.

Vacation Report: Stowe, VT, Day 4

Stowe, VT, Day 1: Arrival to Burlington

Stowe, VT, Day 2: Farmer’s Market!

Stowe, VT, Day 3: Cider Doughnuts & Cheese

Stowe, VT, Day 4: Mt. Mansfield & Montpelier

Stowe, VT, Day 5: Return to Raleigh

Mount Mansfield

Mount Mansfield is the tallest mountain in Vermont, and one of its lower peaks is fairly close to Stowe. In fact, the Stowe resort has built a series of gondolas that will take you up! These serve a secondary purpose for getting skiers up to the top of the slope during ski season. Though it was almost 74 degrees Fahrenheit at the base, it was in the mid 60s at the top.

Smuggler’s Notch

Just beyond Mount Mansfield is the region known as Smuggler’s Notch. The many switchbacks and narrow roads make for very dangerous driving conditions. Certainly not something I would want to do in the winter! Lovely views to be experienced, however, and a popular destination for hikers and mountain climbers.

Montpelier

Montpelier is located roughly 30 minutes south of the Village Green at Stowe, so it was a very short drive. The actual distance is much shorter, but a lot of time is spent on surface streets given the location of the condos. For those that haven’t visited Montpelier, it is a surprisingly down-to-earth, especially for a capital. We grabbed lunch at the Three-Penny Taproom before doing some more gift-shopping. Most of the stores close at 5, so be sure to get there early in the day!

Vacation Report: Stowe, VT, Day 3

Stowe, VT, Day 1: Arrival to Burlington

Stowe, VT, Day 2: Farmer’s Market!

Stowe, VT, Day 3: Cider Doughnuts & Cheese

Stowe, VT, Day 4: Mt. Mansfield & Montpelier

Stowe, VT, Day 5: Return to Raleigh

A trip to Vermont is not complete without cider doughnuts, cheese, or chocolates… so we squeezed all three into one day! 😀

Cold Hollow Cider Mill

Our first stop of the day was Cold Hollow Cider Mill. Only 15 minutes from the Village Green condos, it made for a delicious start to the day. You are encouraged to sample their different ciders, apple butters, and spreads. They also make wonderfully moist cider doughnuts – the traditional size, so you don’t have to feel guilty about it, of course.

After putting our legs up for a bit, we made our way to Pete’s Green’s, where we were told we could see some alpaca! Though the alpaca didn’t want to be friendly, we did meet a very friendly sheep and an adventurous chicken who escaped the pen as we made our way to the car.

Cabot Annex, Smuggler’s Notch Distillery, and More

Located just south of Pete’s Greens is a strip-mall-esque location containing an annex for Cabot’s cheeses, as well as Danforth Pewter, Lake Champlain Chocolates, and Smuggler’s Notch Distillery.

We had to sample everything available here, so we took our time and explored what they had to share. My personal favorite at Cabot was their Lamberton cheese, which we picked up for our burgers. I also purchased a fifth of Smuggler’s Notch Litigation – a new offering of whiskey that I found quite tasty.

Though there is quite a lot of detail in the wares at Danforth Pewter, the prices are quite reasonable given the work put into the items, and it is an excellent option for souvenirs and gifts. This property is attached directly to the Lake Champlain Chocolate store, which made for a nice transition. Though the iced Americano was tasty, the iced brew from Scout & Co. in South Burlington was by and far better.

For lunch we traveled back to Waterbury and visited the Prohibition Pig.

Ben & Jerry

On the way back to Stowe, we had to visit Ben & Jerry’s headquarters.

Though we didn’t stay for the tour, we definitely had some ice-cream (Bourbon Brown Butter) and went to say hi to the cows on the way back to the car. Gotta thank the ladies for the delicious milk!

Vacation Report: Stowe, VT, Day 2

Stowe, VT, Day 1: Arrival to Burlington

Stowe, VT, Day 2: Farmer’s Market!

Stowe, VT, Day 3: Cider Doughnuts & Cheese

Stowe, VT, Day 4: Mt. Mansfield & Montpelier

Stowe, VT, Day 5: Return to Raleigh

We spent our day wandering about the various stalls at the Stowe Farmer’s Market and I found myself falling in love all over with cheese. I also discovered a liquor distilled from maple syrup, as well as gins that were created exclusively with herbs from Vermont! There were many fuzzies (puppies mainly, though a horse did show up!) that were very friendly with us.

Afterwards, we visited the Stowe Cider as well as Stowe Wine and Cheese. The staff everywhere was extremely friendly and is happy to help you find a cider that fits your flavor profiles! They make one that is aged in Rum barrels, for example, that is quite tasty.

For lunch, we visited the Malt Shop, where I opted for onion rings and a burger with bleu cheese. They also have excellent chili-fries. Be warned, though, they only accept cash!

Vacation Report: Stowe, VT, Day 1

Stowe, VT, Day 1: Arrival to Burlington

Stowe, VT, Day 2: Farmer’s Market!

Stowe, VT, Day 3: Cider Doughnuts & Cheese

Stowe, VT, Day 4: Mt. Mansfield & Montpelier

Stowe, VT, Day 5: Return to Raleigh

Background

My girlfriend’s family has access to a timeshare in Stowe, VT, so I decided to take some time away from my day job to get some R and R. I took the opportunity to fly more with Delta to help maintain status, and kill two birds with one stone. To add icing to the cake, a good friend of ours visited at the same time, so we had many nights filled with Cards Against Humanity!

Flights

To reach Stowe, VT I flew to the nearest airport: Burlington, VT (BTV). The first flight was from Raleigh to Detroit, and then routed from Detroit to Burlington.

The full route can be seen here, courtesy of the Great Circle Mapper.

Thanks to my Diamond Medallion Status, I confirmed upgrades to First Class for both segments on the way up. The first flight was on a B737-800, while the second was on a regional jet (CRJ900). I opted for window seats on both flights – I’m a sucker for a good view!

Detroit

As we taxied for takeoff at Detroit, I caught a glimpse of a 747-400 – one of my favorite planes, and my first wide-body experience that I can remember. Because of the sentimental memories associated with the plane, I can’t help but smile when I see one.

Burlington Airport

While the Burlington Airport is technically international, it is fairly small in that it only caters to regional aircraft, albeit the larger ones (CRJ700/900). There is no SkyClub, due to its size, but TSA PreCheck is available.

The airport is directly across from the Army and Air National Guard hangars, which made for an impressive landing. The 134th Fighter Squadron was visible from my window. As an AvGeek, seeing F16s was definitely awesome.

South Burlington

Before heading to Stowe, I headed into Burlington to get some coffee and a snack. I stopped at Scout & Co., and their iced coffee was just what I needed. Highly recommended, if you find yourself in the region!

Village Green at Stowe

The timeshare properties are part of the condos located at the Village Green at Stowe. Though a little dated (the condos were built in the mid-to-late 70s), they have modern furnishings and gas cooking. My girlfriend brought up our grill so we were able to make some burgers with delicious Cabot cheese. The condos also have an indoor pool, outdoor pool, hot tub, and dry sauna available. Unfortunately cellular reception in the area leaves a lot to be desired, and Wi-Fi is only available near the club house.

Hello from Stowe, VT!

Apologies for the lack of posts, but the internet connectivity is spotty at best. There are posts coming, though!

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