Trip Index
- Pre-lockdown road trip: Palm Springs, Prescott, Phoenix
- Tucson: gem shows, hiking, Pima Air and Space Museum, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
- Tucson Gem and Mineral Main Show, hiking, Titan Missile Museum, Nogales
- Arizona Biltmore Resort, return home, future travel cancellations
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This morning, Kaleb dropped Jarrett and Kate off at the Tucson airport for their early flight. After breakfast, we made sure the Airbnb was tidy before check-out, then we left for Phoenix. It was strange that we never ran into Dan, our host, even though he lived in the backyard casita. Once we heard him walk through the side yard, but that was it. Privacy was definitely respected! I highly recommend this Airbnb, if he lists it again for rental. (read the second post of this trip to find out how)
It was a two-hour drive to the Arizona Biltmore. I stayed at this resort for a 3-day company technical conference, back when discretionary spending was free-flowing. I was fortunate to have been assigned a one-bedroom villa suite with kitchen (nightly rate of $1k!) versus a standard room in the main building, where other colleagues were staying. I didn't know it at the time when I checked in, as the front desk clerk just circled its location on a hotel map to guide my way. Imagine my surprise when I opened the door and saw a sunken living room and kitchen instead of a bed! My jaw dropped, considering I was a recent college graduate used to packing a hotel room like circus clowns in a car. My taste was undoubtedly elevated from that experience. The bed was heavenly! Too bad I hardly spent time in the villa, as the seminars went from morning to evening, with breakfast, lunch and dinner included.
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| 1-bed villa floorplan; courtesy: Arizona Biltmore |
Our visit this time would not be as opulent. I had used a free weekend night certificate for the stay, redeemed for the standard "Resort Room" in the main building. Having Hilton Diamond Elite status may have upgraded the room to one with a patio or balcony at check-in, all complimentary. However, we ended up in an Ocatilla Club room after accepting a Nor1 $88 upgrade offer received via email, knowing I would receive $60 cash back from a Waldorf Astoria AMEX offer redemption. It came with access to the Ocatilla Lounge, which served a buffet breakfast in the morning, refreshments during the day, then evening cocktails and appetizers, followed by a dessert spread. The Ocatilla Club room goes for around $600/night, a nice redemption value for the free night certificate plus $28. Other savings included a $15 per person food and beverage credit per night at the Arizona Biltmore for Diamond Elites.
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| Ocatilla Club Room; courtesy: Arizona Biltmore |
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For late lunch, we went to afternoon tea, served in the main building's lobby. Reservations were made on OpenTable. It wasn't clear where to check in, as there wasn't a host or server around the area, so we went to Frank and Albert's restaurant; the hostess called someone to seat us. The service was so-so, probably because the tables were in the lobby, away from the restaurants. The food was okay - I would rank it lower than the afternoon tea we had at the Fairmont Empress about five years ago. A couple of the savory sandwiches had dry bread, like it was made in advance and sat out in air conditioning. I thought afternoon tea would be more elegant since it was at the Arizona Biltmore; I wouldn't recommend it if you were looking to celebrate a special occasion. It was fine for us as a regular meal. At least it would be covered by the $250 resort credit from the Hilton Aspire card. The best afternoon tea in my experience is still Claridge's in London.
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On the way back to our room, we stopped by the Ocatilla Lounge, located on the ground floor of the Ocatilla building. It was in between meal hours, so only refreshments were offered. Kaleb and I enjoyed some sparkling water on the patio with the resident cat before returning to our room.
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After relaxing in the room, we went back to the lounge to partake in the evening's cocktail reception. A light appetizer buffet was on display. We had our first course here, then headed over to Frank and Albert's.
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Originally I had wanted to have dinner at the elegant Wright's, but it wasn't open on the night we were there. The menu at Frank and Albert's offered contemporary American cuisine and had some unique selections, such as the s'mores dessert with house-made graham crackers...how fun! The food and service were great. Our meal would be covered by the Aspire card's resort credit plus the $30 food and beverage credit mentioned earlier.
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We were too late to partake in the Ocatilla Lounge's dessert hour, but we were already stuffed. The next morning, we went in for a continental breakfast. I was happy to see a lot of fresh cut fruit.
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The lounge patio was right under our room; the resident cat looked very comfortable in front of the fire pit.
We checked out and drove home, with a quick overnight in Southern California. We made it to my brother Ed's house in time for dinner and left the next morning.
I had a great time on the road trip, packing in so many new experiences. Everyone will have their personal favorites, but mine were the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show (which I had always wanted to attend), Musical Instrument Museum, and hiking amongst the cactuses.
This would be the last time Kaleb and I would be traveling in 2020. COVID-19 was already making its way around the world, even though in February, all eyes were focused on hot spots such as Italy and the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan. In March, Kaleb and I (with my parents) were to circumnavigate the globe in an easterly direction, starting with a tour of Dubai and Oman, followed by a cruise around Singapore and Thailand, continuing on to Hong Kong and China for a couple of weeks, then finally back home. We fully intended to embark on the journey; even when the border between Hong Kong and China closed, we just dropped that portion of the trip. It wasn't until the U.S. State Department issued a "Level 3 - Reconsider Travel" advisory a week before our flight to Dubai that we considered canceling. When the tour operator offered future travel credit for cancellations, we called off the entire trip. It was good timing, for the travel advisory elevated to "Level 4 - Do Not Travel" a few days after our planned arrival in Dubai. Had we departed as scheduled, it would have been difficult to find flights home. In the end, fortunately, all trip components were canceled without penalty. The only thing that we lost out on was the $250 per person premium for a trip protection annual policy to complement the insurance provided by the Chase Sapphire credit cards, which did not include pandemics anyway. As a note, almost all trip insurance excludes pandemics. You would have to buy a "cancel for any reason" policy, which generally only covers 75%.
After the spring lockdown, we hoped the pandemic would subside and that we could travel again in the fall: a cruise to the Greek Isles with Shelby and Sherwey in September, and visiting Kauai as we usually do every October. This also fell apart as infections continue to rise through the year. The cruise was canceled, with our deposits applied towards a future sailing. Our Kauai plane tickets were moved to 2021.
So what will next year look like for us, travel-wise? Some tentative plans: Big Sur in April, Las Vegas in May, Kauai in August, Prague and Greek Isles in October. Vaccine availability gives us hope, though Kaleb and I are probably at the lowest priority to receive one. In the meantime, we will continue to busy ourselves at home with hobbies, cooking/baking, home improvement, catching up on shows and movies, and learning new things.
One good thing about not traveling is that as of today, I am no longer behind on this blog, with all trips written to date. I may write "Time Machine" entries about adventures embarked on before this blog was started.
On this final day of 2020, we wish everyone good health, happiness and prosperity in the coming new year!
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| Mt. Cook National Park, New Zealand |
(Missed reading about our visit to the main Gem and Mineral Show, Saguaro National Park and crossing the border into Mexico? Click here! Don't miss a single update! Click here to have the latest delivered straight into your inbox...opt out anytime.)
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Another disclaimer: The intention of this blog was to remind Future Me in full detail about where I went and what I did. I could have made it private, but I frequently get questions from family, friends and internet folks about how I planned things, got deals, etc., so instead of repeating the story over and over, I direct them here. If you are offended by anything I say or do, save yourself the discomfort and kindly click away from my blog. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!
