Sweet Hotel Suite

I have already crossed the 30 night mark in hotel stays this year.  Most of the hotel rooms blend into one another (there are some standouts this year - I have been some very fun places this year.)  I make most of my travel arrangements, and generally make the hotel choice, this gives the ability to make sure the hotel is nice.  Stars or Diamonds mean little to me, beyond about three, these are awarded for amenities like room service, bell service and multiple restaurants that I seldom if ever use.  A recent remodel is more important to me, than 4 stars. I almost always book the basic room, or "run of the house."  I almost never pay extra for a larger, premium or executive room.

But I travel enough to get an upgrade once in awhile.  How do you snag an upgrade? Join the hotel chain frequent traveler programs and try to concentrate as many nights as possible in as few chains as possible.  I focus on Hilton, and IHG - better known as Holiday Inn brands here in the USA.  I am also a member of Hyatt, Marriott and several others. Joining the frequent traveler program will usually bring some extras, free internet access or a newspaper delivered to your door.

On the recent trip we scored a couple of upgrades from IHG - Salzburg and Munich.  I will write about Salzburg later.  The pictures above are of the two room suite at the Holiday Inn Munich -Unterhatching just outside of Munich. We were there for two nights and as an IHG gold member, they upgraded us to a small suite.  The room had a separate living room and bedroom.  It was very comfortable, and for the price of a standard room a great value. The extra space, especially after two weeks of sometimes very small European hotel rooms was really nice, giving us space to spread out, repack bags and relax. The bedroom part of the room was a little tight on space, and the view was of another part of the building, but there was not much to see in the immediate neighborhood. The hotel is about a mile from an S-Baun train that runs into the city center.  The first day we walked to the train station, the second day we drove over and parked at the train station (free parking.) Parking at the hotel was in an underground garage at I think 10-Euros per day.  The first night we parked in one of a couple of handicap spaces off the street out front (free.) The area is suburban, with a strip shopping center and a couple of restaurants within easy walking distance.  Nice room, comfy hotel.

Handicapped parking: when I came home from the hospitals in May, I was using a walker and very limited in walking, I asked and they issued me a handicap parking tag - good for six months.  When the placard arrived, I read the paperwork with it, and it said, the symbol is universal and most places in the world will honor this permit, take it with you when you travel.  So when we went to Europe I took it along.  It certainly worked in Germany.  Several times it helped us get parking that saved me long walks.  I will miss the parking permit when it expires - the neurosurgeon said he would sign for it to be renewed if I think I still need it.  How much do I need it, how much do I want it?