Monthly Archives: February 2013

Everyone loves (or should love!) a one-night stand

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Very early in my professional career, I was fortunate to land a good job in an office building located in what is one of the few truly “beautiful” parts of the city of Houston – a quiet little area tucked away at the corner of Woodway Drive and S. Post Oak Lane, just off the so-called West Loop, at the edge of the heavily-wooded Memorial Park, literally a stone’s throw (heck, within spitting distance from my 12th floor office) of the home to which George H. W. Bush retired upon leaving the White House. This corner is also home to Houston’s Omni Hotel, a structure whose east-facing rooms (those above a certain floor, anyway) have a very pretty view across the park, right along the treeline – a sea of green to the downtown skyscrapers in the distance. I never had the opportunity to watch the sunrise there, but my guess is that, if you were going to make a point of waking early enough to see sun’s dawn over Houston, this would be one of the very few places worth doing so.

Houston Omni

The Omni Hotel, Houston

The Omni treated its office-park neighbors very well then, offering rooms at some 40-50% off its normal rates. Christine and I, brand new parents at the time to two kids under the age of two and living in the ‘burbs some 40 minutes away, attended many a professional event at the Omni. Knowing the kids were in great hands with my parents, I would suggest every time, without fail, that we rent a room there and enjoy an inexpensive night away. And every time, without fail, Christine would say, “That just doesn’t make sense; why would we pay to stay in a hotel when we can sleep at home for free!?!” I could think of at least two diaper-clad reasons why, but in my five years in that job, I never won that battle.

I’m happy to report, however, that over the 15 years since, all of them in San Diego, Christine has come to see the beauty in my madness. Why does it make sense that “vacation” – time away from the chores and the grind of daily life – must entail spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on airfare, or driving thousands of miles to some remote part of the country? If I can arrange a blissful night or two away from home for just a couple hundred dollars and a 50-mile round-trip drive, why shouldn’t I? And with that logic, for us, here in the city of San Diego, the mini-vacation – what I like to call the “one-night stand” – was born. (Note: I often hear the term “staycation” as a reference to stay-at-home “vacations,” but I sense that common usage of this term too often entails staying, quite literally, at home – sleeping in one’s own bed, burning vacations days to tend to life’s normal duties and only then, in the unlikely event that any time remains, getting out and enjoying the treasures of one’s home town. While this type of “time away” has its place and can be rejuvenating in its own right, it is NOT what I am advocating here.)

For C and me, one-night stands come in a variety of forms – after a night of baseball and dancing downtown, after a concert or some other live event, for a birthday or anniversary or other special occasion, or sometimes just because the timing and the price are right. Quite often, we’ll take advantage of one of the social-media discounters (Groupon, Living Social, etc.) to check out a new or newly renovated hotel in a hip or quirky part of town. Sometimes we stay downtown just because that’s where the action is. Sometimes we head outside the city to enjoy the ruggedness of the Southern California terrain, or the magic juices of SoCal wine country, or both at the same time. The point is this – making time for two or three of these quick local getaways a year has breathed warm new life into our relationship, and it makes us fall in love over and over again with this cool little hamlet we’ve chosen to call home.

But enough about us. You want to hear about one-night stands and how to plan them. That’s easy. If you have no kids, or if your kids are grown or nearly grown, you’re golden. Just plan a night away, now. Right this very minute. Don’t delay. Hop on Groupon Getaways or Living Social Escapes or TripAdvisor or Orbitz or Travelocity and find a hotel in some nearby neighborhood that you’ve always wanted to explore but just never have. If you have kids that need overnight care, then call in a favor from your best friend, or call your parents or your brother or sister, and arrange for a night or two away. If you’ve never tried it, you’ll be surprised at how accommodating people are. Then book a place that forces you to get to a part of town you’ve never really discovered and do things that you never really do, or haven’t done in a very long time.

And when you get there, go out for a stroll and enjoy what the immediate neighborhood has to offer. Grab dinner in an eatery that has the locals all abuzz (Zagat or Yelp will help you find one). Catch some live music, cut the rug, or belt a karaoke tune (or two) at a nearby bar. Stay up late and, of course, sleep in. Order up room service for brunch or, better yet, skip it and make a detour to some other part of town for lunch at a hotspot diner before heading back home.

A night like this is tremendously refreshing, and it’s a great way to experience your home town with the wide-open eyes of a tourist or visitor.  Do it enough, and you’ll discover some pretty cool places, maybe even learn a bit of local history that you didn’t know existed. Who knows … you might just uncover gems like these.

Courtyard Downtown - Old

The original San Diego Trust & Savings Bank building, circa 1930, now home to the Courtyard Marriott SD Downtown

Courtyard Marriott San Diego Downtown: The Courtyard in downtown SD is one of the coolest hotels I’ve ever seen, bar none. Located at the corner of Broadway and 6th Avenue, in the heart of downtown and at the doorstep of the historic (and very lively!) Gaslamp District, the Courtyard resides in the exquisitely restored San Diego Trust & Savings Bank building, constructed in 1927 in the Italian-Romanesque style, an architectural tribute to the churches of the Middle Ages. The two-story lobby boasts columns made from 19 types of Mediterranean marble and intricate, colorful stencil-work detail on the ceiling. The hotel’s front “desk” is a marble teller station, where its service reps are happy to help with your room-key withdrawal in exchange for a cash (or credit) deposit. And then there are the guest rooms – each a former executive office or meeting room with more than enough space to stretch your legs with a cartwheel or two. If you like live music, the House of Blues is right next door; to wet your whistle and twist, shake, grind, break, the Gaslamp offers countless bars and clubs; for baseball fans, Petco Park and the SD Padres are just blocks away for much of the year; and for those who like to get their freak on, Larry Flint’s not-so-subtle retail shop is just down the street. In off-season (to the extent there is such a thing in SD), I’ve seen room rates as low as $109 for this now-not-so-hidden gem. Nevermind the Hotel Del and L’Auberge Del Mar – when it comes to bang for the buck, the Courtyard Downtown is a true San Diego treasure.

Courtyard Downtown

The restored marble & stencil-work ceiling in the lobby of the Courtyard San Diego Downtown

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The Johnny Weissmuller pool at The Lafayette Hotel, San Diego

The Lafayette Hotel, Swim Club & Bungalows: Built along “The Boulevard” (El Cajon Blvd, CA Hwy 80) in 1946 during its heyday as a San Diego thoroughfare, The Lafayette (also known as Imig Manor, for its founder and original owner) flourished in the 40’s and 50’s as a resort getaway for Hollywood’s elite, counting chief SD-phile Bob Hope among its greatest fans. With its Grand Colonial design and spacious guest rooms, suites and bungalow apartments, The Lafayette quickly became one of SD’s hottest attractions. Its spectacular swimming pool – meticulously preserved over its 60+ years – is itself a celebrity, designed by five-time Olympic gold medalist and original big-screen Tarzan, Johnny Weissmuller. After undergoing dramatic changes at the hands of the Hiltons in the 1960’s and falling into disrepair in the decades that followed, The Lafayette underwent a thorough, $6M renovation in 2011 & 2012 that has restored most, if not all, of its glory-years charm.  With rooms often priced as low as $69 and rarely over $109 – including those that open directly to the pool deck – and with its location barely 10 minutes by foot from the hot University Heights and North Park neighborhoods and 10 minutes by cab from downtown nightlife, The Lafayette is hands-down my best hotel find in San Diego, and quite possibly the best in any city. I’m so enamored of this hotel, in fact, that it’s with great hesitation that I write about it at all, for fear that its stock will rise too quickly as it’s discovered for the gem it is.

Lafayette - Old

The Lafayette Hotel, circa late 1940’s

Tower 23

Tower 23 Hotel, Pacific Beach

Tower 23:  Named for the Pacific Beach lifeguard tower over which it stands, Tower 23 is less about bargain and more about elegant, comfortable, contemporary design and an enviable bluffside location in San Diego’s hippest and most classic beach community. Despite its name, with only 44 units – all ocean-view – in a three-story layout, this hotel towers over nothing except its modern-chic hotel peers. Its restaurant and bar, JRDN, serves up fresh handmade cocktails and quirky-fun California surf & turf cuisine that are second to none. Tower 23 can be pricey if you let it, but it also offers fantastic specials – like “Sex on the Beach,” with surfside room, dinner and breakfast for two, and in-room couples massage, all for less than $300 – and it occasionally plays in the Groupon space with dinner & room deals at barely half the cost of a regular-price booking. Tower 23 isn’t one you’re likely to do often, but it is one that you must do at least once.

At this point I’ll concede that my discovery of San Diego’s one-night-stand scene is still in its infancy. No doubt I’ll find many more local havens to love in the coming years, and no doubt many of you already have. Please share your stories with me. And, by all means, don’t limit it to San Diego. As I’ve said repeatedly in this forum already, I love to travel, and travel loves me. No matter where you live, please share your favorite one-night-stand-worthy locations as well.

~ JD

(Cover photo: My son, Philip, descending Mt. Meru, Tanzania, in the glow of early dawn, with the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro looming in the distance.)

Why rent a room when you can have the whole house?

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Back in the day, I had a one-track mind. (No, not THAT track! Although, as a man, I must admit that track does play pretty often.) Every time we’d travel, the first thing I’d do after securing our flights or plotting our route on interstates was book hotel rooms. For years, hotels were all we knew. The brand names grew nicer over time — Motel 6 and Super 8 at first; then La Quinta and Ramada Inn; Hyatt Place and DoubleTree Suites; and, eventually, roomier and comfier boutiques — but always hotels. When the kids were little, this worked very well. They didn’t take up much room, and we needed them close to us. But as they grew, and as those teenage attitudes began to set in, a double bed for the two of them no longer did the trick. (Heck, even a California King is too small for siblings reluctant to share a space.) At the very least, we needed two beds and a hideaway sofa. But, of course, that always bred a feud as well. (“I get the bed.” “Nuh-uh, you got it last time; you take the sofa!”) So, more often than not, we found ourselves with two rooms, at least three beds, and a price tag now double what we had come to expect, with little gain in comfort to show for it.

The Sheraton Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii

Enter Hawaii. 2007. My son, then just shy of 13, had qualified for the regional gymnastics championships in Honolulu. My daughter, having just turned 11, was happy to tag along for the ride. As good gymnastics parents do, we booked the nicest room we could in the USAG’s discounted hotel block — upper-floor, with balcony and a decent view, at the Sheraton Waikiki — and set out on our maiden voyage to the Aloha State. The hotel was nice enough, but we learned very quickly that we really didn’t want to spend much time in Honolulu, let alone the über-touristy Waikiki Beach, so we set out each day to discover new, and much more interesting, parts of Oahu. The trip was a raging success — due mostly to Oahu’s beauty and boundless activities — but the one drag day-in, day-out was having to trudge back to a high-rise hotel (as nice as it was) and cram ourselves and our not-so-little tweens into a space built (at best!) for two.

As it turns out, Christine and I would be back in Hawaii — this time Kauai — barely eight months later for a buddy’s wedding. While exploring Oahu earlier in the year, we noticed that the island, outside of Honolulu, was chock full of houses and condos for rent to vacationers. Not wanting to repeat the Hawaii hotel experience in Kauai, we decided to find a condo instead, and we discovered Outrigger.com. Run more like a hotel for purposes of booking and check-in, but with properties that are decidedly condo in construction, Outrigger gives travelers a much more spacious and comfortable lodging experience at only slightly, if any, more cost than a hotel of similar quality. For our destination wedding in Kauai over the New Year holiday, rooms at the Grand Hyatt in Poipu (the host hotel) started (and I mean started!) at more than $400 per night. And that price didn’t buy you a suite, just a standard King room, and one with no view at that. Of course, the Grand Hyatt is a compound of the utmost luxury — high walls and pristine grounds that ensure its guests are in complete isolation from the world outside. Large families with bored, screaming kids might be trapped inside, but that’s just minor annoyance when you’re lying on a freshly combed beach with $15 mai-tai in-hand. Right?

Outrigger Kiahuna Plantation, Kauai, Hawaii

For some people, many of them my friends, that’s a vacation. Not for me. When I travel, I want to experience my destination, all of it, the good and the not-quite-so. I expect my health and safety to remain intact, of course, but in lodging I seek a clean, comfortable place that only thinly veils the grit and the flavor that make my destination worth visiting in the first place. On Kauai, that place was the Outrigger Kiahuna Plantation, a condo complex just steps from the beach and (better yet) from “downtown” Poipu and Brennecke’s Beach Broiler, home of mai-tais that are far too good and too cheap for my liver and my waistline.

At Kiahuna Plantation, Christine and I found a spacious one-bedroom condo with an en-suite kitchen, an enormous living area that gave way to a comfortable patio, and walls full of windows we could cast open to enjoy the sound and the feel of Kauai’s soft winter rains. Kiahuna was our first vacation-rental experience, and for almost a week, it was our little Kauai “home.” The cost to us was $249 a night, during what I’m told is the single most expensive time of year — the week between Christmas and New Years — in Hawaii. We loved everything about that stay in Poipu, and while we have not yet had occasion to go back, we know precisely where we’ll stay when we do.

Since then, the vacation rental has become our norm. Hotels still have a place in our life, to be sure — when it’s just the two of us for a short visit, or when we’re hopping from site to site along the interstate a night or two at a time, or when the culture and personality of the destination dictates, a hotel can be just what the doctor orders. But for much, if not most, of the travel we do these days, vacation rentals are a classic “no brainer,” giving so much more bang — room, comfort, convenience — for the buck that hotels don’t even enter the conversation as we search for places to stay. A few stories to illustrate:

Spring Training, Surprise, Arizona: A life-long baseball fanatic living 15 years in Southern California, I’m ashamed to admit that I have yet to attend a Cactus League game. But a nudge from my parents soon will change that, as we (five of us, including my teenage daughter) will meet up in Surprise, Arizona, for a few days of late-winter baseball. My parents, very much the types drawn to the comfort of the known, were set on a particular hotel … the Holiday Inn Express in Surprise. Fortunately, with minimal convincing, they were swayed to consider a rental property instead: “I bet I can find a three-bedroom house with spacious living area for less money than two rooms at the Holiday Inn Express. Would you go for that?” … “But we want to stay in Surprise!” … “No worries, I’ll only search in Surprise.” … “Deal!”

Spring Baseball! Rental house in Surprise, AZ, Cactus League home of the Texas Rangers.
(Click photo to enlarge)

And so it was that we found (through www.VRBO.com) this four-bedroom, two-bath house with heated saltwater swimming pool and 55-inch flat-screen TV just four miles from Surprise Stadium. Our grand total (including taxes and cleaning fees) is $265 per night … just $132.50 per family, all-in! My parents were immediately sold, but just for grins, I decided to search rooms at the Holiday Inn Express for the dates of our stay. It was already booked up. For the entire month! Finally, I found a few days with availability three weeks before our visit — before Spring Training even begins. The rate: $159 a night. Plus tax. Per room. More than $330 per night for two cramped rooms. So, not only will we be staying in 1500 square feet of four-bedroom bliss, we’ll be SAVING at least $65 per night between us! As I said above, a “no brainer.”

Lake Wanaka (and the town of Wanaka, right) from several thousand feet
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Wanaka, New Zealand: My family’s “trip of a lifetime” happened this past summer, when we visited New Zealand and Fiji as a final “grand hurrah” before sending the elder kid off to college. We made many stops along the way and enjoyed every single one of them, but the one we most anticipated, by far, was the five-night stay in South Island ski country, in the small but bustling hamlet of Wanaka, situated at the eastern edge of the Southern Alps on beautiful Lake Wanaka. On a tip from the friend of a Kiwi friend, we scoured dozens of listings on BookaBach (www.BookaBach.co.nz; “bach” being the En-Zed term for a vacation property), ultimately choosing a newly constructed, three-bedroom, two-bath gem at 66 Mt. Iron Drive. The house had a beautiful contemporary kitchen (where we cooked breakfast and dinners most days), a spacious living area (where we watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy in its entirety after skiing over the course of three days), and heated tile floors throughout (a very nice touch in the dead of Kiwi winter). The price for all this luxury: $210 per night (US currency), including all taxes and fees.

Our sunrise view before hitting the slopes in Wanaka, New Zealand
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Tipsy croquet at a Central Coast property
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Paso Robles / San Luis Obispo, California: A couple of years ago we did a combined college-tour and wine-tasting trip to the California Central Coast, with four families (13 people total) sharing a four-bedroom, 2.5-bath house in rural Atascadero (found through VRBO.com). After a day of winery-hopping or campus-strolling, we’d cook our own dinners and wind down with a game of croquet or touch football in the spacious yard under the late-afternoon California sun. Split among the four families, this place cost us $135 per night apiece, all-in.

I could go on for hours and hours, pages and pages, talking about the two-bedroom condo just a two-minute walk from the lifts of Snow Summit, or the four-bedroom house shared with three other couples on the slopes of Deer Valley, Utah, or the two-bedroom townhome at the dunes of Pismo Beach, or the five-bedroom ranch house perched atop a hill in California wine country, or …. But I won’t. You get the gist. Thinking, quite literally, outside the run-of-the-mill-hotel box will transform your vacation experience, allowing you to “live” in your destination as though you belong there, as though, for a short period, it’s your very own home.

On your next vacation away from home (and I’ll talk another day about stay-at-home vacations), don’t be content with booking a room. Book the whole house!

~ JD

(Cover photo: My son, Philip, descending Mt. Meru, Tanzania, in the glow of early dawn, with the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro looming in the distance.)