Picture this: A busy city steeped in history, brimming with artistic treasures, and the aroma of mouthwatering Philly cheesesteaks wafting through the air. Yep, it was a recipe for a fantastic family getaway!
Our Philadelphia Adventure
Monday, August 22, 2022
I say this with zero exaggeration: I fell in love with a piece of New York. I didn't think that would ever be possible.
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
This trip was a big deal. This was our first vacation since before Covid-19 put our entire lives on hold.
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Last Wednesday, we took a late night flight and flew our family of five to my husband's home state.
Saturday, October 8, 2016
Our first time traveling as a family of four was one for the books! I was so nervous about the process, the flying, and being able to get comfortable with both girls in the air.. to my surprise, everything went great! Our flight was scheduled to take off at around 830 am and we arrived at the airport closer to 7am. We are so incredibly lucky that Justin's recruiting co-worker was able to give us a lift so we didn't have to pay a daily fee for our car to be parked at the airport. Once we got into the airport, I think this is the first and last set of anxiousness Justin and I both had. We had SO much stuff with us (two bebes, two carseats, 2 carry on luggage bags, one camera bag, one diaper bag, and two large luggage bags to be checked)!
We weren't able to use our print off boarding passes (at least for me and Olivia) because when you have a lap infant, you always have to go up to a representative to have them print out your boarding pass. We also had to show proof of id for us and the baby, including her immunization records. This required us to stand in the longest line... Once we made our way through the line for checking baggage, printing off boarding tickets, and our load not being quite as heavy - we were golden. The TSA lines were not terrible, though they did require us to wait a little bit. Ava was so adamant about pulling her own ballerina luggage bag, so the pace she had was that of a slug on the way to the line.
I loved that going through TSA doesn't require your children to take off their shoes, it doesn't require you to stop baby wearing your infants, and they didn't take forever to sift through our baby gear/food/bag. Once our entire family made it through TSA, we were golden. I believe we had almost 20 full minutes before the plane started boarding to use the restroom and to get some breakfast. We were able to do both and before we knew it, it was time to board. Can I just say how much I love Southwest and their seating policy? Definitely a different experience than we had the last time we flew with this airline. Family boarding comes after the "A" list boarding members, so we were able to snag really great seats.
I sat next to the window, Ava sat in the middle, Justin sat on the isle. I nursed Olivia during take off and she fell right asleep. I also fell asleep, but while we were snoozing - Justin and Ava were chatting up a storm and coloring. The flight to Chicago was less than two hours long, so we weren't in the air for very long at all. We knew we had one more flight to go before NY, so we crossed our fingers for the best!
♥- Leilani
We weren't able to use our print off boarding passes (at least for me and Olivia) because when you have a lap infant, you always have to go up to a representative to have them print out your boarding pass. We also had to show proof of id for us and the baby, including her immunization records. This required us to stand in the longest line... Once we made our way through the line for checking baggage, printing off boarding tickets, and our load not being quite as heavy - we were golden. The TSA lines were not terrible, though they did require us to wait a little bit. Ava was so adamant about pulling her own ballerina luggage bag, so the pace she had was that of a slug on the way to the line.
I loved that going through TSA doesn't require your children to take off their shoes, it doesn't require you to stop baby wearing your infants, and they didn't take forever to sift through our baby gear/food/bag. Once our entire family made it through TSA, we were golden. I believe we had almost 20 full minutes before the plane started boarding to use the restroom and to get some breakfast. We were able to do both and before we knew it, it was time to board. Can I just say how much I love Southwest and their seating policy? Definitely a different experience than we had the last time we flew with this airline. Family boarding comes after the "A" list boarding members, so we were able to snag really great seats.
I sat next to the window, Ava sat in the middle, Justin sat on the isle. I nursed Olivia during take off and she fell right asleep. I also fell asleep, but while we were snoozing - Justin and Ava were chatting up a storm and coloring. The flight to Chicago was less than two hours long, so we weren't in the air for very long at all. We knew we had one more flight to go before NY, so we crossed our fingers for the best!
♥- Leilani
Friday, June 3, 2016
Without a doubt the nicest hotel we have stayed at to date within the chain of Best Western. Everything is bigger in Texas and this hotel was no exception. We felt like we walked into a resort of some kind. Every single about this hotel was updated, shiny, and so glamourous. Our room looked like a room that belonged in a major city of some kind that would have cost (Easily) $400 a night. We got a deluxe room which was basically two queen beds with a lot more room than a non-deluxe room. We were on the second floor (which I loved because we were directly across from the laundry room and ice machine AND elevators). The room came with direct tv cable (so we were familiar with all the channels) huge flat screen, updated decor/bedding, farmhouse type sinks, upgraded shower with sauna effect. I mean this hotel pulled out on the stops. Come to find out later on that this hotel was actually featured on a few televised shows as well.
Who would have thought? Anywho, it was conveniently located just 10 minutes from our new home that wouldn't be ready for two days. It was also directly across the parking lot from the Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and some other well known restaurant. The staff was even more incredibly than the rooms, so sweet and definitely presented a certain Southern Charm. The breakfast was pretty good - I never say that about hotel breakfast meals. I mean seriously. They had a buffet style breakfast layout and the food was really good. They even had two cooks on hand to cook you an omelet or any egg meal the way you'd like it. The breakfast rush wasn't terrible at all, and the staff working downstairs were so sweet.
Although we didn't utilize the outdoor pool, it was so beautiful. Something like out of a movie or as I mentioned before, a resort. Very pretty, but our to do list and the hot weather just didn't really provide us enough time to head down to the pool. This hotel is definitely family friendly and if ever we were in need of hotel services again in our area, this would be a go to for us. As great of an experience as we had, I think i speak for my entire family when I say we are so ready to hang up our road hats. Thank you, Texas for giving us such a warm welcome!
♥- Leilani
Who would have thought? Anywho, it was conveniently located just 10 minutes from our new home that wouldn't be ready for two days. It was also directly across the parking lot from the Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and some other well known restaurant. The staff was even more incredibly than the rooms, so sweet and definitely presented a certain Southern Charm. The breakfast was pretty good - I never say that about hotel breakfast meals. I mean seriously. They had a buffet style breakfast layout and the food was really good. They even had two cooks on hand to cook you an omelet or any egg meal the way you'd like it. The breakfast rush wasn't terrible at all, and the staff working downstairs were so sweet.
Although we didn't utilize the outdoor pool, it was so beautiful. Something like out of a movie or as I mentioned before, a resort. Very pretty, but our to do list and the hot weather just didn't really provide us enough time to head down to the pool. This hotel is definitely family friendly and if ever we were in need of hotel services again in our area, this would be a go to for us. As great of an experience as we had, I think i speak for my entire family when I say we are so ready to hang up our road hats. Thank you, Texas for giving us such a warm welcome!
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
This Best Western Plus was definitely a step up from the last hotel we stayed in, but definitely not the best we've seen. It was a bit dated, the first room they put us in wreaked of animals, but they quickly switched us to the second floor.. where no pets had been. You could tell this establishment didn't have all the bells and whistles like the Best Westerns we'd seen before, but all in all I couldn't complain. We stayed in Castle Rock, Colorado and it was just under 30 minutes away from the heart of downtown Denver. The hotel was literally seconds away from an IHOP, delivery services were available, and the views were breathtaking. I haven't seen beautiful views like that, aside from Washington. Even still, it was different. Washington has more of a green tree, Mt. Rainier type of background. Colorado was full of green hills, mountain ranges, and beautiful sunrises. But, that is not what this post is about.
We rarely spent much time in the hotel because we were out exploring Denver. Overall, it served its purpose. I especially love that these Best Western establishments have laundry facilities. Being that we were on the road, I was always able to do a load of laundry for my entire family. I especially loved that the laundry facilities were on the second floor, close to our room. You had to use your room key to gain entry to the laundry room, which was reassuring just in case wanderers decided to enter the hotel. They did have the most ridiculous prices for the washing machine and dryer at this hotel. Almost 2 dollars per load for the washer and an additional 2 dollars for the dryer.
The staff was extremely nice though. They never charged us for a single beverage from their store... although they should have since they were marked for sale. Customer service was definitely not an issue here. Our stay was nice, but I doubt we'd stay here again when we visit Denver. Simply because we'd like to be closer to the city or North of Denver.
♥- Leilani
We rarely spent much time in the hotel because we were out exploring Denver. Overall, it served its purpose. I especially love that these Best Western establishments have laundry facilities. Being that we were on the road, I was always able to do a load of laundry for my entire family. I especially loved that the laundry facilities were on the second floor, close to our room. You had to use your room key to gain entry to the laundry room, which was reassuring just in case wanderers decided to enter the hotel. They did have the most ridiculous prices for the washing machine and dryer at this hotel. Almost 2 dollars per load for the washer and an additional 2 dollars for the dryer.
The staff was extremely nice though. They never charged us for a single beverage from their store... although they should have since they were marked for sale. Customer service was definitely not an issue here. Our stay was nice, but I doubt we'd stay here again when we visit Denver. Simply because we'd like to be closer to the city or North of Denver.
♥- Leilani
Monday, May 30, 2016
The view and location were the only two things about this hotel that I actually liked. Other than that, it was a complete letdown. Justin was so confused because when he walked into this hotel it looked like the most ravishing hotel he'd ever seen.. until we left the elevators and entered our room on the sixth floor. It resembled something like a motel six (tad bit of exaggeration with that reference) I mean, the room they initially put us in wreaked of cigarette smoke. I immediately went to the front desk to let them know we couldn't stay in those type of conditions. The second room they put us in had white stains on the bed, pen marks on the sheets, and the balcony was equally as filthy as the balcony in the first room. I thought to myself, is this a coincidence or is this what you get at this hotel room? Then I phoned the front desk to see if we could come up with a resolution. After being on the phone (on hold) for an entire 11 minutes, one of the managers comes to the phone. She personally came up to our floor to take us to a better room. She also made sure that the room would work for us (I'm sure this was her way of seeing if we were nitpicks about everything).
That was truly the best part of our brief stay at the Renaissance. The customer service wasn't terrible, but even that third room.. it became clear that this was not the hotel or accommodations we were used to. The Wi-Fi wasn't included (shame on us for not checking prior, but in my defense it's always included in almost every hotel), Justin had to pay for parking in the hotel's parking garage, and the shower had many strands of someone else's hair. That was a nightmare. I can deal with a lot, a dirty bathroom is not one of them. Since it was already late, we decided to stay for one night. I immediately called hotels.com to cancel the remaining days on our reservation and get a refund for the time we wouldn't be occupying the room. I was really disappointed about our experience here and would never stay at this establishment again.
I'd also like to remind you guys that the service wasn't bad. They did try to accommodate us, but at the end of the day, quality of the room trumped everything else. We didn't order room service from this hotel, we got up bright and early to venture out and find a hearty Denver breakfast. The Denver sunrise was breathtaking and the view of the city was spectacular. I guess that is something else to add to the pros list. All in all, I'm just glad we were able to find a better suited establishment to stay at for the duration of our visit. Denver is a city we are completely called to, so i'm glad we got to figure all of this out now. Here's a little clip I saved from snap chat of the moment we got to the hotel, the entry way and the elevators. Ava enjoyed going up six stops on the elevator because she got to push the buttons each time. I think the last part of the video is of Justin finally making it to the Mile High Stadium!
♥- Leilani
That was truly the best part of our brief stay at the Renaissance. The customer service wasn't terrible, but even that third room.. it became clear that this was not the hotel or accommodations we were used to. The Wi-Fi wasn't included (shame on us for not checking prior, but in my defense it's always included in almost every hotel), Justin had to pay for parking in the hotel's parking garage, and the shower had many strands of someone else's hair. That was a nightmare. I can deal with a lot, a dirty bathroom is not one of them. Since it was already late, we decided to stay for one night. I immediately called hotels.com to cancel the remaining days on our reservation and get a refund for the time we wouldn't be occupying the room. I was really disappointed about our experience here and would never stay at this establishment again.
I'd also like to remind you guys that the service wasn't bad. They did try to accommodate us, but at the end of the day, quality of the room trumped everything else. We didn't order room service from this hotel, we got up bright and early to venture out and find a hearty Denver breakfast. The Denver sunrise was breathtaking and the view of the city was spectacular. I guess that is something else to add to the pros list. All in all, I'm just glad we were able to find a better suited establishment to stay at for the duration of our visit. Denver is a city we are completely called to, so i'm glad we got to figure all of this out now. Here's a little clip I saved from snap chat of the moment we got to the hotel, the entry way and the elevators. Ava enjoyed going up six stops on the elevator because she got to push the buttons each time. I think the last part of the video is of Justin finally making it to the Mile High Stadium!
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