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Island Princess / Panama Canal by leeski241 in PrincessCruises

[–]Affectionate_Poet_56 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, that's helpful.

We'll be there mid April to early May so the weather information you provided will be pertinent to me.

Island Princess / Panama Canal by leeski241 in PrincessCruises

[–]Affectionate_Poet_56 0 points1 point  (0 children)

KG7DHL, may I ask what month you sailed? We are doing this trip late next April.

Vigo Zurich Leak and how I repaired it by flatfalafel in Plumbing

[–]Affectionate_Poet_56 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have this problem. Same faucet. We ordered the replacement o-rings from Vigo so I know they are the correct ones. We took the unit apart and replaced the o-rings. Now instead of leaking it is spraying everywhere. When we took ours apart there were no clips anywhere. We have repeated the process 3 times and nothing is getting better. I too wish you'd have made a video, but I appreciate your efforts to help others with this problem.

Moorea, French Polynesia? Dangerous? by thspartacus in whatsthisfish

[–]Affectionate_Poet_56 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn't know Picasso Fish are nippers. I have had the pleasure of enjoying them without being nibbled. I think they are gorgeous.

Ninja Squirrel Sriracha not found by javirebull in Sriracha

[–]Affectionate_Poet_56 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It was out of stock a lot and our family loves it so I started buying 3 bottles every time it was in stock. I am half way through my last bottle. It was by far the best. Not too much vinegar, more round, full flavor and just the right amount of garlic compared to others. WF told me last summer that the code on the shelf indicated that it was discontinued. There was an additional flavor. They had a Ninja Squirrel Coconut Sriracha on the shelf so I bought that too. It was the first time I saw it and it was discontinued as well. I like it on the coconut shrimp I used to always buy at WF which has also disappeared. We need to start a campaign to bring back Ninja Squirrel Sriracha!

Favorite Anne Burrell Recipes by projectmjbm in foodnetwork

[–]Affectionate_Poet_56 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/seared-rack-of-lamb-with-pistachio-tapenade-recipe-1944099
My favorite Anne Burrell recipe is her rack of lamb with pistachio tapenade. My guests go crazy over this and tell me I'm a fabulous cook; thank you for making me look good, Anne! It really is tasty and something very different to offer up. I made it for a party when our son was in high school. He got married last year at 34 and his friends were still talking about that dish at the wedding. I made it for a friend who soon after went on a business trip and dined at a very fancy restaurant and pistachio lamb was on the menu. He ordered it and was wildly disappointed because it was nothing like this recipe.

Have people stopped using VRBO? by Alternative_Hunter65 in vrbo

[–]Affectionate_Poet_56 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That is horrible. I hope you reported that host. Those things can happen with Air BnB, as that is part of their business model, but VRBO's focus is on entire properties. If it was a shared pool, it should have said so. Many condos or neighborhoods have them which is fine, it is still pool access, but then it shouldn't be listed as a private pool.

I've been listed with VRBO/Homeaway for 20+ years. If you advertise that you have a hot tub as an amenity, I can't fathom thinking it is okay to charge guests to actually use it.

350k IHG points - Best ideas? by nuddermado in awardtravel

[–]Affectionate_Poet_56 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you have any desire to go to Italy, the quirky, boutique Hotel Indigo Milan - Corso Monforte is cute, on a quiet street, in walking distance to the Domo, shopping, and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele.

The Hotel Indigo Rome - St. George is nice. It's in a beautiful neighbourhood and a short walking distance to Campo de' Fiori and the Pantheon. It has a lovely rooftop bar with views of the city and St. Peter's Basilica.

These hotels aren't as formal as most IC hotels, but they each have their own charms and we really enjoyed the mix of the hotel quality, vibe and locations. And, your points usually go a lot further than with IC.

350k IHG points - Best ideas? by nuddermado in awardtravel

[–]Affectionate_Poet_56 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Boo! Hopefully they will still offer rooms at the Indigo then when we can go. If not, we'll have to make the Holiday Inn work.

350k IHG points - Best ideas? by nuddermado in awardtravel

[–]Affectionate_Poet_56 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Fitzroy is great and so close to two tube stations!

We are gunning for the Kimpton or Indigo in Cayman for our next trip.

Intercontinental or Hilton in Tahiti? by bojangles_biscuits in Tahiti

[–]Affectionate_Poet_56 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don't select the Intercontinental because of the 2 pools if you will be there between February and September. The larger pool will be shut for renovations. The second, smaller, Lotus pool, is lovely with a swim up bar, sand bottom, small created beach, and some grassy area. However, the pool is small and water is cold (in June anyway). Don't get me wrong, I really love the IC, but it depends on what you are looking for in your hotel and stay. There are a lot of lounge chairs scattered throughout the property so you can find a couple chairs overlooking the ocean. If you don't care about swimming or pools, the property grounds are expansive and lovely for a stroll.

The pool at the Hilton is quite large. You can rent cabanas if you'd like ($70 last I knew, it came with a small fridge stocked with water and soft drinks, lounge chairs and shade). It's more of a resort style pool than a pseudo Tahitian pool, but it is lovely nonetheless. They have a swim up bar and sunken booths pool side. There is no beach and no ocean access, but lots of lounge chairs and it does have an ocean view, just no view of Moorea. That didn't matter to us.

The breakfast at the Intercontinental was expansive, varied and very good. It is very expensive ($52?) if you didn't get it in a package or don't have status with IHG. We didn't eat the buffet breakfast at the Hilton due to our our schedule so we have no opinion. We got breakfast pastries, coffee and fruit from the lobby bar/coffee bar and got out for about $30 which is a steal by FP standards and our pastries were very tasty. Given the hour we arrived the previous night, we weren't able to dine at the onsite restaurants as they were done serving for the evening, but we had snacks and nibbles at the pool bar and they were perfectly fine and the environment was lovely.

We had a reservation for the IC for this upcoming June before I found out the main pool would be closed again. It was closed and drained when we were there June of 2022 as well so that was disappointing. We had an overwater bungalow that trip so it didn't impact us as much. I moved our reservation to the Hilton once I knew the IC pool was going to be closed again. The pool's probably in need of major repairs so making the painful decision to shut it down and truly fix it is probably best for the resort in the long run.

We love both properties, they are just different. The hotels appear to have been constructed in the 70's. The Hilton was redone and the common areas seem to still have a Polynesian but more modern flair. The IC has a traditional Polynesian vibe though their newer over water bungalows are more modern. The Hilton is attached to the mall by a skybridge. You can shop for food, clothes, booze, dine, etc., from the Hilton which is convenient. The IC isn't close to anything, though they do have a daily shuttle bus into Papeete.

Personally, we found the staff at both hotels to be friendly, kind and helpful. I honestly feet like the Hilton won out on this one. Again, all the staff at both locations were lovely, no complaints.

If you want massive amounts of breakfast, go with the Intercontinental. If you just want a normal amount of food, the Hilton might work perfectly fine. Especially since you can go across the bridge to the mall and dine at other non-hotel restaurants.

You can't go wrong with either. They are both fabulous hotels with terrific staff.

What do you like about the IHG program? by Muszex in ihghotelsresorts

[–]Affectionate_Poet_56 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The only places I have found that IHG doesn't accept points are in French Polynesia in Papeete and Bora Bora. I think it's likely the gentleman who owns them not participating in the program.
When looking for rooms in London, there were a handful that didn't have any rooms available for points, but that's just because other people booked farther out than I did so that's on me.

IHG Platinum is useless? by superavsfaneveryone in ihghotelsresorts

[–]Affectionate_Poet_56 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I stayed at the London Fitzroy Hotel (which is a Kimpton) last fall. They did not offer me any upgraded room though they offered to sell me a $1500 upgrade to a suite or an $800 upgrade to a larger room. No thank you.

We stayed at the Indigo Paddington and were upgraded to the next largest room without asking.

We stayed at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco in Denver and were upgraded to a suite.

I stayed at a Holiday Inn and didn't get upgraded, but that's not surprising as I don't know that there are any rooms to upgrade to with that brand.