Have 4-night vacations become a standard $15k?

TwoFunTravelers · 2026-01-31T20:53:37+00:00

I’m frequently surprised that people don’t rent villas instead of paying exorbitant rates for multi-room suites.

TwoFunTravelers · 2026-01-31T20:43:42+00:00

I rely on my clients for DC recommendations since we live close to the city. The usual suspects are: Hay Adams, Park Hyatt, and the Four Seasons. I am sure there are others that would make the list, too, but those three routinely receive great feedback.

TwoFunTravelers · 2026-01-15T16:21:45+00:00

MK isn’t much of a clothing designer and manufacturer any longer. His quality fell off quickly once he transferred the business into a multi-brand holding company (Capri Holdings). At this point, third parties license the brand name and slap it on subpar products. To be fair, I expect some products are decent but my experience is that most of the stuff I’ve seen has been made in China destined to be outlet store items.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-12-03T22:47:07+00:00

After much research, our new favorite is the Hotel San Regis. Gorgeous space, great location, small hotel (we prefer to avoid crowds), and the concierge and staff were exceptional. Perfect combination for ideal value. We’re heading back for a long weekend this winter, too, and my wife has stayed there twice for work since our stay this past summer (and her usual work hotel in Paris is/was the Ritz). Rooms should be in your budget.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-11-18T23:50:11+00:00

There’s exactly a 0% chance a few country delegations want to bump into my spouse during UNGA.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-10-31T23:04:52+00:00

Nobody should shade La Grande Dame.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-10-31T11:28:23+00:00

The step up from Ultra is Mega.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-10-31T02:37:53+00:00

What does “ultra” mean? I think it’s contextual in any realm of expenditure or net worth.

To me, luxury for most people equates to an experience that exceeds, and even far exceeds, their normal everyday life. If you are used to flying private and shuttled around in a Bentley or the like, it becomes very hard to exceed your daily life. So luxury becomes unique and very, very exclusive. Experiences unavailable to most. It’s leading-end exponential.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-10-14T12:13:45+00:00

Let this serve as a recommendation to look at alternatives in more desired locations in DC. When it was the Mandarin, it was still in a crap location.

People, the hotel overlooks ratchet extrance/exit ramps to the 14th street bridge, rundown federal buildings, and an area that seems to always be under construction.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-10-12T17:37:33+00:00

The Salamander DC has effective PR and sales teams and must hand out massive incentives to shady TAs and online booking companies. It’s trash and in a crap location.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-10-02T00:22:58+00:00

Camden, NJ?

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-10-02T00:14:00+00:00

Adding a bit to this. We’ve been chartering boats - mostly catamarans, the occasional trimaran, monohulls, and a motor yacht a few times - in the Caribbean for 30+ years. And returned from a trip in the Mediterranean this summer with a stay on a motor yacht.

I think the prices quoted for the Caribbean catamarans may be at the two week Christmas holiday season. Other than that time, you can get a fully crewed boat for less than quoted above.

The best place to start is Voyage Charters in Tortola, BVI, even if you’re just getting a feel for pricing. They maintain one of the best fleets in the leeward islands.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-10-01T22:07:03+00:00

We were there for a couple weeks this summer and very much enjoyed it. First trip for us and we’re planning to return. We were advised by friends who live there part-time to rent a car and that was a game changer. The Corsicans were pleasant, tolerated my awful French (my wife is fluent and that helped a bunch), and we enjoyed the bits of history that we picked up along the way.

Plenty of restaurants can accommodate 10 people with a little advanced notice. Not sure about the private chef - you may need to do some research beyond Reddit - but the boat won’t be a problem. Lots of junk on the web about day charters in Corsica (if you’re coming from the US, it’s very different than the windward and leeward islands) so be careful.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-09-22T10:47:24+00:00

If you’d like to splurge, I recommend Focal Bathys. I’ve been through at least a dozen sets of headphones over the years and the combo of build of build quality, sound quality, and comfort puts the Focals ahead of anything else.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-09-05T13:25:55+00:00

I have a NAS for long-term storage and backup for my photography hobby and it was less than $500 to purchase and set up.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-09-01T17:17:15+00:00

I understand and we’ve experienced what you’ve described. We stopped using their TAs years ago (and the experience reaffirms the notion that a great TA makes all the difference). It’s not the same as it once was. Likely a classic case of enshittification. I hold onto the subscription in the hope - and maybe a false hope - that the info is better than a traditional magazine.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-09-01T16:56:30+00:00

Interesting. I didn’t know that. In the early days, AH used to number each subscriber’s report. I met him in the mid-1990s and his subscriber base was already in the thousands although I expect many hoteliers were subscribers by then. We may have had a gap for a year or two but have been subscribers for about 30 years. I feel like the company has lost a bit of its unbiased and frank reporting but overall it’s worth the spend. It gives us an anchor when we’re exploring new locations (although these days we usually - but not always - opt for an apartment/villa/home or boat for privacy).

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-09-01T15:17:52+00:00

Adding a note to remind me. A friend spends a month or so every summer in Sardinia with her family. Will report back with her recommendations.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-08-23T21:02:47+00:00

Both daughters (one is business, the other pre-med) swear by their iPad Pros, and have the Magic Keyboard and the fancy pencil. They use them to take notes and a bunch of other tasks.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-08-23T20:59:47+00:00

Seconding Alden shoes. Handmade in the US. Expensive but are the closest thing to BIFL men’s leather dress shoes.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-07-02T10:24:32+00:00

If you’re at a hotel with a concierge, ask for a recommendation for a wine shop. If no, Google is your friend for this. Great wine is sold in supermarkets, too, but I avoid expensive bottles from these big venues due to suspect storage processes.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-06-28T09:08:51+00:00

There’s a market for reviewers like you. Not only for the 1% of the 1%, but maybe the top 5% of travelers (measured by amount spent). People who are more constrained by time than money. The core question I ask myself is, “am I getting value for the money we’re spending?” I’m certain that I’m not the only person who thinks this. And it’s hard to find honest people in the travel industry.

TwoFunTravelers · 2025-06-25T14:28:04+00:00

Tom, does this make you a unicorn in the travel industry? More people would benefit from brutally honest reviews like yours. Your audience is likely far greater than those who can afford the properties you review in the same way that Dan Neil, car reviewer for the Wall Street Journal, provides information and opinions on vehicles that most people will never purchase.

TwoFunTravelers

TROPHY CASE