It’s a little difficult for me to combine personal and business travel for reasons that I won’t get into on the blog.  So I’ll just do the turn and collect the miles.  I’ll be in OKC for 8 days, and staying at the Sheraton Oklahoma City.  I should have a review of the hotel ready by midweek.  My project will keep me in OKC over next weekend.  Any suggestions on what to do while I’m there?  I’ll certainly go see the Oklahoma City National Memorial.  What else?

• Award travel for 5,000 fewer miles
• Two companion tickets annually
• An Annual US Airways Club pass
• First Class check-in and Zone 2 boarding
• No annual mileage cap

I suppose this isn’t a bad deal for the person who flies just enough for flying to be annoying, but not quite reach elite status.  But the $89 dollar price point is troubling to me.  Why?  Most people can afford that, which makes me wonder if this doesn’t run the risk of making access to US Airways’ First Class check-in lines and Zone 2 boarding more like a carnival than the privilege that they are meant to be.

Personally, I think the Continental Presidential Plus World MasterCard from Chase is a much better model for providing an enhanced package of benefits to travelers.  Presidential Plus cardholders receive a Continental President’s Club membership, and Continental’s “Elite Access” privileges which include early boarding and priority baggage handling plus a whole host of other benefits.  With that much to offer, it’s no surprise that the annual fee is much higher than the US Airways card at $375 dollars per year.  But the annual fee also has another benefit, it likely serves as a deterrent to the card being obtained by huge masses of people and prevents the dilution of elite benefits for lower level elite fliers.  Access to First Class check-in lines and priority boarding are the 2 things I value most in elite status on any airline.  I think the Continental product does a much better job of protecting the elite benefits of those of us who can only attain low and mid level elite status.

Another card that offers a bit of access to certain privileges is the Delta Reserve Card from American Express.  In exchange for a  lofty $450 dollar annual fee, cardmembers receive access to Delta’s Sky Club on the day of flight.  A notable difference between this card and the Continental card is that those card holders receive an actual membership in the Continental President’s Club while Delta Reserve holders are merely granted access to Delta’s club, just like an Amex Platinum cardmember receives.  The card does have some other benefits including Medallion Qualifying Mile bonuses for reaching certain spending thresholds and priority for Medallion upgrades within your status level.  Personally, if I flew Delta enough to obtain more than Silver Medallion status, I’d likely carry this card, if for no other reason than the upgrade priority.

United also offers a handful of cards that offer access to varying levels of privileges.  Depending on the card, you can receive a Red Carpet Club membership, or my favorite, access to United’s Economy Plus section.  Some of the cards also offer elite qualifying mile bonuses for reaching certain spending thresholds.  You can read all about each of United’s card options here.

Those are the cards of the domestic mileage programs that offer access to enhanced benefits for travelers.  If you know of others, feel free to comment to the blog.  Each of these has its good and bad points, and if you fly one of these airlines regularly, you should at least consider one of these products.  That said, I think the Continental Presidential Plus MasterCard from Chase is the best of the bunch.  No way I’d be without one if I were a regular Continental flier.

Check in

The hotel was a $35 dollar cab ride plus tip from SEA, and traffic was no issue due to our mid-day arrival.  The hotel is located on the corner of 4th and Seneca with the main entrance being on 4th street.  The cab dropped us at the Seneca entrance which happens to be the most convenient if you have bags as its on the same level as the front desk.  This entrance also happens to host the valet parking entrance.

The only wait for check in was for the 2 colleagues I was traveling with, so no issues there.  The desk attendant was quite friendly, took the time to thank me for my Starwood Preferred Gold status, and had me checked into my Fabulous and Cool Corner Room within a minute or 2.

The Room

My room met the expectations that its “sales name” implied, “Fabulous and Cool Corner Room.”  Located on the 23rd floor, the room was typical W, equipped with the great W bed, functional and well-lit work area, and comfortable chaise lounge.  I had a city and partial bay view from my location.  Wireless internet access is $14.95 for 24 hours, and the desk offers a wired connection as well.  The bath was large and equipped with the standard Bliss products, but there was no “chi-chi trendy walk-in shower,” just a standard tub, but it did the trick.

The room was well taken care of by the housekeeping staff, and turndown service occurred like clockwork every night while I was away at dinner.

Dining

We made it out to some really great restaurants while in town.  I’m not a foodie, so I don’t know how to describe our restaurant experiences except to say that they were good to excellent.  Two were within walking distance, and one required a drive.  Just a few blocks from the hotel, you’ll find Brooklyn Seafood, Steak, and Oyster House.  Located at 1212 2nd Ave, Brooklyn was excellent.  All of my colleagues enjoyed their entrees, and my bone-in ribeye was cooked perfectly and loaded with flavor.  Our server, Nick, was the best!  Directly across Seneca from the hotel, was Shuckers.  Located in the Fairmont Hotel, Shuckers provided good food, good service, and it was of course, close by.  Salty’s on Alki Beach, was an easy drive from downtown, and well worth the effort.  Good food, friendly…really friendly service, and a great view of downtown combine for a great time.  Not to mention, I snapped this picture of a Boeing 787 flying over downtown.

A Boeing 787 Over Seattle

While I didn’t try it, the hotel is home to Earth and Ocean.  I look forward to dining there on my next visit to Seattle.  We did try some lite snacks from the bar one afternoon which were prepared by the restaurant, and they were very tasty.

Around the Hotel

For me, the centerpiece of the hotel was the W Bar and Living Room.  Awarded “Best Hotel Bar” by Seattle Weekly, the slightly edgy vibe of the lobby bar and trademark W Living Room was the perfect meeting place to discuss the day’s events and plan for the next day’s business.  Great drinks, and great service.  Thanks Greg!  Note:  Unlike some other W’s, the hotel does not offer free wi-fi in the lobby “Living Room,” but there is an option for 1 hour of access for $4.95, which I took advantage of for a couple of quick email checks when the BlackBerry or iPhone just weren’t enough.  There’s also a Starbucks directly across the street from the hotel.

I made use of the hotel’s reasonably well equipped gym on 3 days out of my 4 day visit.  The gym had modern equipment, and an adequate amount of space.  While I was never alone, the gym was never crowded.

Random Observations

• The hotel is one of the older W properties, but that didn’t stop me from liking it a lot.  The most noticeable difference for me was the bathroom design.  Nothing wrong with it, just not the “trendy” kind of bathroom you might expect if you’ve only frequented newer W Hotels.
• There’s a very large sign by the hotel parking entrance advertising $37 dollar a day valet parking.  I do not recall if there was any mention of  “plus tax” on the sign.  When my colleague, who happened to be our assigned driver/car renter for the week checked out, he noted that he was charged $44.21 per night for parking. The front desk told him that “the price for overnight guests in the hotel was $44 dollars and not $37 dollars.”  Not sure what to think about that one.  I’ve been searching the hotel’s website to find what  it says about parking rates but haven’t had any luck.  I’m unaware of any self-parking options nearby.  If anyone from the hotel happens to read this, comment to the blog with a clarification, and I will update this information.

The Bottom Line

I liked the hotel a lot.  If a W is available at my destination, it is always my first choice.  The W Seattle is no different.  I will be back. If you have any questions, or have your own experiences at this hotel to share, feel free to comment to the blog.

I’ve had one of the more successful business trips of the year, and am looking forward to completing the week.  I’m also anxious to complete my review of the W Seattle, which was the hotel of choice for this trip.  Not only did I have a great stay, but my colleagues mostly seemed to enjoy it as well.

A Boeing 787 Over Seattle

]]> http://boardingarea.com/blogs/mjontravel/2010/03/09/a-quick-pic-from-seattle-787-in-flight/feed/ 1 http://boardingarea.com/blogs/mjontravel/2010/03/09/a-quick-pic-from-seattle-787-in-flight/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boardingarea/marshalljacksonontravel/~3/FzonZdPRu7s/ http://boardingarea.com/blogs/mjontravel/2010/03/09/hello-from-seattle/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:29:36 +0000 Marshall Jackson http://boardingarea.com/blogs/mjontravel/?p=1515 Hello from the beautiful W Seattle.  I arrived on Monday afternoon for a weeklong business trip.  So far, I’ve found 2 great restaurants and 1 great hotel.  My stay at the W has been very nice.  I’m in a corner room on the 23rd floor with a nice view, and can’t find a thing to complain about.  The W Seattle is one of the older W properties, and I’ve seen a couple of signs of age, but certainly nothing that would make me want to stay anywhere else for my next visit to Seattle.  I look forward to posting a full review of the hotel when I complete my stay.