Hotel Reviews

This was our first time staying at the Publick House in Sturbridge MA and this first time was for our wedding. Suz and I picked this place out in the Summer of 2017 after we got engaged and feel in love with the old school New England feel. Suz was looking for an New England Winter wedding feel and this place knocked it out of the park.

We go married on site in the actual Publick House Inn that is attached to an old barn, where we had our cocktail hour. The venue has 3 choices of lodging on site, Publick House Historic Inn, The Chamberlain House and the Country Lodge.

The historic Inn is located in the same building where the restaurant, check in, function rooms and bakery. These rooms are clearly from the 1700’s with modern updates but an old school feel. The Chamberlain House rooms are new modern rooms, design to match the feel of the rest of the buildings These rooms have suits available in them and are located on each side of the historic Inn. The country Lodge are older rooms, more of a motel style design and these 3 buildings are located up the hill a bit on site. These rooms are dated but serve the purpose of staying the night after a wedding.

Most of the rooms in the Chamberlain House and Country Lodge have balcony’s. For convenience and modern accommodations, I would suggest the Chamberlain house for sure.

Complimentary baked goods and coffee to guests who stay at the hotel and these are located in the morning at the bakery, who bake fresh food every day. Other than the bakery, there are two food options to eat on site. The first is historic tap room where they serve 3 meals a day there. We ate the breakfast buffet there and it was great. In addition there is also Ebenezer’s Tavern and this is more of a bar feel with a full menu. We had lunch an dinner there a couple of times. The bar is also open later and they have a full selections of beer, wine and spirits.

The hotel is also very easy to get to, right of I 84 about 60 minutes from Boston. They are open all year around and do fill up quickly. Even with the several weddings they have going on at once, you don’t even realize it. For after parties, they have a cottage that is away from all the rooms to ensure you won’t disturb other guests.

Staff is also great there. For our wedding Anthony was in charge and did a great job. Everyone was very helpful and we couldn’t ask for more. Suz and I are looking forward to our next trip out there for either lunch dinner or the night. If you are looking for a quaint New England get away, this is the place. Also if you are getting married, winter or summer, I would definitely suggest this venue.

The Score

Room Cleanliness : A
Hotel Cleanliness: A
Friendliness and knowledge of staff: A
Food & Drink Selection: A
Accessibility: A
Total: (A)

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Thanks for visiting – Arty & Suzi

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Review: Courtyard by Marriott Lake Buena Vista at Vista Centre – 8501 Palm Pkwy, Orlando, FL, 32836

December 26, 2018December 26, 2018 Arty84

Courtyard by Marriott Lake Buena Vista at Vista Centre – 8501 Palm Pkwy, Orlando, FL, 32836

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mcobn-courtyard-orlando-lake-buena-vista-at-vista-centre/

About

This was our first time staying at this hotel off of Disney Property. I prefer to stay in hotels around Disney rather than staying on a Disney resort because it is cheaper, there is usually food and drink options around you and unless you are spending big money, the hotel is usually better.

The last time in Disney I stayed at a Courtyard in the same area. This year we wanted to try something new. This hotel is 2 miles from Disney Springs and about 10 miles from Magic Kingdom. Over all to Magic Kingdom in the morning it would cost about $11 for an uber or Lyft. The hotel offers complimentary shuttles to Magic Kingdom, Sea World and the Orlando Parks. For us we didn’t use the shuttle because the first one for MK is at 8:50 and we wanted to be at the park by 8, but it i a good solution if you are in no rush to get there. The bus also will bring you back as well at night.

To and from the airport is very easy. About a 20 minute drive and $20-$40 uber or Lyft depending on the time of day. The Hotel does offer a shuttle that needs to have a reservation be made a day in advance and that is $20 a person.

The hotel has a large store and a full service restaurant on site. The only problem is the restaurant opens for breakfast then closes and reopens at 5 PM. Also the store does basically the same so if you need something to drink or eat, you have to leave site in the middle of the day.

The only problem we had there was one lady at the desk who couldn’t help us with a bottle of water around 3 PM when the store and restaurant was closed, BUT we did find a vending machine in the hall (just make sure you have cash on you).

The hotel has a nice outdoor pool in the sun with a shaded hot tub. We didn’t get a chance to use it because it was so cold while we were there. Not sure how crowded it gets in the Spring – Fall. There is also a fitness center on site.

Overall Suz and I had a great experience there. They were doing some painting, but that didn’t really get in our way. We had a large king suite at the end, the only problem that room had no balcony. They were able to get us checked in early and took care of their Marriott rewards members very well.

The Score

Room Cleanliness : A
Hotel Cleanliness: A
Friendliness and knowledge of staff: B
Food & Drink Selection: B
Accessibility: A
Total: (B+)

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Thanks for visiting – Arty & Suzi

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Review: Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Minneapolis Bloomington/Mall of America

December 11, 2018December 3, 2018 Arty84

Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Minneapolis Bloomington/Mall of America, 2401 American Blvd E, Bloomington, MN 55425

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mspbl-fairfield-inn-and-suites-minneapolis-bloomington-mall-of-america/https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bdlsm-sheraton-springfield-monarch-place-hotel/

About

We stayed here at the end of October for our yearly New Orleans Saints Away game. Hotels in downtown Minneapolis were a little pricey, so we decided to stay closer to the airport. The hotel had free transportation and it was right across the street from the Mall of America as well.

I like Fairfields because of the free breakfast in the morning, which we take advance of. As I said above, it was a quick walk to the Mall of America where we spent a good amount of time. There were 2 light rail stations in walking distance, 1 actually in the MOA.

The only dis-advance was the noise of the airplanes being so close to the airport and other than the MOA, there was not much else going on. The store at the front desk didn’t have the greatest selection of snacks and I think MN laws prevent them from selling beer as well. The airport shuttle leaves every 30 mins on the 15 min mark and you need to call when you get to the airport to let them know you are there.

There is an indoor pool (because when can you use a outdoor pool in MN). Plenty of parking and right off the highway. Would consider this an option next time we are in Minneapolis, St. Paul or going to the Mall of America.

Wicked Adventure video

The Score

Room Cleanliness : A
Hotel Cleanliness: A
Friendliness and knowledge of staff: B
Food & Drink Selection: C
Accessibility: B
Total: (B)

Wicked Adventure video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3o5bbpnB1U

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Thanks for visiting – Arty & Suzi

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Review: Residence Inn by Marriott Nashville Airport, 2300 Elm Hill Pike, Nashville, TN 37214

December 3, 2018 Arty84

Residence Inn by Marriott Nashville Airport, 2300 Elm Hill Pike, Nashville, TN 37214

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bdlsm-sheraton-springfield-monarch-place-hotel/

About

This was our first time staying at this hotel. Last time we were in Nashville we stayed downtown, but we did some research and with only being 10 miles from downtown, a total of about $10 for an uber and free transportation to the airport, this seemed to be a good choice for this adventure.

We needed 2 rooms for 6 of us and the Residence Inn style rooms are great because they are like min studio apartments with kitchens, big bathrooms and living rooms. The rooms are spread out in smaller buildings. Each building has about 8 rooms in it.

There is a main building where breakfast is serve and the front desk with a little store (that also sells beer) is located. During the week they have happy hours where they have free snacks and drinks for the guest, definitely a plus. Each room actually has a fireplace which was awesome. $10 for a fire log at the front desk (just make sure the flue is open unlike us).

We had gone down for the Patriots vs Titans game and would suggest this hotel to anyone who was coming in town for a game or just some TLC. In the summer the hotel has a nice outdoor pool. There is a gas station with a store across the street and if you get hungry in the middle of the night, a 24 hour waffle house a quick walk. way. Staff was great and as we said above, would definitely stay here again.

The Score

Room Cleanliness : A
Hotel Cleanliness: A
Friendliness and knowledge of staff: A
Food & Drink Selection: B
Accessibility: B
Total: (-A)

Wicked Adventure video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3o5bbpnB1U

TWE SOCIAL MEDIA

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Thanks for visiting – Arty & Suzi

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Review: Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel – One Monarch Place, Springfield, MA 01144

November 29, 2018November 28, 2018 Arty84

Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel – One Monarch Place, Springfield, MA 01144

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bdlsm-sheraton-springfield-monarch-place-hotel/

About

This was our first time staying at a Sheraton in a long time. We typically stay at Marriott’s but with the new shared points program we decided to give it a try. We were heading out to the new MGM casino in Springfield, MA, about 90 minutes from our house and didn’t want to drive back at night.

The hotel is located in downtown Springfield with a nice view of the river. It is about .3 miles from the casino and about .8 miles from the basketball hall of fame. As platinum plus members our parking is free, regularly it would be about 18 dollars for over night.

We were able to use the lounge in the upper floor with the status, but the staff there was OK at best. The lounge wasn’t fully stocked and was dirty. The bar had run out of a lot of stuff and had no backups. The next morning for breakfast up there, they had no silverware out and it seemed to still be a mess from the night before.

Our room was nice and in a section of the third floor that had a separate lobby, although I would of rather this be on an upper floor. The window was oddly small in the room too. It seemed like an older building but it was clean and close to where we needed to go, also close to the highway.

This hotel offers discounts for the basketball hall of fame and has room service until 12am. Bathroom in the room we had was large along with the room being a good size.

The Score

Room Cleanliness : A
Hotel Cleanliness: A
Friendliness and knowledge of staff: C
Food & Drink Selection: B
Accessibility: A
Total: (B)

TWE SOCIAL MEDIA

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Thanks for visiting – Arty & Suzi