Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Backyard Tourists

Apologies for my recent absence. Work, play, family, and friends have been keeping me busy! Fortunately, that means I've got a stockpile of reviews to writeup. I'll start with the most recent since it's the most fun.

Last weekend Shrek and I basked in an impromptu weekend getaway in San Francisco. (Thank you extra paycheck that comes around but twice a year!) Sure Shrek and I get away to San Francisco every now and then as it's only a 45 minute drive up 101 from us. But this usually entails grabbing a bite to eat, checking out an attraction like the California Academy of Science, or shopping before returning home the same day. Last weekend, however, was different. What made it a true getaway, in our opinion, was taking on the persona of tourists. We booked the Intercontinental's awesome California Staycation rate as well as a sunset cruise on San Francisco Bay. Although we had our car and knew our way around to BART, we cabbed everywhere. We splurged on food and drinks at the hotel bar (ridiculously overpriced but soo good!), dined out, and capped off the evening by meeting up with friends for birthday drinks and dancing in honor of a SCU friend. The following morning we slept in (i.e. I skipped my usual work out even though the Intercontinental has a beautiful workout facility and lap pool), brunched, and shopped til we dropped. Well, one of us did. I got some boots and finally found my purse, but more on those later.

On our way back the plan was to take the scenic route and head out to Half Moon Bay for some frolicking in the surf and an early dinner. We're dying to try this
Crab Landing restaurant after Shrek's brother and sister-in-law raved about it. However, it would have to wait. Our lack of sleep was starting to get to us so we went home, did some laundry and vegged. Later that night as Shrek and I were drifting off to sleep, we were in agreement: we need to do this more often! Not the city again, per say, but more impromptu mini vacations instead of saving up for a big vacation. Of course, those are nice, too, but with only 10 vacation days per year, these weekend getaways are much more practical. And, it truly felt like we were on vacation!


* * *
The reviews:


Since I've already reviewed SF's Intercontinental Hotel ($199), I only have few notes to add:

  • -Our last staycation was in February. Hence, it was cold and there was no need for AC. This time AC was a necessity. The room was uncomfortably warm when we arrived. Though it's not energy efficient, it'd be be a nice touch if the hotel anticipated their guests don't want to walk fully-clothed into a sauna. Oh well. We set the AC to 68 before heading down to the bar and our sunset sail. The idea was to return to nice cool room. Unfortunately it was not to be. As far as we could tell upon our return (together, Shrek and I consider ourselves tech-savvy) the AC was set on a motion detector. You leave for more than some odd hours and it turns off. Only later we discovered you can override this feature by pushing the "Do Not Disturb" button. (Which also switches on a red light outside of your door.)
  • I'm a serious breakfast person and brunch is one of the reasons I love staying here. It was excellent as always. Choose from gourmet potatoes, scrambled eggs, chicken apple sausage, bacon, various fruits, yogurts, breads, pastries, hard boiled eggs, lox, bagels... Yum!
  • Everyone we interacted with who works at the hotel is super friendly. The bartender recommended delishVietnamese pulled pork sliders, were generous with the champagne in the Mimosas, and recognized us the next morning when they assisted serving us breakfast.
  • The bar makes deliciously potent Mimosas
  • I forgot my toothbrush and got a complimentary "Dental Kit" from the concierge. They don't mess around: you get a real toothbrush and travel size toothpaste as opposed to the generic teeny tiny throwaway ones some hotels stock. I actually kept mine.
  • To reiterate: $199 gets you: a superior king room (20th floor or up. Photo is the view from our room. You can also pay $179 and gamble on whether or not you'll get a view of something other than the buildings across the street) + overnight parking (a $55 value) + bfast for 2. (Based on their room service menu, I'd base the value at $25 pp.). They no longer include a $10 gas card which was included last time we stayed.
  • Love that it's just 3 blocks walking distance to Union Square shopping and BART. After checking out at noon, the hotel stored our luggage and car at no extra charge while we shopped.
...I'll definitely be back!

Sunset Cruise ($45 pp):
By
Adventure Cat. The words that come to mind are: refreshing, breathtaking (literally... you're sailing so fast that it's difficult to catch your breath!), freezing cold, and windy. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.


































































































































They also offer regular bay cruises at 1 pm and 3 pm for $30 pp. However, aside from the sunset, they don't include drinks and appetizers. I actually managed to finagle a -$10 discount, so the sunset cruise was well worth the extra cash for us. PS The crew is super friendly and the company provides cozy waterproof jackets. Some women were super dressed up and wearing stilettos, which I wouldn't advise. The bow of the boat gets wet and slippery. Fortunately I wore my new boots!


...That's it for now! More later.




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About MindyKnows

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I'm a girl constantly on the hunt for top quality, stellar customer service, and fun when it comes to shopping and eating out. The more affordable, the better. Though, you will quickly see that indulging in handbags - Hello, Louis! - and food - Hello, Foodie! - is a weakness of mine. Yes, posts will primarily pertain to the Bay Area as this is where I currently call "Home." However, I am no stranger to travel so visit often to read up on my finds and to chime in on your faves!

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