Best Western Plus Siesta Key Gateway

We stayed for four nights at the Best Western Plus Siesta Key Gateway, and it was definitely a good choice. They are located right before the bridge to Siesta Key, and are only a 5 minute drive to the main beach area. In addition, they are only 10 minutes from the downtown area of Sarasota and 15 minutes from St. Armand's Circle.

The room itself was pretty basic, but nice. The bed was very comfortable. The housekeeping staff did a good job each day of keeping our room clean. The front desk staff was friendly. Each morning, the breakfast served was plentiful and pretty good for a hotel continental breakfast. There was also free popcorn to take from the lobby throughout the day. The wifi also had great speeds that allowed for high quality streaming video.

The pool area was very nice and had its own bar, which was run by a friendly bartender. The parking lot had some strange double bumps in it, so be careful driving in it. You don't want to be holding coffee while driving over them!

The only negative we found was there was no clothesline in the bathroom for hanging wet bathing suits, towels, etc., which is unusual for a beach area hotel.

Address: 6600 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34231
Wifi: Free
Parking: Free
Restaurant: No
Bar/Lounge: Yes
Smoking: Non-smoking
Hidden Fees: None
Free Breakfast: Yes

Best Western Albany Plus Franklin Square Inn Troy/Albany

We spent only 1 night at the The Best Western Plus in Troy, at Franklin Square.  Despite a torrential downpour that night, the staff was very friendly, helpful and in good spirits.  We used this hotel as just a quick stopover before a flight the next morning, and it was perfect for that.

The bed in the room was comfortable and the room was clean.  The room was a bit tight, especially once you bring luggage in, but otherwise everything about it was good.  There was free wi-fi, which is always nice and when we forgot some toiletries at a previous hotel, they happily provided replacements.

The location is about 10 minutes from the Albany airport, which made it easy to get to extremely early in the morning.  Also, across the street is an excellent barbeque place, Dinosaur BBQ, which we'd recommend to anyone staying at the hotel.

Best Western Plus Dartmouth Hotel & Suites

Halifax has numerous hotel choices, and they can get pretty pricey.  However, if you're willing to take a 10 minute drive, across the water in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, is the Best Western Plus Dartmouth Hotel & Suites.  While not having the perfect location, it is a pretty easy drive from here into Halifax, which only costs $1 to cross the bridge (each way).  They offer free parking, which no hotel in Halifax seems to do, and they cost almost half as much as the city hotels, which is a major positive.

The hotel itself is quite clean in both the lobby and the rooms.  The staff is very friendly, including the restaurant staff where we had drinks one night and breakfast each morning (which is included in the price).  The rooms are spacious and have good noise reduction from any noises in the hallway or other rooms.  The beds are comfortable and the housekeeping staff does a good job each day.

Hotel Armando

We spent 5 nights at the Hotel Armando, using it as our base to explore this part of Italy.  The hotel is very modern looking on the inside, both in the rooms, as well as the public areas.  Every portion of the hotel is clean, and they provide an excellent free breakfast each morning.  The rooms are quite large for a European hotel, especially for the prices.  We also found that the restaurant that is directly next door was an excellent choice.

The main issue we ran into here had to do with parking.  On their site, as well as on 3rd party sites, they advertise free parking available.  The parking though is street parking only and it is extremely limited.  You're basically on your own to find it and the hotel will only give you a permit to put on your dashboard to allow you to park there.  If you can't find a parking spot on the street near the hotel, you'll be forced to find a parking lot that you'll need to pay for at close to 20 Euros/Day.  To us, this was basically false advertising and needs to be adjusted on the advertisements for this hotel.

Also, after 10 PM, the only staff on duty is a security guard from a 3rd party company.  While he is friendly, he doesn't have the ability to handle any typical hotel requests during late night hours, which could be problematic if you have an issue during those hours.

However, the location of the hotel is excellent as it is within easy walking distance of all attractions in Verona. Verona as a city is also centrally located for day trips to Lake Garda, Vicenza, Padova and portions of the Dolomites.

This is a hotel we'd recommend, but if you are driving there, make sure you take the parking issues into account.

Hotel Atlantico Review

Review of the Hotel Atlantico in Madrid, Spain
This was our first time travelling to Spain, and I must say that choosing the Hotel Atlantico to be our first stop was an excellent decision!  The hotel is only a 2 minute walk from the Callao metro station, which makes it easy to get to from the airport or train station you may be arriving to Madrid at.  It is very centrally located within the city right on the Gran Via.  You can easily reach most of the city's top destinations by walking from this hotel.

Once inside the hotel, you'll find that the staff is extremely courteous.  They promptly answered any questions we had throughout our stay and everyone who worked the front desk had an excellent grasp of English.

The room wasn't very large, but the size was plenty adequate for our needs.  The maid always kept the room clean and everything was in proper working order.  The Wi-Fi was always available for our internet needs and they even gave us a "Bull Statue" as a complimentary gift.

One thing I'd reccommend to anyone booking here is to request a room with a view of the Gran Via in advance.  This way you get a balcony right over this main hub of Madrid.