W Hotels - The good, the "eh", and the ugly

I'm an SPG member, so naturally I like to stay at Starwood when I visit new cities.

W Hotels are great in that they are a sheik and stylish establishment which are a treat for young travelers.

The problem with W Hotels

is the consistency in quality.

Here are my experiences with W Hotels from East coast to West:

W Seattle: Good

By far my favorite W. Centrally located in downtown Seattle, the rooms are the largest of all the W's, and the furnishing are the newest and most natural (not a lot of cheesy space fillers). The "living room" is nice, and the bar is a great mix of locals and other business/leisure travels.

W New York: Eh

There are two W's in New York, and I always stay at the Times Square location. The W Times Square is nice in that it is in the bustling, neon-lit few blocks of Manhattan. The bad part is it is in the bustling neon-lit blocks of Manhattan. The building is extremely tall, so views are nice. However, the rooms are a bit small and there is a lot of light pollution from Times Square.

W Minneapolis: Good

This was an amazing surprise. Brand new, and located in a historic building in downtown Minneapolis. A great roof-top bar, and an open air walk on the top of the building with great views of the city. The rooms are very well sized, and the bathrooms - incredible. Ceiling to floor windows in the bathroom make you feel like you're outside when showering.

W San Francisco: Eh

Located next to the convention center, it's almost all business travelers. A decent walk to Market and the Embarcadero. Rooms are nice, but cheesy decorations. The parking is outrageous ($40/day, if I remember correctly).

W New Orleans: Ugly

This was one of the worst hotels I've stayed at, and not limited to W Hotels. The rooms were filthy, the

furnishing were disgusting (the desk chair looked like it was found at a flea market - rusted and falling apart, and the couch was so worn you could almost see the springs). I can't believe this place has the W name on it. The only redeeming part was it is across the street from Harrah's Casino.

All in all, the W is nice if you don't mind gambling. I haven't had any issues with the Westin yet...

Facebook Down?

Yes, Facebook has been down sporadically throughout the day.
I found a great website which you can check the online status of almost any website, and it's done completely through user submissions. Pretty cool!

For Facebook:
http://downrightnow.com/facebook

The Northwest's Hidden Treasures

There was a great NPR segment this morning on the Northwest’s hidden treasures (an archived recording of "Weekday":
https://www.kuow.org/program.php?current=WK1 – it is worth listening to.

The Conversation had on a guest host who wrote a book on all the “curious” sites to see in Washington and Oregon (wacky museums, etc.):
http://harrietbaskas.com/

One place which sounded amazing was Ashland, OR. Far, but everyone was raving about it.
Another place was the “Channeled Scablands” in Eastern Washington
Also, Palouse, WA was named a bunch of times.
The “Glass House of Kootenay Lake” in British Columbia
John Day Painted Hills and Fossil Beds in Eastern Oregon
Mima Mounds in Washington
Mt Angel Oregon has the world’s largest hairball (2lbs)

In Seattle, “Hardwicks Hardware” store on 43rd & Roosevelt is supposed to be crazy.
The “Sound Garden” in Magnuson Park.
The “Fun Farm” in Bend, OR… sounds crazy - 4 acres of random crap.
Walker Rock Garden in West Seattle.
Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach.

Winlock, WA has the world’s largest egg.
Vashon Island has the bicycle tree


Let me know if anything jumps out to you…

Verizon Releases ROM Update for Samsung Saga (i770)

Verizon finally made good on a promise from last December:
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/06/24/verizon-wireless-rolls-out-new-gps-unlocked-rom-for-the-samsung-saga/


Here is the direct link for the update tool:
http://ars.samsung.com/customer/usa/jsp/faqs/faqs_view.jsp?SITE_ID=22&PG_ID=557&PROD_SUB_ID=561&PROD_ID=1359&AT_ID=156315

Twitter

I first said "meh", but now i'm starting to get hooked.
I was able to grab the name "SeattleHapyHour" which I'll post a new happy hour each day.
Hopefully it will catch on...

Check it out!