I hope you all had a great 2024. This year was a roller coaster of travel highs and lows for me. Here are some of my most notable travel experiences from 2024.
Florida in February
A scary Low in Miami. We enjoy staying at the InterContinental Miami Doral, but during this trip we got caught in a tornado right after we checked out. Yikes! We took shelter in the Dolphin Mall. Fortunately, it moved through quickly. Other than being stressed out and a bit soggy we were fine.
A Surprise High. We needed to plan a one-night stay between Miami and Key Largo. I took a chance on the Hyatt Regency in Coral Gables. It ended up being a very charming hotel. We were upgraded to a spacious suite with luxurious details. We relaxed at the pool, enjoyed a drink in the hotel bar, and then took a short walk to an amazing Italian restaurant for dinner. This hotel was a great value for our Hyatt category 1-4 Free Night Certificate.
This was a definite High! – It was our second stay at Baker’s Cay Resort in Key Largo. This hotel is a Hilton Curio Collection property. I booked our 3-night stay with a combination of Hilton points and Free Night Certificates. My Diamond status landed us an upgrade to an amazing Ocean Front Corner Suite!
We also took advantage of the Hilton Honors Daily Food and Beverage Credits along with my $200 Hilton Aspire Resort Credit, which allowed us to enjoy a lot of delicious food and drinks during our stay. We ended up owing nothing at checkout! Winning!
Chicago in March
For sure a Low. We used World of Hyatt Free Night Certificates to book 2 nights at the Hyatt Place Wicker Park in Chicago for a trip to visit our son in March. Only 4 hours into our trip, I took a nasty fall and hit my head on the sidewalk. Due to my injuries we had to check out during the first day. Because of Hyatt’s cancellation policy, we were not able to get a refund for the second night even though I was standing at the counter bleeding from a laceration on my forehead.
In my opinion, this type of emergency with an obvious injury should have allowed for an exception to their cancellation policy, and we should have been refunded for the 2nd night. But that was not the case, we checked out early to seek treatment at the ER where I received stitches and was diagnosed with a concussion. Ugh!
Paris in May
So many Highs in Paris! My daughter and I had already booked a 10-night trip to Paris before my fall in March. By May my stitches had healed and I didn’t have any further symptoms from the concussion so we went ahead with the trip.
Boy, am I glad we did. What a wonderful experience. We saw so many of the sights of Paris, plus toured the Palace of Versailles, and spent 2 days in Reims & Epernay visiting Champagne Houses. I booked all of our flights and hotels with points and we were lucky enough to find nonstop flights direct from Detroit DTW to Paris CDG. The stars really aligned for this trip.
We started off day one with a French Pastry class that was such a fun experience. My daughter booked it as a surprise and we learned to make several types of pastries including croissants and pane au chocolate. They gave us the recipe and all the pastries we baked. This immersive experience was a delicious way to kick off our trip!
The Waldorf Astoria Trianon Palace in Versailles made us feel like Princesses. Once again, I received a fantastic room upgrade due to my Hilton Honors Diamond Status. This suite was spacious enough to have hosted a ball. It had a soaking tub with French doors that opened up to one of the two balconies which offered stunning views of the Palace of Versailles.
When we arrived they gave us coupons for complimentary cocktails at the Gordon Ramsay bar and there were Welcome Amenities of Macarons and Sparkling Water waiting in our room. We utilized my Hilton Aspire $200 Resort Credit for an amazing dinner experience at the hotel’s La Veranda Restaurant. After devouring all the courses and sharing a bottle of wine, our bill was only 5 Euros after the credit. We also enjoyed a delicious breakfast which was included with our stay. Think fresh croissants, scrambled eggs with herbs, sauteed button mushrooms, freshly squeezed orange juice, and so much more. Divine.
The Palace of Versailles was a surprising low for me. As a history nerd, I was excited to visit the Palace of Versailles. I did a ton of research before booking our Saturday visit and still got it wrong. The schedule for their fountain shows and fireworks displays varies by day, seasonally, and for special events. We were one week too early in the season for the Saturday shows AND there was a concert on site that night.
We had to stand on hard cobblestones in the hot sun while waiting in line for our timed entrance. The palace was extremely crowded (we were packed in like sardines) due to visiting on a Saturday. Some of the grounds and fountains near the palace were partitioned off for the special event. We also couldn’t find the carriage house (I really wanted to see the coaches) because it is located off-site which wasn’t clear on the map or the app. Even though we didn’t get to see the Saturday night musical fountain shows and fireworks displays, we did enjoy a wonderful meal at the hotel and heard parts of the concert from our balcony at the Waldorf Astoria Trianon Palace!
Four nights at the Kimpton St. Honore. I used the IHG Book 3 Nights and got the 4th night free at The Kimpton St. Honore. This hotel is centrally located and made a great base for all of our activities in Paris. We had the cutest room where they sent us a handwritten welcome note, traditional French candies, a sparkling beverage, tote bags, drink coupons, and sleep masks.
I can’t say enough about the phenomenal service at this hotel. They provided the warmest check-in reception of any hotel I have stayed in, delivered hot cocoa to our room at 10 pm, and gave us great dinner recommendations. As if that wasn’t enough, they held our large bags after we checked out to travel to Reims & Epernay. When we returned it was raining and our Uber parked on the wrong side of the street. Even though we were no longer guests at the hotel, the Valet held traffic and wheeled our bags across the street for us. Five Star Service!
One last high in Paris was the Go City Paris Pass. We purchased a 6 day pass that offered skip-the-line and timed entrances to many of the city’s most popular attractions. Those options saved us a lot of time! When we dug into what else was included in the pass, we discovered several fun activities and some interesting food and/or drink options. Before traveling to Paris, we made a loose itinerary on Wanderlog. This site let us map out the activities we wanted to do so we weren’t crisscrossing Paris, it also let us match up the included food options with our daily plans. These little Easter Eggs were fun to find, a nice break in the action, and saved us money.
- Champagne and dessert after a walking tour to Sacre Couer (photo 1)
- Macarons and Hot chocolate before a tour in St. Germaine (photo 2)
- Crepe Monsieur, frites, & sparkling wine for lunch after the Louvre (photo 3)
- A French Wine Tasting Class (photo 4)
- Breakfast at Cafe Louise (photo 5)
- A Cheese Tasting with wine (photo 6)
Final Thoughts
In addition to these trips, my family spent several days together in a tiny house in Traverse City, Michigan. It was super fun and we even took the Grand Corgi with us. I feel blessed to have taken some great trips in 2024. I am also thankful to have finally recovered from my injuries (which included rotator cuff surgery and lots of PT) so I am ready for new adventures in 2025.
I couldn’t take such wonderful trips without patience, persistence, and knowing how to use my travel tools. By combining credit card points, benefits, and loyalty perks from hotels and airlines, I reduced the biggest part of my travel costs so that I could go and do more. By leveraging my hotel status, I scored some amazing room upgrades, which made my stays even more magical.
I haven’t planned too much travel yet for 2025, but I am looking forward to our first big trip in February. A 12-day, 3-island adventure in Hawaii for my husband’s birthday. This bougie budget trip will also be our 1st time flying in first class!
Thank you for following along. I hope you have a wonderful 2025!
Dream, Travel, Save…Adventure!!
The World According to Dev 