I've been lucky enough to stay in some nice places, thanks in part to business trips. Another way is smart shopping. I'm on vacation now and tonight I'm staying at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville for $79. It normally costs over $200 a night. I found the deal through Hotwire. Coincidentally, one of the worst hotels I ever stayed at was the Hee-Haw motel just north of Nashville. My dad drove me and my brother to Nashville about 25 years ago and all the hotels in town were booked for some reason. We found this dump and stayed there for 1 night. Some of my favorite places have been: The Boulders - Scottsdale, AZ Awesome place. I went there for the golf and the wife for the spa. The rooms were very nice and the location was great. I remember walking around one night and saw a wildcat that almost made me crap in my pants. Honeymoon suite at the Aladdin in Las Vegas. The room wasn't really over the top, just huge and very nice. The Doral in Miami. I was there on business. It has a world famous spa and the rooms were great. Four Seasons - Shanghai, Grand Hyatt - Beijing. Or maybe it was the Grand Hyatt in Shanghai and the Four Season in Beijing. I get confused. Another business trip.
Best: Amanpuri in Phuket, Thailand Everyone gets their own little villa w/ private pool and cabana. Personal chef w/ all the works. I seriously can't begin to describe how awesome it was. Worst: Some dump in Ho Chi Minh City We needed a place to stay for one night (that would also let a dog stay). Some old dude w/ 2 hookers checked in right before us, the place was filthy, and there was freak'n blood on the sheets. I put a chair under the doorknob because the lock was a p.o.s. I guess thats what you get for a $15 hotel room in Vietnam. We ended up finding a MUCH MUCH better place the next night.
