2007 Travel Year in Review

I wanted to put together a year in review column to document the highs and lows of the past year I've had on the road. Below is the first installment:

Favorite Airline: Delta Airlines - began flying them for the first time this year and have never had a bad experience with them. I was sitting next to a Delta frequent flyer on a flight from CVG-ORD a couple months ago and he characterized the airline in the following way. "With United, Continental, and almost all other domestic airlines", he said, "you have lots of good experiences and lots of bad experiences. But with Delta you just have a continuation of average experiences without all of the drama of the bad ones. It's this consistantcy that I value." Well put.

Favorite Hotel: Westin Memphis Beale Street - Been at this property three times over the course of the year and always love it. It's a brand new property so all of the rooms are fresh and clean. I usually get upgraded there to large suites which is always a plus. I was at the Daily Grill last week and a server stopped by and we began talking about a conversation we'd had the last time I was there a couple weeks before - it was nice being recognized. The one thing that threw me off was their in-room food offerings. On the tv stand is a mini-bar along with a small little container of goodies. If you're like me and like to see what your options are, you may pick up, say, the canister of cashews to see what exactly is inside. Well, even the act of picking up the food out of its resting spot results in your bill automatically being charged. A very sneaky practice.