The previous parts of this trip report are as follows:
- Cape Cod Trip Report (Day 1): Crayola Factory
- Cape Cod Trip Report (Day 1): Purple Cow Creamery and Hampton Inn (Milford, CT)
- Cape Cod Trip Report (Day 2): Mystic Seaport and Foxwoods Casino
One of our main purposes for stopping in Connecticut and the Mohegan Sun was to visit Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. Just getting to the restaurant once in the casino though is another story as it is located on the complete opposite side of the building away from the parking garage by the Hard Rock hotel. Again we wore both our sons in backpacks and in the stroller to avoid having little ones running through the casino. Walking through the Mohegan Sun though was absolutely beautiful compared to the previous Foxwoods Casino we visited earlier in the day. We were not approached by any security guards and stayed completely away from the casino floor. I did not even attempt to see any part of the actual casino or poker room this time. Besides, on the long walk to Margaritaville, one could get plenty of view of the casino floor as you walked right besides it.
We had dinner at the Margaritaville, because we are parrotheads and have a goal along with our in-laws to try and see each of the locations. We have been to the Key West, Orlando, Niagara Falls, Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach, and now the Mohegan Sun. I think other than actually seeing the Margaritaville locations and grabbing a drink, I am not convinced that the food has really ever been anything worth ordering. This time both my wife and I ordered the fish tacos. The tacos had the tiniest little sliver of fish, and even with the salsa, beans, and cabbage, they were very bland and had no flavor. Plus after eating two of them, both of us still found ourselves starving.
110612 Margaritaville Fish Tacos
Following our dinner, we went to our hotel, which was the Holiday Inn located in Norwich, CT. We had reserved two King Executive rooms ahead of time via the Friends and Family rate. When we arrived, they informed us that my Platinum status had got us upgraded to the best rooms on the top floor. The rooms were very large complete with a desk, sitting area, king bed, fridge, microwave, and full bath. We were quite pleased with our rooms, and I think I am now officially a convert to the Intercontinental Group. We have stayed in countless Hampton Inn properties, and as I discussed in my post Cape Cod Trip Report (Day 1): Purple Cow Creamery and Hampton Inn (Milford, CT), the sleep experience has never been great. However, our sleep at the Holiday Inn was great once again!
The property was complete with an indoor pool, which we were not able to take advantage of since we were never at the hotel. The only thing that would have made the property better was if there was some type of breakfast offered. However, our rate was an unbeatable $95.73 after taxes using the Friends and Family rate. I did learn something though. When we checked in, they quoted me a rate for each room of $30 more per night, but I did not have all my information with me to try and figure out what was wrong, especially with two kids attached in tow. So I went up to the room and booted up my laptop to check everything out as the iPhone app would not tell me what rate I was supposed to be paying.
I pulled up the email of my reservation and showed it to the front desk attendant. After some investigation, she realized I had reserved two rooms for four people each instead of two rooms with two adults each. So even though my email confirmation showed it as correct, their computers were charging me an extra $30 per room to cover the “two additional adults” beyond the rated two adults per room. Luckily it was an easy fix, and I learned how I need to reserve rooms in the future.
The local Priority Club Pick a Perk promotion included a choice of 50% off lunch, one free appetizer with purchase of a beverage, $5 off dinner, or $5 off dinner plus 1,000 Priority Club points (with a minimum of two night). We unfortunately were not able to take advantage of any of these promotions since we were only at the hotel overnight.
How can I get this Platinum status? Have you stayed enough to earn it? Or did you get that status through a credit card or promotion?
@AlleyArch- We obtained platinum status with Priority Club via the Crack the Case promotion that I talked about in my post here. We were fortunate enough to get invited to participate in the promotion, and also were given large payouts for meeting certain requirements. Typically, platinum status requires 50 night stays or 60,000 points in a calendar year. We did not stay nearly that many nights this year, but because of the bonus points from the Crack the Case promotion, we easily surpassed the 60,000 point requirement.