Reviews

Finger Lakes, New York Trip Report (Part 1)

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This past weekend we spent our time in the Finger Lakes region of New York State after reading the Budget Travel article last year as the Most Beautiful Wine Region in the world! I previously talked about planning for this trip here and here.

First lets start with the hotel. We booked the Staybridge Suites located in Corning, New York. We were very satisfied with the hotel. I had reserved two rooms using the Friends and Family rate. One of our rooms was upgraded to a King Suite, so I gave that to my inlaws. Our room was a standard Queen Suite, which had a kitchen area, sitting area, bedroom, and a large bathroom. The hotel had a fairly large lounge and breakfast area. On Tues-Thurs, the hotel hosts different nightly events which include beer, beverages, and food. We were there on Thursday, which they had a brocolli and cheese soup available. The hotel also features a gym, indoor pool, and courtyard complete with a basketball hoop.

Overall the stay was comfortable and the accommodations met all of our expectations. We swam on our first night with both our children, and besides the pool being slightly cool, we enjoyed it. My oldest son was shivering at the end though yet did not want to get out.

The breakfasts in the morning were GREAT! We had ample choices including a variety of cereals, fresh hard boiled eggs, cottage cheese, yogurts, tons of different breads, bagles, and pastries, outmeal and assorted toppings, fresh waffles, fruits, and various hot items including scrambled eggs, sausages, etc. It was a great way to start each day.

Upon arrival, they allowed my son a chance to spin a bonus wheel for each of our reservations since we were Priority Club members. We had won a free item from the snack bar and 750 free points. My son did us good with the maximum free points on the wheel, and we allowed him to choose a snack of his choosing.

The only issue I find peculiar is that we booked with the Friends and Family rate, and had a slight issue when it came time to check out. Here are the terms of the rate:

Reservations require full prepayment for the entire stay at time of booking. Fully non-refundable. Prepayment is charged to credit card between time of booking and day of arrival and is non-refundable. No refunds if cancelled or changed. PC Points do not apply. Must present voucher at check-in.

So when I made the reservation, I fully expected that I was charged for both rooms. I thought I even remembered seeing it on one of my previous statements. However, the hotel had no record of me actually being charged and paid in full for the reservation despite the terms stating I would be pre-paid. I actually had to call Discover while standing in the lobby to verify where I had been charged or not. Discover Card confirmed that an authorization was not placed onto the card until our arrival date (April 28, 2011). Therefore, I allowed the hotel to charge us for both rooms.

I find this interesting only because why would they delay charging my card? Even though the terms state it is non-cancellable, is it really? I assume we would still be charged even if we did not show up, but who knows. I am not about to test it and loose money. All I know is the Friends and Family rate saved us about $75 per room per night. It was a substantial savings and worth the cost to not earn points for the stay. However, I should still receive credit towards my Crack the Case promo and possibly receive points for other various promos I registed for ahead of the trip.

The Cost of Costco (Continued) for a Two-Year Old’s Birthday Party

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I recently discussed the merits of a Costco membership here and here. In those posts, I mentioned how we do not spend enough to make it worth while to get the Executive Membership. To make the premium membership worth your while, someone would need to spend $450/month just to validate the extra cost, and that is just to break even. That is a lot of extra rolls, cans of beans, or tooth paste. Unless you run a business that purchases a lot of items in bulk, I ca not imagine anyone “needing” to spend $450/month at Costco, when there are far better options for ones grocery needs.

I previously discussed the real costs and/or savings of buying in bulk at Wholesale clubs. A recent statistic showed that wholesale clubs marked up their products only 8-15%, while other retails increased their wholesale prices 22-27%. I have convinced myself that the only real way to win at Wholesale Clubs is to use coupons. Otherwise the extra cost does not always justify the premium of club membership and buying in bulk.

This past weekend we had our sons second birthday party. A very small get together with immediate family, grandparents, and best friends. In total there was only 18 people at the ice cream social and 12 people at the party (not including our infant that does not “eat” technically speaking) back at our place. We did things a little backwards, where we had a ice cream social at a local parlor. Then afterwards we invited family back to our place to gather, open presents, and eat.

The menu was not anything spectacular; hot dogs, Angus beef hamburgers, chicken burgers and some small side dishes all purchased from Costco or brought by family. So this past Friday during lunch I ran to Costco quick to pick up some of the essentials (beer, buns, burgers, cheese, and milk). I quickly ran through the store, picking up a Beers of Mexico sampler pack, Mike’s Margarita sampler pack (for the party and our Jimmy Buffett concert later this summer), several packs of buns, cheese sampler, lemonade sampler, Welch’s White Grape Cherry juice (the best!), and Apple Juice. I was in the store probably less than 15-20 minutes.

I do not know what I was thinking, but after checking out, I had spent $130. I about almost fell over. I had no intention of spending that much, or maybe I just never thought about it ahead of time. The problem is I failed to financially plan in my head for this party.

On the way home I kept asking myself, what the heck did I just buy? I constantly have buyers remorse at Costco. $50 of what I spent was for 48 bottles of beer/margaritas. Why the heck did I need 48 bottles of alcohol for a two-year old’s birthday party? Some people may have one or two bottles, but not much more. I do not even drink beer. I guess I need to plan on inviting lots of people over this summer. In reality, we will have enough beer and margaritas to last us all summer long.

I think if I actually took a moment prior to going into Costco, I would have realized there were only 12 people coming to the party to eat. I do not know why in my head I kept thinking we need a lot of food and beverages. Of course Costco also gets me every time on impulse buys. This time it was these specialty bottles lemonades.

I could have easily gone across the street and spent about half as much at the grocery store by not buying in bulk. Between both phases of the party, we spent $250. I estimate possibly $75 of that was for home essentials (milk), leftovers we can make at a later date, or alcohol that will be served later. That is a lot of money for a small party for a two-year old, but it was well worth it as long as our son enjoyed himself. Time to go figure out where else I can save some money.

Smokey Bones Restaurant Review Follow-up

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Earlier this week I wrote about our first experience at a Smokey Bones restaurant in our area. In addition to my post, I also contacted Smokey Bones Corporate via their website since I was not able to talk with a manager while in the restaurant. My goal was just to express my concern to management so they were aware of how the restaurant, and customers, were being handled.

Immediately on Tuesday morning I received a phone call from the manager requesting me to call them back and explain what exactly happened. All week I played phone tag with the manager, but eventually managed to get in touch with him earlier today.

I explained that it was our first time, and that the food really was good. In addition, I told him I was not trying to throw the waiter or staff under the bus, but I explained how the service was really, really slow. The manager was very apologetic and wanted us to return for a future meal so that our first experience was not our last. They were going to send us a gift card in the mail to use at our leisure.

I thanked the manager for his prompt attention to the matter as well as his response. We will gladly give the restaurant another opportunity as we really did enjoy the food. However, I want to be clear and subjective and not be influenced just because we receive a free meal.

My intention for making the management aware of the situation we experienced was not to receive a free meal. As any waiter will know that serves us, if you do a great job, you will be rewarding for it. My wife and I both have funny sense of humors and like to laugh and joke around with our servers. It sets the mood for a great meal and service. At the end of the meal, we always typically leave at least a 20% tip. If you were really good, we will leave more, and if you did not quite hit the mark, we might decrease it some. In addition, if a restaurant hits the mark for service and food, we not only write about them, but also encourage our friends and family to also go. We routinely have tried out new places that have now become favorites.

So when our service was that bad at Smokey Bones this week, I just had to be able to tell someone. It was sad that I could not even find a manager while there to discuss our situation, and that I had to take it to corporate. However, they say they have addressed the situation, and we will try them again in the future.

It is kind of unfortunate how the staff can influence ones opinion of a restaurant. The food service industry is very cut-throat with low margins, so there is little room for error. Customer service and communication really are key in any business to keep clients returning. Smokey Bones prompt response and professionalism won high marks in my eyes. Now go enjoy some BBQ.