Hotels We’ve Stayed In :-)

These are some of the fabulous Hotels we were lucky enough spend time in.

**If you would like to skip to any particular area please click on the links below.

Amsterdam, NetherlandsAmstel Hotel – April 8-12, 2013

Andasibe, MadagascarVakona Forest Lodge – June 15th – 16th, 2016

Anguilla, CaribbeanBelmond Cap JulucaApril 23, 2017

Asheville, North CarolinaOmni Grove Park Inn – October 23, 2020 

Athens, GreeceHotel Grand Bretagne – August 10th – 13th, 2005,
                                                                                      November 3, 2011,
                                                                                      July 12, 2018

Atlanta, GAWaldorf Astoria – November 2, 2019 – November 5, 2019 

Austin, TexasFour Seasons – May 17, 2021 – May 18, 2021

Baltimore, MarylandFour Seasons – October 14, 2020 – October 15, 2020

Bangkok, ThailandMandarin Oriental – March 30th & 31st, 2014

Bora Bora, French PolynesiaFour Seasons – January 21, 2015

Boston, MAXV Beacon – October 11, 2019 

Big Island, HawaiiHilton Hotel – February 28 – March 2, 2017

Charleston, South CarolinaBelmond Charleston PlaceOctober 26, 2020

Charlottesville, VirginiaAlbermarle Estate at Trump Winery – October 15, 2020 

Chicago, ILPeninsula Hotel – August 30, 2017 – September 1, 2017
                            Trump Hotel – March 21, 2019 – March 23, 2019

Cape Neddick, MaineCliff House – August 2, 2020 – August 5, 2020

Cincinnati, OhioNetherland Plaza Hotel – April 28, 2019 

Dallas, TexasThe Joule – May 15, 2021 – May 17, 2021

D.C. – District of ColumbiaTrump International Hotel– June 8, 2021

Des Moines, IowaEmbassy Suites – August 23rd – 24th, 2017

Dubai, UAERaffles – November 22, 2011
                            Medinat Jumeirah – September 2, 2019 – September 4, 2019
                            Burj Khalifa-Armani-September 4, 2019-September 6, 2019  
                            Burj Al Arab – September 7, 2019

Eze, FranceLa Chevre D’Or – May 27, 2019 – May 29, 2019

Florence, ItalyFour Seasons – February 2011

Grand Anse Mahe, SeychellesHilton Northolme – June 18th – 22nd, 2016

Grand Rapids, MichiganAmway Grand Rapids Hotel – April 26, 2019

Honolulu, HawaiiRitz Carlton Residences June 14, 2022 – June 18, 2022

Hot Springs, VirginiaOmni Homestead October 17, 2020 – Oct 19, 2020 

Huntington, NYOheka Castle – September 2018 

Jerusalem, IsraelWaldorf Astoria – July 15, 2018

Johannesburg, South AfricaIntercontinental – September 20, 2019 

Kahuku, HawaiiTurtle Bay ResortJune 18, 2022 – June 20, 2022

Ko ‘Olina – HawaiiDisney Aulani – September 13, 2018 – Sept. 20, 2018
September  14th – 21st, 2013
September 7th – 14th, 2014                                                                                                    September 23rd – October 1st, 2016                                                                                    February 23rd – February 28th, 2017

Kruger National Park/South Africa – April 2009

Livingstone, ZambiaRoyal Chundu – June 7th – 13th, 2016

Maui, HawaiiWestin Hotel – March 3rd – 7th, 2017

Milwaukee, WisconsinHilton Hotel – August 28, 2017

Montauk, New YorkGurney’s Star Island – October 9, 2020 – Oct 10, 2020

Monte Carlo, Monaco Hotel De Paris May 23, 2019 – May 27, 2019

Nairobi, KenyaGiraffe Manor – September 8, 2019 
                                    Angama Mara – September 9, 2019 – September 13, 2019  
                                    Salas Camp – September 13, 2019 – September 16, 2019   

Nashville, TennesseeHermitage Hotel – May 24, 2017 – May 25, 2017

New Orleans, LARitz Carlton – October 28, 2019 – October 31, 2019 

Newport, RICastle Hill – October 9, 2019 
                              The Chanler @ Cliff Walk – October 10, 2019

Orlando, FloridaRitz Carlton – August 25, 2022 – August 27, 2022

Oceania Cruises Suites

Palm Beach, FloridaThe BreakersSeptember 22, 2013, October 25, 2015
                                               Mar-A-Lago – Members since 2021 

Papeete, French Polynesia – January 24, 2015

Park City, UtahSt. Regis – September 27, 2016 – September 28, 2016

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania –  Ritz CarltonAugust 8, 2019 – Aug. 10, 2019

Rome, ItalyWestin Excelsior Hotel – February 7th – 20th, 2011
                             Ritz Carlton -August 18th – 21st, 2012
                             Waldorf Astoria Rome Cavalieri – August 23, 2018
                             Waldorf Astoria Rome Cavalieri – June 2, 2019 – June 4, 2019

San Diego, CalifoniaThe US Grant – September 20, 2022 – September 23, 2022

Sedona, AZEnchantment Hotel – September 27- 29, 2010

St. George, UtahThe Inn at Entrada – August 27, 2013 – August 29, 2013

Venice, ItalyLuna BaglioniFebruary 3rd – 5th, 2011

Waikiki, HawaiiTrump International Hotel – June 20, 2022

Walland, Tennessee Blackberry Mountain – Oct. 21, 2020 – Oct. 23, 2020

White Sulphur Springs, VirginiaThe Greenbrier – Oct. 18, 2020 

Zakynthos, GreeceLe Sante Blu – July 7, 2018 – July 11, 2018

Zambia, AfricaRoyal Chundu – September 17, 2019 – September 20, 2019 

 

Amsterdam, Netherlands

September 8th – 12th, 2013

After an eight hour flight, we arrive in Amsterdam. After settling into our beautiful hotel called Amstel Hotel, we decided to take a walk around the city to get familiar with it.

The next day we had plans to visit the Anne Frank Huis. I read her story when I was younger in school, so I was excited to see the house in person. This house was the 17th-century canalside home where young Jewish girl Anne Frank and her family hid for two years during World War II. Today it’s one of the most popular attractions in Amsterdam, with almost a million visitors a year. Luckily we went first thing in the morning, so it wasn’t crowded. Having fled from persecution in Germany in 1933, Anne, her sister Margot, their parents and four other Jews went into hiding on 5 July 1942. The eight people lived on the upper floors of this annexe behind Prinsengracht 263; a bookcase marks the entrance to the sober, unfurnished rooms. But on 4 August 1944, the occupants were arrested and transported to concentration camps, where Anne died with Margot and their mother. Her father, Otto, survived, and decided that Anne’s diary should be published. In 1960, the hiding place was made into a museum.
The people in hiding have to stay twenty-four hours a day indoors. The curtains of the annexe are always kept closed, so the neighbors cannot see them. During the day, when the warehousemen are working downstairs, everyone has to sit still and not make a sound. Just reading this makes me think of how stressful and scary that situation must have been.

After visiting the Anne Frank House, we decided to take a walk around the city and have fresh mint tea while looking at The Waag, which is a 15th-century building on Nieuwmarkt square in Amsterdam. It was originally a city gate and part of the walls of Amsterdam.
The next few days we just hung out around the city and walked through the famous red light district which was wild.

September 11, 2013, Today is our last day to enjoy Amsterdam we decided to take the train to Zaandam which is where all the wind mills are it’s a place called Zaanse Schans. Unfortunately, it was raining so some of the pictures didn’t come out well but that is the typical weather at the time of year we were there. We went into a few of the open windmills and saw how they worked it was incredible to see it work.

The one thing I can tell you about Amsterdam is that you have to be careful of the bicycles on the street and on the side walk. When walking out of any building look before you pop out, they are all over the place, and no rules apply.

Follow us on our journey our next destination is London.

Amstel Hotel Bedroom
Maria & John in the Amstel Hotel Lobby
Amstel Hotel Lobby
Amstel Hotel Exterior

The thinnest building we’ve ever seen

The Waag
The Waag

Hallucinogen Menu

Zaanse Schans
Zaanse Schans
Wind Mill in Zaanse Schans
Wind Mill in Zaanse Schans
Wind Mill in Zaanse Schans
Wind Mill in Zaanse Schans
Wind Mill in Zaanse Schans
Wind Mill in Zaanse Schans
Inside of a wind mill
Inside of a wind mill
Inside of a wind mill
Inside of a wind mill

Photo credit – Google Images
Photo credit – Google Images