Doth the lady protest too much?

Methinks not. Remember how I told you that aired my grievances to United/Continental? Well my friends, it did pay off! I got an email from the customer service manager apologizing greatly for my traveling troubles, and expressed her thanks that I took the time to write them on my customer service experience (for the record, I like it when people express their thanks, especially to me). So not only did I get some modest appreciation - I also got free travel vouchers from United! Come on now, how exciting is THAT.

With my recent jaunt to the Long Island wineries this past weekend, and my love for all things wine, I think a trip to California Wine Country is in order! 

Any travel plans anyone? 

xoxo mevans

Kickin' it in Cabo: Review of Hilton Los Cabos

I hope you enjoyed the update on the airing of my grievances. Let's move on to the real deal on our trip to Cabo. I'll start off with our stay at Hilton Los Cabos.

This is really the most beautiful hotel I have ever stayed at (and it helped that we used our rewards points). The lobby is airy and open. A big fountain marks the center of the lobby square. The rooms are spacious and well decorated.  The hotel is a mix of the traditional Hilton elegance with a modern Mexican flair. 

The Hilton Los Cabos will not disappoint. The staff is amazing! In every way this hotel is a 5 star resort, from the service to the accommodations. We even received a complimentary upgrade to an Ocean View suite upon check-in. Like seriously, I woke up to waves crashing on the beach every morning. That's the way to start any day, in my opinion.

The grounds are absolutely amazing. We spent most of our time lounging by the infinity pool, or on the beach. My pictures probably don't even do the place justice. It was pretty sweet. The food is TO DIE for also. You can sign me up for nachos and shrimp tacos by the pool any day. Oh, and frozen mojitos at noon every day? You can sign me up for those too.

Hilton Los Cabos gets the EE (Expedition Evans, of course) stamp of approval. If I ever visit Cabo again, this is the first place I will look to stay. I was very impressed with the service and the hotel in general. I'll let the pics speak for themselves:

 The Lobby (above) 

 View from the beach (above)

 Pool area (above and below)

(SIGH) I miss you Hilton Los Cabos!

xoxo mevans

My Airing of Grievances, Part Deux

So remember how I aired my grievances to United/Continental? Well, they did hear me. Just not as loud as I had hoped. It was wishful thinking that I would score some free vouchers or points or SOMETHING for my travel troubles. Alas, alls I got was a short, albeit polite email from Cindie (yes, with an "ie", pretentious much?), stating "we never want to disrupt your travel plans, however despite our best preparations, flight disruptions are sometimes unavoidable." Umm duh, didn't I say that in my original email and blog post? She seriously needs to read my blog. She did acknowledge the slipshod customer service though, so I guess she got the point in the end. 

On the flip side of the coin, I pointed out a mistake Hilton made on my reservation, and they awarded me with a nice amount of bonus points for pointing out their error. Once again, you rock Hilton!

Has anyone else aired any grievances lately?

xoxo mevans

The Airing of Grievances

Holla back 2012! This will be my first post since 2011. OK, I know, it's almost February. What can I say, I've been mad busy, yo! I just winged my way back from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico just a few days ago. If anyone is thinking of going there, it's awesome. I've never wanted to stay somewhere so badly in my life.

I have so many fun posts lined up, but I'm going to switch it up and start with the bad. I love traveling, but I hate getting to wherever I'm visiting. I guess you could say I'm not a fan of the transport.  Airfare prices are so high these days, and to get from Point A to Point B ain't so easy. This is my story of my flight home from Cabo - or, as I like to call it, the airing of my grievances to Continental/United Airlines.

After bidding farewell to our travel buddies (yes, there were tears), the attendant checking us in told us that our flight was 2 hours delayed due to weather. I checked the Continental website several times before leaving  and not once did it reflect the change in time for the flight. When I said that to the attendant, he simply shrugged and stated "you should have called." Bad move. That could have been two hours of extra pool time. We were now 5 hours early for our 5 hour flight.

After a very long and drawn out lunch (in a Mexican airport mind you), perusal of every gift shop, and a stop by the Duty-Free, our plane finally arrived. I'll spare you the details of my whining and disgruntled-ness. It was bad. By time time economy class passengers started to board (after Business and Elite customers had boarded), the airline staff had completely given up. It was a free for all. I was hit in the head by a passenger who was fighting to put his bag in the overhead bin. I thought people were going to go crazy.  

After settling in we learn that due to FAA union regulations, the flight attendants (who were the most unhelpful flight attendants I have ever met) might have to be put up in a hotel due to their working over 16 hours. A very nervous flight attendant got on the PA system and stated "we are crunching the numbers to see if we can even get this flight off the ground tonight for you customers". Seriously? Did you even go to flight attendant school? Talk about causing mass hysteria. I was about to pop open my travel size Patrón shooter. 

After said "numbers were crunched", we were able to take off around 9:00pm EST time, arriving to our destination roughly 1:00am. We were home at 4:00am. Ridiculousness. We left 3.5 hours after our intended time. I understand weather happens and there can be delays, but the Continental/United staff was in no way accommodating to their guests. It's not our fault the plane arrived late. At least they waived the fee on the DirectTV.

Best believe they got a complaint letter! Don't they know I write a really influential travel blog? :)

xoxo mevans