Tag: Charlotte

Hotel Review: Hilton Garden Inn Charlotte/SouthPark

The Hilton Garden Inn Charlotte/SouthPark is located down the road from the SouthPark Business area and across the street from the SouthPark shopping center, just south of Charlotte. There are a Ruth’s Chris, Palm and DelFrisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse just minutes away, so it’s clear hotels in this area are catering to those visiting the many surrounding office complexes. As I was visiting for my first work trip ever, it was nice to have many restaurants in the area that were open late and accustomed to solo diners showing up to catch a bite at the bar just before closing time (and with expense account that allowed me to eat at them).

The Hilton Garden Inn shares a building with a Homewood Suites but for my entire stay, I managed to stay in “my” side of the hotel. The Hilton Garden Inn side of the hotel consists of 160 rooms spread over seven floors. Parking for the hotel is located in a (usually full) small lot across from the entrance and a two-story parking garage. There’s no charge for parking or any type of hotel fee charged at this hotel.

Hilton Garden Inn Charlotte/SouthPark
4808 Sharon Rd.
Charlotte, NC 28210

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Lounge Review: Minute Suites Charlotte Airport (Priority Pass Member)

Priority Pass is trying to expand its footprint by partnering with non-lounge members. The most common type of partnership is with airport restaurants, like Bobby Van’s in JFK airport, but there are other opportunities that Priority Pass is taking advantage of. When I was taking a morning flight from Charlotte airport, I looked to see if I could get any lounge access since I always overestimate how early I need to arrive for my flight.

There isn’t a Priority Pass lounge in Charlotte, but there is an option if you need to spend some time relaxing before your flight…

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What Can You Do When You Might Miss Your Connecting Flight?

It’s everyone’s travel nightmare. After making sure you get to the airport extra early because of the delays at check-in and security, you finally get to your gate and find a seat, preferably near a power plug. You hope there are no yelling children around, or adults talking with their phone on speaker mode. You start reading your book on your Kindle or watch some cute video of cats on your phone to pass the time. When it’s almost boarding time for your flight, there’s one small HUGE problem – there’s no plane at the gate. You think, “There’s no way we’re leaving on time but if we were delayed, wouldn’t the airline tell us?” Well, not necessarily. 

The dread of knowing you only have 90 minutes to make your connecting flight and who knows how long you’re going to be delayed sets in. You’d stand at the counter to ask one of the employees but you notice the line is already 15 people deep with fellow travelers who already had the same thoughts as you. If you’re waiting for the airline to let you know about a delay, you’re already WAY BEHIND THE CURVE. Continue reading “What Can You Do When You Might Miss Your Connecting Flight?”

We are flying to Charlotte for $25!!!!

Forgive the clickbait headline. But truth be told, we really are flying for an out-of-pocket expense of less than $25. How? Thanks for asking!

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Not all trips on points and miles are glamourous. Some are rather plain, yet important. Like when you and your wife want to fly to Charlotte for a friend’s wedding in little over than a month from now.

When I first started looking at flights, I was like “That’s like less than 500 miles. It can’t be that expensive of a flight.” Continue reading “We are flying to Charlotte for $25!!!!”