United Airlines will reduce its Los Angeles and Houston flights to Sydney during the Australian winter. Citing lower demand during the northern summer season, United will serve Sydney four times weekly from Houston and three times weekly from Los...
Review: Rydges Sydney Airport Hotel

With an early flight to Singapore the following morning, we chose to spend our final night in Sydney at the on-site Rydges Sydney Airport Hotel. My stay took place after the hotel first opened in June 2013. But if...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: March 25, 2018

Spring began in Los Angeles this week with one more rainstorm, a fitting end to a rather meager winter. I’m still here, further extending my record of time in the last decade I have not stepped onto an airplane....
Vivid Sydney, A Spectacular Light Show

My stay at the Park Hyatt Sydney happened to coincide with Vivid Sydney, a spectacular annual light show. Vivid Sydney is an “annual outdoor lighting festival with immersive light installations and projections in Sydney.” It began in 2009 as...
Review: Park Hyatt Sydney (Opera View Deluxe)

This Park Hyatt Sydney review covers my upgraded Opera View Deluxe room. For a full review of the property, its restaurants, and amenities, you can read my earlier review. The upgrade was unexpected: thank a broken thermostat in my original...
Where to Eat Near Park Hyatt Sydney

Earlier today I published my review of the Park Hyatt Sydney, a tremendous waterfront hotel in Sydney. But I know many of you are like me: you love nice hotels using points, but don’t want to spend the money...
Review: Park Hyatt Sydney

Heralded as the premier property in the Park Hyatt portfolio, would the Park Hyatt Sydney live up to its reputation? After arriving from Canberra by train, we checked into the property on a cold and rainy June evening. The...
How I Scored an Amazing Upgrade at Park Hyatt Sydney

It was a dark and stormy night in Sydney. We had checked in late to the Park Hyatt Sydney after our train ride from Canberra and were cold. Small problem. Our heater in the room didn’t work. And the...
Canberra to Sydney by Train

My uncle and I had a disagreement: I wanted to fly, he wanted to take a train. Spoiler alert: we took the train. This review covers my train trip from Canberra to Sydney. It wasn’t that I was opposed...
Review: Park Hyatt Canberra

Admittedly, this hotel reminded me more of a retirement home than a Park Hyatt property. But I still liked it a lot. Have you ever been in a retirement home that has a sort of musty/old smell? That’s this...
A Day in Parliament in Canberra

One of the highlights of my time in Canberra was spending an afternoon in the Australian Parliament, located on Capital Hill in the heart of the Australia’s capital city. Parliament House is home to both houses of parliament and open to...
Review: Qantas 737-800 Economy Class Melbourne to Canberra

The plane went up, the plane went down. The point of this 293-mile economy class flight review is to ask whether Qantas is worth the premium over its low-cost competition. Qantas remains a full service airline, even on short...