The Polite Traveler

Palm Springs Activities Hello, my Polite Travelers, As an older couple, we often just want to relax and enjoy our favorite places at a leisurely pace. This was the case during our recent revisit to Palm Springs. For the most part, we explored downtown, stopping for coffee and chatting with the locals. Additionally, we embarked on a few other excellent adventures. Agua Caliente Cultural Museum As a Smithsonian Affiliate, I found this museum to be outstanding.  This museum is a mixture of immersive video, sound, and visuals (including lifelike exhibits) to tell the story of America’s rich—and many times heart-wrenching—indigenous story.  The permanent gallery begins with the 360-degree immersive video of the Agua Caliente “Creation & Migration” story.  The quality of their digital animation and sound is impressive—there’s even a screen on the floor.  I found their creation story to be fascinating. Don’t Miss! For the Love of Art! Don’t Miss The Palm Springs Art M...

Hyatt Place Delano, CA, and Room #303 Hello, my Polite Travelers. Well, we’ve had a fantastic, fun-filled week in Palm Springs, and are now traveling home to Davis, CA.  To break up the long drive, we’re staying one night in the Hyatt Place in Delano, CA.  So far, so excellent. The Spacious Accessible Room #303 This room appears brand new, as if no one has stayed here yet.  Everything is clean, neat, and warm.  We’ve been assigned a lovely corner room away from the nearby freeway.  Across the street is a huge shopping center with restaurants and shopping opportunities.  Since this is an accessible room, there’s plenty of room between furniture and grab bars a’plenty in the bathroom—near the toilet and in the shower.  The sink is outside the toilet/shower room--love it.  The walk-in shower features an adjustable shower wand and pull-down seat.  Perfect!  There is no microwave, but one can be requested.  Alternatively, th...

Hilton Palm Springs Hotel & Room #191 Review Hello, my Polite Travelers. Well, we finally made it to Palm Springs, CA.  It’s great weather, even in early December.  Palm Springs is a unique place: quirky with a side of cinema history.  And even though it’s a tourist favorite, it feels homey and welcoming .  There are numerous lodging options, but we chose the Hilton Palm Springs Resort.  We stayed here four years ago and found it to be a mixed bag: a great layout, but in need of some remodeling.  Now, it’s a tad better…with caveats.  Accessible Room #191 For the most part, this room is accessible : a walk-in shower, plenty of grab bars, a fold-down shower seat, and a low-mounted shampoo bar.  Still, the toilet is at regular height.  Those with mobility issues require taller toilets.  The bathroom sink is excellent, with counter space and no cabinets underneath.  Although I didn’t measure the sink height, it appears to be a...

Hyatt Place Bakersfield and Room #312 Hello, my Polite Travelers. Well, we’re on the road traveling from Davis, CA to Palm Desert.  Midway, we’re staying at the Hyatt Place Bakersfield.  It’s not far from CA 99 and very near highway #58, which is exactly the road we need to jump onto tomorrow morning.  It’s also directly across the street from a shopping center with restaurants and…drumroll… Trader Joe’s .  The room is spacious and accessible.  The bathroom features numerous grab bars, and the space between furniture is ample.   This room has a bathtub, so those requiring a walk-in shower should request a different room.  The tub also didn’t have a shower wand or pull-down seat.  Many with mobility issues require these.  The shampoo and conditioner were ‘fairly’ low enough, but could have been lower. Don’t Miss! Choose This Comfort Suites When in Astoria, OR Why We’ll Skip Embassy Suites Napa in the Winter Look Closer at the ...

Hampton Inn & Suites Palm Desert, CA—Hotel & Room #330 Review Hello, my Polite Travelers. We are now in sunny Palm Desert, and it is a grand place.  Everything looks clean and new.  Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the Hampton Inn.  It pains me to say it, but this hotel needs some love…and perhaps a good handyman.  Our room is an accessible room for hubby.  On first glance, it’s adequate, with space between furniture and grab bars in the bathroom.  That’s only the first glance.   Blink once more, and there are a few issues for both the mobile and mobility-challenged .  First, although the bathroom features plenty of grab bars, the toilet is too low, and accessible toilets require taller seats.   The shampoo bar is too high, and there’s no pull-down seat in the tub.  Those in wheelchairs would require a different room, and most mobility-challenged people can’t reach up to access the shampoo bar.   ...

One Night in Sonoma Valley Inn, a Tapestry Collection by Hilton My dear Polite Travelers, The beauty of hotel loyalty credit cards is the ability to earn free nights.   Since we live relatively near Sonoma, CA, and I’ve always wanted to spend more time perusing the unique downtown core, we chose the Sonoma Valley Inn, a Tapestry Collection by Hilton , for that free night.  After all, it’s right on Second Street, just steps from the core.    So, I couldn’t wait to check out this once-humble Best Western, now reborn under Hilton’s wing as a Tapestry butterfly. Now, I’ve stayed at Tapestry hotels before and know some of what to expect. But here is what I found that each of these hotels should offer.            Unique design reflecting the locale            Culinary offering inspired by the locale            Personalized service that offers a “boutique-like experie...

Beautiful But Needs Adjustments to its Accessible Rooms My Dear Polite Travelers I recently read about a new Hyatt House and since I needed a short brain-tidy-vaca near my home base in Davis, CA, I ventured twenty miles west to the sprawling city of Vacaville, the shopping mecca of our general area.  The Lobby/Bar/Restaurant Walking into the lobby, I noted calming tones, striking art, décor, and welcoming faces.  The registration staff was delightful and efficient.  The attractive bar and eating area are tastefully decorated and have ample seating areas. In fact, the entire area was so lovely that I brought many of those decorating ideas home with me.  The restaurant’s menu was limited and similar to what is typically found at bars: hamburgers, pizzas… etc.  I ordered a hamburger which was delivered overcooked.  Grr… Accessible Room 133 First off, this is a gorgeous room filled with outstanding artwork.  It includes a kitchenette, small ...

  My dear polite travelers, Ah, the allure of the open road...  Uh-huh, considering the lighter traffic of past decades that adage seemed positive.  Today?  Not so much.  Still, sometimes magic appears beyond a mountain ridge.  Sometimes, it’s just another detour.  Our most recent road trip north from Davis, CA through Oregon, and Washington to Port Angeles—the northwestern tip of Washington—was tiring but rewarding.  There were plenty of surprises on this rushed eight-day journey.  Most of which was spent in hotels and on the highway.  What follows is a snapshot of our trip.  Note Our ultimate goal was to see, at least some of, the Olympic National Forest before returning home.  Due to our ‘seasoned’ age , it is uncomfortable to travel more than 5 to 6 hours each day, resulting in staying one night in each city.  The only exception was Port Angeles—our only two-day stay.   Note A list of hotels and ...

  My dear polite travelers, Finally, the last hotel before we return home to Davis, CA.  It’s been a long journey ( link ), even though it was only eight days.  Eight days of driving is a tad too much for us oldsters.  Still, spending the night in another Hilton Garden Inn is worth the milage, especially since management has promised the restaurant will be open.  Note A list of hotels and a map of our journey. Room #420 The room was typical of Hilton Garden Inn, with the clean , contemporary upgrades: walk-in shower, extra storage, extra counter space, microwave, and refrigerator.  The desk area was exceptional with a comfy chair and plenty of outlets.  The view wasn’t the best—freeway. Still, we didn’t hear anything during the night.  The Hotel This hotel is remarkably similar to the Hilton Garden Inn in Olympia, Washington ( link ) we stayed in recently.  The décor was contemporary and clean with intuitive seating throughout...

Time for a Road Trip We began our trip from the bicycle capital of the U.S., Davis, CA.   Our goal was to explore the Washington  Olympic National Forest  & everything in between.  It was a tiring, but fantastic trip.  Over eight days of driving, we stayed in seven different hotels: ~ Comfort Inn & Suites Ashland, OR       ~Comfort Suites Springfield, OR ~ Hilton Garden Inn, Olympia, WA          ~ Quality Inn Uptown Port Angeles, WA ~ Comfort Suites Astoria, OR                  ~ Comfort Suites Newport, OR ~ HiltonGarden Inn, Medford, OR         Read about our road trip restaurants.   ~ Road-Trip Restaurants YouTube:  ThePoliteTraveler  Instagram: ThePoliteTraveler Facebook: ThePoliteTraveler Twitter: @PoliteTravels Please Subscribe!

  My dear polite travelers, When on the road, one doesn’t always have the luxury of finding the best eats in town, especially when so many are closed, for example on Mondays, and due to Covid-triggered limited staffing issues.  Because of that, I have made a list of those we chose on our long road trip , and why you might want to try or skip each. Bon Appétit. Note A list of hotels and a map of our journey. Louie’s Ashland, Oregon Well, hmmm...this one is a bit of a conundrum.  The food was passable.  Since I didn’t want the typical huge burger and I don't eat fish, I chose the recession hamburger.  Well, it reflected a recession, as it was thin and tasteless.  The fries were also dry.  In contrast, my hubby chose salmon and brown rice.  His dish was great.  The actual—don’t return—issue was the wine.  They had few choices of white wine, and none were good.  As a result, we decided on the house wine, Recession White, and...