Monday, April 8, 2013

Sydney stay - The Westin

After my trip to Melbourne two weeks ago I was lucky enough to have another ridiculous invite from the same client. He is celebrating 15 years of his business and flew his "inner circle" of close friends and clients to Sydney for the weekend. Again, without going in to all the details the higlights were dinner at Rockpool Bar & Grill on Friday night and the Golden Slipper on Saturday.

Our accommodation was at The Westin Sydney which I've booked numerous times for clients but had yet to stay in myself. The Westin Melbourne is one of my favourite hotels so I was looking forward to seeing its Sydney counterpart. The highlights of the stay were breakfast each morning at Mosaic Restaurant and the "rain shower" I had on Sunday morning, such a great way to start the day!

Yes, that's three trips so far this year and three 5 star hotels stayed in.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Travel-related stresses

Here's an interesting article I came across about what people stress over when travelling. I can relate as I struggle with staying healthy and active on the road but usually I'm only away for a night or two so it doesn't really effect my routine too much. There are some good tips below on how not to deviate from the routine too much when you're away from home (and the gym).

Travelers say eating healthy and exercising on the road are more stressful than airport security

Vicky Karantzavelou - 29 March 2013, 11:21

SAN FRANCISCO - A new survey from TripIt, the leading mobile travel organizer from Concur, revealed that eating healthy, exercising on the road, and coming home to a to-do list are more stressful for frequent travelers than airport security.

When asked how stressful certain travel-related activities are, 67 percent of frequent travelers said exercising was either somewhat or very stressful; while 66 percent said eating healthy was stressful. The top five activities identified by the majority of respondents as stressful include:

Travel-related activity
"Somewhat
stressful"
"Very
stressful"
Total
1. Exercising
50%
17%
67%
2. Eating healthy
47%
19%
66%
3. Coming home to things waiting for me
45%
19%
64%
4. Airport security
44%
15%
59%
5. Driving in an unfamiliar city
42%
12%
54%

The majority of travelers did not find checking in to the airport, the flight itself, picking up a rental car, or communicating with partners and/or kids to be stressful.

"As someone who is constantly traveling, eating healthy and keeping up my fitness routine are incredibly important," says Trish Friesen, editor in chief at TripStyler.com. "My two biggest travel health tips are to make sure there's always a rainbow of color represented on your plate, and in a pinch, never underestimate the amount of exercise that can be done on the carpet of your hotel room."

To help travelers exercise and eat healthy while on the road, TripIt recommends these tips:
  • Carry healthy, portable snacks, like whole almonds or a banana to curb cravings
  • When ordering from a menu, substitute an appetizer or small plate for the entree
  • Opt to walk or take the stairs, instead of the people mover or escalator
  • Aim to increase your steps with an activity tracker or app, and take the scenic route
  • Ask the hotel concierge for a map of local running routes or trails
  • Take advantage of hotels that loan guests workout gear, yoga mats or shoes
  • Use the hotel room to do crunches, push-ups, and chair dips any hour of the day.