Sheraton Miami Airport Hotel

January 21, 2012 - Rick

Why would anyone write a review of an airport hotel? Well, because, I liked it. It fit the bill. The staff was great and the location fantastic for an early morning connection or late arrival.Although not actually connected to the airport, the Sheraton is the closest one to the terminals. The shuttles run every 15 minutes until late at night and start up again on a 15-minute schedule early (half hour late at night).I planned on staying only one night during my mileage running but ended up there for two when I ran out of gas and faced a six-hour flight in coach the next morning. NO upgrade available. NO decent seat assignment. I took the second day off and just hung out at the airport hotel.

A few of my favorite Miami South Beach hotels, photo by Andrew

The breakfast buffet was overpriced but offered fixed-to-order omelets. You could eat indoors or outside by the canal and adjacent golf course. I don’t remember anything special about lunch, and dinner was in the bar area and again just OK food.

But I liked the place. The outdoor pool and Tiki Hut were inviting and the Internet connection worked all around the property, although the laptops in the business center had a habit of locking up. The front desk staff let me print an email from their computer when it happened. I bought the gals hot chocolate each morning and got real honest-to-goodness smiles in return.

There was a gym (I missed it). The club lounge was being remodeled and they didn’t grant access to it to Gold’s anyway. I’ll get Platinum this year.

The price was $179 or 4000 SPG points (I did points). A guy checking out told me he bid $140 on Priceline and got it. I think he overbid but didn’t know all the circumstances. The hotel is used by the airlines for distressed passengers and the airlines use it for pilots and crew.

So now I have a favorite at the Miami Airport. I stayed there last year and subconsciously looked it up again this year.

On the far side of the country, I like the Doubletree at Seattle’s SeaTac airport. Stayed there lots of nights when Andrew lived in Seattle. I could take the 192 bus from right in front of the hotel to his apartment. Now, of course, SeaTac has a light rail. I always used Priceline for the SeaTac Doubletree. In my days in Seattle, it was about $42 per night to win the bid. I’m sure it’s a bit more now.

Airport hotels are like real estate and neighbors. Location, location, location and everybody likes nice neighbors!

Share with us your favorite airport hotels. I’m sure the gang will appreciate your recommendations.

Anonymous

Congrats! Big stuff!
JWeingarten

What does this mean for the average reader?
Aaron

Congratulations
cardifans.com

@JWeingarten – if I read correctly you have BoardingArea blogs/milepoint on one side of the aisle and Internet Brands/FTG/flyertalk on the other
Miles

I had to double-check that this wasn't the April 1 edition. Congratulations, Rick!
James O

Congratulations, Rick! I hope you ask for payment in some form other than miles.
Keep Posting!
FrugalTravelGuy

JWeingarten: It means a cleaner, more readable blog with more content and relevant posts. I'll still be here.
Lance

Congrats Rick – that's awesome!!
aml

Congrats! Glad you will still be writing and sharing for our benefit.
nickfromct

Congrats! Its always good to see hard work pay off!
alohastephen

May the force be with you!

Always.
deltagoldflyer

…and no more Hawaiian shirts from now on?!! Well done Rick. Well done! – Rene http://www.DeltaPoints.com
EllenLV

WTG Rick, your hard work and expertise has paid off.
AE_GT

Congrats Rick!
Anonymous

Umm…congratulations?
The Travel Abstract

Wowzers! Congrats on the deal!

I hope you still show love to us indie bloggers! Don't forget about the lil' guys.
Anonymous

Will everyone else still be here?
SJK

Congrats! It's every person's dream to have their hard work become recognized and paid off.

Just quoting your response to JWeingarten above; that is exactly what Tom@MySpace said when NewsCorporation acquired them.

Just please promise us that your site won't become commercialized and end up going down the same path as they did, i.e. a cesspool of banners, advertisements and pop-ups.
Anonymous

Sell out
(Kathy) Will Run For Miles

Congratulations!
Anonymous

Rick, congrats (you are deserving of good things)…BUT I will say I fear for the impartiality/objectivity of the site and your ability to easily link to whomever/whatever you wish, including linking to "competing" sites as far as the new parent company is concerned. What will happen to all the old blog posts and comments? It is crucial that the historical blog still be there. How many from the general public that newly learn of your site from parent company e-mails or affiliate websites will not understand this entire concept and will consume all your time answering already asked questions? Will you become jaded by the constant questioning and become just like the flyertalk mod snobs? I certainly hope not. That is what set your blog apart- your openness and humble approach that appeals to the average joe out there looking to travel affordably. Keep up the good work, my friend. I know you have to do what is in your best interest financially, but please, please don't compromise on your ethics and become censored in any way by corporate interests. The community needs people like you who tell it how it is without reservation. If you like a concept, a company, or a new offer, you should be free to speak of it with others and not ever have to ask permission or worry about reprisals from your parent company. It would have been nice if sponsored links alone would have supported your efforts sufficiently. At least you had control over them since they are not your boss. You can add and drop them at will, unlike a company which owns your blog. I truly hope this works out for you and everybody else who have been your loyal followers over the years. Unfortunately, all too many who are bought out by bigger companies like to believe and say: "I won't change- it will only be better and they won't ever negatively impact me" sadly end up being proved wrong down the road. In all sincerity though Rick, best wishes going forward.
Katie

Sold your soul for advertising dollars
Anonymous

I'm proud of you Rick! Well deserved.

dhammer53
bluecat

It does not matter who "owns" this blog, or what the format is. It's the content that matters
Million Mile Secrets

Congrats, Rick!
Anonymous

Time to find another indie blogger to follow cuz ya sold out
Anonymous

I'm very cautious at how I respond here. I like Frugal Travel Guy, in fact it is my FAVORITE of all blogs and I find myself opening to this website every morning. However – I hope the quality of the posts and the information remain the same or better. In addition, I liked the personal feeling of this blog and not I'm not so sure it can stay that way…nick
Kim R

Congrats Rick! I hope this means you can spend some more time with your family & new grandchild!
Beach Lover Travel Blog

Congratulations Rick on the new venture. Good luck.
Vinay

Congrats Rick for making it Big (As if you weren't already up there *wink*) … I hope you wont forget lesser mortals like us, and will keep helping newbies like me. All the best for your new endeavor.
FrugalTravelGuy

Hey Guys Thanks for all the congrats. I'm really excited. Those of you that have been long time readers know I have been behind the curve of technology and the email volume has been way up trying to help others. Shannon is a full time Mom and part time blogger and that is realistically all she can contribute. Andrew is in law school and has his own path to follow. Thank God they have been with me and will continue in the transition. With all that said as a reader pointed out several months ago, I got overwhelmed, (he called it crabby;)and now I have full time help and am so grateful for it.

I'm not going anywhere. I'll still be involved day to day, but now have a full time team to help me. In my eyes, this is all a positive for you and for me. "And the Frugal Travel Guy leaves the dark ages of technology ignorance"
FrugalTravelGuy

PS: And Howie now gets to travel hack and not spend so much time helping me turn on my computer
sfobuddy

I'm not really a fan of this new step forward.
But I'll hold final judgement until the 6 mos mark.
ColonelretWes

Kudos FrugalTravelGuy team!
Kevincm

Congrats – Well done!
Jack

i hope my blog get award someday in the future
Anonymous

Haha. I'm willing to say congrats to Rick, however…
the proof will be in this new pudding. When Milepoint opened up; for a couple of months I used it along with Flyertalk. Then I went back to Flyertalk for maybe 4 months. But in the end I decided to read and POST at Milepoint.
For my experience, it seemed as if Internet Brands brought nothing to Flyeralk.
Time will tell if that's what will happen at FrugalTravelGuy.
Anonymous

Congrats Rick!
Bill from Maine
Anonymous

With your previous "Nightline" piece and now selling-out, you've shown your true motivation has always been fame and the MONEY. Guess it was always about the money, was in it? Your reasons for selling out don't hold water. You and your team have lost all credibility —- Senorric
bpickering

Congrats on all your hard work coming to fruition. I know what you mean by better access to the IT help!
THEsocalledfan

Good grief. This is a guy who love to travel for cheap and turned his passion into a business. He is an entrepreneur who has succeeded and some want to vilify him? FTG and people like him are what make America so great.

Congrats Rick! You changed my life with the Nightline story.
Anonymous

Don't let them make you change your primary goals and purpose. I hope we don't start getting hammered with advertisements, emails and a bunch of marketing hooey. But, "the Man" will expect some sort of return. Just strive to maintain your impartiality.
Todd R

Rick — Congratulations! As a long time reader (basically from day 1) & someone who reads every blog post, I know that the amount of time, effort, & planning that goes into having a new blog post every single day must be immense.

I'm glad your hard work has paid off for you. To those that say you've sold out, sold your soul to advertising, etc etc, the heck with them. I'm sure if they had as successful a blog as yours & were getting offers to be bought they would probably sell their blog too. I just hope you were compensated fairly & hope the blog doesn't go down hill.

Again, CONGRATULATIONS!
sherry

I'm curious and anxious to see how I will feel in 8 months from now. Gut response is that one the one hand, I am delighted for RIck and for any entrepreneur who has a vision, follows it & then sees it meet and even exceed his initial plan. On the other hand, I'm questioning how the purchaser will benefit and how its benefitting will affect the readers.
Will the purchaser now have our contact information? will they be checking out our cookies to some marketing end? Do I sound paranoid?
SoCal Dude

Congrats Rick! Now I know why you were in LA couple weeks ago, eh? Does this mean you an expense account?
Steve R

Congrats. That the American way and what has made this country great. I pray that the purpose will still be for everyone to help each other in the wonderful world of frugal travel. Because of things I have learned on this blog and other blogs, today, I was able to use miles to book a missionary a ticket to fly from London to a conference in the Washington DC area in which He is the guest speaker. I was able to do this because of the helpful travel advice I have received. Thanks for the help. Steve
gavinmac

Congratulations! I assume they paid you in miles?
Anonymous

Seems like an odd acquisition for Internet Brands, but congrats to you!

The problem for Internet Brands is that the "indie" bloggers will almost certainly maintain a cutting-edge content advantage over the more corporate bloggers. So they will have broader readership among the "travel-gentsia." But you were headed more mass-market anyway, so I don't see how this hurts your blog.

iahphx
Texasyankee

you did tell the new team that all of us "old guys" get special privileges and perks? …

ATABOY INGY!!

PS: it must have been all of those gummi bears at the first seminar in the Chicago library …
Noob Traveler

Best of Luck!
Anonymous

Why are people so mad about this? Rick is still posting and doing what he did before. It'll be better format and speed wise. You people who are crying sell out are like those that were mad when computers took over typewriters. It's a change for the better, not worse. -Chappy
Mark

Hi Rick,

Very cool indeed and congrats!

I have a question that we can discuss offline. Do you have any space for speakers at the Chicago seminar that has content that is still related to acquiring points and miles but is mostly focused on saving money? I write a blog, theconsumersedge.com, and scratch the surface of miles/points, but my advice is probably also of interest to the FF community.

I can be reached at mschroed@hotmail.com to discuss. Thanks and congrats again.

Mark
Mrp Alert

Rick:
Congratulations on the acquisition. Much luck as a working stiff 2012 and beyond as you are no longer officially retired.
acker

Good on you. Those of us who have followed you for years are probably not surprised, you've been sending signals for a year or so – Andrew, Shannon, Howie, your generous welcome to Mommy Points @ Chicago Do & comments that new bloggers are needed/welcome. You've always delivered the goods as far as I'm concerned. No one can accuse you of not playing straight – and your constant emphasis of "watch your credit score, watch your credit score, be careful of your credit score" has impressed me. I assume each day there's a few new readers who think it's as easy as filling out credit card applications.
I write this from Conrad BKK, a 25 day trip made possible thanks to your mention a few years ago of the BA 100K promo. My husband doesn't know you from Adam, doesn't know how I do it, but thanks to you and a few others we're staying free at killer hotels, flew CX J over here(I know, but F didn't open and it's fine) and when we get back we'll be ready for our next churn. Congrats.
zippyonthego

Wow! Mille Congrats!
smedleyb

Rick, couldn't have happened to a better guy.

Here's to your continued success.
Anonymous

great blogging so far.

i'd just lke some assurance that future posts will never be written by corporate shills who just care about making a buck.
Anonymous

Interesting to see some readers of a blog that focuses on credit card churning shouting "Sell Out". And Brutus is a noble man.

Good to see Rick make a move to liquidity. And anyone else in this economy. I'll continue to measure FTG and all the other blogs by the workable information they provide, not their ownership or structure.

I like FTG, though as the credit card bonanza has receeded, at least for now, FTG seems to have had less to offer. My focus now is on savvy redemptions.
Anonymous

this is awesome! congrats Rick! I think this is great and really hope it helps move the site forward as well!
Miles Momma

Very happy for you! Congratulations! I look forward to seeing your site get beautified!! I think it's awesome to have tremendous content and be nice to look at. I'm sure they will give you a great face lift!! Have fun!
Mars Candiotti

Congrats!! This just confirms that if you are smart, industrious, knowledgeable in your field, and good looking, success will be yours. I have one of those four, so need to work on the other three. I'll work on that as soon as I fulfill my New Years resolution to trim my ear hair.

Go get 'em Rick!

~ Mars
Michael W.

Best of luck to you Rick! I've been following your blog since the beginning & I just hope that this does not lead to you being phased out of posting to the blog.
I always enjoy your posts and you are the first blog I read each day. However, in the last year+ it seems like more and more- others are contributing and I am reading less from you.
Chris S.

Rick,

Generally, I'm happy for you. Though I can't help but notice that this blog, even in the last year or so, has drifted away from the "I'm sharing this information with you because you ought/deserve to know it" theme to "I'll share my knowledge, so long as I'm compensated financially for it."

Also, I'm curious whether those of us on your email listserv had our email addresses sold to Internet Brands.
InACents

Congratulations and Good Luck!
tivoboy

Congrats on the purchase. I'm sure that is what you wanted if you let it go through.

But, frankly I'm a bit surprised. Yes, it is a great blog but honestly, I can't imagine that traffic is that high. Pageview rank can't be that high. Users can't be that high. TOS can't be that high, Honestly, I can't see the value to IB other than maybe financial relationships with credit card companies, but certainly IB could do this themselves?
FrugalTravelGuy

Thanks for all the comments and congrats and concerns. Chris S. I still have the email list but disagree with your additional comment re "only if I get.compensated for my efforts"

What started as a hobby and passion became a full time job for a retired guy. The volume of email is amazing and that is where most of the sharing now takes place. I try on a daily basis to answer every email I get and answer emails for hours a day. I'm not about to discuss your personal finances on a public forum. I'm working more behind the scenes .

Also let's all except the fact that we now have a proliferation of blogs sharing about a 500 mile bonus here or 1000 points there. We try to handle that on the Deal of the Day post in the afternoon. I'm excited about the change as now I have more time to go back to blogging and will not have to spend time with the backend of the blog, compliance, affiliate links etc. From day one I chose to be independent instead of aligning with BoardingArea to do my back end work, and the volume finally caught up with me. I needed the help and am really glad to be aligned with Internet brands. I'm looking forward to all good things, and I think most of you who know me well enough, if I have issues, I'm not afraid to speak up
Anonymous

I hope so. Flyertalk is a design nightmare.
wise2u

Congrats, you get paid to do what you like, your a lucky man. So now when your on vacation, are you at work?

Sheraton Miami Airport Hotel

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