Scaredy Cat Travels

Dallas to Los Angeles

Flight: American Airlines Non-Stop to Ontario airport in Economy 

Hotel: TownPlace Suites Los Angeles LAX/Hawthorne ~ Studio 2 Queen + Sofa Bed 

Plans: Pull Rowan from his next to last day of school and fly to LA. Bonus – Dinner with the film crew! 

Scaredy Cat rating: Two paws. There will be the usual flight anxiety, but I am mostly scared of the uber between Ontario airport and our hotel near LAX. I developed a semi-unhealthy fear of taxis and ubers in general after a bad experience in Philadelphia. Despite that, I am perhaps more terrified of making conversation for an hour and then paying $100 for it. 

The $$$ – Flight was 21,500 points. You are reading that correctly, and it is all three of us. The uber is estimated at $100. Renting a one-way car would be similar. I used a free night certificate for the hotel. More on that below. 

Hotel #1 – Los Angeles notes 

I originally booked the Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel. Honestly, I don’t even remember this one but at some point I remembered to cancel it so that’s a relief. After using Sheratons as our base for the past two concerts at work, I really have no interest in being involved with one ever again.  

Then I booked the Los Angeles Airport Marriott. I chose this one because it has a free airport shuttle to LAX and it wasn’t a Courtyard, Fairfield or Residence Inn. I do want to point out that I have nothing against Courtyard – I like them. They are my go-to for a basic hotel. But I didn’t want to stay in one on this trip. I do have something against Fairfield that involves a hotel room without a working toilet and a case of possible early COVID but that’s a story for another day. So I picked the Marriott because of its location; it has a bar; it isn’t a Courtyard and, because the price technically qualified for my free hotel night voucher from Bonvoy. However, the website would not apply the voucher for some reason. I planned to call and ask about it but… 

After a couple of weeks of phone call procrastination, one night I just canceled it and booked a Suite with Two Queen Beds and a Sofa Bed at the TownePlace Suites LAX/Hawthorne. TownPlace Suites also falls into the forbidden Courtyard group, but I forgot to list it because I forgot they exist – even with an upcoming reservation at one. This TownePlace Suites looks decent and newish. It does have a bar but no airport shuttle. In the end, I abandoned my principals for a hotel that was free. I have no regrets. But ask me again after I stay there. 

I received the hotel night voucher from my Marriott Boundless VISA. I get one once a year and believe there is a spending requirement to qualify, but I can sneeze and spend $500 unfortunately so it wasn’t difficult for me to achieve. Before you feel jealous, I am sure I spent all that money fixing something broken in my house.