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Post by matisse on Mar 26, 2007 18:48:08 GMT -5
I have fubb, a long long time ago. I was still somewhat ambulatory and only used a chair in extreme circumstances. Visited Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cannes, and the resort on Green Island near Cannes, which had just opened. Enjoyed in very much, folks are very nice there. I was surprised that there is no tipping, many people kindly refused our tips.
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Post by Ouch on Mar 26, 2007 19:37:55 GMT -5
It depends on what you do...at a plain no-frills restaurant, 15% (of the total due) is the common fare. In larger locales, and more upscale places, the 'tip' goes up as well. Service personel might actually get paid fair wages over there though...it has become a regularity to allow businesses to underpay servers, so the customer pays.
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Post by matisse on Mar 26, 2007 23:46:31 GMT -5
Oooops, I spelled Cairns how I recall in being pronounced. I also recall Mel-bn, and Bris-bn.
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Post by Claire on Mar 27, 2007 8:16:56 GMT -5
Matisse, where did you stay in San Diego? I'm meeting up with a friend of mine who is a quad in SoCal and we are wanting to go to San Diego overnight but I need somewhere that is ultra accessible for her. Any recommendations? TIA
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Post by Ouch on Mar 27, 2007 8:42:24 GMT -5
...I'm not Matisse, but I've been to San Diego as well, and though the lower bay area was pretty accessable, and I was iwth some quads who thought it was accessable as well.
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Post by Claire on Mar 27, 2007 10:04:34 GMT -5
Thanks! Can either of you recommend a specific hotel?
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Post by Ouch on Mar 27, 2007 20:05:25 GMT -5
Well, it really depends on your wallet. I stayed at a few different places in the area, but my main roost was the Embassy Suites...unfortunately, that isn't the cheapest place on the block (~2500 USD/night). Then there's your standard fare of Hiltons, and Mariotts, you can probably just Google someplace, and you should find a wealth of info. on San Diego hotels and such.
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Post by laurasweetou on Mar 27, 2007 21:17:15 GMT -5
You saw a fair bit of Australia then. Cannes is actually spelt Cairns. It is about 1000km north of the Capricorn Resort that I put in my previous post. I am going up there in July. A little further north of Cairns at Port Douglas is where Steve Irwin died. Tipping has become more the norm over recent years although it is not expected as much as what I have heard about the US. Can you tell me what amount is expected in a tip in the US? at least 10%
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Post by Claire on Mar 27, 2007 21:29:47 GMT -5
Well, it really depends on your wallet. I stayed at a few different places in the area, but my main roost was the Embassy Suites...unfortunately, that isn't the cheapest place on the block (~2500 USD/night). Then there's your standard fare of Hiltons, and Mariotts, you can probably just Google someplace, and you should find a wealth of info. on San Diego hotels and such. Thanks for the tips! I have to say, on past trips I have not found Googling very helpful AT ALL regarding the relative accessibility of various hotels. I have found hotels that claimed to be "wheelchair accessible" actually not have any specifically accessible rooms, or those that actually do have "wheechair accessible rooms" have major problems like a stationary unmovable shower seat where the water from the shower falls three feet in front of the shower (how are you supposed to wash??) -- and this in national brand hotels! It's too bad there's not a good TripAdvisor for disabled travel out there. I've found one or two that tries to be so but there's hardly any data. All I know to do is rely on word of mouth at this point. Thanks for the tip on Embassy Suites, I'll check it out.
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Post by matisse on Mar 27, 2007 22:08:35 GMT -5
Since I started taking pics, I have only stayed at the La Jolla Marriott. Here are a few pics of room 437. La Jolla may be a bit far from the tourist stuff, it has a lot of corporate type stuff. I can also recommend the La Jolla Hyatt, though I don't have pics. About 5-7 years ago I stayed at the Westin in downtown, which is near the mall down there. That room did NOT have a roll-in shower and it was a small room. I don't recommend it. I may be going back to SD in the next few months, and will probably stay at the Marriott on the harbor. Marriott has really stepped it up in the last few years and I would expect that hotel to have full roll-ins as well.
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Post by Claire on Mar 28, 2007 8:20:29 GMT -5
Since I started taking pics, I have only stayed at the La Jolla Marriott. Here are a few pics of room 437. THANK YOU!! That is actually *ultra* helpful because we're going to be in La Jolla. The Center for Brain and Cognition at the UCSD Medical Center is doing a study and experimental treatment on BIID and I am going to take part in that. My wheeler friend is coming along for moral support.
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Post by Ouch on Mar 28, 2007 8:35:26 GMT -5
Ah, yes, the La Jolla Mariott, decent rooms I remember, spent a couple nights there.
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Post by matisse on Mar 30, 2007 21:46:57 GMT -5
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Post by dolly on Mar 31, 2007 22:16:13 GMT -5
at the moment, i'd be so happy just to go anywhere! but hawaii would be great....
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Post by Claire on Jun 9, 2007 23:07:31 GMT -5
Since I started taking pics, I have only stayed at the La Jolla Marriott. Here are a few pics of room 437. Hey Matisse I just got back from this trip and wanted to thank you for the recommendation of the Marriott La Jolla. We stayed there and they took excellent care of us. When I checked in, having already reserved an accessible room (we were two female wheelers: me, and my friend who is a quad in a power chair), they asked us if we wanted a single king bed or two double beds. I said we wanted two beds, and then he realized they didnt' have accessible rooms with two beds. So he gave us an accessible king room, and then gave us the connecting double room at no additional charge! Two rooms for the price of one. It was great. They got to know us a bit in the time we were there, and when I called the bellhop to come get our bags, by the time we got down to the lobby, they had retrieved my friend's van from valet, parked it in front of the lobby, deployed the ramp, loaded the luggage into the van, and removed the $23/night charge for valet parking from our bill! I had not even told the bellhop which car was ours, or given him my valet ticket stub, or anything, they just *knew* (Ok, we were a bit conspicuous, but still...). I was dumbfounded. All we had to do was roll in and drive away (and give them a great tip, of course!). Truly exceptional service. Thanks again.
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