Scoop Airport/Hotel/Travel Thread

[WhiteTrash]

Have any Scoopers been to Mama's Fish House in Maui?  If so, what are your thoughts?  Ty. 

Not what it used to be. Over priced. Still, I'd put it on a to do list.

Nick's at the Kea Lani has been excellent every time I go.

[pbiflyer]

I found out that now it's easy to circumnavigate the island from the road to Hana.
I agree with the others. Not the greatest, but kind of a bucket list. You have to do kind of thing.
By the way, if you see either huli huli chicken stand, especially a fundraiser or a plate lunch place especially from a food truck you have to get them.
The two things I really miss living in Hawaii.

[MuggsyB]

Not what it used to be. Over priced. Still, I'd put it on a to do list.

Nick's at the Kea Lani has been excellent every time I go.

I was there right before Covid but just at the bar.  It was good but yes, pricey.  I was  wondering if they're still up to par and how far in advance you would need a res for 6, high season.  Ty for the Nick's suggestion. 

[MuggsyB]

I found out that now it's easy to circumnavigate the island from the road to Hana.
I agree with the others. Not the greatest, but kind of a bucket list. You have to do kind of thing.
By the way, if you see either huli huli chicken stand, especially a fundraiser or a plate lunch place especially from a food truck you have to get them.
The two things I really miss living in Hawaii.

Oh...I love the Huli-Huli.  I have a close friend on the Big Island, so I try to hop over every other year.  But this winter I have a group of friends that will be in Wailea so I may take the puddle jumper and spend a night or two in Maui.   I much prefer Paia and the other towns near there to the resort areas. 

[MuggsyB]

It's an institution, a place you gotta do. We drove the Road to Hana, and instead of turning around and going back the way we came, we took the rental around the other side of the island for the full loop (against the rules at that time at least) and stopped at Mama's on our way back to Lahaina.

Haven't been to Maui in a long time, but there used to be this place called Star Noodle tucked in an industrial park that was really good.

Jump,

I made a wicked Bouillibaise last weekend.  I have to say it was a very good 1st effort.  The Halibut was tremendous and I didn't overcook the shrimp.  When I do it next time thoough I may opt for the classic Provence Rose wine. 

[21Jumpstreet]

Jump,

I made a wicked Bouillibaise last weekend.  I have to say it was a very good 1st effort.  The Halibut was tremendous and I didn't overcook the shrimp.  When I do it next time thoough I may opt for the classic Provence Rose wine. 

That sounds tremendous, Muggs!

[WarriorFan]

Just got back from a week in Dubai.  Not a peep about the war.  Airport crowded, restaurants crowded, traffic normal, hotel full.  Beaches empty because it's hot season but that's normal this time of year.  Also, one of my favorite restaurants there got a Michelin star since I last visited.  Mott 32 is worth a visit.  It's not cheap, (in fact very expensive, even for Dubai) but absolutely awesome. 

[MuggsyB]

That sounds tremendous, Muggs!

Super easy Jump!  The combination of fennel, leek, wine, tomatoes, fish broth, saffron and thyme is extremely difficult to beat. And my fishmongers make their own elite fish broth, which makes an enormous difference!  Next time I may throw in some scallops or clams, but with a fresh classic baguette there's nothing better than sopping up that broth.  It occurred to me that Bouillbaise is vastly superior to Cioppino.   No comparison imo.

[21Jumpstreet]

Super easy Jump!  The combination of fennel, leek, wine, tomatoes, fish broth, saffron and thyme is extremely difficult to beat. And my fishmongers make their own elite fish broth, which makes an enormous difference!  Next time I may throw in some scallops or clams, but with a fresh classic baguette there's nothing better than sopping up that broth.  It occurred to me that Bouillbaise is vastly superior to Cioppino.   No comparison imo.

Them's fightin' words, Muggs! I love me a good Cioppino and Bouillabaise is spectacular considering I love herbes de Provence. I am also a fan of Portuguese Pan Roast, it's really a fish stew in the same vein, but this is what a chef I know calls it.

Currently outside Marrakesh and have found a fondness for a good tajine. I will say, I'd much prefer to eat the aforementioned fish/seafood soups/stews on a daily basis over meat based tajine, but I respect the love that goes into them.

[SoCalEagle]

Thanks for the great post. A ton of great information. Love the tip about Zumaia. Perfect for me.
I have frequently visited southern Spain. In Madrid, the Prado and nearby Retiro Park are always on my to-do list.

I will probably have more questions as I start to work through an itinerary and timeframe.
Was there a drop charge for the car since it sounds like you did not drop it in the same city you picked it up in? And if so, was it outrageous or fairly reasonable?

No drop charge for the rental, if I remember correctly.  Pricing was very reasonable and, because of our itinerary, it really was the only way to go.  So much to see in northern Spain, you almost can't go wrong.  And the Basque influence is real.  We were in a small town (I think near Loiola) at a farmers market.  There was a guy passing out flyers for an event later in the evening where there would be food and dancing.  My wife casually mentioned that she loved flamenco dancing.  Uh, oh, wrong thing to say in northern Spain.  The guy passing out the flyers snapped back "we have our own dance!!!"  We still laugh about that one. 

[JWags85]

Just got back from a week in Dubai.  Not a peep about the war.  Airport crowded, restaurants crowded, traffic normal, hotel full.  Beaches empty because it's hot season but that's normal this time of year.  Also, one of my favorite restaurants there got a Michelin star since I last visited.  Mott 32 is worth a visit.  It's not cheap, (in fact very expensive, even for Dubai) but absolutely awesome. 

What a coincidence you mention that.  At a trade show in Hong Kong, I was meeting with one of my good friends in the business who has been Dubai based for 7-8 years.  Chatting about Chinese/Cantoneses food and he mentioned it cause obviously the flagship location is here in HK and how its a standout for him back home.  He's Jain, thus essentially Vegan, and they do a great job accommodating him/his family with that.

And speaking of the war effects in Dubai, I was supposed to spend some time with him here back in March, literally the week that everything popped off.  He was telling me how he and his family drove to Oman, grabbed the first flight they could (I think it was IndiGo) to Mumbai, dropped his kids off at his in-laws, and then went back to Dubai.  But his experience pretty much match yours.  Said things are largely as normal, retail is robust.

[21Jumpstreet]

I have no idea how to add a photo, but I am sitting in the Agafay Desert and a man walks up with a Lakers 95 jersey. He turns around, and it reads Toscano. He is from Portugal and has no idea why I am so excited. He says he has no idea who Juan is or who the Lakers are, but he loves this type of shirt. Marquette knows no bounds!

[MuggsyB]

I have no idea how to add a photo, but I am sitting in the Agafay Desert and a man walks up with a Lakers 95 jersey. He turns around, and it reads Toscano. He is from Portugal and has no idea why I am so excited. He says he has no idea who Juan is or who the Lakers are, but he loves this type of shirt. Marquette knows no bounds!

Awesome!

[JWags85]

United putting a final bullet in the last vestiges of 1K as a frequent flier program as we knew it.  Starting in 2027, there will be no flight segment qualification metric, solely $32K in pure spend (PQP) to qualify for 1K.  This is up from $28K this year or ($22K with 60 flight segments).  Spend on United credit cards can qualify for PQP, but its $15 per PQP, so $480,000 in spend to qualify based on that.

Unless there is a substantial starting bump given to 1Ks (historically its been $3-4000 in starting PQP), will likely signal the end of my 10+ year 1K journey.  It survived COVID, a nearly 2 year halt on my international work travel, and the near death of my business in general...but it won't survive the new era of the Big 3 US airlines as credit card company conduits.

I spent close to $5,000 (partial out of pocket, partial creative business expense accounting) to qualify 2 years ago when I realized I wouldn't have enough segments due to some family health issues.  Last year, I only qualified because a customer paid for business class airfare for a special launch event (and even then I did "mileage runs" of random 4 segment flights twice to make sure I had enough).  This year will be a similar situation.  Next year, even if I got fortunate with travel and expenses and got to the mid 20s in airline spend for the year, no chance I will have $150K in United CC spend, both personal and business combined, to make up the gap.

I'm under 200K miles left to 1MM level with United, so will chase that cause Star Alliance Gold is good to have, but will probably becoming a floating free agent after that, which will be weird, but that's the landscape now.  The irony is that this year has been the best service I've had internationally on United (after years of bitter old vets  and the new seats they are adding to their international fleet are going to be fantastic, so naturally that coincides with this BS.  Oh well

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Delta got rid of the flight segments for status like 3 years ago.  They got rid of the mileage for status 2 years ago but the mileage still accrues but only for frequent flyer miles redeemed for award flights.  Status is purely by $ spend with some adders and boosters built in depending on the credit card and previous year status.

[MU82]

Unfortunately, we're long past the golden age of these programs. I used to love Northwest's when I lived in Minny and then United's when I was in Chicago. But those were many moons ago.

[MuggsyB]

Malta was great.  It is remarkable that they had 2 million visitors on 2018 and 5 million in 2025 and 2026 should top 2025.  It was noted to us several times that Malta is the most densely populated country in Europe and traffic on the tiny island is always backed up.  The airport terminal is undersized for the amount of air traffic coming through.  It looks like there is an ongoing expansion.  Most importantly, the people could not have been friendlier or more helpful on the island.  This was everywhere we went.

My wife and I would go again.  Sunsets, sunrises and moon rises are incredible.  We made only one reservation for a restaurant on the rooftop with views of the dome of the tallest building/church in Valleta otherwise we were not getting into this restaurant. 

Our few things of note.
* You need the Bolt app for taxis. 
* A 1/2 day boat tour of the Blue Lagoon, Crystal Lagoon and Cominio island is a must, but pay attention to the starting point.  We accidently pre-booked a start point that was a 50 minute Bolt ride from our hotel.  We could have booked the same tour with a far closer starting point.  Bolt cost us 68 Euro to get there and another 32 Euro to get back.  An expensive mistake.  The public bus which is significantly cheaper and air conditioned would have been 1h 40m ride.
* When you go in the water bring your own towel and bring water shoes or sandals because Malta is rocky and the rocks are smooth and coated with moss that makes it slippery and bare feet is asking for an injury.  The shore is very rocky too.
* Malta has 359 churches and each church has a Saint's festival that are held somewhere between April through October.  It's a sight to see.  They break out the pedestals and statues out of storage and hang banners every 30 feet on the streets that are part of the parade route where they carry the patron saint.  Valleta was setting up for Saint Dominic.  We only got to see the start of the 3 day celebration.  We saw fireworks (multiple times a day and multiple days and always with each festival) and heard an orchestra.  From our hotel rooftop we watched fireworks from another festival going on across the harbor.

It was great having a direct Delta flight home from Malta to JFK and no Paris or Amsterdam layover.

Any restaurant recommendations?  I leave on Saturday.  Ty. 

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Any restaurant recommendations?  I leave on Saturday.  Ty. 

Muggsy, we made a reservation here as it was necessary for the view.
https://osolerooftop.com/valletta/

Similar to what Wags said, we looked at menus and went in and we were not disappointed with a meal anywhere,

I'll add one tourist stop if you have time, go to the Co-Cathedral of St. John so you can see the Carvaggio and get the whole interesting story behind it.  Buy tickets on the App so that you can skip the line.