Notes from my travels, including a unique hotel

I was back on the road this week traveling to Massachusetts from San Diego to visit old friends and take my wife to her college reunion. While we’ve traveled internationally a few time last year, this was the first cross-country trip within the U.S.

San Diego’s new Sapphire Lounge – We had a chance to try out the new Sapphire Lounge in San Diego Airport’s Terminal 2. It’s a large attractive lounge with a large bar serving free drinks, some breakfast foods, coffee and tea. Breakfast was nothing special, but there was plenty of comfortable seating and even some private rooms for meditation. While I’ve been in Amex Clubs when I carried that card, this is the first Sapphire Lounge I’ve been to. If their food improves later in the day it could match Amex lounges. It’s located up an escalator near Gate 47.

Our Alaska Airlines nonstop to Boston was quite comfortable, even though we sat in economy seats in mid-cabin. The 737-Max 8 (the same plane I once swore I’d never fly) was clean and spacious and the flight attendents were efficient and polite. My wife insisted on checking her rollerboard when she saw we were in boarding group C and they announced free bag-checking at the gate. Perhaps she was remembering how bad C boarding is on Southwest. Turned out it was unnecessary, as there was plenty of bin space. I continue to be impressed by the competency and service Alaska provides. A few weeks earlier when Alaska canceled my daughter’s flight to JFK from San Diego, they got her on the only other flight available at a similar time, a Delta flight.

All those wires – I thought we had finally solved the issue with wires and chargers, but it was comical trying to get my wife’s ipad, phone, and headphones re-charged during the flight. The plug receptacle on the seatback is slanted downward so the charger block easily falls out. Weren’t we supposed to need the same cord for everything? For this trip we needed four: a lightening to USB-A, another lightening to USB-C, and then a USB-C to USB-A and a USB-C to USB-C.

National Car Rental – It was effortless picking up our car at National Car Rental at Boston Logan. Not, however, the thirty-minute torturous and crowded bus ride to get to the rental car garage. We loved walking right past the long lines at Budget and Avis counters and entering the National area of the garage and walking right to the Emerald Isle to pick up a very modern Hundyai Niro SUV. Just show your license on the way out; no paperwork.

That car, however, wouldn’t automatically connect to my iPhone each time I started the car. I would have to unpair and re-pair my Bluetooth each time. Finally, I deleted the three phones of previous renters, re-paired my phone, and it worked. However a day later, the windshield wipers emitted a metallic squealing noise when turned on. I called National and they set everything up to exchange cars at the rental car center with a new Ford Escape, equivalent in their eyes, but much less attractive and much lower tech than the Niro. The design looked like it was ten years old. A small center display, ugly cloth upholstery, and a driver’s display with poorly displayed information. But at least the windshield wipers worked, guaranteeing we would encounter no more rain. (Which is what happened.)

Marriott Customs House– The Marriott Customs House in the heart of Boston is one of the most unusual hotels I’ve ever stayed in. It’s a Marriott vacation club property, meaning every room is a suite with a living room, bedroom and kitchenette, and available to Marriott vacation clup owners, as well as the public.

Long before it became one of Boston’s most distinctive hotels, the Custom House Tower was the gateway to American commerce. Located at the edge of Boston Harbor, this 19th-century granite structure welcomed ships from around the world, collecting tariffs and representing U.S. financial authority.

Completed in 1847 and expanded in 1915 with the addition of the iconic 496-foot clock tower, the Custom House originally served the U.S. Customs Service. During the 19th century, Boston was one of America’s busiest ports, and nearly all imported goods passed through this very building.

The building’s transformation in the 1990s from a federal office into a hotel was an extraordinary renovation, preserving its original rotunda, thick marble walls, and soaring interior spaces while integrating modern conveniences.

It was quite a treat to stay here, and I sensed a mental shift realizing that I was staying in the middle of history. Not quite the Lincoln bedroom, but still sleeping in an historical building with the decor of the times preserved. The suite was spacious with a separate living room, bedroom and kitchenette. The rooms are decorated with early maps of the country, pictures of sailing ships, and architectural features such as high ceilings and walls with painted colonial white chairrails and trimmings. The Custom House is centrally located in McKinley Square, within walking distance of the Financial District, Faneuil Hall, and major transit hubs. It’s walking distance to the North End, Quincy Market and City Hall.

With all of the cookie cutter hotels we’re used to as business travelers, this is one of the most unusual and memorable hotels I’ve ever stayed at. We used Marriott points, but rooms are available for non-members at similar prices to hotels in the area.