Mood:  cool

Shopnowshop Real Estate News:
Inside U.S. Real Estate: Real Estate InnovaTech

U.S. Wealth Creation Through Properties Ownership & Wise Investments

Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 8:30 PM

Updated: Monday, 30 May 2005 7:53 PM

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Mood:  celebratory

Leave everything behind and get away for a week-end in San Francisco. That's what my wife and I did a few months ago. We were fortunate enough to have our in-laws volunteering to stay with our kids. I will admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the proximity of the hotel to the activities on the wharf. It's truly located at walking distance. My wife and I managed to negotiate a good price for two nights at the hotel. Paying a little bit above $230.00 was not bad at all. That's if we could really spend the second night there.

Early that Friday morning, we leisurely got on the road to San Francisco. At least, once for all, we did not have the little ones in the back of the car. It was the two of us. We had time to do the small talk and appreciate the drive. After stopping in Modesto to visit with a family member, we stopped to fill up the car. Prices were barely coming down. We did not have to worry about our Honda. Since it was a Friday morning, traffic on the reputedly congested freeway was not bad. We got to the Bay Bridge at about 12 pm. By 12:30 PM, we were already in the lobby of the hotel surrounded by a diverse and international group of tourists. As soon as we got to the front of the hotel, the valet came up and got the keys to our car. We unloaded the trunks and watched our car disappear. We did not need it at all. From walking to taking the tramway and other transportation systems in San Francisco, we did not have to drive in town. We talked to various couples who brought their children. They said that's one of the things they like the most about the place.

What about the reception at Sheraton Fisherman's Wharf?

To tell you the truth, I had nothing to reproach them. They were professional and blameless. That's before we entered our room though. We had explicitly requested a King size bed. We found two small beds in the room. Everything was so compact in there. But don't feel discouraged about your reservations. The hotel offers so many amenities. The designers and hotel managers have long figured out that tourists only use the room to sleep. That's why they provide the swimming pool, huge and long lobby area and the bar grill restaurant. After all, they know that people come to San Francisco to explore the city, not to hold up, bunch up in a room. Who would want to forego the beauty of the great San Francisco outdoors for a big room especially if the kids are not around?

What else to say about the Sheraton Fishermans Wharf?

FoodIn the comfort of your room, you can order room service. We decided against it because we did not want the room to smell food. So we decided to have buffet breakfast. The food articles were plentiful. The chefs and foodservice people were very helpful too. They were more than willing to answer our questions. They promptly refilled the missing items to the delight all all the tourists. The restaurant atmosphere is very gay. It's probably due to the effects of the right lighting.

Lobby area: The lobby area is like the Grand Central station. We were somewhat surprised that there were so many people who want to stay at this hotel. But there again, we are talking about San Francisco's prime real estate, a hotel close to the Fisherman's Wharf. The furniture and magazines are kept very neat. Right around the corner from the Car rental company are two desks for employees providing information on various shows and conferences that are scheduled in town. If you feel like reading something else or buying some souvenir for your family and friends, you can do so at the hotel boutique. Just be warned that you will have to pay exhorbitant price for the items. It would be better to purchase it in one of these sidewalk businesses.

Weatherwise: You also have to take this in consideration. If you are planning on getting out of the hotel, then you may want to have a wind breaker to say the least. When we were there, even though back home the temperature was nearing 100 degrees, we had to purchase two sweaters. It was cold. It's a combination of the sea breeze and the temperate climate of San Francisco that will get you as you go about your business there.

The Swimming Pool: After getting back from the streets, you can always go to the pool to cool off. Its location contributes to your privacy. But then again, you are at the pool. Unlike many other hotels we stayed at, the placement of the pool is a little bit out of the way. The prying eyes of the public won't bother you.

Final thoughts The phone calls started coming. The kids did not want to go to bed. Everybody was tired back home. We realized it was a better idea to just pack up and return home. We drove most of the night to reach home by 2 am. One of the kids was still awake. We just hope you can spend the whole time at the hotel.

Don't forget to tip the valet. Just go to the lobby and inform them that you are about to leave. In a matter of minutes, your car will be parked in the front.

Enjoy your getaway to San Francisco.

California: a Breath of Fresh Air is the new book by this author. Find it at http://shopnowshop.tripod.com

Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 8:24 PM

Updated: Saturday, 23 October 2004 6:29 AM

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Mood:  incredulous

Listen to Hot Hot Hot!

If you want to access a niche of music lovers who will appreciate and recommend your music, sheet music, let us know about it. We'll give you the opportunity to get it published.

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Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 8:20 PM

Updated: Monday, 30 May 2005 7:22 PM

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If you are looking for a romantic getaway that will startle your loved one, the Ahwahnee hotel is the right kind of setting to do just that. In fact, almost every visitor, tourist who has been to this hotel nestled among Yosemite's natural wonders, remains very impressed and stays with their mouth open. They just could not believe that such two beauties could co-exist so well to complement and enhance each other's attraction and service. Such was my experience each time I go to Yosemite. Ever since the time I attended a conference at this hotel, I have remained humble in front of its rustic beauty, elegance and beauty. Living in the great Central Valley of California, I have always found it interesting to have such superb wonders in my backyard. That's the kind of jaw-dropping experience I want to introduce to my kids, family members and friends who visit me from time to time. Remember that you don't have to stay at the hotel to take in and appreciate its splendor. If costs are a concern, there are free interpretive tours that you can go on once you get there. It's worth taking part in them!

What will hit you first: The Ahwahnee's Exteriors

Where does the name come from?

Ahwahnee comes from the Miwok Indians who called Yosemite Valley "Ah wah ni." It loosely translates, "large gaping mouth." Just as I mentioned my experience above, this is the same kind of renaissance and enjoyment you will experience once you stand on the well-kept grounds of this hotel.

Exterior Facade

Even though Ahwahnee is celebrating its 75th year this Summer, it still stands and looks grand. In fact, since it was built in the 1920s, a few years after the National Park System came into existence, Ahwahnee has not ceased to exert its mystique on visitors' minds. The first things you are going to notice are its massive steep, granite stones and concrete. Until you get close to the six-story, three-wing hotel, you will tend to believe that you are looking at the exterior walls made of redwood. According to the history books, this hotel was built on the site of a large stable. There is no doubt that there is some type blending of the exteriors with the rustic environments in which it settles.

Rooms: There is no bad room in this huge hotel

Once you get inside, you will have a new appreciation for space and view. In fact, based on the tours that I have been on, I can tell you that if you choose to spend a few nights there, you won't feel disappointed at all by staying in a bad room. No such things exist. To the credit of the hotel's management team, it is said that there is no big difference between what the rooms look like before and now. In fact, the rooms on the main floor look the same as when the hotel opened on July 14, 1927.

I can easily remember the ornaments, the geometric designs, adorn borders, beams, rugs and stained glass windows of most rooms. With my group, I was standing right in the dining room looking out the windows while paying attention to the tour guide. The room that impressed me the most was the Great Lounge that truly reminds you of the 17-century era and aura of elegance and pomp. Just take a look at the oak tables, writing desks etc.

Ahwahnee attracts celebrities as well as dignitaries from near and afar

Ahwahnee continues to play its magic in the minds of many famous visitors. In the 1950s, the "I Love Lucy" stars stayed at the hotel. Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball truly had a ball at the Great Lounge. They stayed there while they were filming scenes for the movie, "The Long, Long Trailer."

Ask any tour guide or concierge or hotel employee, the list of the names of past, current celebrities who have stayed at the hotel won't seem to stop. Well, for confidentiality reasons, some of them may hesitate a while. Once they remember that most of them have volunteered to sign the hotel's register, they will start talking. On any good day, they will tell you about Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt, Humphrey Bogart, Shirley Temple, Boris Karloff, Judy Garland, Clint Eastwood, Charlie Chaplin, Bing Crosby, Mel Gibson, Charlton Heston.

In 1983, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip stayed at the hotel's sixth floor. President John F. Kennedy, his family members and his entourage stayed there. All of these people are attracted to the hotel for its great views and environments.

Service and costs

You can expect to find the kind of service offered to patrons at upscale hotels. In fact, for the type of money you are willing to pay, you can expect superb services. The employees, bellmen are very nice and helpful. They are good with children as well as elderly visitors. They will help you get to your room and make sure that you have everything you need for your stay. Keep in mind that the rooms start at $336.00. Most of them get filled out way ahead of time. At any given time, you will be sure to meet vacationers from other countries, mostly European countries. Tourists from Japan and Korea can be found there too. You can hear many languages around the 350-seat hotel dining room. You can always buy a ticket and join the crowd for this elegant dinner. Many companies organize special functions there. I attended two conferences there. If you are around Yosemite for the Christmas season, you will not want to miss the Yorkshire Christmas dinner-pageant. Tickets are hard to find if you want till the last minute though. But it would be such a treat to your partner if you could leave your tent and head out to the hotel for this high-spirited meeting.

Ahwahnee hotel has Yosemite all over it

From the exteriors to the interiors of the hotel, you will be immersed in a great journey that will soothe and appeal all your senses. If you just want to enjoy the cool mountain breeze and sun, just head out to the back patio. Soak up as much sunshine as you want and feel reinvigorated and ready to head back home. More importantly, you will be in awe once you get into your rooms.

Recommendations

If you go to Yosemite National Park, Ahwahnee is a must-see place.

Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 5:38 PM

Updated: Monday, 30 May 2005 7:46 PM

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Mood:  cool

With the all-new 2003 sports coupe, many observers and picky car enthusiasts and industry insiders have quietly admitted that Hyundai has arrived. The 2003 Hyundai Tiburon is a trendsetter when it comes to what types of features and value competitive automakers should bundle their cars. If any group benefits from the largesse and somewhat legendary story of the Korean automaker, it's you and me, the consumers. Also, Hyundai engineers and designers have seem to have learned from their mistakes. We spoke to them with our feet and our pockets. The first cars they rolled out in the American marketplace were not even worth the metal sheets, screws and bolts that went into their construction. So, we did not buy its earlier offerings. It's a whole new ball game now. Any serious, value-oriented car consumer can't stay away from the new, innovative designs this company has been featuring in auto showrooms and dealerships all over North America.

2003 Tiburon Coupe is sure to catch the attention of serious car owners who want performance, great looks, value, and style

Just include the names of the young men and women who can rely on its power to get a head start!

Introduced in 1997, the Tiburon brand has seen great days. What's clear is that the automaker has not been tired of improving and enhancing the brand image. It appears that each new model seems to accentuate some major areas of strength and performance in the vehicle. This year's model seems to build on the past experience of all its models. In fact, it borrows the strong, smooth, all-aluminum, dohc, 2.7-liter V6 from the Huyndai Sonata and the well-known style of the Hyundai Santa Fe SUV. It makes great sense that some observers and analysts dub it, "a pocket rocket." I remain impressed by its sheer vitality, performance on the road and aggressiveness. I could not pass the chance to test-drive the GT V6. I had a great ride. It handled superbly and relied on its features of both front and rear independent suspension. The MacPherson struts are used with offset coil springs, gas-filled hydraulic shock absorbers and an anti-roll bar mounted right to the strut to negotiate the curves better. The owners of the 2003 Tiburon who are mostly performance enthusiasts can rely on the other set of rear suspension to have a great drivability. The Tiburon also featured a strut-type multilink rear suspension, gas-filled hyrdaulic shock absorbers and anti-roll bar. All of this can be summarized as the following: Once you get behind the wheels of this car, you will have a very great driving experience. I enjoyed the fact that I heard to vibration. Hyundai engineers and designers have managed to block that cumbersome noise from under the hood.

Bold design, style, performance and affordable price are all the reasons car buyers are snapping the 2003 Tiburon

Built in Korea, the Hyundai Tiburon two-door is offered in base or the Tiburon and the Tiburon GT V6 models. That's why the prices range from $15,999 to under 20K. If anything, the Tiburon coupe is turning up the heat on other automakers in the below $20,000 coupe segment. Toyota, Honda, GM, Ford and others will have to take lessons whether they want it or not. We consumers want all the great features that a vehicle can come equipped with for much less. While the earlier version of the Tiburon was based on the Elantra, the 2003 Tiburon has a new, stiffer and refined chassis. It was made not only to look good, but also to offer security to the occupants of the car. The new chassis is dubbed the GK.

How is the interior of the car?

In terms of legroom, headroom and hiproom, the Tiburon offers lots of space. I had great visibility which allows me to enjoy the ride very well. The spacious, ergonomic cockpit made provided me with lots of comfort. I did not have to worry about side impacts because the Tiburon offers front and passenger front and high-strength steel side impact airbags. To a large extent, the interior of the Tiburon resembles that of the Honda Accord. This is a giant step for Hyundai to be able to put out a vehicle that, taken costs into account, surpasses any Honda coupe. For under 20K, the Tiburon offers leather seats and leather-clad steering wheel. Leather seating is standard on the GT V6.

What are some of the features that exist on the GT V6?

Many of features that are standard on the Tiburon are not on other sport coupes. They don't even have some of them as options. For example, you will find the basic standard such as air conditioning, keyless remote entry system, cruise control, fog lamps, power windows and door locks, four-wheel disc brakes, P205/55-16 Michelin tires mounted on 16 by 6.5-inch alloy wheels. It also offers all the equipments found on the Tiburon plus others such as a better Infinity stereo for great entertainment, shift knob, rear spoiler etc.

Warranty: Who can turn down the Hyundai Advantage? It's, by far, the best warranty anybody can get out there. It gives you 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain protection and five-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper coverage. If you are really interested in buying the Tiburon, you will benefit from the 24-hour roadside assistance at no extra charge for five full years. There is no mileage limit. There are also some freebies.

The Tiburon is a great coupe that any car lovers will appreciate. In addition, it's affordable and bundled with great features that many other car makers would make you pay steep prices for.

Go with Huyndai, go with the 2003 Tiburon coupe!

Updated on 6-27-2003

Long gone are the days when car buyers were worried about buying a Huyndai vehicle. So long gone are also the times when some consumers would rather purchase a good used car from one of the higher-end vehicles instead of purchasing a Huyndai. Others had two choices: purchase a brand new Hyundai vehicle or a used Huyndai. Huyndai Motor America has been on a long campaign to change the face of the company. Poised to be the leader in the entry-level market, consumers, encouraged by gains of quality and less flaws in the Huyndai brand, start showing interest. [Please read about Santa Fe SUV]. All this turnaround has been made possible under the aegis and discipline of Finbarr O'Neill. He can start seeing the signs of the company's success by taking a look at the group of consumers who are most likely to buy the six-speed sports transmission, V-6 engine 2003 Tiburon. Loaded with enough power to hit 180 horses, this is a car that will gain consumers' confidence in the company.

At a recent high school graduation, when most of us were driving vehicles of the Japanese car industry, I could clearly see a lot of young people arriving in their Tiburon, equipped with 17-inch wheels. Some of my closest friends commented, "For sure, this company is now turning heads on the road." They are the same young kids whose pals drive a tricked, retrofit Acura RSX or Honda Civic. When we saw some females driving down the freeway in their Tiburon, we quickly realized that the car was a 'hot.' Hyundai is now reeking the benefits of their quality-based programs launched since the 1990s. They have long gone from the phase of just giving a car, a reliable car to the consumer, Huyndai wants its potential car buyers to feel inspired by the wide range of products it has put on the market. From the entry-level Accent, Elantra to the [Santa Fe], Hyundai wants to give the consumer a great driving experience.

What needed to be done: Dispel the fear; Get consumers to trust the vehicles

Under O'Neill, Hyundai Motor America decides to provide satisfaction to the customers. If they are happy with the products they offer, then they are in business. The way they have done this is to offer a very strategic marketing campaign that automatically removes any fear that a Huyndai buyer might have. The launching of a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty on all Hyundais became the catalyst and launching pad of the success and recognition that Hyundai vehicles are now enjoying in the regular consumers' mind. With the advent of the Santa Fe and Tiburon, it has now become hip to be seen driving a Huyndai. The fear of having to deal with a broken-down vehicle every mile on the freeway is long gone. At the same time, Huyndai Motor America had to convince the South Korean executives that improving the overall quality of the vehicles was necessary. In a sense, they had gotten the messages that became overt and well-known. From disgruntled users and comedians, the jokes about the unreliability of the Hyundai got to the ears of the North American branch. They wanted to do something about it. They wanted to change the car. They wanted to bring the consumers back to the auto-rooms. This time, they did with "America's Best Warranty", 6 years of bumper to bumper coverage and 10 years of coverage on the cr's engine and transmission. According to the J.D. Power quality study in 1999, Hyundai averaged 229 flaws per 100 vehicles. The company has improved to 143 flaws pwer 100 vehicles as compared with an industry average of 133. Once the brand's problems and image issues were corrected, it was time to focus on something else: fashion. The brand was ready to go from mere function to outstanding fashion. In fact, the 2003 Tiburon shows what the Huyndai company can do in terms of competing on the market.

Facing the competition without any fear:

The Japenese have long been reigning as the kings of the entry-level, mid-sedan s. Toyota and Honda, whichever order they come, are fierce competitors that are very territorial of their gains in the North American market. We should say that they have worked to be where they are at for many years. It's a long time coming for them.

The South Korea's largest automaker is ready to enjoy a place in the hearts and minds of most Noth American consumers. Style, refinement, quality, value packages and customer satisfaction are all the areas of interest for Hyundai. They want to accentuate things. This way, we, consumers, won't find it hard to choose between a Nissan Altima, Honda Accord, Subaru Forrestier, Chevrolet Impala, Toyota Avalon, Toyota Camry and a Sonata. Let it be known that thanks to the comparatively cheap labor (cars are manufactured in South Korea), the consumers will come out on top. That's something that anybody who is out there on the car market needs to keep in mind. In terms of value, Hyundai is not worried about putting a lot of features in its cars. Its current success stories are the Santa Fe and Tiburon. These vehicles sport a trendier design, leather seats and side air bags. It all depends on the options you want and what you are willing to pay.

Safety and consumer satisfaction are two of the great points of the Hyundai Motor America.

Would you like to save and be worry-free when it comes to maintenance?

Try a Hyundai vehicle. After test-driving the Santa Fe, Tiburon and Sonata, I can attest to the improvements that this company has brought on.

The bottom line is that you will end up saving money.

Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 5:16 PM

Updated: Wednesday, 25 January 2006 8:48 PM

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