We’re closing in on the Final Four. I know 2 of the 5 who are in contention for a free trip to Puerto Rico. #4 is my editor who shamelessly picked Duke. #5 is my friend from Michigan who looks poised to win it all. Sadly, “IpreferOMAAT’ has little chance of winning [insert emoji] [insert ‘ugh’ pretext].
Hyatt Regency Manchester Hotel Review is part of Punxsutawney TPOL Trip Report.
I once wrote, Hostel v. Hotel v. Friend’s Home. In Manchester, the world’s greatest college campus (see Guns & Butter: Manchester Travel Guide), the answer could be all three. Given my exhaustion from the previous destinations (see Guns & Butter: Belfast, Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Ribera Del Duero), the best option was the Hyatt Regency.
Getting There
The Hyatt Regency is easily accessible by train from MAN airport. Take the train to Oxford Road and walk ten minutes. 
Points
One day Hyatt will seriously devalue and ruin our lives (see Hyatt Regency Toronto: Please Don’t Devalue!). When I look back at this post and see I only spent 8k points for this hotel, I will be sad.
Location
Like the Moxy in Edinburgh, the Hyatt Regency is located in the middle of a college campus. Here that was the University of Manchester.
Room
The room, like TPOL, was smart chic. 
Bathroom
LED bulb mirrors are everywhere now. It is also nice to see more hotels adapting rain showers instead of the loathsome stand-up tubs with a shower wand. 
Regency Lounge
The lounge was closed due to Covid, but the bar downstairs was used as a replacement. It rivaled the experience of my favorite Regency lounge in Mexico City (see The Hyatt Regency Mexico City Review).
Overall
This hotel is a steal. Let’s hope it stays that way.
Belfast Travel Guide is part of the Punxsutawney TPOL Trip Report.
TPOL’s Guns & Butter Travel Guide is the best way to see as much as you can in as little time as possible. Here’s how it works – A trip is composed of two factors: Labor And Lazy. The opportunity cost (what is given up) for relaxing and being Lazy is gained by being adventurous in the form of Labor and vice versa. The guide includes inefficient activities i.e., tourist traps that should be avoided and aspirational activities that are worth doing but may be impossible to see given the constraints of time and resources.
I used to only write a Guns & Butter Travel Guide if I did a minimum number of things. I have come to realize that I will not be able to hit the minimum for every place I go. And that is okay. Indeed, that is the whole point of Guns & Butter. There’s a tradeoff. In Belfast, that tradeoff meant prioritizing what I could do the one night and one day I was there.
Sleep
I arrived early in the morning, exhausted from the sprint from Spain (see Guns & Butter: Ribera Del Duero, Madrid Travel Guide (Vino Edition)) to Denmark (see Guns & Butter: Copenhagen Travel Guide) to Scotland (see Guns & Butter: Edinburgh Travel Guide). Typically, landing in a new city gives me a bolt of energy, allowing me to ignore the fact that I have not had adequate rest. I was out of gas by the time I arrived in Belfast and slept until the early afternoon at the underwhelming AC Marriott (see AC Marriott Belfast: It’s OK).
Indian Cuisine
There aren’t any Indian restaurants in Puerto Rico, so when I read on Wikitravel that the oldest Indian restaurant, Archana, was recommended, I tried to make a reservation. Due to Covid, only delivery was available. This was the perfect excuse to delay my exploration of the city until the next day.
Troubles Tour
Once upon a time, the New York Times had a contest to have a lucky/unlucky someone visit 52 cities in 52 weeks. The point of this adventure was to see if a traveler could connect with a place despite being there for a short time. Since this is TPOL’s Travel Philosophy, I was shocked when I was not selected (see The Failing NYT Didn’t Hire TPOL: Sad!).
With only one day in Northern Ireland, I booked a private black taxi so I could begin to understand the conflict (see Troubles Tour Belfast). While I am far from a scholar now, I do have some understanding of the situation. To that end, I can say that I did something meaningful, if not profound, while I was there.
Pub
No trip to the island of Ireland would be complete without a Guinness. That, along with traditional Irish food like bangers & mash and fish & chips was a great way to end the day.
TPOL’s Tip: The Kitchen Bar is located at 1 Victoria Square, Belfast BT1 4QG, United Kingdom.
To Do
If I had more time, I would have gone to The Giant’s Causeway, a wondrous rock formation. If I had more time and it wasn’t closed due to Covid, I may have checked out the Titanic Tour, the place the ill-fated ship was built. It is not a tour of the Titanic itself. Rather, it is a history of the shipping industry and its decline. Since time was limited, I walked around the city center and tried to comprehend how life looked seemingly normal despite the fact that in the Western world, in the United Kingdom there are gates that close off neighborhoods at 7PM.
Overall
I didn’t do much in terms of quantity but what I saw and what I learned was unmatched.
Troubles Tour Belfast is part of the Punxsutawney TPOL Trip Report.
I usually skip tours that take me to people’s backyard, e.g., favela tour in Rio. There may be something to learn from going, but I am of the mindset that I wouldn’t want others coming to my neighborhood to observe my day-to-day. The one exception was in Amboseli (see Visiting the Massai Community in Amboseli ). The second was the Political and Mural tour in Belfast, hereafter known as the Troubles Tour.
As someone of Iraqi heritage and as a former professor of terrorism law, I have a thorough understanding of the complex conflict in the Middle East. I had next to no knowledge of the conflict in the United Kingdom between the Protestants and Catholics, an oversimplification of the parties and issues involved.
For 55 pounds, a black taxi drove us around Belfast and told us both the history of the conflict and his first-hand experience growing up during it.
The driver picked us up from our hotel (see AC Marriott Belfast: It’s OK) and began by recounting how Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland came to be. He then drove through a gate and stopped the car. He told us that we were now on the Catholic side of town and that the gate to enter it opened at 7AM and closed at 7PM. Ignorant to it all, I asked him to elaborate. What do you mean the gates are closed? How do people on this side get out after 7PM? Is it closed to both pedestrians and cars?
He replied that it was closed to both. Anyone wanting to go beyond the gate would have to make a one-mile detour to go around. He said that this prevented someone from either side who impulsively wanted to do something nefarious. I was in disbelief.
The tour went on and we stopped at memorials. Depending on where we were, the narration of the events was different as were the murals. The Catholic side had a mural of Nelson Mandela, Fredrick Douglas, MLK, Bob Marley, and Castro.
Conflicts and ideologies from across the globe reached Northern Ireland. For example, on the Catholic side, there was a mural showing solidarity with Palestine. The Protestant side had a mural of Kelly who was instrumental in assisting the Israeli army.
Tragically, both had memorials of men, women, and children who had died as a result of the conflict.
My head was spinning from all the information. It was challenging to keep up with all the names and parties involved. As I am far from an authority on the issue, I will not attempt to summarize the nuances of the conflict. What I can say is that The Troubles, as they are called, began in 1971 and the Good Friday Agreement that ended the Troubles was signed in 1998. This is not ancient history. It was only a few years ago.
The most striking part of the tour was seeing houses that were right against the wall. The back of them had cages built to protect them from Molotov cocktails that could be hurled over the wall. That they are still there today shows the precariousness of the situation.
The other side of the wall is called The Peace Wall, an odd name for something so divisive. The Peace Wall was built in three phases. First, it was concrete, then it was fencing, then it was higher fencing. The tour guide suggested that we sign the wall. I felt uncomfortable doing so as I was trying to internalize everything I was being told.
From there, we went to the city center. I saw McDonald’s, Zara, and the Opera house. The driver dropped us off at a pub and the tour was done. It was strange to pretend that everything was normal (see Guns & Butter: Belfast Travel Guide).
Overall
I know much more about this conflict now than I did before the tour. Having said that, I still know nothing.
I know we are less than pleased with Bonvoy but Marriott‘s March Madness commercial receives high marks.
Blue Devil, you get a room at the presidential suite at the Ritz-Carlton. I wonder where he would put Rameses? Probably at the Moxy Edinburgh.
Here are the current standings before the games resume tomorrow. TPOL is tied for 10th. I wonder who will win and not show up to Puerto Rico?
AC Marriott Belfast Hotel Review is part of the Punxsutawney TPOL Trip Report.
Getting There
Take the bus to and from the city center. It was only 11.5 GBP. The problem is that the hotel is a twenty-minute walk from there.
Check-In
I keep my Titanium Elite status alive because of the luxury and courtesy of being able to check-in at all hours. I know it’s not guaranteed but it’s usually granted. It took some fuss for the hotel to let me in at 11AM.
Room
It’s been quite the trip so far. Running from Ribera del Duero to Copenhagen to Edinburgh on only a few hours’ rest. I was happy to sleep and do nothing in the comfortable AC bed. 
Shower
Following the disappointing showers at the Radisson Blu Copenhagen and the Moxy Edinburgh, I was relieved to have a normal shower. 
Service
Due to Covid (see Scam Covid Test #1: Entering the UK), many restaurants were closed for dine-in. That suited me just fine as I had Indian food for the second time this trip (see Guns & Butter: Madison, Wisconsin Travel Guide & Guns & Butter: Belfast Travel Guide). In need of refreshments, I went down to the bar and was graciously greeted by the bartender. A couple beers and a couple Cokes was the perfect compliment to the meal.
Location
The problem with the hotel is the location. The hotel’s website read as follows: “An urban retreat in an exceptional waterfront location, AC Hotel Belfast by Marriott is a scenic haven in a colourful travel destination in Northern Ireland.” The words are accurate if you know what those words meant. I assumed that it meant there was stuff nearby and that it was relatively near the city center. What it actually means is that the hotel is located where there used to be factories and now it’s being converted into hotels/residences i.e., urban retreat=not near city center. Perhaps I should use Mapquest before I assume that big hotel chain + big city = good location. But when I’m hopping from one city to the next, I don’t have the bandwidth to make sure that every hotel is where I would prefer it to be.
Overall
I am happy to have spent $118 instead of burning points at this hotel.
While you were watching March Madness this weekend, TPOL turned 8 on March 19th. To celebrate, I’ve picked one random post from The Simply The Best collection for the month of March each year.
Guns & Butter: Bangkok, Thailand Travel Guide
Traveling While Arab? Pack Your Sense of Humor
TPOL’s Worst Flight Experiences
Alcatraz: An American Landmark
How to Book Trinidad’s Carnival Last Second for Free*
What’s a Travel Blog Without Travel?
Enter TPOL’s Bracket, Flight to Puerto Rico Included!
The madness continues.
Somehow we got to twenty entrants for the March Madness bracket.
That means I’ll honor my commitment to pay up to $200 for someone to come to Puerto Rico and visit me.
That doesn’t include alcohol or golf as I described.
But it does include aqua aerobics.
That assumes that the winner shows up. If the winner doesn’t respond like last year then it’s up to me to decide if I want to settle for a runner-up.
I’ve had more entries this year than I did last year. And last year I was giving away a free flight to Puerto Rico and a round of golf. This year I decided to give away nothing because no one came last year. I’ll reinstitute the free ticket, up to a $200 value, if I end up with 20 entrants by tip-off tomorrow. If I don’t receive that many, that tells me one of two things: #1 points nerds don’t watch March Madness or #2 people do not actually want to meet me. I hope it’s #2. Stay afraid. Stay away.
Note: There will not be a free round of golf because my comeback date is yet to be determined (see TPOL Is Down). By popular demand, there will be daily free aqua aerobics (see TPOL’s Achilles Rehab Secret: Hydro Revolution).
Nothing.
I tried to give away a free flight last year, and the winner didn’t show up (see Last Call: Giveaway to Puerto Rico). Instead of being jilted at the altar again, I offer bragging rights as the prize. Enter here and let the shit talking begin.
