What should you look for when choosing a hotel, and what are some pitfalls you can try to avoid? Get ready for summer travel with this week's episode full of tips and laughs.

• Pay attention to the bathroom layouts when viewing photos and reviews as a new hotel trend has been for more open bathroom layouts or glass doors/walls which may not be great for families or friend groups
• Hotels are getting better at sustainability initiatives but many are just paying lip service so if this is important to you, look for companies truly dedicated to environmental issues and offer things like bottle refill stations
• If you want to check out the location of the hotel, look at the Google Street view to see more what the area is like
• Keep in mind that suburban hotels off the highway are more likely to offer free parking, laundry facilities, and free breakfast
• When booking city hotels, make sure that it is located near public transportation but avoid hotels near train stations or bus stations
• When selecting a room, look at the square footage to compare the various room categories
• Keep in mind that when you are traveling internationally, it is hard to find rooms with two queens or doubles. It is even harder to find rooms that sleep five. Typically the rooms will have a double/king or two twins
• Sofa beds are not always clean so always ask for clean linens, just keep in mind that you will need to make them up yourself
• Accessible rooms sometimes have lower closets, which might not be great for longer dresses, and the showers might have roll in showers and the floor of the bathroom can get really wet
• Request a room location away from the elevator / ice machine and a higher floor if near a loud highway
• Connecting rooms have thin doors and there is a lot of noise that comes through so put in your special request "no connecting room door"
• Be sure to read reviews and look out for red flags about noise, cleanliness, location, and service
• Bring a sleep mask or something to cover the glowing appliances and lights in the room
• Travel with a white noise machine
• Look out for daily resort fees and high city taxes
• Some brands or boutique hotels offer happy hours or cookies throughout the day
• Don't expect upgrades - book the category that you want
• Check out what the parking situation is and whether or not it is indoors or outdoors. Parking garages will sometimes list the clearance height
• Tipping housekeeping for good service is appreciated so it helps to carry some smaller bills

Tamara is just back from a multi-generational trip to the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar. If you have ever wondered what it is like to stay at one of the popular Baha Mar Resorts, now is your chance to get the scoop and see if it is really the vacation of your dreams or not.

• This was a multi-generational trip with 14 people ages 17-83. There were a lot of considerations when choosing a destination including budget, activities, direct flights, and mobility issues.
• Tamara also considered the Hyatt in Aruba, the Hilton Zemi Beach House in Anguilla, and the Westin or Kimpton Seafire in Grand Cayman.
• There are three hotels within one resort at the Baha Mar and it has multiple restaurants, making it possible to stay for a week and eat somewhere different every night without taking cabs into town.
• The food is really expensive at the Baha Mar so you need to build that into the budget as it is inline with going out for a nice dinner in a big city, which is similar to many other island resorts.
• The three hotels are:
  • Rosewood Baha Mar - luxury property
  • SLS Baha Mar - good for couples, friends, and more of a party scene
  • Grand Hyatt Baha Mar - good for families and more affordable
  • There is also a "Reserve" section of the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar with suites and lounge access that is a hotel within a hotel
• You fly into Nassau and you fill out a form on arrival and then the immigration line was quite short. They pre-arranged hotel transfers through the concierge.
• There are many pools within the Grand Hyatt but if you don't reserve a cabana, sunbed or premium lounge chair it could be hard to find chairs, especially if you want a larger group to be together.
• They rented a cabana at the Nexus Club, which has an indoor section with a couch, television, fridge, and a full bathroom. It also had a sun bed, a table and chairs with an umbrella, and use of two in-pool loungers. It was a private pool just for those renting cabanas or staying at a certain room category that included a hot tub. It also had its own bar and food service.
• The beach isn't deep but it is longed and it is lined with 4-6 rows of lounge chairs packed in together and the beach was quite busy even in June.
• There is also a waterpark that is included for guests with some big slides and a lazy river, as well as a good restaurant.
• You can do paddle boarding and snorkeling and there are also paid motorized water sports and there is an activities desk that arranges excursions and day trips.
• The Baha Mar also has a kids club with daily activities and there are flamingos that do a "parade" every morning.
• The food at Baha Mar was very good and even Tamara was impressed.
• Regatta is where they serve a huge breakfast buffet but it costs about $44 per person.
• Because Tamara is a preferred partner with Hyatt Prive, she was able to get the following perks and amenities:
  • Free breakfast for 2 people per day per room
  • $100 per room resort credit
  • $50 per room beverage credit
  • automatic upgrade within 24 hours of booking
• There are many pool bars serving food for lunch and there are also food trucks by the beach.
• You need to pre-book dinner reservations and they cover the gamut from Italian, Asian, Chinese, Steak, Mediterranean, and some celebrity chef restaurants like Cafe Boulud and Marcus Fish and Chop House (from Marcus Samuelson)
• In Tamara's opinion, the Baha Mar is better suited for families with teens or adults versus with younger kids as the casino is really the center point of the resort.

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• Caribbean cruise
• Where to go in the Caribbean
• Planning a Barbados vacation
• Planning a Grand Cayman vacation

Get ready for your summer vacation and future travel with these expert packing tips! From carry-on to checked bags, here are some things to keep in mind when packing for your next trip.

• Use a packing list! It helps you not forget critical items. Start creating your packing list early in your Notes app
• Kim has an outfit planner that you can sign up for on Stuffed Suitcase
• Pay attention to your itinerary to figure out what you need to bring for each activity
• Also pay attention to the weather forecast for your destination
• Try to minimize the number of shoes that you bring on a trip
• Try on your outfits while packing and take a picture of yourself so that you remember what you put together (with shoes, accessories, etc.)
• You can also put the picture into your notes app with notes about what day you were going to wear it to remember
• Packing cubes with compression can be great for saving space
• You can pack the cubes by destination/stop on the trip or daily outfits or just pack all your pants together, all your shirts together, etc.
• If you are flying on an international carrier, make sure to look up their baggage rules to understand the size and weight of carry on and personal items
• Even domestic carriers have different weight limits
• If you are buying new luggage, buy the matching packing cubes that fit perfectly
• Look for packing cubes that zip to a rectangle and not lumpy
• Gonex and Eagle Creek can be great brands to try
• Lay flat bags are great for toiletry bags
• Travelon makes a good organizer for your electronics
• Vodka in a spray bottle can help refresh clothes
• Bring a travel scale to check baggage weights

• Packing tips for family travel