Independent Hotel & Resort Reviews

At Travel with Mark, our hotel and resort reviews are based on properties where we have actually stayed. We cover everything from practical stopover hotels and good-value city properties to five-star hotels, casino resorts and luxury island escapes.

We look beyond the marketing photographs. Our reviews consider the room, location, service, facilities, food and overall experience, along with the question that matters most: was the stay worth what we paid, or the points we used?

We travel with major hotel loyalty programs and sometimes receive benefits such as upgrades, breakfast, lounge access or late checkout. Where those benefits materially affect the experience, we make that clear. We also pay for many of our stays ourselves and report the property as we find it.

Our reviews range from places we would happily return to, to hotels where the experience did not quite live up to expectations. We are not trying to sell every property we visit — the objective is to show you what the hotel or resort was actually like during our stay.

You can watch the hotel and resort videos below or find more of our travel videos on YouTube.

Some booking links on this website are affiliate links, which means we may receive a small commission if you make a booking through them. This does not affect our reviews or the price you pay.

Hotel Reviews

A hotel which previously had a very bad reputation, this place is undergoing a huge renovation. We like what we see!

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Rio Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas

An elegant 5 Star hotel in the middle of Mendoza. We stayed for a week at this beautiful hotel, enjoyed the attached casino and walked to a bunch of restaurants in the surrounding streets.

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Park Hyatt Mendoza

A delightful gem in the middle on Manhatten. Modern, elegant and in the middle of mid-town. We spent a Memorial Day weekend here and enjoyed every minute of it.

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Andaz 5^th Ave, New York

A 5 Star masterpiece in the sparkling city of Bombay (Mumbai). The hotel is stunning and the breakfast awesome, with a huge range of Indian and Western fare.

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Grand Hyatt, Mumbai, India

A cost-effective and comfortable hotel with plenty of ammenities. Preferred by expats who know! Rooms are very economical and staff are amazingly good. In our view, one of the best value hotels in Dubai, although the location is a little out of the way, it is in an up and coming area. There is a train stop nearby though, so it is easy to connect to the rest of Dubai.

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Element Al Jaddaf, Dubai

A convenient stopover, whether in the city for business or stopping over on the way to or from a resort. The hotel provides good transport to and from the airport and the staff are friendly and efficient. Rooms are small, but functional. There is a small restaurant upstairs which is very convenient.

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Samann Grand Hotel. Malé, Maldives

A modern and attractive business class hotel in the center of everything in Chicago. Our review includes the Millenium Suite (aka the Presidential Suite)

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Hyatt Regency Chicago

Resort Reviews

The Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort ia a super-luxurious tropical resort. The resort is spacious and welcoming with plenty of light-filled spaces, on a tropical island paradise fringed with white sand beaches and a coral atoll. You can find an overview of The Maldives on our Destinations page

Westin Miriandhoo Resort View (View New Window)

Westin Miriandhoo Resort, Maldives

The Renaissance Wind Creek resort is a tropical resort located in the town of Oranjestad on the sun-kissed island of Aruba. It is two resorts in one, with an adult only town section, and a more family-oriented section by the ocean. The world-famous Flamingo Island is also part of the resort, where you can relax in cabanas, get a massage or just enjoy the sights of the flamingos on the white sand beaches. Guests at the hotel receive free anytime access to the Flamingo Island. You can find an overview of Aruba on our Destinations page

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Renaissance Aruba Wind Creek

The Conrad Las Vegas is a super-luxurious Casino Resort Hotel on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip. It is part of the Resorts World hotel and casino complex. There are 3 hotels attached to the Casino, a plethora of fine restaurants and a unique Asian Food Hall with a number of reasonably authentic regional food stalls.

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Conrad Las Vegas