HOTEL REVIEW: SOUTH BEACH RIVIERA

I had such great expectations of this art deco style hotel. I love interior design. I loved the photos online. And I couldn’t wait to go to Miami, wind down for a few days, relax and try to get rid of my workaholic tendencies, but at this hotel I got more and more upset every day (stayed for 5 nights).

The rooms (or suites) were really cool. High points for that! But they were so dark that it was almost impossible to stay in the room. I might have been very unlucky getting a room facing the next door building, but then again quite a few of the rooms do. 

Had it only been the darkness of the rooms, I would not have complained at all, but this hotel has a severe problem defining itself. Is it a party hotel for young teenagers, or is it a high class hotel (as it presents itself to be) for business people and families? Most hotels would have been able to serve both groups, but due to paper thin walls this hotel cannot. I did not manage to get an hour of sleep before around three in the morning any of my nights at the hotel due to parties or loud conversations in the other rooms in my hallway. My final night I actually rang the front desk to ask them to help (I never do that), and was met by a man who a bit rudely was stating that “we have not had any complaints from others, but if you wish I can look into it” made me feel like I was the problem. To the teenage groups on my floor I was definitely the problem, but a hotel needs to also be able to serve people like me as guests.

The pool area in the backyard of the hotel was small but nice. As it was in the back yard though there was only sun there for about 4-5 hours a day. But a very cozy place that I would recommend if you do not care too much about getting a tan. The fact that the hotel does not have either a restaurant or a liquor license made me feel more and more upset by the place. That you cannot get anything to eat or drink at the hotel is something that is not pointed out on their website (there could be information on this if you search for it, but it is definitely not something you immediately see). I would never have booked a hotel that could not at least serve me a sandwich and a glass of wine if I had known. Arriving around midnight after a five hour flight and not being able to get anything to eat really upset me. It is apparently possible to order take-in from their sister hotel down the block, but not something that the front desk presents as an easy or obvious choice. Instead they handed me a pizza menu and asked me to phone for delivery. And they claim to be a four star hotel? I usually never eat anything from the mini bar (always unhealthy options, don’t you think?), but this time I did. I was too hungry not to!

It must be added that the hotel does serve a complimentary breakfast in the pool area. The breakfast is a nice touch, and the food is ok. The ‘breakfast man’ is also very sweet and helpful. The problems arise when it rains, and the hotel does not offer any other place to enjoy your breakfast. I eat my food as quickly as I could under an umbrella....

And - just a final question - if they manage to serve their guests breakfast, why do they find it so hard to at least offer their guests the opportunity of ordering a bagel with cream cheese in the afternoon? 

To summarize: Cool rooms, paper thin walls and the poorest service I have ever experienced. I will never stay here again, and I am sorry to say this as the hotel could have been a great treat!

I paid:        $ 400 per night (high season)

Rating:      2 / 6

A small but very cozy pool area. 

Little sun though as it is surrounded by buildings....

Good beds should make a good night sleep, 

but that doesn’t help when the walls are paper thin 

and the other guests are teenagers wanting to party

Not my living room, but they are all well decorated and cool!

All suites have work desks. Great for business people like myself

Bye, bye Miami

On my way home after  a few days on Miami Beach. Can’t even begin to tell you how great it was feeling the sun again (even if it was raining a couple of days) and to get some sleep. In a few hours I’ll be at home, with my kids and husband enjoying the Easter Holiday.

After a few hectic days in Las Vegas, I headed down to Miami Beach. The plan was to spend a few days there together with Are Traasdahl (founder of Thumbplay and new Business Advisor to Bipper) and my Chairman Svein Johnsen, but in the end Svein couldn’t make it and I headed for Miami myself. The plane was already booked and paid for, and so was the hotel. No refund was possible, and I figured I might just as well spend a few days there working from a sun-bed and getting some sleep.

And I can’t even begin to tell you how much sleep I got! The past few years have been extremely hectic, and with very little sleep. First when the kids arrived one by one and the nights were filled with breastfeeding and the mornings started early (yes - kids are a blessing and this is a period all parents will have to get themselves through, but a full night of sleep.... The best present anyone could give me!), and then (and crazily enough combined with the baby and toddler years of my youngest one) starting up a company demanding on average 80 hours of work per week. Little time left for sleep.....

But in Miami I finally had some days were I was in charge. Can’t even remember the last time I had a few days on my own, and it was pure medicine! Surviving the credit crunch made me into a workaholic, and my task for my Miami trip was to put my Mac away, read some books, get some sleep and relax as much as possible. And I did! What a treat!

And the work bit of the trip was just pleasurable. I got to spend a lot of time with Are, meet his beautiful wife and played with their baby boy. Cuddling with a 6 month old kinda makes me want to have another one, but the car is full - and so is my work schedule.... Three is a good crowd though - don’t you think?

I just can’t wait to see my kids again! I left for the US the morning of the 21st, and I’ll be at home again tomorrow at four in the afternoon. Brought tons of american Easter candy for them that the bunny can stuff their eggs with. Too much I think.... But that’s the way it is when I’m abroad - I come home with my suitcases full of stuff for my kids, perhaps (but not always) a little gift for my husband and hardly ever anything for myself. Except for orange items to mach my Bipper style. I’ll post some photos of my Bipper style orange treats very soon!

Can you imagine anything better?

 Unfortunately this was not my hotel...

This is my hotel! And the rain is poring down while I am 

trying to eat my breakfast. The sun doesn’t always shine.... 

I CANNOT recommend this hotel though. 

Stay away from South Beach Riviera Suites.

Beautiful beaches!

Hotel Review: Aria Resort & Casino

No more Circus Circus,  this time we got a great deal (only $170 a night - and this at the same time as the CTIA) at Aria, a brand new luxury hotel with all the amenities you can think off, including high end stores and a spa. Not to mention great (!!!) beds. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced better beds.

The warmer weather made it possible to enjoy breakfast in the sun at the poolside restaurant, so that was a great way to start the day. Good food and service. We also had lunch at a restaurant called Lemon Grass one day, and enjoyed some really nice food there as well.

Most of the days were spent away from the hotel, but I was able to spoil myself with a manicure J and Nils and I also managed to sit poolside (a total of three large and several smaller pools available) and enjoy the late afternoon sun twice for about 30 minutes before they closed down for the day. Not sure why they have to close to pool at 6pm?

The rooms where great, very advanced, maybe too advanced for some. At one point while Nils was working on his laptop, all lights, TV turned off, even the blinds shut, so he had to carry his battery powered laptop to find his way to the door. No free internet which seems to be the norm, but Nils had managed to complain enough about some inconvenience when checking in so they gave him free internet during the stay.

They have to work out some issues regarding check in (I too experienced issues with that - at midnight it took me more than 30 minutes to get my room key!), but we would definitely come back.

Price per night:    $ 170

Come back?        Definitely

Rating:                 5/6  

Team Bipper in Las Vegas

The last time in Vegas (check out my January post) was a fully packed trip with hardly any sleep. I think we on average had four meetings per day plus evening events. This trip we focussed on catching up with key contacts, making new contacts and team work.

With Nils based in New Jersey and the rest of the team based in Norway, spending some time together is just extremely important. We can do a lot on Skype and on mail, but not everything. The energy and team feeling you get when you are together in person and not just virtually, is amazing. And to spend some time there with Are was even better. In fact the get together was so great that we ended up concluding that Nils will move over to Norway for a period this spring and summer and see the Norwegian launch through. Hmmm - hope his wife is ok with this. He claims she is.... His wife Linda is a woman I look very much forward to meeting soon. Linda is co-founder of Entrepreneur Exposé and the President of Her Business- a digital publication focused on female entrepreneurs. Entrepreneur Exposé was developed in an effort to support women who want to start their own business, or who would like to take an existing business to the next level. 

But back to Vegas. Vegas is a city unlike any other city you have ever seen. To tell you the truth I was a bit shocked when I first landed there in January, but this time was quite different. Vegas is a show! Great to be there for a few days, but also quite good to get out off. I spoke with a woman who had grown up in Vegas and was raising three teenage kids there. According to her though living there was quite a bit different from visiting. They just didn’t see what all us visitors are seeing. The life outside The Strip is apparently like the life in any other American city.

A room with a view! I strongly recommend 

Hotel Aria in Las Vegas. Great rooms with the 

most impressing high tech system for controlling

 everything from the curtains to the music, and a 

great price. We paid less than $ 200 per night.

Me enjoying the sun! Can you believe that I went 

straight from skiing in the mountains to this?

Inside The Venitian. Yes - I said INSIDE. Can you 

believe this? A whole italian town with shopping streets, 

restaurants, channels and boats inside the hotel. This is Vegas!

And yes, the hotel had not just one but three large and 

several smaller pools. As well as an amazing Spa. A woman’s dream!

Is it the real one?

My first CTIA in Las Vegas

Apparently the show this year was slower than the previous years, and the credit crunch gets blamed. I on my hand felt it was great to have the space to move around, and as long as the people I need to meet are there, I’m quite fine!

I finally reached LAS Vegas Sunday at midnight after a 27 hour flight! I was tired and jetlagged, but got a little energized from all the noise and excitement from the Aria Hotel's casino floor and managed to stay up for a few hours to strategize a bit with Nils. He had arrived a few hours earlier and said my delay cost him about $50 an hour on the blackjack table!

The next morning is kicked off with a few great conference calls, followed by business lunch with potential investors, meetings with some of the the largest tech companies and mobile operators in the world before we closed out the day with a high level networking dinner hosted by WDA. The next few days is spent the same way, but thankfully we also have some time to spend at the exhibits and it was great to walk around and fell the energy and excitement and look at a lot of cool and innovative products and companies.

It was also a little warmer than my January visits and we managed to get 20 minutes by the pool, a drink and Nils a quick swim before we got kicked out at 6pm! Well well, at least I got to lay down in the sun and close my eyes. I’ll post another blog with some photos of Vegas before we leave!

US operators have a lot of branded accessories to sell.

 Next year I hope BipperSIM is one of them!

Eye controlled earphones..... Not quite getting this. 

Except that technology is quite amazing!

Tons of people everywhere - 

but way less than at the CES or Mobile World Congress.

In the mountains skiing

Once a year we go to the mountains (Geilo) with Society of Petroleum Engineers. My husband is a board member there, and in February/March each year they invite the families of all the board members for a weekend skiing. The kids love it, and so do we!

Last year I tried downhill skiing for the first time. It was so much fun! So much fun in fact that we ended up buying alpine skies for the whole family. The skis have been waiting in the basement for almost a year now, and this weekend it was time for the kids to give it a go. And - they did  brilliantly! Started out in the children’s slope, but after a while Oda was ready to master the big slopes.

If you have never been skiing, you should try it. It’s great fun, and everyone can do it. If I can manage, so can you!

Oda on her way up to the big slopes together with 

me. She soon got much better than me as well....

Have you seen anything this beautiful?

From the bottom of the hill it looks pretty easy. 

From the top it doesn’t....

Even Alvin tried downhill skiing. He felt so cool 

and grown up with his new skis on. Just 

like his older sister and brother.

Alvin is enjoying life in the snow

Yes - the kids are snow bathing! Can you believe it?

Alvin liked cross country skiing much better than down hill.

 I love this ‘learn-how-to-ski” product connecting the young 

child with an adult. It even provides a small back pack for 

the child to keep an extra pair of gloves in!