Planning

Standard Luggage Review – A Large Carry-on Backpack

Disclaimer: We were provided this backpack courtesy of Standard Luggage Co. for a review. All opinions are our own.

When it comes to luggage that we can travel with, we often find ourselves balancing form and function. We like our backpacks to look neat and elegant and also have the capacity to match.

For many years, our travel setup included rolling suitcases with separate backpacks for electronics and more sensitive items (generally in the structure of one large checked suitcase, one carry-on rolling suitcase, and two backpacks). But recently many companies have started to merge the two carry-on styles in the form of backpacks large enough to accommodate everything in a single piece of luggage.

Standard Luggage Co is one such company, and we were fortunate enough to put their Carry-on Travel Backpack to the test in this review!

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Travel Safely and Comfortably with Hilton Grand Vacations

This article is sponsored by Hilton Grand Vacations, part of the Hilton Portfolio of brands. As always, all opinions are our own. Photos were provided courtesy of Hilton Grand Vacations.

The global pandemic of 2020 has changed the world in many ways, and one that may leave the longest lasting impression is in the travel industry. From taking a long-distance bus or train to attending an event, staying at a hotel, or even jumping on an airplane, many in the travel industry are simply holding their breath waiting to see what the future brings.

Us included.

Early trends are emerging; however, and there are recurring themes popping up when discussing the future of travel, namely: familiarity, comfort, and of course, safety.

While we yearn for the days where we can pop around from place to place, stay in an untold number of hotels, and generally move freely, for the foreseeable future we see staying close to home, returning to places we know and love (like our recent socially distant road trip to the Finger Lakes), and booking extended stays at any given destination. 

One such travel style that checks all those boxes is vacation ownership, and Hilton Grand Vacations is doing a lot to help travelers feel safe when visiting in the future.

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How to Take a Socially Distant Road Trip During the Pandemic

Being stuck at home for six months was not originally on our 2020 travel plans, and as much as we have tried to minimize our outings, there was a point where we hit a wall and needed to get away for a few days for sanity's sake.

So we decided to take a road trip.

Our original intention was to head northeast to Maine to spend some time with friends. But after thinking about it, we decided to stick closer to home and spent a weekend in the Finger Lakes instead. In this one, we wanted to share some of the extra steps we took to safely go on a socially distant road trip during the pandemic.

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Hilton Reviews – Recapping Our Hotel Stays With the Brand

We're no strangers to staying in nice hotels when we travel, and more often than not when we need a really luxurious hotel stay we find ourselves checking out the Hilton hotel property chain as Angie amasses close to 1,000,000 points a year on the hotel chain for her day job travels (not to mention, that highly coveted Diamond status).

In this one, we wanted to compile a database of the Hilton reviews we've published over the years, and give a quick snapshot of each property we've stayed in to-date. Suffice it to say, we've stayed in a few gems (and a few misses, too). 

We will also be sharing status perks we received at each of the Hilton hotels as well as part of our gold and/or diamond status (depending on visit dates). Some of these may be as simple as a room upgrade or a free cocktail, others are a bit more unusual like spa access, free bikes or water sports, special breakfasts, and more. It is worth noting that perks often change and are only a reflection of the things we received during our visit.

Disclosure: We are not partners with Hilton in any capacity. We have paid for every hotel featured in this guide on points or weekend certificates received from credit cards (although we do pay for all of our meals and incidentals). We received Gold status through a credit card and later Diamond status through Angie's work travels to more conventional properties- those hotels are not featured herein. Outbound links are to our affiliate account on Booking.com; however, if you are booking as a status guest we do recommend you book directly with Hilton for the best chances of upgrades and other perks.

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