Getaway to Atlanta

I expected better things from the Westin. We are a member of the Starwood Preferred Club, and we received no special kind of personalized attention. The room was very small. The "Westin Heavenly Bed" was nice, but "heavenly," I don't know about that. They sure did not compare to the beds at the Ritz Carlton. As for the "heavenly shower," it did consist of two shower heads and was ok. The room, and especially the bathroom, were extremely small. As for the staff, they did great. They seemed to really care and were very polite and helpful, from the time we called to ask for an extra robe, till we called to have someone come up to show my husband how to tie a tie. Floor to ceiling window views of Atlanta at night were to die for. My kids and I loved it. Another downside was at the last minute, they announced on their website that the pool would be closed due to maintenance. This was the main reason we picked the hotel for the kids.

This hotel experience was better than the Ritz. It was an incredible hotel. It had a beautiful room with floor-to-ceiling windows. There were very comfy beds, a minibar, and a huge marble bathroom with a very deep soaking tub and separate glass-enclosed shower. There was a beautiful lobby with very relaxing bar. The outdoor pool on second level gives new meaning to the word "heated," with a Jacuzzi and excellent views of the lights of Atlanta at night.

Our dining experience was wonderful. Sitting in an actual restaurant that slowly spins around was great. The view, even though mostly cloudy that night, was beautiful. All of our servers were very courteous and professional. I had told them earlier that it was my husband's birthday and they remembered and brought him out a complimentary piece of cake. It was wonderful. There weren't many items on the menu. I got the loin of lamb and my husband got the venison. Both were unbelievably good.

This aquarium is definitely something that needs to be seen and is well worth it. There are staff members throughout the encounters that explain certain aspects about the animals to you. It really adds to the experience. Everyone there was really nice and helpful and did not have that typical "theme park attitude." The belugia whales they have are truly amazing, and we got to witness them being fed. There is tons of space and plenty of places to eat(although we did not eat at any of them, they looked nice). I think this will be a great way to teach people about animals that they are not typically accustomed to seeing. The staff is very informative. I've been going to aquariums all my life and I actually learned a bunch of new things the day I went. It was great and definitely worth seeing.