Hitting the Road With DD

Travel Advice for the Month

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:29:32 +0000

Got a couple days to kill in a tradeshow city, here are some ideas/ tips:

Want to save big money on car rentals? Find an Enterprise Car Rental near the airport. Reserve the car there and take a taxi. A $ 20 taxi can save $100s. Less expensive per day and no airport fees!

Where do the Chicago locals get their deep dish? I asked 8 locals (no concierges) last time I was there and 5 out of 8 said Lou Malnati’s. I went that night, and though it took three days to run it off, it was worth it!

Exhibiting in Canada? Be prepared by adding 20% to you budget. There are a lot of ridiculous taxes and customs charges that hit you on both shipping and installation labor.

Snowbound: Next trip to or through Salt Lake City schedule an extra day on the end of your trip to hit some of the best mountains in the country. Alta and Snowbird are just 45 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City. Just find a cheap, easy train or bus ride, and you could be hitting the powder in no time. If you decide to do so, I would suggest to add some extra days towards the end of your trip to give you time to adjust to the higher altitude. Here is the transit info: http://www.rideuta.com/mc/?page=RidingUTA-SkiService. About $ 8 each way. I’ve done it and it was great. Bus takes you right to the slopes.

Road warriors: One of our favorite clients HIGHLY recommends a free program called http://www.tripit.com/ that automatically organizes and tracks all of your travel itinerary’s. He pays a little more for the Pro Services, but says it’s completely worth it.

Need a cost effective, but nice hotel on the Vegas strip? Check out the Monte Carlo. Beautiful rooms and great service, but not as well-known as the others so it has less expensive rates.

Best Marriott deal in Chicago. The Springhill Suites and Residence Inn share a brand new building right in the middle of North River district. These hotels are as nice as most Marriotts at half the cost. And it has a free beer/wine happy hour on the weekdays. http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/chirn-residence-inn-chicago-downtown-river-north/

Be a Contributor!

admin — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:31:55 +0000

We are working on adding a new section on Washington DC. Recently, I spent over two weeks at the convention center there, and hit as many restaurants as possible and found some great places and some ordinary ones. The convention center sits on the edge of Chinatown, but it’s got every taste of restaurant out there . . . → Read More: Be a Contributor!

Grant’s Marriott Picks

admin — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:41:52 +0000

Road warriors know each other are serious when they say “I’m a (hotel) guy”. We are dedicated and loyal. Personally, I’m a Marriott guy with over 900 stays at more than 150 different properties. Although, I do try hard to stay at different Marriott hotels during my frequent travels to a city. Here are my top 4 favorites to use my points on vacation.

1. Grande Lakes in Orlando – extraordinary service, beautiful pool and landscaping, and one of the best spa / fitness centers ever. Incredible holiday decor and events. http://www.grandelakes.com/

2. The Renaissance Blackstone in Chicago -A historical hotel right on Grant Park, and its benefits go beyond its beauty and elegance. A $5 cab ride to the River area, $8 cab ride to McCormick Place and walking distance to Buddy Guys Blues Bar, the Art Institute, Lou Malnati’s Pizza, Millennium Park and the Field Museum. http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/chirh-renaissance-blackstone-chicago-hotel/

3. JW Marriott in San Fransisco – great downtown location with incredible service. Beautiful rooms with beautiful views on the high floor. http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sfojw-jw-marriott-san-francisco-union-square/

4. The Buttes in Phoenix - Phoenix is loaded with upscale spa and golf resorts, but I like the Buttes because it’s a little different. Built into the side of a hill, it has a very unique architecture with a fun pool. http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/phxtm-the-buttes-a-marriott-resort/. I love it because it’s near South Mountain’s desert hiking trails, Tonto National Park, and it’s close enough to downtown. *Baseball fans- it’s right next to the Spring training fields for the California Angels. I took the family to a game of two teams I could care less about and had a blast!

Travel Blog Campaign Wins a Platinum Award!

admin — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:42:24 +0000

Recently, we at Dimensional Design developed a promotional campaign structured to create buzz around the newly launched “Hitting the Road with DD” blog. The idea was hatched from over twenty years of traveling nationally for client projects, trade shows, and research excursions. Designers just aren’t good at sitting around in a hotel room during down time so we usually hit every museum, park, restaurant and bar we can find. Our clients always ask us for advice on what’s entertaining so we decided to make it easy for them to get out and explore major cities when they have some free time on business trips. For years, DD has wanted to do a newsletter or small book like this but a blog became the perfect format since it’s easily accessible while on the road in this Blackberry/Smart Phone day-and-age.

To promote the newly launched blog, DD created a series of weekly email mini contests that culminated in a multi-prize contest for the top ten submissions of travel tips and fun ideas. The overall campaign centered around the blog but promotional pieces included pocket-sized maps of eight major trade show cities highlighting hotspots near the major convention centers, specialized response cards and a CD of classic Vegas tunes to get the blood pumping.

In December, we were thrilled when we heard the DD Travel Blog and it’s surrounding promotional campaign had won the Platinum Award, the top honor, from the Association of Marketing Communication Professionals. With over 5,000 submissions from corporate marketing and communication departments, advertising agencies, PR firms, and design shops, our team was flattered by the recognition but we were more excited by the involvement the contest and blog created with our clients and vendors during the launch process. I guess hard work can be fun and rewarding.

Congrats to Clare Laidlaw, our graphic designer, for creating a great marketing campaign, and Holly Harper, our Director of Marketing, for developing, writing, and maintaining the blog. Thank you to everybody for their submissions and photographs.

Welcome to Hitting the Road with DD

admin — Thu, 27 May 2010 16:00:14 +0000

Anybody who knows DD well, knows three things …

One: We enjoy what we do; Two: We work crazy hours; and Three: We travel A LOT!

The Dimensional Design team of designers work nationally and travel to most every major city for business and tradeshows. On our travels, we have found some great places and a wide spectrum of experiences. Clients are always asking us for ideas for new things to do in their downtime and cool places to go on the road. The concierge and guide books might know great spots to take your clients for an expensive dinner, but we know the places to relax and have fun without breaking the bank. Tune in regularly for new tips, tricks and hotspots as we add deals from all the big show cities. We are adding a new city each month.

By the way, there are no paid links or Advertisements. We just do this for fun!

Happy travels!