This is a story for music lovers, travel addicts and points & miles geeks (like me).
I love music, particularly music that is new to me. And so, when I had the opportunity to bid on a Marriott Bonvoy Moments experience to see British pop star ELIZA (Doolittle) perform at the W London Leicester Square Hotel, I jumped on it.
Who is ELIZA? That’s probably a question one should ask before redeeming 62,500 points, but the moment looked “cool.” And so, after bidding, I turned to Wikipedia for answers. The site describes her as a Soul, R&B, Indie Pop and Pop artist — I was intrigued. My next stop was Apple Music, where I downloaded her complete discography.
ELIZA’s music is easy to listen to and enjoy, playful and at times deeply thoughtful. I admit that her genre isn’t normally my jam — I’m more of an alternative, folk and indie rock sort of guy. For context – My favorite artist has long been Andrew Bird, who is not real pop-py, even when he tries to be. But I was eager to meet ELIZA and watch her perform.
Since I had an extra ticket to the event, I invited my good friend Michele from Turning Left For Less (one of my favorite UK-based travel blogs).
About an hour before the performance, we were led to a suite on the hotel’s top floor to meet with ELIZA. We popped a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne and enjoyed half an hour of conversation with the artist.
We had a fun time talking about music, travel, London and our country’s respective politics. I even managed to tell a couple of jokes (one of my hobbies). We took a group photo, then ELIZA went to prepare for her performance.
400+ people were crammed into the W London’s lobby-level bar and restaurant area. There was no way to move around in my wheelchair, but I did have a decent spot near the stage. I was grateful for my wheelchair’s seat elevation feature!
ELIZA did not disappoint in her performance, and I was impressed by her interaction with the audience. They were true fans and loved her. I was new to her music, but still had an enjoyable experience. I’d look forward to seeing her again in a venue with a bit more space.
Final thought: These Marriott Bonvoy Moments rarely disappoint and are a great way to utilize your rewards points. A live performance, meet-and-greet with the artist, plus a hotel stay (to be reviewed in a future blog post) is a fantastic package.
