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AIRPORT TO HOTEL
Southwest put writers and vendors up at the 248-guestroom Embassy Suites, which was about a 10-minute drive from the airport; the hotel has a free shuttle). TIP: Be the last person to put your bags on the shuttle so you can be the first one out and first in line for check-in.

EMBASSY SUITES
The Embassy Suites was renovated in 2007 and was comfortable. On the entrance side, all rooms overlook an eight-story garden atrium and inside, they have a mini refrigerator, microwave, flat screen TV, large working desk and wireless Internet access. The Wi-Fi is $9.95 a day or you can use the free DSL line in the business center. I used my Sprint wireless card, which can be rented short-term from RovAir.com.





HOTEL AMENITIES
When I checked in, the hotel clerk quoted me a $200 cleaning fee if I smoked in the room – that’s a first, but I liked the stern warning since I’m not a smoker. Hotel amenities that I liked include: the glass elevators, fitness center, indoor pool, coin laundry ($1) and free daily cooked-to-order breakfast. FYI: The location is just seven miles away from downtown Dallas.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
The water pipes are loud so if one of your neighbors (next door or even above) is running the water, it’s annoyingly loud. Also, after seeing the “Forget Something?” sign, I called down at midnight to get some toothpaste, which I always seem to forget. The phone kept ringing and ringing. However, when I tried in the morning at 6am, they picked up right away and someone dropped off two packets, two minutes later. Embassy Suites Dallas - Love Field, 3880 West Northwest Highway, Dallas, Texas; Tel: (214) 357-4500.

MATTITO’S TEX MEX
That night, the group (about 10 journalists and 40 vendors) boarded a bus and drove to Mattito’s Tex-Mex, about 15 minutes away. There, Southwest Airlines had a welcome dinner with members of their senior management committee. I ran into some old friends like Tom Parsons from Bestfares.com and met new ones, like Rick Seaney from FareCompare.com.

GUACAMOLE CONTEST
The food was really good and we all participated in a guacamole-making contest – lucky for my team (LUV Hurts), we had Tom Parsons, who’s a fine chef and who did the brunt of our work. His secret ingredient was corn oil (he usually uses olive oil), jalapeños and Pico de Gallo, which he grabbed from the kitchen to spruce it up really nicely. Mattito’s Tex-Mex, 3011 Routh Street; Dallas, Tel: (214) 526-8181.

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