09Apr 2009 by admin 2 Comments

Find Accommodations for Less with iStopOver

Love to travel but have limited funds? What if you had a friend in every city whom you could stay with for much less than the cost of renting a hotel room? The answers to both questions are cropping up in the form of sites like iStopOver.com, which caters to frugal travelers looking for hotel alternatives. The concept is sort of like a Craigslist for accommodations. Hosts list their house/apartment and guests can search for available rooms in their destination city. Often, the accommodations rival that of hotels but are offered at a much lower rate, and some do not charge the costly cancellation fees associated with hotel reservations. The inevitable concern, of course, is whether the host will be some pervy neat-freak who has a conniption fit if you…

08Apr 2009 by admin No Comments

Hot Spots: Adelaide, South Australia

Australia & New Zealand, Featured, Hot Spots

Flocked by parklands and vineyards and peppered with churches, Adelaide enjoys a slower pace of life than some of the other state capitals, calling up its German and English history (Adelaide is the only capital settled by English free settlers, though it was originally inhabited by the Kaurna people) while also edging towards a more cosmopolitan flair. Adelaide tends to get overshadowed by cities like Sydney and Melbourne, but it has many pleasures in store for lovers of wine, food, art, and coastal life. Adelaide, with a population of 1.1 million, claims the distinction of having more restaurants per person than any other city in the country, as well as the distinction of producing about half of all Australian wine. For the epicure or just the foodie, this is a…

07Apr 2009 by admin No Comments

Pink-Dollar Travel Remains High Despite Recession

Travel

According to the Chicago Tribune, the recession has done little to curb the so-called “pink dollar”—the currency wielded by the nation’s gay and lesbian communities, who have refused to relinquish their travel plans, much to the delight of the nation’s travel industry. Now, hotel chains, destination cities, and airlines are all ramping up their efforts to woo pink dollars through gay-and-lesbian-targeted marketing programs. Chasing the pink dollar can pay high dividends. In 2006, a U.S. Travel Association survey found that gay men spend an average of $800 per trip. Their straight counterparts, on the other hand, spend only about $540 per trip. The reason for the discrepancy has much to do with the “double income, no kids” effect that so many gay and lesbian couples enjoy, although adoption rates are…

06Apr 2009 by admin 1 Comment

When the Most Private of Business Becomes Public

Hotel Trends

The newest design trend among luxury hotels is the exposed bathroom, reports The New York Times. From Los Angeles and London to China and India, bathrooms enclosed (barely) by transparent glass walls and bathrooms that are free-standing, open areas of hotel rooms are all the rage among designers and hoteliers. The arguments for these designs range from conserving space to adding luxury to opening up hotel rooms by removing walls and letting in natural light. Some proponents of the exposed bathroom have also argued that the design minimizes spatial confusion and allows guests to locate easily all areas of their hotel rooms. (I say you’d have to be from another planet to need help differentiating between the clothes closet and the water closet.) Of course, for couples there’s also the…

03Apr 2009 by admin No Comments

Tips for Traveling with Baby

Travel Tips

If you’ve ever flown in the same plane as a screaming baby, you know exactly what Sartre meant in No Exit by “hell is other people.” If you’re the parent of said baby, you’re more likely to believe that your formerly sweet child is Virgil reincarnated, leading you into some unnamed 10th circle of hell. Either way, it’s an unpleasant experience. Luckily, though, Jen Leo of the LA Times has compiled a few helpful tips to make the experience a little less hellish: Bribe your seatmates into assistance, or at least a little tolerance. Starbucks gift cards work well, as do goodie bags containing ear plugs and sweet treats. Nurse or bottle feed during takeoff and landing. Be prepared. Extra diapers, extra clothes, blankets, plastic baggies, a thermometer, and Tylenol…

03Apr 2009 by admin No Comments

Hot Spots: Denver, Colorado

Colorado, Hot Spots

Former mining town Denver, Colorado, seems to be jumping to the top of several "best" lists as of late, including claiming the number one spot on the Pew Research Center's list of "America's Most Popular Big Cities." No doubt propelled by the attention it received last summer when it played host to the Democratic National Convention, the Mile High City beat out such cities as San Diego, Seattle, Orlando, and Tampa for the distinction. Colorado has always retained a storied reputation as an fresh-air enclave, an outdoor enthusiast's paradise, a nature lover's Eden. In more recent years, it has also gained notice for its cultural offerings such as the expanded Denver Art Museum and the burgeoning theater scene and its winning sports teams the Denver Broncos, Colorado Rockies, and the…

01Apr 2009 by admin 1 Comment

Dining with the Fishes

Maldives

What's better than soaking up the sun-spattered ambiance of the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort? How about basking in the rich reef and marine life 16 feet below sea level while dining at the Ithaa Undersea restaurant? At the resort's most unique dining establishment, diners are placed in a glass tunnel that seats 12 and feast on Maldivian-Western cuisine (which, perhaps inhospitably, includes surf-and-turf fare) while enjoying unfettered, 180-degree fish-gazing opportunities. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner only. Reservations up to 14 days in advance are recommended. The resort itself, which spans two islands, includes 50 water villas, 79 beach villas, and 21 spa water villas and is accessible only via a 30-minute seaplane flight from the capital, Male. Some 1,200 islands comprise the Maldives, located nearly 300…