Opus Hotel Vancouver...Great Seafood dinner...Jim's Deal of the Day

Stayed the night last night (still seems like last night, truth be told) at the Opus in Vancouver. Very cool lobby with tres modern furniture in the lobby and hugely helpful staff.

Great room with deep blue/indigo walls and a small sofa in deep red/purple with colourful cushions and a great bathroom with a window out into the bedroom. Of course, you can close the curtains and keep your privacy if that's what you want....

The lobby bar was filled with sleek looking Vancouverites on a Tuesday night but didn't get a chance to sample anything.

Bluewater Cafe was full so we strolled down Mainland to Gold Fish. Absolutely wonderful arctic char with a wonderful coconut/kaffir lime sauce and a smashing sample of sablefish prepared three ways. And a bottle of Gehringer Brothers Pinot Gris from the Okanagan.

A great spot for future reference, right in the heart of Yaletown. As is the Opus.

Gotta try to get here during the Olympics, although I suspect it'll be packed to the proverbial rafters.

JIM'S DEAL OF THE DAY

A new promotion from Air Canada Vacations offers two free hotel nights in London with the purchase of two London airfares. If you’re travelling on your own, you get one free night. Seven hotels are taking part in the deal, from the three-star Hotel Ibis London Earls Court to the four-star Holiday Inn London Kensington Forum. Bookings must be made by Sept. 22 for travel Oct. 22 – Dec. 12, 2009 and Jan. 8 – March 8, 2010 and the airfares must be purchased together for two passengers flying together to qualify. See www.aircanadavacations.com

Off to Kelowna, gotta run.....

 

 

 

Reading Travel Trends, Harry Potter at Universal and Jim's deal of the day

On the one hand, things are terrible. On the other, they're looking up. Yet they're still really bad.

It gets tough reading the old tea leaves in the travel biz these days, as evidenced by the flurry of good news/terrible news emails that came over the wires on a Tuesday morning in mid-September.

First the good news, at least for consumers. Hotels.ca and hotels.com say the average price of a hotel room around the world fell by 17 per cent in the first half of this year. Prices in Latin America (their words, not mine) fell 18 per cent, while North America prices were down 17 per cent and Europe down 16 per cent. Hotels in the Caribbean, however, and this is interesting, dropped just 2 per cent.

As for individual cities, they said rates were down 12 per cent in Vienna and 11 per cent in both Dublin and Florence. Milan rates dropped nine per cent, while those in Madrid dropped just 5 per cent.

Here in Canada, there were reports Air Canada said its traffic fell less than one percentage point in August, compared to 3.3 per cent in July and 9.1 per cent in June. WestJet, just to continue the good news/not so good pattern, found traffic fell 4.7 per cent in August, compared to the same in July and compared to a 7.1 per cent fall in June.

Cameron Doerksen, an analyst with Versant Partners, told the FInancial Post that the latest news in Canada "may be a sign that the bottom has been reached."

Yet a few minutes after I read that report, I saw something that said business travel to Britain dropped by 25 per cent in the first six months of this year. So go figure what it all means.

Finally, it might be time to lock in your cruise for the winter. Travel Weekly says Oceania Cruises raised their prices a whopping 40 per cent on Sept. 1 for its 2010 departures. They said another price hike is coming in January, this after what they said was a record-breaking month of August.

Travel Weekly quoted officials in the industry as saying that cruise ticket prices are "beginning to show some sequential improvement," which in industry jargon means higher prices; good for them, bad for us.

HARRY POTTER ON THE WAY

Universal Orlando folks today unveiled details about the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure. They're promising a "one-of-a-kind experience complete with multiple attractions, shops and a signature eating establishment."

Hogwarts hot dogs? Muggles muffins?

All prices 9-3/4?

Who knows?

Anyway, they said there will be a Hogwarts Express, Zonko's joke shop, Honeydukes, The Owlery and Dragon Challenge, a twin, high-speed roller coaster with "many iconic elements from the Triwizard Tournament."

I only read one of the books but it sounds pretty cool. They might just make some money off it, too.

JIM'S DEAL OF THE DAY

You might not associate an off-the-beaten-track destination like El Salvador with a big travel company like Nolitours. But the capital, San Salvador, has been a Nolitours destination for several years. Day trips from San Salvador include the Mayan ruins of Joya de Ceren, Izalco Volcano or the colonial city of Antigua. Or, you can just soak up the sun on the beach. Nolitours’ fall and winter sale includes San Salvador’s Royal Decameron Salinitas, a four-star all-inclusive with 552 rooms and five a la carte restaurants. Prices start at $699 per person for a seven night stay. Two more sale properties are the Gran Caribe Club Puntarena Cameleon in Varadero, from $399, and the Grand Paradise Playa Dorada from $499. See www.nolitours.com.

OAHU ON THE MOVE.....HOUSE OF CARDS.....JIM'S DEAL OF THE DAY

Big names are making big waves on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

Legendary musician Jimmy Buffett launched his new Jimmy Buffett's at the Beachcomber Resort in Waikiki earlier this year. Donald Trump's Trump Towers is slated to open in November as a hotel on the west end of Waikiki Beach, and it's being billed as Waikiki's first ultra-luxury hotel-condo project in Waikiki in 25 years. It's supposed to be home to a new outlet of the BLT Steakhouse brand.

The Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort and Spa, just down the beach from the Trump site, recently underwent a $400 million renovation/addition, including a new timeshare tower called the Grand Waikikian, plus a new pool, new five-acre lagoon and a new restaurant, Tropics Bar and Grill. Spokeswoman Dara Young, who stopped by the Star today with some colleagues to talk up Oahu tourism, says there are four waterslides at the hotel, including one that's 77-feet-long; longest in Waikiki.

Over at the Outrigger Reef, they've just finished a $110 million renovation with a new grill and new Hawaiian shows. I'm personally a huge fan of Hawaiian music, and any time you can hear a ukelele or slack-key guitar and Hawaiian lyrics on a warm night with palm trees swaying in the breeze is a great night.

The Ohana Waikiki Beach has a new package that's almost like an all-inclusive resort, where you get breakfast and dinner included at a choice of three breakfast spots and seven dinner places, including everything from Jimmy Buffett's to the International House of Pancakes.

Waikiki seems to have weathered the recession better than some places in Hawaii, but Nancy Daniels of the Outrigger Group says you can still find Ohana hotels in Waikiki for as little as $79 U.S. per night. Rooms at the Outrigger Reef, a lovely spot I first went to back in, uh, 1968, for $159 U.S.

Many folks know Oahu for Waikiki Beach and Pearl Harbour and Honolulu but seldom hear about other parts of the island. I did a drive around the southern part of the island last time I was there and it was terrific; lonely beaches and quiet spots to overlook the surf. There's also Sandy Beach, President Obama's favourite body surfing spot. (He's been forbidden to try it again, being slightly dangerous and all, yet they still allow him to try to settle the American health care system, which is nastier than any four-foot wave on Oahu. Go figure.)

Anyway, there are great spots up on the north shore, where thunderous surf rolls in in the winter and the big surfing championships are held at places like Waimea Bay. There's also great hiking in the western part of the island and in and around the Pali cliffs that hug the back of Honolulu. Not to mention Diamond Head, which I wrote about in the Star a couple weeks ago (see photo at right).

So, sure, take the kids to the International Market Place and ride the waves on a surfboard or a canoe, but don't forget there's an entire island to explore with lots of quiet and natural attractions. And some great little towns, including Haleiwa.

HOLIDAY INN HOUSE OF CARDS

Here's something you don't see everyday. Bryan Berg, who seems to have made a name for himself in the States as a "cardstacker," is building a 400-square-foot "Key Card Hotel" made up of plastic hotel "keys." It's said to be the first ever hotel made out of key cards, and who's to argue with that?

Holiday Inn says it's updating more than 3,300 hotels worldwide as part of a $1 billion project.

The "Key Card Hotel" includes a guest bedroom, bathroom and lobby, all with life-sized furniture Berg has fashioned out of Holiday Inn key cards.

Wonder what he studied in school.

JIM'S DEAL OF THE DAY

Sunwing is waiving its fuel surcharge on all sun packages, and that means savings worth $200 per couple. This deal applies to just about every city, beach and island in Sunwing’s line-up, including Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, Las Vegas and Florida. Bookings must be made by Sept. 18 for travel Dec. 21 – April 5. New with Sunwing this year are the ‘spice island’ of Grenada, diving mecca Belize, and Roatan Island and La Ceiba, both in Honduras. All flights are with Sunwing Airlines, where you can upgrade to Elite Plus (with more legroom and baggage allowance) for an extra $40 per flight. See www.sunwing.ca.

TOO MUCH SEX IN SPAIN...HOTEL TOILETRIES...JIM'S DEAL OF THE DAY.

Boy, things are getting goofy in Spain these days.

I ran across a story on Twitter (thanks to a London Times tweet, which was a referral from a story in the Spanish paper El Pais) today about how prostitutes have been having sex with johns in full view of tourists strolling along Las Rambla.

Nothing wrong with a little raunch, and Barcelona (see Las Rambla photo below) is known for a pretty laissez-faire attitude. But the German paper BILD (I won't link to it but if you're desperate to see the images you can probably find them) published photos of two women clearly engaged in sex with men in what looks like a fairly open part of the city. And that's way over the line.

Spain is, of course, a very religious country. But there's also an ability to shrug off sexual issues, at least some of the time. It makes for an interesting dynamic.

Fed up with the prostitutes, the Barcelona city council has voted to open more brothers in town, mostly around La Rambla. Locals, and opposition parties of course, have reacted in horror and have said the mayor wants to turn Barcelona into Amsterdam south.

Meanwhile, not far off shore on the island of Mallorca, there's a bar called Playa de Palma that apparently encourages sex parties. Many folks wouldn't care about that, but German tourists apparently have found that images of them cavorting on stage have made their way onto video, and back to Germany. This doesn't always go over well with the boss...or the spouse.

BILD, always up for a good sex story, says patrons are unaware they're being secretly filmed on mobile phones, with the footage being uploaded to various porn sites that I won't mention in a family blog.

My favourite part of the BILD story I spotted the other day was a comment from the local police.

"The nightclub's license does not cover sex parties," said one cop. "For that the owners need a pornography license."

"We will investigate it with our special department."

At least he didnt' say his "special unit."

PASS THE SOAP

Read a cool item on USA Today's hotel blog today. Barbara De Lollis reports that Holiday Inn will start putting Bath & Body Works products in its bathrooms; particularly, the Coconut Lime Verbena line. Coconut-lime sounds like a Jimmy Buffett tune to me, but I love both smells. I don't like using sunscreen, personally, unless it smells like coconut, cuz that always reminds me of Hawaii. Stupid, I know, but I admit it.

I've always had a thing for hotel toiletries, as the maids who have to replace the stuff in my room would probably attest.

I had reams of stuff at home until my wife and I cleaned most of it out the other day. I give a lot to my sister-in-law, but I'm also sentimentally attached to a little bottle I have with the name "Napili Kai Beach Club" on it, from Maui. And a small (well, kinda big, actually) jar of bath soap from Sandy Lane in Barbados.

Anyone care to admit if they're the same?

JIM'S DEAL OF THE DAY

The Bulfinch Boston wants you to ‘Cut the Bill at the Bull’ as it celebrates its fifth anniversary. With this promotion, a minimum three-night stay gets you a choice of five amenities, all priced at $5 (U.S.): overnight parking; continental breakfast; dry cleaning service; pressing service or a cocktail. The nightly rate with this deal starts at $159. The Bulfinch Boston is located in the city’s Bulfinch Triangle, in a nine-storey flatiron building with 80 rooms and suites. Nearby attractions include Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. See www.bulfinchhotel.com.

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE...WEST JET/PORTER DANCE...JIM'S DEAL OF DAY

Cool piece in USA Today by cruise blogger Gene Sloan on how a guy in Britain recently found a message in a wine bottle that an American kid had dumped off the side of a ship in the Caribbean five years ago.

Citing a story in the Baltimore Sun, Sloan says the bottle (we're not sure what kind) was crusted with barnacles and tossed off a Royal Caribbean ship in the Bahamas in June, 2004.

A retired electrician walking his dog on a beach in England found it in July and opened it up.

A note inside was from Daniel Knopp, who apparently dropped the bottle overboard when he was 14...and thought no more about it.

"Hello, my name is Daniel Knopp. I am on a cruise ship. I hope whoever reads this finds great joy. God bless. I live in the Baltimore/DC area," the note reads.

The bottle travelled some 4,000 miles and ended up on a beach in Cornwall.

I've always wanted to do something like that. But I don't like littering.

WEST JET KICKING PORTER TIRES?

Interesting item in the the business pages today about how West Jet is planning an equity offering to raise up to $172.5-million.

"WestJet intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to finance WestJet's capital expenditures, including future aircraft financing activities, and for general corporate purposes," the airline said  Last month, WestJet CEO Sean Durfy said he had "kicked the tires" of Porter Airlines Inc.

"Porter's got a business model that seems to be sustainable. But are we out actively pursuing Porter? I would say no," Mr. Durfy told the ROB.

Interesting. West Jet and Porter would be a pretty cool combo; great service and a little bit funky. It would be a considerably greater challenge for Air Canada than the current situation, you gotta think.

MULTIPLE CURRENCY ATM'S

Thomas Cook this week launched what they say is Canada’s first four-currency ATM. Located at their flagsthip Financial Services store at Yonge and Eglinton in Toronto, it offers withdrawal of Canadian and U.S. dollars, GB pounds and Euros.

"Over the next few months similar ATMs will be available in locations across Canada, with roll-out in cities including Barrie, Markham, Woodbridge, Mississauga, Kelowna and Saskatoon," officials said.

A recent Thomas Cook survey found that 50 per cent of Canadians have travelled outside of Canada in the past two years, and almost two thirds of those Canadians use foreign currency of the country they are visiting as their method of payment.

Four-currency ATM's? A great idea, I say.

JIM'S DEAL OF THE DAY

Hard to believe some people look forward to snow and ice. For all those skiers and snowboarders anticipating the first snowflake, there’s Sugarloaf’s Low Price Guarantee. Valid until Sept. 15, the Low Price Guarantee applies to any ski and stay package of two or more nights and promises not just a price match if rates go down later in the season, but savings too. A ‘Peak Weekend’ package in February or March, normally priced at $119 (U.S.) per person, per night, drops to $85 or less with the Low Price Guarantee promotion. Sugarloaf is in Carrabassett Valley, Maine. See www.sugarloaf.com (click on ‘Winter’ at the top right of the home page).

MEXICO BLUES...ATLANTIC CITY...DEAL OF THE DAY: MED. CRUISE

Poor Mexico. Every time they get knocked down they climb back up again. Only to take another haymaker to the head.

First it was the drugs/crime issue. Folks in the U.S. and Canada for the longest time were running stories on murders and mayhem in Mexico cities. Much of the problem was taking place in border cities or towns that tourists don't go to but the issue still proved difficult for the nation's tourism people.

Just as that started dying down, at least in terms of volume of publicity, came the swine flu scare. Out came another round of deep discounts from Mexican tourism folks. That situation died down, and tourists once again flocked to the sunny south.

Last week there was talk of a hurricane slamming into Los Cabos, but it didn't happen.

Things were looking pretty good for Mexico, and with fall in Canada and the U.S. rapidly approaching they were praying for stability and solid bookings. But then came yesterday's news that hijackers (admittedly Bolivian and not Mexican, not that it matters to passengers or would-be tourists) had taken control of a plane in Cancun, a tourist mecca, and had it flown to Mexico City.

The 104 passengers are said to have been released. But it'll take time for tourists to get over the shock.

For the latest, go to www.thestar.com.

MEET ME TONIGHT IN ATLANTIC CITY

Had a brief meeting this morning with Jeffrey Vasser of the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority. He was in town because West Jet will start daily flights from Toronto to Atlantic City on Oct. 22.

Vasser says the rules of the game have changed for his town.

"We had the East Coast monopoly (on gambling) for 25 years," he said. "Now, if someone wants to pull the lever on a slot machine they can do it close to home."

That has forced Atlantic City to move more into dining, entertainment, golf and spas. They're also drumming up more meeting business.

"We'll never be Vegas. They have 140,000 rooms. But we have 18,000 first class hotel rooms and lots of folks in the U.S. don't have to get on a plane to visit. We're an hour from Philadelphia and two hours from New York City."

There's also a weekend train from Penn Station to Atlantic City that costs only $29 one-way, with just a single stop in Newark along the way.

Vasser says Atlantic City is home to new restaurants with names such as Bobby Flay and Wolfgang Puck attached, as well as a branch of the famed Il Mulino. They're also bringing in New York DJ's to liven up the entertainment scene.

"We're getting 20 to 30-year-olds who never thought of Atlantic City as their kind of place. To some New Yorkers, we're still the place where grandma goes for four or five hours, drops a roll of quarters and leaves."

There are top-notch golf courses in the area, Vasser says, including Galloway National, as well as non-gaming hotels that range from the Water Club to the new, boutique-style Chelsea and a Courtyard Marriott.

"We also found that two-thirds of our visitors are women. We get a lot of bachelorette parties."

Bachelorettes? Golf? Hey, guys, I think they may be on to something.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Got news of a new hotel offering a "rough draft" opening in New York city next week. It's called Ink48, located at 11th St. and 48th Avenue and operated by the Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants.

Ink48, formerly the VU Hotel, is "named to reflect the building's printing press history," they say.

It's got 222 rooms with "unobstructed panoramic views of Times Square and the Hudson River" and can be booked for stays beginning Oct. 1

The rough draft rate is available for, wait for it, 48 per cent of the regular "rack" rate, which starts at $429 per night. So that means rooms would be in and around $200 U.S., plus tax, etc... Pretty good and a nice location.

It's funny how so many hotels are coming up with short, snappy names. There's the W chain, of course, which is about as simple as you can get. I stayed at the Ace Hotel in New York recently (lower midtown, Broadway area; see photo below and right) and just loved it.

There's also Stay in New York, and probably a lot of others I have no knowledge of.

Maybe some of the sports people should follow suit. I mean, who needs Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. How about just calling it "O."

Montreal had the Big O, but the ballpark in Baltimore would be kind of a lower-case O. It was the first of the new, retro-style parks and most folks say it's still the best. I was lucky enough to cover baseball for the Star when it opened and always enjoyed trips to Baltimore and walking around the inner harbour. It's a fabulous ballpark. Some of the other retro parks are pretty good, including the one in Cleveland, but the little O is still at the top of most people's lists.

JIM'S DEAL OF THE DAY

Louis Cruises’ new ship, the Louis Majesty, sails the Mediterranean this December with reduced rates for holiday season itineraries. The six-day Christmas Cruise, departing Genoa Dec. 20 with stops in Marseilles, Port Mahon (Menorca), Tunis, La Valletta (Malta) and Trapani (Sicily), leads in at $500 (U.S.) per person, down from the brochure price of $1,165. There’s also an eight-day Iberian Coasts New Year’s cruise out of Genoa Dec. 26, to ports including Gibraltar, Tangier, Casablanca and Barcelona (still a great town last time I checked; see photo), from $815, down from $1,565. These two itineraries can be combined for a 14-day cruise. Louis Cruises also has savings for honeymooners, plus kids 18 and under sail free with paid adults. See www.louiscruises.com.

KINGSTON TRIPPING...WESTERN CANADA TIPS...EMILY'S FAREWELL

I should get in traffic jams more often.

Returning from Kingston on Labour Day Monday, I got stuck in a bad jam (imagine) on the 401 between Trenton and Grafton. Being slightly familiar with the area thanks to a visit to Ste. Anne's Spa earlier this year, I opted to get off the 401 and head down to Highway 2.

You'd think a million folks would think the same thing, but I reached Highway 2 in about three minutes, then drove west through Grafton and Colborne at 80 to 90 clicks before getting past the accident. I quickly jogged back north to the 401 and that was it.

I might have saved only a few minutes, but it was great to get off the dullest highway in Ontario and onto Highway 2. I drove past small farms and motels and a guy who had built a corn maze in his fields. It made me wonder how folks make a living these days in agriculture in Ontario. But at least it was thinking about something different and getting a closer view of real folks and real towns, including cute little Grafton. You can buzz along at a good speed pretty much the whole way, and it's a great alternative route. Next time I head east, I'm thinking of doing Highway 2 as much as I can from Oshawa to Kingston. Maybe I should do it on a motorcycle?

WHALES AND BABOONS PROVIDE AN AFRICAN FAREWELL

Star reporter Emily Mathieu has filed her final post from South Africa. She didn't have much luck finding great white sharks but she did some across some cool whales and more baboons. Check her report at www.thestar.com/travel.

ADVICE FOR OUT WEST

A lifetime acquaintance of mine who loves to get out on the road for driving trips recently returned from a late summer trip to British Columbia and had some interesting tidbits.

 

He stayed at the Coast Bastion Inn Nanaimo and thought it was great. Nice room right across from the water, a tidy boardwalk, friendly people.

 

He had booked the MacQueen Manor, a B and B, in Kamloops but wasn't sure he had the right address. He stopped at a gas station and as he asked directions, a woman in line next to him said, "You mean Pat MacQueen? She was my sorority sister. I'll drive you there."

 

How nice is that?

 

The MacQueen Manor didn't look like a typical B and B but he said they had a nice room and a tremendous breakfast, a comment borne out by a report I spotted on tripadvisor.com.

 

He loved Banff (who doesn't) and the gondola and recommends the Douglas Fir Inn; just a couple minutes out of town.

 

He wasn't so crazy about the woman in charge of a B and B he stayed at in Nelson, B.C. (not friendly) and thought the Sylvia Hotel on English Bay in Vancouver was nice and has a great location but needs some sprucing up.

 

Oh, and he remembered Peachland, B.C. from a trip back in roughly 1965 and thought it was great.

 

So there you go. I gotta say he's never lied to me. I don't think.

 

RELIEF FOR AMERICAN TRAVELLERS?

 

Long-rumoured talk of a bill that would help passengers stuck on airplanes is heating up again. USA Today reports that "airlines are losing another ally in their fight to stop Congress from passing a law that would allow passengers to get off planes delayed at least three hours on airport tarmacs."

 

The story goes on to say that the Business Travel Coalition is slated to come out in the favour of the move, a position it hadn't taken in the past.

 

There's been talk of a passenger bill of rights in Canada, too, but it appears to be stalled. Or perhaps just waiting for Parliament to resume.

 

Hey, with the Liberals seemingly falling in the polls, maybe this is something Michael Ignatieff should pick up on. Or maybe he'd sound elitist. Of course, he could link the airline bit with the potential loss of Greyhound service in remote parts of Canada and look pretty good...

 

JIM'S DEAL OF THE DAY

 

Timing the Canadian-U.S. exchange rate is like timing the stock market – compelling in theory but just about impossible in practice. The Ojai Valley Inn & Spa gets rid of the guesswork with its at-par rate for Canadian guests, valid straight through until the end of the year. The California resort, 35 minutes south of Santa Barbara and 90 minutes from LAX, is located in the culture-rich town of Ojai, known for its ‘Pink Moment’ sunsets and home to the oldest competitive tennis tournament in the U.S. Both tennis and golf are available at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, along with on-site dining featuring California central coast cuisine. The at-par rate applies to the property’s Bed & Breakfast package. See www.ojairesort.com.

 

GOOD TORONTO REVIEW IN USA TODAY...HOT/SPICY FESTIVAL IN T.O.

Nice words from writer Laura Bly in USA Today's travel section today.

Early on her piece she referrred to the upcoming film festival and wrote that "one of North America's most cosmopolitan and (typically Canadian) understated destinations is camera-ready."

Bly went on to talk about how U.S. passport rules have hurt Toronto tourism and how "even the weather conspired against the city, as an unusually cool, rainy summer frustrated locals and visitors who gravitate to Toronto's sidewalk cafes and inviting (really?) Lake Ontario waterfront."

She also got in some good lines about Daniel Libeskind, saying that folks refer to his ROM extension as either a downed jet or a "geometric tumour."

I hadn't heard that one.

Bly talks about Queen West as a hipster haven and recommends the peameal bacon at St. Lawrence Market. But she also talks about kangaroo burgers at the market, and that's a new one on me. Gotta check it out tomorrow....

EMILY IN SOUTH AFRICA

The Star's Emily Mathieu won't get her final chance to drop into a cage and look for great white sharks until Saturday. But she's making the most of her opportunities by giving readers a lovely tour of Table Mountain in South Africa; one of those iconic places we all would get to visit in our lifetimes if there was any justice in the world.

Check her out at www.thestar.com/travel. She's doing a great job.

WHAT TO BUY A PRINCE?

Apparently it's something of a royal no-no to surprise Prince Philip with a present on his birthday. Freelancer Janie Robinson tells the tale in the Saturday Travel section. You can read it online now at www.thestar.com. You also can log on and read her accompanying story, as well as a piece on the ultra-chic Hotel Missoni in Edinburgh.

SOME LIKE IT HOT

Had a great meal Friday thanks to Louisiana tourism folks, so thanks for that. They'll be down at Harbourfront this weekend at the Hot + Spicy Food Festival, so check out the great gumbo and other treats.

There's also Louisiana/Cajun music, including a 9:30 p.m. Sunday show by Irma Thomas, "the soul queen of New Orleans." Thomas will give a talk at 6:30 p.m.

Also appearing is Terrance Simien for a little zydeco music. And there's a face-off between chefs from Mexico and Louisiana on Sunday at 4:30 p.m.

For more information, go to www.harbourfrontcentre.com

WHAT, ALL THE HOTELS WERE FULL?

Got a note from the Kauai visitors' bureau to say that actress Mitzi Gaynor is making a trip to the Garden Isle, the most beautiful island in Hawaii. What I don't get is this is her first trip since she filmed South Pacific up around Lumahai Beach on the north shore.

To which I'm thinking, "Mitzi, my girl, WHAT ON EARTH TOOK YOU SO LONG?" You couldn't get an invitation? You had to cut the grass?

 

JIM'S DEAL OF THE DAY

A three night stay at The Rosseau, A JW Marriott Resort and Spa will get you a $150 resort credit valid towards everything from dining and drinks to spa treatments, golf and purchases at the property’s Country Market. The deal is available through the end of the year and requires a weekend stay including a Friday, Saturday or Sunday night. The Rosseau, overlooking Lake Rosseau in Muskoka, recently completed its last phase of development and now offers a new wing of rooms and suites near the shoreline. Visit www.jwrosseau.com or call 1-866-240-8605.

It's like having your own cottage. Minus the dock repairs.

Have a great Labour Day weekend and see ya Tuesday.

-

MOVING DAY...PREVIEW OF SATURDAY STAR TRAVEL

Sorry, nothing to report today. Moving my youngest son to Queen's for second year of studies.

He was in residence last year but this year living with six guys...and his house is connected to a house with seven other guys. A quick check with my abacus reveals that to be 14 guys under one extended roof, and I personally don't think there's enough Mr. Clean in Kingston to look after that place for eight months.

Should be interesting.

Anyway, back to the world of travel and a new deal of the day on Friday. Don't forget to read today's Star travel section for a story on the sexual shenanigans surrounding the spiffy High Line Park in New York City, as well as a piece on the most hated building in Warsaw.

On Saturday we've got a story on Merida, Mexico by former Star baseball writer Allan Ryan, who does a fine, quirky job on the Yucatan and Merida. There's also a piece, most soitenly worth reading, on the Three Stooges Museum in Pennsylvania. It's a well-written, fun story and definitely worth checking out if you have any fondness at all for Moe, Larry, Curly and/or Shemp.

Lots more, too, including Richard Ouzounian on six meals along the Rideau Canal. And more on over-rated tourist spots around the world.

If you've got any places you think are over-rated, drop me a line at jbyers@thestar.ca. You can make your comments anonymous if you're fearful of reprisal from a foreign tourist board!

See ya

TOP 10 UK SITES, COTTAGE COUNTRY SITE, DEAL OF DAY: BERMUDA

Gosh, we're boring.

Looking at the travelmole.com web site this morning, I spotted a survey by a group called First Rate Exchange Services that listed people's favourite places to go in the UK. And, boy, are we a predictable race of people.

Here's the list.

1. Trafalgar Square

2. Tower Bridge

3. London Museums

4. Buckingham Palace

5. Oxford Street

6. London Eye

7. Windsor Castle

8. Edinburgh Castle

9. Stonehenge

10. Globe Theatre, London

Trafalgar Square is fine, but number one in all the UK? Really? I was in London for just a couple days recently and it's a great city for simply walking. In that sense, Trafalgar is fine. But I'd take Westminster Abbey over Trafalgar Square. Or High Park or Buckingham Palace.

The London Eye, on the other hand, is pretty cool. If you've been there a day or two, it's a perfect spot to get a sense of where things are.

Stonehenge is fine, although timesonline recently spouted that Avebury, only a half hour away, has more impressive stones and a far more accessible site.

What about St. Andrews, for golf's sake? What about crossing Abbey Road? What about the sex shops in London's west end? Sorry, I keep forgetting this is a family blog.

Too bad, but I don't see Wales in there anywhere. I'm headed to Wales next month for a golf trip but hope to see a bit of the countryside and maybe, just maybe, check out a pub or six.

If you've got any UK favourites of your own, lemme know at jbyers@thestar.ca

ONTARIO COTTAGE COUNTRY SITE

Got a note the other day from some folks behind a new web site, www.cottagecountry.com. Hard to tell at a short glance, but it looks like it's worth checking out. You can find cottages in different areas all over the country and in various sizes and price categories.

I spotted a couple cottages near Bala, a great cottage town on Lake Muskoka, and a couple in Newfoundland. The Newfoundland place was a 3-bedroom spot near Tors Cove (below), an area I really fell in love with a couple years back.

It was listed at $1,400 for a week, which seems high for Newfoundland. But the attached review made it sound pretty good.

They also have information on B and B's and info on recreation opportunities, such as golf courses.

Can't say how it works, but it looks useful.

JIM'S DEAL OF THE DAY

If you’re charmed by the rosy hue of Bermuda’s sand, you’ll love the colour of the cottages at Cambridge Beaches Resort & Spa – pink, of course. Ranked by Travel + Leisure magazine as one of the world’s best hotels for service, the Bermuda property is offering 25 per cent off its standard room rates for travel through the end of the year, on bookings made by Sept. 18 with a minimum four night stay. Diversions at Cambridge Beaches are numerous: four private beaches, afternoon tea in the historic main house, on-site bicycle, moped and kayak rentals and croquet and tennis, just to name a few. And the Port Royal Golf Course is five minutes away (as is Royal Naval Dockyard Clocktower Mall). See www.cambridgebeaches.com.