The lowdown on lower Manhattan...Wickaninnish Inn in B.C. top spa award

New York City (you may have heard of it) has launched a campaign called "Get More NYC: Lower Manhattan."

It's aimed at revitalizing the bottom of Manhattan Island, which isn't quite the most glamourous part of town. Still, there are some terrific options.

I stayed at the very nice Thompson hotel in the financial district, called the Thompson Gild Hall. It's on Gold Street and it's quite a nice spot. The service was spotty when I was there last summer, and it was a little hard to find a New York Times on Sunday morning given the paucity of shops. But there's a great bar and restaurant in the hotel, a cool, masculine lobby (see photo) and a terrific, second-floor library.

There are some nice restaurants in the area, and it's only a short walk to one of the best parts of Manhattan - Water Street, with tons of pubs and picnic tables set up on the street and people - gasp - walking about with cans of beer.

Lower Manhattan has great parks at Battery Park and there's been lots of renovations down near the World trade Centre site. There's also cool cemeteries as this is the original settlement for European settlers in New York City.

I find the South St. Seaport too touristy but kids probably would like it.

WICKANINNISH SPA AWARD

The Ancient Cedars Spa at the stunning Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino, B.C. has been voted the top year-round Resort Spa in Canada in the 2011 Spa Poll conducted by Conde Nast Traveler.

I don't know a lot about spas, but I found this one particularly wonderful on a visit a couple years back. There's lots of cedar and wood and they soak your feet in wonderful water with marbles and roll them about and you can get a massage with the sound of the sea just meters away; the smell of the trees and the sea salt tingling in your nose.

The hotel itself also is stunning, and the food at the restaurant, The Pointe, is magnificent. Easily one of the great hotels of North America...