Terrific stay at Taboo Resort in magical Muskoka, Ontario

There are few things better than a weekend in Muskoka.

The water, the rocks, the trees, the clean air. A good book down by the water and maybe a swim. And, of course, a beverage of choice.

I arrived up at Taboo Resort on Saturday and had a nice lunch at the Boathouse restaurant, where you can get anything from a chicken taco to pulled pork on a Panini and watch the boats come into the dock or the birds swoop past offshore islands. It looked like rain but things cleared up nicely in the afternoon and I took advantage of the free kayaks; paddling my way down to Muskoka Beach and then down the oh-so-quiet Hoc Roc River. There are a couple of fine homes right near Lake Muskoka.

After that, the homes become more modest among the thick, green reeds and purple flowers. The river was still as can be Saturday afternoon, and I could see puffy white clouds and evergreens and birch trees reflected in the water as I paddled my way down. I passed a father and a couple kids, but that was about it.

It’s completely different, of course, but it almost felt like I was Huckleberry Finn or something as it was so quiet and such a world away from the resort.

I’d forgotten how nice the grounds are at Taboo, where they have both hotel rooms and cottages; some of them steps from a good-sized beach with lawn chairs and a beach volleyball court. There’s also swimming pools and tennis and water sports - the canoes and kayaks are free but motor boats cost a pretty penny given gasoline costs these days.

I’m not sure I’d have designed the restaurant, Elements, the same way as they did.  The views of Lake Muskoka through the floor-to-ceiling glass are tremendous, but I find the fireplace and the décor a little too slick. I would personally prefer a slightly more woodsy tone, but that’s just me.

I’m happy to report that the food, which of course is the main thing, is tremendous. I tried a seared bluefin tuna appetizer that was rolled in crispy sesame seeds that was wonderful and a lobster risotto that was out of this world. I took a flyer on some ostrich that was about as tender and flavourful a cut of meat as I’ve ever had; more like beef than I had expected.

Absolutely one of the best meals I’ve had anywhere in the world.

Breakfast was good, although it took an awful long time to get a bowl of oatmeal and they were out of bananas. The frittata with egg whites, peppers, onions, spinach and goat cheese was first-rate, however, and the coffee was rich and just shy of too strong.

I had a suite on the fifth floor, with a good-sized bedroom and a huge bathroom upstairs, plus another bedroom, then a full kitchen and living area on the main floor. There was a small balcony off the living room with nice views of the lake, but the paint was flaking and peeling badly. Not the sort of thing one would expect from a top-notch resort. There were no signs of wear and tear anywhere else, so perhaps they’re close to fixing things up. And it didn’t really detract from a great experience. But, still...

Sunday morning I took advantage of good weather to play most of a round at Taboo’s 18-hole golf
course across the road. It’s in fabulous shape and it’s a beauty of a course; with plenty of nice vistas and exposed rock and a good variety of shapes to the holes; some big, sweeping shots ideal for the Arnold Palmer-type draw players of the world and a few that fade us Jack Nicklaus-style faders. Some great par-three holes, as well.

There were only a dozen or so folks with starting times on Sunday, which is pretty shocking. But the resort looked reasonably full and there was a good crowd at Elements on Saturday night, so they must be doing okay.

All in all, a great spot in my favourite part of the world.

More later this week, but I'm on holidays and not checking in as regularly as I usually do....

 

No Toronto Olympics ... Big Vegas dinner ... YouTube pilot recruiting by BA

 I'm kind of pleasantly surprised this morning, reading that Mayor Rob Ford's people have put the kybosh to the latest Toronto Olympic scheme. It's an eminently sensible position, but still makes me a little sad.

I covered all 157 both of the city's Summer Olympic bids for the Star, those being 1996 and 2008. The latter one was an impossible dream and was dependent on the Chinese doing something very silly. They didn't, our mayor did (the famous quote about being boiled by cannibals or such in Africa) and the rest is history.

Nineteen ninety six, on the other hand, is the one that sticks in my craw a little. Early on, Greece was seen as the obvious winner as 1996 was the anniversary of the 1896 birth of the modern Olympics. But Toronto plumber and Olympic activist Paul Henderson knew the Greeks might falter, so he launched a Toronto bid. The Canadian team quickly rose up the charts and Toronto, for a time, was seen as the front-runner.

But the NDP faction at City Hall, led by then councillor Jack Layton, wanted to attach many conditions on the bid, most notably a quest for affordable housing near the waterfront. The Bread Not Circuses people, with monetary help from City Hall itself, stirred up all sorts of negative publicity, and Atlanta came up with the winning bid. Yes, there were allegations of some dirty work by the Georgia bidders as well, with a huge surge in support among African IOC members suddenly popping up a couple months before the vote was held.

That's politics. But what's a shame, I think, is that 1996 - and 2000 - were the last of the manageable Olympics to be held. We all know what happened in the U.S. in September of 2001, and it changed everything for Olympic cities. There was security in Sydney, but it was nothing like the hassles and costs involved in Salt Lake in 2002 and in Olympic cities since.

The bill for security alone at most Olympics these days is said to be around a billion dollars, and one can only imagine what hidden costs there might be for London next year. And it's all money down the drain; no improvements to the city unless you want to count holding cells or lasers or new police cars or electronic eavesdropping devices.

I don't think it's worth it any more, and, quite frankly, the city of Toronto has done quite well without the Games. Yeah, it's taken us 20 years to get to where we might've been in 1996 had we won the Summer Games, but we DO have a much-improved waterfront with new parks and restaurants (I'm going to one today) and other changes. We have a stronger cultural base. We have new, five-star hotels popping up all over town.

We don't really NEED the Olympics any more.

But it still surprised me a little to read this morning that Doug Ford, the mayor's brother, was downplaying the concept of a 2020 Summer Olympic bid. He and Councillor Doug Holyday, a pretty sensible guy in my opinion, both suggested the city simply doesn't have the money, and that neither do other levels of government. Right on all three counts.

Olympic supporters claim there's no money needed from the city right now, but sooner or later there would be. And part of me says, "Good for you, boys" for saying no to the idea right now.

Yes, the Pan Am Games of 2015 will boost the city's profile. And the 2020 Summer Olympics might be the best chance Toronto will EVER have to win, since it appears there won't be a U.S. bid and the Summer Games haven't been in North America since Atlanta.

(That in itself would've been unthinkable 15 or 20 years ago, but the IOC has become much broader in its thinking. Hence the 2016 Summer Games in Rio and the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea).

But I agree it's not the right time for Toronto. One thing this COULD mean is that Quebec will bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, so stay tuned for that.

BIG VEGAS DINNER

Thanks to Vegas expert and Star Travel correspondent Kathleen Kenna for this report...

Top chefs from the top restaurants in Las Vegas gather Oct. 16 for a $295-a-plate dinner to raise money for James Beard Foundation grants.

      It’s the 10th annual Jean-Louis Palladin Dinner, held in honor of the late New York chef praised as “the greatest French chef in North America.”

      Palladin won world attention for using unusual ingredients, fresh from farms and seas, and serving them at first-class restaurants, such as his first restaurant, “Jean-Louis” at the Watergate in Washington, D.C., and later, NAPA, in Las Vegas.

     He changed fine cuisine in North America, and mentored many young chefs, before dying of cancer in New York in 2001.

     This dinner honors Palladin’s techniques, with a menu ranging from wild Columbia River sturgeon to Togarishi-crusted Australian Kobe beef.

     Brian Howard, executive chef at Comme Ca at the Cosmopolitan is creating sea urchin tongues with sea urchin flan and sea urchin sauce. Executive chefs Geno Bernardo and Barry Dakake of the Palm’s N9NE Steakhouse and NOVE Italiano are serving organic chicken from Mary’s Farm with fresh truffles.

     Also on the menu: Maine lobster, domestic Sevruga caviar, white truffles, and Kashmir-style, Tandoori prawns. Among many desserts is a dark chocolate Grand Marnier Linzet tart from celebrity chef Megan Romano, executive pastry chef at Aureole at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.

     Top chef Andre Rochat hosts this seven-course dinner at his Alize restaurant at the Top of the Palms, on the 56th floor of the Palms Casino Resort. It offers a 280-degree view of Las Vegas and the desert.

     MC for the event will be “celebrity journalist” Robin Leach, who lives in Las Vegas.

     Proceeds benefit the Jean-Louis Palladin work/study grant, up to $10,000 for working chefs.

     For reservations: 702.951.7000. More info: www.jamesbeard.org.

YOUTUBE PILOTS? UM.....

My first reaction was I thought I had fallen asleep and awakened on April Fools' Day. But apparently it's not a joke.

A story in the Belfast Telegraph states that British Airways has launched its biggest pilot recruitment drive in a decade and that they're using YouTube as part of the plan. It sounds goofy, but apparently they'll be posting information on YouTube about their training programs, and in that context it makes perfect sense.

American President Barack Obama used social media to his advantage in the 2008 election and almost certainly will try again. So why not? The old codger in me thinks it's silly, but no matter how you initially contact someone they still have to go through formal training like every other applicant. And if you want to reach a broad base of folks these days, YouTube and Twitter and other social media obviously are hugely important.

Just don't forget to take out an ad in the Star, too, okay guys?

 

Qantas's questionable programming: the female orgasm at 36,000 feet

At the risk of sounding like a Tea Party person from Ohio, I have to wonder about this.

The Daily Mail in the UK has a fun item about how Qantas has been including a TV show about female orgasms as part of its on-air entertainment programming. It's said to be a little bit on the graphic side now and then, with snippets from old porn films (hopefully vintage ones that are more like burlesque than something along the lines of Deep Throat).

The film, which was (figures) made in France, is said to be aimed at helping viewers "understand the intricacies of the female orgasm."

Qantas spokesman Luke Enright told the Daily Mail the program was the most popular on its TV channel and would continue to be screened until November.

Sounds intellectually quite interesting, and probably of considerable help to those of us heterosexual males of the married persuasion. But I don't know about showing it on an airplane, even if there's a warning given before people push the button, so to speak.

Like I said, I'm not a prude. But I really wouldn't want my six-year-old, if I had one, to be sitting next to a guy watching the show. It's one thing to be handing out pyjamas in biz class, but raincoats?

I was once on a flight and got an upgrade to business class and watched a Mexican movie that sounded racy but fine. Pretty soon there were naked bodies all over the place (well, not really, but a couple) and some fairly graphic stuff going on, and I had to close down my tv screen and point it away from other passengers for fear of being extremely embarrassed.

(I seem to recall a conversation once with a Toronto sports writer who had talked to a member of the Philadelphia Phillies back in the 1990s and how the player had said he would openly read pornographic magazines on an airplane, which is a pretty stupid and remarkably insensitive, even for someone from Philadelphia.)

Anyway, it's always interesting to get into airplane etiquette. It never ceases to amaze me how people can be so callous and forget the rules of basic decency by slamming back their seats or trimming their nails or playing obnoxiously loud video games, such as the guy two seats from me did on my way back from Jamaica last month.

I read a couple of interesting items in USA Today Travel this week, as well, about how folks who dress up a little get more upgrades at the airline counter, and at hotels. Which makes sense. I don't mind someone wearing shorts and a Hawaiian shirt on a trip to the Caribbean, but I've never understood people who wear tattered, old clothes on a flight from Toronto to, say, New York or Los Angeles. You don't have to get dressed up like Don Draper or anything, but a nice pair of pants and a shirt surely isn't too much to ask.

Don't even get me started on those teenage girls who were wearing pajamas on board planes a few years ago. Arrrggggghhh.

 

 

Stupid tourism slogans of Europe ... Australia embracing new casinos?

Beautiful Barrie - "Ontario's Most Progressive City."

Brea - "The City of Oil, Oranges and Opportunity."

 Andorra - "Best Possible Welcome to Tourists."

Funny how some slogans never quite catch on,isn't it? Remember North York - the city with a heart, and those stupid road signs with the big red splotch on them? Ugh. Embarrassing.

But probably only middle-of the-barrel when it comes to slogans.

I spotted a funny item at lonelyplanet.com the other day, talking about the best and worst slogans in
Europe. And it always amazes me how silly some of them can be. I mean, not everyone can pull off something as simple as "I Love New York," but who on earth came up with "It's Got to be Austria?"

As lonelyplanet's wag wrote, "actually, no it doesn't."

Austria is a beautiful country (see photo above for typical alpine scenery that could be, um, Switzerland for all we can tell), but the slogan is empty.

Some slogans, of course, aren't bad. Latvia says "Best Enjoyed Slowly" and I kinda like that. Switzerland says "Get Natural," and that, too, sounds good. It probably doesn't hurt that when you start to look at the words you think it might be saying, "Get Naked," or maybe that's just me? I mean, there are a lot of naked people in Europe; hikers and bathers and all. Aren't there?

France, and I didn't know this, doesn't even have a slogan. Thirty years ago it could've been "A rude waiter awaits," but nowadays they're just so darn nice over in Paris and it wouldn't work. Liechenstein, likewise, doesn't have a slogan. But the country isn't big enough to hold one, anyway.

The better slogans have something clever or, like the one in Switzerland, at least give a hint as to what they're trying to market. When Ontario license plates say "Yours to Discover," it carries no meaning of any kind. Mind you, it's better than the declarative New Hampshire plate - "LIve Free or Die."

Those crazy Americans. I bet THEY don't have city councillors who feel the need to start a Facebook page that tries to keep out communists like the new one that Toronto councillor Giorgio Mammoliti has. I hadn't realized Toronto was so infiltrated by commies, so I really want to thank Mammoliti for bringing it to my attention. I read the story about him in the Star this morning and, thankfully, was able to warn my son to peer behind trees on our North Toronto street and to keep an eye out on the subway ride downtown today, lest he be attacked by someone carrying "we want our libraries" literature.

AUSSIES WANT CASINOS?

I don't know about this, either. I read an item in the Australian Telegraph the other day, saying that folks in the tourism biz are talking about new casino's to try to attract more travellers.

Gee, aren't awesome beaches and wineries and the Sydney Opera House and ferry boats and the 
Outback and kangaroos enough? Maybe not.

"There is this 1970s view that casinos are just for gaming, but that is no longer the case," John Lee, Tourism and Transport Forum CEO, said in an interview with the Telegraph. "In terms of inbound tourism, the biggest forward market is the Chinese market and they enjoy their food and enjoy a bet. We shouldn't have to apologize for developing the right sort of product to accomodate that."

Yes, you should.

 

Tourism issues in London and Greece...Anyone else tired of brown hotel rooms?

All that good p.r. from the one-year-to-go-for-the-Olympics - gone straight into the dustbin.

It's too bad to see the images of rioting in London. Mostly, I feel bad for innocent shopkeepers and car-owners and citizens who no doubt are standing by watching their world go up in flames. It's one thing to protest against the cops or against government, but it's another thing entirely to do so the way they are in London, as you can see by this scary photo in The Guardian.

There's no indication that folks gawking outside Buckingham Palace or picnicking in Green Park are in any danger. But it has to give people pause and it certainly tarnishes the image of a place that the mayor, Boris Johnson, recently called "the world's best big city."

Word Tuesday afternoon was that VisitBritain, the tourism and travel authority for the UK, had pulled a series of ads with the tag line "You're Invited." The ads feature the likes of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and actress Dame Judi Dench.

For its part, the International Olympic Committee is saying it has "complete confidence" in London's ability to keep the Olympics safe. Yeah, and Tiger Woods has complete confidence his new golf swing will pay off with a win at the PGA Championship this week.

Things are worse in Greece, where taxi drivers on Santorini recently protested government austerity moves.

One restaurant manager on Santorini told NY1 News in New York City that business was down a whopping 40 per cent in the last three years.

Things could get worse quite soon, as the government's Value Added Tax on restaurant and bar purchases will rise 10 per cent in September, jumping from 13 to a very solid 23 per cent. I doubt tourists will be leaving anyone much of a tip after getting a 2.30 Euro tax on a 10 Euro meal or drink, so it's likely that struggling servers will take a hit.

Tough times everywhere. I read yesterday that RBC has slashed its expected performance numbers for the Canadian airline industry.

Citing "alarming macroeconomic signals," the bank said there's little to suggest any improvement in the short term for the likes of Air Canada and WestJet.

PLAZA IN VEGAS

Sin City fans should be happy to know a $35 million makeover of the downtown Plaza Las Vegas hotel and casino is ahead of schedule and on track to re-open Sept. 1 (just as the higher taxes take effect in Greece, not that it's even remotely relevant).

The CEO of Play LV, Tony Santo, said he was able to buy bargain furnishings and even wallpaper from the folks who had planned to open the Fontainebleau project on the Strip, and isn't it nice to see some recycling going on at the highest levels?

The rooms look nice but, personally, I'm getting a little tired of muted brown. I think in four years muted brown will be the avocado-coloured refrigerator of our decade, or at least I hope so. Hey, I just noticed an avocado-coloured throw on the bed!

Associated Press reports the Plaza will have a new casino floor, lounges, entertainment and several restaurants, including a steakhouse named for Oscar Goodman, the highly entertaining former mayor. I saw Goodman once on 60 Minutes and couldn't believe I hadn't read more about him. I mean, the man made Mel Lastman look like, well, Margaret Atwood.

The website for CBS News has a pretty good piece on him if you want to check it out.

 

Hotel rates for London 2012 Summer Olympic Games: let the gouging begin!

It figured to happen, but it's still astonishing to see a report by Oliver Smith in the Daily Telegraph that talks about how a few London hotels are hiking normal rates by as much as 10 times for next summer's Olympics.

Smith reports that a majority of hotels haven't released their rates for the Olympics period (uly 27-Aug. 12) next year but that a double room at the Sheraton Park Tower in Knightsbridge (see photo) is being quoted at an incredible $979 per night. This month, however, you can get a room for the relative bargain price of $338.

It's far worse at the Berjaya Hotel in Kensington, where room rates typically range from $144 to $322, but for the Olympics are currently set at, wait for it, $1,616. That's even more than an airline ticket from Toronto once you add in the bag fees and taxes and licenses and airsick bag stocking fees and carpet cleaning taxes and pretzel processing fees.

Having covered the Olympics for some 23 years, I suspect it won't end up nearly as bad. I mean, everyone THINKS they're going to get rich on the Olympics. Few people do.

Oh, rates will be up. Certainly they'll be up. And the top hotels will be quite full. But the smaller places out in Oxford or down in Dover who think they're going to capitalize on some huge influx of wealthy Americans or Qatar residents are likely to be disappointed, just as nobody out in Abbotsford I know of became independently wealthy from the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

Tom Jenkins, chief executive of the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA), told the Telegraph that previous experience shows visitor numbers to London are unlikely to rise next summer. Which makes sense. The Olympics bring money and tourists, but almost anyone who normally would visit London in summer will instead pack off for Paris or Barcelona and avoid the five-ring crunch. Which is what happens in almost every Olympic city.

The Telegraph story said hotel rates in Beijing during the 2008 Olympics "were up to 10 times more expensive than normal, a figure that is thought to have contributed to a 30 per cent decline in visitors to the city in 2008 compared with the previous year."

“Mega events like the Olympics are primarily domestic events that put off travellers from abroad,” said Mr Jenkins. “Theatres in the capital are banking on a 70 per cent downturn in business during the Games, yet hotels still think they’ll be going gangbusters.

“In Athens [host city of the 2004 Olympics] around 15,000 hotel rooms were sold. London has 125,000 rooms to sell. Such optimistic pricing in the face of such disparity is extremely brave.”

The Telegraph points out that London Mayor Boris Johnson last month launched something called the London Visitor Charter, aimed at making tourists aware of "businesses and attractions that have made a firm commitment to reasonable and fair trading terms” during the Olympics.

So far more than 40 companies and venues – including Eurostar, the O2 Arena, Hampton Court Palace and the taxi firm Addison Lee – have signed up to the charter, but, apparently, no hotels have yet joined.

A spokesperson for Starwood Hotels, which owns the Sheraton Park Tower and W London, said: “Our prices over the Olympic period are based on the rates we charge during other high-demand periods in London. We take a long-term view and we certainly will not alienate future customers by over-pricing rooms during the Olympic period.”

I'm not sure how that comment jives with the Telegraph report that the Sheraton Park Tower is nearly tripling its rate from this summer to next, but there you go.

 

 

Tour Toronto on double-decker bus...Air Canada slapped down in U.S. for ads!

We see them every day, especially in summer; those double-decker buses that folks from Pittsburgh and Peterborough ride around in. They lean over and smile and take photos and listen to some guy or girl  prattle on as they troll around the city, seemingly without a care in the world.

I've been wanting to take one of these buses for some time, and I finally found a time to do it with Andrew Weir, a vice president at Tourism Toronto and a truly great guy. Our mission: to find out things about the city we didn't know. And to see if the buses are good value.

I'm happy to report that we learned a great deal; some of it true and some of it, well, not. But it was hugely entertaining and it's a pretty good deal. We went with the Shop Dine Tour group for convenience of scheduling, but there are other companies. We departed Yonge and Dundas at 9:40 and finished up two hours later in the same spot, having seen Yonge St., Yorkville, a glimpse of Casa Loma, a decent amount of Bloor around the ROM, and then Queen's Park, the AGO, the Entertainment District, Queen's Quay, the Distillery District and the financial district.

It's $40 but you can hop on and off all you like over the course of a week - almost like having your own, open-air taxi in a way - and you also get a one-hour boat cruise around the harbour and the Toronto Islands. My wife tells me she did something like this in Savannah, Georgia and remembers it being $20 and valid for two-days.

It's a fun way to learn about how Avenue Road wasa compromise name between folks who wanted it to be a big avenue and folks who wanted a smaller road. We also found out that John Lennon and Yoko Ono had their bed-in for peace at the King Edward Hotel here in town, when, in fact, it was held in Montreal at the now Fairmont Queen Elizabeth.

Still, our tour guide, Josh, was friendly and only made one or two cheesy jokes. "You know that's the Trump Tower as it's the only building in Toronto with a comb-over," he said. Which is better than I got on my last such tour, a 1980 bus ride in Montreal where my guide, and I swear this is true, told me that I could tell a particular building was designed by an Italian "because you can see da spaghetti hanging outta da windows." OMG.

Yesterday was much better than that, and it was helped along by a brief chat with a wonderful couple from San Diego, Barb and Bob Carter. "We do these tours in every city we go to and this was one of the better ones," Bob told me.

My excellent videographer/photographer buddy from the Star, Randy Risling, came along for the ride and handled the tough duties of making Andrew and I look good for the weekend paper. Risling is a huge talent and an absolutely first-rate guy and it's a huge treat to spend time with him as he's the guy who made me look halfway presentable during my quick hits at the Main Press Centre in Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Anyway, I got a few shots of my own; some of which I quite like. You really get a great perspective from the second-floor of an open-air bus. It's important to duck when you go by an underpass or a pesky tree but it's great fun to peek into second-floor windows and look at stonework on, say, the Hudson's Bay building downtown; stuff you normally don't see from the sidewalk. The views of the downtown skyscrapers are particularly cool when you're on a bus like that.

So thanks to Shop Dine Tour for a fun day, and for recovering my camera lens! I highly recommend a tour like this to anyone; visitor or Torontonian. I just wish they could cover more ground, such as Rosedale or Cabbagetown or the University of Toronto....

I wrote a story about it for the weekend paper, so check out the Saturday and Sunday Toronto Star for the full report, and for some of Randy's photos. He also should have a video posted on our website, thestar.com.

AIR CANADA SLAPPED ON THE WRIST DOWN SOUTH

I HATE the airline ads with those one-way fares and the hidden taxes and fees that make a $1,200 ticket look like it' sonly going to cost you $259, or what have you. I think we all hate them.

The punishment isn't much in the scheme of things, but I found it EXTREMELY heartening today to see in The Star that Air Canada was find $50,000 by the U.S. Department of Transportation for violating "deceptive price advertising" rules in its online ads.

"When passengers buy an airline ticket, they have a right to know how much they will have to pay,"  U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. "We take our airline price advertising rules seriously and will take enforcement action when they are violated."

The agency said that for an unspecified amount of time earlier this year, ads on Air Canada's website "did not disclose the amount of taxes and fees that passengers would have to pay in addition to the advertised fare, or lead the consumer directly to the information on these taxes and fees.

Consumers who clicked on the ads were taken to Air Canada's website, but could not find details of the additional taxes and fees unless they scrolled down to the fine print at the bottom of the page, the department said.

Department of Transportation rules require that any U.S. or foreign carrier that advertises a price for air transportation to state the full price to be paid by the consumer, including all carrier-imposed surcharges. The only exception is passenger facility charges, which may be stated separately, but must be clearly disclosed in the ad.

Beginning in January, carriers will be required to include all government taxes and fees in advertised fares.

Air Canada said it modified the banner ads within 24 hours of being notified to "improve clarity."

"We have been advertising in the United States online for many years and this was an isolated occurrence as we are fully compliant with Department of Transportation policies and regulations," spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur said in an email to Canadian Press.

Canada passed a law four years ago requiring airlines to advertise the full price of airfares, but a story in today's Montreal Gazette suggests Ottawa (which to my mind does almost NOTHING to protect consumers of airline products in Canada) feels the legislation might be too complicated to enact.

Figures.

 

Nice to see some folks disagree with me about Ottawa (honest!)

I wrote a story/column in today's Star about Ottawa being left out of the Canadian Tourism Commission's list of 48 so-called Signature Experiences for tourists to try in Canada.

I took exception with folks in Ottawa who put their city up against the likes of New York and San Francisco. And, quite frankly people, I'm disappointed.

The Star story, at last check, had 55 comments attached to it. And hardly any of you want me drawn and quartered, with my pieces scattered around Byward Market (see photo during royal visit) or dumped in the Rideau Canal. Come on, folks. Did I pull my punches in the story? I guess I did say I like Ottawa just fine. And I guess I diffused some anger by saying Toronto could be a lot better. But where are all the hard-core Ottawa lovers out there? Come on - give me some acerbic put-downs already!

Okay, that wouldn't be very Canadian. And that's one of the things I love about this country. So I guess I should be happy that most of you agree with me or, if you don't, you're so damned polite about it.

Anyway, here's a sample of what folks have had to say.

"Ottawa, a nice place to walk in the park, see a museum and then take a long nap. Not enough for tourists looking for cheap thrills and a chance to spend wads of cash."

"The Museums are great and the parliament buildings are interesting, and the light show was great, but otherwise.... to quote a friend, It's The City That Fun Forgot."

"I've been there a couple of times in the past year and I've really enjoyed it. Of course I'm more of a day person who enjoys lots of walking and museums, so I can understand why they say the sidewalks roll up at 5, but it reminds there of what Toronto used to be: clean, friendly and genuinely happy."

A couple folks who follow me on Twitter (@jimbyerstravel is where you can find me) also weighed in. One person called Ottawa the Canadian version of Canberra, the Australian capital that is on almost no foreigner's to-do list when they go Down Under. Another person said she laughed when she recently saw an ad about how Ottawa claims it doesn't roll up the sidewalks at 5 p.m. "I beg to differ," she wrote.

Anyway, it's all good stuff.

I have to point out, in fairness to the CTC, that this IS NOT A LIST OF ANY KIND. It's not somebody's opinion on the top 48 things to do in Canada. They did not deliberately scorn Ottawa. I think they were silly not to go back and be sure the capital wasn't included but I guess they deserve points for being independent of potential critics.

Anyway, it's one of many programs the CTC runs. And this one is based purely on commercial enterprises such as the CN Tower or Fort Henry or specific tours. It's not a program that says, "Hey, rich tourist, why don't you go to Yorkville?"

A friend of mine at Tourism Toronto said they met for quite a while with the CTC and that they felt Signature Experiences was based more on purchasable products and tours than individual experiences a tourist might have. Which is why something like the Toronto Film Festival was a tough one and why a fun activity like touring Byward Market in Ottawa wouldn't have made the cut.

"People come to Toronto to explore and do lots of things, but they don't always lend themselves to a package," my friend told me. "They tried really hard to get more Toronto stuff."

As my story points out, the CTC hopes to expand this program as well. So look for more "Signature Experiences" in weeks or months to come, and keep an eye on other tourism marketing and ad campaigns for a better balance of what the CTC is trying to do.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a blog on my tour of downtown toronto on a doubledecker tour bus. Lots of fun and some good shots, I think....

 

 

 

 

 

Whips and chains in Jamaica ... Canadians closer to a new discount carrier?

I get some pretty interesting press releases sent to me. None more, ahem, riveting I think than a note this week about Hedonism II Resort in Negril, Jamaica.

It seems they''ve come up with three fetish wedding packages that feature some rather naughty desires.

"Starting in September, couples can make their fetishes come alive with sentimental yet sinful wedding packages for just $250 with a minimum six-night stay," the resort said. "With three sexy thems on offer - vampires, leather and lace and pirates and wenches, Hedonism II is offering couples nuptials to remember - no matter their desire. In addition to the resort's complimentary wedding package, the three Fantasy and Fetish Weddings include post-vow cocktails, a wedding cake, decorated room and take-home keepsakes (??), all corresponding with the wedding theme.

Leather and Lace apparently is for the whips and chains set, where brides can walk down the aisle in lingerie and stilettos. The bedroom comes with lace and votive candles and a free set of handcuffs, and how romantic is that?

Vampire fans get "blood orange champagne" cocktails, a red, black and white cake and blood-red roses, with costume fangs! Pirate fans can get a ceremony with a skull and crossbones motif, and won't those be great photos to show the grandkids one day?

It's a bit much for me, personally. Do what you like after the wedding, but I'd like to think of the wedding day itself as something a little more family-friendly. But that's just me.

CANADIAN CONSUMERS GETTING A BREAK?

Good news yesterday from Air Canada, which announced that the union representing its flight attendants is supporting AC's planned, new discount carrier.

According to Brent Jang at the Globe and Mail, the Canadian Union of Public Employees sent an internal memo to its member saying that “Air Canada mainline jobs will be better protected” if the new carrier comes to pass.

Air Canada plans to start things next winter and take on folks such as Sunwing Travel and Transat A.T. Inc.. It's a bold plan, but Air Canada certainly knows the market and knows a thing or two about the airline biz.

The plan is to start with something like 10 jumbo jets and go from there with a carrier that would feature lower wages and a different seniority list than the main Air Canada list.

Air Canada hasn't convinced its pilots of the validity of the discount carrier, however. The Air Canada Pilots Association rejected a tentative deal in may that would have set up a lower wage scale ro new hires and for pilots who transfer to the new carrier to get more flying hours, Jang wrote, adding that those talks could resume in early fall.

 

Brilliant times in Buffalo ... Awesome deals at Kaanapali Beach Hotel Hawaii

Before I get to a great deal for a terrific hotel in Maui, here's a great guest blog from Toronto Star travel guy and entertainment reporter Richard Ouzounian.

BUFFALO - I had a terrific time with my family in Nickel City this past weekend.

Hey, don't look at me like that. Buffalo is a great place to visit and The Star will be telling you all about it. The Star's Adrian Brijassi, who wrote a great piece about Buffalo in a recent blog on his own site, will be running a special "2 Days, 2 Nights" feature in Star Travel this Saturday and I'll be back later in the fall to provide a "Six Meals in Buffalo" story and a piece on the city's thriving cultural life. But here's some stuff that's  best sampled right now during the last weeks of summer, which you can add on to Adrian's substantial list.

First, a big shout out to the Embassy Suites (200 Delaware Ave.; 866-299-2910; www.embassysuites.hilton.com).  It''s brand new and right downtown and it offers a plethora of perks.  You can book a room for as little as $156 Cdn. on-line and you also get a free hot breakfast, free cocktail hour every night and free wireless. Valet parking is only $10 a day. Very friendly staff as well. Toss in a pool and a 24-hour fitness centre and it's hard to beat.

Shakespeare in Delaware Park (716-856-4533; www.shakespeareindelawarepark.org)  has been going since 1976 and it's having one of its best years ever. The setting, only 10 minutes drive from downtown, is superb, in a venue designed by Frederick Olmsted, the man behind Central Park, on a gently sloping hill where all of Buffalo brings folding chairs and picnics to enjoy the show.

 I saw a sweetly romantic As You Like It, with a charming Rosalind (Morgan Chard), a dashing Orlando (Patrick Cameron) and a witty Celia (Anne Roaldi). The admission is free, the experience priceless.

One of the best architectural tours of a city I've ever had comes with The Whirlwind Tour from a company called Open-Air Autobus of Buffalo (716-854-3749; www.OpenAirBuffalo.org). On an intimate bus open to the sun and sky, you get a two hour tour of the city from real experts. Our guide was Paul McDonnell, the architect for the Buffalo School System, and he made the city's past and present come to vibrant life.

Tickets are $20 and well worth it. Meet at the corner of Elmwood Avenue and Bidwell Parkway; 6 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. Saturdays, 11 a.m. Sundays.

The Burchfield Penney Art Center  (1300 Elmwood Ave., 716-878-6011; www.BurchfieldPenney.org) is a brand new facility dedicated to local work and cutting-edge creations. Their current special exhibition (through Sept. 25) is by an Icelandic multi-media artist named Steina and her series of seven installations called "Involving People Into This Magic" is absolutely fascinating. Her work takes place involving multiple screens spread out against a giant canvas and the viewer sits and lets it all happen to them. We stayed for an hour; we could have stayed more.  Excellent free tours included in the $10 admission. Check for times.

Frank Lloyd Wright has a substantial presence in Buffalo and Adrian will write about his stunning Darwin Martin House downtown, but I also had the most amazing afternoon at Graycliff Estate (6472 Old Lake Shore Rd.; 716-947-9217; www.GraycliffEstate.org). This was the summer home  20 minutes drive from downtown that Wright created for the Martins.  But until 1997, it was almost forgotten, turned into a  seminary and children's home by Eastern European priests.

Then, to prevent it from being destroyed and turned into condos, a group of concerned local citizens raised the money and undertook a massive restoration. Now, a decade later, it's been restored to most of its former glory. One of Wright's most striking works, you'll marvel not just at its relationship to Lake Erie, but at the way all of nature has been taken into consideration in its design.  It's a unique experience: the dual triumph of architectural genius and local conservation efforts. A standard tour costs $15, but there are also special options including twilight tours, details available on the website.  A great spot to visit.

Buffalo definitely has more than wings and malls to offer. Save this list and check out Adrian's article on Saturday.

A GREAT HOTEL DEAL IN BEAUTIFUL HAWAII

One of my favourite hotels, located on my favourite island on the planet, has a great sale on. The Ka'anapali Beach Hotel on Maui, which has a very strong Hawaiian presence and is smack dab in the middle of one of the world's great beaches, is offering rooms for as little as $143 U.S. this fall. A            $159 room rate is available now until August 19, and there's a $143 rate valid Aug. 20 to Dec. 21.

It might seem like we don't need a summer getaway, but pretty soon it'll be fall, folks, and we'll be scrambling to restore the heat.

In addition to low room rates,  Ka’anapali Beach Hotel helps guests get the most out of their vacation by providing complimentary Hawaiian activities. The variety of classes gives guests an opportunity to play and learn more about the culture, meet travelers and become Ohana (family) at Maui’s Most Hawaiian Hotel. Highlights of the complimentary events include language classes, lei-making, hula and ukelele lessons (I had a great ukelele lesson there last year). In addition, kids five and younger eat free with a paying adult at hotel restaurants,  and there's a complimentary welcome breakfast to explain the offerings of both the hotel and Maui as a whole. They have a free hula show and music performance every night and parting guests receive a farewell lei.

It's truly one of the great family hotels I've seen, and it's highly recommended.