Toronto's Ritz Carlton lives up to its billing ... New Dream hotel for Hollywood?

It took a while, but I finally had a chance to check out Toronto's Ritz-Carlton this weekend. And I can see how the Canadian Automobile Association gave it that coveted five-diamond rating.

It's a first-class hotel, with all the amenities you possibly could want. Here's a brief rundown.

LOCATION: A great spot. We had tickets for Rain, the wonderful Beatles tribute band, at the Royal Alex on Saturday night. The commute from the hotel, located on Wellington adjacent to the CBC building, was all of 48.3 seconds (it might've been 48.7, now that I think of it). The Entertainment District is right at your door, and it's a three-minute walk to Union Station and close to the ACC and Queen West and the Eaton Centre, even, if that's your thing.

PUBLIC SPACES: The lobby is quite open and airy; perhaps a touch on the cool side. But lovely browns and light blues and modern paintings and gorgeous lighting. I love the way the TOCA (as in Toronto, Canada) bar (see photo) opens up right onto the lobby and gives the place an immediate jolt. The bar at the back, a nice room with a small, circular bar called DEQ, has a great patio that's perfect when the weather cooperates as it opens up onto that small, green park that's across from the Convention Centre, just east of the CBC.

THE SPA: Ooh. And la. And la. I had my first-ever facial and manicure (you oughta see my nails; they look smashing). Very relaxing and thorough. The rooms are wonderful, and there's a eucalyptus steam room and a hot tub for relaxing, and big TV's in the men's locker area. The Sanctuary,a mixed men's and women's area for relaxing after your treatment, has a glass ceiling and terrific lighting, plus water with local berries and nice snacks. My treat was a "Blokes and Beer" bit, so named to add a touch of testosterone to the experience. The "Man-E-Cure" included a nice but messy rub with hops. It usually comes with a full massage but I didn't have time so just did the manicure and facial. They bring in a cold bottle of Mill St. Organic Lager to sip on after your treatment; a nice, manly touch on Grey Cup day!

THE ROOMS: Again, nice and bright. There's a lot of creme and brown, as many hotels do these days, but also some nice splashes of colour and art work. Huge windows, and some rooms have smashing views down over the Convention Centre to the Roundhouse and Lake Ontario. Very pleasurable, even in the rain on Sunday morning. The bathroom was great, with a rainshower-style apparatus but not quite enough water pressure for my tastes.

THE SERVICE: Exceptional, just fabulous. Friendly folks, but not in your face. Very helpful and quick. And not just because they know I'm a travel guy. I stopped at the TOCA bar after the Rain show and chatted a bit with the bartender/mixologist, who showed me some barrels where he's making his own, oak-aged vermouth and bitters and vodka. Quite cool. He was chatting with some guys next to me and was explaining how bitters are made and how they're quite strong - about 70 per cent alcohol level, etc... Quite interesting. He told them to try a dash of bitters served in a glass of ginger ale for a hangover. When they said it sounded intriguing, he quickly opened up a couple cans and served them a sample, no charge. That's good service. And it's a cool, sleek room with a nice, curvy bar and interesting lighting.

THE FOOD: I didn't eat here on the weekend, except for breakfast on the club level, which was great. But I've been to TOCA before and had a fabulous meal with incredibly good service. The Toca bar serves a great cocktail called the Good Date, with Canadian Club, date and black pepper liquor and orange zest. A touch sweet but nice on a winter's evening. Also tasty - and pungent - is the Bitter Bombay Bee with Bombay Sapphire Gin, honey, bitters and lemon peel.  I've tried the flatbread with northern wood mushrooms, which is on the bar menu at both DEQ and TOCA, and thought it was great. But pricey, at $20.

THE COST: There's a Bed and Breakfast deal on now for $375, including breakfast for two and valet parking. That's a helluva deal for what could be Canada's top hotel. There are several other packages, including a Spa Package that costs $505 but includes a $200 spa credit and breakfast for two. Definitely worth a try.

HOLLYWOOD GOES HOTEL CRAZY

Toronto is certainly a focal point for hotel building in North America, what with the new Ritz and the coming Shangri-La and Trump hotel and the new Four Seasons up in Yorkville. Hollywood, too, is on the rise. USA Today is talking about a new Dream hotel at the intersection of Cahuenga Blvd. and Selma Ave., near the W Hollywood. The West Hollywood strip, meanwhile, has The Andaz, The Standard and The Mondrian.

Definitely a happening spot these days, with rooftop pools and cool bars and movie-star glamour and just slightly better January weather than we have in Toronto....

 

 

Lovely - and quiet - Amelia Island in northeast Florida and Omni Resort

AMELIA ISLAND, FLORIDA - "People come for the beach, but they stay for the beauty and the trees and the marsh."

Amy Lacroix, who works at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort northeast of Jacksonville, is showing me around the small 1,350 acre property, explaining about the spas and the tennis courts and the shops and more, when we suddenly pull up to a nature centre on the western part of the property, overlooking the sprawling marshes.

"Listen," says Lacroix.

I stop talking and open my ears to ... absolute silence. Oh, there might be a bird twittering off in the distance, but mostly I hear a light breeze and nothing else. The sun is shining in the late afternoon, and I can see a white egret prowling the sides of the marsh, just inches from the deep green grasses that gently wave.

I see what she means. It looks like a fabulous place to sit and contemplate life, or maybe drop a line for a bit of fishing or to read a book.

For those seeking a more active vacation, this is a resort with something for everyone. The beach goes on forever on the east or Atlantic coast of Amelia Island, which butts up against the Georgia border. The rooms are fine, but the best part is they all have oceanfront views. Not just angular "tilt your head and you can see the water" views, but full frontal views of a glorious stretch of beach andi in some rooms, great views of two of the three on-site golf courses.

The property also features two swimming pools with tons of activities, 49,000 square feet of meeting space at the convention centre, 23 Har-Tru tennis courts under a canopy of thick, luscious trees, a spa with 20 treatment rooms, a series of lovely shops overlooking a pond, a "yoga treehouse," bike paths galore, an island in a small lake that feels like a real version of Disney's Tom Sawyer Island and tons more. You can even rent a Segway and ride it on the beach, which sounds much better than driving your pickup truck on the sand at Daytona.

I didn't much like the lobby, which was quite formal and had a fireplace that made it feel like it could be a hotel in Toronto or Seattle or something. But Lacroix told me they're expanding the hotel and opening up the lobby so there will be views of the ocean. Smart idea.

In all, she said the owners are spending $85 to $90 million on their "reimagining" project.

Amelia Island is just a few minutes off I-95 south of the Georgia border. You also can reach it by road from Jacksonville or via a five-minute ferry ride from Mayport, on the north edge of Jacksonville, and then a short drive over a couple of smaller islands with glorious views of marshes and the sea.

The adorable town of Fernandina Beach is maybe 10 minutes up the road from the Omni. They have plenty of nice shops and angle parking, which makes it feel like a step back in time. Bigger box stores also are nearby if that's your thing.

Be sure to stop in at the Beech Street Grill if you're in town. They have a wide-ranging menu that features everything from steak to duck, but the chef is known as a whiz with scallops and mine were absolutely fabulous; tender and cooked just right and served with a sherry vinegar cream and white truffle oil. Yum. They'll also serve you a slice of "bruschetta" with melted cheese, herbs and diced tomatoes for just a buck.

All in all, a great spot on a great little island in a part of Florida that doesn't get the attention it deserves.

 

Great Southern Ontario golf ... Four Seasons Resorts rock the Pacific

Had a chance to take in (most of) a round of golf at King Valley in Aurora on a rather blustery Sunday. It's one of the many ClubLink courses in southern Ontario and it's certainly one of the top courses I've played in our fair province.

There are plenty of elevation changes and swooping fairways and interesting greens. Several holes are lined with majestic rows of towering pine trees, giving the place a bit of an Augusta (I imagine) feel. There are lots of small ponds and generous, ball-swallowing bunkers. But it's not unfair by any means, and it was in great condition on Sunday.

Too bad about the lousy weather, but that's hardly their fault. And at least we didn't have any trees come tumbling down on our golf cart. It gave us a chance to have lunch in the lovely clubhouse, where they make some pretty decent spring rolls and a generous plate of nachos, too.

FOUR SEASONS HUALALAI, HAWAII AND BORA BORA, TAHITI

I had a drink a few months back with the head of a major hotel in Asia, and we got to talking about the status of various international hotels. I don't remember the exact words, but he said something about how he thought Four Seasons wasn't what it used to be.

Them's fightin' words where I come from. More importantly, I don't know how anyone would come to that conclusion. A couple days after our conversation, I checked into the Four Seasons Hong Kong and found it an absolute stunner; great views, an incredibly elegant, soaring lobby, one of the top swimming pools I've seen anywhere and a great bar and breakfast spot.

I also keep noticing Four Seasons resorts at the top of those magazine lists that come out on a regular basis. The Four Seasons Whistler is the only hotel in Canada with a five-diamond rating from the Canadian Automobile Association. In the latest Travel + Leisure ratings, nine of the top 100 hotels in the world were Four Seasons properties, more than any other hotel group I spotted by a good amount. Which has to be worth something.

I haven't stayed at either of these properties, but I had a meeting last week with Brad Packer, who represents the Four Seasons Hualalai on the Big Island of Hawaii and also represents (lucky him) the Four Seasons Bora Bora. Both look beyond exquisite. The Four Seasons Hualalai was rated the top hotel in Hawaii by Travel + Leisure and the 38th best hotel in the world.

All the buildings top out at two stories at Hualalai, and there's a large beach and tide pools where folks who are leery of the ocean can snorkel amongst thousands of colourful fish. Fifty one of the 243 units are suits and there was a $40 million renovation a couple years ago.

There also are two stunning golf courses laid out amongst the jagged black lava and, I believe, seven swimming pools. One of them is adults-only, and they'll give you coconut water, thermal mud hand and body lotion and "organic eye pillows with essential oils," just in case you were having trouble relaxing.

Alternately, you can sit on a beach blanket late in the day and watch the sun go down with a bottle of champagne at your side, not that that would impress your wife or girlfriend very much. And they have a cultural centre where you can learn the hula or try a ukelele - a great, little instrument.

SPEAKING OF WHICH, the terrific Hawaiian group The Makaha Sons will be playing in Toronto in a few weeks. More on that in Wednesday's blog.

The spa at Hualalai looks luscious, and they've got an apothecary where you can line up whatever  ingredients might help you the most. The outdoor relaxation room has a waterfall (see photo at left), and they also have basketball, tennis, yoga, nighttime frisbee golf, a rock-climbing wall and a ton of other activities. You could, of course, also simply go for a walk on the beach or a dip in the blue Pacific, which is more what I'd have in mind on a trip to Hawaii.

The resort is on the dry, Kona side of the island of Hawaii, quite close to the airport. It's a short drive to the north end of the Big Island, which has enormous ranches and jungle-like landscapes and wild beaches. The volcanoes and wild lands on the south part of the island also are close by. Or you can make a side-trip to the fun town of Hilo.

As beautiful as the property looks, it's hard to compare with the setting of the Four Seasons Bora Bora. Situated on one of the outlying circles of land that form the lagoon, the property has incredible views of Otemanu mountain on the main island.

It opened just three years ago after a long battle to get the property they wanted. There are 100 overwater bungalows and seven villas on the beach, all with Polynesian-styled rooms. You can sit in your bathtub and open a window and be overlooking the crystal-clear lagoon, and all the overwater bungalows have private decks with a ladder that takes you directly to the lagoon. (A word to the wise; the lagoons are lovely but there aren't as many fish as you might expect).

They have a spa suite with twin massage tables with glass floors looking down into the water, which sounds awfully sweet. They do a Polynesian dinner show on Monday nights, and you can arrange to have your breakfast brought to you in a canoe.

I was in Bora Bora for a night a couple years ago but stayed on the land, not in an overwater bungalow. I was, however, in an overwater unit in Moorea and also on the island of Tahaa. It's an experience everyone deserves to have at least once in their life. I just wish there were some closer to home. Tobermory would be great, although I suspect the environmentalists might not agree. The issue of winter also poses a thorny problem, I guess....

The Four Seasons Bora Bora also has kayaking, snorkeling and a kids camp. And there's a marine biologist on site.

Weddings and honeymoons, naturally, are big business in such a romantic spot, and they have lots of packages....

 

 

 

A fine time at Beaches Negril Jamaica... a brief stop at Lucea and Rick's Cafe

 

JAMAICA - So, it seems they took an old hospital on the waterfront in central Montego Bay and turned it into a park.

Nice.

There were people dancing and singing in the park at 8 p.m. on Wednesday night. So, when I woke up early on Thursday and wanted to drink my coffee al fresco, the park seemed like an obvious choice. I mean, if it’s open at 8:15 – when it’s dark – on Wednesday, it should be open Thursday at 7:30 a.m. when it’s light. Right?

Nope. Locked tight.

I asked a guy nearby what was up and he shrugged and said, “It opens at 10.”

There was a beach park next door but it was covered with empty bottles and old shoes and looked rather forbidding, so I ended up taking my coffee and my Burger King danish (I couldn’t eat the Jamaican breakfast at the Wexford Hotel, sorry) back to my room and sat on the balcony, which wasn’t so bad. But how do they justify spending so much money on a park and not having it open to folks, both locals and tourists, in the morning when it's such a fine time to enjoy the cooler air?

Martin Pottinger, my driver for the day, gave me a nice tour on the way from Montego Bay to Negril, where I parked myself for the night at Beaches Negril. He pointed out the fancy mansions along the way, as well as the resorts at Round Hill and Tryall. Not that it was all peaches and cream; we passed a lot of iffy looking spots and small shacks selling mangoes or other fruit, as well as a tiny shack called Mangrove’s Tyre Shop.

After an hour or so we pulled into Lucea, a small community otherwise known as Lucy. It was quite funky; like old-time Jamaica I think. There’s a small market and a place with a great name - Tit’s Bar - and a nice Methodist Church. We stopped for Jamaican beef and veggie patties and also had some cornmeal pudding, which was terrific. I didn’t like the sweet potato pudding as much, but there you go.

We arrived early at Beaches Negril, which is a lovely property. I expected it to be rathe low-key, but the place was hopping all night long. They have a waterslide and a big whack of pools and more activities than you can imagine. There’s face painting for kids and para-sailing and snorkeling and kayaks and a teenagers’ camp and a huge beach and a million other things to do, as well as free (it’s an all-inclusive resort; my first exposure to one) booze and food.

Management was nice enough to let me try the Red Lane Spa for a one-hour West Indian massage. It was outstanding, with a nice ambience and a terrific massage with hot rocks to hold for warmth, a nice face massage, a foot exfoliation (another first for me) and then, at the end, a little mist in my face to remind me of the ocean.

Thursday was beach barbeque night, and they laid out a million salads and bbq ribs and jerk chicken and steamed snapper and a lot more, adding in a great limbo show, dancing on the beach and lots more. I had some bbq, then later wandered over to the Mexican place and had a pretty good steak served to perfection. These all-inclusives strike me as a cruise ship that’s stuck on the land, what with the incredible variety and all.

There was a 6 p.m. parade with a marching band and Sesame Street characters. I’d always figured Cookie Monster as more of a Hedonism II kinda guy myself, but what do I know?

I chatted with a couple guys as the sun met its glory in the west just after 7 p.m.. They were from Virginia and said they love Beaches resorts, but that this one kicks the version in Ocho Rios in the butt because the Negril variety has a beach that’s infinitely longer.

Earlier, I had taken a Beaches bus down to Rick’s Café, located in what’s called the west end part of Negril. It’s a giant bar that’s situated at the top of some very high, craggy cliffs. A dozen or so locals dive off the highest rocks – about 15 meters or so above the bright-blue, impossibly clear water – and then seek, naturally, tips from the tourists.

Tourists from Ontario and Omaha also challenge each other to take the plunge, albeit from not quite the same height and, generally, without the handstands and backflips. It was entertaining and quite impressive, but after a half-hour I had had enough so I caught a cab back to Beaches for the bbq.

As I said, it’s my first exposure to an all-inclusive. I usually like to be able to roam about a town and see various sites instead of being focused entirely on one property. You can certainly head into other parts of Negril from here but it’s a hike to get to most places, which means arranging a cab or taking a shuttle. Still, the food here is very good and the activities incredibly varied. The rooms are terrific, the grounds and pools are lovely and the beach goes on forever, so I certainly see why folks, especially families, would love it.

Look for a report Monday on the south coast and Treasure Beach….

 

 

Heavenly Half Moon Resort in Jamaica ... Can you get too much Bob Marley?

HALF MOON RESORT, JAMAICA - There are resorts. And there are RESORTS.

Half Moon, just outside Montego Bay, would have to be included in the latter, not only for the insane number of amenities and attractions but also for the sheer size of the place.

The resort was born in 1954 on a half moon crescent of sand east of Montego Bay in the Rose Hall  district. A mere 35 acres it was. A baby. It has since grown to a full, Dolly Parton-esque 400 acres.

You like oceanfront? They’ve got two miles of it, much of it lonely, deserted beach. You want swimming pools? They have 54, albeit many of them private ones that are for shared units or villas.

Attractions? How about a top-notch golf course (I’m playing in a couple hours), tennis courts, basketball courts, squash, a cricket and soccer field, a teen’s club, a huge children’s play area named after the famous Anancy books in Jamaica, six or seven bars (I forget), a fabulous spa run by a guy who spent part of his childhood in Goose Bay, Labrador and lived to tell the tale, a yoga centre, spa treatment rooms that are perched out on the water, a conference centre with a room that can fit 1,500 people, a lagoon with two dolphins, croquet, an equestrian centre for riding along the beach, a nature reserve, a hospital on the grounds and a whole bunch of stuff that I’m too lazy to write down right now.

The buildings are all done in up in regal white and there’s plenty of dark wood and lovely stone work and modern bathrooms and tv’s and all that. When I came into my room, they had folded a towel up to look like a swan and had sprinkled it with brilliant pink-red bougainvillea blossoms.

I had a brief lunch and a tasty mahi-mahi sandwich at the Seagrapes restaurant, right on the half moon-shaped beach. The water’s a touch murky right now but it’s fine for swimming and even a bit of body surfing Monday afternoon.

They had me try a little bit of everything, which added up to a lot, up at Sugar Mill restaurant, next to the golf course. It’s a beautiful spot with a patio that’s lit up by overhead lights hanging from gnarly, old trees with huge, droopy leaves on them. The constant, high-pitched pinging of the tree frogs took a minute to get used to but it was a great time, with some really cool Caribbean-fusion food; a jerk chicken spring roll, a fabulously tasty piece of snapper in a coconut-saffron sauce, fresh grilled lobster, deep and smoky crayfish bisque and a wonderful orange-banana bread pudding and mango cheesecake for dessert with Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee.

Yum.

Gonna check out the place some more today and also head into MoBay for a little look-see and dinner. I suppose the size might be a detriment to some people. You need a golf cart to get from one end to the other. But it seems like a place that would be fabulous for families, as there truly is something for everyone. There also seems to be enough privacy that a high-falutin' movie couple could come and find some solitude.

The Queen came here a few years back. Prince Charles and Camilla used one of the villas not long ago, as well. Now, if they can only get Will and Kate....

11 BOB MARLEY SONGS AND COUNTING

I’m a big Bob Marley fan. I remember being in France in 1979 and doing a 2 a.m. conga line to “Exodus” with college kids from all over the world sang at a farmhouse/commune outside Nantes, and, no, I’m not at liberty to reveal any more details.

But as I listened to the speakers at the Sugar Mill Restaurant play his greatest hits album last night, this after landing at the airport and hearing another Bob Marley tune and then listening to some reggae music (and the great Montego Bay song made famous in the 60’s by Bobby Bloom) at the Seagrapes Bar before dinner, I wondered.

I mean, the guy’s awesome, but do people here ever get sick of hearing “Jammin’” and “One Love” over and over?

“Oh, no,” my waitress at the Sugar Mill told me. “He’s so inspirational and the music is so positive.”

I pressed her a little.

“Well, they had a duo playing here every night for a while. Now they’re down at the Seagrapes so we have the Bob Marley music at night. It’s only been two weeks.”

It’s interesting how Marley has come to symbolize an entire nation’s music, even though there are a lot of other great reggae singers and many, many more types of music made on this beautiful island. I mean, Gordon Lightfoot is huge but no Canadian musician garners as much of our country’s musical attention as Bob Marley seems to here.

Maybe the Beatles and England are comparable, but even then I don’t think so when there are the Rolling Stones and so many other popular singers.

Anyway, I gotta admit I fired up “Montego Bay” and “One Love” on my iPod when I was watching the sun go down at my unit Monday night. Why not? Music is a large part of many of our trips.

My son tells me he thought it was corny, but the first time he ventured to Barcelona he turned on his iPod and listened to "Holiday in Spain" by the Counting Crows. Whenever I’m in Hawaii I listen to slack key guitar and ukulele and even the odd bit of Don Ho, who I sang with on stage in Honolulu when I was 12. Okay, I was with a dozen other kids but I was up there.

He even asked all of us to give him a kiss on the cheek when we finished. I was, naturally, horrified. I seem to recall running as fast as I could to get back into the audience but the memory fades….

 

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...

 

 

 

Thunderstorms and river cruises and Peninsula Hotel - first day in Bangkok

BANGKOK - Being on the 32^nd floor of a hotel overlooking that Chao Phraya in this city is a pretty cool place to watch a thunderstorm.

Kinda ruined my shot at dining outdoors at the luscious-looking Thai restaurant here (see photo of the seating area by the river) at the Peninsula Hotel, but I’ll try tomorrow for a drink anyway.

It’s my first visit to Thailand and, naturally, first to Bangkok. So far, so good. I had fabulous and spicy Tom Yum Goong soup at the outdoor café here overlooking the river, as well as a dish of minced chicken that I wasn’t quite so hot on. But there was good lime soda and a fabulous salad with chicken, lemongrass, greens and tiny, tasty sun-dried tomatoes.

After that I went on what was supposed to be a 40-minute boat ride on the river, which was going to be followed by a walk through the city. But I didn’t understand the directions I was given and the kid on the boat didn’t speak English, not that I expected him to, and I didn’t realize the boat I was on didn’t go four or six water taxi stops and then turn around but instead went halfway to Burma. We didn’t turn around until more than an hour had gone, but I did get to say some pretty cool stuff along the way; towering hotels and fancy condos with acres of trees and flowering bougainvillea hard by corrugated tin shacks lining the river, as well as one nicely-decorated spot called River View Massage.

You also go past several beautiful wats, or temples, and you get pretty good views from the river of the Golden Palace; a real icon of Bangkok that I’m supposed to get a look at on Saturday.

There are tons of boats of all shapes and sizes; fast, low-slung ones for folks in a hurry, the express boat that I was on with stops every half kilometer or so, tour boats done up a bit like a Chinese junk, and small tugs pulling boats laden with tires and all sorts of mystery packages. The express ships have spaces set aside for monks and a couple time I was shooed out of a good spot so a monk in a bright orange robe would get the good view, and no complaints about that, either. Kinda cool, I think.

The city is quite the contrast. Not like I found India to be, no sir. But still quite the experience.

I snuck into the spa at the Peninsula for a treatment to help keep me awake and fight the jet lag. It’s an ESPA, which is based in Europe I think, and it’s absolutely tremendous. The most beautiful lighting I’ve ever seen and fabulous treatments, with tons of great-smelling oils and a bit of a facial, too; another first for me.

More to come later on Bangkok and, next week, Hanoi and Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. Probably a little Hong Kong in there around Victoria Day as well.

New Cosmopolitan Hotel makes a big splash in glitzy Las Vegas opening

Star entertainment writer/travel fan Richard Ouzounian was in Vegas this week for the opening of the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Even by over-the-top Vegas standards, it was a big show. Here's Richard's report.

LAS VEGAS – The Cosmopolitan Hotel wanted its opening weekend to be one that its guests would never forget and boy, did they succeed!

The major attraction was the spectacular concert on Dec. 31, which started at 11PM and went on for three amazing hours, with Coldplay, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Beyonce and more. You can read about it here:

            http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/theatre/article/914546--las-vegas-s-newest-hotel-the-cosmopolitan-hosts-all-star-opening-bash

 All I can say is that when Jay-Z hands your wife a flute of Dom Perignon from the stage, it’s a moment you’re sure to file away in your memory bank!

After seeing it in action for three days, I’m crushing bigtime on The Cosmo (as it likes to be called). The rooms take the state-of-the-art technology thing to new highs. There is no leather-bound directory for example; everything about your stay can be learned from the interactive TV screen and whether you want to book a massage or order up Eggs Benedict, you can do it via your remote.

The public spaces are a wonderful combination of the intimate and the spacious, with great areas for people to hang and relax, shooting pool, playing a game of cards where you don’t have to bet, or strumming a random guitar left out there for the inner Dylan that you might want to access after your fourth Corona. Those of us who were there for the opening weren’t given tacky nametags or ID cards to hang around our necks. Instead, we got discreet wristbands made out of recycled guitar strings, which sums up the hotel’s vibe.

            Their slogan is “Just the right amount of wrong,” which is a slyly welcome step up from the “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” mantra which reached its tipping point in The Hangover.

No, this is a much cooler approach to decadence. Two of their special room packages are worth noting. The “Raid the Minibar”, where you get to literally eat or drink your way through everything available over a two-day period. There’s also “Room for Three” where three adults can use a room for the price of two and judging from the photo of a devilish blonde lady and her identical twin gentlemen friends, they’re not talking about family reunions.

Every restaurant I’ve tried so far has been ace and I plan to profile them in depth at a later date, but for now, a special shout-out to their French bistro, Comme Ca, which has one of the best views of the Strip in town and Holstein’s, devoted to burgers and shakes, which features one delight called “Duck, Duck, Goose”, which is a burger stuffed with duck confit and fois gras and topped with duck cracklings. Amazing.

Apart from the music scene, the other big superstar was a foodie one. Chef Scott Conant (see photo) arrived in town to supervise the opening of his paired eateries, Scarpetta and D.O.C.G., both of which make homestyle Italian a thing of beauty. His simple spaghetti with tomato and basil is a dish that everyone who has ever eaten can’t stop raving about. (Note from Travel Editor Jim Byers: there's a Scarpetta at the new Thompson Hotel at Wellington and Bathurst in Toronto, where you can find the signature spaghetti dish).

Throughout the weekend, the tall, dark and handsome Conant set hearts fluttering as he breezed through his restos, making everyone feel welcome. He’s also the star of the Food Network’s 24 Hour Restaurant Battle which starts on Canadian TV in January. Shameless self-promotion: he’s also the subject of my Big Interview in the Toronto Star on Jan. 8.

What else can I tell you about The Cosmopolitan? There’s great shopping, three spacious pools and a spa called Sahra which is one of the most restful and inviting I’ve ever experienced.

Is all this luxury affordable? Surprisingly, yes. Especially during the Sunday-Thursday timeslots throughout January, there are rooms available for as little as $190 a night.

My first resolution for 2011: to go back to The Cosmopolitan again. Soon.

Toronto Star Travel's Grand Tour of the World...a modest proposal!

Not as easy as it sounds.

The boss asked me recently to come up with a series of ten great spots we could feature in the paper between now and roughly Christmas. They had to be a mix of places around the world, with some ancient and some newer cities, some northern and some southern spots, and a nice mixture of cultures.

Check my column on the front page of today's Travel section for more, but suffice to say it was a lot of work to come up with the places we'll be profiling over the next couple months, starting this Saturday.

We kick things off Saturday with a look at Rome, the Eternal City, where I was blown away by an outdoor concert in August at the bottom of the Spanish Steps. It was just incredible.

From there, we'll tackle Tokyo and, in no particular order, Buenos Aires, Jerusalem, Sydney, Maui, Dubai, St. Petersburg and Cape Town.

Anyone with a keen eye for copy editing will notice that I named nine destinations in the last two paragraphs. But I also said the boss asked me to come up with ten places in the world. The discrepancy is that I came up with nine spots, but we want to get readers involved by asking them what should be our tenth and final destination.

In other words, you get to tell me where to go; likely a tempting thought for many of you out there, mostly my family. We thought about leaving it open-ended and letting folks choose from any place in the world, but it would've been too hard to tally up all the votes. So, in the interest of brevity, we're asking readers to choose from the following three spots: Paris, Bangkok and Mumbai. They're all great places, but only can be my final destination.

If you want to cast your ballot, just drop us a line at travel@thestar.ca and put the words "Grand Tour" in the subject line of the email so we know what you're writing about. Then you can tell me where to go.

Sound like a plan? We'll look things over and announce the "winning destination" in a few weeks, and I'll drop in for a few days later this fall and write up a story for the final Grand Tour episode.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to cast a vote.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT....THE LATEST FROM THE CARIBBEAN

If you're heading to the Caribbean this winter, and many of you are, you won't want to miss the update that freelancer Jo Matyas provided yesterday. So, in the interests of keeping her information out there, I'm re-publishing Jo's blog from Wednesday. Thanks again for the file, Jo; it's greatly appreciated.

Regular contributor to the Toronto Star travel pages, Josephine Matyas, gave up a weekend of turkey and cranberry to attend a Caribbean Tourism Organization conference on the island of Barbados. In addition to an island tour, a stop at the excellent Barbados Museum and some time bobbing in the water with a mask and snorkel, she got the scoop on what’s new for visitors to the Caribbean this winter.

Every winter-shocked Canadian knows that the Caribbean is a place with a “kick back and chill” vibe. Every island is different – a good starting place to plan, and find deals is www.caribbeantravel.com. The site has information on hot deals, festivals and events and you can search by your area of interest.

As for some specifics about what’s new for the winter 2010/11 (yes, the snow is almost here) . . .

Barbados wants visitors to come for the food, as well as the sun and the turquoise waters. From November 19-22, 2010 the island is holding the first annual Food & Wine and Rum Festival. A number of celebrated chefs will be on island to show off their skills, including Canadian Ricardo Larrivee, host of Ricardo and Friends on the Food Network. Local Barbadian chefs will be doing a few cooking demos themselves, holding tasting events and interactive sessions. Drinks will be flowing as a part of the festival (how could they not be, on the island that is home to the world’s oldest rum, Mount Gay) – wine experts and mixologists will produce demonstrations and tastings around the island. www.foodwinerum.com

A few Bajan food facts:

• There are 3,000 rum shops (think very tiny, local bars) on the island. And next door there is often a church (although the island has substantially fewer of those – just over 300). The locals like to say that they aim to “keep all the spirits in one place.”
• The national dish is flying fish, rice and peas, and a side dish called “pie” which is an oven-baked macaroni and cheese.
• Another traditional favourite is callaloo soup, a delicious dark green, iron-packed soup made with callaloo leaves (much like spinach).

St. Lucia is well known as a destination for romance and honeymoons (ABC filmed The Bachelor on island) but it’s also a popular cruise stop and full of activities for families. The lush, hilly island is full of history, and fruit and vegetable plantations that the tourism people would like to open up to visitors. St. Lucia lies in the “cocoa belt” (a zone plus or minus 20 degrees latitude from the Equator). On December 29, 2010, Hotel Chocolat opens a new property on the historic Rabot Estate, an operating cocoa tree plantation (yes, the air does smell like cocoa) with a killer-view of the island’s stunning twin Piton Peaks. www.thehotelchocolat.com. The popular summertime Go Bananas program will probably run again in 2011 (for those who like to plan ahead) – room upgrades, complimentary babysitting, free meals and stays for kids under age 17. www.stlucianow.com. More in the adult realm, a new casino is scheduled to open by November 2010 in the Baywalk Mall in the Rodney Bay area at the north part of the island (the marina here makes Rodney Bay very popular with the boating set).

The sister islands of St. Kitts and Nevis (I am coming clean with a bias – these are two of my favourite Caribbean destinations) claim that studies show visitors come for the beaches (well, yeah) and for the rainforest tours and ecoadventures. There’s no hiding that these are two of the pricier islands in the Caribbean. St. Kitts is starting construction on a private air terminal (service should be up and running at the end of 2012), so if you’ve got a private jet, you’ve now got a place to park it. The Four Seasons Nevis will be re-opening on December 15, 2010 offering special package rates – the island’s premier property has been closed for a two-year refurbishment. www.fourseasons.com/nevis. If horseracing interests you, the new Beaumont Park on St. Kitts hosts races on a ¾ mile oval track. The new Silver Reef Resort on St. Kitts has completed 36 of the planned 62 units – built eco-sensitively the sale/rental units recycle grey water, employ solar power and use local building materials to reduce the carbon footprint. The Beach Club at Sandy Bank Bay is set to open in early 2011 – it’s the first stage of a luxury development called Christophe Harbour on St. Kitts (mega yacht harbour, marina, Tom Fazio championship golf course, boutique shopping and five-star hotels). The open-air Beach Club will have private dining patios, a natural-edged pool, waterfall showers and direct access to Sandy Bank Bay beach and the Atlantic Ocean. www.christopheharbour.com

Bermuda is even closer for Torontonians since WestJet launched service in May 2010. This November through March has been branded Bermuda’s Golf & Spa Season, with eight courses participating and spa specials for the golf widows. Eighteen of the island’s largest hotels have signed on for The Compliments of Bermuda promotion – every two-night stay gets you a third night free for travel between November 15, 2010 and March 15, 2011. www.bermudatourism.com. The Reefs Hotel & Club – voted Bermuda’s Best Hotel by Travel & Leisure and inducted onto the 2010 Conde Nast Traveler Gold List – recently doubled their size with a new fractional wing, www.thereefs.com.

And finally, tiny Anguilla, where the focus is on celebrity and stylish living will once again host the popular Moonsplash Music Festival, timed to coordinate with the full moon in March 2011. The festival is four days of reggae talent, ranging from cutting edge sounds to founding legends. www.bankieban.net 

Josephine Matyas is a Canadian travel journalist who often writes about ecotourism and the Caribbean. You can find her at www.writerwithoutborders.com.

 

 

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Star Travel guy Adrian Brijbassi meets some B.C. characters. Go figure!

HAIDA GWAII, B.C. — Good guy Duane Foerter of the Queen Charlotte Lodge is one of those characters you sometimes meet on a journey who amaze you with their knowledge of their surroundings. Foerter is from small-town Ontario (Clifford, near Kitchener, to be exact), which makes his deep understanding of this remote part of British Columbia all the more incredible.

 

Duane has committed to memory a bounty of information about the Haida people and their history on these more than 100 islands. As the Queen Charlotte Lodge’s marketing manager, Duane is looking to develop new products to complement the world-class salmon fishing program the lodge offers. One of those activities incorporates a visit to the unmarked historical site of Kung, an abandoned Haida village on the north end of Graham Island, about a 10-minute boat ride from the lodge. Kung means “dream town” and it definitely has a mystical, almost spooky feel to it. A walk through its spindly Sitka spruce trees and centuries-old mortuary makes you think it could be a good setting for the next Blair Witch movie. Kung was once home to more than 350 Haida, including chief Albert Edward Edenshaw, before European trading shifted south, forcing relocation of the First Nations group.

 

Since arriving in Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) nearly 30 years ago, Duane has developed a passion for the history of the tribes (Haida are divided into two groups, Eagles and Ravens, and they’re supposed to marry each other, and because it’s a matriarchal society children belong to the tribe of the mother).

 

“This is a fascinating culture. These people used to be called the Vikings of the North Pacific because they were the most feared of all the First Nations people in this part of the world,” says Duane, who is “as white as they come.”

 

Duane’s also become an accomplished angler and boater. He took me out for some halibut fishing and we brought up two good-sized ones within 15 minutes of dropping our lines into the water. We also managed to hook the propeller and in MacGyver-esque fashion, Duane stepped over the back railing of the boat to uncoil the line. While leaning over on the propeller stand, he patiently undid the line as the Pacific rocked the small fishing boat from side to side, keeping me clutching onto a rail for balance.

 

When asked how a guy who went to Ryerson for photography and is nicknamed “Shooter” learns to do something like that, Duane says, “Oh, you know, you just sort of pick these things up.”

 

Duane’s photos are all over the lodge and on its website (www.queencharlottelodge.com). When he’s not behind his desk replying to emails and devising marketing strategies, he’s out on his boat taking photos of the lodge’s guests as they reel in salmon and halibut. The dramatic photos are so good it’s not hard to imagine seeing them in National Geographic Traveler. A slideshow of the guests in action is shown in the lounge at night. The photos also help promote the Catch & Release program because it documents the moment. “People want the proof that they’ve caught it,” Duane says. “Once they have that in the form of a photo, they’re more likely to release a fish.”

 

Women Get Hooked

 

Another diversifying option Duane and the lodge are looking at is Romantic Getaways. A spa is now on the premises and more and more women are showing up, and having success at fishing. Burmah Martin, who has 18 grandchildren, caught three tyees (Chinook salmon larger than 30 pounds) during her four-night stay. Andrea Dietel of Missouri reeled in a 48-pounder and two more fish greater than 35 pounds. “We’ll be having a barbecue when we get home,” she says. But if there were more activities beyond fishing, the lodge’s clientele could be broadened.

 

One option is a romantic cookout on the edge of the lodge’s property, away from the guest and staff quarters. As an example of what the lodge is thinking, chef Jin Chong set up a grill as the sun set behind Naden Harbour. He prepared a delicious clam bake, along with grilled steak and scallops, and beef carpaccio, and served it with wine on a candlelit table for two. Then graciously left.

 

He crunched through the grass and his feet knocked rocks on the beach as he walked away, leaving behind the moonlight and the kingfishers’ whirr. It was a gorgeous setting that exemplified the beauty and ruggedness of the north.

 

Hemingway Moment Gone Wrong

 

The cookout dinner was a relaxing end to a stay that was sometimes hairy. When Duane had untangled the propeller I also asked if he ever gets nervous on the water, he said, “Yeah, there are times when you feel like you’re in over your head out here.”

 

So it was for me when I took a boat out without a guide and headed for the fishing grounds, which are about 30 minutes from the lodge if you go at 4,500 rpm. I had never driven a boat except for those miniature ones you guide with remote control, so this didn’t seem like a bright thing to do, but the guys at the dock said it was no problem and Duane told me the boats were custom built so guests could take unguided trips. The steering is mounted on a centre console, not a rear propeller that you must constantly tug.

 

Okay, I said, I’m game.

 

Things started out well. An eagle swooped overhead as it dropped down to pluck a fish from the serene waters of Naden Harbour. An unforgettable sight. But as soon as I got out of the harbour, the clouds turned dark, the waves swelled to eye level and I got nervous. If I went over the waves too fast, the boat flew and landed hard. If I went too slow, the waters jostled the vessel from side to side. I couldn’t find the right feel.

 

A dockhand had set me up with one pole with one herring as bait on it and assured I would catch a fish. Rather than turn back and disappoint him, I kept going for the fishing grounds. I wobbled my way there — in nearly two hours.

 

The tide was going into the harbour, so I turned the boat in that direction figuring it would save me time because I would drift back in while I fished. I put the rod on the downrigger and trawled for the one salmon I was hoping to bring back. Turns out I’m no Hemingway in more ways than one.

 

Keith the “fishmaster” saw something wrong with my line and drove his emergency vehicle beside me then hopped onboard. I hadn’t positioned the rod properly in the downrigger and had attached a clip too far down on the line, preventing the bait from going out far enough to be effective. Keith set me up again then got back onto his boat, which the lodge uses to communicate with anglers by radio and to help those who need assistance on the water.

 

It wasn’t long before I saw the line rattling. I took the rod out of its holder and reeled. Whatever it hooked was pulling me to the back of the boat. I let it run then reeled then let it run, the way I’d learned from the experts at the lodge. Whatever I’d snagged was damn strong. I kept tugging and tugging. Eventually, the line snapped, cutting my hand. Figuring whatever it was had gotten away, I hung up the pole and headed back to the lodge. More dark clouds came and this time they brought rain. I went back in at 3,200 rpm, soaked and in near-panic. Just as I hit the harbour, the engine cut out. Panic went to terror for a moment when the boat didn’t restart on my first try. A couple of more turns of the ignition key and it was on. When I got back to the lodge, the sun was out, an eagle was waiting for fish (not from me, of course) and a dockhand told me the engine went out because a line was tangled on the propeller. Turns out the thing that fought my rod so hard out on the water was my own boat: Fitting, since it was a challenge in more ways than one on that day.

 

Back in Vancouver …

 

There’s no better way to celebrate survival — and a birthday — than with a meal at your favourite restaurant in the world. Thanks to Vikram and the staff at Vij’s and Rangoli for another memorable visit!