PRINCEVILLE, KAUAI – I almost thought I was in the wrong place. My wife and I recently pulled up in front of 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay on the lush north shore of Kaua’i. I stayed at the property eight years ago when it was a St. Regis hotel. I have a pretty good memory for places and hotels, but this didn’t look remotely familiar. As it turns out, there’ s a very good reason for that. The former hotel, which featured a pretty, enclosed lobby with a nice Hawaiian feel, was purchased by Starwood Capital in 2018 for USD$225 millon. Read more
Architecture
It was at the end of the NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2019. The next year’s game was slated for Chicago, and someone had to take an NBA basketball signed by the legendary Michael Jordan and escort it safely to Chicago. Lisa Nucci, who’s now Chief Marketing Officer for the city of Chicago’s tourism office, Choose Chicago, was Director of Marketing for the Chicago Bulls at the time (she was later Senior Director and Executive Director of Marketing) and was given the task of shepherding the invaluable ball to the Windy City. So, how did she handle Read more
Canadians are looking for the usual spots for winter getaways, but Japan is gaining traction, according to a new study by Expedia. The study finds the most searched winter destinations for Canadians are New York City, Cancun, Las Vegas and Punta Cana. Those are followed by three Florida sports: Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, and then Puerto Vallarta and Playa del Carmen in Mexico. Tokyo is tenth on the list. For trending destinations (not most searched, but destinations with the biggest recent increases), the top 10 (along with percentage increase in searches) were Osaka (95%), Tokyo (90), Kyoto Read more
Early fall is a marvelous time to get out and travel in the eastern U.S. The weather is still comfortable, and the kids are back in school. So it’s much quieter, especially on weekdays. And you can probably find better deals. Here are a few of my fave spots in the eastern half of the U.S., and here are some of the top things to do on the East Coast, including the best things to see and do in Detroit, Michigan, Palm Beach, Florida, New York City and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. DETROIT, MICHIGAN I spent a few days here this past Read more
There’s always something new in San Francisco. This year they’re celebrating some things that are rather old as well. I recently spent a few days in the City by the Bay checking out things both old and new. Okay, and a few things in between. Here’s a look at some of the highlights. SOME THINGS NEW HOTELS Hyatt Regency SoMa The Hyatt Regency San Francisco Downtown SoMa, previously known as the Park Central hotel, reopened last year after a full, $70 million renovation/reimagination. We had a 23rd floor suite in cool shades of grey and black, with brown and Read more
