Newfoundland’s Fogo Island Inn nabs prestigious Mr. and Mrs. Smith hotel award Nice to see some Canadian content in the inuagural Mr. and Mrs. Smith Hotel Awards! Newfoundland’s Fogo Island Inn, a high-end property that works with artists in a pretty remote part of the province, was this week named “Best Newcomer” in an awards ceremony held in London. Nearly 50,000 people from around the world voted for their favourite boutique properties in the Mr. and Mrs. Smith Awards, after which a shortlist of 10 hotels in each of the categories was put to a panel of 36 specialist judges. Read more
Asia
LONDON – It’s an impressive world in here. You can chat with a 10-foot-tall penguin from the Falkland Islands, relax in the first-class suite of an Emirates Airline A380 and pretend to sit behind the wheel of a tuk-tuk in Thailand. You also can get a massage in Indonesia, chat about trips to Montreal and get all weepy looking at giant posters of perfect, white sand beaches in Maui, Mauritius and the Maldives. The annual World Travel Market in London is a crazy, wild, impossible scene with tourism boards from around the globe meeting with buyers and journalists to nail Read more
ON THE MEDITERRANEAN WITH THE SILVERSEA SILVER SPIRIT – Great food and drinks with stunning presentation and variety. A sumptuously appointed ship with all the bells and twice as many whistles. Terrific service. And an outstanding itinerary with some of the best tour guides I’ve ever had. Yeah, living the life on a Silversea cruise ain’t a bad way to travel. It’s not a cheap way to go, but you get treated like royalty (luckily more like Kate than Camilla Parker-Bowles). The smallest suite on board is close to 400 square feet; as big as some downtown condos and considerably Read more
Golf. Beautiful deserts. Spas. Cactus. Pretty good Mexican food. Those are some of the standard cliches you hear about Arizona. And with good reason. The golf is excellent, the desert landscape haunting and lovely, the spas to-notch, the cactus ever-present and the Mexican food to die for. 53_Vineyard-Wine_Photo Credit AOT But there’s so much more to the Grand Canyon State than that. Such as olive oils. Fresh citrus and tons of other produce, including organic honey. Great shopping in cities such as Scottsdale. And very good wine. We here in Canada may think of low-lying cities like Phoenix and wonder Read more
ON BOARD CATHAY PACIFIC – I slept like a rock on a flat bed. I had outstanding service. And I stuffed myself silly. I had the chance to fly business class on Cathay Pacific on my recent flight home from Hong Kong to Toronto, for which I was hugely thankful. It’s not something I get to do all the time. For the most part, I’m in coach or economy like everyone else. But the upgrades occur occasionally, which is a huge perk of this job. There were the usual hot towels when we got on board, and I think they Read more
