What a great, progressive step. Hyatt Hotels has announced that, starting February 2015, ALL guests in ALL Hyatt properties will get free Wi-Fi. In a great item posted at skift.com, writer Jason Clampet notes that “the rollout will include all hotel brands, including the select-service Hyatt Place properties and up through its premium Park Hyatt offering. Use of Wi-Fi will not be limited to members of its loyalty programs, as was previously done at some brands. Hyatt Gold Passport members will have access to premium Wi-Fi service at some properties.” “Internet connectivity is no longer an amenity. It has become Read more
Canada
A great Ontario getaway, and a smashing cruise offer. Star Travel columnist Kathryn Folliott has a couple of excellent bargains on offer in her latest Fare Deals column. One great deal she outlines is for significant savings on a cruise with Silversea ; a free suite upgrade and on-board spending credit worth up to $1,000 (U.S.) per suite. I was lucky enough to have a suite on a Silversea ship last year, cruising the Mediterranean. It was an outstanding experience, with a HUGE suite that gave us everything we needed. The bedroom was large and comfortable and the bathroom was Read more
New Air Canada rouge routing provides direct, non-stop flights between Toronto and Honolulu, Hawaii’s biggest city and a surprisingly diverse destination. Honolulu’s Diamond Head has been a beacon for tourists for years. It sits at one end of famous Waikiki Beach, providing a perfect backdrop for millions of photos. The Royal Hawaiian Hotel has been charming visitors to Waikiki Beach in Honolulu for more than 100 years. They recently completed a fantastic renovation. You’ll find several cool swimming pools at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, which is on perhaps the best stretch of Waikiki Beach. The hotel can be booked through Read more
HONOLULU – That was fun. Air Canada rouge celebrated the return of non-stop service between Toronto and Honolulu on Wednesday with celebrations in both cities. As a winter storm started to develop near southern Ontario (damn, I hate to miss those), the crew on the first Toronto to Honolulu Air Canada rouge flight was gathering at Pearson International Airport with plastic flower leis, papier mache pineapples and other Hawaiian-inspired goodies to get ready for the 3:55 p.m. departure. They cut a ribbon to celebrate the occasion and generally fussed and fawned, catching a few folks by surprise. “We didn’t know Read more
I’m constantly getting scrunched up faces from people at cocktail parties or dinners. I shower a lot and try to get to the laundry when I can, so it’s not that. No, what surprises some folks is that not even travel writers and former newspaper travel editors get to go everywhere they want. When I tell folks all the places that are still on m to-do list (Portugal, Poland, pretty much all of Africa, all of Central America and definitely all of South America) they look at me like I’m a little crazy. Some of it I can explain. Some Read more
