The hotel focus in Toronto the past couple years has been on five-star hotels or five-star hope-to-be’s. We’ve seen the opening of the lovely Ritz Carlton and the Shangri-La, which I quite like, as well as the Trump and the new Four Seasons. Now comes one of the few four-star “full-service” hotels to be built in Toronto in years. Delta Hotels and Resorts unveiled its flagship hotel in the city’s South Core neighbourhood during a topping off event on Oct. 8, marking the completion of the hotel’s 46th floor. Scheduled to open in late 2014, the Delta Toronto at Southcore Read more
Canada
National Geographic Travel has launched a product that should give our fair nation a nice boost. They’ve taken some well-known travel writers and some of the magazine’s best photographers and produced what they’ve billed as “a breathtaking, destination-based, digital super mag unparalleled in its comprehensive coverage of any single country.” Aw, shucks. Just for little old us? In what’s being called “the world’s first digital super mag,” (I don’t know if that’s true but it SOUNDS good), the National Geographic folks are showcasing “all-new content from every Canadian province and territory.” The feature launched at Nationalgeographic.com/canada50 on Oct. 1 and Read more
I was travel editor for five years at the Star. I’ve been travelling the world (on and off) for 25 years or so. But I still can’t figure out why Asian airlines are able to do things North American airlines can’t. Or won’t. There’s just something about the service you get when you fly an airline like Cathay Pacific that you won’t find on American or Delta, and probably not WestJet or Air Canada. It’s little things, I think, such as nicer bathrooms and hand lotion even in economy washrooms. Not to mention a TV screen that showed passengers what Read more
FLAGLER BEACH, FLORIDA – The weather didn’t cooperate so much, but I found a great spot in Florida this past weekend. Flagler Beach is only a half hour or so north of Daytona, home to roaring race cars and motorcycles. But it’s honestly a world away. Where Daytona and other Florida cities have high-rises lining the beach, Flagler has a law that forbids buildings on the beach. Instead, almost all the buildings (one or two stragglers got in but that’s it) are across the small, two-lane highway, A1A. It makes for a marvellous drive up from Daytona, with nothing between Read more
A cup of Tim’s and a pack of Trident. Trip Advisor, the world’s largest travel site, this week announced the winners of its inaugural Travelers’ Choice Awards for Travel Favourites in Canada. The awards honour top brands in various categories, ranging from favourite lip balm to favourite camera, and there were 21 winners in Canada. I’m happy to say I agree wholeheartedly on the coffee, as folks chose Tim Hortons as their favourite spot. I love a latte at Starbucks, but the regular coffee is way too much for me and I much prefer Tim’s. I also like that Canadians Read more
