A grand dame of Montreal hotels has been given a stylish makeover. Le Centre Sheraton Montreal, located in the heart of the city, is practically a brand new hotel, with top-to-bottom renovations recently completed. They’ve given the newly designed rooms a warm, residential feel, which is very welcoming. Our room on a recent stay was done up in cool shades of taupe and grey. We had a comfy chair in the corner and also one of the new Sheraton work tables, which has electrical outlets and phone charging outlets on top and can be moved up and down; allowing you Read more
Today’s travel notebook looks at a variety of subjects, including WestJet trimming flights to Halifax and other cities in Atlantic Canada, a new, long flight between New York City and New Zealand, and the slow opening of Japan to tourism. WEST JET TO TRIM ATLANTIC CANADA FLIGHTS The CBC reports that WestJet, which announced earlier this year it would retrench and focus more on Western Canada, has cut fliights to several cities in Atlantic Canada. Flights between Halifax and Montreal will be suspended Oct. 28, while flights from Halifax to Ottawa and St. John’s will be suspended in early January. Read more
There are more signs today that the Justin Trudeau government is set to drop vaccine mandates and put an end to the unpopular ArriveCAN app, perhaps within the next two weeks. The mask mandate for flights within Canada also appears up for debate. Writing in the Toronto Sun today, columnist Brian Lilley reports that “The ArriveCan app may no longer be mandatory and other remaining travel requirements and restrictions for air travel in Canada could soon be removed. If all goes well, masking could even be made optional within the next few weeks.” Lilley said he’s had conversations with senior Read more
As a board member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), I was privileged to spend a week in Bogota, Colombia earlier this month. I didn’t see a lot of the city, but I spent a good deal of time in the old, Candelaria district, which I found utterly delightful. Here’s a slide show of some of the highlights.
Around this time in the bad old days of 2020, some experts projected that Canadian hotels wouldn’t get back to pre-pandemic levels until 2025 or even 2026. But the strong summer rebound in travel around the world has some observers suggesting a full rebound is only a few months away. Real estate firm CBRE says Canadian hotels will return to pre-pandemic revenues next year, two years ahead of its previous forecast. Canadian Press reports the firm is projecting the Canadian hotels market will end this year at 92 per cent of the revenue per available room achieved in 2019, before Read more
The Toronto Star is reporting that the Justin Trudeau government may end Canada’s border vaccine mandate, and could scrap the heavily criticized ArriveCAN app. Star columnist Althia Raj reports that Ottawa is “considering turning the page on pandemic-era restrictions by ending the COVID-19 vaccination mandate at the border and scrapping random testing requirements.” Raj said the Trudeau cabinet hasn’t made a final decision, “but several sources confirmed ministers will soon weigh in on a move that could also spell the end of the unpopular ArriveCAN app.” Ending the vaccine mandate would allow visitors to flow freely into Canada, something that Read more
“It was a long time coming, but we’re thrilled to be back.” VISIT FLORIDA held their first tourism event in Canada in more than three years on Thursday, Sept. 15, taking over the 43rd floor Sky Suite at the posh Bisha Hotel during the middle of the Toronto International Film Festival. “This is our first visit to Canada since June of 2019,” Meagan Dougherty Lowe, public relations director for VISIT FLORIDA, said in a one-on-one chat during a break in the reception. “It’s so great to be back.” Representatives from The Florida Keys, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Discover Read more
