LONDON – A classic yet modern hotel in one of the world’s great cities. Not to mention great food and a nearly perfect location. One Aldwych is a truly terrific hotel in central London, with wonderful design touches, large and comfortable rooms and an outstanding restaurant that’s creating a substantial buzz. The hotel makes an instant impression with a beautiful, light and airy lobby area that has a great bar. They have a full-time person in charge of flowers and plants, and when we there someone had cleverly taken a huge bouquet of flowers and hung them upside down in Read more

This is part II of my annual Jimmy Awards for best travel experiences of the year, ranging from great pasta at the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver to an incredible wine cellar in the Bahamas and an amazing (and surprising) guitar player on the Queen Mary 2. Thanks to everyone that helped along the way! BEST SAILING TRIP: A sunset cruise with the folks at the Santa Barbara Sailing Center in California. I love Santa Barbara, but this was my first time on a sailboat in the region. They do a great job, and we had a stunning sunset. If Read more

Now there are two more great reasons to check out of Toronto’s newest and nicest hotels. Hotel X Toronto, a beautiful property I stayed at earlier this year, will soon opens its doors for its inaugural New Year’s Eve party, one of the most anticipated New Year’s celebrations in the city. Boasting a wealth of amenities unrivaled by any downtown hotel, the resort style property offers guests the perfect start to 2019 with a couple’s package designed to deliver both luxury and value. Sure to be the highlight of 2019, this New Year’s Eve Gala package early booking pricing is Read more

This lucky guy has finished up another year of great travel. From classic train journeys in Canada to Atlantic crossings on the Queen Mary 2, and from Florida to Hawaii to London, it’s been another incredible year. In what has become an annual tradition, here’s a look at my some of my favourite spots and photos from the year that was. Without further adieu, I give you Part 1 of the 2018 Jimmy Awards for great/weird/fun/engaging travel. BEST RESTAURANT: I ate in some remarkable places this year, but Don Alfonso 1890 in Toronto takes the proverbial cake. Incredibly creative, remarkably Read more

My home state of California has seen its share of issues the past few years; most notably with fires. The recent Camp Fire in northern California was especially devastating. The fire near Thousand Oaks/Malibu also was extremely damaging. But folks in California are a resilient bunch, and the state consistently bounces back from whatever issues pop up. I was in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara (an area hit by fires last year) a few weeks ago and everything was pretty much back to normal. Of course, most areas of the state weren’t affected in any way. And the areas that Read more

SOMEWHERE IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN: It’s formal night on the luxurious Cunard Queen Mary 2 and the British pub on board is packed with men in tuxedos and dark suits and women in elegant ball gowns. Instead of nodding quietly to a tinkling piano, however, this crowd of mostly middle-aged cruise enthusiasts are listening to a British musician blaze a loud, searing solo on his electric guitar as he plays Pink Floyd’s “The Wall.” Their hands rise above their heads in unison, clapping fiercely as they join guitarist Paul Garthwaite in belting out the song’s famous lines, “We don’t need Read more