U.S. News and World Report has come out with its annual list of top hotels and resorts in the U.S. and Canada. The Four Seasons Hualalai on Hawai’i Big Island earned twin awards by being named best hotel and best resort in the U.S. The Four Seasons Hotel Toronto was named Canada’s top hotel and Four Seasons Resort in Whistler, B.C. was named Canada’s top resort. Hawai’i had four spots in the top ten resorts list and three places in the list of top ten hotels. South Carolina had two resorts in the top ten and California had two hotels Read more

Canadian Pride is at its strongest point in years, thanks to unwelcome advances and proposed tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump has been making and suggesting. With that in mind, here’s a piece I wrote earlier about great, easy getaways and day trips from five major Canadian cities. HALIFAX Lunenburg is one of my fave small towns in Canada; achingly beautiful and so colourful. Don’t miss a detour to the small, picturesque fishing village of Blue Rocks. The Eastern Shore is an easy drive from Halifax and features wonderful Lawrencetown Beach, as well as beautiful bays for kayaking or canoeing. Read more

PRINCEVILLE, KAUAI – I almost thought I was in the wrong place. My wife and I recently pulled up in front of 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay on the lush north shore of Kaua’i. I stayed at the property eight years ago when it was a St. Regis hotel. I have a pretty good memory for places and hotels, but this didn’t look remotely familiar. As it turns out, there’ s a very good reason for that. The former hotel, which featured a pretty, enclosed lobby with a nice Hawaiian feel, was purchased by Starwood Capital in 2018 for USD$225 millon. Read more

Skyscanner has issued some great travel tips/travel hacks for March trips. That’s especially valuable as it’s a busy time for families, what with March Break taking place for many school kids in Canada. Here’s a look at some of their top tips. Hack #1: Best Time to Book Flights Save big on airfare this month! Skyscanner data shows the best time to book flights for March. • This handy tool will tell Canadians when the best time is to book flights for travel to March hotspots in North America’s Sunny Escapes, like Mexico and Florida. • Travellers travelling from Toronto Read more

Some Canadians are booing the U.S. national anthem at sporting events. “Buy Canadian” websites are springing up like desert wildflowers after the first spring rain. And folks from the north of the border are swearing off trips to the U.S. of A. It’s been a remarkable start to the new year in Canada; like nothing I’ve seen in my 44 years living in the True North Strong and (for now) Free. Canadians (not all, but a majority, I would say) began to worry last November when U.S. voters decided to re-elect Donald Trump. (Full disclosure, I was born and raised Read more

KAUAI, HAWAII – Hanalei is a sleepy, laid-back town on the lush, north shore of Kaua’i. Hanalei Colony Resort is 10-15 minutes down the road, reachable by a curving road with several one-way bridges, surrounded by breathtaking beaches and luscious mountain scenery with hills so green they’d make the Irish weep with envy. If you’re looking for an ultra-quiet, almost throwback-style place where you can experience the tranquility of what may be Hawaii’s most beautiful island, this is your kind of place. There are 13 two-storey buildings on the five-acre property, which is fronted by beaches on two sides and Read more