The Fourth of July weekend is officially here, and that means last-minute getaways. Here are some of the top hotels I’ve stayed at in various part of the United States. TEN GREAT PLACES TO STAY IN THE U.S. New York City: The Conrad by Hilton in downtown New York is a former Embassy Suites, so you can expect super-large rooms and luxurious touches worth of the Conrad designation. The on-site restaurant, Atrio Wine Bar, is terrific, and the rooftop Loopy Doopy Bar is a fun spot for a cocktail. Lower New York is filled with cool architecture and great shopping. Read more
Chicago
New Porter Airlines flights to the Caribbean, Mexico and United States from across Canada next winter. Plus news about Uber jumping into the hotel booking biz, Chicago’s celebration of Route 66, and news of a pair of around-the-world voyages from Holland America. ARUBA, JAMAICA, PORTER WANTS TO TAKE YA Porter Airlines is flying south next winter to four new destinations. In addition to a robust set of new sun routes from Eastern Canada, Porter is introducing its first international flights from Alberta. This includes over 40 warm-weather routes for the 2026-27 season. The carrier has been growing at a rapid Read more
With Canadians increasingly interested in staying home for their vacations this year, a new report from KAYAK finds that domestic airfare prices are up 70% so far in 2026. It’s normal for domestic flights to increase in price in spring and summer as compared with winter, when Canadians tend to seek warmer climates. But the KAYAK study finds it’s a pretty serious increase; an average hike of $158 for flights between Canadian destinations. Not only are prices up 70% from January, but domestic airfares in Canada are up 26% in April of this year, compared to the same month in Read more
Florida tourism set a new record last year, welcoming 143.3 million visitors, according to data released by Visit Florida. That represents an increase of 0.2% over 2024 and represents the highest yearly total in state history. Domestic tourism represented nearly 92% of all visitors. Overseas visits were up 4%, with almost 9.3 million visits. But visits from Canada were down a substantial 14.7%, reaching roughly 2.9 million for the year. Visit Florida, which markets the Sunshine State to the world, says it’s engaging in talks with Canadian travel groups in an effort to change that. But it may not be Read more
The annual Conde Nast Readers’ Choice Awards are out for best travel of 2025, and there’s plenty of great North American and world content to check out, as well as fabulous hotels and cruises. Canada made the top 10 for best countries to visit, while New York City won kudos for its food scene and hotels. Victoria, British Columbia was named best small city in the world, Barbados made the top three for most friendly countries, and Tokyo was named world’s best food city. The top ten hotels list for Canada included 1 Hotel Toronto and, in first place, the Read more
