Travel + Leisure has released its awards for best destinations, hotels and more for 2025. There are tons of categories – far too many to list here – so I’ll concentrate on some of the top awards for North America and a few world categories. WORLD’S TWENTY BEST CITIES San Miguel de Allende, Mexico Chiang Mai, Thailand Tokyo Bangkok Jaipur, India Hoi An, Vietnam Mexico City Kyoto Ubud, Bali Cuzco, Peru Florence Seville Granada Istanbul Siem Reap, Cambodia Mumbai Cape Town Rome Santa Fe Agra, India I was quite surprised to see Mumbai rated so highly, as I haven’t heard Read more
Fairmont Hotels
Fairmont Hotels is launching a new brand campaign all about making special happen during travel. From private planes to secret teas, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts invites guests to discover just how Make Special Happen can unfold across Canada. Launched on May 19th, Make Special Happen is Fairmont’s new global campaign, a cinematic homage to the brand’s legacy of iconic celebrations. Shot at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York and directed by Jean Claude Thibaut, the film follows a cast of charismatic characters as they prepare for a grand gathering, capturing the joy of every journey toward something unforgettable. But this campaign isn’t just Read more
Tina from Mexico was listening to classical music and wanted to talk about Canadian politics as she drove us to dinner one night. Mohammed was blasting out hurtin’ tunes on a country music radio station as he shepherded us from an evening meal. And a young guy whose name I forget was bopping away to Marvin Gaye and other soul artists from the 1960s and 1970s as he drove us to the Museum of Latin American Art. During a three-day visit to Long Beach, California, I found some of the nicest and most interesting rideshare drivers that I’ve met in Read more
Major awards for three Canadian airports. A nice Air Canada sale. New hotels for Maui. Turkish Airlines becomes third busiest in the world. A new marketing plan for Fort Lauderdale. And a spiffy new Fairmont hotel/resort in Spain. Today’s blog post covers a lot of ground! TORONTO, VICTORIA AND ST. JOHN’S AIRPORT AWARDS Toronto Pearson Airport, along with airports in Victoria, B.C. and St. John’s, have won awards from Airports Council International (ACI). As part of ACI’s annual Airport Service Quality awards, The Montreal-based group handed out three “Best Airport Awards” for North American facilities that serve Read more
White Lotus is spurring Canadian searches for hotels in Thailand, the price of a NEXUS travel pass is going WAY up, and Canada Jetlines Announces flights between Toronto and Miami. WHITE LOTUS FILMING SPURS SEARCHES FOR THAILAND HOTELS Queue the White Lotus theme song—KAYAK data shows Canadian searches for five-star hotels in Thailand are up 62 per cent year-over-year since the show’s season three location was released on Instagram, along with an eight per cent drop in hotel prices year-over-year. The most popular resort destinations for Canadians include Bangkok (avg. $113/night), Pattaya (avg. $80/night), Phuket City (avg. $123/night), Read more
