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
Lake Louise
Canadian national parks, luxury hotels in Florida, top resorts in the Caribbean, and great islands in Hawaii. U.S. News and World Report has come (LINK) out with its annual list of top destinations and hotels around the world, and there are a few surprises and famous names in the group. Here are some of the top 10 lists they published today (Feb. 6, 2024). TOP WORLD DESTINATIONS Paris (hosting the Summer Olympics this year) Bora Bora (who hasn’t dreamed of an overwater bungalow in Tahitii?) Glacier National Park, Montana Rome (heading there in three weeks; such an amazing city) Swiss Read more
I didn’t get out to British Columbia as I had planned, but I did manage to spend time this year in Calgary, Banff, Quebec and several places in Southern Ontario. Here are some of my fave experiences in Canada this year. MOST SURPRISING ARCHITECTURE: I had never heard of the Thomas Foster Memorial in Uxbridge, Ontario, but it’s a beautiful building both inside and out. Definitely worth a visit. MOST UNUSUAL SPA: The Muskoka Beer Spa is a fun spot south of Bala, Ontario, with a nice pool, hot tubs, saunas, a beach and cottages that you can have equipped Read more
A driving trip in Calgary, Banff and Lake Louise is a beautiful thing; an iconic Canadian trip like no other. When you take it in a new Mazda CX-50 it’s that much more special. The folks at Mazda Canada were kind enough to let me use one of their new CX-50 SUV’s for a week earlier this month. As a guy who normally drives a 2010 model SUV, I jumped at the chance. The Mazda folks met me at the Calgary Airport after I got off my plane with a lovely, steely blue model. Unfortunately, my flight was more than Read more
Travel + Leisure magazine readers have weighed in with their top choices for hotels and resorts in Canada, and Fairmont dominates both categories. Fairmont captured six of the top ten spots for city hotels in the Travel + Leisure poll. Toronto-based Fairmont also copped six of the top 10 spots for resort hotels. For city hotels, five of the top ten were in British Columbia, with three in Quebec and two in Ontario. For resort hotels, four were in B.C. and three each in Alberta and Quebec. I’ve managed to stay in almost all of them, so I’m adding Read more
