If you’re looking for a place to stay in Chicago with history, elegance, and great food, the Gwen Hotel has you covered. The Gwen Hotel is a Marriott Luxury Collection property in a prime location, just north of the Chicago River off Michigan Avenue. The building is an historic (1929) Art Deco property designed in part by Chicago sculptor Gwen Lux, whose facades and sculptures decorate the exterior. The hotel entrance is off Rush Street, but if you wander a few feet over to Michigan Avenue you can gaze up and see some of the dramatic architecture, including signs of Read more
Marriott
MSN Travel has an excellent story on its website that shows off some of the best small towns and cities of Europe. The story lists a smaller city or village in all 46 member countries, so you’ll find something in all your favourite destinations, including Italy, France, England, Portugal and Croatia. I must admit there are several I’d never heard of but look fabulous, such as Dinant, Belgium, Vianden, Luxembourg and Castle Combe in the delightful Cotswolds area of England, where I spent some time a few years ago. Others I know (Colmar, France, Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland and Atrani, Italy, as Read more
Hotel restaurants are playing an increasingly central role in how Canadians dine and travel. New OpenTable data shows hotel dining is on the rise across Canada, with dining at hotel restaurants in 2026 up seven per cent, year-over-year.² To help diners discover standout spots near and far, OpenTable launches its second annual Top 50 Hotel Restaurants in Canada for 2026.³ Alongside the list, OpenTable is spotlighting new insights into how Canadians are embracing hotel restaurants across travel, staycations or everyday dining experiences that feel like a getaway. The destination is dinner: Nearly half (49%) of Canadians have dined at a restaurant located in a hotel within the Read more
Baseball fans in Canada are riding a rollercoaster, as the Toronto Blue Jays bounced back from two losses at home to the Seattle Mariners with a 13 to 4 win on Wednesday night. As the Jays look to advance to their first World Series since 1993 (a series I covered for the Toronto Star, allowing me to witness Joe Carter’s home run with my own eyes) attention on the team has advanced well past regular ball fans. New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds two-in-five Canadians following the team closely on this run (39%) – rising to half Read more
Travel + Leisure readers recently named their fave 20 hotels and resorts in Hawai’i. As someone who’s been a good three dozen times and has probably spent a year of his life in the islands, I have to say it’s a good list. But even a ranking of 20 top places to stay misses a lot of fine places to rest your head in the Hawaiian islands. With that in mind, I’ve got a list of my own places to try that didn’t make the Travel + Leisure list. I also have some thoughts on the T + L readers’ Read more
