Hotel Wi-Fi is one of those touchstone issues travellers love to talk about. Who’s got the best? And who’s got it for free? There’s a new study out from Hotel WiFi Test that ranks hotels around the world, which is a great idea. The bad news for Canadians is there’s no Canada table. But there is date for Europe and the U.S. and Asia, so it’s still pretty useful. And a bit surprising. Despite continuing criticism, there are far too many hotels in the U.S. that charge for Wi-Fi, which I’ve argued is like charging for water in the shower Read more
Marriott
In case you hadn’t noticed, the red and white Christmas cards at Shoppers Drug Mart have been replaced with red and white Valentine’s Day cards. V.D. rolls around again on Feb. 14 this year, as it is wont to do. Hotels consistently try to cash in on husbands and wives looking for a quick getaway, or just a quickie, with package deals for breakfast in bed or flickering candles or chocolates and champagne. This year, they’ve been a sexy gift with the release of the film Fifty Shades of Grey, based of course on the scandalous books of the same Read more
CHICAGO – This is a town – and a country – that knows how to throw a party. Folks attending the International Pow Wow (U.S. tourism) event here were the recipients Sunday of the kind of treatment usually accosted only to members of the International Olympic Committee. First came a morning reception at the top of the John Hancock Tower/observatory, a 94 th and 95 th floor extravaganza with killer views of this magnificent city on the shores of Lake Michigan. When you’re up here this high, you get a real sense of how wonderful a job they’ve done of Read more
WANDERING THE NAPA VALLEY IN CALIFORNIA – I often tell folks in Canada that I vastly prefer Sonoma Valley to Napa Valley when it comes to wine tasting and generally tooling around. But I think I have to them back on pretty even ground. I spent a lovely day in Sonoma a week or so ago. We then drove over to Napa for a night at the Napa Valley Marriott Hotel and Spa, which doesn’t look like a chain hotel. There are lovely flowers and a really nice-looking, free-form pool in a courtyard surrounded by large trees. They had an Read more
