There’s always something new in San Francisco. This year they’re celebrating some things that are rather old as well. I recently spent a few days in the City by the Bay checking out things both old and new. Okay, and a few things in between. Here’s a look at some of the highlights. SOME THINGS NEW HOTELS Hyatt Regency SoMa The Hyatt Regency San Francisco Downtown SoMa, previously known as the Park Central hotel, reopened last year after a full, $70 million renovation/reimagination. We had a 23rd floor suite in cool shades of grey and black, with brown and Read more
parks
VANCOUVER – The Parq Vancouver complex has only been open a year, but it’s already left an indelible mark on this city. Parq Vancouver is a major development in downtown Vancouver, just a few steps from False Creek and adjacent to BC Place Stadium; home of the Vancouver Canucks hockey team and terrific concerts. It’s a game-changing complex that consists of the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver and The DOUGLAS, a Marriott Autograph Collection property. There’s also a glittering (and thankfully subdued) casino, the only one in downtown Vancouver, a massive convention centre with the city’s largest hotel ballroom, a terrific Read more
CLEARWATER BEACH – A stylish, bright lobby. Sleek, airy rooms. And direct access to one of the top beaches in the United States. The new Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach is a welcome – and stunning – addition to one of my favourite places in the U.S. I get to visit a lot of hotels in my line of work. Most don’t stand out. But this place impressed me from the moment I walked in until the morning I left two days later. The lobby is a real stunner; bright and airy and with a wide-open breezeway that forces your eye Read more
SINGAPORE – Funny thing about travel. Some places you build up and build up in your mind, and then when you go you feel like Norm walking into Cheers and finding the taps have run dry. Other times, you’re not quite sure what to expect and end up getting bowled over by a place. The latter was how I felt about my recent trip to Singapore. I knew it was a small state with new, tall buildings and a Formula One race and the Raffles Hotel (home of the Singapore Sling). I knew you can’t chew gum and that there Read more
Here are two blogs from various visits to Hong Kong, one of the world’s great cities. HONG KONG – This is a huge, bustling, wild and teeming city. No doubt about that. But one of the things I love about Hong Kong is that you can get away from it all far easier than in many cities. There’s Victoria Peak, of course, where you can walk for a couple miles amid hanging vines and towering trees and gaze down at not only the buildings of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon but also vast ravines and wide open stretches of ocean Read more
