My travel notebook for today touches on a cannabis-friendly hotel for Sin City, cruise news from Holland America, a Singapore tourism update and a wave season deal from Celebrity Cruises. OH, WOW, MAN: A CANNABIS HOTEL FOR VEGAS In a town known for its “bigger is better” philosophy, there is a new reimagined property set to bring an intimate, modern, urban, and sexy travel experience to Las Vegas, and it will make its stunning debut this spring. Open while undergoing a multi-million-dollar renovation, the once famed Artisan Hotel Boutique is evolving into The Lexi – Elevations Hotels and Resorts, a Read more
San Diego
RANCHO SANTA FE, CALIFORNIA – I have the privilege of staying in a LOT of wonderful hotels and resorts. Few of them offer the tranquility of the Rancho Valencia Resort and Spa in southern California. Simply driving into the property, which is roughly a half-hour north of downtown San Diego, put my wife and I into a relaxed state of mind, as we wound our way up a small hill past thickets of dense trees and traffic signs that said “24 MPH.” (Why 24 versus 25, I don’t know; maybe it’s supposed to get your attention, in which case it Read more
Conde Nast Travel has put out its annual list of top cities, islands, airlines and hotels, and both my home state and adopted country did well. Hawai’i, which is like home to me, also put on a strong performance, as did Florida. The magazine today listed Victoria as the number two small city in the world, while Montreal (10) and Quebec City (5) were named among the top ten best big cities on the planet. Chicago was first for big U.S. cities, followed by Honolulu and San Diego. San Francisco was seventh for big U.S. cities, and New York City Read more
A new listing of the best U.S. cities by a well-known consulting group has put the Big Apple back on top again. Resonance Consultancy? has named New York City the best city in the U.S. for the seventh year in a row. But California swept the top ten with four placements, including Los Angeles in the number two spot and San Francisco taking the bronze medal. Resonance ranked cities based on six factors: place, programming, prosperity, product, people and promotion. Those, in turn, included other issues, including safety, museums, restaurants, nightlife and Fortune 500 companies. Note: This ranking is not Read more
Canadian travelers are ready to get back to cruising, and to help beat the currency exchange rate Holland America Line is offering a “Canada Super Sale” with savings up to 20% on select cruises and running through 2022. Canada Super Sale is offered on select 2022 Alaska, Canada and New England, Pacific Coast, Hawaii and Panama Canal cruises that sail to or from a Canadian homeport. Cruises to Mexico roundtrip from San Diego, California, also are included in the special. “With travel opening up Canadians are looking to cruise, but the current exchange rate can make that challenging,” Read more
