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Monday, January 09, 2012
Western Caribbean Cruise
After one of our writers had such a great time aboard the Carnival Elation cruise to Cozumel (and just returned from Jamaica on another one!), we decided it was high time that we go on one ourselves this year aboard one of Royal Caribbean's stellar cruise ships.Our destinations will be Roatan, Belize City, with a final stop in Cozumel. Along the way we will be snorkeling, ziplining above the treeline, and exploring an ancient Maya ruin in the Belize jungle. More details coming soon as our departure date approaches.
Taken a cruise recently? Let us know about your cruise experience via our Facebook page.
Visit our Cruise section for affordable cruise getaways and look for our new expanded cruise section highlighting fascinating destinations to visit.
We will also be updating our segment on Galveston (being our port of departure to the western Caribbean) with new features and great things to do.
A must see for the family is a visit to the elaborate Moody Gardens, with pyramids housing an array of wildlife, featuring a 1.5 million gallon aquarium, an IMAX theatre, scientific exhibits, and rainforests.
Read our in-depth feature reviews of area Galveston bed & breakfasts.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
New Orleans requires tour guides be licensed
Shame on you city of New Orleans.New Orleans city officials there are now requiring that every tour guide undergo an FBI criminal background check every two years, pass a history exam, and undergo a drug test in order to talk about the town. Those guides who give tours without going through these steps to get a license wll get fines of up to $300 per instance plus five months in jail.
New Orleans needs all the promoters it can get in telling about how special the heritage and uniqueness is to visiting tourists.
Watch the video and sign up with the Institute for Justice in protesting this affront to their Constitutional freedom of speech rights.
Saturday, December 03, 2011
The evolving cruise market
According to Cruise Market Watch, the cruise industry now accounts for a $34.1 billion market worldwide.
For 2012, those going on a cruise are expected to increase by 5.6% over this year. As part of this growth and our own research, we are planning more features on cruising and the most popular places to cruise to. Read about our recent cruise to Cozumel aboard the Carnival Elation.
Taken a cruise recently? Let us know about your cruise experience via our Facebook page.
Visit our Cruise section for affordable cruise getaways.
Edited on: Monday, January 09, 2012 1:03 PM
Categories: Cruises, Travel News
Hotel Key Cards A Thing of the Past?
A new technology being tested at a Stockholm hotel allow guests to go
straight to their rooms without checking in with the hotel front desk.
Developed
by Near Field Communication (NFC), a guest's room at the Clarion
Hotel Stockholm is unlocked simply by the guest swiping their cell
phone in front of their room door. When checking out, the guest swipes
their cell phone at a designated point in the lobby before exiting.
Don't expect it to become available by next year, as the technology
currently requires specialty phones to use. Still, I expect something
similar to this to be available in the next few years as hotels
experiment with new technologies to further enhance the travel
experience.
View a video of the technology in action here -
Edited on: Saturday, December 03, 2011 12:46 PM
Categories: Accommodations, Travel News
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Your Space Vacation
Want an out of this world vacation and have money to burn?
Space,
the final frontier....
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Renting out your house? Think twice....
You may have heard about Airbnb, the startup that allows people to rent
out their homes while they are away on vacation.
In
a horror story that is now going viral online and causing a black eye
for Airbnb, a woman rented out her San Francisco Bay area apartment
through the Airbnb service. Her apartment was rented out by a mysterious
"Dj Pattrson" for a timeframe when she would be away. The renters who
were supposedly checked out through the Airbnb service methodically
destroyed her apartment and stole all her valuable belongings over the
period of a week.
Here is a snippet from the woman's
blog detailing the damage caused:
"They smashed a hole
through a locked closet door, and found the passport, cash, credit card
and grandmother’s jewelry I had hidden inside. They took my camera, my
iPod, an old laptop, and my external backup drive filled with photos,
journals… my entire life. They found my birth certificate and social
security card, which I believe they photocopied – using the
printer/copier I kindly left out for my guests’ use. They rifled through
all my drawers, wore my shoes and clothes, and left my clothing crumpled
up in a pile of wet, mildewing towels on the closet floor. They found my
coupons for Bed Bath & Beyond and used the discount, along with my
Mastercard, to shop online. Despite the heat wave, they used my
fireplace and multiple Duraflame logs to reduce mounds of stuff (my
stuff??) to ash – including, I believe, the missing set of guest sheets
I left carefully folded for their comfort. Yet they were stupid and
careless enough to leave the flue closed; dirty gray ash now covered
every surface inside."
That's not all....
"The
kitchen was a disaster – the sink piled high with filthy dishes, pots
and pans burnt out and ruined. Comet Cleanser was dumped everywhere; the
kitchen counters, wood furniture, my gorgeous new bed frame, my desk, my
printer… all were doused in powdered bleach. The death-like smell
emanating from the bathroom was frightening (and still is) and the
bathroom sink was caked with a crusty yellow substance. Various pairs of
my gloves were strewn about – leather, dishwashing and otherwise – I
imagine in a weak attempt to cover up fingerprints. Whoever these people
were, they were living large and having one hell of a time for an entire
week inside my home, unwatched, unchecked, free to do whatever
destruction they wished. And damn, did they do a lot of it."
While
all this was happening, the "renters" were sending her soothing emails
saying how they loved her apartment.
She deserves an apology and
reimbursement from Airbnb for her damages caused by relying on their
service to properly vet potential renters. Until that time, I would warn
others to not use the Airbnb service.
Read the full story here.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Help for Allergy Sufferers who Travel
Hotels are paying more attention to those who suffer from allergies.
According to a 2010 Lodging Survey prepared for the American Hotel and
Lodging Association by STR, a hotel research company, thirty-eight
percent of hotels now offer some kind of allergy-friendly service in
guest rooms. 
Read
more about.
Friday, January 21, 2011
The French Room in Dallas receives AAA Five Diamond Award for 2011
AAA has recently awarded 179 establishments the AAA/CAA Five Diamond
Award® for 2011. The AAA award listing accounts for only 0.3 percent
of the total 59,000 AAA listed lodgings and restaurants that receive the
prestigious honor. “It is encouraging to see an increase in the number
of AAA Five Diamond establishments this year,” said Michael Petrone,
director of AAA Tourism Information Development. “The recent economic
downturn has presented many challenges for the travel industry including
increased closures and fewer new restaurant openings."
Executive
Chef Jason Weaver of The French Room
Congratulations go to The
French Room restaurant located in The Adolphus in Dallas and featured
here at Southpoint.
The
Adolphus Hotel
The
Adolphus is a museum unto itself, and includes a rare 1893 Steinway
piano which was destined for the R.M.S. Titanic. The piano was owned by
the millionaire Benjamin Guggenheim, who died after refusing to get into
one of the few available lifeboats just before the Titanic sank in 1912.
Watch
in February as we visit The French Room in a new expanded feature.
View
here for a full listing of the AAA Five Diamond Award list for 2011.
Edited on: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 9:10 PM
Categories: Accommodations, Restaurants, Travel News
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
National Park free entry days
Like free stuff? Sure you do! We have been to many of our National Parks
over the years. From Denali to the Smokies, each is unique in their own
way.
Plan a trip to a National Park this year around these days
and get a free entry.
Add these dates to your calendar for these fee-free National Park days in 2011:
* January 15-17
(Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday weekend)
* April 16-24
(National Park Week)
* June 21
(First day of summer)
* September 24
(Public Lands Day)
* November 11-13
(Veterans Day weekend)
Search
for a National Park via the NPS website.
Categories: Attractions, Destinations, Travel News, Travel Specials
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Hotel ICON in Houston to be rebranded
Built in 1911 as a bank, many historic reminders remain including a huge bank vault at the hotel check-in desk.
Read our Hotel ICON feature and watch our video:
Edited on: Monday, January 17, 2011 11:58 AM
Categories: Accommodations, Destinations, Travel News, Videos
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Creative Travel Ad Airport Style
Rental car companies have done it for so many years so why not hotels?
The next time you go through the airport you may see a hotel desk where
you can make reservations, while checking email, or catching up on the
news. This method is now being tested at the Denver International
Airport by the Denver area Courtyard
by Marriott hotels with a mockup of their new lobbies.
Seen
other creative advertising used by hotels, b&bs, or resorts? Let
us know.
Edited on: Friday, November 12, 2010 8:16 PM
Categories: Travel News
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Kayaking Paddlefest in Corpus Christi
Looking for some weekend outdoor fun? Head to Corpus Christi for the
Halloween Paddlefest being held at Port Aransas from Friday Oct 29 thru
Sunday Oct 31, 2010. Kayakers from Texas area meetup groups will be
congregating at IB Magee Beach Park at Port Aransas for a weekend of
guided kayaking tours, demonstrations, BBQ, and campiing. New demo
kayaks made by Mayan Seas, P&H Kayaks, and TideRace Kayaks will be shown
as well as Greenland Kayaking. There will also be previews of the new
kayaking book by John Whorff, "Paddling the Texas Coast." Wish that I
didn't already have plans, this sounds like a great event for kayakers.
Headed
up by area kayak expert Ken Johnson, we went on one of his kayaking
tours last year and were impressed with his kayaking knowledge and
expertise.
His
guided tours which will be held over the weekend include:
1- Guided kayak tours of 1-Shamrock Cove birding refuge,
2- Historic
Lydia Ann Lighthouse,
3- Circumnavigation of Harbor Island to see
lots of dolphins,
4- Paddle along the Padre Island canal homes,
5-
Corpus Christi Bay around the city and the Lexington Aircraft Carrier,
and
6- Aransas River and Nueces River (the tour that we took).
Group
Camping is available for only $12 per night, with a nightly beach fire
with music and a BBQ Saturday night with Halloween costume contest.
For
details on camping see here.
Hotels
are also available nearby.
Register to attend the Paddlefest in Corpus Christi by contacting Ken
Johnson at johnsonkw@earthlink.net with the following information:
Will
you attend Corpus Christi Paddlefest 10/29-31/2010 this year? ____Yes
____No ____ people in my party
Which days do you plan to attend?
____Fri 10/29 ____Sat 10/30 ____Sun 10/31
Do you want to pay $10 for
a catered group BBQ dinner Sat night? ____Yes ____No
Do you want to
pay $10 per 2-3 hr lesson for Greenland kayak classes by Doug Van Doren?
____Yes ____No
Would you be willing to volunteer to help (lead tours,
assist other new first time kayakers, let others try your kayak)?
____Yes ______No
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Space, the travel frontier
In the planning stages for 2012 is the world's first space hotel. To be known as the Galactic Suite, the out of this world hotel will offer a three-night orbit in space after a four month training period.The pricetag? Oh, just over $4 million...
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Tallest Hotel in the World
With great fanfare, the world's tallest hotel opened earlier this
year. The Burj Khalifa is located in Dubai, and was built at a cost of
over $1.5 billion. A marvel of modern engineering.
Here is a video
from the observation deck.
Friday, October 01, 2010
Where is the hottest market for new hotels?
So where are the most posh new hotels being built?
Las Vegas? Not
hardly. New York or London? Nope. Dubai? Guess again.
The place
to be is China. Leading the way with major expansion plans are the mega
hotels Sheraton
and Marriott. 
I
have been reading the book China
Road about an NPR reporters' 3,000 mile journey along Route 312 and
his adventures while living six years in China. He learned to speak
fluent Chinese and get to know their culture up close. Stops he makes
along Route 312 are as varied as a Hooters in Shanghai to modern
factories to personal interviews with farmers toiling in the fields the
same way their ancestors did. Interesting read to see how China is
progressing so rapidly to become now the second biggest economy. 
Need
to schedule a trip there one of these days....
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Omni San Antonio Hotel now at River Walk
Today, Omni Hotels & Resorts announced that San Antonio's Watermark Hotel & Spa will now be Mokara, a Signature Experience. Located on the popular River Walk, the Mokara Hotel & Spa is the first luxury boutique property owned by Omni Hotels & Resorts and the third hotel the Irving, Texas based company owns in San Antonio. Read our recent review on the Omni At the Colonnade.
The Mokara
Hotel & Spa includes 99 guest rooms and suites with river front
views. The name for the hotel is derived from a rare orchid that is said
to have healing properties. The new Ostra restaurant in the hotel will
have a rooftop herb garden. A second Mokara Hotel & Spa is in the works
for Banderas Bay, Mexico.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Omni Hotels and Amelia Island
Omni Hotels and Resorts continues expansion into new U.S. markets with
the announcement of purchasing Amelia Island Plantation in Amelia
Island, Florida, located 29 miles north of Jacksonville. Omni will be
expanding the number of guest rooms and adding a new ballroom.
Additional locations being considered by Omni Hotels and Resorts for new
hotels include Pittsburgh and Boston.
Read about our Omni Hotel
destination features:
Atlanta
| Corpus
Christi | San
Antonio
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
New New York James Hotel has unique waterfall
The posh 114 room James Hotel in West Manhattan of New York City opens
on Wednesday. One of the magnets of the hotel will by a 2nd floor garden
with waterfall. From the rooftop bar, one will be able to get an an
impressive view of the cityscape. If you stay
at the new James Hotel, let us know! 
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Grand Teton up for sale?
There is an interesting news story developing out of Wyoming. The
Governor is threatening to auction off land that the state owns inside
the Grand Teton National Park and valued at $125 million if the Federal
government does not cough up additional money to the state for education.
Here
is a link
to the story. From years past, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip through
the Grand Teton with its' immense beauty.
As many states are
strapped for cash, this may become more of a common trend.
What are
your thoughts? Let us know via our new
Facebook page.
Monday, August 02, 2010
Are You a Road Warrior?
The inflight magazine for American Airlines, American Way, has just
introduced their 9th Annual American Way Road Warrior Contest.
Lots
of prizes are on tap, including upscale Bose home entertainment, music,
and headphone systems, and a five-night trip for two at the Hilton
Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort in the Caribbean.
Located on
the southernmost tip of the Mexican Baja peninsula along the beach, with
18-hole gold resort and lots of amenities.
The top five contest
finalists will be picked by magazine staff and then readers will vote
online for the Grand Prize, 2nd Prize, and 3rd Prize winners.
Each
of the winners will be featured on the cover of the magazine as well.
With
the cool prizes, it's worth a shot, so visit www.americanwaymag.com/roadwarrior
by Aug. 31 for official rules and to enter.