Jennifer W. Miner's Blog

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The Lion King is taking up permanent residency in Las Vegas! Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino is the lucky location for this sure-to-be sellout show. This is Walt Disney Company's first time setting up a long-term interest in Las Vegas, and it's hard to imagine a better fit; the visual artistry of The Lion King on Broadway is well-known (it made me cry, and I'm a cynical old gal). Naturally, most tourists plan vacations in Las Vegas to try their hand at the poker tables - or the slot machines, a worse gamble. It's nice to know that the art and culture in Las Vegas provides a welcome break from losing your shirt there.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Oh man, do I love Hawaii. Living in Southern California has made the islands more accessible than before, and even when I'm not on Maui or the Big Island, I find myself fantasizing about making future travel plans there.

The Hawaii Superferry, which operates daily roundtrip morning/afternoon trips between Oahu and Maui, recently feted its 125,000th passenger with a year's worth of free rides (for four, plus a car on board too). Pretty great, considering that the Hawaii Superferry is a relative newcomer to Hawaii island-hopping, and especially since it was initially met with some opposition. Things are smooth sailing for the Superferry now, though, and indicate his support for local farmers and "green" travel between the islands, Hawaii Superferry President Tom Fargo also just announced a partnership with local farm organizations. This includes a travel discount for qualified farmers, ranchers and merchants.

What's next on tap for the Hawaii Superferry? A planned addition to their route. Adding the Big Island and Kauai to the ferry's destinations will help travelers, local and tourist alike, get to different islands while leaving a lighter carbon footprint. And it serves to give me yet another reason to daydream about my next vacation in Hawaii.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

There's a recession coming, if it's not already here. Everyone's feeling the pinch. From the price of gas to the price of a gallon of milk (up to 4 dollars in my grocery store!), Americans have to figure out a way to economize. But that doesn't mean giving up travel completely. After all, vacations make for much better memories than just sitting around watching television.

There are some really good ways to take even a weekend getaway and not blow your travel budget. The USA has some fun and free activities in popular vacation destinations, for example, and even the luxury vacation town of Santa Barbara has cheap hotels and free activities. Down south of Los Angeles, Redondo Beach is a reasonably good facsimile of more upscale Southern California beach towns - but it's much more affordable, with cheap hotels and a down-to-earth sunny culture. And for an affordable luxury hotel in Redondo Beach, you can't beat the Portofino. So don't forgo all your travel plans; save money by using your vacation budget wisely, and make those memories!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

There's no real bad time to visit Hawaii, but some people might not consider a summer South Pacific vacation (since it's warm elsewhere too). Frequent readers know that Hawaii is my favorite island chain - and I'm hardly alone in this - but for the uninitiated, the Big Island is as good a place to start as any.

There are some travel deals, activities and events this summer to help plan out a Big Island vacation. My pick? The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has Vavoom Volcano Tours; through the end of the year, there's a "buy one, get one free" special for crater hiking tours and hikes to the sea near Kalapana.

Luxury travel fans will want to stay somewhere along the Kohala Coast. My favorite of the luxury resorts here is the Fairmont Orchid, but then, I've always been partial to that family of hotels. The Mauna Lani Resort, another 5-star hotel, is offering a 5th night free until December 23rd; an excellent deal for a luxury vacation in Hawaii. While on the Kohala Coast, try to explore the petroglyphs, and make time to check out the Gathering of Kings.

There are eco-camp and budget alternatives on the Big Island, some that start at only 20 dollars a night. Call A Beautiful Day Spa (808)982-7252, for more info on the eco- and volunteering range of lodging.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

We've seen what the ghastly air fare prices have been these days - seriously, $800 round trip from LAX to Chicago? Granted, that would've been a last-minute trip, but still - the high price of fuel is really putting a strain on our travel plans. That's one reason why I was so happy to see that the Hawaii Visitor and Convention Bureau joined with several big online travel companies to ease the pain on our tourist budgets. A lot of these Hawaii air fare and hotel package deals include a free car rental, which is nice...but the Hawaiian islands also seem to be leading the way in terms of United States gas prices. Maui was the first place I saw $4.49/gallon listed at gas stations, and a few days later, the Big Island was the second. Yikes!

Car rental companies are also looking at the bottom line, and the higher-ups there are realizing that if people can't afford the gas, they won't rent the cars. Hertz has a very nice summer vacation offer right now. Rent from Hertz, and the company will give you a free full tank of gas. That's around $60 dollars (and counting...) savings. This is only good through July 14, though, so you'll have to move fast. Just go to the Hertz website, click on "Special Offers," and then from the drop-down list, click on "Free Gas Will Keep You Moving." Sorry, Canada, your free tank of gas offer expires a couple weeks before ours down in the States does.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Father's Day is next month, and for some dads that means a new tie to hang in the nether regions of their closets. For some other dads - lucky, lucky dads - Father's Day instead can mean a Father's Day gift package in Jamaica. This travel package is at the Half Moon Resort in Montego Bay, and includes two rounds of golf as well as a spa treatment. Also part of the package are round trip airport transfers, 5-star dining, and, of course, a room or suite at Half Moon. Oh, and a welcoming beer upon arrival - just to set the mood.

If you've missed Father's Day or can't take a luxury vacation in mid-June, no worries: The Guys on the Green travel package is good all the way through December 15, 2008. Let's see; another tie, or luxury travel package in Jamaica. Tough choice, huh?

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Here's some news for any aspiring writers out there: My favorite travel blog (wink, wink) is putting together an anthology. It's easy to submit your travel tale to the TravelingMamas anthology, and more than one story can be submitted. Now, this is a relatively new blog, but it's got a bunch of things cookin', and the professional travel writers who run it are having a lot of fun.

The anthology is requesting one-time rights only, but reprints are acceptable if you own the rights. From funny stories to tearjerkers, all styles are fair game here. Don't let the name of the blog spook you- you don't have to be a mom to tell the tale. I think it'd be fun (and kind of exciting) for someone with a great travel tale o see it published with other stories, and I can't wait to see how this anthology turns out.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I've written about the amazing, award-winning golf courses on Kauai before; in particular, the Kauai Golf Challenge and Kauai Ultimate Golf Challenge cooperative allow golfers to play on several of the island's top greens. Those award winners are Princeville's Prince and Makai courses, Poipu Bay's golf course, Kauai Lagoon's Kiele and Mokihana courses, and the Puakea golf course.

A new destination golf course has just been added to the Ultimate Island Green cooperative. The Kiahuna Golf Club, designed by golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr., is is a perfect fit with the othes. In fact, Robert Trent Jones Jr designed both Princeville and Poipu Bay's courses, creatively matching the need for challenging games with the desire for scenic vistas. Kiahuna is no exception: The par 70 championship course takes golfers around still-standing relics of ancient Hawaii, adding a sense of history and spirituality to the fairway. Sounds like the Kauai golf cooperative just got even better!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I love Vancouver. And apparently, I'm not the only one - not by a long shot. The Economic Intelligence Unit rated Vancouver, British Columbia as the most livable city in the world. Because some of the factors that figure into livability are quality and availability of good and services, low crime, and access to arts and culture, Vancouver is also a top vacation city. Sure, it's cloudier and rainier than some may like, but hey - nowhere's perfect, right?

Now, many people visit Vancouver en route to Whistler Blackcomb for skiing. No harm there! If it's just an easy overnight you seek, I recommend staying at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport hotel. It's the best airport hotel I've ever been in (for both incredible convenience and the luxury standards of the Fairmont brand), and an experience you won't soon forget. But, if you're planning an upscale vacation in Vancouver, or a day and nights as a pit stop of an Alaskan cruise, please check out Stanley Park and the Vancouver Aquarium. Stay at one of the best luxury hotels in Vancouver, or narrow your choices to those within the Fairmont chain. Fairmont hotels are more than reasonably priced 4- and 5-star luxury hotels, they are also leading the way regarding conservation and sustainable tourism. Lucky Vancouver has three, soon to be four Fairmont hotels, so there are plenty to choose from! It's nice to feel good about where your vacation dollars are spent.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Valentine's Day is around the corner, and the more thoughtful of my readers are probably already considering where to go and what to buy for the love in their lives. Right? ...No? It figures. Well, in these times of tightened belts and emptier wallets, it may be wise to forgo that private jet to Paris for Valentine's Day, but romantic weekend getaways are still easy to find, and to afford.

If any romantic long weekend destinations are near you, consider making this Valentine's Day special. It's a blacked-out travel time for a reason; I have no statistics on this, but I'd wager it's one of the most popular weekend dates for marriage proposals. If that's all in the past (in my case, waaaay in the past), a getaway weekend trip is still commendable - and try packing some surprises to keep that romantic spark alive. Or send some of those goodies to me - my spouse will likely forget as usual, and I'm not as picky as I used to be. Kidding! I kid. Have a sweet Valentine's Day.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

San Mateo County is usually a pretty quiet place. Sure, you've got the annual Pumpkin Festival in Half Moon Bay, where folks can get a little stirred up about winning the pumpkin weigh-in contest, and you've got the Pigeon Point Lighthouse, one of the tallest lighthouses in America. Generally, however, people walk slow and things don't much happen in this sleepy county just south of San Francisco.

Once a year though - BAM! It's the Mavericks Big Wave Surf Contest, and surfers come from all over the planet to compete for the $75,000 purse. This year, the winner of the Mavericks Surf Contest is himself from California: Greg Long, from San Clemente, competed (and won) against around 24 other top-notch surfers. With waves that get up to four stories tall, the Mavericks Surf Contest is the equivalent of the Super Bowl for the surfing subculture - they wait for ideal surfing conditions in Northern California, and are prepared to get to the surf contest in 24 hours. All these surfers from around the world, converging on Half Moon Bay for a day or two, crashing in local hotels or sleeping in their cars - it's enough to almost (almost) put the Pumpkin Festival to shame.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Some people have a hard time understanding why anyone would choose a ski vacation over a tropical one - and by "some people," I mean, "me." Preference for poolside mixed drinks aside, the cold weather, extreme physical exertion, cold weather, lack of snorkeling opportunities, and cold weather all seem like remarkable vacation turn-offs. Or so I thought, until my recent family ski trip to Lake Tahoe. Yes, a ski trip. Yes, in the winter. Yes, me, alright already!

The kids and their cousins had such a blast, and didn't complain once about the physical exertion or cold weather. Well, one kid complained a little, but she'll remain unidentified for the sake of future therapy bills. The joy of the five children learning to ski and really enjoying each others company was heartwarming enough to make up - almost - for the 20 degree weather. Now, Lake Tahoe is considered an excellent ski resort area, one of the best in North America; it certainly is child-friendly. Our hotel seemed to be 80% family ski travelers. And now that we know we don't completely hate ski vacations, maybe we'll actually make it up to Whistler next year. Maybe. I hear that 20 degrees is considered relatively balmy up there.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Perfect Escapes, the website that secures great discounts on luxury hotels around the world, has a good offer up in its listings. One of the nicer luxury hotels on Maui, the Maui Prince, is a quiet adult resort. If you book reservations through Perfect Escapes (offer OID: 350), you can get a romantic vacation on the best tropical vacation island in the world - and Luxury Travel's favorite of the Hawaiian chain - for a relatively cheap price.

The Perfect Escapes Maui Prince Hotel Vacation Package is good for three nights during the prime, peak tropical vacation travel season. Starting at $312 a night (remember this is a luxury hotel, I loved it there), you get a prime room with ocean views and a $100 resort credit redeemable for any on-site resort activities. This offer is good for 3 or more nights, from January 4 to March 31, 2008. Hawaii in the winter? Seriously - it's a great offer.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Hotel Victor is pulling out all the stops for New Year's Eve. This great boutique hotel in South Beach, Florida has several extremely enticing packages for all you young folk who enjoy luxury travel to south Florida. And by young, I mean, like to party until 4 in the morning with live music and gorgeous fellow travelers. Hotel Victor in Miami is enjoyed throughout the year, of course - but it's when school's out (read: Christmas Break, Spring Break, etc) that the parties really get started.

The three Hotel Victor New Year's vacation packages are the New Year Party Essentials package, New Year's in Style travel package, and the Ultimate Sobe vacation package. Each of these South Beach vacation packages include tickets to the hotel party. What's so special about the hotel party? Well, Hotel Victor is hosting the Honey Brothers (featuring Entourage's Adrian Grenier) to perform on New Year's Eve, with an open bar starting at 10:00 PM. What a way to ring in the New Year! If I weren't in California, and around a decade too old, I'd want to get in on this celebration myself.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Longtime readers of this travel blog probably know by now how much I love Hawaii. The snorkeling is some of the best in the world, the 5-star golf courses on Kauai make for the ultimate golf package vacations, and of course, Maui is close to perfect as a tropical vacation island can be.

It's hard to tear me away from staying at one of the best luxury hotels on Maui. Getting this luxury travel writer to Oahu definitely requires something special. And guess what? The Waikiki Parc Hotel has done it. The 4-star Waikiki Parc is known for its clean architectural lines and modern luxury accommodations in a boutique setting. With the Waikiki beach right outside the hotel and the relatively urban pleasures of Honolulu nearby, you'd think the Waikiki Parc Hotel wouldn't need to add any new enticements. Well, think again: Waikiki Parc Hotel is getting Chef Nobu Matsuhisa himself to come to the hotel's Nobu Waikiki restaurant on December 21-24. The famed sushi chef will display his culinary skills and sign cookbooks for lucky guests. And did I mention the gorgeously prepared Japanese food? Now, Nobu Matsuhisa's restaurants are among the top sushi restaurants here in the United States (the Nobu in Malibu is also quite a scene). The Nobu restaurant in Oahu is no different. The Waikiki Parc Hotel is turning this visit into a week-long celebration of this famous chef, culminating with a New Year's Eve exclusive omakase menu (chef's choice) at Waikiki Nobu. Personally, I can't imagine a better way to ring in the New Year.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

One of my two favorite luxury resorts in Montego Bay, Jamaica, has completed its new spa. This is good news for people who love Caribbean vacations! The Half Moon resort has been perfecting the new Fern Tree Spa, spending around $4 million dollars to make it as 5-star a luxury spa as possible. And, at 68,000 square feet, the Fern Tree Spa is practically as spacious as the Roman Baths. I can imagine having a spa package appointment, right after time spent in the Dolphin Lagoon...Forget the Ritz-Carlton next door, the Half Moon is quickly becoming the top choice for romantic, 5-star stays on Montego Bay.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

As thousands of Americans pack their bags and prepare to fly to relatives' homes for Thanksgiving, many understandably worry about arriving on time.

The latest on the airline industry is out, and the news isn't good. With more delays than ever, on-time performance this year is the worst it's been since landing times have started being collected (New York Times, Nov 15 2007). Jet Blue Airway's Valentine's Day debacle this past year has been echoed by other airlines similarly keeping passengers stewing in their seats for hours on the tarmac, higher fuel prices means higher airplane ticket prices, and British Airways has been socked with both a hefty fine for price-fixing and a class-action lawsuit.

It's enough to make those of us who don't have to fly for Thanksgiving, know what we have to be thankful for this year!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Hawaii is such a great island chain for tropical vacations, isn't it? Well, I certainly think so; witness my periodic raving about the best golf courses on Kauai, or the best family resorts on each island, or the best snorkel and scuba dive sites on each of the main Hawaiian islands.

Be that as it may, my favorite vacation island in Hawaii is Maui. From relatively isolated resorts like the Hotel Hana Maui, to the luxury hotel resort area of Wailea, there is a perfect vacation spot for any traveler somewhere on Maui. And while my favorite luxury hotel is the Fairmont Kea Lani, many other luxury travel experts prefer the Four Seasons Resort Maui right next door. It's easy to understand why; the custom-fitted pool side lounge chair covers to the impeccable room service, first-class amenities unfailingly abound at the Four Seasons Resort Maui. In fact, if only I had had the opportunity to test out the Kids for All Seasons children's day camp (included in the price of your stay), Four Seasons Resort Maui may have leapfrogged over the Fairmont Kea Lani. What can I say? My kids love on-site day camps at luxury resorts.

Luxury travel fans have a chance to check out this award-winning, 5-star resort for themselves - and if you plan your tropical vacation right, take part in a free promotion as well. The folks at Four Seasons Resort Maui are eager to share the recently spruced-up interior and hotel grounds. From January 6 to February 14 2008 - right after the winter holiday season, naturally - guests who stay five nights, get the 6th night free. Yes, free. Yes, at this top luxury resort on the best vacation island in the world. Don't forget your sunscreen.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The weather's changing, and it's getting colder. Holiday travel plans are in full swing for many of us. If you're on the East Coast, you've probably already considered flying south to the Caribbean. Good thinking! Warm up, gaze at the turquoise waters, and leave your Blackberry in your hotel room. But those of us who love our luxury vacations and the chance to try out a first-class golf course may feel stuck. Yes, yes, it used to be hard to find a decent golf course on one of those Caribbean islands, but times have changed. In all the Caribbean, I'd have to recommend Jamaica for golf. Montego Bay, in particular, has three fantastic golf courses in and around luxury resorts, making for easy, quick transportation between sets of links. The Ritz-Carton Golf and Spa Resort has the renown White Witch golf course, and the Trent Jones-designed golf course at the Half Moon Golf Club is less than 10 minutes away. Last, the Cinnamon Hill golf course at the Rose Hall Resort and Country Club makes for a moderately challenging game. And after working so hard to earn this luxury golf vacation, you don't want to work too hard at your game, do you?

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

One of my best airport hotel picks in San Mateo County is taking part in a quickie money-saving travel deal. The Bay Landing Airport Hotel, 3 miles from the San Francisco Airport, is offering a November 3-night air/hotel package rate of $261 for travelers coming from LAX. The Bay Landing Hotel is convenient, and luxurious for the area; most rooms sport water views, there's free shuttle service to the airport and BART, free deluxe continental breakfast, and high-speed internet access. Check out Expedia's website for more information.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Have you heard? AOL News reports that "Mark Mancina Loves His iPhone." Yeah, yeah, I hadn't heard of him before, either. Turns out, he's the guy who has written the musical scores for movies like "Tarzan" and "Bad Boys." I guess Apple will take its celebrity endorsements where it can!

Seriously, though, the iPhone really is a sight to see, and it's no surprise that celebrities (actually famous people or not) are snapping them up. And as a frequent traveler who relies on a PDA smartphone to keep in touch with family and friends, I sure understand the appeal. It's no exaggeration to say that a small crowd gathers around an iPhone user when he or she oh-so-casually pulls it out of his pocket. Those early adopters who bought the first iPhones on the market enjoyed the bulk of this admiration, of course, as Blackberry Pearl and Blackberry 8800 smartphone users looked on curiously. But there are some complaints about the iPhone, as holds true for any relatively new consumer electronic product (i.e. shiny gadget). These issues users have with iPhones are pretty easy to fix, however. I hope Bill Gates is listening!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

It's funny to think about how much fun can be had in your own backyard. All the time I spend planning trips to Santa Barbara, where the restaurants are as casual or cosmopolitan as befits a traveler's mood, means little if my kids are bored and cranky. All the organization it takes for me to haul the family up to San Mateo County is for naught if those selfsame kids don't have a good time. And Hawaii? What a huge trip, what a luxury vacation it is, and still - those children have to be happy and excited to be there. Otherwise, may as well stay home.

But our backyard? It's Los Angeles. Hardly a part of the country that is bereft of activities and entertainment. No wonder my kids are so happy to stay home; the three best amusement parks in LA are an easy drive, and there are boundless other fun child-friendly activities here as well. A luxury vacation while staying at home? Kind of a contradiction of terms, yet...Kind of a great idea, too.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Luxury travel, for me, also involves some ecological responsibility. It's practically impossible to be a world traveler (one with limited vacation days, that is) without flying. Buying carbon credits is way to offset the CO2 produced by airplanes, and this is growing in popularity. I stay in Fairmont hotels when I can: The luxury hotel chain is a leader of environmental responsibility. Luxury travel and eco-travel are not polar opposites. And, of course, there's the day-to-day stuff like recycling, not driving a gas guzzler, etc.

But when I wrote an article in August 2007 about the Hawaii Superferry, I had no idea that a conflict would soon arise: I thought it was a pretty good idea, to tell the truth. In late August, a bunch of protesters stopped the Superferry from docking at the Nawiliwili Harbor in Kauai, and the next thing you know, there's a major lawsuit barred the Hawaii Superferry from continuing its daily ferry service altogether. Eek!

Seems that the Hawaii Superferry, proud to be using an ecologically safe (well, safer) catamaran, is not in compliance with the Hawaii Environmental Protection Act...yet. Read more about the Hawaii Superferry's legal woes here, and tell me what you think - is this radical environmentalism, or do the plaintiffs have a case? I'm curious to see how this turns out.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

As a luxury travel writer, I get an odd assortment of email offers. We don't need to get graphic with the details, but occasionally a press release catches my eye. It seems that the San Mateo County Convention and Visitors Bureau was inviting me on a media tour of "the best of the San Francisco Bay." Alright, I thought, this is an easy "yes!" After all, San Francisco is a simple one-hour flight from Los Angeles, and there's a lot of luxury travel opportunities up there.

Well, I got snookered by a well-written press release, is what happened. The focus was not on San Francisco at all, but rather, its more rustic neighbor to the south. San Mateo County is still a pretty agrarian part of California, with huge pumpkin patches, roadside veggie sales, and unflappable seals sunbathing by the off-limits Pigeon Point Lighthouse. We toured an organic goat farm, and as an organic goat rubbed its head against my slacks, leaving an organic smudge of dirt, I realized - this is not for the upscale market.

San Mateo County has a lot to recommend, however. Half Moon Bay is one of the loveliest low-key beach towns around, and there are several pretty inns and hotels there. The activities in San Mateo County also fall more on the low-key end of the travel scale, but I'd bet kids have a good time.

And don't worry about me: The last night of the tour, we were treated to an evening of fine dining and terrific drinks at the Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley. Four Seasons! A luxury travel writer has to think: That's more like it.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Last month, I was happy to write an article about the inauguration of a new ferry service in Hawaii, the Hawaii Superferry. Well, I go on vacation for a couple of weeks, and what happens? The whole thing blows up.

Environmentalists, surfers, and random beach dudes protested the Hawaii Superferry's arrival at the Nawiliwili Harbor in Kauai, causing it to actually turn around and head back to Honolulu. This happened on August 28, and the next day, a state judge denied a request to lift a temporary restraining order barring the Superferry from using the Kahului Harbor ferry terminal in Maui. The ban will be in place until an environmental impact assessment is done. The Kahului Harbor Coalition, Maui Tomorrow, and the local chapter of the Sierra Club are concerned that the Hawaii Superferry endangers whales, worsens pollution and helps spread invasive species.

Now, this passenger and car ferry service is done on a catamaran, with no exposed propellers or ballast water needed - reducing potential damage to migrating marine mammals and Hawaii's delicate micro-ecosystems. Every day, many larger boats and yachts dock in the island chain's harbors: It's unclear at this point exactly what the Hawaii Superferry is purported to do to the surrounding marine environment, that isn't being done on a much larger scale by cruise lines and such. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: The Hawaii Superferry Legal Woes

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

There's no question that frequent travelers' satisfaction with the airline industry is way, way down. We all have our tales to tell, ranging from hidden fees and blackout dates for frequent flyer miles, to sitting on the tarmac for hours and canceled flights. You can fly all-business class airlines, you can wait around in an American Airlines Admirals Club lounge, you can plan ahead to ensure that your kids will be at least tolerable on long flights - but there's not much you can do about lost luggage.

Lost luggage! It's the stuff travel nightmares are made of. And it's only made worse with unsympathetic airline employees who handle baggage customer calls. That's just one problem that British Airways has, and it's won the ignominious award for Most Lost Luggage of Any Airline. In the world. That's not the kind of recognition to write home about, and it kind of puts Jet Blue (after its recent travails) in perspective. Those companies that specialize in shipping important or oversized luggage abroad, pre-flight, are making more and more sense.

It would make even more sense, of course, for airlines to hire more - and better - baggage handers, to cut some flights and reduce runway congestion. But that would imply that the industry is putting their passengers first. I don't think any of us frequent air travelers are expecting that: It would be just too much to ask. Yet, I still hold out hope.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Maui is my favorite island in Hawaii, but that doesn't mean the others aren't worth a visit (or two, or three...) during a vacation. The Hawaii Superferry is up and running as of this summer, and this makes it much easier for inveterate travelers like myself to day-trip from Maui to Oahu. Kauai is also an island serviced by this new ferry; as it's the farthest west of the main Hawaiian islands, this is very handy.

The Hawaii Superferry has three docking harbors; the Honolulu Ferry Terminal in Oahu, the Kahului Ferry Terminal in Maui, and the Nawiliwili Ferry Terminal in Kauai. Now, the ferry company allows cars on board, but passengers must show their driver's license. It's a nice way to see more of Hawaii than the one island you've chosen as "home base." For me, always going back to Maui, Kauai has seemed like an impossibility (getting to Lanai is geographically easier). The Hawaii Superferry takes the impracticality out of the picture. Those award-winning golf courses on Kauai seem a lot closer, knowing that island hopping is possible.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Doesn't a vacation in Hawaii sound nice? Each island provides a different feel for a tropical vacation, from the cosmopolitan scene is Waikiki Oahu, to the ultra luxury of Wailea Maui, to the remote, get-away-from-it-all romance of a vacation in Lanai. And Kauai, as rugged as undeveloped as it is, boasts some of the best golf courses and golf resorts of the entire island chain (Maui is its only Hawaiian competition). And Kauai's Na Pali Coast is one of the best dive sites in Hawaii.

Only 3% of Kauai is developed. It's easy to have an escapist luxury vacation once you get there. However, until recently, the "getting there" was by no means half the fun. There have been no direct flights from the United States to Kauai - until now. ATA Airlines now offers four weekly flights to Kauai is only airport, Lihue Airport, through a partnership with Southwest Airlines. Alaska Airlines is also starting a direct flight from the US to Kauai, from Seattle/Tacoma right to the Lihue Airport. No more transfers in Maui or Oahu! ...And that's a relief: Getting to Kauai has never been easier. Now we can take our kids on what otherwise would have been an arduous journey.

While you're in Kauai, check out some of the best golf courses in Hawaii. Each has won their fair share of awards, and the Princeville Resort's Prince Golf Course, in particular, has been named the best golf course in Hawaii. No, not by me, although I probably would do so if it meant something. This award has been given by Golf Digest, and these guys know a thing or two about what makes golf courses great. So if you love Hawaii but have been putting off a vacation in Kauai, now is your chance to take advantage of an easier way to get there.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Hooray! One of my favorite North American vacation towns, Santa Barbara, may have scored a real coup. The Los Angeles Times reported that a million-year old mammoth fossil discovered in nearby Moorpark, is most likely going to be exhibited prominently and permanently at one of Santa Barbara's museums. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is one of my favorite SB museums; it's remarkable to find such a world-class natural history museum in a smallish, upscale beachy town like this. The fossilized Moorpark mammoth, determined by paleontologists to be an adult female, will be a major part of the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum's geology fossil exhibit.

So, the next time you're planning a long weekend in Santa Barbara, consider taking time out from all the day spa massages, ocean activity and relaxation in your luxury hotel. Check out the Moorpark mammoth at the Museum of Natural History - I know I will, next time I'm in SB.

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Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Have you ever had such a great time at a resort, that you try to extend your vacation there? I know I have - but sadly, to no avail. I usually only travel during the peak tourist seasons (darn you, schedule!), and hotels at terrific destinations are generally booked solid at those times. Travelers have iffy luck extending vacations even by one day, although admittedly there are worst things to worry about.

I've been thinking about how vacations always seem to end too soon (the good ones, at least). From now 'til December 22, 2007, there's a great luxury travel deal at Hotel Hana Maui, in which guests stay 5 nights, and the sixth night is free. Hotel Hana Maui is a AAA Four Diamond Hotel, on what is generally considered to be the best vacation island in the world: It's one of the best hotels on Maui. This is a terrific travel deal. And, with a little imagination, you can pretend you're only staying for 5 nights - that's all you pay for - so that it seems as if that 6th night is an unexpected vacation bonus. I'm not above psychological trickery if it gets me thinking I was able to extend my Hawaiian vacation. What's not to like?

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Father's Day is in a couple of weeks - which is a good thing, because now gifts and a little attention can be bestowed upon the supposed figurehead of the family. Let's face it; after all the love and declamations of gratitude that moms get for Mother's Day, dads really ought to get their fair shakes a month or so later, right?

I've always thought it was amusing that Mother's Day gifts usually involve time away from the kids - home bath treat escapism, trips to luxury day spas, etc. - while Father's Day sees more time with the kids. This is obviously a holdover from days past, when more mothers stayed home and more fathers took more of the classic "hands off" approach to parenting. But there's been a huge cultural shift regarding rigid parenting roles (if they were ever so rigid as '50s TV would have us think). Dads have really taken up a larger, more constant role in their growing children's lives, by and large, and this has benefited both the children and the fathers themselves.

This year, don't get your dad a tie. Actually, don't get him a tie, any year. You know it's a cop-out gift, he knows it's a cop-out gift, so you're not fooling anyone. Instead, think about splurging (your siblings can kick in for this) for a trip. Real "mancation" quality time away, such as a father-son vacation, certainly provides better memories than do cufflinks, or does a mug with an amusing expression on it. And if plans are in the works for a romantic getaway for mom and dad, or even a babymoon if the father and mother-to-be are just starting down the path towards being parents, then there are always gifts to accessorize some lovely luxury travel. I don't mean luggage tags or souvenir t-shirts, though: Great travel gift ideas for men range from useful to pure fun, but all are certainly thoughtful. Not to say that a toddler's carefully drawn handprint won't melt a dad's heart, but - if you're reading this - you're not a toddler anymore. Step up to the plate and give a great Father's Day gift.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that airline passenger satisfaction is tanking. Now that the numbers are in, however , we have proof: The American Customer Satisfaction Index has passengers' scores of major US airline, and the overall ratings are the lowest in seven years.

If you're like me, your schedule predicates that you must travel during peak vacation seasons. This means that by now you've witnessed or suffered through one of the main reasons for airline passenger discontent. Delayed flights, lost luggage, and unpredictable ticket prices are among the reasons for the dramatic drop in air travel consumer satisfaction ratings. However, the overriding cause of low scores for airlines is declining passenger service. Bad weather can't be helped, after all -- but grouchy airline employees aren't an avoidable element of air travel. And the food! Don't get me started.

Perhaps all this railing against crappy passenger service isn't shouting into the wind: It appears that US Airways, at least, may be paying attention to the suffering of their herded cattle - er, passengers. Starting in May 2007, passengers of US Airways will be offered a slice of Sheraton's signature pie. I know, I know, I hear you: What does Sheraton have to do with air travel? And hotel satisfaction is at its lowest point ever, so how does combining two low-scoring industries equal a positive experience, right? Well, guests of mid-range hotels gave those low scores, but luxury hotels (4- and 5-star) are seeing higher levels of satisfaction. Sheraton's Four Points is the hotel chain's venture into the upscale travel market. Four Points by Sheraton will offer different types of its pie (which is actually quite good) every three months, starting with pecan pie. The promotion ends March 2008.

Can something as simple as a slice of pie help improve customers' air travel experience? There's something so comforting about fresh pie; I'd say Yes. Can't complain about that. It's better than the teeny bag of pretzels you get on American, anyway.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Remember the whole JetBlue Airways fiasco on Valentine's Day? I sure do: Passengers stranded on the tarmac for 10 hours during an ice storm, well over a thousand flights cancelled though the few days' bad weather, etc. All of us who weren't stuck at the JFK airport for the duration of the JetBlue debacle sympathized with those who were (and breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't us).

Well, it looks like the corporation has decided where the buck stops, and that is at the very top. David Neeleman, the founder and CEO of Jet Blue, is being removed from his position. The new chief executive of Jet Blue, David Barger (what is it with this airline company and Daves?) doesn't expect JetBlue Airways' strategy to change much. Comparably low fares and genuinely friendly service, all in a pretty egalitarian setup, worked really well for Jet Blue up until last Valentine's Day.

David Neeleman isn't leaving Jet Blue altogether, however. He plans to work within the corporation to seek out viable alternate energy for jet fuel and improve upon the existing Live TV unit, as well as research improved e-ticket programs. I have to admit, I'm glad Neeleman's not being kicked to the curb (right by the curbside check-in) by JetBlue Airways. After all, he did create an airline company that is, by community standards, pretty great. Customer satisfaction with airlines is tanking, and it's nice to know that at least one low-cost, friendlier airline company is keeping the guy that helped make it so.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

It's a common refrain, this time of year, that Mother's Day was created by Hallmark, or the phone company, as just another way to leech money from unsuspecting consumers. The truth, however, is that social activist Julia Ward Howe started Mother's Day back in 1870, as a way to bring women together to call for peace in the world. Her "Mother's Day Proclamation" demands the end of wars, saying in part:

"We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies,

Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.

Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn

All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.

We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country

To allow out sons to be trained to injure theirs."

Powerful words, written fifty years before women even got the right to vote. And in many ways, the meaning behind Mother's Day has changed. Mother's Day in the 21st century is celebrated with gift baskets full of bath salts and other at home spa treatments, gift certificates for massages at day spas, or boxes of chocolates, or even romantic weekend getaways without the kids. But this year - marked by more US soldier deaths in Iraq than ever before, with a media blackout so dark that even the mainstream news sources seem to have forgotten what it means to see our citizens come back in wooden boxes - let's remember Mother's Days' original purpose. A call to disarm, a call for peace: A call to bring our husbands and sons, our mothers and daughters, back home. American citizens back on American ground, safe and sound... I can't imagine a more appropriate, patriotic way to celebrate Mother's Day.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

When someone says, "I like to travel," it can mean many things. There's historic tours, adventure travel, luxury travel, and more. Like it or not, all leave their mark on the environment.

It's ironic that the resources used by travel lovers can do much to damage the exotic locales to which they have traveled. Air travel emits damaging CO2 closer to the ozone layer, which many know protects us from the harmful UV rays of the sun, and which is getting thinner. Luxury resorts that spring up in the middle of the rainforest often displace indigenous populations, and curtail the health of the local habitat. And water use by hotels and resorts in arid destinations is alarmingly high - especially when a portion of the water is used for the (vain)glorious well-lit fountains in a desert like Las Vegas. Historic travel can damage the very sites being visited as well.

But not all of us are built of the sturdy stuff: Ecotravel, backpacking, and camping isn't for everyone. How can luxury travel coexist with the knowledge that tourist-friendly wild spaces are dwindling? Fortunately, green travel and stays at upscale resorts aren't diametrically opposed. The article "Responsible Luxury Travel Plans" delineates several ways in which travelers, accustomed to nice amenities, can have their upscale vacations, and be environmentally responsible as well.

For example, frequent flyers can look into carbon offset programs, in which money is donated to supporting solar power, wind power, and other clean, renewable sources of energy. Further, Fairmont is an international, luxury hotel chain, which has been green since before there was any consumer awareness regarding the importance of sustainable tourism. A stay in any Fairmont guarantees that some travel dollars are being spent to promote responsible energy use.

There are many luxury ecotourism destinations. After all, a tropical location can provide for a lovely trip, even without leaving the large carbon footprint luxury vacations (golf courses, day spas) usually entail. The Cotton Tree Lodge in Belize is but one example of a full service resort, which is also built and based on sustainable land use and respect for the land. The Sierra Club offers many environmentally responsible trips of varying comfort, from the very rough, to walking tours in France.

The earth-friendly luxury traveler needn't despair. Travel in style, and don't forgo the luxury amenities of upscale vacations. But do so wisely, and the health of our planet will be better for it.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Wall Street. Politics. The entertainment industry. All three huge North American industries rely heavily on the Blackberry for remote email access, and all three huge industries went into meltdown when the RIM Blackberry system crashed this past week. Like mourning the withdrawal from any drug, Crackberry addicts went into denial ("It just needs new batteries!"), anger ("This is @&#* up!"), bargaining ("I swear I won't check for new emails during family dinner if my Blackberry starts working again now."), depression ("What am I going to do with no Blackberry service?"), and finally, acceptance ("I suppose I can log onto my work email through my laptop.")

Then, as soon as all the hedge fund managers, politicos and line producers Kubler-Rossed themselves into dealing with the systemwide Blackberry crash, it was over. People are still talking about how this Blackberry blackout, less than 12 hours long, affected their business days. Research in Motion, the company that makes the Blackberry line, is getting to the bottom of what caused the Blackberry crash; it may have something to do with the skyrocketing popularity of this smartphone.

The rapid growth of Blackberry products' popularity is due, at least in part, to the user-friendly Blackberry Pearl. The Pearl has a cameraphone and center navigation wheel, is faster than its predecessors, and freezes up less than the Blackberry 7100. It's less for business, more for fun. More recently, RIM launched the Blackberry 8800, a business ready smartphone with faster multimedia functions and a center nav wheel. Both the Blackberry Pearl and 8800 are very fast, with reasonably good web access - and they look great. No wonder RIM may be having a hard time keeping up with demand for these high tech gadgets. Last night, I saw one Blackberry fan absentmindedly press his Blackberry 7700 to his lips: It looked just like a kiss. ...And maybe, it was. As popular as Blackberry phones are, it probably wouldn't be the first time.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The Balsams Grand Hotel, a luxury resort in the White Mountains region of New Hampshire, is offering a great deal on a golf vacation package. The Balsams Grand Hotel is a member of Conde Nasts' 2007 Gold List, and the only Gold List member in New Hampshire.

The "Golf Free Package" offers a $99 a night stay at The Balsams, to celebrate the appointment of Douglas A. Ruttle, PGA, as the new Director of Golf. The golf vacation package includes lodging, breakfast and 18 holes of golf. This is an excellent travel deal for golf lovers, at a world-class resort. Golf Digest magazine has ranked the Balsam Resort Hotel's championship golf course as New Hampshire's #1 Public Access Course, every year for the past decade. With small greens and wide fairways, sand traps and elevation changes, the Panorama golf course at Balsams provides a challenging course for all skill levels. And the Coashaukee 9-hole executive golf course, next to the resort, provides for the perfect warm-up.

The Balsams is a 4-star resort hotel with year-round recreation that goes beyond golf. There is bountiful hiking, lake sports and more during the warm months of the year, and the indoor Game Room provides many popular family activities. The Golf Free Package is available May 18 - June 28 and August 26 - October 14.

This luxury golf vacation package rate is per person, based on double occupancy. For reservations, please call the Balsams at (866) 380-6798.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

One of my recent Luxury Travel emails asked a question about hotels in Santa Monica, California. Part of the exchange proves useful, I think, for anyone planning to vacation in Santa Monica. The emailer's identifying information has been removed.

Hi Jennifer,

Loved your article on the Shangri-La Hotel. You convinced me that this would be a great place to stay when we visit Santa Monica on January 2nd to the 5th next year. I was really disappointed to learn that it is presently closed and can't seem to find out when it is scheduled to reopen. Can you advise? - F.

Hi, F. You know, you raise a very good point - I've seen that the Shangri-la is closed for renovations, and I really should put an addendum on that article. I imagine the renovations will do away with that lovely orange shag carpet. :) I have to be in Santa Monica later today for a meeting; I'll head out early, and see if any of the workers there have an idea of when it's due to reopen.

and later: Okay, I went to the Shangri-la a couple of hours ago. They really are gutting it. The man I spoke to told me that they hope for it to be done before July, to take advantage of summer travelers. If they want to be done by July, then, even if they run behind schedule they shoud be done by next January.

My main concern is not whether it will be available next Jan., as I believe it will be. My concern is that the Shangri-la is going upscale and will be priced accordingly. If you'd like to know of a couple of nearby cheapie hotels, I can give you that information as well (but don't tell my boss - I'm supposed to be the Luxury Travel writer!)

Jen,

I can't believe that you gathered the info and responded so quickly. It now turns out that my granddaughter will be marching in the Rose Bowl Parade on New Years Day, in a band representing Canada, and besides spending time in the Pasedena area, we thought staying right near the pier would be great for my daughter, son in law and my grandson. I know they would love to cycle along the beach to the Venice area and beyond and the pier would be a great experience for them too. Thank you so much for all you efforts. If everyone in California is as nice as you, I'm sure we'll have a great vacation. - F.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Used to be, when a woman got pregnant, she didn't let her pregnancy slow her down. In generations past of my family, my ancestors would be working the fields in Hungary, growing...I don't know, paprika. Maybe beets. Anyway, my foremothers were out there tending the crops, same as my forefathers, and a little pregnancy was no excuse to quit working, come inside, recline on a daybed, and ask pitifully for pudding. No, not that pudding! The kind with chocolate and vanilla swirled together! You'll have to go back to the store.

Sound familiar? Apparently I wasn't the only modern woman to view my pregnancy as the last great reason to relax and pamper myself. Witness the exponential growth in the travel industry's packaging of baby moon vacations. Babymoons, or luxury pre-birth vacations for parents-to-be, have really caught on in the United States. The idea is to relax in a romantic setting, preferably with a luxury day spa nearby to tend to all the mother-to-be's prenatal massage needs.

Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, even the United Arab Emirates: Babymoon vacation packages are found in more and more 5-star hotels and luxury resorts across the world. The list is expanding like a gravid belly (sorry). It's too bad a website like the one I describe in this article didn't exist when I was pregnant - a portal to the best luxury hotels offering babymoon packages would have been useful. As it was, I made do with guilting the poor father-to-be into late-night pudding runs, and feeling a strong affinity to pregnant Miranda on Sex in the City. In fact, I went into labor during an episode of that illustrious show; I wonder how it ended?

Romantic weekend getaways are a far cry from tending the fields until the onset of labor. I have to think, however, that my Hungarian peasant ancestors would be proud of the progress that the women in my family have made. After all, what would you prefer to do during your second trimester of pregnancy - dig up beets, or enjoy a professional prenatal massage in Jamaica? Yeah, I thought so. Me too.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

A vacation in Peru is like none other. Tourists can really delve into the Peruvian culture, and come away richer for the experience. Any trip to Peru really should include at least a few nights' stay in Cusco. Also spelled Cuzco or Qosqo, this city was the capital of the Inca Empire. Today, Cusco is a bustling, top travel destination.

The high altitude of Cusco takes some getting used to. I know that at least one luxury hotel in the city pumps additional oxygen into its rooms and suites, to aid their guests' acclimation. And another hotel, a sweet, classy boutique called The Garden House, is just a little outside the city limits; It's just enough less elevated to also aid acclimation to the high altitude of this region.

If you're planning a trip to Peru, Cusco is probably already on your list. If not, it should be. Try to arrange your vacation to coincide with one of Cusco's great festivals; you won't be disappointed. My favorite is the Inca Festival of the Sun.

And, of course, you'll be going to see Machu Picchu. How could you not? The route from Cusco to Machu Picchu takes travelers through The Sacred Valley, which in turn has many eye-opening sights to see. People with even a passing interest in the Inca Empire, and the Spanish colonization of Peru, will have an amazing vacation in this region.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

American Airlines is offering a decent deal for travelers who plan to vacation in Jamaica. The money-saving deal is at a luxury hotel in Montego Bay, the Ritz Carlton Golf & Spa Resort. Like other Ritz resorts, the Ritz Carlton in Jamaica is high-end, with luxury amenities, and accomodations near the beach. Montego Bay's Ritz Carlton is an all-incusive resort. The resort's White Witch Golf Course is a world-class golf course, and guests at other nearby hotels often reserve tee time there. The Ritz Carlton Golf & Spa Resort is very romantic, but also child-friendly; the Ritz Kids childrens day camp is fun, and keeps children happy and engaged.

Since this hotel deal is offered through American Airlines, prices include air fare, hotel accommodations, and hotel taxes. This is a high-end, luxury hotel, mind you, so even with the deal, a stay here isn't exactly cheap. But an upscale Jamaican vacation in safe environs, can be had now, for a better pricetag than usual. At $1,269 per room (remember; plus air fare, etc), this is a vacation deal worth mentioning. The offer is good for travel from April 16, 2007, to August 31, 2007, but you must call before the end of March 2007. Call 1 (800) 321-2121 to book your trip.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Elite Travel International is run by Stacy Small, a 15-year veteran of the travel industry. She has personally evaluated every one of the many international luxury hotels, resorts, and spas in her files, which she then can wholeheartedly recommend as a fit with her travel clients' vacation wishes. And she's been to an amazing amount of these upscale resorts and spas herself; she is one of the most well-traveled travel agents I've spoken with.

As busy as she is maintaining her high quality profile in an already crowded business, Stacy finds the time every year to organize and run a charitable travel auction through her website. Last year, her Trips for Cancer 2006 luxury travel auction offered many vacation packages at upscale hotels and resorts. The auction raised $90,000, all of which went to the Leukema & Lymphoma Society. She raised more money for cancer research than any other woman that year, making Stacy Small the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's National Woman of the Year.

For 2007's Trips for Cancer luxury travel auction, Stacy Small has amassed even more high-end vacations, resorts and hotels around the world. She's not trying to be the National Woman of the Year again this year, but with 100% of the proceeds going to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, you can be sure she'll be Woman of the Year to many people who will benefit from research enabled by Trips for Cancer 2007. Her commitment to doing what's in her power, to help fund cancer research, is more than admirable. Those of us in the travel biz could learn a lot from Stacy Small.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Santa Barbara is my favorite town along California's Central Coast. With great beach activities, the nearby Santa Ynez mountain range, great dining, and several world-class museums, Santa Barbara has something for everyone, making it a perfect vacation town for the whole family. The Simpson House Inn B&B is the only bed and breakfast in North America to be a member of the elite 5-Star Alliance, and the other luxury hotels and resorts in Santa Barbara have all the best amenities you'd expect for a high-end vacation.

One of my favorite luxury hotels in SB, the Hotel Oceana Santa Barbara, distinguishes itself by working with inland Santa Barbara farmers to offer fresh, locally grown produce for its continental breakfast.

The Hotel Oceana Santa Barbara has a great deal for people who love to relax with spa treatments while on vacations. The Ahhh! Package, starting at $275 per night, is available for couples who plan to stay for at least 2 nights. The package includes two spa treatments (body massage or anti-stress back massage), two bottles of California wine, a wine tasting at the Santa Barbara Winery, and free parking (usually parking is 9 dollars a night). Further, the earlier mentioned continental breakfast is free with this package; it's quite a good deal for a couple's luxury vacation in a classy hotel. Santa Barbara is already a lovely town for a romantic weekend getaway. The Oceana's Ahhh! Package helps make an upscale vacation in this town more affordable. Call (800) 965-9776 to make a reservation.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

One of my recent Luxury Travel emails asked a question regarding great restaurants in Florence. I thought the query, and my reply, could be useful as public information (the emailer's name has been removed).

Dear Jennifer,

My husband and I are visiting Italy (Florence 8 days, Venice 3 days, Rome 5 days) in mid-April and have just read your reviews of three restaurants in Florence. We would like to celebrate my husband's birthday while in Florence with our grandson who is studying in Florence this semester. The Ristorante Enoteci Pinchiorri sounds fabulous, however, extremely pricey. While we don't mind an expensive dinner this one just sounded over the top. Let me know if I am wrong.

Can you please recommend a restaurant for our birthday dinner that you think would be very special?

Thanks in advance for your ideas.

_____

Dear ___,

What a fantastic Italian vacation you're going to have. You are right about Enoteci Pinchiorri, though; the prices are about as high as they get for food in Florence. Also, your grandson might not appreciate the sophisticated (some say stuffy) atmosphere. La Giostra is a great restaurant as well - it's on my list, and I'm very picky. There's also another restaurant I enjoyed there, that didn't quite make my Top 3 list. It's called Cibreo, and it's near the landmark Santa Croce in Florence. It's upscale, but not so much that a student will feel uncomfortable. You need reservations for this one, as it's very popular with both tourists and residents alike.

I hope you and your family have a great time in Florence. It's my favorite city in Italy.

From,

Jennifer Miner

http://luxuryresorttravel.suite101.com

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

By now, everyone who follows the news knows: There's a problem with airlines not letting passengers off airplanes, that have been delayed on runways for ridiculously long times. American Airlines made news for stranding passengers in the Dallas airport over Christmas 2006. And now Jet Blue has entered the somewhat ignominious fray as well. Valentines Day of 2007 may well be entered into Jet Blue's history as the Day its Reputation Went South: Thousands of passengers were stuck on the tarmac at JFK for up to 10 or 11 hours. Both situations were due in part to bad weather. However, winter storms should be expected in winter, right? At least David Neeleman, the CEO of JetBlue Airways, has offered a genuine and heartfelt apology - along with vouchers redeemable with future JetBlue Airways travel, if those passengers want to ever fly Jet Blue again.

I really do appreciate what JetBlue Airways usually has to offer, in terms of friendly service and cheap seats. But if hiring more staff and making the company a larger one leads to increased air fare, so be it. No one deserves to be stuck on a plane for a day (that is, without the plane actually getting anywhere).

Jet Blue is also putting forth a Passenger's Bill of Rights, so to speak, which should go a long way towards recouping some of the airline's lost customer loyalty. I'd like to see other airline companies follow suit. Feeling trapped on a plane, with the gate in sight, is antithetical to a luxury travel experience. Whether travel is for business or leisure, nothing ruins the fun of travel like being treated like cattle during serious delays. It's good to know that Jet Blue is doing what it can, to remedy the situation.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

A lot of people I know are annoyed by Valentine's Day. The pink, the red, the lace...it's all a bit much. But celebrate Valentine's Day the way you want to, not the way Hallmark makes you think you should, and you can have a great time.

For example: Luxury day spas. Ahhh, time in a relaxing mineral bath, followed by a romantic couples' massage - that's a great Valentine's Day treat. Combine it with a gift of gourmet chocolate (a natural aphrodisiac like none other), and now we're talking.

Every year on Valentine's Day, a luxury hot springs spa resort in Japan combines the best romantic factors into one great experience; a chocolate spa bath. That's right, a relaxing spa treatment of chocoate, blended with hot water and aromatic bath powders. It's edible (how could it not be?), smells great, and looks pretty much like a mud bath. Only better, because like I said, it's chocolate.

The Yunessun Spa Resort, in Hakone Japan, offers this Valentine's Day spa treat, as well as coffee baths, wine baths, and more traditional spa therapy treatments. A trip to Japan has never been quite so romantic. A ticket to the Tunessun Spa is only $29 (around 3,500 yen), and provides spa-goers with access to all the baths. Happy Valentine's Day! If you love spa treatments and chocolate (and you travel to Japan in February), this could be your ideal Valentine's Day experience.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

One of my favorite hotels in Maui is the Hotel Hana. It's different from the usual upscale resorts I usually review; the luxury is in the remote location, on one of the best vacation islands in the world (as per legit sources).

The Road to Hana is a day trip, especially when one right - rather than rushing to get there, the beautiful photo-op stops along the way make the Road to Hana as much about the trip as the destination. And the Hotel Hana in Maui often offers great deals on their cottages. For example, right now you can stay at the Garden Junior Suite Bay Cottage, usually $395/ night, for only $120/night. Another travel deal, as a current offer, is the Ocean View Sea Ranch Cottage, usually $495/night, for just $170/night. These Maui hotel deals are good through March 31, 2007 (reserve before the end of February). However, the Hotel Hana in Maui does offer deals throughout the year; if you missed this one, chances are that another worthwhile deal will be just around the corner.

Call toll free: 1(800) 321-4262, or email reservations@hotelhanamaui.com

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Planning to travel to the Caribbean? The romantic resort Half moon, in Montego Bay Jamaica, has several vacation packages that add luxury to an already upscale trip.

While these travel packages are available all winter, blackout days apply: February 14-22 and April 3-10 are 2007 blackout dates, and I assume that the evergreen deals also exempt Valentine's Day and the first week of April every year.

1. Perfectly Pampered is a "girlfriends' getaway." A vacation in Jamaica for women only, the resort package includes a choice of three spa treatments at the Half Moon full-service day spa. Women can choose their three treatments from a list which includes a 50 minute De-stress Buff & Aroma Wrap, Herbal Wrap, Coco Cafe Cleanse, Sugar & Spice exfoliation, Swedish Therapeutic Massage, Stimulating Cerasee Body Scrub, Gentle Body Polish and a Rehydrating Aromatic Wrap. Wow, that's a lot to choose from! The Perfectly Pampered vacation package at Half Moon also includes 5-star dining at one of Jamaica's best resort restaurants, and drinks at the hotel bar.
2. Guys on the Green is the men's vacation equivalent of the spa package above. This "mancation" also includes the hotel bar drinks and meals at the restaurant at Half Moon. Men will want to go to Jamaica and take advantage of this golf vacation package, which also includes two rounds of golf per guest, unlimited use of the tennis courts and gym, and a Tired Leg massage at he hotel day spa.
3. Last, expecting couples will be able to take one more romantic vacation, at the Half Moon in Jamaica. The And Here Comes Baby couples package includes a baby gift and birth announcement, and a pre-natal massage and foot massage. I can't imagine a better way to spend one last child-free Caribbean vacation.

A vacation in one of the two top luxury resorts in Montego Bay, Jamaica, is practically guaranteed to be relaxing and pampering. These packages help personalize trips, making them even more special.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The Maui Prince Hotel is one of my favorite resorts in Maui. It's in Makena, far from the bustling touristy areas of Kehei and Lahaina, but a short drive to the ultra-upscale luxury resort area of Wailea.

The Maui Prince Hotel is a quiet, zen-like retreat, perfect for romantic couples who don't want a lot of kids running around during their vacation. While there are some children here, the Maui Prince really appeals more to people traveling without kids. It's also adjacent to La Perouse Bay, a protected bay in the Ahihi Kina'u Natural Reserve. Giant sea turtles come here to laze around in the sun, completely unafraid of, or unimpressed by, the human interlopers pointing and staring. It's an incredible experience.

Two of Maui's best golf courses are next to the Maui Prince Hotel as well; Makena North and Makena South. The Makena North golf course is more challenging due to elevation changes (although some say it's the distracting ocean views that make it harder). The Makena South golf course is archeologically interesting: The course incorporates several ancient Hawaiian walls into its design.

If this sounds like your kind of Maui vacation, then I have a great package deal for you. For the rest of the year, all the way up to (but excluding) Christmas vacation 2007, the Maui Prince Hotel can be had at a reduced rate of $466 per night. This is quite a deal, since luxury resorts in Maui typically go for more than this. And, the deal includes one heck of a package: One of the best view rooms in the hotel, car rental, breakfast for two every day of your stay, dinner for two one night, and, upon your arrival, a basket of chocolate-dipped strawberries. Don't worry, the strawberries don't replace the lei! What kind of deal would that be?

Call 877 LUX-ROUTE and mention offer 352-G-7526.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The Half Moon in Montego Bay, Jamaica is a world-class luxury resort. It is an exclusive, highly-rated spa hotel with all the amenities luxury travel fans expect to find in a world-class resort hotel.

I want to let you know about a special "Winter Escape" package the Half Moon Resort & Spa is offering from now until April. For those considering a trip to the Caribbean, now would be a great time. By booking one of the Royal Villas, guests can receive up to $1400 in resort credit. For such a high-end destination, this is an excellent deal that many travelers should appreciate learning about.

The Royal Villas now offer a credit of $1000 for a 5-bedroom villa, $1200 for a 6-bedroom villa, and $1400 for a 7-bedroom villa. This includes breakfast at the resort, and transportation to and from the airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The 5-bedroom villas usually cost $2000 dollars per night, so this deal saves the luxury traveler quite a bit of his or her travel budget. The Winter Escape package is good through to April 15, except for Valentine's Day's weekend.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

People across the United States have heard of the award winning Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. It's on Conde Nast's Gold List, Travel & Leisure has rated it one of the Top Hotel Spas in the US, and it's also won the AAA Five Diamond Award. I love the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa as well. The golf course is first class, the luxury day spa is ultimately pampering and relaxing (Shape magazine rated it the #1 Hotel Spa as well), and of course, it's in Ojai. This charming small town is a great getaway spot for travelers wishing to take a step back and enjoy a slower lifestyle while on vacation.

The Ojai Valley Inn & Spa is a truly resort hotel. It's less than 40 miles inland from the upscale tourist centered town of Santa Barbara, with nearby hiking opportunities. It has some of the comfiest pillows I've ever slept on in a hotel (not a big deal to you, maybe, but a big deal to me). From January to March 13, 2007, the resort is offering a special rate, starting at $240 per room. If your winter travel plans include a visit to Ojai, I recommend staying at this resort. To take advantage of this special rate, mention "SpecialGuest" as the promotional code when you make your reservations.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Planning a trip to Denver? I just love the idea behind a new hotel there. The newly renovated Curtis opened in January 2007, and boy, does it look fun.

While the new Curtis isn't a luxury hotel a la a Ritz or Four Seasons, those swanky hotels have never been this fun. Each floor has its own pop culture theme - from all Elvis, all the time on the "Mad About Music" 15th floor, to a classic kids' games 8th floor replete with Twister and more. Sounds like a fun place to stay, doesn't it? My favorite floor, however, is probably the "Sci-Fi" 8th floor. Science fiction fangeeks should be happy to hear about an entire hotel floor dedicated to Star Trek, The Matrix, etc. To top it off, celebrity impersonators are on staff to provide wake-up calls appropriate to the theme of each floor. Few things would scare me into a hyperalert, awake state faster than groggily picking up the phone, and hearing Mr. T. yelling at me to get out of bed.

The Curtis is in downtown Denver, right across from the Denver Performing Arts Complex. The first 16 floors are the Curtis theme floors, and the top 13 floors will be The Inn at Auraria (no themes, but some student housing). For business travel, the Curtis hotel has free high-speed Internet access, and twelve meeting rooms for conferences and business affairs. Guests can avail themselves of the gym and pool, as well as two hotel restaurants. For people who love to shop while on vacation, the Sixteenth Street Mall is two blocks away. And, of course, we're talking Denver - a cosmopolitan Colorado city with nearly anything a seasoned traveler would come to expect. Since The Curtis is a dog-friendly hotel, be sure to alert the reservations desk if you are allergic to dogs.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I'm confused. The Transportation Security Administration is ostensibly here to protect us during air travel, right? After all, we're all willing to forgo a little comfort in the name of safe aviation. Biometric passports, the shoes coming off, the solid shampoos or mini shampoo bottles on carry-on bags, and occasional close examinations of our laptops are all tolerable inconveniences when we understand the reasoning behind them (snow globe confiscation, not so much).

That being said, I was surprised to learn that the TSA is test-running selling ad space on the X-ray bins at airports. Huh? How does selling ad space contribute the the safety of the skies? According to this link at Aviation Now, the pilot program has already started in Los Angeles. It doesn't specify that the test run of ad space on bins is at LAX, but I didn't notice them while standing on the security line there on a December '06 trip. Perhaps the ads on bins started in January '07. In any case, what's troubling about this is the message it sends. Has the TSA sold out, or does it truly need the cash? And, if the TSA is so broke that it needs supplemental funds from advertisers, how far will they go? Will we passengers be forced to load our sneakers and backpacks onto visions of GoldenNugget.com, fast food chains and Coca-cola? Please. Some of us travel to take a vacation from the constant inundation of advertisements that flood our senses.

The dystopian worldview of futuristic novels and movies like Bladerunner feature public spaces overwhelmed by commercials and ads. If the TSA follows through with this pilot program, we'll be one step closer to that imagined world ruled by capitalism run amok. Let's hope that this is one idea the TSA decides to end before it begins.

What do you think about this? Please join in our discussion thread.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I've just heard from a new start-up website called Perfect Escapes. Apparently, the folks there work directly with luxury hotels to negotiate great prices for their prescribers.

Right now, The Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco has a deal for Perfect Escape readers: book 2 nights, and get the 3rd night free. San Francisco is not a cheap town to visit, and Westins are generally 4-star, luxury class hotels and resorts. This Westin, in particular, is located right in Union Square; a part of San Fran that's in demand. Union Square is a popular part of San Francisco for luxury travelers for several reasons; there's a large variety of restaurants, high end shopping and nearby sights.

This is quite a deal, and available through Feb 28, 2007. Click here for details.

Prices start at $149 a night: Mention offer Z3H when you book your reservations.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Picture this: A security checkpoint line at the airport, as long as the eye can see. People looking forward to Christmas travel are busily unwrapping the gifts they plan to give, while others hush bored children and take off their shoes. A familiar scene, no doubt, played out over and over throughout the holiday travel season.

For me, this year, the line was the first part of our vacation in Hawaii. No American Airlines frequent flier miles over this peak flying season, so we booked cheap tickets (well, relatively cheap tickets) on Delta. And yes, those were my bored kids getting hushed. Thanks for reminding me.

But what's this? The elderly woman ahead of me on line is upset, her voice raising angrily. It seems that the TSA has decided to ban snow globes in carry-on bags, so hers was confiscated. A gift, she explains, for grandchildren in Hawaii who have never seen snow. No matter; her snow globe is taken from her, and she bitterly passes through the metal detector. When it's my turn, I ask the security dude why the TSA has decided to ban snow globes on airplanes, and he explained that terrorists could replace the water inside the globe with nitroglycerin. I glance at the elderly woman, who is recovering her Sudoku book and AARP magazine. Ladies and gentlemen, the face of terrorism! Go, TSA. Nice to know they've got the grannies-who-love-sudoku terrorist cell covered.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Not that I'm a huge fan of KFC - the last time I ate there was probably college, and college students will eat anything - but I've got to give kudos: The folks in charge there are working overtime to go trans-fat free. Trans fats are the unnatural unsaturated addition to many, many prepared foods, often unbeknownst to consumers, and are a bigger health risk (coronary heart disease, etc) than other fats.

New York City banned trans fats in restaurants, which may have been what spurred the executives at KFC to get busy finding a good replacement. Whatever the motivation, a big concern over at KFC was that the flavor of the "11 herbs and spices" wouldn't be affected by the change in cooking oil. Wendy's is a fast food chain that has already made the switch to healthier oils, and their sales haven't suffered. And, according to this article in BusinessWeek, management at KFC has also found a suitable replacement, in the form of low-linolenic soy oil. Now, this new oil is also not completely natural, as it was developed by gene-modifying giant Monsanto. However, it's a healthy oil, and the lower amount of linoleic acid equals a longer shelf life for the soy oil.

I used to live on the Upper West Side of NYC, and I'm sure I unwittingly ate plenty of trans fats during my many brunches and dinners out while there. It's nice to know that my favorite brunch restaurants in New York City will be guaranteed trans fat free. And, although I don't see myself popping into a KFC any time soon, it's reassuring to know that if I did, it wouldn't be as bad for my health as it was in the past.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

We thought Vietnam was somewhat off the beaten path, but tourists abound. Hanoi has American tourists and Central Vietnam (Hue, Hoi An) has northern Europeans - Germans and Swedes especially.

I've seen absolutely no rancor from people here towards Americans, even though several thousands of people continued to be maimed by residual landmines, years after the US pulled out.

The first post-war government re-organization was to put everyone on a coupon-based economy, with coupons for obtaining goods and food distributed according to A thru N, with top Party cadres being A and streetsweepers being N. Only A category got enough to eat. For a full

decade, the biggest desire was to have a full stomach. Then, in 1986 the Party realized their Soviet-like system wasn't working, and they had their own sort of perestroika, so that by 1990 the country was in good shape - farmers were paid according to how much they produced, people were no longer hungry, money was being saved, and Vietnam is now exporting rice (and other commodities and products). The people don't really care about democracy (don't tell Bush!), but are primarily concerned about having material comfort and a promising future. The Party is irrelevant to their daily lives, as long as it stays out of their way and allows them to work, play, travel, etc., without restrictions. The extended family is the basis of societal structure. They take care of each other, help each other out in times of need (such as chipping in for health care expenses, college tuition, day-care).

Curiously (to me), there is no national health care. Only government employees get medical care as a fringe benefit, and that's only for the employee, not for the rest of the family. Everyone else is on their own. A medical crisis is expensive compared to our own costs. But, again, relatives (and neighbors, if necessary) chip in to help a family in crisis.

Literacy is now 97%, comparable to the US.

Happy New Year, everyone! We celebrated here in our Hoi An hotel last night with a tasty banquet and overamplified traditional music and lion dance, then went to bed early.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I received this email from Capt. Allan Walburn, a managing partner of Alaska's Kodiak Island Resort, regarding adventures on Kodiak Island (edited for brevity):

Visitors to Alaska who travel to Kodiak Island are surprised to find the multitude of exciting wilderness options that are available. From the moment you touch down in Kodiak you are surrounded by wilderness Alaska. Kodiak is most noted for the large population of Kodiak Brown Bears, the world's largest land carnivore. If you visit Kodiak you will not only have a great opportunity to see Brown bears in the wild, but also several different species of whales including humpbacks and Orcas.

If fishing is your passion, nowhere is the fishing better or more diverse than on Kodiak. Steelhead and Rainbow Trout frequent many streams and share the waters seasonally with annual runs of Chinook, Pink, Coho and Chum Salmon. Check with Alaska Fish and Wildlife for sportfishing permits to catch King, Tanner and Dungeness Crabs. All crabs are plentiful around Kodiak and can be caught in season with a recreational fishing license.

If you are looking for an opportunity to sample wilderness at it's most extreme and best, I suggest a trip to Kodiak Island and one the local villages around the Island! Kodiak has a road system that covers over 100 miles. For people seeking more adventure, both flight seeing and a boat charter around the Island will fill the bill. Kodiak is the premier location for wilderness adventures.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Frequent readers of this column know that my favorite multimedia PDA is the RIM Blackberry Pearl 8100. Sure, the non-QWERTY keyboard is a minor pain to get the hang of, but the Blackberry SureType works itself out in the end (it's easier if you don't look at the screen while you type).

My fellow gearheads who admire the Blackberry Pearl, but for one reason or another are committed to Cingular's wireless service, rejoice! Now that 2007 is basically here, T-mobile doesn't have an unintentional monopoly on the cell phone feature of the Blackberry Pearl. Some of us gave up Verizon for T-mobile, and I can tell you, switching your wireless service just aint that big a deal.

But: If you love your Cingular, you don't have to worry about switching servers in the first place. RIM Blackberry Pearls with Cingular service should be similar to the high speed access as T-mobile, and now you don't have to make the switch to enjoy a Blackberry Pearl 8100. As Cingular's ad line goes, "that's the power of now." Blackberry Pearl Cingular will support Push to Talk cell phone service, but in all major ways will be indistinguishable from T-mobile's Blackberry.

For a limited time, the Blackberry Pearl Cingular can be yours for $199.00 -- that is, with some fine print. This under 200 dollar Blackberry Pearl Cingular entails a 50 buck mail-in rebate, 2-year service on the Unlimited Blackberry plan, and eligible voice plan, according to the Cingular website. But still! That's a nice introductory price. And the RIM Blackberry Pearl 8100, for the uninitiated (where've you been? Mars?), is sleek, fast, and gorgeous. In my experience, the remote email access function doesn't crash half as much as the Blackberry 7100, the dig cam is high quality, and the high speed internet access won't be affected. All in all, the Blackberry Pearl Cingular should be as much of a gearhead's gadget dream-come-true as is the T-Mobile Blackberry. Placing a call from your new Blackberry Pearl Cingular will be a great way to ring in the new year.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Pasadena is a lovely town to visit. Southern California residents know about Pasadena attractions, such as the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens, the Jet Propulsion Lab at Caltech, and the Kidspace Children's Museum. Once a year, however, the biggest event in Pasadena is also the biggest event in North America. I'm referring, of course, to the annual Rose Bowl parade, held on January 1st and nationally broadcast on ABC, CBS and NBC.

Who hasn't watched the famous Tournament of Roses Parade, at least once, as a kid? The Rose Bowl Parade may be most people's initial awareness of Pasadena as a city, as well as our introduction to the first day of the New Year. I know I first heard of Pasadena because I watched the Rose Bowl on TV, back when I was little and living in the Northeast.

It's a big tourist attraction for Pasadena, too: Well over a million people attend the Tournament of Roses Parade each year. That's quite an increase from the two thousand that came to watch the first Rose Bowl Parade in 1890. Please click here for some tips and ideas about how to see the parade in person. The crowds may be hard to negotiate, but at least the weather is almost always perfect!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

This happens to me every December. With the holidays around the corner, I search and search for ideal presents for the important people in my life (oh, and my family, too). There are so many gift options out there, it's kind of mind-boggling. And by the time Christmas and Hanukah are over, I'm so creatively exhausted that I NEED it to be a New Year.

One year I focused on holiday gifts for gadget lovers - and, being married to a gearhead, I felt relatively safe with my options. My parents love to travel, so I'm always happy to learn about great gift ideas for travelers. What with travel gifts for my girlfriends, gifts for some guys I know, and so on and so on - well, it's time consuming, to say the least. That's why it was nice to see this Motley Fool article about Starbucks gift cards. Gift cards! They're not considered tacky anymore, hooray!

So easy to buy, the one-stop shopping of gift cards takes the horror out of Christmas shopping. Click here for some amusingly awful holiday gift ideas: Give someone the Worst Present Ever, and next year, he or she will be delighted to just get a gift card.

Because, honestly, what would you rather unwrap - a gift card for free coffee, or a hermetically sealed frog dissection kit, complete with dead frog? The answer's clear to me, and I haven't even been to Starbucks yet today.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

What is it about brunch that arouses such warm feelings? Maybe it's the idea of the late morning meal itself; almost time for lunch so I'm good and hungry, but still legitimately morning, enough, to crack open some eggs and get some bacon sizzling.

There's something almost primordially comforting about brunch. The savory smells of cheese melting into an omelette, with smokey ham or bacon layered in, can arouse my lumbering bear of a husband out of deep hibernation. And happily helping mix fresh berries into pancake batter clearly gets my children feeling that they're contributing to the health (and satiety) of the family unit.

It wasn't always this way. We used to live in New York City and, like many, many New Yorkers, we hardly ever cooked anything. Eating out is a way of life in the Big Apple. We managed to hit every one of my favorite brunch spots on the Upper West Side often enough that I had the menus practically memorized, and (also like real New Yorkers) we didn't blink at 20 minute waits to get seated. When we wanted to expand our horizons, we'd take the subway to the Grammercy area or Greenwich Village for brunch. Then, perhaps we'd visit one of the smaller art museums in NYC, see a movie, or stroll through Central Park.

My family doesn't live in New York anymore. We've lived in a warm part of the country for a few years now, in a house with a decent-sized kitchen. Weekend brunch is at home more often than not, these days, and I wouldn't trade these warm, homey, late morning meals for all the french toast in Manhattan. Still, those best brunches in NYC are part of my kids' early childhood, and as integral to my memories of parenting young children, as they are to my having lived in the city.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I was thinking about ideas of What Not to Buy for Christmas. To qualify, a gift has to be something that a child might want (no tube socks or educational videos), but that parents would stick on a high shelf...cursing your name.

I found some pretty bad gift ideas, of course, but a couple that I really enjoyed were the Jack Spade Frog Dissection Kit, and Giant Microbes. Please click here to read all about these wonderfully bad gifts for little children. A handful of those plush infectious diseases would actually look great in a dorm room, but that's another story.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

It appears that three of my favorite blog topics have joined forces in the form of one innovative new factoid: Hotel travel, luxury spas, and fangeek technology all merge in the Hyatt hotel chain's on-site spa massages for something called Blackberry Thumb.

Another medicalization of a common malady, you ask? Well, yes, but at least you can get a massage out of this one, and don't need to deal with being put on hold by your health care provider. The Blackberry Balm Hand Massage, at Hyatt Pure Spas throughout the US and Canada, is intended to relieve pain at the base of Blackberry users' thumbs - pain which comes from business travelers' overuse of their Blackberry. According to the American Physical Therapy Association, Blackberry Thumb is a stress-related injury stemming from overuse of any handheld PDA. I guess it got the moniker "Blackberry Thumb" because it's so darn catchy.

Blackberry Thumb seems similar to carpal tunnel syndrome, what with the pain, numbness and tingling symptoms. Medical treatment of Blackberry Thumb is similar to that for carpal tunnel syndrome as well; resting or strapping the thumb, cortisone injections, etc. But before you get your Blackberry-loving self into a panic, remember; this is a repetitive motion injury, easily nipped in the bud by cutting down on your Crackberry addiction and, perhaps, making a reservation at a Hyatt for your next upscale business trip. An appointment at the Hyatt Pure Spa for a Blackberry Balm massage may be all you need to feel better. And, since it's a work trip, time in a luxury day spa can be written off as a work expense. Now, isn't that nicer than a cortisone injection?

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I've gushed about Jet Blue Airways in this column before. In many obvious ways, Jet Blue's friendly service can't be beat. Now, Jet Blue has my heart, but American Airlines has my frequent flyer miles. Amass enough frequent flyer miles on American, and voila! Instant upgrade to business class. What a luxury. Say what you will about Jet Blue, but that egalitarian, no-first-class, "we're all equals" thing they've got going doesn't leave a lot of room for premium upgrades.

And now, American Airlines is offering a new menu for its US-Japan flights. Business and first class passengers flying to or from Japan can choose from a selection of Japanese food, or carefully prepared Western fusion cuisine. Click here to read more about American Airlines' new luxury Japanese fare, which assuredly puts the much maligned concept of airplane food into even deeper shame.

Miso soup, rice wine-marinated calamari, grilled shishito pepper...All that's missing is an air travel dinner of premium Kobe beef. I guess that's one first class dinner that will have to wait for American's arrival in Japan.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

My Suite cowriter, Mary Luz, recently got back from a trip to London. Rather than bemoan the fact that I haven't been to the UK in years, I grit my teeth and congratulate her on a great trip to a terrific city. Mary Luz had a few upscale experiences while away from her native Canadian soil, one of which was gourmet shopping at Harrods Food Halls. Harrods, famously owned by Mohamed Al Fayed and one of the most popular department stores in England, makes Neiman Marcus look like Walmart.

Such is Harrod's acclaim that even its food choices are incredibly high-end, and special. But if you're very lucky, while browsing the aisles of the Food Halls, you may even get a glimpse of Cher buying a salami. C'mon, what are vacations for, if not seeing an artificially preserved actress buying an artificially preserved meat product? And here I thought Harrods was all about the scarves.

You can read more about Mary Luz's trip to Harrods (click here). She knows about all the latest food trends, and is fun to read. Oh, and she also had a nice time in Paris, as if London wasn't bad enough!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

What is it about JetBlue Airways, a corporation like many others, that inspires such fealty and devotion from its passengers? I've seen people smiling and happily chatting while waiting on line to be checked over by the TSA at the airline's Long Beach airport. Happily chatting! At a security checkpoint!

The friendly customer service reps, from check-in to flight attendants, are part of the answer. My kids are glad to watch their own personal DirecTV's during the flight. Certainly, every time I save money by flying Jet Blue, I'm a happy camper to begin with, too. But Jet Blue is not all rainbows and butterflies; click here for an article about some good, and some not so good, aspects of this Little Airline That Could. It's part of the Luxury Travel section's ongoing look into what makes travel a positive experience. And if you have any thoughts on the matter, I'd love to hear from you.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

While I was putting together an article about the best luxury ski resort towns in the US and Canada, I almost left out Aspen. After a bit of hue and cry from a couple winter sports enthusiasts in my writer's group, I decided to add it, albeit begrudgingly, and at the very bottom of the piece. Why? What's my problem, you ask?

It's generally known, after all, that Aspen has a nice variety of slopes, dependable snowfall and plenty of upscale apres-ski activities to pamper the skier in the evening. Well, as a luxury travel writer here, I sure can't get away with complaining about luxury treatment at a ski resort. And I'm not. But what I can complain about, and with some justification, is the transformation of a great ski town into a place that starlets go to be seen, and photographed "all unawares" in their high-end ski gear. It's like Aspen is Hollywood East, during Christmas and the peak holiday ski season. And where young Hollywood goes, expensive and trendy boutiques shall follow ( I think that's in the Bible).

And then come along the trendy restaurants and nightclubs, the pricier lift tickets, the paparazzi...until you find yourself skidding to a stop because Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake are busy being noticed immediately downhill from you on the slopes.

When I think of an authentic, fantastic ski experience, I think of powder, blue sky, and a minimal crowd. (Click here for a funny, but almost completely unrelated video click of Aspen.) Perhaps, someday Aspen will be, like, so 5 minutes ago, and the celebutants will move on to somewhere else. Until then, the other top luxury ski spots have my vote.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

People really seem to be having a visceral reaction to the descriptions in the article, Worst Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes. The dessert, Turd Cookies, has seemed to ring a chord with many readers. One comment on Worst Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes' discussion board mentioned Kitty Litter Cake as a possible accompaniment to this visually disgusting way to end a completely unappealing Thanksgiving meal. Well, who am I to argue?

Let's take a look at Kitty Litter Cake. Just like with the Turd Cookies, the Kitty Litter Cake probably tastes better than it looks. It's basically crumbled cake with melted Tootsie Rolls on top, served from a kitty litter box with a litter scooper for added effect. I especially like the green cookie crumbs, meant to look like kitty litter's chlorophyll. Gotta appreciate the realism here! Because, let's face it, if you're planning a Thanksgiving meal meant to repel (and repulse) your guests, you can't go halfway. Prepare your worst Thanksgiving dinner right, and next year's Thanksgiving travel traffic jams will be a few cars lighter!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Christmas is such a great time of year. It's the perfect opportunity to give a present to someone which she would never consider buying for herself. If an important person in your life is hesitant to treat herself to time in a luxury day spa, a gift certificate to one will give her a weekend for herself. To relax during or after the flurry of the holiday season may be the ideal way to bring in the New Year.

SpaWish is on online spa finder that allows you to buy gift certificates from 50 to 500 dollars. Of the participating day spas included in their nationwide members list, are some very lovely upscale ones with solid national reputations for quality. There are also smaller spas with which I am unfamiliar, so take care in selecting the day spa for your gift. I can't vouch for all of them!

To find a spa near your gift recipient, simply click on her state in the map of the US, and scan the state listing. Bridal and corporate gifts are also available.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Many people first see the central coast of California while on a scenic road trip north to Napa Valley, or south to Los Angeles. The natural beauty of this strip is, truly, awe-inspiring.

One town that is a particularly high-rated tourist destination in California's central coast region, is Santa Barbara. Every time I go there, I discover something new. As with any tourist destination, tips and recommendations prove useful while planning your travels. Click here for a collection of articles about Santa Barbara, to serve as a reference for your trip.

Is Santa Barbara a town you love, too? If so, and you think I've left out some useful info, don't hesitate to leave a message! I always get a kick out of hearing from other fans of Santa Barbara.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Frequent readers of this section must have figured out by now how addicted I am to Lush bath and body products. The varied scents, the freshness, the organic ingredients all add up to a wonderful collection of body care items. Oh yeah, and the shampoos clean hair, and the lotions soften skin. What I'm saying is, Lush products are incredibly effective at what they are supposed to do, without using the chemicals and artificial ingredients other, similar product lines resort to.

And now, Lush's cruelty-free, fair trade, and no-animal-testing philosophy has won them real recognition: The CEO of Lush has been awarded PETA Europe's "Trail Blazer" award. Click here for PETA's news release. Mark Constantine, Lush's big boss, has arranged for Lush stores in Europe to help customers petition their governments to vote down legislation requiring animal testing for cosmetics. The very fact that posters in Lush store windows raise this issue raises public awareness.

As if I didn't like Lush enough already! Oh well...there are plenty of worse things I could be spending money on.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Life sometimes goes by so fast, that it's shocking when we take a step back and realize how much we've changed. One moment we're bar-hopping with our friends, checking out the guys, running interference when a creepy one hits on the hottest one of us, laughing about it afterwards. Then we wake up one day to find we're driving a minivan loaded with children, at least two of which are ours. School, violin lessons, soccer practice. Dustbuster to suck up the Fritos crumbs in the back, along with dog hair and caked mud that fell from cleats. How did we ever come to this? And, how can we possibly maintain a vestige of the cool we once had, tooting around in our Sienna, with tracks from High School Musical in perpetual rotation?

There are some high-tech gadgets and gizmos that, installed in a family minivan, go a long way in raising its coolness quotient. When the kids are in the back for a long road trip, the ceiling-mounted DVD player is indispensable. A GPS for high-tech directions and routes. Satellite radio, like Sirius, helps. Well, assuming it's tuned to a hip station like Classic Vinyl. I've heard some amazing music from this channel; rare tracks from The Who, Joni Mitchell, Creedence, Rolling Stones, and Neil (Young, not Diamond. Please). Not a high school musical in sight. Family travel is made easier, if not exactly brought to the heights of hipness, with the right accessories.

And what do I do, to desperately cling to the last shred of cool as it tries to slip through my aging fingers? Well, my kids don't take soccer, for one. No soccer mom, I! Two, I've tossed the kiddie music CD's in favor of gradually introducing them to my preferred music - it helps that my eldest has decided the Beatles are a "boy band."

And, honestly... I don't drive a minivan. But that dusty Volvo wagon, the one with lost homework and abandoned art projects on the third-row seats? That's only the coolest station wagon in suburbia, dude. Don't you dare tell this old lady otherwise.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Several years ago I was on the subway in NYC, headed towards my in-laws for Thanksgiving dinner. The 9 train was filled with a typical New York crowd; a small group of teens talking too loudly, a baby asleep in his stroller despite people bumping into it, a homeless guy muttering to himself, strangers standing, uncomfortably squeezed together and swaying with the motion of the train, and a row of seated young men studiously avoiding making eye contact with the pregnant woman standing near them. Usual stuff.

The door between the subway cars opened with a clatter, and a hungry-looking woman, holding an empty cup, announced herself. The mood in the train shifted, with several of the sitters instantly shutting their eyes and feigning sleep, and many others staring intently at the other end of the train. Undeterred, she cheerfully began a song:

"When you are lonely, and you're out of baloney, you can always go...Downtown." The crowd stirred, and began to smile and even make eye contact with each other as she earnestly continued, seemingly unaware of how mangled her lyrics were.

"If you need to shaver, but you don't have a razor, there's a CVS...Downtown." I knew she was at least loopy, if not literally mentally ill, but she provided for us one of those rare urban moments that unite people with a common source of amusement, only to dissolve away just as quickly. She earned several dollars from us passengers on that 9 train.

That woman came to mind when I read about an upcoming innovation for the London Underground. Undersound is a music-based technology that its website says will "enhance current social practices of mobility" in the Tube. Permanent Bluetooth transfer points in the stations stream music, and subway riders with Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones (and like gadgets) can pick up and listen to the tunes as a shared experience. If a commuter likes the track, it can be downloaded to their phone. Also, when riding on the tube itself, users can download tracks from other users, with a "ping" that alerts the latter. This increases the shared experience of the Undersound project, making the subway like a giant, shared iPod. Imagine: Strangers listening to the same tune, smiling across the tube to each other in acknowledgment of their commonality. No mangled lyrics (or tip jar) necessary. It sounds like a great idea to me.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I've never been to New Zealand, but it's "on my list." The idea of a trip to New Zealand's always been in the back of my mind, but the logistics of getting there - with two young kids in tow - have seemed too daunting.

But the mountains! The rainforest! The yellow-eyed (and world's rarest) penguin, the kiwi and flightless Kakapo parrot - don't any New Zealand birds know how to fly? It's all too fascinating. Eco travel opportunities abound on the two New Zealand islands.

And now that I've learned that one of the world's most unique hotels is in New Zealand, my childrens' no-long-flights lobbying may be doomed.

Woodlyn Park, in Waitomo on New Zealand's, North Island, offers three one-of-a-kind types of lodging: The Train Motel, Plane Motel, and (after all, this IS New Zealand) the Hobbit Motel. Click around the website: You have to see the pictures to understand how completely cool these rooms are.

• The Plane Motel is a genuine relic from the past: A genuine 1950's Bristol Freighter, one of the last allied planes, has been renovated into two separate motel rooms - one of which is in the cockpit. Isn't that great?
• The Train Motel is called "The Waitomo Express," and is in a refurbished 1950's rail car. Pretty cute, huh? But now let's get to what you really want to know...
• The Hobbit Motel. Yes! It's really like a Hobbit Hole, built into the side of a low slope, with round doors and the whole deal. Created with the Lord of the Rings trilogy (and theology?) in mind, these two Hobbit Hole units look less ornate than the movie set's Shire. They are pretty accurate, nevertheless, while keeping the furniture on a more human scale. A night or two in this New Zealand hotel might make you feel like you're visiting Middle Earth. But, if you see a gold ring laying on the floor, don't pick it up. That thing is Bad News.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The Italian city that has the most Renaissance art and architecture in the world is also one of the easiiest to get around. Florence is a great walking city, and the narrow Medieval streets make other modes of transportation seem almost silly. An American attempting to navigate these Florentine streets in a rental car would surely muck things up. We rented our car and drove right out of the city, and returned it immediately upon our return.

You can't hail a cab in Florence, but you can find an available taxi if you know where to look. Try the Piazza del Duomo, Piazza della Republica ( there's a gorgeous carousel here too), Piazza Santa Trinita, or Piazza San Marco for finding a few idling taxis.

A day of sightseeing, museum-hopping, and fine dining epitomizes a vacation in Florence. For an in-depth look at how to get around this famous city, go to Tips for Getting Around Florence. Florence is a world-class Italian city, with great Tuscan restaurants, the Uffizi and Accademia, and luxury shopping galore - but very little in terms of mass transportation.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Anyone who was lucky enough to get to the grand opening of the Universal CityWalk Lush store in Universal City, received a one-time freebie of a great shower gel called Honeywood. Some other lucky souls know Honeywood owners who decanted a little to send to them...but beyond those few, no one has been able to partake of a Honeywood shower and all its yummy honey-scented goodness. Understandably, there are some who mutter that this is unfair. And others - less quiet types - who rail at the heavens about the unjustness of it all!

As I watch, worried, as my own precious bottle of Lush Honeywood empties past the halfway mark, I feel a bit of muttering and railing coming on, myself. Nosing around the Lush discussion boards shows that I'm not alone; there are many, many Lush fanatics out there who would love to see Honeywood become part of Lush's regular shower gel lineup. Anyone at all familiar with Lush's Flying Fox or Honey I Washed the Kids products, knows how well the company does honey-scented bath and body products. Believe me, Honeywood is so good (click to read my review). It is definitely sweet-smelling, with several types of honey listed as some of its organic and fresh ingredients. Honeywood is also mild enough that it goes with almost any other scented Lush product very well (so far, I only didn't like it mixed with Karma Komba and Karma soap).

So please, sign the petition. I'll send it to Lush headquarters in England, and hopefully our impassioned voices will convince the BIG powers that be, that Honeywood should at least be given a trial run of mass distribution. To "sign the petition," all you have to do is add a message to the message board thread (click here), and all you really have to type is "Yes for Honeywood," or even, "Yes." Wouldn't it be great if anyone could try a Honeywood shower, and not just the bunch who live near Universal City? I think so.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Say you've been invited to your friend or relative's second home in the Caribbean. Hey, stranger things have happened! In any case, if this should be your good fortune, you're going to want to show up with a nice gift for your travel host. Something original and fun, right?

I'd be really happy to get a set of these mugs and tankards (click here) as a housewarming gift, even though I don't own a vacation home in the US Virgin Islands (or anywhere else, for that matter). Blackbeard and other infamous real-life pirates of the Caribbean would be proud that their legacy lives on.

Then again, a trip to the Caribbean isn't the only thing that necessitates a fun gift purchase: Those pirate themed stoneware goodies would be great to bring to an adult Halloween party too. They are all hand-made by a guy with an obviously great sense of humor. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's party for me!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Santa Barbara is one of my favorite mid-sized towns in America. From questionable bars and tattoo parlors, to full service day spas and fancy upscale shops, SB's charming town proper has something for everyone. A wide selection of great restaurants and a full range of hotel options help make Santa Barbara a perfect weekend getaway. And of course, the warm California sun warms your skin as you stroll on the beach, any time of year.

Now, Santa Barbara is a pretty ritzy and affluent town (anyone who ever sneaked a peek at that old self-named soap opera knows what I mean), but that doesn't mean there's no room left in SB for the fine arts. In fact, the philanthropy of some of Santa Barbara's wealthy residents has enriched the town's museums, art galleries, studios and other art venues: There's an impressive amount of quality art, including that of emerging artists. The artistic community is allowed to thrive and flourish here like in few other places in the US.

A new website run by Santa Barbara Visual Arts, a nonprofit organization, is a good resource for tourists and daytrippers looking to enhance their visits to this great town. (Click here) www.sbva.org has a monthly calendar of scheduled art events, and a frequently updated listing of visual art venues. I really like this website, and it's especially useful for newcomers to Santa Barbara; the "Useful Visitor Links" within the website help travelers know how to get around. So, next time you're planning to vacation in Santa Barbara, consider taking a break from all the boating and fishing, massages and luxury shopping. The art in SB is really special and interesting, and it can add to the quality, and memories of, your trip.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

While women have been taking weekend vacations for spa tripping with their girlfriends for years, our male counterparts have long been left behind, wondering what to do with their down time. Now, most men that I know would rather not vacation at all, than spend their vacation days in a luxury day spa, getting their nails buffed. However, when given the opportunity, a lot of men are figuring out that time with their friends is time well spent, indeed. This is why mancations have become increasingly popular.

Mancations, or getaways for men only, can range from low rent (10 college buddies crammed in a Vegas hotel room) to ultra high end (father-son trip to Gleneagles Hotel Golf Resort in Scotland), with a lot of room in between. Personally, I like the idea of mancations. Dudes hanging our together, doing their dude thing (I don't want to know too much here), getting smelly, scratching...No women allowed? That's okay! No, really.

There are some great upscale mancation gift ideas out there. If you want to treat the guy in your life with a mancation travel gift, it helps if you can arrange time off work for his closest friends as well. Cabo San Lucas has some fishing vacation packages, and my fellow Suite writer Alan can't speak highly enough about the Waterfall Resort in Alaska. From what I've heard, these mancations sound like really fun outdoorsman trips.

Another special gift that a lot of men would really appreciate is a real NASCAR Stock Car riding experience. NASCAR fans can travel to one of fifteen major American cities and ride shotgun in a stock car - and some locations actually let the guy drive the NASCAR top series top car himself! Imagine that: Up to 140 miles per hour, no cops ticketing the dude, and a memory to last a lifetime. Talk about a mancation.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Airport security is currently confiscating liquids in carry-on luggage. If you're taking a quick trip or a weekend getaway and want to only pack a carry-on bag, you'll have to leave your favorite shampoos and lotions behind. Some hotels are stepping up and providing guests with a basket of decent toiletries upon arrival, but upscale hotels and resorts already have had fancy name-brand shampoos and soaps in their bathrooms for years.

When I am lucky enough to get a chance to stay at a luxury hotel, one of the first things I do is check out the bathroom. When I see some of my favorite high-end bath products lined up on the hotel sink, I take it as a sign that the weekend ahead will be very luxurious, and that my other travel needs will be taken care of as well. Fancy shampoos and conditioners are like an extra hotel amenity!

On the other hand, if I'm worried that the hotel or resort is behind the curve, toiletries-wise, I can always pack my favorite solid shampoos and skin care products. I've tested them out, and they passed through the security gate at LAX, O'Hare, and JFK with no problem. TSA officials may have raised an eyebrow or two, but my stash of fancy bath products remained securely in my carry-on bag. No more liquid shampoos and lotions on airplanes? Problem = Solved!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

What is it about a vacation that brings out the shopaholic in so many people? St. Thomas is the busiest US Virgin Island, and this is due in no small part to the many shops and duty-free stores. Charlotte Amalie and Havensight are the two major tourists' shopping areas of all three US Virgin Islands, and both are on St. Thomas. Charlotte Amalie, the Virgin Islands' capital, has a harbor in which ships drop anchor, while Havensight has a large dock at which many cruise ships stop.

The shopping crowds on St. Thomas can be pretty intense, especially around the peak travel season. If, like me, you vacation to get away from the masses, you might want to avoid Charlotte Amalie during the holidays. But if you can't imagine a Caribbean vacation without bringing home a bunch of souvenirs, there's a part of Charlotte Amalie that's a lot less crowded. Stay away from the jewelers and perfumeries on Main Street, and duck into the alleys (not the scary kind). These smaller street have far, far less chain stores, and more small businesses like boutiques and antique shops.

Palm Passage and Riise Alley are two smaller streets I've liked for their interesting, unique shops. One of them has a local artist's works exhibited, with copies or original artworks for sale. I found her depiction of local island life so charming and vibrant, I now have two framed and hanging in my bedroom. One look at them and I'm instantly transported back to the US Virgin Islands, and a pretty great vacation.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

We all know what it's like to have like to feel pulled in all sorts of directions - sometimes life gets busy, right? And multitasking was never my strong point (not that I'm sure what my strong point IS, but it sure isn't multitasking).

But no matter how hectic things can get around here, I would be remiss in my blogging duties if I didn't help get the word out about an awesome giveaway happening right now. Styledash.com is giving away a designer label handbag every day until October 13. Today's, for example, is a Marc Jacobs Hobo Bag. It's easy to imagine taking a swanky vacaton with one of these slung over your shoulder. Marc Jacobs makes luxury handbags and purses; I've had my eye on a red leather clutch for a few weeks now, but haven't been able to come up with a solid reason for buying one beyond the usual "But it's so pretty" type of justification. About the Hobo Bag: These babies normally retail for over 500 bucks, so you know this website means business. All you have to do is enter a comment - one a day, and they say they'll catch cheaters over there- and if yours is selected, the bag or tote of the day is yours. What could be easier?

Styledash.com, click here to enter

Let's see...a winner a day, for 30 days...I may be busy, and you too, but wouldn't it be great if one of us won an upscale handbag from this website? And if YOU won, wouldn't it be awesome if you mailed it to me, as a way of saying thanks? Ha, ha.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Recently, I compiled a small list of my favorite high-tech travel gadgets. But now I'm thinking about travel host gift ideas. For example, it's good manners to bring flowers, or a bottle of wine or whatever, when you've been invited to someone's home for a dinner party. If you've been invited for a weekend stay in their summer home, respectable gifts usually have to do with home beautification, like a classy Waterford vase, or something related to where their vacation home is located. If you've been invited to be a guest in a beach house, for example, it's typical to bring an ocean-themed gift to your host.

But being part of Generation X, or Generation Y for that matter, means that we don't necessarily want to seem typical. A vase? How boring. Ocean themed doodad for a beach side home? Trite. These younger adult generations still like to take swanky trips, and who'd say no to a free weekend in a friend's house - but we want our gifts to say something about us, the givers, as well. Who's gonna say "Here, this gift is like me; boring and trite."

That's why I loved this new gadget (click here for a cute YouTube clip) - it's hilarious and original, plus it can slowly get you drunk. Now, that's something I'd like a gift to say about me! The next time you've been invited for a stay in a luxury second home, consider this as your gift to bring along. It'll be sure to garner you another invite to your hosts' house.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I love to travel, to see new places and experience other cultures. But anyone who knows me, knows I'm not a "roughing it" type of woman. My respect is boundless for backwoods campers who need only a sleeping bag, some bacteria-free water and relatively fresh food to have a great time outdoors; I however, am very unhappy when damp, cold, and bug-bitten. Yeah, yeah, that's a lovely view, can we go home now? I need a shower.

That's why I really like my portable handheld GPS. It's a Garmin eTrex Legend, and with it, I never need to worry about getting too lost during a hike. People use portable global positioning devices professionally, of course, but I am a pure GPS hobbyist. One particular hobby that would be impossible without a portable GPS is geocaching. Geocaching is essentially a worldwide, collaborative scavenger hunt. Geocache hobbyists use their handheld global positioning system to locate, via satellite, containers previously hidden by other geocachers. A world-wide scavenger hunt, the fun is in the finding.

The first geocache I found is less than 1/8 of a mile from my house, in a tree stump. (The decoded clue was, "Stumped?") I reached in, found a small container, and opened it. Voila! Inside each container is usually a pencil and small memo pad, to note who you are and when you found it. There are often little "prizes" with no monetary value as well; btake a keychain, leave a glue stick. It was pretty exciting to know there was a hidden world all around me. And, all around you as well; there little containers are scattered all over the world, with new ones hidden every week. Geocaching is not only like a riddle to be solved on foot, it's a hobby that makes the world seem like a smaller, friendlier place.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

We were scheduled to fly across the country two weeks after Homeland Security and the TSA tightened the rules regarding what is permissible in carry-on bags. Since my mother had her Chapstick confiscated during a recent pre-flight check, I assumed that the "no liquids" rule was pretty rigid. I was pretty surprised to find that, during my family's security check, nothing was removed from our possession. After all, I had these in my purse or carry-on:

Visine eye drops

Neutrogina hand lotion, travel size

Yucky old Carmex lip balm at bottom of purse

Lush Happy soap

Lush Honey I Washed the Kids soap

Lush Black Pearl bath bomb

Lush Marathon bubble bar

Pediasure

The only thing that raised eyebrows was the Marathon bubble bar, which looks like a roundish chunk of neon orange Play-doh. However, behind the security guys there were several bins literally filled to the brim with confiscated toiletries. As I was putting my shoes back on, I found myself looking longingly at high-end items peeking out the top. Really, are they just going to throw away that L'Occitane Shea Butter shampoo? And that Sephora Chocolate Raspberry body scrub - I mean, come on!

Since I didn't want to miss my flight by being thrown in jail, I decided not to attempt to save those lovely bath and body products from uncertain fate. It was with a wistful eye that I gave them a backwards glance, before wishing them a silent fare-thee-well and boarding my flight home. In these troubled times, luxury toiletry lovers must get with the program, same as everyone else!

If you love Lush products, and need to travel by air, check out Lush Solid Shampoos and Skin Lotions. You don't have to leave all your Lush stuff at home.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The last time I was in Santa Barbara, I was enjoying the lovely weather and strolling down State Street, window shopping. There's an Essentials store, about halfway between the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and our hotel. What can I say? I'm a sucker for upscale hair and skin care products; in I went.

What a pleasant surprise; the Essentials hair products are merely part of a larger day spa. Camille the Day Spa is downstairs from the storefront sales area. Offering a full array of spa and salon services sounds tricky in a windowless area. However, the spa is well ventilated and the air circulation is such that the smell of hair dyes, and other stinky salon products, does not intrude on the relaxing scents of aromatherapy, and other scents associated with day spa services.

I didn't have an appointment, but a spa associate briefly showed me around. I was pretty skeptical at first. A day spa in a basement? When I was a kid, my basement had a warped ping-pong table, crickets, and probably black mold. Needless to say, this is not my father's basement. Camille the Day Spa is clean, private, hushed and relaxing, with the sound of trickling water and a fresh herbal scent throughout. A real vacation getaway, right off Santa Barbara's busiest street.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The bathroom caddy I use is lightweight and fits into luggage for placing in hotel bathtubs...making for a more romantic travel experience.

Usually hotel bathrooms aren't associated with luxury and romance, but I like to bring familiar things with me, and pack some of my favorite bathtub add-ins.

The Aromatherapy Bathtub Caddy is perfectly designed to hold candles, bath treatments, and even a glass of wine. Glass of wine, warm relaxing bath...That hotel bathroom's looking pretty good!

Check out this article, a more extensive Bathtub Caddy Review on Living Simply - The Aromatherapy Bathtub Caddy: If you love to take time in a tub, or simply need more shower shelf space, I recommend this bathtub caddy to make your life simpler and much more pleasant.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Those of you who aren't married to a technophile have no idea of what it's like. High tech gadgetry is in abundance at our house, and the constant influx has me worried about storage space.

The other day I went to a spare closet to look for some acrylic paint, and upon opening the closet door, was attacked by yards of falling wires. I felt like Frodo in Lord of the Rings, fighting off that giant spider. When I subdued the wires, cables, and powerstrips, I looked in the big cardboard box that had seemingly birthed them. It was like an archeological discovery of Modern Marital History.

There, in the corner of the box, sits a forlorn cell phone that had once been at the forefront of modern technology. In the other corner, an intergenerational family of Palm Pilots huddles together for safety. Three (yes, three; I kid you not) battery rechargers lay prone at the bottom of the box, next to last year's Blackberry. I saw the portable DVD player that turned out to be, well, not so portable. And look, there's that digital camera watch that had once been so imperative to buy, that it was worth sneaking out while supposedly getting me the Sunday paper! ...I wondered what happened to that little guy, and there he was, curled needfully around a USB port that rested atop an inkjet printer. An early-model MP3 player looked somewhat hopeful, as though there wasn't a video iPod legally uploading last season's episodes of "The Office" even as I gaped at the innards of the Cardboard Box of Shame.

I grabbed the Canon EOS-1D, circa 2001, and marched righteously to where my husband lay, innocently playing Pac-man on his relatively new laptop PC. I held it aloft, ready to state my complaint. Without looking up, or pausing the game, he said "By the way, this weekend I need to get a USB port adapter/converter. It'll just a take a minute, and it will be just what we need to make our lives easier."

USB port adapter/converter. USB port...yeah, I guess we don't have one of those.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

When I was a kid, gifts for my father almost always fell into the tie and homemade card category. Thankfully, times have changed, and men no longer have to settle for a tie and a new fancy rake or snow shovel. Special, high quality travel gifts for men are out there, and men appreciate luxury in their lives now more than ever.

Here are some quick travel gift ideas to start off the season in a classy way: Luxury Travel Gifts for Men.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

There was a grand opening of a new Lush store at Universal CityWalk in, well, Universal City. The directions were to wear black and a funny wig, but we're talking August in the San Fernando Valley. A hundred degrees in the shade. So, somehow, I forgot the dress code...but I was not turned away at the door. Lush employees are much too friendly to do something like that.

Inside, the mood was beyond festive. Women and men of all ages walked around with facial masks on, hand massages were being given in one corner, and there were bath bomb demonstrations in another. Many, many people wore wacky wigs of fuchsia, chartreuse, and other colors not usually associated with hair. And then there were my poor kids who, in a moment of maternal delinquency, I put in goofy hair bands that made them look like slightly intimidated sea anemones. Before you feel too sorry for those sea anemones, you should know that their hairdos entitled them to the grand opening Lush giveaway of a new one-time-only Lush product, Honeywood Shower Gel. Honey is the first ingredient, and the several honeys listed are from Hungary, Greece, and Yorkshire. That's a lot of honey for one shower gel, yet it is somehow not overwhelmingly sweet. Orange peel and bergamot fruit oils are among the other organic ingredients. The scent of this shower gel is just wonderful. I can't get enough of it!

I usually have three Lush soaps in my shower; Karma, Happy soap, and Honey I Washed the Kids. Now, combining the new Honeywood with Honey I Washed the Kids is a no brainer, considering that honey is the primary scent of each. In fact, I would say the two are meant for each other; bergamot and orange oils are also in Honey I Washed the Kids. The new shower gel also combined well with my Lush Rehab shampoo, and the Happy Soap, which is primarily a citrus scented soap. As a cocktail, the two together smelled something like sweet oranges. It brought to mind honey-sweetened orange herbal tea. However, Honeywood Shower Gel mixed with the Karma soap was nasty. While orange oil is in both, in my opinion Karma's patchouli oil clashed with the Honeywood. It smelled like a dorm room. Yuck! ...So, of course, I had to start my shower all over, with more Honeywood Shower Gel, and more Honey I Washed the Kids. It only makes sense.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

We needed a new baby monitor! Words almost cannot describe the sense of relief for us, when we switched to the static-free Philips Digital Baby Monitor. Since our kids' bedrooms are on a different floor than our master bedroom, we needed to have some sort of monitor set up, to hear if they called in the middle of the night. While our Sharper Image video baby monitor had infrared night vision, so we could see which child was stirring, the static was constant and annoying. On particularly bad nights, I'd sleep with a pillow over my head (which obviously negates the effectiveness of the monitor in the first place).

The Philip's baby monitor doesn't come with a video option at this writing, but the absence of static and the clear quality of the sound are unassailable. Even better, the Philip's monitor comes with a two-way communications system, like a super-terrific walkie-talkie. Now, we didn't bother to tell our children about this added feature, since we didn't want then making a game out of it. One night, our 5 year-old was having an especially hard time settling down for the night. All parents know about this type of bedtime process: I'm thirsty, there's a scary shadow, I had a bad dream, I have to pee, I'm thirsty again. After escorting her to the bathroom the second time, we'd had it. If you get up one more time, her father said, I'm going to get very angry with you.

She has a typical 5-year old's idolization of her father, bordering on the religious. The potential of paternal anger is often fearsome enough a threat to improve her behavior immediately. Our daughter grew quiet, but a few minutes later we heard the unmistakable sound of her feet hitting the floor. This time, instead of going to her room, my husband pressed the "talk" button on our Philips monitor receiver. "Jessica, get back in bed right now," he intoned. The monitor is so clear, I swear we could hear her eyes widen. We heard her climb back into bed without a peep, and that was the last we heard from her until the morning.

As if she didn't think her daddy was God already.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

There are so many wonderful things about Florence, Italy.

The internationally famous museums, with more renaissance art than anywhere else in the world. The architecture, with Medieval streets and centuries-old buildings, many wired for Wi-Fi and other 21st century amenities. The great authentic Tuscan cuisine, found at both high-end restaurants for luxury travelers, and casual fare for tourists on a budget. There are, naturally, a full range of accommodations ranging from 5-star to budget hotels and B&B's. If you're making travel plans for Italy, Firenze will be an unforgettable part of your vacation. And even if Italy is not in your foreseeable future, you can experience it vicariously through our collected articles. Click here for our Suite 101 Florence Basics index.

Who knows? You may even (shudder to think) learn something new!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

My younger daughter graduated from preschool, and I realized belatedly that this was a bigger deal than I'd thought it was. To make up for my shameful lack of flowers to present to her after the "moving on" ceremony, I offered her a one of a kind Graduation Day of Luxury. One part of this was lunch at the restaurant of her choice. No, she didn't pick Nobu, or French Laundry, or even a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Pizza she likes, and pizza it was!

The pizza joint was so classic it almost hurt: Checkered tablecloths, Frank Sinatra crooning from the overhead speakers, and a waiter with a Mediterranean accent. A couple was on an obvious first date at the table next to ours, and a few surly teens nursed their sodas a few seats over.

We were eating our pizza and discussing the relative merits of two popular children's television shows, when I took a few moments to dab some oil off my slice. She was silent during this, and when I looked up, she was waving her arms. Her face was beet red with wide, panicked eyes, and I realized in a flash that she was choking. I don't remember sliding across to her seat, but there I was, pulling her mouth open. I reached into her mouth with a hooked finger, and pulled out a wad of mozzarella cheese that was larger than a golf ball. She coughed a little, drank some water, and gave me a curious look. Then, my kid picked up her slice of pizza, and recommenced eating.

What could I do? I returned to my seat and sternly told her to swallow each bite before taking the next one. My hands were shaking and I felt nauseous. Around me, the couple on a date still got to know each other, the teens still waited on their refills, and Frank was singing the same song he was before my child choked. The whole incident lasted less than 10 seconds, but of course it affected me very, very deeply.

An hour later we were home, and her babysitter greeted us at the door. How was your day, she asked. My child, my darling child whose life I perhaps just saved, pointed at me. "I was eating pizza when Mommy stuck her finger in my mouth and choked me!"

...And that, I'm certain, is how she will remember the lunchtime portion of her Graduation day of Luxury.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Whether you want to stroll through the beautiful state park, bet on a thoroughbred at the race track, or relax in an upscale day spa, there are plenty of options for you in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Saratoga Springs Vacation Basics

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The polls are closed and the results are in! The July poll asked readers to think about what their favorite hotel amenities are, and the clear winner is free internet access (is it a coincidence that this column is found in a web magazine? On the Internet? Hmm).

My personal choice would be 24-hour room service, but really, more for "safety net" reasons than anything else. Tell you why: I've stayed at some lovely resorts with my family, and while I would be perfectly content with coffee and maybe a bowl of cereal first thing - in fact, that's all I really want - the rest of the gang gets excited about the room service menu and wants the whole shebang. We're talking French toast, omelettes, fresh-sqeezed orange juice, etc. Next thing you know, we're looking at a 40 dollar tab, and all I wanted was my cup of coffee! Spending as much on breakfast as I do to tank up my car just feels wrong. Let me amend that: almost as much as I do to tank up my car. Times (and gas prices) have changed, haven't they?

But then there's the safety net. Oh, yes, the safety net of room service! I remember once I spent a solid afternoon hiking amidst petroglyphs on Maui, and it was in the hot midland, not near the ocean. When the day ended, I was wiped out. We're talking, not even going to stand up to cross the room and get the remote control, wiped out. Fortunately, the phone was within arm's reach. Flash ahead one hour, and I'm in the middle of some of the best macadamia nut-encrusted chicken I've ever had. Now, if only someone would pass me that remote!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I really can't speak highly enough about Saratoga Springs. For a town of its size, it's got a remarkable amount of culture, outdoor activities, and entertainment. For tourists who love to shop, there are both high-end luxury stores and interesting, funky little bohemian arts stores, as well as a sampling of Upstate New York dusty antique shops.

But remember, Saratoga Springs first rose to prominence as a travel spot for luxury travelers because of its natural springs. The elite of the Victorian age spent many summers relaxing in Saratoga's mineral waters. It seems only fitting, therefore, to consider the natural spas here as not merely a luxury, but a tie to the past as well.

The two day spas that still pump their water in directly from the earth are the Lincoln Baths and the Crystal Spa. Both are on the Saratoga Spa State Park.

The Crystal Spa features body exfoliation scrubs, body wraps, and other body treatments. Also, facials and other face treatments are available. There is an aromatherapy sauna (dry heat) and - of course - the mineral baths. Massages include deep tissue massage, reflexology, swedish massage, and more. Here, you can indulge in luxury in the same location as did the wealthy Victorian elite travelers.

The Lincoln Baths are a state-run bath house. It has mineral baths and mud baths along with massages and facials. There are add-ins such as lavender aromatherapy, to individualize your luxury spa experience. The prices here are shockingly reasonable for a luxury spa treatment, but the decor is what you'd expect from a state-run bath spa; a bit grungy and plain. The staff, however, couldn't be nicer! The Lincoln Baths is the oldest spa in Saratoga Springs, and believe me, you get an authentic old-fashioned spa and bath experience here.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The Lush store I go to, in Southern California, is usually a busy, festive place. It opened in a storefront of what was previously a rare comic and old cartoon cel store, and I was so aggrieved by the loss of that special little store that, for several months, I refused to even look at the Lush store. It's in an area I frequent, however, and I could only hold out for so long. Finally, I allowed myself to peek in the window. Ooh, pretty...I wandered in, mesmerized, entranced by the giant chunks of colorful soap and enticing displays of - what are those? Cheese? Cupcakes? No, they're bubble bars and bath melts. And they smelled soooo nice. But my attention soon was grabbed by a Lush saleswoman, who was showing a Butterball Bath Bomb do its thing in a metal bowl. A small crowd gathered. Free theater! Well, not so free: I ended up buying that bomb, along with around 20 dollars' worth of other goodies. I stashed my Lush bag in the trunk of my car, and continued about my day.

Included in these "other goodies" was a Floating Island bath melt. (I can already hear the sympathetic groans from readers in the know.) Bath Melt does not combine well with Car Trunk in Southern California, any time of year. When I popped my trunk at home, my Butterball and Lemony Flutter hand cream were fine, but my poor little Floating Island bath melt did not survive the trip. With no preservatives, the cupcake (primarily cocoa butter and sandalwood oil) didn't have a chance. Simply, the Floating Island melted. The Lush bag now contained a sodden mess, which I sniffed, sadly. Smelled great, but completely ruined. It did what it was meant to do, I suppose, only prematurely and in the wrong place.

I've bought two or three Floating Island bath melts since that unfortunate start, and all made it to my home, and tub, successfully. So that others may avoid my mistake, I say this: If you buy a bath melt at Lush - and I recommend it - keep it cool! Bath melts melt, and they don't need to be in a bath to do so.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

We were looking for a great place to have dinner in Florence, and we didn't want to take any chances. A friendly tourist recommended La Giostra, and our concierge verified that this would be an excellent choice for fine dining. That's all we needed to hear; a reservation for our party of five was made in short order.

What we didn't know until we were seated and read the menu, was the interesting history behind La Giostra. Believe it or not, this restaurant is owned by real live Austrian royalty, who also are active presences in the kitchen and wine cellar. We thought this was pretty neat. Also neat was that our waiter told us, almost conspiratorially, that Sting had sat at our table the night before. Poor Sting! A renown vegetarian, he missed out on some of the best steak carpaccio in the world.

The menu reflects the subtle Austrian influences on some of the entrees. The food here is basically Tuscan, however. When we ordered one particular Tuscan wine, there was a bit of a stir: Apparently, that red wine is rare and restaurants throughout the world are only allotted 7 or so bottles per year. This was enough for us to get a special table-side visit from the sommelier, a joyful man in a floppy chef's hat.

The happy man in the chef's hat who was thrilled with our wine selection, is the blue-blooded Hapsburg prince. Prince Dimitri Kunz d'Asburgo Lorena created and now runs La Giostra in Florence, with his adult sons' active participation. He was very engaging and happily told us the origins of the special entrees we had ordered. The Austrian influences of the Hapsburg prince are reflected in the creative and subtle introduction of some Austrian cooking with the traditional Italian style of most entrees. He was quite entertaining but didn't overstay his welcome. After a show of oxygenating and decanting our wine in the sommelier way, he graciously accepted our thanks (not to mention a glass of wine for himself!) and moved on to the next table. His mood was contagious, and we spend the rest of our evening exclaiming passionately over the high quality of our food and wine.

The sacher torte and tiramisu were the perfect dessert to end one of the best meals the five of us had ever had. We were still talking about La Giostra all the way back to our hotels.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

A well-run luxury day spa knows that half of attracting new clients is sensory; what we see, hear and smell the first time we enter a day spa goes a long way in determining whether we stay or go. Calm hues and relaxing decor are often integrated into the overall look of high-end day spas, as well as a comfortable, inviting sofa and chair set-up in the foyer. A friendly, yet not overbearing greeter is something I've come to expect, even in busy spas and simple manicure storefronts. Exhale day spas, in several locations across the country, are certainly busy, but there is no way you'd confuse an Exhale spa with a mani-pedi joint. This popular spa is a genuine example of the high-end attention to detail that its affluent customers expect from a luxury spa experience.

Exhale day spas have a certain amount of uniformity between locations, in that the interiors are all vaguely Asian and Zen-inspired, with Roman antiques and other Mediterranean artifacts that are unique to each Exhale spa. Two locations in NYC both feature tropical grasses woven into room dividers and the walls themselves, whereas the Santa Monica location (being 2 blocks from the Pacific anyway) forgoes these topical touches in favor of more multicultural decor such as Buddhas and other statuary.

One aspect of Exhale day spas that I especially appreciated may seem trivial, but upon reflection I think it's pretty important, and indicative of how this spa can break away from the pack. The scent of lavender is so common that it's practically ubiquitous in day spas that feature aromatherapy. Exhale, on the other hand, has a light, calming scent that I had a hard time identifying. It smelled subtly tropical. The young woman at the front desk told me that it is derived mainly from eucalyptus, and is featured throughout all the rooms in the day spa. While Exhale does provide lavender among other scents for clients that opt for aromatherapy candles beside their saunas and baths, this delicate scent of eucalyptus was special, and refreshing.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Oh, happy day! One of my favorite stores for luxury bath treatments, Lush, is having a promotion: Bring back the same Lush bag four times, and get a free Lush organic Happy Pill bath bomb. This should be easy enough, considering that I find myself walking by Lush at least once a week. Lush is like a bakery; its great smells come wafting out, pulling the innocent passer-by (in this case, me) into the store despite the rolling eyes and sarcastic comments of my usual companion. I earned that free Happy Pill bath bomb easily.

The Happy Pill, an orange and yellow disc shaped Lush bath bomb, didn't change the color of my bath water in the pleasing way the Avobath (green) or Black Pearl (dark grey) did. The bath water looked very light yellow, if it changed at all. The orange side seemed to dissolve faster than the yellow, and both sides foamed up instead of fizzing. This may be due to the organic olive oil in it. Other organic ingredients of the Happy Pill include grapefruit oil, lemon oil, and orange flower, and gardenia extract. The yellow side of this bath bomb is Lush's trademarked, grapefruit scented Happy Hippy, and the orange side is the store's Olive Branch scent, which is also largely a citrus scent. I was really looking forward to my free Happy Pill bath bomb, because I like both fragrances and thought that the bath would be invigorating.

All that organic oil did not make my tub greasy, yet I was surprised to find the usual skin softening effects of most Lush bath products missing from this bomb. Also, the scent was fainter than I've come to expect from the citrus lines of Lush. The Happy Pill had a strong smell in the store, but it had a weak scent once in my bathtub. Now, Lush has a signature scent, Karma, which appears in several Lush products. I have the Karma soap, which by and large I love. It has a strong patchouli/citrus scent, and is extremely invigorating and clean-smelling. If I were to get another Happy Pill bath bomb, I think I'd pair it with some Karma soap or even the to-be-discontinued (sob!) Karma bath bomb. That way, the citrus scent may be less subtle, and be longer-lasting.

So, that's my experience with the Happy Pill bath bomb. Can't win 'em all! Lush bombs are very popular with the luxury bath treatment crowd, as seen in the Lush Bath Bomb message board.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

My family recently spent a summer week in New York City, notable mostly for its daily downpours, alternating with scattered showers and incredible humidity. Needless to say, my family was looking forward to returning home to dry, humidity-free Los Angeles. We typically fly American Airlines, as that's where our frequent flyer miles are, and we usually also manage to use these miles to get upgraded to business class. Forget the comfy seats which fully recline; my older kid's favorite part about flying business class on American Airlines, is the heated mixed nuts served by flight attendants at the beginning of the flight. She loves picking through both her and my bowl for her favorites, and is as hopeful as the title character in "Oliver" that she'll get some more.

This fact occurred to her as we waited to board the Jet Blue airplane for our trip home. Jet Blue has very friendly flight attendants, but they sure don't serve heated mixed nuts. The lack of prepared meals and pampering is one money-saving aspect of Jet Blue that helps keep their costs down, and this is reflected in their much less expensive tickets. But in the waiting area of JFK, my charming eldest realized the loss of business class amenities would continue as they had on our Jet Blue flight to NYC. The only thing for a kid to do when facing such adversity, apparently, is to chant. "Warm nuts! Warm nuts! Warm nuts!" This, repeated loudly in the hopes of inciting the crowd a la "Attica" in Dog Day Afternoon. Al Pacino she's not, and the crowd of travelers remained un-incited. I, however, was embarrassed and hushed her as quickly as I could. We couldn't board fast enough!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

For people with the travel bug, it's hard to beat an actual vacation, or trip to a new part of the world. But very few of us are able to simply pick up and go anytime, passport in hand and confirmation of hotel reservations on Blackberry. When that travel bug bites, but the responsibilities of the real world rule out a vacation, what do we do?

The Everyday Luxury Poll asked just that question, and the voting booths are now closed! Examining the results make it clear that we have many and varied ways to compensate for not traveling when we want to. Time dining with friends and loved ones got almost a third of the votes, and the rest of the results are remarkably close. It is elucidating to realize that a purely social activity trumped the several more solitary options; clearly, we travel-oriented people are a friendly bunch!

How about you? Social activity, or alone time? Read our discussion to see all of our various preferences, too. And jump right in; the water's fine!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Getting my kids to help cook dinner used to be easy, as they were eager to take part in whatever activity I was doing. But lately, they seem to have lost their enthusiasm. Could it be that they really know how to prepare Hamburger Helper and microwaved broccoli-with-melted-cheese so well, that it's gotten boring? Perhaps. These days, they prefer to sit at the kitchen table and draw with magic markers while the ground meat browns, or the noodles boil. Or the chicken shake-and-bakes. While I have received several lovely gifts of updated "family portraits" from the kids, part of me misses the days when dinner preparation was filled with "it's MY turn to stir!" and "She licked off the spoon and got her GERMS on it!" Not to mention my constant admonishments about the hazards of the hot stove. Sigh: The Good Old Days.

But when it's summertime, and they see their father ceremoniously unwrap his barbecue tools, it's another story. The scramble to be first in line to help daddy grill up some steaks on the BBQ brings to mind the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. Only, they're the bulls, and I am some innocent pedestrian.

While their father delegates responsibility and my youngest remembers her only-hot-dogs rule of acceptable barbecued dinners, I prep the steaks with a little salt and freshly-ground pepper. Prime grade steaks, grilled right, require little else in terms of seasoning. My oldest sets the table, carefully folding our napkins the way she's seen it done in fancy restaurants, and my youngest wraps the corn in tin foil. There's music playing, my kids are laughing and joking around with their dad, and the foody smells coming off the grill are mouth-watering. I sit back, glass of Napa Valley Merlot in hand, and smile. How could I forget? These are the good old days.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Ah, Italy! Land of medieval towns, renaissance art, villas overlooking vineyards on rolling hills, and...the bus depot next to the Ikea by the Florence airport. Florentine furniture and Ikea are, truly, an unusual match. But why, you ask, would anyone spend part of their Italian vacation in this semi-industrial neighborhood?

For a recent trip to Italy, we flew Air France, with a 90-minute layover at the De Gaulle Airport in Paris. Landing in Florence a couple of hours later, the passengers wearily disembarked and shuffled over to the baggage carousel. After a 12-hour flight, unaided by any prescription sleep medication, I was thrilled to have arrived in Florence. And, just as thrilled to have the airplane portion of the trip over. Watching the suitcases go 'round and 'round the carousel was hypnotic, and I almost dozed off standing up.

But what is this strange sight? I blurrily realize that I'd been standing there for almost 15 minutes, no one is claiming the few remaining suitcases, and mine certainly isn't there. Also, there is a growing line of malcontents behind me. I recognized several people from our flight on this line, and slowly it dawned on me...Air France lost our luggage.

Standing on the line for lost luggage was my first memorable experience in Florence. I'll never forget the charm of the signora who listened to our description of our luggage, as she sat behind the bullet-proof glass. Forever etched in my memory, is the romantic sound of the pen clicking as I prepared to fill out the lost luggage documento, in triplicate. And forever memorialized, will be the tiny Air France canvas bag we got, containing one disposable toothbrush, a gram of toothpaste, the littlest deodorant possible to make without changing its molecular structure, and...one T-shirt. The T-shirt was blank, much to my surprise: I fully expected it to say, "Air France lost my luggage, and all I got was this stupid T-shirt."

It turned out that most of the travellers' luggage did not make it from Paris to Florence, and the next day they all arrived relatively unharmed. We rented a car (which we were going to do regardless), spread out our road maps, and headed back to the airport. But the street signs are in Italian (shocking!), there are many roundabouts, and we got hopelessly lost. We could see the airport, but couldn't get to it. My husband was proud to make use of the time-honored tradition of Men Not Asking For Directions. Finally, and after much debate, we decided to drive straight towards the sight of arriving and departing planes, until we couldn't anymore. Hence, the bus depot next to the Ikea by the Florence airport. The charm, the allure of old Italia. It never ends.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Last month's poll was about fantasy vacations. I wondered where readers would most like to go, if money were no object. Now that the poll is over and done with, I am surprised to see that the Mediterranean received nearly half the votes.

Don't get me wrong; I love Italy and Greece as much as the next person. I had thought, however, that the voters' preferences would be more evenly divided among the options. Now, it could be that some poll-takers didn't see their top vacation spot on the list, since there were only five choices available -- and I thought, "none of the above" would not be a particularily elucidating choice. It's interesting to consider how the votes may have differed, however, were choices in areas of Western Europe, South America and Africa been available. Hmmm, food for thought. And, possibly the genesis of a future poll!

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Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Some children like bathtime, some don't. We've all heard stories of the temper tantrums, screaming, pleading and bartering involved in getting some children to take even a quick dunk - and I'm not even talking about the kids!

While toddlers' bath issues may involve fear of going down the drain with the water, older recalcitrant kids may dislike the feeling of a loss of control, all naked in the confined tub while a parent scrubs away at the days' detritus. They may also find bathtime boring. In either case, a visit to Lush is the perfect solution! Children can enjoy fresh, hand-made bath products as much as adults, even if their skin doesn't actually need softening.

My daughters both generally like taking baths, but the routine can seem lackluster to them. They've often noticed the floral or citrus scents coming from my bathroom when they've astonishingly allowed me time for a bath of my own, and I enjoyed their curiosity. Finally, I let them in on my secret with a visit to my local Lush store. They enthusiastically sniffed almost everything in the entire store, oohing at some and crinkling up their noses at others. They were impressed with the manner in which the Lush staff treated them as mature young ladies, even though some of their behavior was anything but mature. I allowed them each to pick out a bath melt or bath bomb, and they approached this task with utmost seriousness.

My younger daughter picked out the perennially available "Bunny I Shrunk the Kids" bath melt; its rabbit shape and real cotton ball tail proved irresistible. My older kid selected the pink Creamy Candy Bath, with a little candy flower in the middle. That night, they fidgeted and rushed through dinner, greatly anticipating bathtime. "Bunny I Shrunk the Kids" won the coin toss, and, suffice it to say, I had to literally plead and barter with them to get them OUT of the bath!

They smelled wonderful the rest of the evening, and the next morning their hair still held the sweet vanilla scent of their first luxury bath experience. My philosophy regarding bath treatments is, you can never start 'em too young.

Related Blog - A Man Learns to Like Lush, by Business Travel writer Dan Florio.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The Atlantis resort on Paradise Island is the archetypal all-inclusive resort. The aquariums, casino, pools and plentiful dining options guarantee that all your travel dollars can be spent at one place. There's even "Club Rush," a faux nightclub place for teenagers (no one over 17 allowed). From what I saw, it seems that the age limit had the effect of keeping away the 15 and 16 year-olds as well, so Club Rush was predominantly filled with tweens and prebubescent teens feigning nonchalance and tossing their hair. Good times.

An architecturally encircled all-inclusive resort has its drawbacks, however: At least for me, it began to feel artificial. I wanted to swim in some real open water, not the anesthetized environment of Atlantis. I've always enjoyed snorkeling in the past, and so my husband and I decided to book a half-day snorkel trip. The hotel lobbies display pamphlets from independent contractors who supply scuba and snorkel equipment, included with boat rides to assorted local reefs. We basically chose one at random -- maybe the one closest to the fruit basket, who knows -- and called to reserve our place on that company's boat.

We had already decided, on the advice of other vacationers, that we would go to either Rose Island Reefs, or Goulding Reef Cays. Those two options were said to have the best and more varied fish. However, when we scanned down the names of scuba/snorkel options, one stood out: Booby Rock Channel. Booby Rock! How could we pass on a name like that? So we changed our plans.

The way out to Nassau Harbor on the motorboat was typical: Experienced scuba divers sizing each other up, honeymooners being a little embarrassing, and Old Marrieds like us making small talk. Oh, you're from Philly? My cousin lives there, etc. But when the captain cut the engine and began the standard spiel regarding water safely, I had a hard time believing we were already at our destination. Bobbing up and down in the wakes of other boats, we were not in what I'd consider a prime coral reef habitat. And I was right; Booby Rock is a rock, that may at one point have had boobies on it. (It's a kind of bird, wise guy.)

What happened next? The boat operator actually threw some dog kibble into the water to attract fish! I have never had to swim in dog food before, and I don't recommend it. The fish must have known the drill, since they came quickly for their brunch. There were a few squirrel fish, a bunch of silvery grey jobs and a smallish barracuda. Nonetheless, most reef fish are too shy to come to the surface, even when tempted by delicious lamb meal & rice flavored kibble. The scuba divers among us reported that around 20 or 30 feet down, the coral attached to Booby Rock and an old junked boat did provide some interest; tropical fish like queen parrotfish, sergeant majors, and wrasses darting among staghorn coral and sea anemones. For those of us stuck paddling amid the kibble, however, it was at best a unique experience. I hope it remains that way.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

With this year's Mother's day officially behind us, it is time to review the Mother's Day Treats poll.

The question was, "What do you like to give your wife, your mother, or yourself on Mother's Day?"

And the results are...

• Voters' number one choice is "A mini-vacation, such as a trip to a day spa", with 42.86% of the votes.
• Following closely at number two is "A family outing, to the theatre, a museum, etc." with 38.10% of the votes.
• Number three is "A phone call," with only 14.29% voting for this option.
• Far behind in fourth place, is "I don't buy into these made-up, Hallmark-inspired holidays," with only 4.76% of the votes.
• And in last place, with no votes at all, is "Jewelry: Tiffany's is always nice!"

Well, well, well. The results of the Mother's Day Treats poll are quite surprising to me! Not so much for the close contest between numbers one and two, but for the complete lack of votes for the jewelry option. The amount of advertising dollars the high-end jewelry stores pump into newspapers and magazines in the weeks leading up to Mother's Day, led me to believe that jewelry would be one of the higher-ranking gift options in the poll results.

Clearly, moms are divided between the desire to be with their family and the desire for some alone time; this is reflected not only in the results of this poll, but also by any casual eavesdropping at stroller-littered Starbucks across the nation. This division is not solely a between-groups one in the poll, but a within-groups distinction as well. What mother among us has NOT felt the urge to both constantly hug our kids and occasionally lock them out of our bedrooms as well?

Meanwhile, those mothers whose adult children have moved out of state, surely relish Mother's Day phone calls. The day is a bonanza for the phone companies, thats for sure.

And what did this poll-meister receive for Mother's Day? Why, jewelry, of course! This, non-ranked option of the poll, is what I woke up to: Two Crayola-scribbled boxes, with the shining, proud faces of my young daughters hovering above. In one: A bracelet, with flower charms meticulously glued into place. In the other: Another bracelet, with plastic beads carefully strung to read "WOW." No, wait, she's holding it upside down. It reads, "MOM."

Perfect, perfect, perfect. I wore them all day.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Okay, confession time: I did not actually go down the Mayan Temple water slide, in the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island. I availed myself of whatever excuses seemed plausible at the time. The line was too long, the sun was too bright, someone might swipe my lounge chair. The truth is -- and it pains me to admit this -- I was a little scared. Fine, I was a lot scared! My husband was not so reluctant, however, and he happily stood on line with the whooping 8-to 15-year olds.

He must have gone down the gigantic Mayan Temple Waterslide a dozen times each day, and with each slide down he seemed to regress to a younger age. During a break from this activity, I watched him wolf down a 15 dollar cheeseburger and realized I had unwittingly married a little boy. After hastily wiping his mouth on his forearm, he'd scramble back up the stairs of the slide, to rejoin the other kids on line. There were several other wives and mothers smiling benignly at the view of their children AND spouses waiting their turn to whoop down the slide into the pool. They provided for me a rare sense of community among fellow travelers.

I provided for them, however, a whole other sense. My thirsty baby was still nursing at the time, and our hotel room seemed so far away... One of my best friends came with us on this trip, and she draped a plethora of towels across me and my chair. This attempt at privacy backfired, because few things draw attention to oneself more than the sight of a giant, squirming lump of towels with a sweaty woman's head sticking out the top. I suppose that at this point I should be happy to have been able to provide some free poolside entertainment. Back then, though, I needed an oversized pina colada to recover from the unintended exposure. Go down the Mayan Temple Waterslide? No, nursing in public was quite enough adventure for me, thank you very much.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I discovered my love for soothing nighttime baths many years ago, longer than I'd like to admit in public. Around the same time, I also discovered that The Body Shop in my neighborhood was selling an assortment of bath beads in rainbow colors. Rose, lavender, jasmine and sandlewood were my favorites of the bath beads, and half the fun may have been the act of purchasing them. The Body Shop had their bath beads arranged in apothacary-style glass jars, and I would scoop out my choices from the colorful array. It was like a candy store (even better, because I could "sample" the eye liners too).

I would often buy some on the way home, after a stressful day at my job, as a way to help me unwind and forget the demands of the workday. You know the deal; Drop two or three in the tub, wait for the gelatin casings to dissolve, then -ahhhh, the senses relax as the scented bath oil works its magic. The scents of the floral bath oils at The Body Shop are not at all subtle; they follow along the hit-you-over-the-head-with-a-mallet theory of perfumery. In retrospect, I probably stunk up my bathroom to a larger degree than I pretended not to notice back then. But they were an affordable luxury for a young woman just getting started in New York City, and I look back upon my bath-bead-therapy fondly. Well, mostly fondly. The day after a long soak, I'd often slip and almost break my neck while taking my morning shower, and it took me an embarrassingly long time to put two and two together. Hmm, oil is slippery, isn't it? Once I realized that I would have to follow a luxury bath experience with a sturdy sponge and a bottle of Clorox, the magic was gone. Nothing kicks me back into real life faster than scrubbing out a bathtub. THAT can't be relaxing for anyone!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Which type of hotel pillow provides the most comfort? And, is this issue relevant for travelers in the first place?

The poll results are in!

• Ranking as number one is "Soft and squishy," with 43.33% of the votes.
• Coming in at a close second is "Pretty firm, with a little give," at 40% of the votes.
• "Organic buckwheat, with just a hint of lavender" comes in a distant third, with a mere 10% of voters choosing this option.
• Tying for last, at a statistically insignificant 3.33% each, are "I travel for adventure, not a good night's sleep," and "Where I"m staying, the pillow is the least of my worries!"

So, what does this poll tell us? Well, with the top two choices being so close in votes, we can see that the comfort of a hotel pillow is to a certain degree subjective. Most people clearly prefer either firm or soft pillows. It is notable, however, that the vast majority ( 83.33%) consider the comfort of their hotel pillow an important part of their night's sleep. Less than ten percent of the total don't give the quality of hotel pillows much weight, when determining the quality of their vacation overall. With so many more voters having a distinct preference of hotel pillow type, we can see that it's not just a few of us who thinks quality hotel pillows are relevant to our overall hotel stays. It really is important!

It is almost certain that managers of luxury resorts are aware of this fact when determining the caliber of pillow they purchase. It goes without saying that no one would prefer the kind of neck-ache producing polyester rocks or parchment-thin, practically translucent membranes that pass for pillows, at hotels whose managers put no thought into this aspect of their business.

Chalk one up for the luxury resorts, and their glorious, heavenly pillows.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Guest blog: Mother's Day is around the corner. The Luxury and Resort Travel Section of Suite 101 presents a two-part series on how to indulge the most important woman in your life with a day set aside for her. This piece is all about day spas. Stay tuned for Jennifer's next article, for Mother's Day home spa tips!

Know of any great day spas to add to Jen's list? Post them here with your own experiences at them. So far we've been discussing day spa background music, which really varies in style from place to place. - Jill Florio

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I like my adventure manageable, and when possible, prettily arranged on a plate. That's why, for me, the height of fun in an upscale sushi restaurant is ordering omakase, or "chef's choice." I don't know what the chef will prepare for each course, and it's exciting to see what arrives at the table. Don't expect the standard Japanese tuna rolls with omakase; the chef assumes more sophistication with someone who puts his or her dining fate in the chef's hands (so to speak). I do like to request no sea urchin, however, and from my experience sushi chefs always respect specific requests such as these. Urchin: Too slimy!

Many of the excellent Japanese restaurants in the LA area have tiered pricing for their omakase, and in my experience the quality and freshness of the sushi has always been top-notch.

No sushi-themed week here at the Luxury section of Suite 101 could be complete without a mention of a great sushi restaurant on Little Santa Monica Boulevard, in Beverly Hills, called Yu-n-Mi Sushi. I was reluctant to go, at first, because I couldn't imagine a place with a name like that could live up to its reputation. While the name made me think I was going to be served by Hello Kitty, all my preconceived notions about cuteness were erased by the arrival of the toro sashimi that started off the night of Best Omakase Ever.

This restaurant is yet another contender in the ongoing, overwrought argument among gourmands regarding the best sushi in the country. The ardent supporters of Yu-n-Mi Sushi have a point: It's inexpensive for Beverly Hills, yet the creative entrees are just as mind-bendingly awesome as are those at Matsuhisa and Urasawa. Now, the crowd is hip and young, and the restaurant is nearly always crowded and noisy. Positive attributes for some; not for me. But the outside world seems to slip away when the baked lobster handroll arrives. It's so amazing, so astoundingly delicious that all that matters is the plate in front of me. A circumscribed world, perhaps, but the world of sushi doesn't get much better than this.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I remember being a kid and racing through any art museum my parents had the temerity to drag me to, mindless of whatever exhibit they thought would enrich my obviously blighted youth. What was I looking for? Why, the gift shop, of course! What else could possibly have been the point of bringing such a distracted and recalcitrant child to The Most Boring Place on Earth? Imagine my complete jaw-dropping shock when I was informed, yet again, that no, the museum store was not my personal playspace and no, I was not getting anything. I'd collect myself (and my jaw), and commence the next stage of youthful swag-acquisition. Those of you who have kids, or remember your youth with unfortunate clarity, will recall that each stage grows progressively louder, sometimes escalating to the tossing of the head and the stomping of the feet. This process was repeated so often in my childhood that it's surprising my parents ever took me anywhere, frankly.

They must have occasionally caved and bought me whatever doodad I saw as just reward for having suffered through my parents' attempts to give me culture and class, or I'd have realized the temper tantrums were futile. Research by psychologists has proven that unpredictable, sporadic rewards have a stronger reinforcement for behavior than do no rewards, or predictably timed ones. I think of this fact often when gearing up my kids for their own life-enrichment-through-art-museum-exposure. What I have done from the get-go is stick firmly to our "every 5 times" rule: Every five visits to a museum, aquarium or zoo gets each child one visit to the gift shop. No temper tantrums so far, and because they can predict when they are allowed and not allowed to get a treat at the end of a family outing, the pressure is off and they enjoy all the museums, zoos and aquariums that much more. Score one for the developmental psychologists!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The comfort of a hotel pillow can be a major factor in the overall impression of a vacation for me, since it affects the quality of my sleep and my alertness the next day. But, of course, there are plenty of people who just lay down, turn off their bedside lamp, and bam! Sound asleep. Putting aside my deep, deep jealousy of these instant-sleepers, I have to wonder: Is it me? Am I some kind of princess-and-the-pea woman who needs the perfect bed, blanket and pillow arrangement before sleep finds me?

A quick search online seems to prove I am not alone. Well over ten million hits for "pillow" + "comfort" indicate that a good night's sleep for many people is impacted by the quality of their pillows. Further, what makes a pillow comfortable is a matter of opinion, right? Some people prefer very soft and squishy pillows, some relatively firm ones. And a pillow that seems great at one time may not quite cut it the next. I recently bought a "Nap" pillow at Brookstone, because it conformed so well to my head at the store that I was tempted to curl up right there on the massage chair and catch some Z's. Unfortunately, some kind of chemical alteration in its infrastructure must have occured (the only plausible inference!) because when I tried it out at home, the magic was gone. That poor pillow is now collecting dust in my linen closet, and my search continues.

For those of you who can sleep sitting up on a rock, well, that's very nice for you. It certainly would make my travel experiences better if I could learn to emulate your obvious talents, but it just isn't going to happen. Yet. In the meantime, I will still do my best to seek out hotels whose managers put obvious thought into the quality of the beds and pillows. When I'm well-rested, I'm a happier person, and therefore so is everyone else around me!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

When you get right down to it, I am the world's worst packer. I pack too many of one thing, like 5 bras for one weekend away, or not enough of another (my daughter will never forget the trauma of mommy-forgot-to-pack-my-blanket-and-bear, circa 2002). But what about forgetting something essential? When I unpacked my bathroom pack at the Maui Prince, I realized I forgot to pack my toothbrush. And it was after 10PM, the hotel shop was closed, and I was tired and cranky. Spoiling for an argument. Instead, the lovely concierge sent up a brand new toothbrush (and toothpaste, which I weirdly did remember to pack), courtesy of the hotel. Sundries like this are often gratis at nice hotels, so my dental health was secure for the night! Crisis averted.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

While I unfortuately have never been able to pass up a high-carb breakfast (even embarrassingly, an ALL-carb one), my older kid decided at some point that she doesn't like bread. When we were staying at The Shangri-la Hotel in Santa Monica, she was only momentarily perturbed to discover that the free continental breakfast was bagels, toast, or danish. She managed to pass on these and made do (quite contentedly) with eating the little jellies and butters. Hence our new expression, "Free Condimental Breakfast."

While a hotel with only starchy free continental breakfasts doesn't exactly bring up images of luxury (no eggs benedict!), The Shangri-la is just a couple of blocks away from many, many fine eating establishments in Santa Monica. Since I, myself, couldn't make do with a condiments-only breakfast, I availed myself of a different restaurant each morning. This "adventure" helped my family acclimate to our new home...after all, we think it's IMPORTANT to know what's out there!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I was born a poor black boy.