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This is the Year to Finally Paddle the Allagash

Mention the Allagash River to a canoeist and his eyes suddenly become moist and dreamy as he inevitably responds, “Yeah, I’d like to go there someday.” The river has somehow attained legendary stature. Perhaps it’s the way the blue streak of water slips off the map of America’s northern fringes, remote and isolated, hundreds of miles from the nearest metropolis. Or maybe it’s the legacy of writer, philosopher, and inveterate traveler Henry David Thoreau, who ventured down the waterway a mere 152 years ago, waxing lyrically about the last great frontier in the East in his book, The Maine Woods. Whatever the reason, the 92-mile Allagash Wilderness Waterway continues to lure 10,000-plus paddlers to its shores every summer, turning farfetched dreams into reality.
 
2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway by the people of Maine. So there’s no better time to experience this serene paddle. Chip Cochrane, third-generation guide, will be making his 150th descent down the river this summer with Allagash Canoe Trips. Or join another legend of the river, Gil Gilpatrick, who will be leading a Mahoosuc Guide Service trip down the river September 6-11. Expect to spot many moose slurping the shallow waters at sunrise and sunset. 
 

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The Key to Getting a Better Hotel Room

For those of you who missed my story in this Sunday’s Boston Globe, here’s the unabridged version on how to get a better hotel room:
 
After an exhausting 4-hour flight delay, you arrive at your hotel, only to wait on a long line at check in. You can’t help but take out your frustration on the person working the front desk. She smiles, types in your information, says, “Have a nice night” and hands you the key to the worst room in the property. You know, the one that’s next to the noisy ice machine a good quarter-mile from the elevators. 
 
Don’t underestimate the power of the front desk, notes Jacob Tomsky, author of the best-selling Heads in Beds (Doubleday), now available in paperback. Tomsky, 35, spent a decade in the hotel industry, 7 of those years manning the front desk at an upscale midtown Manhattan hotel. We caught up with him in New York to get some pointers. 
 
So how do you get the front desk to give you the best possible room?
Kindness and patience are always the best start. The front desk is doing their best to please everyone, so there’s no need to go overboard about that one special occasion that brought you there. The key here is to differentiate yourself from the 300 other people checking in that day. Providing a gratuity right away will go a lot farther than anything else. It’s a nice way to thank the agent for their hard work. It will also make them pause, look up and do everything to find you the best room and upgrade you. 
 
Was there ever a case when someone’s rude behavior resulted in a downgrading of a room? 
Absolutely. Almost daily. If you are demanding and say something terrible to me or my co-workers, then I’ll put you into a room that’s horrible, one that’s loud or has an obstructed view that doesn’t let in any sunlight. And the best part, you’ll never know. 
 
Is it better to book a room via a travel agent or calling the hotel directly than to reserve through websites like Hotels.com or Priceline? 
From a business standpoint, people who book through third-party travel sites are looking for a discount. The likelihood that they’ll return to your hotel is close to nil. So discount reservations are our last priority. Also, those third-party sites often don’t know the property. I once had someone checking into a midtown Manhattan who wanted a beach view. A good travel agent knows to call the hotel 2 to 3 days before you arrive to speak to the front desk or general manager. It’s a business of people serving people. The more you can connect with the hotel, the better your stay. 
 
Is it worthwhile to return to the same hotel in a city to hopefully get the best room?
Definitely. I had guests meet me just one time and then email me upon their return. I’ll go out of my way to ensure they have a nice room. The best time to get an employee’s name is not when something goes wrong, but when it goes right. When you return to the property, you can find that employee and pick-up where you left off. It’s all about relationships. 
 
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Spring is Party Time in Nantucket

Nantucket knows how to throw a party, especially when the weather warms up. In late April, yellow is all the rage at the annual Daffodil Festival. Mid-May is time for the Nantucket Wine Festival, featuring Ming Tsai, Jasper White, Gordon Hamersley, and other Boston culinary elite sharing their talents. The Nantucket Film Festival comes to town in late June, usually accompanied by Ben Stiller, his famous parents, and “Fever Pitch” director Peter Farrelly. Buy tickets in advance for Farrelly’s Late Night Storytelling at the Rose & Crown, where directors, screenwriters, and actors share uproarious tales of their lives that often have nothing to do with filmmaking. The year-old Nantucket Hotel, sister property to the Winnetu on Martha’s Vineyard, is only a five-minute walk to Dreamland Theatre and the cobblestone streets of town. 

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Visiting Zion National Park in Winter

With winter daytime temperatures in the mid-50s, Zion is a coveted off-season secret with hikers. The red and amber canyon walls that form a tower of massive rock is usually blanketed by snow at higher elevations (7,000 to 9,000 feet). Down at the 4,000-foot high Park Headquarters, however, all you’ll need is a decent pair of boots. Flurries rarely make it to these lower heights. A good warm-up near headquarters is the 2-mile round-trip Watchman Trail. Climbing to a plateau near the base of a twisted monolith, the trail offers views of lower Zion Canyon, the Towers of the Virgin, and West Temple formations. Far more impressive is a hike in the Narrows where you walk in the Virgin River through a 1,000-foot-deep-chasm that’s a mere 20-feet wide. You’ll need a wet suit and booties because of the cool water temperatures, but that’s a small price to pay to have this monster slot to yourself.  If you have your heart set on cross-country skiing, head to the rarely visited Kolob section of Zion. Pinnacles project out of the high mesa floor that, at 7,000 feet, is covered with snow.  

 
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The Dutch Culture of Curacao

Curacao, along with Bonaire, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, and Saba, are all considered part of the Netherlands Antilles. The Dutch came to power on Curacao in 1634 and to this day, Dutch remains the language of instruction in schools and is widely spoken in government and business. Over 2,000 makambas (the name coined for native Dutch people) have made the island their permanent home.

Stroll along the narrow streets of Willemstad, the capital of Curacao, and you’ll find exquisite 17th and 18th-century Dutch colonial buildings not found anywhere outside of the Netherlands. The steep pitched gable roofline is typical of Dutch urban architecture, but the bright bold palette painted on the walls of the buildings is undeniably Caribbean. First stop in town is Fort Nassau, a restored Dutch seafood restaurant created from the ruins of an 18th-century fortress and is now a favorite dining spot of Queen Beatrix and Crown Prince Claus of the Netherlands. Dine on fresh red snapper and grouper on a hilltop overlooking Willemstad with panoramic views of the ocean. Then head onward to New Amsterdam, a favorite store in Willemstad known for its hand-embroidered tablecloths and other Dutch novelties. Last, but certainly not least, make sure to pop into any of the grocery stores in town to grab Dutch chocolates and a wheel of very old Gouda. The latest resort to make its debut on the island is Hyatt Regency Curacao Golf Resort, Spa, and Marina. The hotel features a Pete Dye-designed golf course, private beach, spa, multiple pools, and 350 rooms offering water views.

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Say No Mas to Cancun

n 1974, a team of Mexican government computer analysts picked a long sliver of land on the Atlantic shoreline as the country’s next Acapulco. The powdery white sands and turquoise waters, separated from the mainland by a lagoon were ripe for development.  Sheraton, Hilton, and Marriott swiftly built their hotels, soon joined by upscale Ritz-Carlton and the flashy Le Meridien, and Americans took the bait wholeheartedly. Today, Cancun is the number one tourist destination in Mexico. Sadly, however, the Mexicans catered far too much to their northern neighbors. With a Hard Rock Café, Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Café, Outback Steak House, and a McDonald’s or shopping mall on every other block, the 14-mile-long Zona Hotelera (Hotel Zone) looks much more like Miami Beach than any Mexican village. In fact, the Cancun version of the Miami Herald arrives at your hotel doorstep each morning. Roads are often flooded and prices for dinner are exorbitant in a country known for its affordability. 

 
But what really upsets me about Cancun is that a mere hour’s drive is the authentic Yucatan. The mega-resort sprawl on the coast leads to Playa del Carmen, once a sleepy outpost favored by European backpackers and scuba divers. You’ll have to hit the ruins and village of Akumal before you can snag a bungalow on the beach that feels genuine. If you really want to savor a slice of the Yucatan rich with history and culture, head inland to Merida. Here, you’ll find the oldest cathedrals on the North American continent, even a mangrove swamp that is home to a colony of pink flamingoes. South of Merida is some of Mexico’s finest Mayan ruins on the Puuc Route. The rounded pyramid at your first stop, Uxmal, stands majestically on high ground. Kabah is known for its almost maniacal façade of 250 Chaac sculptures that line one wall. Walk past the wild turkeys and brilliant red birds in the forest of Sayil to reach its grand palace. Whatever you do, don’t waste your time in that Disneyesque version of Mexico, Cancun.
 
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Not So Memorable All-Inclusive Resorts for Families




If you ask my kids, ages 14 and 12, what their favorite vacations were, they’d no doubt say Alaska, British Colombia, Israel, Paris, Bryce,  Zion, and Acadia National Parks, and, of course, New York. Even though we’ve been to over a dozen all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico over the years, all except our last one at the Riu Ocho Rios in Jamaica are quickly forgettable. They all featured wonderful beaches and decent food until the 3rd day, when you become tired of seeing the same entrees. But the reason they quickly forget this type of vacation is that it never really gets to the depth necessary to touch them. There were no adventures, no immersion into the local culture, be it food, music or history, no mishaps to look back and laugh about. It was all very pleasant, a warm retreat from the cold winter temps in Boston. How can staying at one hotel all week possibly compare to being surrounded by whales, otters, bald eagles, and sea lions on a zodiac off Sitka? Or listening to music late at night at one of the jazz joints in Paris? Or grabbing plates of hummus and foul with locals in Jaffa? Or seeing where King Henry VIII married his sixth wife at Hampton Court Palace?  Or hiking with those odd-shaped hoodoos or an exhilarating cliff walk in Bryce and Zion? Or grabbing a hot pastrami on rye at Katz’s Deli and then going outside to see Shepard Fairey paint his most recent mural on Houston Street? These things my kids remember. All those all-inclusive beaches blur into one big warm embrace, nothing more. 


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