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Delta Toronto Opens in City’s South Core Neighborhood

When I visited Toronto in October, I took a hardhat tour of the new Delta Toronto, which made its debut this past Friday, November 27th. Smack dab in the heart of the emerging South Core neighborhood, the spacious rooms overlook Ripley’s Aquarium of Toronto and the CN Tower. I especially like the corner suites, which reward guests with exceptional views of the city. This is a great locale for families. Along with the aquarium, CN Tower, and the Toronto Railway Museum, Air Canada Centre and the Rogers Centre are all within easy walking distance. So it’s easy to take in a Maple Leafs, Raptors, or Blue Jays game while in town. 

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Kempinski to Launch First Caribbean Hotel on Dominica

Unlike the rest of the Caribbean, the attraction in Dominica is not the beach, but a lush mountainous interior ripe with every tropical fruit and vegetable imaginable and bathed with so much water that around every bend is another raging waterfall, a serene swimming hole nestled in the thick bush, or a hidden hot spring to rest your weary body after a day in the outdoors. Indeed, this island closest to Martinique has become an affordable haven for the active traveler who yearns to hike through a jungle-like forest (see my story for The Boston Globe). 

 
So it came a surprise that the upscale European hotelier, Kempinski, chose Dominica to launch their first Caribbean outpost. They’ll be partnering with Range Developments, who will debut their first property, the Park Hyatt St. Kitts in December 2015. The 101-room resort will be on one of the rare beaches on Dominica, Douglas Bay on the north shore of the island. Stay tuned for an opening date. 
 
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Four Seasons Ihilani to Debut at Oahu’s Ko Olina Resort

This past July, I had the pleasure of staying at the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort with the family on Oahu’s blossoming leeward coast. Part of the umbrella Ko Olina Resort (which also includes Disney’s Aulani and Marriott’s Ko Olina Beach Club), this is the quiet side of the island. We snorkeled with wild dolphins straight from the Ko Olina marina, saw the ring of Saturn one night stargazing through a powerful telescope, listened to live Hawaiian ukulele music on the beach, and dined at some of the finest restaurants on the island including Roy Yamaguchi and Peter Merriman’s Ko Olina outposts. 

 
Last week I learned that the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort will close on Jan. 10 for an approximate 10-month, $500 million renovation and will reopen September 2015 as the Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina. The Four Seasons has a lot to work with including spacious rooms with oversized balconies that that offer expansive views of the ocean at night. We left the screen door open to hear the waves rolling ashore. The beachfront locale is also home to a stingray pool and a separate building that houses a large spa and tennis courts. I’m excited to see what the Four Seasons does with the property. 
 
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Toronto’s Emerging South Core Neighborhood

As soon as my Porter Airlines flight arrived at Toronto Island Airport and I took the 2-minute ferry ride over to the city, I noticed the numerous cranes tilting towards the sky. Toronto has a mind-boggling 180 high-rises currently under construction, more than the combined building efforts currently underway in New York and Mexico City, which along with LA are the three cities that have a larger population than Toronto in North America. A good chunk of that construction are office buildings and condos going up in the South Core neighborhood, where I’m spending the week at the Hotel Le Germain Maple Leaf Square. This is the entertainment corridor, bookend on one side by the Air Canada Centre, home to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors; and on the other side by the Rogers Centre, originally known as the SkyDome, where the Toronto Blue Jays play their home games under the retractable roof.

 On my first day here, Jason Kucherawy, owner of Tour Guys and guide at Toronto Urban Adventures, took me on his “Teams, Trains, and Tower Tour,” a walking tour that’s offered to the public for free (simply tip the guide). His first stop was right behind the hotel at the sports bar ESPN called the best in all of Canada, Real Sports Bar and Grill. Hundreds of folks were inside watching college football games on the largest high-definition television in the country. Then we walked along Bremner Boulevard to see Toronto’s newest attraction, Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada (which I’ll describe later this week), backed by the CN Tower. Across the street is the historic John Street Roundhouse, now home to the Toronto Railway Museum. Next door is Steam Whistle Brewing, known for their one beer, a crisp, cool pilsner. If you like your brew, you’ll want to know about Jason’s other tour, a pub crawl. Other favorites include tours geared to bacon lovers, graffiti aficionados, and this being the Halloween season, ghost tours. 
 
One of our clients highly recommended Hotel Le Germain Maple Leaf Square after we put his family of four up there this summer. The location is excellent for seeing the Toronto sights, rooms are spacious, a continental breakfast is included in the price, and there’s a cozy lounge downstairs, Play, that features local microbrews and Montreal smoked meat sandwiches. What I especially love is that there’s no bottled water. You simply fill your pitcher up with filtered water in the hallway, next to the complimentary apples. Sustainable practices along with great service (the concierge Chris and Susan can answer any question) are the reasons why the Quebec-owned Germain brand is growing across Canada, with 10 properties in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax, and Calgary and another 4 under construction. 
 
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Family Vacation Critic Names Top Hotels for Families

Since 2008, I’ve written over 120 hotel and destination reviews for Family Vacation Critic, TripAdvisor’s family travel site. Many of the properties I personally visited have just been chosen in Family Vacation Critic’s Listing of Top Hotels for Families. To achieve award status, travel writers had to first visit and vet the resort, giving the property at least a 4-star rating. In addition, the hotel had to be recommended by at least 75% of families commenting on TripAdvisor. The elite group of hotels selected represents the top 12% of hotels listed on the Family Vacation Critic site. I’m happy to play a small role in this inaugural listing, hopefully steering families to a memorable resort and a special vacation. 

 
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Two Premiere Properties on the Swiss Riviera

The Lake Geneva region is often referred to as the Swiss Riviera, trying to match the tres chic atmosphere of Antibes and the French Riviera. Walking the esplanade of Vevey, lined with cafes and patisseries on one side and the stupendous vista of the Alps across the Lake Geneva waters, it’s easy to understand the comparison. This is especially true if you stay at two of the most upscale properties in the region, Lausanne Palace and Spa and Vevey’s Grand Hotel du Lac

 
Centrally located, within easy walking distance of the 12th-century Gothic church and the numerous bins selling local cheese, fruits, and flowers at the Saturday market, Lausanne Palace offers spacious rooms and opulent bathrooms, some with patios overlooking the lake. Breakfast every morning was a treat, with a large buffet featuring eggs, lox, herring, saucisson, cheese, and sublime croissants and pain au chocolat. The spa is also heavenly, with lap pool and spacious Turkish hamam, the perfect place to unwind after a day of walking. 
 
Grand Hotel du Lac boasts a prime waterfront setting overlooking a narrow portion of the lake in Vevey. A fresh plate of chocolate and muffins arrives daily in your room and the best way to devour the offerings is on the patio staring at the massive mountain motif. Dinner was excellent, offering top-notch French food like venison with wild mushrooms paired with a Swiss pinot noir. Both resorts feature exceptional concierge service, going out of their way to answer any and all questions. Choose either of these two properties and you certainly will feel like you’re on the Riviera. 
 
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Consider the Briarcliff on Your Next Visit to the Berkshires

I’ve always loved the location of the Briarcliff Motel, even when it was called the Briarcliff Motor Lodge and I was reviewing the property for the Lonely Planet Guide to New England back in 1999. The motel sits on a quiet stretch of Route 7 directly across from historic Monument Mountain (the hike Herman Melville once took with Nathaniel Hawthorne) and within an easy five-minute drive of the restaurants and shops in Great Barrington. Now under the more than capable watch of Londoners Clare and Richard, the lodging is much more stylish, comfortable, and homey. Breakfast, included in the price, features freshly made scones and muffins, yogurt, fresh fruit, and a tasty homemade granola (no, Richard, won’t give you the recipe). At night, there’s a fire pit to share stories with other travelers about your day at the Clark, Tanglewood, Norman Rockwell Museum, Naumkeag and many other sites in the Berkshires. But don’t miss the opportunity to climb Monument, only a 90-minute round-trip trek that rewards you with a glorious vista of the valley below. 

 
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The Stylish New Hotel Zetta in San Francisco

The final two nights of our trip to San Francisco, we stayed in a new boutique hotel called Hotel Zetta. The location was great, within easy walking distance of the restaurants and shops at Union Square and the Powell-Mason and Powell-Hyde cable car lines down to Fisherman’s Wharf and Ghirardelli Square. Hotel Zetta had a real sense of whimsy and originality like painting the stairwell walls with graffiti. We loved returning to the Playroom, located on the 2nd floor of the hotel, a lounge area that offers pool, ping pong, giant Jenga and multiple game consoles. The cozy bar, off the lobby, is popular with locals who come to listen to live music. Fortunately, the hipster vibe of the place did not affect the service. The front desk and doorman were excellent, even finding us a spacious town car to head back to the airport, only $5 more than a taxi. 

 
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Fairmont San Francisco, A Classic Property with Modern Comforts

It was 1907 when the first Fairmont hotel, Fairmont San Francisco, made its debut atop Nob Hill. Today, the Fairmont boasts more than 60 resorts and I’ve had the good fortune to stay in many of these world-class lodgings, including the Fairmont Masai Mara in Kenya, the Fairmont Jasper in the Canadian Rockies, and recently, the Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island of Hawaii. All are excellent, but some of their more historic properties like the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City and the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, BC, tend to have smaller rooms. So I was surprised and delighted to step into our spacious room at the Fairmont San Francisco, which offered more than enough breathing space for our family of four. 

 
After a recent $21 million renovation, the place never looked better! The grand lobby and adjacent Laurel Court Restaurant is a wonderful welcome mat to the city of San Francisco. I also enjoyed roaming the long hallway off the lobby that has photographs of all the presidents who stayed here and documents the drafting of the UN Charter in the hotel’s Garden Room in 1945. Nearby in the Venetian Room, Tony Bennett first sang, “I Left my Heart in San Francisco.” Pets are welcome and there’s a small rooftop garden off the meeting rooms where you can roam outside. We loved jumping into taxis and riding down the steep hill, with views of the bay every which way. I’d definitely recommend the hotel to our clientele. 
 
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A Memorable Segway Ride on Oahu’s North Shore

A mere hour north of the hustle and bustle at Waikiki Beach is the North Shore. This is the Hawaii of yesteryear, home to the Banzai Pipeline and charming towns like Haleiwa, where folks will happily wait in line to try the shaved ice at the local favorite, Matsumoto’s. It’s also home to the largest resort in Oahu, Turtle Bay Resort, which fronts a mind-boggling 5 miles of shoreline. In April, they signed an agreement with the state of Hawaii and the Trust for Public Land to ensure that 666 acres of their property will become a conservation easement, never to be developed. Not many resorts can make that boast. In October, Turtle Bay will complete a 3-year, $30 million renovation that modernized all rooms.

 
But my family was most excited about Turtle Bay Resort’s 2-hour guided Segway Tour. I’ve taken Segway Tours in Tampa Bay and Minneapolis, but these Segways had fatter tires so you could go on dirt paths and sand. It ended up being one of the highlights of our trip! We cruised through forests of swaying palms to secluded beaches where only a handful of spearfishermen were hanging out, or to small sheltered coves beloved by local families. Far from the manicured grounds and overpopulated beaches of Waikiki, this part of the island felt raw, authentic. Afterwards, we dined on ahi pokes and kalua pork sandwiches at Ola, overlooking Turtle Bay Resort’s shoreline.  A perfect outing.