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Vancouver’s Day Spas Are Tops
As a frequent spa-goer, Vancouver is my top pick for a city with super spas. I know, it’s rough research trying to figure out what the top spas are, but somebody’s gotta do it! I recently compiled a list of the Top 10 Best Day Spas in Vancouver for About.com (pictured here is the Spa…
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Art of The State: Wine Labels
Do you often buy a bottle of wine off the shelf because the label is so beautiful, enticing, or just plain cool. I do. That’s why Yellow tail Wine is such a hit. Same with other critters like ducks and geese. In fact, these “adventure labels” have creating a huge following for Constellation Brands, the…
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Chocolate & CD: The Groove Collection, Vosges Haut-Chocolat
The owner of Vosges Haut-Chocolat says music is her muse when writing, cooking and creating. So it’s not just a coincidence that Katrina Markoff combined chocolates and music to create The Groove Collection. It contains 12 chocolate truffles and 12 genres of music influenced by African Americans, from field songs to rural blues to hip…
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Christmas Getaway on the Rocky Mountaineer: Western Canada
Three winters ago I enjoyed the winter wonderland of British Columbia and Alberta while aboard the Rocky Mountaineer. And now they’re offering a special last minute winter getaway between Vancouver, BC and Banff, Alberta. The Rocky Mountaineer train features Christmas with all the trimmings. It’s a cozy and relaxing journey as it travels eastbound or…
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What the Ticos Drink: Cacique Guaro, Costa Rica
In 1994 I stood in a local bar in the countryside near Grecia. A weathered old man walked in from a day in the cane fields. A machete hung at his waist and he was barefoot. He stepped to the bar and put up one finger. The bartender poured him a shot that nearly dribbled…
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Quite Quintessentially Luxurious: Quintessentially.com
A recent segment of ABC-TV’s 20/20 featured a new Web site for the priviledged set. Launched in 2000 in the UK, Quintessentially.com is the world’s leading private members’ club, with a staff of luxury concierges who help its upscale clients by “accessing the inaccessible” 24/7/365. Better yet, it maintains offices around the world in 16…
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Rolling Barrels on The Russian River: NW Sonoma Wine Country, California
While they don’t literally send barrels of wine down the Russian River to the Pacific wine fleet, they do produce a lot of wine these days in northwest Sonoma County. The Russian River Wine Road is a collective of wineries and lodgings that aim to draw more people out to see the great wine and…
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Shop With the Chef at The Fairmont Royal York: Toronto
The Fairmont Royal York in Toronto is offering a fun, informative and tasty weekend culinary shopping package. I made a reservation for the Shop With Chef package earlier this fall, and and it’s a unique way to get up close and personal to the food and producers utilized by the hotel’s signature EPICrestaurant. Since I…
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Relax & Rejevenate: Spa Package, Osmosis & The Inn at Occidental, CA
Osmosis is perhaps the only sustainably managed green spa and Japanese Enzyme Bath Spa in America. It’s one of my favorite escapes and is less than an hour’s drive north of San Francisco in Sonoma County, near the Pacific Coast. Here’s a special offer to beat the pre-holiday rush: From now through December 14th, they’re…
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Kickstart Your New, Healthy Regime in London
The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park is offering a rural, holistic retreat in the comfort of luxurious surroundings in the heart of London. The 2007 Wellness Weekend is a two-night program that incorporates yoga, tai chi, personal training, nutrition advice and a two-hour Advanced Time Ritual at The Spa At Mandarin Oriental, voted one of the…
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Chillin’ at the Ice Hotel: Quebec
It’s probably one of the few hotels in the world where guests are given tips on how to prepare for a good night’s sleep. But this isn’t your typical hostelry — this is the Ice Hotel Quebec-Canada. Now in its seventh season, it’s North America’s first ice hotel, made entirely of ice and snow. I…
