What offers free admission but is so popular that you have to reserve tickets for your entry time? The The Getty Villa, which overlooks the cliffs of Malibu and the Pacific Ocean high above L.A.’s Pacific Coast Highway. It officially reopened this week after being closed since 1997 for renovations. Because of its popularity, no…
After making a bundle on the Joe Boxer line of fun briefs and boxers, Calgary-born Canadian Nick Graham has created a new line of undies. American Ironic will initially include men’s boxers ($15) and T-shirts ($18), followed by pajamas. They’ll be available at Macy’s West in San Francisco’s Union Square by mid-February, and, we assume,…
Starwood Capital Group operates the Westin, Sheraton, Four Points Sheraton and W hotel chains. It just announced the launch a new international luxury brand with a French flavor called the Crillon to develop European-style hotels in major global destinations. The flagship and the first to be upgraded will be the only six-star luxe lodgings in…
It’s only open each year from January through April. But the Ice Hotel Quebec- Canada, on the outskirts of Quebec City, sports a different architecture of ice and snow each winter. Here, you can surround yourself in the epitome of coolness bu viewing gorgeous ice sculptures and paintings, dancing in the N’Ice Club, tossing back…
In another move to elevate itself to a higher service level than other airlines, Virgin Atlantic Airways has introduced one-to-one BlackBerry Clinics to its Upper Class passengers this month. These weekday training clinics from 9am to 5 pm for business travellers using the Research in Motion (RIM) BlackBerry handsets will take place in the new…
Anyone who loves basketball worships Michael Jordan, perhaps the most exciting player the game has ever seen. (In my humble opinion, Kobe couldn’t hold Jordan’s jockstrap.) Air Jordan designer sneakers were so popular that Nike is reissuing some vintage pairs for $295 for two pairs. Only 36 sets of AIr Jordan VI Retro and the…
Island living isn’t just what you see in Survivor. Now a man in Puerto Aventuras, Mexico, who was tired of living off the land actually built his own island –– out of a quarter of a million used soda bottles, as well as some other stuff. “Technically I don’t have an island, I have an…
I have no idea where the town of Maastricht is in The Netherlands. But it houses an updated monastery that dates back to 1438 with a monumental gothic church on the outside and a luxurious, contemporary inside. The Kruisherenhotel now has 60 rooms. It first housed the Order of the Crutched Friars. Then, it was…
Ever stayed in a Quinta? I have not yet had the pleasure. But it’s an old family manor house and walled estate with its own garden. The first five-star Quinta to host guests in Madeira Island, and Portugal’s leading boutique hotel, is Quinta de Bela Vista, a 158-year-old manor house that’s been transformed into an…
Dinner for seven for $382 Argentine dollars ($120 US, total). Neighborhoods that are reminiscent of New York’s Soho, circa 1970). Great, groovy European-style clothing. Fashion-forward shops. Tango lessons. They’re all part of B.A., “a Latin American amalgam of the food, fashion and culture of European cities like Milan and Madrid — not to mention that…
The Europeans may be experiencing a cold wave this Winter, but these hot low fares on Air France may very well warm things up. Book by January 31 and fly through March 31. Sample fares include: • $320 round-trip, New York to Paris; • $434 round-trip, Chicago to Paris; and • $442 round-trip, San Francisco…
Everyone complains about airline food. But what about the coffee? Well, one airline’s doing sometihng about it. According to an article in Tuesday’s paper, “When JetBlue learned that passengers felt airline coffee was worse than their terrestrial brand of choice, the carrier decided to bet on a familiar strategy to draw passengers: Link up with…