Monday, January 4, 2010

“'Travel + Leisure' names the best hotels in the world - USA Today” plus 2 more

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“'Travel + Leisure' names the best hotels in the world - USA Today” plus 2 more

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

'Travel + Leisure' names the best hotels in the world - USA Today

Posted: 04 Jan 2010 02:01 AM PST

The list also includes 66 properties that offer rooms for $250 a night or less, including the Inn on the Alameda, Santa Fe; Hotel Lucia, Portland, Ore.; and Rockhouse Hotel, Jamaica.

The No. 1 hotel in the U.S., according to the magazine, was the Inn at Palmetto Bluff, in Bluffton, S.C. Other top domestic hotels included the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch, in Beaver Creek, Colo.; the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Fla.; the Halekulani in Oahu, Hawaii; and The Carlyle in New York.

The list is based on the magazine's 2009 World's Best Awards readers' survey results. As part of the survey, Travel + Leisure readers rated hotels on several characteristics including rooms/facilities, location, service, restaurants/food, and value. The complete survey methodology is available on travelandleisure.com/worldsbest.

All 500 properties are featured in the January issue of Travel + Leisure and on travelandleisure.com/tl500.

"100 Greatest Trips" DK/Travel + Leisure Books, $34.95 - Kansas.com

Posted: 04 Jan 2010 12:42 PM PST

BY JUNE SAWYERS

Chicago Tribune

"100 Greatest Trips" DK/Travel + Leisure Books, $34.95

The editors of "Travel + Leisure" magazine have put together this fourth edition of what they consider the "greatest trips" around the world. It features iconic American summer vacation sites (that would be Cape Cod) and the epic landscapes of the Top End in Australia's vast Outback (where the 2008 film "Australia" was shot).

In between are many examples of other memorable places: the historic towns of the Hudson River Valley in upstate New York; retro candy shops and modern-day speakeasies in London; the handcrafted traditions — one-of-a-kind baskets, rugs, pottery and more — of Kenya; the modern reincarnation of the library of Alexandria, Egypt, which also houses museums, a planetarium and a children's science center; and the incongruities of Bangkok, which combines a pulsating nightlife scene with the serenity of the Wat Suthat, a Buddhist temple.

"The Treehouse Book" Skyhorse Publishing, $19.95

Although the treehouse is often associated with a back-yard refuge for children, author Candida Collins calls the treehouse "one of the earliest forms of human protection." And, as this book makes amply clear, treehouses are no longer just for children. Indeed, since the 1990s treehouses have been enjoying a resurgence in popularity. In this quirky book, Collins profiles various types of treehouses around the world. They include a high-tech hideaway (it features an advanced security system) on a private estate in Athens and a treehouse set inside a secret garden, complete with a spiral staircase, that is more like a fairy tale castle. Another treehouse functions as an inspirational home office, a short "commute" from the main house across a rope bridge. Collins also includes a section on building a treehouse. Depending on your budget and skills, you can either build it yourself or commission a professional.

"Eastern Europe" Lonely Planet, $28.99

In addition to such popular Eastern European countries as Poland and the Czech Republic, this10th edition also features Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, plus Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. As the authors note, it is not strictly geography that determines what constitutes Eastern Europe. Nor is it culture, language or religion. What unites the 21 countries of the region is the decades they spent under communist rule. "But throughout the region," the authors conclude, "the grey, bleak uniformity is long gone." In most places, even those with dire pasts, the cities of the new Eastern Europe offer a flourishing nightlife, fashionable bars and, quite often, "a great sense of discovery." Bulgaria, to cite one example, offers good skiing, local wines and still-undeveloped beaches. The guide includes a lovely, eight-page color insert. In addition, there are dictionaries to the area's languages, a basic vocabulary of conversation essentials.

"A Guide to Paris and Her Remarkable Women" Little Bookroom, $19.95

This handsome and unusual little book by Lorraine Liscio offers a new perspective on Paris: the City of Light as seen through profiles of16 women whose lives intersected with Paris in ways both remarkable and inspirational. The eras their lives cover range from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, including Heloise, the 12th century woman of letters, and the great French actress Sarah Bernhardt. Other women include sculptor Camille Claudel, scientist Marie Curie, the writer Colette, fashion designer Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel and the philosopher and writer Simone de Beauvoir, founder of the women's liberation movement in France. Each portrait is accompanied by sites associated with the women, from birthplaces and gravesites to residences and public landmarks.

"The Complete Idiot's Guide to Walt Disney World 2010" Alpha, $18.95

This 2010 edition is like all the other editions. As author Doug Ingersoll makes clear in his introduction, it caters to newcomers, folks who may not have visited the park since they were small children, and "more regular visitors." The book is organized into five major sections: planning the trip (details); choosing a resort hotel; dining in the park; coping with the four theme parks, which includes attraction ratings for different age groups; and other diversions, including nightlife and water parks and some non-Disney attractions in the Orlando area.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Parker: Colorado lands nine on best-hotels list - Denver Post

Posted: 04 Jan 2010 07:04 AM PST

  •  Beer-pairing dinners at Duo.

    Featured recipes are lamb sliders with blue cheese from Rioja on Larimer Square and bison steak with poblano mole from Opus Restaurant in Littleton.

    Getting hitched. The darling and dapper Hotel Teatro GM David Craig will marry longtime girlfriend Kristin Everhart at a "small beach wedding" sometime this year.

    They will also celebrate their marriage during a Colorado reception to be announced.

    Bye-bye Borders. The Borders bookstore at Northfield Stapleton outdoor mall is closing. The manager, Noelle Dorrance, said she doesn't know when, but the store is running a 30 percent off sale for the time being.

    "It could be a month, it could be a couple of months," Dorrance said. "There's just not a lot of traffic through this area."

    Dorrance said she's been with the store since it opened three years ago.

    The seen. Avalanche players Adam Foote and Darcy Tucker with their wives dining at Shanahan's after a game Saturday.

    EAVESDROPPING

    A caller to Victoriana Antique & Fine Jewelry:

    "Hey, Dave, I'm calling about a Tiffany lamp, and I do mean an actual household decorative item and not a dancer at Cliff (Young's) new steak house."

    Penny Parker's column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Listen to her on the Caplis and Silverman radio show between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KHOW-630 AM. Call her at 303-954-5224 or e-mail pparker@denverpost.com.



    • Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
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