July 27, 2010

The Best Frequent Flier Programs for Infrequent Fliers


The Best Frequent Flier Programs for Infrequent Fliers

Unless you're a road warrior, it'll take you years to build up enough miles just by flying to get a free ticket. Here are the best ways for the little guy to earn and spend miles. Read more . . .


More ideas for travel adventures in California and the U.S. and around the world.

July 24, 2010

London, England: 47 Park Street; hotel review

47 Park Street  

In Mayfair, +44 (0)20 7491 7282.

exterior of 47 Park Street hotel in London, England
exterior of 47 Park Street hotel in London, England


Decidedly upscale, this small Edwardian-style luxury apartment collection is part of the Marriott Grand Residence Club, but it is possible to rent by the night. 47 Park Street is just a few blocks from Hyde Park’s Speaker’s Corner and the shops on bustling Oxford Street. My spacious, tastefully decorated, comfortably appointed lodging was blessedly quiet (the windows are triple glazed), and the elegant gray marble bathroom was hidden behind a false wardrobe door and filled with amenities--terry cloth slippers, emery boards, nail brushes, and Molton Brown aromatherapy essence for the bathtub.



More London hotels.

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image c2010 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

July 19, 2010

London, England: The Ridgemount Hotel; hotel review

65-67 Gower St., Bloomsbury, London WC1E 6HJ; +44 (0) 20 7636 1141, and +44 (0) 20 7580 7060.

Located just across the street from where women’s suffrage pioneer Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett lived and died (in 1929) at #2 Gower, and from where the first anaesthetic was administered in England in 1846 at #52, the simple Ridgemount Private Hotel operates within in a 1700s Georgian town house and offers rooms with and without baths. On my second trip to London, when my budget was weak but my bladder was still strong, we opted for the cheapest room in the house, sans bath. Note that Gower Street is a noisy thoroughfare and that building restrictions forbid double-glazing the windows. Request a quiet room in back.



More London hotels.

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image courtesy of hotel
updated Aug. 25, 2023

July 16, 2010

Phuket, Thailand: Phang Nga Bay; things to do

Phang Nga Bay in Phuket

60 mi. NE of Phuket.

Hopelessly scenic Phang Nga Bay in the Andaman Sea has 160 rock islands and the water hovers at 75 degrees. An astonishing site and one of the most beautiful spots in Thailand, it is best seen by speedboat. The area is featured in the 1974 James Bond film, “The Man with the Golden Gun.”
  





July 14, 2010

London, England: Radisson Edwardian Bloomsbury Street Hotel; hotel review

9-13 Bloomsbury Street, + 44 (0)20 7636 5601, US toll-free 800-333-3333. 4 stars. 175 rooms.

Featuring a thoroughly modern interior, the  spiffy Radisson Edwardian Bloomsbury Street Hotel is located in the same area as The Kingsley, adjacent to the British Museum.



More London hotels.

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image courtesy of hotel 
updated Aug. 25, 2023

July 10, 2010

Chiang Mai, Thailand: Pom Ton Payorm food market; things to do

Pom Ton Payorm food market in Chiang Mai


The small Pom Ton Payorm market bustles from early morning.






July 7, 2010

London, England: Thistle Holburn, The Kingsley; hotel review

Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2SD; 0871 376 9006 /+44 845 305 8306.

Built in 1898, the gorgeous red-brick  Kingsley by Thistle hotel was originally named for Charles Kingsley, the author of  some popular English children’s books.  It is in a prime location just a few blocks from The British Museum and Covent Garden.  Bloomsbury has always attracted writer residents and visitors, and the hotel can claim that E.M. Forester slept here in 1902.  Though I remember fondly staying here in a room equipped with a canopy bed and decorated with wallpaper and chintzes in a lovely theme of pale yellow and English blue, the hotel has been refurbished into more contemporary style.  But some rooms still have a view of the ancient roof of The Parish Church of St. Georges Bloomsbury (located just next door, it was built in the early 1700s by a former pupil and assistant of Sir Christopher Wren). One of my favorite amenities was the room’s tea tray, stocked with Scottish chocolate chip shortbread and Cadbury’s hot chocolate.



More London hotels.

More ideas for exploring Europe.

image courtesy of hotel
updated August 25, 2023

July 5, 2010

Phang-Nga, Thailand: Six Senses Hideaway; hotel review

Six Senses Hideaway in Phuket, Thailand 

56 Moo 5, Tambol Koh Yao Noi, Amphur Koh Yao, Phang-Nga. 61 rooms.

pool fronting Andaman Sea at Six Senses Hideaway in Phang-Nga, Thailand
pool fronting Andaman Sea at Six Senses Hideaway in Phang-Nga, Thailand


Reached by boat—preferably a speed boat—this remote boutique resort is located on an undeveloped island and is the perfect place for a romantic retreat. The iconic, mesmerizing monolithic limestone islands made famous by the James Bond movie, “The Man with the Golden Gun” dot the bathtub-warm waters of the Andaman Sea and are visible from throughout the resort. Guests here find themselves on the edge of the world and enjoy the ultimate room with a view. Days can be whiled away enjoying your room’s outdoor shower and a private infinity swimming pool, and gazing at the sea from a bed draped with white mosquito netting, and dining on fresh, delicious, local “slow” cuisine. All this, plus butler service, and the resort is very “green,” too. The property’s Six Senses Spa is designed to revitalize all your senses using Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, and Thai concepts.



More things to see and do in Phuket.

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image c2010 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

July 1, 2010

Las Vegas, Nevada: Serendipity 3; restaurant review

3570 S. Las Vegas Blvd., (702) 731-7266.

As at the mother ship location of Serendipity in NYC, this branch features a Golden Opulence Sundae that is made with five scoops of Tahitian vanilla ice cream, chocolates made from rare Venezuelan cocoa beans, and exotic fruits--all topped with 23-karat edible gold leaf and a bowl of golden caviar. The price is $1,000, and a reservation must be made 48 hours in advance. Guinness has crowned it the world’s Most Expensive Dessert. A Las Vegas restaurant rep says, “On average, we sell one every other month. Since opening one year ago we have sold 7.” Fortunately, the restaurant also makes a popular, and affordable, Frrrozen Hot Chocolate that is a blend of 20 different kinds of chocolate.




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