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Showing posts from August, 2005
Hurricane Katrina Advisories In addition to the devastation and anguish for local Southerners, the hurricane madness has ruined many a traveler's plans. Government, airlines, cruise lines, and others all have issued advisories re: changes in schedules and plans. FastNet Travel has a Hurricane Advisory page that outlines some of these issues.
Five Ways Hotels Pick your Pocket Wow! I got such a deal on Priceline! Think you've got bragging rights? Not so fast! Hotels are keeping competitive by offering low or stable room rates, then tacking on fees for everything from water to maid service. Five could-be-costly tricks: Phone fees: the old standby of hotel 'creative revenue enhancers'. Sadly for hotels, people are wise to these exorbitant charges, and are now using cell phones and other mobile technologies to bypass this formerly lucrative scam. Still, beware. Make sure you're clear on what you'll be charged if a hotel advertises 'free' local calling. Internet connectivity charge: Replacement for the phone access fee: the hotel may advertise 'free' Internet access, but then you'll be charged per-minute for actual time spent online. Find out where free local WIFI points are before you travel. Resort fee: It's hard to understand how two people can use $28 worth of pool towels
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Cornwall's Newquay is the new Surf City Believe it or else, Cornwall, southwest England's formerly staid seaside paradise where time stood still, has morphed into a super-cool surfing destination for the Hipsters of Europe. There goes the nice old 'backwater' reputation that made me love to visit. Sorry, my age is showing, but I love the old-timey tea places, sitting on a cliffside veranda sipping a G&T, listening to the pensioners talk about last night's bingo game. But now we have to share the landscape with Prince William and his ilk, endure the trendification of the old seamen's pubs, and steer around human wreckage from the infamous British hen and stag parties that litter resort towns 'at' weekends. My own tastes run to seeing what's on at the Tate St. Ives, the ultra-way-cool satellite of London's Tate Gallery, and its neighbor, the Barbara Hepworth museum . Her former home, its stunning sculpture garden is food for the soul. Ah,