Caribe Hilton: Historical…and Home of the Piña Colada UPDATE: 3/26/19 Following the disaster of Hurricane Maria, one of my favorite hotels has been closed for 18 months. Great news! Starting May 15, 2019, Caribe Hilton is open again! It...
The Original Brownie Recipe–From Chicago’s Palmer House Hotel
The Original Brownie Recipe’s “birthplace” may be a surprise for many people. It didn’t come from someone’s sweet grandmother, a quaint bakery, or the home of a chocolatier. No, it was a business decision. First…Chicago gets the Fair. Too...
7 Surprising Things a Hotel Concierge Can Do For You
You already know that a hotel concierge can give you a map of the city you’re visiting. They’re handy with the attraction brochures, too. They seem to know the hours of every museum in the city and the latest...
Airbnb: Growing Up and Scaring Hotels
Airbnb: A fairy tale come true. The only investment they could afford: Air mattresses! Once upon a time, in 2007, there were two broke guys in San Francisco. They had moved from New York, forgetting to get jobs first....
San Juan, Puerto Rico: Healing and Hopeful
San Juan, Puerto Rico, captured my heart about two years ago. One of the most charming cities I’d ever visited, I vowed to return. Maybe rent an apartment and stay for a month or so, hanging out at the...
Travel Trends from Skift: Looking Ahead
Travel trends? Sure, tell us what’s new. But…Skift? What’s that?!? It’s the media company for serious travel industry professionals. It gathers data on anything and everything travel-related: airlines, hotels, cruises, and tourism trends…then analyzes and reports on what’s going on...
How to Use a Bidet: Like Riding a Horse!
How to use a bidet? Admit it, at some point you’ve wondered… Popular in many parts of the world, Americans have never embraced the idea of washing themselves “down there” to stay clean. No, we prefer rolls and rolls...
Hotel Secrets from a Front Desk Agent
Follow my blog with Bloglovin Hotel secrets? Perhaps you, like me, consider yourself to be a smart traveler. Even sophisticated in terms of getting places and finding a place to sleep. For over a decade, I’ve maintained “elite” status...
8 Easy Tips for Budget Travel Planning
Who doesn’t want easy tips for budget travel planning? TravelSmart Woman is here to help. First, you have to agree to consider some new methods or change your thinking about how travel planning “should” be. Second, you’ll be glad...