Buenos Aires is the site of one boutique hotel inauguration every month and the city already has 34 of them!This kind of hotel offers personal care and personal quirks with many of the luxury perks of a five star hotel and it is becoming more and more popular among tourists to the city.According to La Nación, the majority of these hotels are in San Telmo and Palermo and there are currently plans to build eight more in these areas over the next two years.They are visited mainly by Europeans and North Americans, although lately there has been a growth in the number of Brazilian guests.The phenomenon of boutique hotels is not a national but an international movement, representing the desire of tourists to feel more like family and less like strangers in a isolated tower.

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Scheduled to be opened in the summer of 2009, Hotel Lone, Rovinj,  has been included in the prestigious international Design Hotels AG collection, and has thus become the first Croatian hotel within this globally renowned brand. This opens up a whole new market for both this hotel and Rovinj’s and Croatian tourism, focused on sophiticated clientele seeking a contemporary and distinctive ambience.

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There are few things better than having the opportunity to visit beautiful parts of the world. What can make it even more satisfying is to stay in a place that is doing its part to help preserve the beauty around it. Below is just a sample list of properties taking extra steps to help sustain Mother Earth…

Las Casitas del Colca, Colca Canyon, Peru
www.lascasitasdelcolca.com
Opening April 15, 2008, the new luxurious Orient-Express property boasts 20 individual casitas offering supreme privacy and exclusivity in simple, unpretentious surroundings. Supporting the work of celebrated local figure Sister Antonia, Las Casitas del Colca’s surrounding land is lent to Mother Antonia’s Mission to grow crops to feed anyone in need. Guests can donate to this admirable cause or even volunteer at the soup kitchen.

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It is becoming a more and more common policy in the best hotels of Buenos Aires to accept pets in the same suites as their masters. For foreigners wishing to travel to Buenos Aires but reluctant to leave their pets behind, there are options aplenty—and stylish ones at that. According to La Nacion,at some hotels, pets can have their own water and food dishes with their names on them. One hotel now accepting pets is the classic Four Seasons, the ultra modern Vitrum, and the soon to open New Age (NA).Of course there are some restrictions:Vitrum won’t allow pets that are over 10 kilos and no hotel wants a barking dog disturbing the sleep of other guests. Overall, however, Buenos Aires is becoming a pet friendly city indoors and out.

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after taking a helicopter tour of the grand canyon and a white water rafting trip of the river, we decided on a more peaceful way to view canyon de chelly.  we took a horseback tour which allowed us to better soak in rich color, heritage and geology the canyon had to offer.  it also allowed us to better take in the life of the navajo who still inhabit the canyon.

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Confused? Not able to pick a good hotel for your international vacation. Don’t you worry, at all. Expedia, the world’s leading online travel company has released its annual rankings of the world’s best hotels . This list will help travelers traveling abroad from India.

Though the complete list is available at www.expedia.com/insiderselect. I shall provide you with a quick highlight here.
· Number 1 overall: Sofitel Chicago Water Tower — Chicago, Ill.
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1. 21C Hotel, Louisville, Kentucky–
This uber modern, avant guard contemporary art gallery/ hotel MIGHT pass in San Francisco, but deep in the heart of the South?? I couldn’t believe the naked, anatomically correct statuary and puzzling installation pieces that abounded. Getting to the concierge desk meant stepping over the video of a couple in bed, and the chandeliers in the lobby made a kookie racket as they came to life at random intervals. Girl, I had to keep reminding myself which side o’ the Mason-Dixon I was on!

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Fairmont Hotels’ commitment to protecting the environment is nothing new. For more than 15 years, Fairmont’s participation in comprehensive recycling and environmental protection programs has demonstrated its goal to minimize its impact on the planet. And the results have been tangible. But the effort goes beyond the expected. Each of the hotels within the Fairmont collection is making a difference in often unique and unheard of ways.

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When you travel to Italy, or any other country where you do not understand the language well you need to make sure you can tell someone if you are having a medical emergency. If you have a known medical condition write that condition on an index card in both Italian and English. You need the English translation so you know what you are saying! Be sure to have a native speaker look at your card so you know that you have written everything correctly.

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george is pictured above. the horse i rode while on our latest vacation in costa rica. more specifically we were in the playa tortuga beach area. the sunsets were unreal (we didn’t view via horseback, but just a general statement).

we took a 2 1/2 hr ride through the rain forest and then ended up on the beach. it was a nice and easy ride, so it was good for everyone in the group, even if they weren’t very experienced. it was good to travel the rain forest on horseback b/c if you saw any scary creates (spiders, snakes, etc), you felt safer b/c you’re on a huge horse!

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