Manhattanhenge 2011 comes to New York City: May 30-31, July 11-12

by Grant Martin on

We’ve covered Manhattanhenge on Gadling occasionally over the years, and each time it never fails to amaze us. The concept, in case you’re unfamiliar, plays off the juxtaposition of the sun setting across the east-west streets of Manhattan. On only a few days out of the year the sun sets exactly between rows of skyscrapers, resulting in long beams of sunlight tumbling across the city and reflecting off of buildings. It’s quite a site to behold.

If you happen to be in New York City late this spring be sure to keep an eye out for the phenomenon, it should happen over the days of May 30th and 31st and July 11th and 12th. It also might help to have Kings of Convenience’s version of Manhattan Skyline on the radio.

Not surprisingly, the same phenomenon happens in Chicago on their orthogonal streets as well, though they don’t have the same elevation dropoff (and subsequent visual effect) that the Hudson River allows in New York.

Dates for Chicagohenge haven’t yet been distributed on the web — if anyone has them off hand feel free to post in the comments and we’ll update this post.

[via NewYorkology]

South Beach hotels not for everyone but great for some

by Chris Owen on
There is a big difference between “going to” South Beach and “staying on” South Beach for spring break or just about any other time. A day or night visit is fun. Staying at one of the local hotels on or close to the action is a whole other experience that’s not for everybody.

Visiting for the day or night is fun and just about anything goes while police watch spring breakers, looking for the insanely crazy/dangerous ones. Those they will tend to. The rest are left to have a good time,

I was in town for the Cruise Shipping Miami convention, one of the premiere events each year in the travel business which just happened to fall during spring break. I chose a South Beach hotel, the Chesterfield Hotel, for three reasons; it is within walking distance of the Miami Convention Center, it is on South Beach a block away from the beach and because it was available.

Between conventions and spring break, hotel rooms were scarce.


This one I probably would not have picked as a first choice based on mixed reviews from TripAdvisor.com like this one:

“Worst experience ever!!!!!!!!! Run…..run away from any deal….you might be offered. Worst managed property in the free world.”

or this one

“The rooms were all horribly dimly lit, had questionable cleanliness and many were entered directly from the street and did not have dead bolts or chain locks. Most of us ended up propping chairs up against the doors and laying “booby traps” in case of intruders.”

But like reading directions prior to assembly of some device, I don’t pay much attention to hotel reviews either. Often, I find some unique properties that way and this is certainly one of them.

If someone were looking for a chain hotel with chain hotel amenities, this would not be the hotel for them. This is a small boutique hotel with a character of it’s own that is undeniably South Beach-flavored.

The hotel is located a block from the beach and a short block at that. Every hotel in the area is old and shows what one might call wear. To me, each one has a story that goes back a long time. If I get a chance to stay on South Beach again I’ll do some research beforehand or make time for one of the art deco tours that are available.

The room I had was a standard king room and it was small, very small, but just fine for one person. I had read reviews complaining about various things but had no problems. The room had a great, huge shower and the people who worked there were just as friendly and helpful as they could be.

This hotel is part of the South Beach Group Hotels which are reciprocal with each other in several ways. You might book the Chesterfield Hotel and end up a building down the street in what appears to be a different hotel. A free happy-hour from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. is offered at any one of the five hotels in the group. Lightning-fast T1 wireless Internet access is free pretty much anywhere in the area and they provide beach towels too.

When it’s time to shop or eat, there are world-class restaurants and it seems every designer label made has a flagship store in the area. Add it all up and South Beach makes a great place to stay for just about any reason.

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Take your cruise ship home, part of it anyway

by Chris Owen on

Did you have a good time on your cruise, so much fun that you would like to take your cruise ship home? Now you can.

Not to be confused with stealing towels or silverware, some cruise lines are allowing passengers to enjoy some of the luxury they experience at sea right in their own homes. No, they’re not sending a masseur over for a little session on the night of your choice or shipping you Lobster-Night-In-A-Box. But they are offering a service that even those who have never been on a cruise can take advantage of.

The topic comes up because this week, Royal Caribbean International announced the new Royal Caribbean Bedding Collection available for sale to anyone.

“In line with our Royal Advantage program, the Royal Caribbean Bedding Collection was chosen with care to offer the indulgent sleep experience that they enjoy onboard and longed and requested to bring home,” said Lisa Bauer, senior vice president of Hotel Operations.

Royal Caribbean’s collection offers not just sheets and pillows but full-size ma tresses as well made in Italy by Matermoll and Emmebiesse. The popular Royal Memory Pillows start at $79 (with $26.95 shipping make that $105.95. Kinda pricey. Remember that number, we’ll be coming back to it shortly.


Rival lines Carnival and Holland America also offer bedding for sale. I have a bunch of the Carnival Comfort Collection pillows that have done well over the 4 years we have used them. It makes sense too; this stuff is made both for durability and comfort. To make it to luxury-status in a commercial setting, they have to hit both marks.

Thinking about just stuffing that pillow in your suitcase before leaving the ship? Think again.

Bed bugs, even a few, attached to that pillow can infest your home and multiply quickly. Odds are you don’t make your bed and perform an informal inspection for bed bugs twice daily or disinfect foundation pieces each week like they do on cruise ships.

Those bed bugs are going to love your home.

Suddenly, after spending a lot of money with an exterminator to get rid of your little friends from the cruise ship, that $105.95 price tag for a pillow doesn’t sound so bad. I’m still not sure how they get $26.95 to ship a pillow. Maybe the captain delivers it, tucks you in and tells a tale of great wonder about life at sea and giant octopi.

But bedding is just one item for sale from the cruise lines.

Let’s go back to 2005 and another cruise line at-home program. Carnival Cruise Line’s Presidential Wine Club. It was a mail-order program where members were shipped two bottles of wine each month, selected by the line’s then president, Bob Dickinson, a noted wine connoisseur and collector. That program really never took off the way the cruise line had hoped and was canceled after a very short life. Buying into pretty much anything cruise-related at the time, I joined that club but was kind of relieved once it was over, the wine was really stacking up. These things happen to beer drinkers.

Royal Caribbean also offers would-be passengers/imposter’s the ability to look all cruisey without even going to sea with their Gifts and Gear Ashore program. This one lets us visit the cruise ship gift shop from home ordering a wide variety of clothing and other items we might find on the ships.

Want to freak out your friends at the next WeHateCruises.org meeting? Buy a Royal Caribbean t-shirt and tell them “I kinda liked it”.

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Flickr photo by ceemarie

Photo of the Day- Mickey’s Forest

by Chris Owen on
Brian Searl, President and CEO of InsiderPerks sends us this photo of a hidden Mickey so big it can only be seen from the air:

Seeking out something unique on your vacations has to be one of the most enjoyable experiences of all. You can do what everyone else does or you can go for that story that no one else knows.

In my case, I was along for a ride in a hot-air balloon over Central Florida, with a company called Bob’s Balloons. I had no idea this forest, shaped like the head of Mickey Mouse, even existed until Bob told me to look down.

Turns out Disney has been growing this forest for well over a decade now and grooming it into the shape of Mickey Mouse. It’s never been publicized to my knowledge and I couldn’t even begin to tell you how to get there from the ground. What I do know is that it made my 6yo daughter’s day and gave her a story to tell all her friends.

After all, the stories we come back with are what make the vacation memorable right?

Photo: Insider Perks

Drunken pilots delay flight

by Chris Owen on

We’re used to waiting on the tarmac for luggage to be loaded. Some people make a game out of looking for their bags. Sitting at the end of the runway too is to be expected. We don’t want the planes colliding in mid-air. But a flight delayed because the pilot is drunk is hard to anticipate.

A Boeing 737-700 full of passengers is nothing to be flying drunk but that’s exactly what would have happened on a charter plane in Costa Rica. Apparently the pilots had been partying for seven hours at a hotel before they were to take to the air

“The assistant captain underwent an examination of alcohol (which) turned out to be positive, while the skipper refused to blow in the balloon.” Alvaro Vargas, Assistant Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Costa Rica told TravelMonitor

The flight was delayed by 24 hours to allow time for the pilots to sober up. No word on if passengers were allowed off the aircraft.

The charter company was sorry though. “They were not in the right condition to lead the plane. They were relieved of their duties” at least until the end of the investigation” the company said in a statement.

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Flickr photo by rekay22