The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto opens its doors, streams it all live on Facebook

by Darren Murph on

It’s been a long, long road for The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto. If you’ll recall, we actually were led to believe that it would open its doors in the fall of last year, but after a few setbacks and delays, the day has finally come for the elusive property to welcome its first guests. No longer will Ritz-Carlton execs have to answer questions related to the infiltration into Canada, as this new Toronto property most certainly puts the company on the map here in the Great White North. This particular hotel is situated in the heart of the downtown area, providing views of the city or Lake Ontario, as well as extravagances that Ritz-Carlton is known for. All told, the 53-story monolith will feature 267 guestrooms, featuring 56 Corner Suits, a pair of Deluxe Suites and “The Ritz-Carlton Suite” at over 2,400 square feet.

Toronto sure feels like the perfect next location for this brand to tackle, with many calling it the most ‘international’ city on the planet. Those who pop by will be treated to floor-to-ceiling windows with heated perimeters, rich African Anigre wood and Portuguese Estremoz marble, not to mention heated marble flooring, dual vanities (with embedded 22-inch HDTVs), private rain showers and soaker tubs when it comes to the bathroom. There’s a 13,000 square foot spa, a natural light-filled Urban Sanctuary and its own signature eatery: TOCA by Tom Brodi. Those interested in being one of the first to book a room can visit the property’s website, and if you’ve ever wondered what all was involved in the ribbon cutting ceremony that happens as a Ritz-Carlton hotel is opened, today’s your lucky day. The whole thing will be livestreamed on the company’s Facebook page starting at 11:30am EST, so be sure to set your alarms and add yourself a bookmark. Too bad Facebook’s ‘Teleportation’ feature is still on the drawing board.

P.S. – If you missed our Toronto-based episode of Travel Talk, catch up here!

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5 reasons you should use AirBnB

by Elizabeth Seward on

I lived in New York City for over eight years. I spent many months out of those eight years traveling. With expensive rent due in each month I was away, I quickly mustered up the temerity necessary to regularly relinquish my apartment to a subletter from Craigslist. Craigslist did the trick well enough to keep me afloat and mobile all of those years in NYC, but Airbnb.com is better. At least for subletting arrangements. Here’s why:

1. Airbnb has profiles. Instead of opening up your house to, or crossing your fingers and staying with, total strangers, Airbnb has a profile system for users that allows you to take a closer look. You can read friends’ recommendations of users and you can check out reviews other folks they’ve worked with from the site have left. Granted, you’re still hosting or staying with complete strangers, but being able to scope their photos and interests will at least give you a better idea of who you’re going to stay with or host.

2. Airbnb pays you. If you read the above paragraph and thought, “Well, couchsurfing.com has profiles, too”, you’re right. Couch Surfing does have profiles. But with Airbnb, you can actually rake in some dough. List a room or two in your house, or the entire place, for whatever amount you want per night. And people pay to come stay with you–people who you get to look over and approve as guests first.
3. Airbnb allows you to be a guest. If you sublet through craigslist, you’re a subletter. If you travel using Couch Surfing, you’re a couch surfer. But if you accommodate yourself while traveling with Airbnb rooms, you’re a guest. Each host is different, but you can at least count on breakfast, clean sheets, and clean towels.

4. Airbnb is a good place to make real-life friends. You can also make friends using the popular sources I’ve been citing, like Craigslist and Couch Surfing, but why not make some more?

5. Airbnb backs you up. They might not be obligated to protect you when things go wrong, but they have practices in place that will help out along the way. From setting up a security deposit to having staff readily available to mediate any situation that goes sour, Airbnb just feels a little more reliable to me.

[photo by Elizabeth Seward]

Hidden Treasures: Frozen Dog Digs Bed and Breakfast, Idaho

by Gadling Staff on

You have to drive into the foothills outside the small town of Emmett to find the Frozen Dog Digs Bed & Breakfast in Idaho. It is Emmett’s only bed and breakfast and has been visited by many world travelers as well as B&B fans who say this place is unique!

Jon Elsberry is the builder, owner, chef, welder, and landscaper of this multi-level rambling structure. The lowest level features a putting green; the second level houses a spa, three fountains, an outside TV and stereo, and a perfect atmosphere for weddings and receptions.

Traveling inside, next level up is a bar and recreation room filled with sports memorabilia from Idaho and around the world. The fourth level is where Jon creates his culinary masterpieces. Having previously worked in Emmett’s orchards, Jon is conscious of seasonal fruits and, as chief chef, incorporates them in his varied gourmet breakfasts…don’t sleep in and miss them! This level also has a music memorabilia room, a children’s library with original Dick & Jane prints, and a secret door that leads to the racquetball court.

It is only five minutes away from boating and water skiing at Black Canyon Dam and one hour away from Boise (Idaho’s capital city).

Frozen Dog Digs
4325 Frozen Dog Road
Emmett, Idaho 83617

Marsha Werle is a Seed.com contributor.

5 reasons why you should try a Bed & Breakfast

by Darren Murph on

We’ll just come right out and say it: far too many travelers and vacationers give far too little thought to where they’re staying. Maybe we’ve just been trained to assume a nondescript hotel is the only option when it comes to spending a night away from home, but whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, things get a lot more interesting when you deviate from the norm. Not that we’ve any particular issues with hotels — in fact, we’re downright in love with some of them — but if you’ve never given consideration to a bed & breakfast, you should. Immediately. If you’re the type who prefers to get more ingrained in the culture of wherever you’re staying, personal service, homemade breakfasts and travel tips from locals who know the ins and outs of wherever you are, a B&B may be perfect for you and yours. Join us past the break as we seek to show you what you’ve been missing out on.
Cultural beauty

Okay, so maybe it’s more like culture and beauty, but either way, you get a good helping of both when you select a Bed & Breakfast. Way more than at your average hotel, that’s for sure. In our experience, most B&Bs are somewhat off of the beaten path, which means you’ll be surrounded by fewer stoplights, automobile horns and stray Segways. All the while, you’ll likely be surrounded by more natural beauty, trees, streams, etc. We recently had a chance to stay at the magnificent Hisega Lodge in South Dakota, and while it was only ten minutes or so from Rapid City, it was completely enveloped in the Black Hills, sat next to a babbling brook and miles away from our nearest care in the world. Our stay at the Arrowhead Head in Durham, North Carolina has a similar story; it’s just minutes from the rigors of town, but once you’re on the property, you’re whisked away into a world that knows only rose gardens, tree-hung swings and private walking paths through the forest. There’s just something special about residing in a place that you’d visit anyway just to see the surrounding beauty, and the vast majority of B&Bs offer this very perk.

Personal service and expert tips

If you’re lucky, your local corporate hotel chain will have a bookshelf stacked with pamphlets about local attractions, which you’re free to take and investigate yourself with all that free time you’ve surely got. Some hotels have a staff that’s willing and able to help you plan a day or three worth of activities in the local area, but that’s definitely the exception rather than the rule. Hotels are designed to run as well-oiled machines, and you asking for half a hour of someone’s help to book activities isn’t part of said plan. A B&B, however, is there to do exactly that — cater to your every curiosity, and to get you headed in the right direction once you finish up a hearty breakfast. Most B&Bs and inns are owned by a couple (plus a few extra helpers if necessary) who genuinely love their guests; they love the company, the love to see others traveling, and they obviously love whatever part of the country that they’ve chosen to set up shop. At a B&B, you aren’t apt to feel as if you’re a nuisance for asking about awesome Italian eateries, the best horseback riding tour in town or the best ice cream shop within a half-hour’s drive. Oftentimes, these suggestions from seasoned locals can turn you onto things you would’ve never found on your own, and hey, who can say no to service with a smile?

Fellowship

Argue all you want, but hotels are lonely. Even if you’re there with a raft of kids, no other guests go out of their way to mingle with whomever else is staying during the same time. Ever noticed that? At a B&B, fellowship amongst the guests isn’t just encouraged, it almost comes naturally. Most venues have all of their guests down at around the same time for breakfast, and for budding extroverts (or the outgoing among us), the setup is primed for enjoyment. Meeting someone from Asia enjoying America for the first time, seeing a honeymooning couple from Barrow, Alaska and toasting coffee mugs with a foursome of newly graduated college kids from NC State? It’s all possible at a B&B, and even if you don’t make a lifelong pal, chances are you won’t soon forget the shared travel stories from those who have ended up in the same inn at the same time as you. When’s the last time you met Mr. Interesting at the Hotel John Doe down by the airport?

Exquisite breakfasts

Speaking of joining the group for a morning meal, we should probably mention just how important breakfasts are to bed & breakfast facilities. As you may expect, it’s a pretty vital part of the experience, and every owner we’ve ever encountered takes it very seriously. To say that B&B meals are likely to be some of the best you get on the road is a severe understatement; during a stay at the charming Rose Cottage B&B in Portland, Oregon, we were treated to a four-course breakfast that was prepared by hand in front of our eyes by one of the most spunky grandmothers we’d ever seen. Every bite was better than the last, and a year later, I’m still talking about it. To boot, getting the opportunity to converse with the B&B owner as they serve you is a truly rewarding and enriching experience, particularly for curious travelers who can never hear enough tales. Seriously — those gratis cereal and fruit buffets at Holiday Inn Express, and particularly those $30 room service pancakes, can’t hold a candle to the grub shown above.

B&Bs represent a fantastic value

It’s a common misconception that a lodging venue that provides personal service, a homemade breakfast, a relaxing atmosphere and more surrounding beauty than most hotels could dream of providing is markedly more expensive than the more traditional options. Fact is, most folks don’t even do the research and compare the prices. In Portland, Oregon our B&B stay was just over $150 (including tax) per night; the room was comparatively huge, the breakfast would’ve cost at least $40 – $50 if sourced from an upscale restaurant, and the fellowship / relaxing atmosphere was simply priceless. Try finding a decent hotel in the Portland area for less, with a comparable level of service, room amenities and breakfast. Chances are, 4- and 5-star hotels will cost you just as much as a stellar B&B, and oftentimes much, much more. In markets saturated with hotel options, the delta may be greater, but many owners are willing to work with you on pricing — particularly if you inquire about rates during the off season. Still, if you’re looking to splurge on a stay, there’s no better way to do than at a B&B; in our many experiences, it has always been money well spent.

[Images provided by Dana Jo Photography]

Road Trip Tips: make lodging part of the journey, not just a place to stay

by Darren Murph on

Spring’s upon us, and those summer months you’ve been desperately waiting for are nearly here (in this hemisphere, anyway). We can’t help but say that anytime is a perfect time for a road trip, but the prime months for hitting the highway are just ahead, and that leaves you precious little time to prepare. In haste, many road trippers tend to overlook, or simply brush aside, one critical aspect of their journey: lodging. For whatever reason, lodging has become more of a hassle and unsatisfying expense than anything else. Call it the empty calories of a road trip, if you will. Trust us — it doesn’t have to be that way. One of the best aspects of exploring America (or any nation, for that matter) by road is the near limitless amount of options you’ll have when looking for a place to rest your weary soul at the day’s end. Join us after the break as we explain just how vital proper lodging research is to a fulfilling road trip, and how to find yourself in a venue that’s not only close to attractions you’re after, but that integrate seamlessly into the region you find yourself in.Be a historian

So, now that you’ve settled on a destination for day 1 of your road trip (or any successive day), you’ll need to figure out where you’ll be tucking yourself in for a night of well-deserved rest. We will say that camping is always an option, and if that’s your cup of tea, we couldn’t encourage it more highly. For the purposes of this article, however, we’ll be focusing on slightly more sophisticated options — hotels and bed & breakfast venues, namely. Let’s say you’ve settled on staying somewhere in the wild, wild west of America for a few days. To get more specific, let’s focus our attention on one of the wild’s most adored locations: Deadwood, South Dakota.

Obviously, Deadwood is coated in history. Wild Bill Hickok was gunned down on the very streets that tourists from all walks of life come to visit. The old architecture still covers the town, and the gorgeous Black Hills that surround it assist in ushering you into an era that still thrives scores after the west was won. That’s fine and dandy during the day — you’ll have no issues finding a copious amount of things to do in the area while the sun’s up — but what happens when the moon sets up shop, your gambling budget is whittled down to nothing and your entire family is clamoring for a place to rest? For many, they simply wheel over to the nearest hotel with a “Vacancy” sign lit, plop down a credit card and call it a night. Essentially, the lodging is not only an unimportant part of the experience, it’s one that’s immediately forgotten once check-out time comes.

There’s a better way, and it’s to find a venue that enhances one’s stay in an area. Believe it or not, finding a place that does this is far easier than you might imagine, particularly with the Internet putting a world of knowledge just a few clicks away. If you’re in a historic town, one of the easiest ways to find a venue that ties in with the surroundings is to search for historic hotels, B&Bs, hostels, etc. Something that’ll take you back in time and give you a better grasp on where exactly you’re at. In the Deadwood region, there’s no shortage of lodging options that have been standing for decades, and by and large, few have changed. But on our recent trip to the area, we wanted to see if a modern player could integrate itself into the landscape in a way that would be transparent to the traveler. We wanted to feel as if we were in Deadwood, but with all the amenities of a hotel that opened its doors to the first guests just a few short months ago. It’s not an easy thing to accomplish — numerous hotels in the area looked markedly out of place given the aged surroundings, but The Lodge at Deadwood caught our eye.

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Built atop a hill just a mile or so outside of downtown Deadwood, this mega-hotel just screams Deadwood 2.0. Going in, we wanted to experience a venue that was Deadwood through and through, enabling us to feel as if our hotel was just as much an attraction as the region’s own Chubby Chipmunk chocolate factory (to die for, by the way). Why pay for a lodging venue that adds no value to your trip outside of providing a shower, bathroom and bed? Your road trip is likely to be one of the more memorable things you do — you might as well select a venue that’s memorable and relevant to where you’re staying, right? That’s the goal we sought to accomplish while staying at The Lodge, and in short, we felt they nailed it.

Unlike some of the historic downtown hotels, The Lodge is set just outside of town. Still surrounded by the gorgeous Black Hills, the venue was established to be all-inclusive if you’d like. There’s a full scale casino on the property, a restaurant, meeting rooms and plenty of opportunities to mingle with other travelers. The good news is that a car still isn’t required to enjoy Deadwood proper; a trolley makes its way out to the property on a regular basis, though we certainly appreciated the ample (free!) parking available given the whole “road trip” thing. We never felt detached from downtown Deadwood even though we were a mile away, and that’s precisely the point.

The design of The Lodge at Deadwood was carefully chosen; the deep wood timbers that make themselves visible are indicative of the region, and the gorgeous views continually remind you of the special place that you’re in. Unlike some of the older options in the area, though, everything here was supremely modern. From the HDTV nestled on the wall to the high quality, western-themed bedding to the deep brown / black color schemes to the exceptionally clean gaming floor, there’s little question that this place has delivered modern day touches to a place steeped in history, all without losing touch with what makes Deadwood, well, Deadwood.

Get with the times

Now, let’s say your headed to a place with just a few more locals than Deadwood. Like… Minneapolis. No question, the city positioned between NYC and LA has a deep amount of history behind it, but what makes this city so special is just how modern it is. It’s artsy, it’s edgy, it’s sophisticated, and it’s continually relevant. Regardless of whether you keep with the latest fashions and trends in your home town, you can totally get away with posing in a place like this, and let’s face it — half the fun in a road trip is doing your darnedest to become a local in as many places as possible. To that end, we sought out one of the most lauded boutique hotels in the downtown area to reside in for 24 hours, and if you’re looking to plant yourself right smack dab in the middle of everything, there’s hardly a better place to head than Le Méridien, Chambers Minneapolis.

Of course, staying at a place like this will require a larger-than-average outlay of cash, but who said city living was cheap? We’re trying to find places that integrate with the feel of the locale, remember? It only took about ten steps through the door for us to feel immediately more cosmopolitan, surrounded by downright astounding works of art (many seen in the gallery below), a gorgeous eatery and dozens of viewpoints into the city streets below. Located on Hennepin Avenue, we were able to dash our car for the evening and enjoy the best The Mill City had to offer, and honestly, your night’s stay effectively includes a pass to a modern art museum. The installations that were scattered about during our stay were nothing short of jaw-dropping, and even the LCD-based piece above the retro-styled cigarette machine demanded a few moments of your time just to take in its simplistic brilliance.

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The room itself felt like a direct reflection of the bustling, chilly city below. Adorned in white and red accents, the highlight of the room was a bathroom that included its own LCD, twin white sinks and a massive shower, the latter of which featured a rainfall head that was utterly magnificent to stand beneath. And the art doesn’t stop at the lobby; the actual shower protrudes out into the room on one side, with a coated glass that looks like a continually changing rainfall painting from the outside looking in. Again, a touch of brilliance you won’t find at your everyday chain hotel. The basket of fresh fruit was also welcoming, and the bed was undoubtedly the most comfortable I’ve personally ever slept on. Yeah, it’s $300+ a night, but at least you’ll encounter a few things that are quite literally nowhere to be found at more mundane establishments.

It’s all about the culture, man

Not in the mood for historic nor modern? You’re not quite out of luck. Another aspect to seek out when selecting a lodging venue that’ll consistently be remembered as an integral part of your trip is to find one dripping with culture. Many times, these places will indeed have been around awhile, but more often than not, they’ll be off the beaten path and of the bed & breakfast variety. One key element that B&B owners can control more readily than hotels is culture, design elements and accessories. When looking to spend a few days deep within the Black Hills of South Dakota, we stumbled upon a hundred-year old facility that had been hosting families, workers and wandering bodies for decades upon decades: the Hisega Lodge. Overlooking a babbling brook some ten miles (by road; it’s more like 40 by any other measure) from Rapid City, this warm and welcoming B&B was decorated with images from its early days and dressed up with age-appropriate furnishings by its proud new (since 2007, anyway) owners.

The Hisega Lodge has room for 22, but it’s just as intimate with only a couple. Providing a quiet respite from a long, activity-laden day on the road, we immediately forgot our cares and escaped into a world far, far away from this thing we know so well as “reality.” The inn was carefully maintained as to not remove the old world charm, and all the quirks of a century-old mountain home aided in the experience: gently creaking floors, sloping porches and unpredictable ceiling heights were all here, and all helped to make it one of the more memorable B&Bs we’ve had the opportunity to stay at. The lodge was originally built as a vacation home to be used by multiple families at once, all looking to escape to the beautiful Black Hills. Suffice it to say, it’s still succeeding in doing what it was built to do. The homemade breakfast feast was astounding in both taste and beauty, and moreover, we were made to feel like family by a couple who adore the Black Hills just as much as anyone lucky enough to meander through them.

Stop staying with no purpose

In case you’ve missed the message, there’s simply no reason to not think carefully about the places you choose to stay when you head out on the road. With a small amount of research into the history, culture and “known-fors” of a given location, you can easily find hotels, hostels, B&Bs and other lodging options that do more than simply provide a bed. Unless you’re a hardcore nomad, you’ll be sleeping somewhere reasonable each and every night of your road trip — shouldn’t you make each night count just as much as the days?

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The venues mentioned here offered complementary media stays, but the views expressed and venue choices are entirely my own; images provided by Dana Jo Photography]