Floating Hotel Debuts in Edinburgh, Near the Queen's Old Yacht
Posted on 01/11/2019, 10:00 AM
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has been a yachtless monarch since the 1997 decommissioning of Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia, which was eventually sent to the Port of Leith in Edinburgh to serve as a tourist attraction. Today, visitors to that Scottish city with the frequently mispronounced name can see the decks, surprisingly modest bedrooms, galley, and state dining room of a ship used by the roy...
Tipping in Japan? Not So Much a Thing
Why Japan doesn't go for gratuities—but why you still might have to pay extra fees for meals and accommodations
Tipping in Germany: A Gratuities Guide for Restaurants, Hotels, and Taxis
How to tip restaurant servers, cab drivers, and hotel staff in Germany—without overdoing it
Watchmaker Shinola Is Opening a Hotel in Downtown Detroit
Posted on 12/18/2018, 9:30 PM
Detroit-based Shinola, maker of watches, fancy bicycles, and other luxury goods, is expanding into the hotel business. The 129-room Shinola Hotel is set to open in the company's hometown on January 2. Developed in collaboration with local real estate firm Bedrock, the property encompasses three new buildings as well as two historic ones—the former homes of the T.B. Rayl Co. department store an...
What to Tip Waiters, Hotel Staff, and Taxi Drivers in France
Some pointers on how to pay gratuities—without overdoing it—in hotels, restaurants, and taxis in France
The Caribbean's Newest Resorts are Now North of Cancun, Reports Arthur Frommer
Posted on 12/13/2018, 12:00 AM
We Americans tend to have widely divergent views about Mexico. Some regard that nation as a place of constant poverty and problems. Other more perceptive types are aware of Mexico’s skyrocketing rise in the world of tourism. Mexico is currently enjoying a major increase in its yearly number of international visitors, and similar advances in many other industries. In particular, giant new hotels...
Underground Luxury Hotel Opens in a Quarry
Posted on 11/28/2018, 3:00 PM
Bringing new meaning to the term "money pit," the recently opened, mostly subterranean InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland is a ritzy, multimillion-dollar resort with 16 of its 18 floors built into the side of a quarry southwest of Shanghai. The hotel has 336 rooms, the majority of which are located below ground level, stretching to a depth of 88 meters (289 ft.) in China's Sheshan Mountain Range...
The Cartoon Network Is Building Its First Hotel
Posted on 11/02/2018, 2:30 PM
Listen up, fans of Adventure Time, We Bare Bears, and The Powerpuff Girls: The Cartoon Network is getting its own hotel. Developed through a partnership between the animated cable channel and amusement park operators Palace Entertainment, the 165-room property is currently under construction on 9 acres in southern Pennsylvania's Lancaster County. The new hotel will stand right next to the Dutch ...
Colorful New St. Louis Hotel Wants to Give You the Blues (or Reds or Yellows)
Posted on 10/31/2018, 4:45 PM
"Got the St. Louis Blues," goes the old W.C. Handy song, "just as blue as I can be." Those lyrics take on new meaning at the Angad Arts Hotel, which opens this week amid the many galleries and performance venues of the Grand Center Arts District in St. Louis. Guests who book one of the hotel's 146 rooms or 38 suites don't just pick bed sizes but also a color to match one of four moods—red for pa...
You Can Stay in Ralphie’s House from ‘A Christmas Story’
Posted on 10/30/2018, 1:00 AM
Ultimate fans of the American holiday film classic A Christmas Story might already own a replica of the Major Award leg lamp, nightmarish bunny pajamas, or even a toy Red Ryder BB gun (warning: you may shoot your eye out). Yet, how many of them know that they can spend the night inside Ralphie Parker’s actual house? Located in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, the real-life house use...
I’m Now One of Those People: A Traveler with an Airbnb Horror Story
Posted on 10/18/2018, 3:00 PM
It didn’t happen because I’m a careless idiot, or a very picky, persnickity traveler. It happened because I’m a (bit) lazy. I was heading to Chicago for work and an unrelated convention had sent hotel prices through the roof. To save a great deal of money, I decided to book a room in the apartment of a friendly-looking lady who has cats. (OK, the real reason was the cats—yes, I’m that kind of mid...
Police Destroy Semi-Submerged Sculpture Park in the Maldives
Posted on 09/26/2018, 5:30 PM
Police officers wielding saws, pickaxes, and ropes have destroyed the world's first semi-submerged sculpture park. Located in the Maldives, Coralarium—which Frommer's covered this summer when the work opened to the public—was an over-/underwater project designed by British-born artist Jason deCaires Taylor to be explored by swimmers and snorkelers. It stood amid calm waters belonging to the luxe...
Arthur Frommer: Prosecution of Fake TripAdvisor Reviewer Raises Questions
Posted on 09/18/2018, 1:00 PM
The defendant, in a recent criminal prosecution brought in Italy, was a man who operated a company manufacturing fake hotel reviews. Presumably hiring excellent writers, he apparently sent hundreds of fake recommendations to TripAdvisor.com, claiming that particular hotels (at which the writers had never stayed) were outstanding in their service and facilities. For this work, the defendant was app...
WW2 Tower Converted to Vacation Rental in Channel Islands
Posted on 09/05/2018, 5:15 PM
During World War II, the Nazis occupied the Channel Islands, a string of isolated spots floating between England and France. Using forced labor, the Germans built concrete fortifications aimed at their British enemies, and many of these structures still stand to this day. Now, a local preservation group has converted one of them to a vacation rental. Standing on the southwestern tip of Jersey Is...
My Hotel Is Overbooked! What Did I Do Wrong?
It happens all the time. Guests with reservations are sent somewhere else because there are no more rooms. Here's how you can avoid getting bumped when a hotel is full.
Can We Talk About Those Ridiculous Game Show Vacation Prices?
When it comes to the cost of a vacation, the price is not right on TV game shows.
What You Need to Know About the (Likely) Cost of Travel in 2019
Posted on 07/25/2018, 4:45 PM
Will it be a happy new year for vacationers in 2019? Experts are predicting some price shifts. A number of factors should impact the cost of trips next year and beyond. If you’re planning on vacationing next year—and I hope you are!—here’s what to look out for. Airfares: “Up, up and away” is the price forecast from most industry watchers. Airfares, particularly from North America to Asia and Eu...
Two Atlantic City Casinos Reopen Under New Management
Posted on 07/02/2018, 5:30 PM
Not long ago, Atlantic City seemed in danger of becoming a ghost town. A string of casino closures—five in two years, according to the Associated Press—came as a consequence of events such as the economic downturn of 2008, the legalization of gambling elsewhere in the U.S. (meaning Nevada and Atlantic City are no longer your only legal gaming options), and the financial chicanery that's easier to...
