TravelSkills took off for Toronto on Air Canada last week. Stay tuned for our Trip Report! (Chris McGinnis)
TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order)… plus a few newsy nuggets we missed.
1. Employers take the heat: Binge drinking, sleeping around on business trips
2. Can you guess the rates? Super Bowl shock: San Francisco hotel prices soar
3. New routes: American heads south + BA upgrades Austin + Sydney skeds + Delta to Paris + New Delhi nonstop
4. Well, is it? Illegal to disobey fasten seat belt sign?
5. Spend your miles: Delta’s fall fare sale — with a twist
6. Straight from your phone: A new way to recover from delays & cancellations
7. This free app saves you time: Avoiding long customs & immigration lines
8. More ways to earn: Alaska expands mileage options
9. Cute? Or creepy? Watch this video. And then this one.
10. Branding matters: Delta: ‘Up-selling’ is working
Spectacular view from the lovely Colette Restaurant at the Thompson Toronto hotel (Chris McGinnis)
Mini-review: The Thompson Toronto hotel.
This five-year-old hotel offers an excellent location in the trendy, leafy King West neighborhood near some of the city’s best dining and nightlife, but it’s a good 15-20 minute walk from city center. (I walked there from Union Station with my roller bag.) Rates start at around $200 (US) per night. Rooms are bright & modern with hardwood floors, big bright bathrooms with roomy walk-in showers and Keurig coffee makers (wish they offered in-room cream, tho!). Strangely, some of the floor-to-ceiling windows are covered with a frosting that’s there for privacy, but I found it a little claustrophobia inducing. Ask for a room with a view of the CN Tower, or head up to the rooftop pool deck for a great view. Basic in-room wi-fi is free, but you’ll pay $15 for premium speeds. I arrived late, and was pleased to see that the hotel “Diner” was still open– and busy doling out gigantic burgers and a famous truffle mac & cheese- it’s open 24 hours, which is convenient. On the other side of the busy lobby is Colette, a beautiful pale-blue-white-gray indoor-outdoor dining room that’s currently one of the hottest tables in town. Perfect for a business lunch. More…
A few helpful nuggets of news from other sources that we missed on TravelSkills this week:
Plush New York-JFK Terminal….for animals
Alaska Air adds new Mileage Plan partner
T-Mobile adds free calls/data to/from Mexico or Canada to US plans
A handy guide to complicated Uber/Lyft airport pick up rules
Teeth whitening at the airport is now a thing?
