why you should plan that trip to Europe NOW!

itinerary of Tauck's river cruise The Rhine and Moselle

Now is the time to plan your next trip to Europe. Though most of Europe is currently closed to travelers from the USA, just as the US is currently closed to travelers from the EU, that's going to change. Here's why you should make your plans now.

COVID vaccines. I received my first Pfizer shot earlier this week, with an appointment set for my second shot on February 19. Within several months, vaccines should be available to everyone who wants them in the US, the EU, and the UK. Inexpensive, at-home COVID tests are also promised. Once a critical mass of people have been vaccinated, the travel floodgates should open up wide.

Hotel availability. With hotels are showing plenty of availability at reasonable room rates, you should take advantage. Once travel opens up, those rooms will quickly sell ... and as inventory goes down, prices will rise. If you can get a cancellable reservation with just a credit card guarantee, grab it! (You can even do it yourself on the Virtuoso booking engine for reservations with Virtuoso amenities — free breakfasts and $100 hotel credits).

High demand for cruises and tours. I just rebooked the Tauck river cruise I had originally planned to take last April, The Rhine and Moselle. Eight of the nine cruises in 2021 were already sold out, but I was able to secure a cabin on the one available sailing. I'm so excited to be flying to Amsterdam in October and experiencing Tauck's all-inclusive luxury river cruise to Basel.

Award flights. Before COVID struck, it was practically impossible to get "Saver Awards," but it can be done if you act now. I speak from experience. As soon as I booked my Tauck river cruise, I researched flights using miles in United Business Class from AVL-AMS and ZRH-AVL. I just had to make one small change to find Saver Award availability (departing for Amsterdam one day earlier). There were two available Saver Award seats for the flights I wanted, so I grabbed them!

I recommend planning travel to Europe this fall. Now's the time to contact your travel advisor while she or he has lots of time to work with you.

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copyright (c) 2021 by Ourisman Travel LLC.  All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member.

into shopping?

store windows in Milan (c) 2018 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

Everyone has different reasons for vacationing in the fashion capitals of the world (New York, London, Paris, Milan). Me? I inspect hotel rooms everywhere I go ... and I'm perfectly content just to glance at store windows and keep on walking. But many luxury travelers are into serious shopping. Is that you?

Finding exclusive boutiques is an art. When you're home, you already know exactly where to find the most on-trend selections from luxury fashion houses. But when you arrive in an exclusive fashion destination, where do you even begin to look for expertly curated, high-end selections?

An expert personal shopper — with sartorial expertise particular to your destination — is your ticket to shop-till-you-drop. While your hotel concierge might make suggestions, seasoned shoppers will fare better by turning to a personal shopper. Your luxury travel advisor has connections in every major shopping destination in the world, and we can help you plan the shopping trip of your dreams.

Of course, we'll also help you accessorize your shopping vacation with a lavish hotel room that suites your style and taste.

copyright (c) 2018 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Provence hotel site inspections

Deluxe Room at Villa Gallici, Aix-en-Provence

Following our week in Paris, we took the TGV from Gare du Lyon down to the village of Avignon in the south of France. We picked up our Renault rental car from the train station and began our five day drive through the beautiful countryside of Provence. I especially loved driving the long country roads lined with trees on both sides.

We stayed at four hotels and visited one other during that period. I don't normally recommend so many short stays, but one purpose of the trip was to inspect hotels — so I took one for the team! I've posted my full site inspection report on FlyerTalk... but here's a quick summary.

You've got a basic choice when staying in the provinces. Do you want the kind of five-star luxury you can experience at city hotels in cities such as Paris? Or do you prefer something less formal and more authentic to the countryside, knowing that you'll likely have smaller rooms with less polished interiors ... and no Four Seasons bathrooms!

La Mirande was built in the 14th century as the palace of the Cardinal (who lived right next door to the Papal Palace). Privately owned, this is a quaint, charming and authentic Provençal hotel. We enjoyed our Grand Deluxe room whose window overlooked the gardens with a view of the Papal Palace.

La Coquillade is a true five star resort developed from a mid-19th century village. Some existing buildings were renovated with new construction that created additional guestrooms, spa, and restaurants. The resort has two large pools and rents bicycles for touring the countryside. Guestroom interiors are comfortable but minimalist.

La Bastide de Marie is an utterly delightful country house in the middle of 19 acres of vineyards. Rooms are quaint and authentic, and the food here is absolutely wonderful. We enjoyed their tasting meal so much!

Domaine de Manville began with an agricultural couples and adjacent 9 hole golf course. After the seven years it took to obtain the permissions and complete construction, a stunning resort has emerged with pool and 18 holes of golf. We really enjoyed our one-night stay in a spacious and beautiful Junior Suite.

Villa Gallici is located in the small city of Aix-en-Provence. A small and elegant hotel, it is walking distance from the center of town. Our Deluxe room was absolutely gorgeous if a bit small; I highly recommend booking a Junior Suite or higher category. If you're visiting a son or daughter who is studying French in Aix, this is the place to stay.

copyright (c) 2016 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

high-tech hotel room frustration

The genius of Steve Jobs of Apple Computer is that he figured out how to make technology intuitive to the end user. The adventure that began with the first Macintosh in 1984 has led to leading edge products like iPhones, iPads, and iPods. You'd think everyone would get the point: intuitive is better, and if you need to read a manual to turn on the lights, or take a shower, you've hired the wrong designers. Contemporary hotel designers ... take note!

A client recently stayed at a brand new, super-sophisticated luxury hotel in Mexico City. He emailed me with a trip report. The following is based on some of of his observations, shared with permission.

How do you turn off the lights? When the controls to turn off lights, or close the blinds, are so sophisticated that even my two techie kids can't fully figure them out, it might mean a plain old light switch has its benefits.

If you need to read the manual to take a shower, something's very wrong. The fancy bathroom shower was so new and so fancy that it took us five minutes to figure out how to get the water working properly. There were three levers in the shower, just to control the shower and the hot/cold function. None were labeled. Each time you turned one lever, the other two seemed to be affected. It was like a comedy. One night my daughter finally gave up and said, “I'm taking a bath. I can't deal with this.”

Why can't you just dial “0” to phone the front desk? The hotel phone had a LCD display. This one was like a computer interface. It glowed in the dark. In orange. To call down to the porter took me five minutes to find the right button.

It shouldn't be an adventure just to take the elevator. The hotel has installed new elevator controls. They require first that the passenger push buttons for the floor to which they wish to take the elevator. The following steps are required to actually get the elevator to work:

• approach the elevator
  
• find your electronic room key card and wave in front of sensor pad
  
• push the required floor buttons
  
• follow the electronic display to your elevator (e.g., “elevator M to the left”)
  
• enter the elevator, and don't do anything — it will take you to your floor

The inside of the elevator had no buttons at all, and the process was confusing to some guests. I saw guests on two occasions enter an open elevator and look for buttons to press. Nothing happened; there are no buttons. They tried talking to the elevator, saying things like “Go ” and “Close doors.” One guest clapped his hands, thinking the elevator might be sound activated. Hilarious, unless you were the passenger who felt like a fool.


Thought you might appreciate this tale of frustration!

luxury hotel (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2011 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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the best time to visit Bora Bora

Bora Bora is an atoll in French Polynesia, a South Pacific atoll of breathtaking beauty. Being in the Southern Hemishpere, however, its seasons are the opposite of those in the Northern Hemisphere. In other words, when it's winter at home (Dec - Jan - Feb), it's summer in the Southern Hemisphere. This means hot weather and humid, rainy conditions in Bora Bora.

While the best weather is during the winter months -- June, July, and August -- the very best time to visit Bora Bora is during April or May. The weather is more comfortable than during the height of summer, the humidity is reduced, and the summer rains are over. Best of all, as the crowds have not yet arrived, you'll enjoy uncrowded resorts, low season rates, with an excellent chance of an upgrade!

Bora Bora's hotels are among the world's most unique luxury properties. Featuring overwater bungalows, guests can slip out of their private bungalow directly into the warm clear lagoon waters and enjoy some of the best snorkeling anywhere. Honeymooners and couples seeking romantic getaways will love the luxury and secluded tranquility of Bora Bora, just 8 hours from LAX. Where to stay? Check out this blog for my hotel reviews, and then contact me for the best possible rates along with exclusive Virtuoso amenities that include daily breakfasts, upgrades, and other valuable perks.

visit Bora Bora (search here on google)



copyright (c) 2007 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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the luxury hotels of Bangkok

Bangkok is a city of contrasts. It is a highly populated city of almost 9 million with crowded streets, street markets, and perpetual traffic jams (except on Sunday). Bangkok also has some of the most beautiful and serene luxury hotels in the world. I visited five properties during my recent site visit to Thailand.

Hotels by the river...

The Peninsula Bangkok. I spent three evenings in a Grand Deluxe room at the Peninsula, a large and comfortable room nearly 500 square feet in area. Rooms feature marble bathrooms with separate shower and tub and two vanities. Every room at the Peninsula has a direct view of the river (see the actual night view from my window). Deluxe and Grand Deluxe rooms are identical, but Grand Deluxe rooms are on the higher floors and have stunning views. For even more impressive accommodations, book a Grand Deluxe Suite ... and if cost is no object, a Duplex Suite.

The Oriental. The oldest hotel in the city, The Oriental opened its doors 130 years ago, but only a small portion of the original building remains. The hotel has two wings--the River Wing and the Garden Wing; I preferred the River Wing rooms. For a very special treat, book a 1BR Deluxe Suite. We were shown the Wilbur Smith Suite (suites are named after literary figures). It is a stunning room with hardwood floors, area rugs, and a great corner view of the river.

Shangri-La Hotel. The only property I visited that is not a member of Virtuoso, the Shangri-La is a quite large property that handles a lot of conventions. Upscale travelers might consider a room in the more intimate Krungthep Wing where deluxe rooms (473 square feet) offer a full river view. Krungthep Wing privileges include 24-hour butler service complimentary breakfast, included juice and soft drinks throughout the day (or from your room's minibar), afternoon High Tea, evening cocktails and canapes, and free in-room internet access.

Downtown Bangkok hotels...

Sukhothai. I really liked Sukhothai. From the moment I entered the lobby, I was captivated by the beauty of the hotel’s clean, elegant design (“Thai chic”) and attention to detail. You feel that you are staying at a secluded resort in the middle of a busy city. The basic Superior room is quite attractive, but book a Deluxe Studio at a slight increment in price in order to be upgraded at booking to an Executive Suite (pictured). The slight rate differential gives you spacious accommodations (over 800 square feet) with 1.5 baths and extensive teak wood flooring. For a real “wow,” book a Deluxe Suite for an upgrade to a Garden Suite. These ground floor suites have 12 foot ceilings and face the central garden. We had lunch at Celadon, a truly wonderful Thai restaurant that has attracted many well deserved acolades. A number of celebrities stay at this resort including an American singer whose name begins with “B.” The sales manager could not divulge her name...

Four Seasons Bangkok. The door is opened for you by doormen wearing pith helmets, and if the lobby reminds you of the Peninsula Hong Kong, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. This property was originally a Peninsula, and the lobby is quite similar. The Deluxe rooms are in need of some refurbishment -- nice decor, but some old furnishings. I recommend booking a Premier Room for a truly impressive guestroom. The FS Executive Suite is a nice accommodation. Cabana rooms are in a different section of the hotel and offer direct access to the large swimming pool; they offer a different architectural style, more minimalistic, with teakwood floors - very private and great for honeymooners. We enjoyed dinner one evening at Spice Market; great soft shell crab!


copyright (c) 2007 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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travel planning | order or spontaneity?

How many times have you seen this kind of question asked by someone planning travel?

We are going to Italy this summer.
Should we book our rooms now?
Or should we just wait until we get there to get a room?

While I have some very definite personal preferences about planning my own travel, I also recognize that people are different and value different kinds of experiences.

Some people cannot relax unless every possible variable has been anticipated and planned for. Their trips are scheduled on a spreadsheet with every detail accounted for. Hotel reservations are printed out on a meticulous itinerary. Sightseeing has been scheduled to-the-minute with maps and commentary reproduced from guidebooks. Dinner reservations have been made and show tickets booked.

This would drive other people crazy. They want to be spontaneous. They want to relax and enjoy themselves. They want to wake up in the morning, leave their hotel, and just go wherever their whims take them. When they come to a metaphorical fork in the road, they want to make that decision in the moment. Sometimes the road less taken leads to serendipitous discoveries, and sometimes it just goes to the city dump. No matter... this is how they do things!

Using the language of the Myers Briggs Personality Type Indicator, I am describing Judgers (who like things to be orderly and predictable) and Perceivers (who appreciate spontaneity). If you're curious about your own personality type, try this online test .

My perspective? Sometimes a little bit of structure can maximize your freedom.

You don't want to get off your trans-Atlantic flight, jet-lagged and disoriented, and have to spend the next four hours figuring out where to leave your bags. This doesn't make the first day of your vacation especially enjoyable.

You don't want to arrive in a popular tourist destination in high season without reservations, having to settle for what's left (either the least desirable hotel that nobody else wanted or some exorbitantly expensive suite that was cancelled at the last minute).

And you don't want to wait until the last minute to plan a trip for the week after Christmas or Easter. Any remaining plane tickets will be expensive (if there are empty seats at all), and the resorts you really want to stay in may be fully booked. In fact, it may already be too late (and we're only in the first week of May) to make some kinds of bookings for Christmas week.

So should you book your rooms in advance or when you arrive? There is no right or wrong answer. The important thing is to know what kind of traveler you are ... and plan accordingly.


If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

chemically sensitive travel

While travel is one of the greatest joys in life, people who suffer from MCS (multiple chemical sensitivities) find planning travel to be difficult, time consuming, and frustrating.

Why? Each of us is exposed to hundreds of toxic substances in the course of a day. Such contact causes severe physical pain for the chemically sensitive. Many people are not aware of the effects of such exposure on their bodies. There may be cases in which chemical exposure does cause pain or discomfort, but the affected person simply does not associate their pain with that exposure. But the point is, those suffering from MCS must be very intentional about avoiding such exposure. It is not an easy task because toxic chemicals are everywhere.

Here are some examples of what I am talking about:

• fresh paint
  
• new carpet
  
• foam in new upholstered chairs
  
• press board in new dressers or cabinets
  
• harsh bathroom cleansers
  
• fragrances in detergents and fabric softeners used to launder bed linens
  
• cigarette smoke left by thoughtless smokers in smoke-free rooms
  
• air freshener sprayed in a room
  
• scented toiletries or potpourri

In order to book a hotel room, or reserve a limousine, a chemically sensitive traveler must go through a whole checklist of requirements with the hotel with no assurance that those requests will be noticed or honored.

Some online resources:

a new discussion forum

Planet Thrive, a grassroots community for personal wellness

booking travel for the chemically sensitive

managing travel stress -- consider a tour

As I wrote two weeks ago, travel can be stressful. Nearly everyone experiences travel stress, but the fact is that different things stress out different people. Today's column concerns the stress of coping with the unfamiliar.

Travel is exciting! It is exhilarating to step off the plane after a long international flight and find yourself in some far-off and exotic place: Italy, China, Vietnam, wherever! But once you make it through customs and to the front doors of the airport, you face the first of a multitude of very practical questions. How do I get some of the local currency? What is the best way to get taken from the airport to my hotel ... without getting taken? What's a fair price to pay? Am I expected to give a tip? How much is appropriate?

Of course, once you reach your hotel (assuming you have a reservation), you have the formalities of check-in to deal with. While most desk clerks at nice hotels have a good command of English, you may have difficulty understanding someone's accent. You may have questions about the rate on the form you are asked to sign; is it the same price that you booked? You may feel stressed out communicating your questions to the desk clerk, fearful that you won't be able to express yourself clearly.

You will face, at least two times a day, the most practical of questions: Where are we to have lunch or dinner? How can we find a good restaurant where the locals eat, some place whose menu represents real value for your converted dollars, not some tourist trap that dishes out plates of ordinary food to hundreds of tourists each day?

And, then, there's the whole reason you're there: What should we see today? How do we get there? How do I buy a bus or metro ticket? Is there a weekly pass that the locals know about that represents a really good value? Is there a good time of day to get to a particular attraction? Are there tricks we should know to avoid huge lines?

Some people are energized by living spontaneously and are perfectly comfortable exploring, taking wrong turns, and occasionally messing up. That's part of the appeal of foreign independent travel for such folks. Sometimes those "wrong turns" turn out to be serendipitous discoveries that are remembered as the surprising highlights of your whole trip.

While some travelers thrill in this aspect of the adventure, others do not. They stress out at everything I have described above. So I have a suggestion for such travelers: consider a tour. I know, I know ... tours have a bad name. We all have this image of busloads of tourists being driven around a city, hurried through museums, and herded into restaurants. That's not the kind of tour I'm talking about.

I would recommend seriously considering some upscale tour companies such as Backroads. All your logistics will taken care of; you'll never have to figure out how to get to the next place on your itinerary. You'll stay in very nice, sometimes hard-to-book properties in your budget range that the tour company has worked with for years. You won't have to drag your luggage around; when you leave your bags outside your door in the morning, they will magically reappear that very afternoon in your next hotel room. And you won't need to worry about finding places to eat; you'll dine at some of the best restaurants in the area, places that the casual tourist might never find. With some companies, you can order anything you want off the menu; the biggest challenge is passing on the desserts!

You'll have the services of terrific local tour guides, so you won't have to spend each night researching the next day's activities; your days will be well planned. Your admissions to museums and other attractions are taken care of. The group is small enough that you never feel regimented; you're free to go off on your own, and usually they leave one afternoon and one dinner free for you to spend with your travelling companion ... with tons of suggestions if you want them. A well-run tour company takes the hassle out of travel.

So if you love the idea of traveling to strange and exotic places but stress out over the details of being there, consider an escorted tour. They sweat the details so that you can just enjoy your vacation!

Photograph courtesy of Backroads.

travel agent consultant stress tour Backroads exotic anxiety sightseeing restaurant hotel logistics

beware of orbitz...

I participated in an online forum last week on the subject of booking luxury hotel rooms online. My assertion: you can usually get much better value booking from a travel agent specializing in luxury travel, especially an agent who is a Virtuoso member. My assertion was challenged by another forum participant who urged readers to forget my advice. "[E]asy to book any of the luxury ones on-line," he wrote. The discussion continued, with another member telling of bargains he had gotten on Priceline. He also mentioned skyauction.com as a source of "excellent hotel luxury values."

So I did an experiment (which readers are encouraged to duplicate on their own). My methodology was as follows. I simulated three identical bookings (on Friday, Dec. 8 at 12 noon PST) for the lowest priced "luxury hotel" in Paris offered by skyauction.com, the Splendid Etoile (pictured above): one room for two guests for two nights, checking in March 15. (Skyauction has a two night minimum).

(1) I simulated the booking on skyauction.com.
(2) I simulated the identical booking on orbitz, travelocity, and expedia (the Big Three).
(3) I simulated the identical booking on Sabre (a GDS used by travel agents that shows availability and all available rates).
(4) I compared the rates, payment terms, and cancellation policy.


The results

(1) Skyauction charged a base rate of $245 a night, adding $32 per night for taxes and service fees, and a $20 processing fee. Total cost: $574. This amount is charged immediately to your credit card, and the reservation is NON-CANCELABLE and NON-REFUNDABLE.

(2) Orbitz charged a base rate of $318.42 a night including breakfast, adding a total of $57.95 in taxes and fees. Total cost: $694.44. This is a pre-paid rate (meaning they charge this immediately to your credit card). If you cancel more than three days prior to arrival, Orbitz charges a $25 cancellation fee. Within three days, you are charged for one night.

By the way, neither Travelocity nor Expedia showed availability at this hotel.

(3) The Sabre GDS showed all the available rates. The "Exclusive Hotels Best Rate" was 119 EUR ($158) with taxes included. Total cost in USD: $316. You guarantee the room with your credit card (your card is not charged), and you can cancel without penalty up to 3 days before arrival. Within three days, you are charged for one night.

(4) Another observation: Skyauction, orbitz, and travelocity give Splendid Etoile a four-star rating. Expedia gives it a three-and-one-half star rating. The hotel's own description on Sabre states that they have a three-star rating from the French Tourist Board.


My conclusions

(1) If you want the experience that a luxury hotel can offer you, take online promotions of luxury hotel values with a grain of salt. Make that a lot of salt! You would likely be quite disappointed with the Splendid Etoile if you are looking for upscale, luxury accommodations. A travel consultant who specializes in luxury hotels will have extensive knowledge and experience to guide you in the selection of a hotel.

(2) Beware of orbitz, even with their "low price guarantee." The "special negotiated rate" they quoted in this experiment was more than double what any travel agent in the world can get you.

(3) Beware of pre-paying for your room. When you prepay an online travel agent such as orbitz, you may be booking a NET rate that orbitz has negotiated with the property and is marking up. How much is the markup? I don't know, but compare prices and make your own guess.

(4) Do your internet shopping first; then go to your travel agent and see what he or she can do for you. True story: A client recently came to me with a discount price she had gotten from the hotel's own website for a two night booking. I saved her 140 EUR (about $186) ... and got her free breakfasts each morning in addition, as well as a room upgrade upon arrival if available.


orbitz travelocity expedia luxury hotel sabre gds value online booking Virtuoso skyauction priceline travel consultant