The moniker “best resort in America” is not taken lightly. There are many contenders for this title, and among them is Montage Laguna Beach. It’s an awe-inspiring property located less than an hour south of LAX, in an enclave worlds away from the hustle of Hollywood and the surrounding suburban sprawl. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the propert...
Most of us enjoy the theater — sitting in the audience, in hushed darkness, waiting for the curtain to go up. As the play unfolds, actors and actresses follow their scripts and deliver remarkable performances. We come away a few hours later, happy or sad — depending upon the script, of course — with fond memories. Several days later we may recall the perfor...
If you are going to embark on a journey of wine discovery and education, knowing the basics about French wines is a must. There’s no way around it. And one of the foremost appellation regions in France is Burgundy. Lying roughly in the middle latitudes of the eastern half of the nation and catching the tail end of the Rhone River in the northwestern Alps, B...
A conference date in Kiev, Ukraine, (locally spelled ‘Kyiv') afforded me the opportunity to stay at one of the newer properties under the Fairmont banner - the Grand Hotel Kiev. For those of you who have not yet visited this Eastern European city, it should definitely be on your radar. In the 20 years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has f...
Loyalty programs are a luxury that many take for granted nowadays. This wasn’t always the case, and much like the advent of the television, loyalty programs and their associative reward points are something that rose to prominence right as the baby boomer reached adulthood. I still recall the unveiling of the American Airlines AAdvantage program in 1981,...
I first met Chef Murray Hall at a conference last August and he enthralled me with stories of just how much the quality of foods can affect the productivity of meetings and conferences. Since that time, I’ve kept a keen eye on my own diet and how certain foods affect both mood and energy levels. Needless to say, Chef Hall is right, and during our recent cha...
What has transpired in Boston is a tragedy of epic proportions. My immediate sympathies and condolences go out to all those affected by this unspeakable act of evil. Many nearby hotels were severely impacted by the Boston Marathon bombing. In the wake of this disaster, it is vital that you contemplate whether such a calamitous event could occur in your ar...
Like many other people, I’ve succumbed to the decades-in-the-making surge in TV consumption. My vices are movies and the occasional sports game. But most of the time, the TV is in the background as I blast out memos, emails and short essays on my laptop—multitasking at its finest. In fact, that’s what I’m doing right now—burning the midnight oil to extrap...
Somehow, someway, I was able to squeeze in a Q&A with Heather McCrory, the GM of The Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, one week after she received Hotelier of the Year Honors from Canada's Hotelier Magazine and just before the hectic pre-Christmas office close. Add to that her double duty as the regional VP, Central Canada for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. It'...
I am stating the obvious when I say online hotel reviews have revolutionized the way we do business. Every consumer is a potential consumer watchdog. The margins for errors are now so thin and expectations so high that all it takes is one mistake to wedge a hole between you and future business. Most hoteliers have already adapted to this emerging trend, a...
