Viajes / Travel

Five-star service at a three-star rate? An express stay with Holiday Inn

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20 April 2011 Darren Ballegeer Print Email
Bentley sedan parked in front of the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Portugal.
 
There is a black Bentley sedan parked in front of the Holiday Inn Express hotel. The $200,000 luxury car seems out of place at a Holiday Inn property but it’s a reminder of the purpose of my stay here:  to see how far up market the American hotel chain has moved since I last stayed with them many years ago. The Bentley and I are at the Holiday Inn Express in Lisbon, Portugal, a city that is one of my favorite value destinations in Europe.  My stay at this hotel is less about this particular location and more about assessing the chain’s level of service and comfort regardless of country or location. Could Holiday Inn Express become one of my favorite value hotels?

Finding comfort food in Salvador, Brazil

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19 March 2011 Ferron Salniker Print Email


My trip has been like a crazy Saturday night: nonstop, intoxicating, and at times dangerous. I’ve been on a three month journey through South America, I danced through Rio like a Carioca, ate and drank myself to delirium in Buenos Aires, and felt the spray of nearly escaped disaster on the back of my neck as Chile’s beaches were crushed by an 8.8 earthquake. Salvador, Brazil is my Sunday morning and I’m worn out, still slightly high from the night before, and hungry. This is the last stop of my trip and I’m looking for food that

Another Rio – Walking through Rocinha

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05 February 2011 Ferron Salniker Print Email


Rocinha, literally meaning "little ranch", has grown from a community of small farms to the largest favela in Brazil, housing over 250,000 people. Wet clothes, vines, and shirtless men hang out of windows. Beer costs a buck. Pharmacies, grocery stores, and butchers are open 24 hours. Labyrinth stairways and cobwebs of TV cables twist around the lampposts and the apartment walls that are lodged into this steep hillside. I’m trying not to miss a beat in the rhythm of motorcycle traffic, blaring music, and squaking chickens. After spending days

Visitando el pueblo de Tequila

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17 November 2010 Elena Miramar Print Email
Celia Villanueva de Maestri (der.) trabaja en la línea de producción junto a sus trabajadoras.

Como aficionada al tequila de calidad, por muchos años quise visitar la región productora de tequila en México. Había leído y escuchado cosas sobre el pueblo de Tequila y los campos de agave. Además estaba familiarizada con muchas destilerías pequeñas y grandes y sus historias, pero aun no sabía que esperar de este lugar tan famoso. ¿Sería como la región de viñedos en California con cientos de ansiosos productores de vino invitando a los turistas a sus

Tequila expectations

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05 November 2010 Elena Miramar Print Email
Celia Villanueva de Maestri working on the production line alongside her employees.
 
Visiting Tequila town ---
 
As a lover of quality tequila, I have wanted to visit Mexico’s tequila producing region for many years. I had read and heard things about the town of Tequila and the fields of agave. And I was familiar with many of the large and small distilleries and their history, but I still didn’t know what to expect from this famous destination. Would it be like California’s wine regions with hundreds of producers eagerly inviting crowds of tourists to their tasting

Puerto Vallarta: Popular for good reason

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07 May 2010 D. Banderas Print Email

 

Puerto Vallarta has retained its popularity as a vacation destination for more than forty years. Great weather, nice beaches and many outdoor activities attract the tourists and help fuel the growing expat population. Puerto Vallarta’s record as one of the safest destinations in Mexico also makes it a popular choice among people visiting Mexico for the first time.