North America

Eat & Sleep You’ve got two options: resort or rental. We’ve done both over the years, but I am starting to enjoy resorts a little more now that we’ve got a toddler in tow. Having everything right there, including a chair lift less than a block away, makes things so much easier. This year we’ve stayed at both the Resort at Squaw Creek and Northstar-at-Tahoe. Both are ideal for families...

I spent three terrific days in Toronto recently, touring hotels, lunching at Holts Renfrew, walking miles through the neighborhoods, and meeting great people.  It’s only an hour’s flight from New York and despite the icy winter chill, I grew to really like the city.  Hotel options, as in any major financial and business center, range from detached convention hotels to small, luxury b...

It’s where everyone from Hollywood, fashion, and business, to discerning leisure travelers meets in Toronto.  The Hazelton Hotel is equal parts sleek and comfortable, upscale and relaxing.  It is truly a retreat from Toronto city life in a great neighborhood of restaurants, department stores, small shops, and cafes.   While the outside gives off a hint of urban apartment building,...

One of our favorite food bloggers is getting out of town! Follow Jane (yup, a real one) and her family this week as they take to the coast on a west coast road trip. First stop: Santa BarbaraWe're already jealous......

who needs beaches and bikinis when you have po’ boys, jambalaya and gumbo? Of course we’ll have to try beignets at Cafe Du Monde, but I’m actually more interested in checking out the local hot spots rather than the typical tourist traps like Emeril’s restaurants. Since the Food Network always seem to be on in my house, I’ve been paying attention to any time somebody mentions New Orl...

If you're headed to the Kentucky Derby this May, you must at least visit The Seelbach Hotel and watch the extraordinary hats parade through the gilded lobby.  I fell madly in love with Kentucky last fall.  My previous sweeping judgments of the state was simply horses, bourbon, and that short-lived cheesy Southern Belles: Louisville show in 2009. But my brother married a fabulous girl hai...

There has been so much chatter about the uber-sleek hotels opening in New York City, including the much-buzzed about Aloft Harlem.    I wanted to find a very different alternative and trekked up to Harlem to visit The Sugar Hill Inn.  I had heard that Europeans loved this bed & breakfast near City College, nestled among rows of brick townhouses. With no outside indication that t...

On a recent trip to New York, I channeled my inner Mad Men diva and did it up right — all in 48 hours. Old-school sophistication, without the attitude Trust me — book a room at The Benjamin and you won’t be disappointed. Historic and intimate, the romantic suites in this serene hotel boast mahogany furnishings and cream walls — plus a galley kitchen equipped with just about anything you’...

A big thank you to FamilyGetaway.com, who is the first sponsor on the Family Travel Ad Network, a partnership among Ciao Bambino, Delicious Baby, Travel Savvy Mom, The Vacation Gals, Trekaroo, See Jane Fly, and Traveling Mom. I don’t know about you, but for me, thinking about traveling with kids under the age of three sometimes seems like more work than fun. If my guy and I are craving poolsi...

Say the words “theme bar,” and what pops into most people’s heads is a loud, obnoxious T.G.I. Friday’s or Chevy’s-style joint, where tacky decorations crowd the walls and sheepish college kids wearing costumes they'll regret for the rest of their lives serve cloyingly sweet drinks in gallon-size bowls. But discounting all theme bars does a disservice to the many fun, innovative wateri...