Photo courtesy of UggBoy, Flickr Creative Commons

One of the biggest arguments that I have with my husband when we’re on the road together concerns the hotel  mini bar. I avoid them like the plague, preferring to save money by buying snacks and money at a nearby grocery store. Whereas he can’t seem to stay out of them, rationalizing that ease of access is worth the extra costs.

Which is why I applaud the emergence of a trend that I’ve seen at several luxury hotels: The complimentary mini-bar.

I first witnessed the trend at the sophisticated Baur au Lac in Zurich. As expensive as it is private (if you were going to Switzerland to open a secret bank account, this would be your pick), the hotel rewards their lavish spenders by including a minibar stocked with beer, wine, soft drinks, water, and snacks in their suites. Chocolate is represented (naturally), and there’s no question that wi-fi is free.

I asked the bellhop who showed me to my suite about the policy. “Our customers don’t want to be nickel and dimed,” he replied. “The owners made a conscious decision not to bog down check out with a list of charges.” Made sense to me; as I munched my Toblerone, I wondered how much the hotel actually spent vs. the goodwill and repeat customers they receive.

My second encounter with the free minibar came when I toured the famed Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur. A notable celebrity getaway(Julia Roberts and her husband were having breakfast a few tables away), the Post Ranch Inn treats its guests like stars, with a gift-size basket of snacks and drinks, including a full-sized bottle of wine, free in the room.

Post Ranch Inn "treehouse," Big Sur, CA

One could argue that with the prices that the Baur au Lac and Post Ranch Inn charge, the minibar should be free (and you’re right – if ALL hotels in this category went this direction, I might justify splurging for a stay more often). Which is why it’s so exciting that less expensive hotels, such as the AC by Marriott chain, also offer a gratis minibar. I haven’t been to an AC by Marriott, as they are mostly located in Spain and Italy, but it sounds like they also want to offer travelers something a little extra.

So a question to all of you out there: Do you use the minibar when you travel? Would it make a difference to you if your hotel offered it for free? 

Note: The Baur au Lac sponsored my stay, but my opinions are my own. 

Bedding Down: Free Hotel Mini-bar on the Rise? is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

I spent last week in Lana’i, Hawaii, as a “New Media Artist in Residence,” sponsored by the Lana’i Visitors Bureau. The program gave me a chance to explore all aspects of this tiny private island, and allowed me to stay at each of Lana’i's three hotels: Four Seasons at Manele Bay, Four Seasons Lodge at Koele and Hotel Lana’i.

My schedule called for beach time at Manele Bay first. I was excited to stay at the Four Seasons here, partially for the Microsoft geek factor (Bill Gates was married here in 1994) but mostly because Seattle’s winter weather had made me seriously deficient in Vitamin D.

Great resorts anticipate what you need, before you know you need it - and I found the Four Seasons at Manele Bay lived up to the standard. Evian spritz? Skewered fruit? Cucumber slices for your eyes? The pool concierge has you covered.

Perhaps because the price tag is on the higher end (rooms in the winter start at $375 per night), the Four Seasons does not attract a young crowd. Looking around the Oceanside Grill on our first night, I saw mostly couples in their late 30s and older, with a few families sprinkled in.

Afterward, we checked out the lounge bar. Full of dark corners, pool tables and plush chairs, the room seemed to draw people sneaking away from their kids. I have never seen so many couples in their 40s making out.

That’s not to say that there weren’t families. Of the two Four Seasons on Lana’i, Manele Bay seemed much more kid-friendly than the Lodge and many families congregated at the pool and the beach during the day. Still, you wouldn’t want your kids to get too rowdy; I saw one guy get up and move his beach chair away from a family of three. “I’m sure your kids are great,” he told the mom. “But I’m here to get away from mine.”

If there’s one downside to the Four Seasons, it’s that the food is on the expensive side. The breakfast buffet cost a breathtaking $30, and everything, including sodas, seemed to cost twice what you’d expect. I wouldn’t let this deter you from going, however; shuttles to Lana’i City run every 30 minutes and you can buy food and drink at the local groceries in town (rooms have refrigerators, perfect for storing poke from Lana’i Ohana Poke Market). We did find the Italian food at Hulopo‘e Court, the resort’s main dining room, worth the splurge. I had a fabulous pappardelle with veal and Don’s osso buco was delicious. And that mai tai was as good as it looks.

Well manicured grounds are a hallmark of Four Seasons Resorts – and Manele Bay takes full advantage of the lush Hawaiian climate.

My husband Don was in photographer heaven with his camera; he spent hours wandering the property checking out the different gardens. He particularly loved the Japanese one.

Meanwhile, I opted for a lomi lomi massage in a cabana overlooking the ocean. Hearing the waves and smelling the ocean while you’re getting a rubdown? It’s as awesome as it sounds.

That’s not to say that the nature isn’t allowed to do her thing. We saw whales surfacing in Hulopo‘e Bay over breakfast and later that day, Lana’i's famed spinner dolphins swam into the bay. I spent an hour in the water, watching them leap and frolic just a few hundred yards away.

The same attention to comfort that you find at the pool also takes place down at the beach. Snorkeling equipment and sand toys are available, as is lemonade and water on demand. Beach chairs and tables are set up for you, beach umbrellas are strategically placed, your lush towels are laid out just so. Forget your squeezed up tube of sunscreen in the room? No worries, there’s an attractive container of creamy 30 SPF at your disposal.

The service and amenities at a Four Seasons is what makes the price worthwhile; I honestly would go back in a heartbeat. What’s nice about the property is that you can also use the amenities at the Four Seasons Lodge at Koele, which has a totally different feel. I’ll tell you about that resort later!

Thanks to the Lana’i CVB for sponsoring me in the #VisitLanai New Media Artist-in-Residence program.

Aloha, Lanai: Four Seasons at Manele Bay is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

Before I left for Easter Island, friends who had visited the island before warned me that the Rapanui men were unusually attractive. “Think Polynesian Fabios,” one travel writer told me.

And yes, the men, most with long flowing dark hair, tribal tattoos and well-developed arm muscles, were good-looking. Riding bareback on horses only adds to the romance.

But I enjoyed learning about the culture of the Rapanui, who have come from the brink of extinction to become a force to be reckoned with.

About 5,000 people live on Easter Island and slightly less than half  – 2,200 – are Rapanui. That’s a huge increase, considering that in the 1900s, the Rapanui people were almost gone from the island. About half of the population left in 1862, when Peruvian slave traders killed or captured more than half the population. Western diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis also decimated the Rapanui.

Rebuilding a population takes time – and, um, a lot of extracurricular activities. At a dinner with Rapa Nui tourism officials, an official joked about how increasing a people from less than 250 to 2,000 in just three generations took a lot of….work.

The resurgence of population has come with increased pride in Rapanui culture. Every year at the end of January and early February, the Easter Island natives hold the Tapati Festival, which celebrates Rapanui culture and the residents’ right to vote in Chilean elections, which  passed in 1963. During the festival, the Rapanui take part in sporting competitions, such as sliding down a tree on a banana tree, as well as singing and dancing.

Another Rapanui ritual that has been given new life is the Birdman competition, a complicated rite of passage in which men vie to collect the first Sooty Tern egg of the season from a nearby island. Whoever gets the first egg remains in spirtual seclusion, while the unsuccessful contestants brave the deep shark-infested waters to swim back and wait for the victor in the hillside village of Orongo. The winner is named the Tangata-Manu and rules the Rapanui for a year. Catholics shut down the Birdman back in the late 1800s, but it has been revived as a cultural tradition. The artist in the photo above carves pieces for the competition.

This type of death-defying competition seems typical of the Rapanui, who have not abandoned their fierce demeanor. During our trip, we attended a Rapanui show that highlighted culture, dance and song. Unlike other Polynesian islanders, who often use cultural performance to display graceful movement and natural beauty, the Rapanui show was downright ferocious, with lots of shouts, yells and war cries by extremely buff men wearing little more than body paint and a thong.

And that forceful demeanor has made headlines recently. Upset over what they see as the Chilean government’s violation of land sale laws, several clan of Rapanui have taken to occupying buildings that they say are on their ancestral lands. Among them: the Hanga Roa hotel, a eco-resort in the island’s only town. The hotel, which underwent extensive renovations, was supposed to reopen this month. But when I was there, the Hanga Roa  hotel remained shuttered behind fences, with a flag bearing the Rapanui symbol hung in front.

Tensions between the Rapanui and the Chilean government came to a head in December. Chilean riot police descended upon the island, with the intent of rousting the Rapanui from the occupied buildings. News reports said that about 24 people were injured by rubber bullets and buckshot, and that tear gas was also used. The islanders, understandably, weren’t pleased; while I was there, a small group of protesters walked through Hanga Roa.

Chile and the Rapanui have never had a great relationship. When the country took over the island in the late 19th century, the Rapa Nui were pushed off their lands and corralled in slum-style housing in Hanga Roa. Even though the islanders won the right to vote in the 1960s, they do not consider themselves Chilean or South American, choosing to affiliate instead with their Polynesian ancestors to the far West. Our guide Gina, a Rapanui, told us that it wasn’t that the indigenous people don’t like the Chileans who have come to the island; it’s that the islanders believe that foreigners are emigrating to their home simply to make money off their native heritage.

Daily life on Easter Island isn’t about protests, of course. As one might expect being so close to the sea, fishing and water activities are a big part of Rapanui culture. Fish is also a major part of the Rapanui cuisine; I ate it almost every day during my stay.

Gina told us that almost every Rapanui child learns to surf. There are plenty of surf shops in Hanga Roa if you want to give it a try.

Overall, I found that the Rapanui we met were reticent at first, but happy to talk about their culture when they realized you were open to listening. In many ways, it’s amazing that the Rapanui still survive, given the extremes that their population has endured throughout the centuries. If you do make it to Easter Island, make sure that you spend some time with some Rapanui so you can learn about how their struggle for existence informs their prideful spirit today.

Thanks to LAN Airlines for sponsoring my trip.

Moai Madness: Rapanui Pride is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

After spending a long morning touring the Lima’s colonial center, we moved on to Miraflores – the city’s wealthy suburb on the Pacific Ocean – for lunch. I knew I wanted ceviche, Lima’s premier dish. But first, Roberto took us to El Parque del Amour (Love Park), dominated by El Beso.

The statue, by Victor Delfin, is meant to be a take on Rodin’s famed Kiss statue – only this couple have Peruvian features.

Surrounding the statue are mosaic walls with phrases of love worked into the design. The park opened on Valentine’s Day in 1993 and it’s become a romantic place for couples to watch the sunset.

On a nearby hill, paragliders were jumping off a cliff and sailing over the Pacific Ocean.

And below, surfers were giving the waves a shot.

By this point, we were starved. Lima has been receiving quite a lot of press these days for its culinary scene, mostly based in Miraflores. We settled down for pisco sours and ceviche at La Mar, a modern cevicheria owned by Peruvian celebrity chef Gaston Acurio (he has outposts in Panama, Bogota, Sao Paulo and even San Francisco).  Open aired and full of trendy folks just coming from the beach, La Mar was a hopping place. We sat at the bar and nursed our drinks before a table opened up.

Our meal started with plantain chips and a trio of dipping sauces…

…and continued with a plate of tuna sashimi…

And culminated in the delicious ceviche sampler. The fish you see in the picture are placed on top of different Peruvian potatoes.

After lunch, our guide Roberto took us to Museo Larco, a private museum that’s home to one of the most important collections of pre-Columbian art and archeological artifacts in the world.

The collection, which contains about 45,000 pieces, began as the personal hobby of Rafael Larco Herrera in 1925 and was continued by his son, agricultural engineer Rafael Larco Hoyle. In addition to the formal display in the museum, there’s thousands of pieces of pre-Columbian pottery catalogued in floor-to-ceiling glass cases. Seen all at once, it’s a little overwhelming.

Lima has plenty of stray dogs running around, but few cats. Roberto told me that Peruvians don’t like having cats as pets, which is why I enjoyed seeing these jaguar pieces in the display cases.

The Larco Museum itself has pre-Columbian objects and artifacts beyond pottery, including tools and jewelry. Most of the displays have English translations, so you can tour it without a guide.

Some of the pieces were quite graphic. The box above shows a priest preparing a human sacrifice for the Gods. The Larco Museum also has one of the world’s top collections of pre-Columbian erotic pottery. The pieces are fairly explicit so make sure you’re at a safe computer (preferably not at work) when you take a peek.

Thanks to LAN Airlines for sponsoring my trip.

Lima Layover: Ceviche in Miraflores & Museo Larco in Pueblo Libre is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

The nail salon technician looked at the bottoms of my feet in disgust.

“These are so dry,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “They need some work.”

I winced, but I knew she was right. Since moving to chilly Seattle last June, I had changed my grooming habits – and not for the better. Flaky, unpolished toes and fingernails, scrubby eyebrows, shaggy hair: Adopting Seattle’s laid-back attitude had turned me into a Sasquatch.

That kind of dishevelment would never fly in Miami. During my weekend visit, I found the image-conscious city to be the polar opposite of my new Northwest home, in almost every way. Miamians love to stand out in a crowd, and nearly everything about the city, from the clothing choices to the restaurant menus to the architecture, reflects that ethos.

First, the clothing. No surprise that the Kardashians and their Dash boutique fit in so well here. The prevalent style is tight and bright, for both men and women. Lined with palm trees, Lincoln Avenue is South Beach’s promenade – and everyone does their best to stand out and show off. And if you’re going to  zip down to the beach,  than a Vespa is your only choice (shirt optional).

I could spend hours dissecting Miami footwear. Flip flops and jeweled sandals rule the daytime on beachy Ocean Drive, but at night and at events, everyone puts on their highest heels. Never have I seen so many red-soled Christian Louboutins in one place. For the women striding through the galleries and sidewalk cafes on sky-high shoes: Aren’t you in pain? How do you do it? (My feet hurt after three nights wearing two-inch heels).

Maybe the flamboyant attire is simply a way to compete with the eye-candy architecture. The curves and angles of South Beach’s Art Deco architecture have justly been named a national treasure, and even the newest properties know better than to mess with a good thing. Just as white is the perfect color to show off a tan, the most striking buildings stand snowy stark against the bright blue sky. Palm trees provide the perfect accent. Sexy, sexy.

Pretty people in pretty buildings need perfect places to perch. Enter Miami design. Furniture here makes a statement, whether it be royal opulent or modern sleek. Miami hotels invented the poolside cabana, daybed and lounge scene that’s been adopted at luxury resorts around the world. The newer hotels popping up downtown and on the north end of South Beach outdo themselves with lobbyscapes that promise a weekend of decadence. (That’s Edge national editor/blogger Michael K. Lavers lounging in the Viceroy Miami lobby).

Now that I’m back in Seattle, I’ve ditched the high-heeled sandals for a pair of cozy boots, and it may be months before my pink polished toes see the sunlight. Sunglasses have been retired as the winter rains have begun. But I find that I’m taking a few extra minutes on my hair and reaching for my lipstick more often. And maybe this weekend, I’ll bust out my high holiday heels. Because we could all use a little bit of Miami style in our lives.

Photo by Michael K. Lavers

Thanks to  Tempo Miami, A Rock Resort for sponsoring my trip and stay in Miami. More Art Basel posts to come!

Miami Style: Loud, Proud and Stand Out In a Crowd is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road