Best restaurant!

Hello! My first impressin were great - i loved the deor in the foyer, staff were helpful and dheck in easy. 
And the location is great and rooms large enough considering the locatn but overall I was disappointed with the hotel.

So, I cannot believe that you are charged for wifi and not only once it is per device.....this can only be a money makinjgventure. You can'tturn the computer in the room off and the whirring sound was not congenial for sleep, I had to call twice to have it deactivated. My room had a musty smell each time I returned and I was particularly surprised that there is no turn down service of an evening.

And the restaurant staff were pleasant and helpful and service good.

The hotel was very busy for the four nights I stayed on enquiry I discovered it is s base hotel for the many cruise ships that leave from th area.

But overall I believe there are thugs the hotel can do to make it a better place to stay.

 I enjoyed my stay there, the highlights are the big windows with gorgeous views. the rooms are nice, clean and well decorated, but to be honest I would expect more from an intercontinental hotel. the wifi charge is a joke, come on people get with the times, and I did not like the computers in the room, kind of ruin the decor.
location is magnificent and i love the rain shower, but I do think for the price they could offer a bit more.
 My husband and I stayed here prior to our cruise out of NYC. We were so pleased with everything and everyone that we encountered. The bellmen were so courteous and helpful. Our check in service was pleasant also. Our room was very clean, small but that's a NYC given. The location is convenient, between Hell's Kitchen and Times Square. I would definitely recommend it, and will stay there again on our next trip.

 The hotel is in good condition. The room on 5th floor was not very large, but it was nicely decorated and pleasant enough. The bed was comfy. Large HD tv. Front desk, bellboys, housekeeping all offered correct service. Location is close to Times Square. Subway stop on 7th avenue is actually under the building. It was all fine, reliable, but nothing truly special. 
Stayed September 2012, travelled on business.
 Рlease write comment on my blog!

India by rail

India by rail in 2012
The train judders to a halt and jolts me out of deep sleep. I peer out of the carriage window into the foggy night. On the final leg of a 2,300-mile railway journey across India, we have pulled up at a station somewhere in Assam, in the north-eastern states. It is 3.05am. Under harsh overhead lights, dozens of people are sleeping on the platform, great lumpy bundles of bedding and shawls. I get up from my bunk bed, pad up the corridor of the sleeper carriage, a dark cave of snoring, and step down onto the platform.

The station signs tell me that we are at Lumding, a junction 40 miles or so south of the Brahmaputra river. Beyond the river are Bhutan and Tibet; to the west is Bangladesh; to the east, Burma. It’s the far frontier of the Indian railway network.

Half-asleep fellow passengers fill their plastic water bottles from platform taps or drink tea poured from huge chrome kettles by wide-awake “chai wallahs”. Stray dogs dart past, scavenging for food.

Slowly the great caterpillar of carriages pulls off and we clamber back aboard. My wife, Clare, is still sleeping peacefully in the top bunk, unaware of Lumding, and I’m soon lulled back to sleep by the lumbering rhythm of train-on-track, train-on-track.

Clare and I have been trundling across India for 10 days. We started at the most westerly station on the regular passenger network – Okha in the state of Gujarat, 100 miles down the coast from Pakistan – and will soon be pulling into Ledo, the network’s most easterly station, a tiny Assamese town of tea gardens and coal mines. We could have done the bulk of this journey on one train, the Dwarka Express, but it runs only on Fridays. It sets off from Okha at just before noon and, 2,000 miles later, pulls into Guwahati, the capital of Assam, on Monday morning. Sixty-seven hours at an average speed of 30mph. We love Indian trains, but not that much.

Canals of Bangkok

Canals of Bangkok, Buddhist temples, float down the mighty Mekong, visit majestic caves, cascading waterfalls, stunning limestone karsts, explore Hanoi, sail a junk through Halong Bay, shop Hoi An, explore tunnels in Cu Chi, cruise the Mekong.
Description

From the vibrant cityscape of Bangkok to Halong Bay's magnificent limestone karsts, this trip encompasses the highlights of Indochina.

The center of the UNESCO world heritage listed town is quite small and is accessible either on foot or by bicycle. You can visit the most impressive of Luang Prabang’s 32 temples including Vat Vixoun, Vat Sene, and Vat Xiengthong. Why not pack a picnic to eat on Phousi Hill and watch the sun set over the horizon or rise at dawn to watch the monks walk through the city collecting offerings of food from the locals. Take an afternoon to browse the many textile galleries and relax and enjoy a local coffee in on of the town's cafes.

Thousands of islands rise dramatically from the waters of Halong Bay and, to further their beauty, intricate cave systems naturally exist throughout these limestone karst formations.

Europe- Amsterdam

Partying across Europe, exploring historic cities, galleries and museums, discovering medieval towns straight from a fairytale, embracing a variety of cultures, sampling regional wines and delicacies.
Description

Ah, a relaxing week’s vacation in Old Europa. What could be finer? Don’t ask anyone who’s taken this trip! Our seven-day odyssey across five countries is a blur of beauty, culture and adventure from start to finish, with loads of optional activities to pick and choose from. From the varied architectural wonders of Prague to the nightclubs of Amsterdam and Berlin to romantic Bruges and classic London, this trip contains more European awesomeness per minute than should be permissible by law. (We won’t tell if you won’t.)

Amsterdam is one of the coolest cities in Europe. Beautiful, hip, and laid back, with lots to do, lots to see, many pubs, food from all over the world and friendly people. A visit to this stunning city can feel like stepping back in time, surrounded by the charming architecture dating back to the 17th century. But this city is far from old-fashioned and will be best seen on foot or like the locals, by bicycle.

If you only do one thing in Amsterdam, make it a canal cruise. Amsterdam's canals are its signature and cruising these criss-crossing waterways puts the city in perspective while offering unique views of dozens of spectacular Amsterdam sights in a short period of time. Afterwards, head into a cozy bruin café o “eetcafé” (to the Dutch what pubs are to the British and Irish), local spots where friends gather to catch up over a beer or glass of house wine.

Travel to New Orleans

New Orleans: back in full swing

The shop names say it all. Trashy Diva, Voluptuous Vixen, Constant Envy… Walk down Chartres Street in New Orleans's wilfully bohemian French Quarter, with its richly coloured houses and frilly cast-iron balconies gushing with flowers, and it is clear that this is a city where the sensual life matters.

Boutiques selling perfume, corsets and lingerie give way to handsome Jackson Square, lined with purveyors of hope. Fortune-tellers and tarot readers vie for attention with the pencil-point spires of St Louis Cathedral. A uniformed jazz band tunes up as a splendid white carriage with matching horse clip-clops off for a romantic ride through a bewitching ensemble of Spanish, French and Creole buildings.

Set beside a venerable bend of the Mississippi, New Orleans has always been that dreamy, steamy place where Uncle Sam finally throws off his top-hat and goes lindy-hopping. Tennessee Williams, Mardi Gras, Dixieland, voodoo, gumbo – the call is exotic and hard to resist.

Strangeness is everywhere. New Orleans has stalls selling alligator burgers, and tribes of men who dress up as Indians in outrageous feathered costumes that take a year to make. There are bars that resound to the foot-tapping beat of zydeco, and there are fish named pompano and sheepshead. The locals confer using words such as lagniappe (a little bit extra) and po-boy, which is a sandwich, not an impoverished youth.

It seems to have been like this for ever. In 1920, when Prohibition arrived and agents were despatched nationwide to assess the severity of the problem, New Orleans was found to have 5,000 bars.

While it took an inspector 14 minutes to be offered an illegal drink in New York, here it was just 37 seconds – generously proposed by his taxi-driver.

Comparisons with Venice are appropriate. Both cities have ravishing looks, bags of atmosphere and a precarious relationship with water. As we all know, in August 2005 Hurricane Katrina triggered floods that devastated the city.

The verdict is that this was a man-made disaster – levees meant to provide protection failed. This view is banged home emphatically in David Simon's hit television drama Treme, which is named after the city's historic and culturally rich African-American neighbourhood.

Beginning three months after the disaster, the series shows its citizens struggling to transcend the tragedy, with a superb backing track of home-grown tunes. Many locals consider it "hyper-accurate", and a third season is now in production.

"Some say we are the northernmost city in the Caribbean," a resident suggests – which is plausible given the warmth, colour and laissez-faire lifestyle enveloping me. New Orleans is the only city in the United States where it is legal to drink alcohol in the street, with 24-hour bars and signs saying "Cocktails to Go". Every weekend the pedestrianised party-strip of Bourbon Street becomes a raucous, boozy mayhem filled with out-of-town drunkards festooned with coloured beads.

Freighter travel- Phil Davis's

Freighter travel- Phil Davis's

We've rented the same cottage in Dunwich on the Suffolk coast for seven years and I'll do it forever. There's just a pub, a fish and chip shop and a shale beach and it has a very austere kind of beauty. It's a bucket-and-spade holiday with my wife Eve, my little girl Amy, nine, and my son Hugo, 15, who joins us because he lives in Suffolk with his mother, my former partner Madeleine. We have a lovely time. It depends on the weather of course, but if it's sunny we can laze about in the garden, go for walks or drive to friends. Suffolk is very trendy now but I have history there. I've been in love with it since I bought a little cottage in Orford in 1984. That bit of the coast from Orford down to Woodbridge is my favourite place in the world.

Last Easter we stayed at the Elysium Hotel in Paphos. It was absolutely wonderful; a five-star hotel with lovely rooms and amazing food. We had a dinner and breakfast deal and I wasn't expecting much, I thought we'd eat out most of the time but we didn't go anywhere else. They also had a fantastic pool and the staff were charming.At other times it was part of the Hellenistic world.

Travel review

Travel review
How to use Traveler’s checks, advantages of travelers checks
These tips teach how to use traveler’s checks efficiently during a travel.
The Traveler’s checks are a major asset for obtaining a visa and a tremendous way to keep money during your trip.
How to obtain Traveler’s checks?
The answer is:
You need to go your bank or another to buy the currency of your choice. There are several who sell without the obligation to open an account. You then give the cash and the banker you trade cons of Traveler’s checks.
How to use Traveler’s checks for a visa application?

You can enjoy these traveler’s checks to present them to the embassy as proof of financial resources needed for subsistence in the country of destination. Once the visa has been obtained, these checks must be retained for a second use even more important: The portion of the airport.
It is not uncommon for the border police carry out additional checks when crossing from the airport to justify resources for housing, food, and spending priorities.
That’s when the Traveler’s checks can be used as a tangible proof of your finances.
Popular Indian destinations are grouped below to help you plan your perfect trip.