Summer the best time to visit Floirida

This is the scene that greeted me this morning
as the sun came up over the 18th hole
at Fairmont's Turnbury Isle golf course.

Since arriving in Miami a few days ago, I've been fortunate enough to:

- Stay in two of Florida's best hotels - the magnificent Mandarin Oriental in Miami and the Fairmont Turnberry Isle in Aventura near Ft-Lauderdale;

 - Eat at two of the finest hotel restaurants I've ever experienced - Azul at Mandarin Oriental (the best meal I've ever eaten in Florida, by the way) and Bourbon Steak at the Fairmont;

- Be pampered in two world-class spas that I now rank among the best I've ever enjoyed - the state-of-the-art Mandarin Oriental facility and Fairmont's Willow Stream Spa (the Turnberry Isle branch may be the chain's best in my humble opinion).

- Play one of the best golf courses in Florida, if not the entire United States - the Fairmont Turnberry Isle's Miller Course, which was originally designed by the famed Robert Trent Jones Sr. and retouched recently by PGA Hall of Famer Raymond Floyd.

Pretty impressive huh. But the best part about my stay here is that I've been living the high life on a shoestring budget.

Everything in Florida in summer is reduced, starting with room rates and then they toss in incentives like free golf on the Miller course for free (normally a $225 value in high season - you just have to pay a $40 cart fee); 90-minute $99 spa treatments at the gorgeous Willow Stream facility (treatments there normally start around $199) - Mandarin Oriental's great spa is also offering reduced summer rates right now; and then they offer gourmet meals at top end restaurants like Azul and Bourbon Steak under the Miami Spice promotion where three-course meals cost just $35 (lunches at these high-end eateries cost just $22).

The free golf promotion at the Fairmont runs through Sept. 30 and the $99 spa treatments will be offered until August 31 - so hop on a summer discounted flight to Florida and take advantage of these wonderful deals at both properties!

Oh, the temperature today will reach 40C in Ft. Lauderdale and all I can see from my Turnberry Isle balcony is blue skies. The pool water is refreshingly cool and the kids are having a blast.

Summer is indeed the best time to visit Florida.

Wish you were here!

I'll be featuring stories on both the Mandarin Oriental Miami and Fairmont's Turnberry Isle Resort in upcoming issues of TraveLife magazine and online at http://www.travelife.ca/, so stay tuned!

My China trip was a great success

I took this photo a intersection chaos in downtown Beijing from
my hotel window. Traffic in the capital is out of control.

 Now, where were we before I was interrupted by the Chinese ...

Just got back last night from an incredible 10-day tour of China, which included stops in Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai, and must apologize for not staying in touch through this blog. However, it wasn't my fault. The Chinese block all access to western-based blogs like mine and while I was able to "smuggle" some posts out - thanks to Hayson Chu for posting them - I was pretty much cut off.

I love travelling in China - the Chinese are some of the most pleasant people on the planet - but I wish their government would get over their paranoia about bloggers.

Enough said.

Some thoughts about the trip:

Beijing has to do something about its traffic gridlock and air quality control. Both are now becoming a deterrent to travelling to the capital, where the summer smog and heat are becoming a health hazard, even for short visits. There will be about 300 million cars on China's roads by next year and while the country has done an amazing job adding new super highways, officials have done little to control inner-city chaos. Red lights are regularly ignored by drivers, especially cabbies, and you literally risk getting hit just walking across a street, even though you have the green light.

Hangzhou was such a relief after four days in Beijing. The air in that eastern province city of six million is sweet thanks to beautiful West Lake and the botanical splendour that surrounds it. The lotus blossoms were in full bloom while I was visiting and that's a spectacular site. I also made my first visit to the new Four Seasons Hotel Hangzhou at West Lake and have one word to describe the Canadian brand's new China property - WOW! The Four Seasons at West Lake is now my favourite hotel in China and it's jumped into my Top 10 worldwide. It's actually built on the shores of West Lake and the staff there are the best in the Chinese hotel business.

Shanghai is my favourite city in China - the traffic isn't quite as bad as Beijing and I actually got three straight days of sunshine; a first after my many visits to China's biggest and most exciting city. Shanghai's nightlife is right up there with Hong Kong's and again I stayed at the Fairmont Peace Hotel on the historic Bund - just love that Art Deco beauty. I also visited a new chic hotel on the Bund called Indigo - InterContinental's new high-end brand - and the meal I had there and the nightime view I got of the Huangpu River and futuristic Pudong on the opposite side of the busy waterway from the hotel's observation deck was simply spectacular. Rooms at the Indigo are going for about $200 a night - a real bargain! I also ate at a restaurant called Ye in the city's Xin Tian Di district - the old colonial quarter which has been renovated and now features some of the city's finest dining rooms.

I can't wait to go back to China because it's the most exciting country on the planet to travel in these days - I just wish I could report back to you when I'm there.

Fairmont offers guests a Golden deal

The iconic Banff Springs Hotel is part of the Gold Floor promotion.

My friend at Fairmont Hotels, Mike Taylor, made my day by sending me word that the Canadian chain is offering simple guests like me the chance to sample its renowned executive Fairmont Gold rooms at bargain-basement prices. This is like flying Business Class at Economy Class prices, folks!

I've experienced Fairmont's Gold product several times and it's the best in the business, impressing me more than even Ritz-Carlton's executive floors.

Along with enhanced service, Gold floors also provide their own private reception desk, complimentary deluxe continental breakfast, evening hors d’oeurves and late night desserts, full honor bar, a residential-style, comfortable room décor with luxurious amenities, and many more specialized services and benefits. Through a partnership with Random House, guests also have access to fully-stocked Fairmont Gold Libraries featuring hot reads, best sellers, city guides and more.

For the business traveller, Fairmont Gold acts as a functional business centre away from the office. With private meeting spaces, staff to assist with light secretarial requests and wireless Internet access, guests can carry out business meetings without leaving the comfort of their hotel.

Fairmont Gold is boutique-style accommodations with the full-fledged services of a major hotel.

The special summer time Fairmont Gold rates start as low as $175 U.S. at the Fairmont Dallas - I just stayed there and it's a great hotel in a great location, right next to the city's famed Arts District.

Other Fairmont Hotels offering this incredible deal include:

The Fairmont Orchid - $440 US
The Fairmont Washington, D.C. - $399 US
The Fairmont Copley Plaza (Boston) - $379 US
Fairmont Battery Wharf - $369 US
The Fairmont Chateau Whistler - $295 CAD
The Fairmont Banff Springs - $549 CAD
Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac - $429 CAD
The Fairmont Vancouver Airport - $375 CAD
The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver - $329 CAD
Fairmont Pacific Rim - $449 CAD
The Fairmont Waterfront - $349 CAD
The Fairmont Palliser - $255 CAD
The Fairmont Royal York - $295 CAD
Fairmont Chateau Laurier - $265 CAD
Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth - $315 CAD
Fairmont Peace Hotel (Shanghai) - $335 US
Fairmont Beijing - $309 US
The Fairmont Southampton (Bermuda) - $479 US
The Fairmont Hamilton (Bermuda) Princess - $999 US
Fairmont Nile City - $255 US

For a full list of locations and promotional rates, or to make a reservation please visit www.fairmont.com/promo/gold.