by Paul Riegler

Sometimes a hotel just isn’t merely a hotel, just like a flight isn’t just a flight or a city isn’t just another city.
They are special places that we want to return to again and again. In our opinion, they are the best of the best, from sprawling estates to classic old-world hotels in town, from airlines that treat you as a welcome guest to plays and musicals that you simply …

Lobby Bar – October 20: Swapping Presidents, Inviting an Apple Genius Over, and How to Score Free Tickets to Harry Potter

by Jeremy Del Nero

Lobby Bar – A Weekly Departure From Logic and Reason
Good ol’ days.  In a few weeks, Jonathan Spira will be flying from San Francisco to Honolulu on United using the iconic Boeing 747 aircraft on its final flight. The flight will be operated as a throwback to the plane’s original days: the flight attendants will be in retro 70s uniforms, the in-flight entertainment will be tuned to the appropriate channels, …

Review: ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ at Palace Theatre is Fantastically Magical

by Blaise Buckley

The biggest hit in the West End deserves all the accolades it’s receiving. For those unfamiliar with it, it’s “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” which follows J.K. Rowling’s magical seven-volume Harry Potter series, picking up 19 years later as he enters middle age as a parent in London and civil servant employed at the Ministry of Magic. The two-part, five-hour sequel will soon be casting a spell on both …

How to Quickly Set Up Your New iPhone 8 or X Using iOS 11’s New ‘Quick Start’ Upgrade Tool

by Paul Riegler

The excitement of getting a shiny new phone quickly wears off once the setup process begins. Will my accounts and contacts transfer? Will I lose messages or photos? What am I forgetting to address?
Apple recognized that the process, until now, has been less than easy and straightforward and introduced a new setup procedure called Quick Start with its recently introduced mobile operating system, iOS 11. Quick Start makes setting up …

Today is Information Overload Day: Here Are 5 Tips to Make It Through the Day

by Anna Breuer

In case you didn’t get around to reading this article until just now because you were buried under an avalanche of e-mail and text messages, October 17, 2017 is Information Overload Day.
Put your iPhone down for a moment, take a deep breath, and perhaps consider a brief disconnect from the insane world of non-stop information that we live in.
Originally known as Information Overload Awareness Day, the observance was created by …

Boeing 747: Now On Final Approach

by Jonathan Spira

When the Boeing 747 was first placed into service in 1970 with launch customer Pan American World Airways, I didn’t have long to wait to fly in one. My parents were far from aviation enthusiasts but frequently flew on Pan Am. I cut my teeth as a child on the Boeing 707 so it was just a matter of time before I ended up on a Pan Am 747-100 exploring …

Lobby Bar – October 13: Plane-Sharing, Moving Christmas, and 5-Star Living Rooms

by Jeremy Del Nero

Lobby Bar – Almost Certainly Full of Alternative Factoids
This time it’s personal. We stay at hundreds of hotels around the world each year, and for your convenience we compiled the ten most impressive must-visit properties into the 2017 Frequent Business Traveler Centurion List. This year’s list introduces Jesse’s Estate, a one-room gem located off of Jesse’s kitchen in his Los Angeles apartment, replete with running water, a charmingly creaky fold-out …

Delayed Fall Foliage Season Arrives with Promise of Color

by Anna Breuer

Many parts of the Northeast United States including New York and New England will experience peak foliage conditions in the coming week as the extended summer season begins to come to a close. This means it’s time for a fall foliage drive or weekend getaway to see the colors.
Trees throughout the region continued to take advantage of some unseasonably warm temperatures to keep the chlorophyll in their leaves green the …