Those of you sick of hostels, bed&breakfasts, and motels, wanting to go upscale on your accommodation when you travel without spending a fortune, this new brand of Citizen M Hotels might be just what you're looking for.

Go to their website and you'll find a great brand-building and marketing effort targeting the "mobile citizen" who is a new generation traveler, explorer, culture seeker, shopper and professional, looking for low-price luxury.

By its description, it seems more like a big apartment than a hotel. It has modern rooms up to date with all the technology you need including free movies on demand and free wifi, a living room to hang in, and a 24-hour canteen area for food and beverages.

Other than the fact that you can self check-in and you "shouldn't pay for bits of hotel that you don't need" (butler, chocolate on pillows?), it's not clear how they manage to offer their so called low-price luxury rates, whatever they may be (not mentioned either).

Their first hotel has just opened at Amsterdam Schipol Airport and currently has two offers running: 1) become a Citizen and the first 100 to book with them will get a free room, 2) if you aren't one of the lucky 100, throughout summer you can avail of their special room rate of €69 a night. Considering the fact that in Amsterdam any decent 2-star hotel is not available for less than €45 a night, for €69 if you are getting the luxury they promise, it's not a bad deal.

In the future, they plan to spread this concept throughout Europe.

All-in-all, a unique concept -- but no one has been here yet, so we'll just have to see .

Todos Santos, the little town I mentioned in my last post, offers a quiet escape from the typical vacation destination of Cabo San Lucas. This small town is home to a mix of Mexicans, artists, surfers and ex-pats and offers some of the best surfing in the Baja. Pair that with great places to eat, interesting galleries, beautiful beaches and cheap beer and you have a pretty perfect vacation spot.

To get here you will need to fly into the San Jose Del Cabo Airport and either rent a car or hire a taxi. It is more cost efficient to rent a car and the SJD airport has numerous car rental agencies to choose from. The highway from Cabo San Lucas to Todos Santos is apparently the most dangerous road in Mexico, so make sure you are prepared to focus on the journey ahead. If you are tired after your flight, spend a night in Cabo San Lucas and head out the next day refreshed and ready to enter the madness that is Mexican driving.

Once you arrive in Todos Santos, you will find that there are numerous places to stay as well as some truly great places to eat. Be advised that most of Baja California Sur has been affected by the influx of foreign money, so prices are higher than those found in mainland Mexico but they are less expensive that Cabo. That being said, depending on the time of year you travel, here you might be able to negotiate lower room costs, especially if you are planning on a longer-term stay.

Where to Stay: Short -Term
Don't be surprised to find the hotels in Todos Santos starting at about $45US a night for pretty basic accommodations. The Maria Bonita Hotel, located at the corner of Colegio Militar and Hidalgo, offers clean rooms with hot showers for around $50US per night. The couple who manage the hotel are very friendly and will happily encourage all of your Spanish speaking attempts. Be warned this hotel is located on a main street so it can be quite loud at night. There also happens to be a laundromat below the hotel which also contributes to the noise by running at all hours of the day and night.

If you're a person who likes a free breakfast when you go to a hotel--the donuts and Fruit Loops call out your name the moment you open your eyes in the morning, you might be missing out.

According to a survey conducted for the American Hotel and Lodging Association, of the 10,000 hotels out of 45,000 that participated, they're providing wireless Internet more often, but cutting out the free breakfast. You can get the free breakfast at many-- but don't assume.

Here is a summary of the survey findings to help you compare what you'll be getting for your dollars before you make that reservation.

• 91% offer Internet (15% hotels charge for it, and of those, 75% to 91% of them fit into the luxury to up upscale category)
• 75% have a computer in the lobby for guest use
• 47% have indoor swimming pools.
• 58% have outdoor swimming pools
• 82% have refrigerator in the room
• 40% have only non-smoking rooms
• 25% have allergy-free rooms
• 67% have weekend specials
• 56% allow pets, and of those, 67% charge extra for your four-legged family member.
• 43% have flat-screen TVs
• 48% offer vegan meals
• 66% offer healthy meals
• 70% offer a free newspaper

And about that free breakfast? 59% offer it, but that's down 9% from two years ago, the last time the survey was conducted.

For more details, read the MSNBC article. You'll notice how the changes reflect societal trends and habits.

If you have 150 to 250 of the very best words--whether funny, romantic, thought-provoking, etc. etc., but true--every last word of them, try out your wordsmith mettle by telling your hostelling story.

Hi-USA Golden Gate Council of Hosteling International is celebrating its 50th anniversary by throwing a contest. Here's what you do:

• Think of that story
• Write it down in 150-250 words
• Send it in by July 15

Simple, right?

For your efforts you could win:

• the Grand Prize of one round-trip voucher for international travel on American Airlines valid through March 9, 2009
• a Jury Prize of a Flip Video Camera (there are three of these)
• or an Honorable Mention of a one-year membership to Hosteling International

All winning entries will be published in a commemorative publication.

By the way, the story does need to thematically highlight the mission of the Hi-USA Golden Gate Council. What's that you say? It's to help travelers "gain a greater understanding of the world and its people through hostelling."

Before you send in your ONE entry, make sure you've made it as entertaining, perfectly written, and as relevant to the purpose of hostelling as you can. For further details, click here. To enter online, click here. Let us know if you win. No prize is too small.

Total words of this post: 220

In this day and age when travel is common, in order to stick out hotels have to do more than provide just a place to stay. Hotels around the world make names for themselves by being different; some offer lodging in old prison cells turned luxurious and others are made of ice.

Travelodge has gone down the same route. Earlier in the year, the budget hotel chain introduced its recyclable and temporary hotel concept, and now it is planning on offering its guests a new way to drift off to sleep, with the help of scents. Guests can choose from five different smells -- the sea, freshly cut grass, baby powder, home-baked apple pie and chocolate -- which are then added to the sheets. Not only can you sleep in the sweet smelling sheets, you can even take them home with you.

Smelly sheets aren't everywhere just yet; they are being tested at hotels in Edinburgh, Newcastle, Birmingham, Nottingham and at Heathrow Terminal 5. As for the smells, I can understand chocolate, but baby powder??? Do you really want to feel like you're sleeping in a children's nursery?

Checking a flight schedule the night before a flight and finding out it's a go doesn't mean it's a go--not if you happen to be going on United Airlines from Columbus to Chicago. At least, not if you are the person I met yesterday at the Inn at Cedar Falls in Hocking Hills, Ohio. I was able to meet him because he was not at the business meeting that he was scheduled to attend.

Friday night, he checked his flight status. Everything was fine. He checked the status again before he left for the airport the next morning. The flight was still fine. At the airport, two hours later, he found out after the drive from Hocking Hills, that the flight was canceled, and he was rebooked on a flight for an hour after that. Then, that flight was delayed because of some plane trouble. It was unclear how long he would have to wait. As he sat in the Columbus airport waiting and waiting, the business meeting started and he decided not to go after all. What was the point?

United extended his ticket so he can go to Chicago another time. He doesn't necessarily want to go to Chicago another time. I forgot to tell him that Chicago is one of the top 10 summer destinations which might have changed his mind.

During this conversation, as the details unfolded, people were tsk tsking over the state of the airlines.

I'm thinking that in the future, more and more business meetings will be held in cyberspace as the airlines struggle to deliver service. If people can talk to each other in video conference calls, why hassle with trying to meet in person for a meeting, unless it's crucial?

While on a road trip, you've probably passed many an attraction that you've wondered about. Perhaps, you've thought, "Should I stop?" but didn't because there's that feeling of getting sucked into a tourist trap that's not worth the effort of pulling over and parking.

The Kaatskill Kaleidoscope is one that is worth the effort, if you happen to be on your way to Woodstock, New York, or to the Museum of Bethel Woods at the place where Woodstock, the music festival happened--or just tootling around just outside of Kingston, New York. It is literally right off Rt. 28. The kaleidoscope is part of Emerson Place (formerly called Catskill Corners), a collection of higher end shops where you can pick up Catskill Mountain-made type products and a lot more besides. You can't miss it.

A few years after my kaleidoscope experience, the connected Emerson Resort & Spa opened. The inn that used to be here was destroyed in a fire. From the resort's description, it sounds like upscale has come to the area. If you're looking to bask in luxury in the Catskills, this is it. Consider spa treatments, well-appointed rooms, 4-star rating, etc. etc. But back to the world's largest kaleidoscope.

He may be a well-known actor, but according to Brad Pitt, his real passion is architecture. The Hollywood star is taking his passion to Dubai where he will be designing a five star resort, complete with hotel rooms and a leisure complex which will host flashy events and awards ceremonies. According to the property company, the complex will be "socially conscious" and a world leader in environmental sustainability.

Pitt says he has a strong belief in "environmentally friendly architecture," but that gives rise to the following question: how environmentally friendly can a 800 room luxury resort really be? I mean, aren't the oil tycoons, Hollywood stars and big time businessman who will be the hotel's main clientele already putting a significant cost on the environment with their private jets and numerous automobiles?

Are these the strangest hotels on the planet?

Although, finding deals are still on our minds (poor Iva in Moscow is having little luck), food and drink has been one topic of interest this week.

• Iva, for example, has found some solace in the vodka. She's discovered loads of it, and all brands are not the same.
• Aaron has clued us into saying good-bye to free peanuts--even though they cost peanuts-- and has told us where the best places to drink in 2008 are located.
• Tynan was wined and dined at the Lalu Hotel in Taiwan and found out that while staying in luxury you can eat vegan.
• Kent shared the advantages of a two-day trip to San Juan, one being eating Mexican food overlooking the ocean, Must be tough.
• But, if you want to know what it's like to work on an organic farm, ask Jerry. He has first-hand experience. It sounds tough. Check out part two tomorrow.
• I'm the one, though, who knows all about White Castle hamburgers, and I'm proud of it.

Have a great last half a weekend in May. Sunday is June 1. Hope you find something yummy.

If you travel at all for business, you've probably experienced your fair share of horrendous, anonymous hotel rooms. You know that room you had that smelled like a combination of mildew and bleach? Or with the million dollar view of the garbage bins out the back? What about that room where the construction crew jackhammers woke you up at 7am? Yeah, been there.

Perhaps then we should all take a look at Tripkick, a website that promises to help find "the hotel room that's perfect for you." Rather than focusing on overall ratings for hotels, Tripkick helps users rate and review particular rooms in each hotel. Looking for a nice view of the bay at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco? Request a room ending in either 05, 06, 07 or 08. How about if you want to find the quietest room at the W in Chicago? Stay away from rooms ending in numbers 28-33, which are noisier because of the nearby El trains.

While Tripkick offers some interesting functionality, it's not for everyone. Hotel bargain hunters are at an obvious disadvantage here - mostly because hotels frequently assign less desirable rooms to customers who book the most discounted rates. It's going to be a much tougher sell to get upgraded to nice "bay view" room when you booked a 20% off room using Priceline. Not to mention most of us are not really considering swanky places like the Four Seasons, which form the majority of Tripkick's hotel reviews. But frequent business travelers take note - a site like Tripkick can mean the difference between a good night's sleep or yet another jackhammer wake-up call.