The Good Life

There are currently only two Ritz-Carlton Reserves in the entire world, Phulay Bay in Thailand and Dorado Beach in Puerto Rico. Future locations include Los Cabos, Mexico; Muscat, Oman; Tamuda Bay, Morocco and West Caicos, Turks and Caicos. Dorado Beach introduces an exquisite five-star have…

EAT

Buenos Aires’ food scene continues to evolve after each of my visits. Of the many eateries I visited this year, here are five that you must add to your BA itinerary.

If I were to choose one must-experience place in each city that I visit, the city's historic market would most likely be my choice destination.

My travel life is not always filled with overflowing glasses of champagne and slabs of foie gras on toast points.

PORK BELLY – Butch’s Dry Dock (Holland)

Amore Trattoria Italiana

I don't take anointing a restaurant with "the best" title of anything lightheartedly. Sure, West Michigan is not Chicago when it comes to a myriad of good selections for authentic Italian food, but, we do have a few options. It took me several trips to the restaurant's website to finally con…

Check-In: CityFlatsHotel, Grand Rapids

The forecast called for cloudy and 60% chance of rain last evening. Jim Tressel, the ousted Ohio State coach must have been the meteorologist because the weather couldn't have been farther from the truth. The temperature was in the 70's, sunny with a slight breeze. The JW Marriott's, iloveth…

The Green Well restaurant in the Cherry Hill district of Grand Rapids has been busy since its doors opened a few years ago. Whether it's happy hour on a Monday or dinner time on Saturday, this place is always a good bet if you want a livelier place to eat. I first visited the restaurant a fe…

Joel Berghorst, Assistant Rooms Manager at The JW Marriott Grand Rapids

The JW Marriott Grand Rapids, ilovethejw.com, collected its 2010 Marriott International excellence in customer service award today at the Marriott Western Region's General Manager's conference in Chicago. Marriott's Guest Satisfaction Survey or GSS, measures the overall performance of each h…

Chicago Magazine rates Del Seoul delseoul.com as one of the 10 hottest restaurants in the city at the moment. Unlike the other 9 restaurants with higher end pricing, Del Seoul is street food pricing with a storefront. A year after Kogi BBQ food truck in Los Angeles took off, Chicago can now …

PACHANGA LATINA LIGHTS UP GRAND RAPIDS

There are several things that make these Pachanga events at the JW so addicting. First, you can guarantee a great turnout with several hundred on hand last night inside the International Ballroom. Second, the music by Grupo Aye, arguably the best latin band in the midwest, is electrifying. O…

Whisked from the beaches of Playa del Carmen to Nolita in NYC, this "authentic" Mexican taco truck sure is making heads turn in this "gallery" space dedicated to "Peace, Love and Tacos." Strands of yellow lights are suspended over cheap metal tables and folding chairs like an outdoor fiesta.…

Diners hanging out at Tacombi in NYC.

Zazio's inside the Radisson hotel in Kalamazoo deserves a lot of kudos for spearheading the restaurant resurgence in this college town 45 minutes south of Grand Rapids. This Italian eatery offers an extensive Italian wine list, a burst of bright colors for its interiors, a quaint lounge, an …

Zazio's inside the Radisson Hotel in Kalamazoo

(left to right) The 2011 Rolls Royce Ghost highlights the Million Dollar Motorway showroom; The “RR” logo of the Rolls Royce Ghost stays still even when the car is moving to showcase the classic car logo.

(left to right) A Mini of Grand Rapids' Steelers car; a Mini of Grand Rapids' Packers car.

(left to right) 6’6” Darin Jemison of Kentwood, Michigan, tries out the 2011 Smart Pure Coupe; 1951 “Doc Hudson” race car popularized by the Disney movie, “Cars.”

(left to right) Sharpe BMW detailer, Justin, polishes the hood of this BMW 550i in preparation for today's opening; a 2011 Mercedes Benz E350 4-matic Wagon.

The buzz around the 13th Annual Michigan International Auto Show in Grand Rapids this weekend is a welcome sign for the beleaguered auto market. After two years of lackluster dealer participation and attendance, 2011 couldn't come any sooner.

George Aquino is a hotelier by day, and according to his wife, a blogger for his third shift job. Tag along with George as he scouts the world of food haunts and destination finds.