Location, location, location! Okay, so how many times have you heard that one? But it is the absolute truth. When visiting or doing business in any city, location is all-important; however, you must pair location with quality as well.

I feel the need to let you know about two of my favorite city jewels in two different locations. First off, I must tell you that I can be easy to please, but I can also be fussy. Especially when I am tired! I often have to stay in the city when I am doing business in Los Angeles as I live in the boondocks, and last week I had the pleasure of staying at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills. I wasn’t feeling well, I was tired, and I was cranky, and they seemed to notice that right away despite my best effort to hide it. Sometimes a hotel is a hotel is a hotel, especially after you have been on the road for a while, but that evening they made me feel so relaxed.

First, they got me something to drink when they escorted me to my room. A lovely room, but it was the service that impressed me. I wanted to tip the gentleman, but he refused it! Now, that was amazing to me, in combination with how they had succeeded at making me feel relaxed. Luckily for me, they took away my crankiness in a flash.

My second little jewel is the Triton in San Francisco: a delightfully small boutique hotel that has the distinction of being the only one having rooms designed by the likes of Jerry Garcia, Carlos Santana and Kathy Griffin, to name a few. Talk about fun, but it doesn’t end there. The location is outstanding, just outside the Chinatown gates and steps from Union Square. Oh, and it’s across the street from a Starbucks, which is essential for my sanity and survival.

I had arrived very early, and despite having a full house they had a lovely corner room ready for me within a couple of hours. Unfortunately, it wasn’t one of the designer suites, but it was a quaint, funky one nonetheless. I had some meetings to attend in the local business district during the day, but after another exhausting day, I had a complementary glass of wine by the warmth of the fireplace in the Triton lobby before heading out to my evening function. Nothing relaxes me more on a chilly winter evening!

Reprinted from my blog at a national travel magazine

Las Vegas has always been one of those surreal towns where everything you see is fantasy. In fact, I don’t know of another town quite like it anywhere else and I often marvel at just how many people pass through there every year.

Recently, I attended a conference there and wondered how a city like this has been able to court so many business conferences when it is a man made playground. Does any work ever get done? I wonder. The truth is you can lose yourself so easily in this adult fantasyland if you are not careful.

It is a town where anything can be had for a price and money is rarely an object. However, there is a dark side to Vegas today and one that may actually be surprising to most. I have been coming to this town my entire life at least once a year, most times many more, and I have seen so much change over the years. When I was a kid I remember being escorted to a table front and center at the Hilton fifteen minutes before Elvis was due to take the stage as my father and the maitre d’ patted each other on the back. There was no need for him to buy tickets months or a year in advance at inflated prices. There was an unwritten code of conduct. Now, today we would call it unethical, but let’s look at the positive side of things.

Nowadays, there are shootings all the time, in front of major casinos, and sometimes in them. Crime is rampant. It is no longer as safe as it was to walk the strip at any hour and if you do, you have to wade through the hawkers trying to hand you little cards of phony escort services. Back in the day, none of this would have flown. It was a rough time in the mob days, but it was a safe town also. You never had to worry that you or your family would be involved in a shooting because that element was never tolerated and your loyalty to a casino earned you respect. Today is a different world. Corporate America moved in and the “bottom line” became the only thing that mattered. Now, I am not suggesting that the bottom line is not important, but let’s fact it – a casino will always make money and the house always wins so why treat your guests like a commodity. People are not pork bellies or oil futures.

Of course, I still go to Vegas frequently, but there are times when I really miss the old days when Vegas was for adults and it was who you knew not what you knew. A time when traffic meant an extra five minutes to cover the strip end to end or when Elvis was king and not an actor dressed in a suit marrying two intoxicated lovebirds. Alas, I suppose they have joined the fray and merely traded Uncle Vinny for Uncle Sam.

Reprinted from my blog at a national travel magazine

I will start off by telling you that I am most definitely a city girl. I love the city, almost any city. The hustle and bustle, sounds, smells and sights are all things I want assaulting my senses. I have the innate need to be able to find life at the oddest hours of the night, and good or bad it makes me feel part of the human race. I have a lot of favorite cities, but even my less preferred ones are still more desirable to me than spending time camping or trekking in vast wastelands where humans are rarely seen. Not that I haven’t done a lot of that, but it just is not my top choice when traveling for pleasure. In fact, one memorable experience many years ago had me in the outback of Australia being offered an item to eat that was still crawling, which, of course, I politely declined.

All this being said, I do recommend getting out of town at least one day if not more during city romps. Although I am not a fan of watching grass grow, which is my impression of what people do in vast wilderness areas, I do enjoy seeing unique parts of nature.

This may seem a little contradictory to you all, but taking short trips out of town to view wildlife or see unique natural or manmade wonders is something very enjoyable. Some of the top sights on my list are Iguaçu Falls in Brazil or Argentina, the Great Wall of China, any safari somewhere in Africa, Stonehenge, Denali Park in Alaska and the list goes on. As you can see, most of these sights are not all that far away from a city. However, I have broken my own rules for a few days at a time to experience these beautiful places.

Last week I was reacquainted with Muir Woods in California and was reminded just how beautiful nature can be. It was remarkable to stand next to these towering redwood trees that average between 400-800 years old and imagine what they could tell us if only they could speak. Now I know this may not seem old in comparison to sights all over the world that have been around for thousands of years, but I must remind you that very little in California is especially old. In fact, we consider anything 100 years old and still standing to be extraordinary.

So, get out of town. Even if you are just on business, take some time to venture out for even a half-day excursion. You won’t be required to watch grass grow or eat still-living creatures, but you will see a different side of life.

Reprinted from my blog at a national travel magazine