50 BEST WORLD HOTELS

 From Worldometer (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):

          DAY  USA  WORLD    Brazil    India    South Africa

June     9     1093     4732         1185        246       82

July    22      1205     7128         1293      1120     572

Aug    12      1504     6556        1242        835     130

Sept     9      1208      6222       1136       1168       82

Oct     21      1225      6849         571        703       85

Nov    25       2304    12025        620        518      118

Dec    30       3880    14748       1224       299      465

Jan     14       4142    15512       1151        189     712

Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398

Mar      2       1989     9490        1726       110      194

April     6        906    11787         4211       631       37

May     4        853     13667        3025      3786     59 

June    1        287    10637         2346      3205      95

 July    7         251      8440        1595        817      411

Aug     4         656    10120        1118        532      423 

Sept   22      2228      9326          839       279     124

Oct      6       2102      8255          543       315       59

Nov    3        1436      7830         186        458       23

Dec     1       1633      8475          266        477       28

Jan     7        2025      6729         148         285     140

Feb     2        2990   12012          946        991      175

Mar     2        1778     7756          335         173       28 

Apr     1          439      4056         290          52       12

May    5          225      2404         151            ?        64

June    2         216      1413         130          10        31

July    6          316      1627         335           35       12 

Aug    4          311       2138         258          70         ?

Sep    1          272       1732         174            ?         ?

Oct     6          281       1305         119            9         ?

         13         246        1240           44          10      52

         19         297        1444         102          20        ?

         20         175        1301           66          10        ?

Summary:

• Yesterday, Germany was #1 in new deaths (178) and new cases (92,293).
• #2 in new deaths was the U.S. (175) and #3 the UK (143).
• #2 in new cases was France (56,793) and #3 Italy (40,560).
• #4  Taiwan 39,782.
• #5  Japan  36,110.
• #6  USA  25,626.
• When the COVID pandemic began in 2020, the death rate rise was exponential and deadly.

• But times have changed, and the COVID death rate has dropped by a factor of 6 from the peak.  Those 175 new U.S. deaths shown above is the lowest number in the table.  According to the CDC, regarding the seasonal flu, from 2010 to 2020:
• From 12,000 to 52,000 Americans died/year.
• At the high end, this would be 142 deaths/day.
• But the season only lasts about 6 months, and there is a definite peak month, such as:

• As such, then, almost half the deaths occur in one month, or for that high end case, we might see as many as perhaps 1,000 deaths/day in that peak month, or 200 deaths/day in a low-death year.
• Yesterday the U.S. had 175 deaths, or a number LOWER than flu deaths/day in the peak month of a very low year for the seasonal flu.

• 
  President Biden might have been right:  the pandemic is over.  
• Is it time for the World Health Organization to make a similar declaration for the world?  Maybe not, for WHO is headquartered in Switzerland, and Europe continues to have high case counts
• I might note that the 2020 flu season (October 2020 to July 2021) only had 748 flu-related deaths.
• It's still too early to predict what the 2022/23 flu season will be, but there are indications that it will be much higher than 2020/21, but probably on the low end relative to normal flu seasons.

So on to the topic of today...here are Condé Nast's Best Hotels from the 2022 Readers' Choice Awards.

• #50  Shangri-La Bosphorus, Istanbul Turkey:  provides a copy of James Hilton's 1933 novel, Lost Horizon, which introduced to the world that mythical paradise, Shangri-La, the name of the hotel chain with headquarters in Hong Kong.  Has a Shang Palace, which in Paris, also in a Shangri-la, is the best Chinese restaurant in France.
• 
  #48    Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok.  There are 7 Four Seasons in this list.  This chain since 2007 has been owned by Bill Gates and Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia.
• #47  The Drake Oak Brook, Autograph Collection, Chicago is one of around 200 premium hotels run by Marriott.  You want to order a Drake Manhattan in their Polo Lounge.  When you add all the Autograph Collections, Luxury Collections, Ws and J.W. Marriotts, the chain I belong to, Marriott, also has 7 in this list.
• 
  #46  Sofitel Washington on DC Lafayette Square.  Sofitel originally opened in Strasbourg as the first 5-star hotel in the city.  They rapidly expanded, and in my early travel days, I thought it was a mediocre chain.  In 2008, when they had 200 properties, they sold off 111 of them, and became a brand of luxury hotels only.

• 
  #40    Nobu Hotel London Portman Square is linked to Chef Nobu Matsuhisa and Actor Robert DeNiro.  Can you believe there are now 30 Nobu hotels?  First opening in 1994, there are 50 Nobu restaurants, all very expensive.
• 
  #33    Suiran, a Luxury Collection, Kyoto, Japan...the only hotel I've stayed in among this list of 50.  My breakfast to the right.
• #8      JW Marriott Austin, Texas, is nicely located and features a Texas Wagyu tomahawk ribeye.
• #6      W Doha, Qatar, unlike the others in this top 50, offers rooms, now and then, for $150/night.
• #5      Four Seasons Doha, Qatar, sort of starts at $400/night, still not that high compared to others in this list.
• #4      Raffles Istanbul, Turkey is sleek and modern with impeccable high-tech.
• 
  #3  The Driskill, Austin, Texas is authentically Texan in downtown Austin.  Famous for its 1886 Chocolate Cake, which costs $8/slice.  Room starts north of $300/night.
• #2    Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartegena, Columbia is close to the beach, and is a former 17th-century convent.
• #1   Cheval Blanc St-Tropez, France opened in 1936, and reopened in 2019 by LVMH.  A room can be had for $230/night, but try to get a reservation.  Good luck.

Finally, the best hotel chains by Bounce.  Note that of the top 8 chains, 4 are operated by Marriott.

Largest hotel chains:

• #1  Marriott International has the most number of hotel rooms:
• 30 brands.
• 7,642 hotels.
• 1.4 million rooms.
• 131 countries.

• 
  #2  You'd never be able to guess who is #2.  With more hotels than Marriott, Jin Jiang of China has more than 10,000, with almost 1.1 million rooms.
• #3  Hilton Hotels with 1 million rooms.
• #4  InterContinental Hotels Group = 0.9 million rooms.

• 
  #5  Wyndham Hotels and Resorts = 0.8 million rooms.
• #6  Accor, a French chain =  0.75 million rooms.  Runs various hotel chains, and here is one of their hotels, the combined Raffles Doha and Fairmont Doha.  Note that Accor also owns Sofitel.
• #7  Huazhu Hotels Group of China = 0.6 million rooms.

Oh, if you feel a little sorry that Liz Truss had to resign her prime ministership after 45 days, she will still get $129,000 for the rest of her life, and extend her life by maybe 10 years, if not longer.

Two on Netflix worth your consideration, both gaining a 100% rating from Rotten Tomatoes reviewers.  I am on episode 3 for the first, and will watch the second the next chance I get.  Both have 8 chapters.

• 
  Kleo is one of those shows that has this wide discrepancy in Rotten Tomatoes, with a 100% rating from reviewers and only 56% from the audience.  First appeared as a German television series, and was recently picked up by Netflix.  A revenge journey of Kleo Straub, an East German Stasi assassin who is suddenly imprisoned, but released when the Berlin Wall fell.  She uses her professional skills to dispose of those authorities who did her in.  So far, I side with the reviewers.

• 
  From Scratch got a 100% rating from Rotten Tomatoes, and is too new to get a number from audiences.  Will premier today on Netflix.  Reese Witherspoon and Zoe Saldana are co-producers, with Zoe as the lead.  The Hollywood Reporter says it is a blandly pleasant romantic weepie.  Saldana plays an American artist who falls in love with a Sicilian chef.  Filmed partially in Florence, and also Los Angeles.  While there are depressing moments, somewhat balanced by Italian cuisine.  Spend eight hours of your life this weekend if you want to swoon and weep.  I have baseball, football and volleyball to watch on TV.

Tropical Storm Roslyn in the East Pacific will strengthen into Category 2 status and plow into Mexico late this weekend.

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THE BEST IN TRAVEL FROM CONDE NAST

I happen to be picking up my mail and noticed on a table November 2018 and January/February 2019 issues of Conde Nast Traveler, the former featuring the Readers' Choice Awards (tallied from 429,000 responses to their survey--and they've been doing this for 31 years), and the latter, The Gold List for 2019, on their editors all-time favorite destinations to visit and places to stay.

I was amazed at how swiftly things change.  You can click on those links for additional information.  I'll just provide a personal analysis.

• Kimpton hotels are widely mentioned.  Never heard of them.  Made a check, and that's the new name for  the Intercontinental Hotels Group, which was founded in 1981 by Bill Kimpton.

• I couldn't recognize any top ten hotel in the USA.  The Kimpton Hotel Van Zandt in Austin, Texas was rated #9.  There is a Waldorf Astoria, but this one is in Beverly Hill as #6.  #1 in the country is the Sagamore Pendry in Fells Point.  Where?  Baltimore.

• I live in Hawaii and have stayed in eight of the top ten.  One, the newly opened Laylow Autograph Collection of Marriott, is in the 50-year old structure of the former Aqua Wave.  The other new to me is the Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club in the refurbished Hokele Suites, located a long walk to Waikiki Beach.  I guess the relatively low introductory room prices of these hotels drew support.

• I've stayed in five of top ten Japan hotels, with #1 being Suiran in Kyoto, a Starwood.  There are only 39 rooms, the location is secluded and the best explanation is shibui, or simple beauty, in Japanese.  Prices start around $500/night.  Here is a photo of one dish I had there.  I can't imagine why this is the top rated place to stay in Japan.

• There is something mildly discrepant about some of the cruise rankings.  For example:
• #1 for mega ships is Royal Caribbean (largest is Harmony of the Seas)
• #1 for large ships is Disney

• #1 for small ships is Crystal, but #2 is Viking
• They also had Viking as #1 for river cruises, but when I went on the Tauck European river cruise, the ship services far exceeded Viking's.  It might well be that Viking charges much less, but more that they have so many more passengers, and they do the voting.

• CNT lists the top 20 world cities, and, amazingly enough, I've been to every one.  
• Not one city from the USA qualilfied, where the top four are:
• #1  Tokyo
• #2  Kyoto
• #3  Melbourne
• #4  Vienna

• I've spent time in 15 of the top 20 small cities, led by:
• #1  San Miguel de Allende, Mexico (right, never heard of this place)
• #2  Salzburg
• #3  Lucerne
• #4  Basel

• About resorts in Hawaii, I've stayed at 16 of the 25 listed, led by:
• #1  Hotel Grand Wailea, Maui
• #2  Four Seasons, Maui
• #3  Turtle Bay, Oahu (what...this is beyond the pale--maybe I should catch The Bus and spend a night there)
• #4  Four Seasons Hualalai (which is among my three favorites)

• The top 20 airlines are listed, and not one is from the USA, led by:
• #1  Singapore Air
• #2  Emirates
• #3  Qatar
• #4  Air New Zealand

• The top ten airports, again, with the USA missing, and I've landed in all of them, led by:
• #1  Singapore
• #2  Dubai
• #3  Seoul Incheon
• #4  Hong Kong

• For the record, they do list the top ten U.S. Airports, with nothing from New York, DC or California:
• #1  Indianapolis
• #2  Portland
• #3  Hartford
• #4  Minneapolis-St Paul

About The Gold List, these Conde Nast editors picked super expensive hotels, except for one, The Robey in Chicago for $240.  I went to one site and saw a price for $125!  Sure the building is getting close to being a century old and it doesn't look like much outside, but it certainly deserves some consideration.

However, one fascinating pick was Oceania Insignia around world, with a Cuba stop and six months long.  To quote:

There have been global circumnavigations before, but nothing quite like Insignia’s 180-day journey departing Miami on January 8, 2020. Though visiting an impressive 95 destinations in 38 countries...

Cost?  $38,000.  That's only $211/day.  And the ship just got refurbished.  I've got to add this option to my 2020 fantasy world cruise, something I honestly thought would not happen, and now might.  Further:

Sleek and elegantly charming, Insignia’s decks are resplendent in the finest teak, custom stone and tile work, and her lounges, suites and staterooms boast luxurious, neo-classical furnishings. Insignia offers every luxury you may expect on board one of our stylish ships. She features four unique, open-seating restaurants, a world-class fitness center and spa, eight lounges and bars, a casino and 342 lavish suites and luxurious staterooms, nearly 70% of which feature private verandas. With just 684 guests to pamper, our 400 professionally trained European staff ensure you will wait for nothing.

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GLOBAL AROUND THE WORLD ADVENTURE (GAWA) IN PHOTOS: Part 1

Not sure how many photos I can insert in one posting, but it will be too much to attempt all 65 Global Around the World Adventure (GAWA) of 2015 days, so let me start with Part 1:

GAWA 1:  My United Airlines plane to Tokyo:

GAWA 2:  "Pearl's" statue at Jindaiji Botanical Park near Tokyo

GAWA 3:  Dinner at Victor's, Tokyo Westin, with my bottle of Yoichi 20 year old whiskey, the scotch that was named the best in the world 2008, for the first time beating out scotch from Scotland.  You'll be shocked to find out where the latest best scotch comes from, and it is not Scotland.

GAWA 4:  With my Japan Rail Pass, I took a ride on the newest Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kanazawa.

GAWA 5:  I love going to markets in Japan.  Here, I think, are some vegetables, or, maybe fruits.

GAWA 6:  Some expensive stuff from typical basement markets (this fruit package costs $58, while that Japanese wagyu beef sells for $195/pound, which is ten times more than you have ever paid for American beef).

GAWA 7:  The best beef in the world comes from Miyazaki, near the extreme southernmost point of Kyushu.  I spent two days here sampling their steak.  Note the marbling.

GAWA 8:  Then on day two I had my best under $100 meal of my life, featuring, again, Miyazaki wagyu beef (while the portion was rather small, consider that this is a beef that at a market costs nearly $200/pound).

GAWA 9:  The bullet train then took me to Kyoto, where I stayed at Suiran, a ryokan operated by Starwood.  This is just one of the appetizers at their restaurant:

GAWA 10:  Here the entrance to Suiran, where I saw my first evidence of Fall colors, as this is only September 24.

GAWA 11:  My next stop was to Matsumoto, where, too, the colors are changing.  Plus, Matsumoto Castle is where Pearl's Gold Koi greeted me in a fairly torrential rainstorm.

GAWA 12:  I then trained back to Tokyo, where my Ritz-Carlton room provided a great view and a chocolate roll, with raspberries.

GAWA 13:  I spent my next night in the Tokyo Westin, for I am leaving for Seoul tomorrow, and this hotel is where I kept my suitcase, so I could travel light on the Shinkansen.  Anyway, one of the attractions of the Tokyo Westin is an elaborate breakfast buffet.  Here I'm having three different kinds of soup, nine different types of tsukemono and a bunch of other stuff:  

While the thought of diet entered my mind, I've pretty much come to a conclusion that I can lose any excess weight after I return to 15 Craigside.   Tomorrow I continue by photo trip around the world.

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