Pay for a Night in Prison...

I've blogged about underwater hotels, Italian convents, igloos, and more, but recently I discovered the growing phenom of prison stays. Unlike the brick and mortar setting of most prisons, the hotels offer first class service to earn their 4 stars.

In Boston, get booked at the famed Liberty Hotel, formerly the Charles Street Jail. The slammer was originally home to the most notorious of Boston's criminals for nearly 120 years. In 1973, prisoners revolted over poor living conditions and the jail was officially declared unfit and in violation of the inmate's constitutional rights. In 1990, the last of the prisoners were moved and the hotel soon began intensive renovations to a luxury hotel with a team of designers, architects, historians, and conservationists.

A crime of luxury...

Despite additions and renovations, the jail's original granite exterior and light-filled interior rooms remained in tact. Today, the prison turned hotel boats 90 foot ceilings and central atrium. Jail cells were preserved along with wrought-iron windows, and the former exercise yard a carefully landscaped courtyard.

My first question was whether or not the hotel was haunted. I was convinced enough suffering and mayhem had probably occurred over its 120 year tenure to warrant a few hauntings. According to Massachussetes Suite 101, the hotel was cleansed by monks prior to its opening.
So no known spirit sightings, but I wonder how long it'll take before TAPS to show up and debunk or capture ghostly details on film. Real life details of the Liberty Hotel include 'Do Not Disturb' signs reading 'Solitary', plasma TV's, and mini bar. There's also a small gym, but no spa. Overall, reviews are positive, making each customer feel like a treasured inmate guest.

The Liberty Hotel
215 Charles Street, Beacon Hill
Boston, MA 02114
617-224-4000


Take a tour of Boston's Liberty Hotel...

Asuncion or Bust

I was hanging out over at Escape Brooklyn's blog and her post on Seattle hipsters flocking to Portland for better home prices made me wonder where the hell the cheapest place to live really is. Findlay, IL? Santa Claus, GA? No idea.

Turns out, Asuncion, Paraguay recently won the non-coveted title, five different times. That made me wonder what it cost to travel there. According to everyone from Samantha Brown on the Travel Channel to Frommers, South America is one of the few places that hasn't ripped us a new one in regards to cost of travel. And with all this talk of the gas, housing, and travel crisis, is South America our answer to overseas travel?



According to Lonely Planet, Ausuncion is dirt cheap, and a little bit dirty to boot. Author Rob Crossan quietly brags about shelling out the smallest note he had for some wine and getting the royal treatment accustomed to a celebrity.

But Paraguay doesn't necessarily conjure images of a relaxing or even traditionally adventurous vacation. Instead it has a reputation for squalor, corruption, and overt poverty. The only thing I know about the country is from Rosie, a cantankerous personal assistant in New York who fled Paraguay for a better life and recently had to denounce her citizenship there to get her Green Card over here. She currently spends her time insulting the staff, using cream in lattes for those on a diet, and asking female staff members if they're pregnant with a dismal look a their bellies, swollen from a hangover.

But to visit? Lonely Planet pegs it as a fantastic driving country with "winding asphalt that snakes through the empty savannahs and lonely ranches..."

On your adventure to do list: Itaipu Dam, religious artifacts, an a dry seabed called Chaco ideal for rare bird watching. As far as wallet logistics - a full Burger King meal (love that even Asuncion has been touched by the graces of the fast food industry) runs you upwards of $2, and beer under $1. While I'm stunned a room at a nice hotel runs a partly $5.60, Escape Brooklyn will faint when she reads a large downtown apartment rents for $190. Wonder what a mansion would set you back?

I'm thinking there aren't any press trips to Asuncion... that they're tourist office isn't necessarily handing out free rooms to writers and showing the sites. But my policy is I'll go anywhere once, so why not Asuncion?

Speaking of press trips, I'll be in Ohio next week, then off to the Caribbean. My hubster gets to tag along on both. He's got a hard life.


See more on Asuncion, Paraguay...

It's All Green, All the Time...

Found an interesting new travel bit... I'm all for environmental sustainability, but I'm amazed that in the last year, if you're not environmentally friendly, then you're basically going to hell in a handbasket. The message for 2008? If it's not green, it sucks.


Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre a New Icon for Sustainability


The Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre, a three-story complex of natural stone, wood and glass buildings, is designed to respect the landscape and act as a doorway to the forest. The cultural centre is a “green” development, reflecting the philosophy of responsible land stewardship, a value held by both the Squamish Nation and the Lil’wat Nation and by the Community of Whistler. Through environmental planning and design practices, this project significantly contributes to Whistler’s reputation as an innovative community, emphasizing its efforts to prevent and reduce negative environmental impacts.

Designed by architect Alfred Waugh to evoke a traditional Squamish longhouse and a Lil'wat Istken (pit house), with pictograph-adorned boulders gracing the walkways along the approach to the carved cedar entry doors. Anchored by massive Douglas Fir beams and columns, shingled glass ushers in the dramatic mountain scenery to become a backdrop for art and artifacts on display. The entrance and the axis of the building align with the celestial points of the compass, with the entrance door facing east, as is traditional in First Nations cultures.

The Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified in its design and construction. At the outset, measures were taken to ensure the Centre had the smallest possible carbon footprint by building it in close proximity to Whistler’s core, adjacent to public transportation. The architect worked with the topography of the land, facing the building north to minimize the impact of UV light on precious art and artifacts. Rock blasting was minimized, instead resting the building on the bedrock plinth, and all the stone and wood used in the building was sourced from the surrounding territory. The concrete floors act as a heat sink, absorbing heat in the day and releasing it at night to efficiently cool the building. Natural ventilation through operable windows and thermal stack ventilators reduce cooling loads during spring and fall. Other sustainable strategies include minimal irrigation controlled by sensors and a planted roof over the Iskten Hall to mitigate storm water run off.

The Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, “where rivers, mountains and people meet,” is the result of an unprecedented partnership between two distinctly different First Nations, the Coast Salish Squamish people and the Interior Salish Lil’wat people, to preserve, celebrate, and share their history and arts – thus ensuring cultural sustainability.

The cultural program options and authentic arts add a new dimension to the already remarkable Whistler experience. In addition to a Class A museum, an 80 seat theatre, and a gift gallery with authentic Squamish and Lil’wat art, the Centre features guided and self-guided tours, performances, and artisan demonstrations.

The Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre is opening June 2008 in Whistler, a major event site for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. For more information on the Cultural Centre, go to www.slcc.ca or for event booking, contact the sales department by email at sales@slcc.ca or by phone at (604) 898-1822.