The Paramount Hotel is about as convenient as you can get. And comfortable, too. Add to that its style and friendly atmosphere, and you have a great place to stay at a great price, right in the midst of where it’s all happening!

The lobby area is warm and graceful. It actually feels as if you are in a private residence. That feeling continues when you get to your room. Our one-bedroom suite on the 12th floor was elegant and welcoming. It gives you the feeling of home. Or the home you wish you had!

While the fashion crowd went from studio-to-studio, we went from hotel-to-hotel, moving from one to the next to accommodate each hotel’s prior reservations. Our “hotel hopping” proved to be more fun than trouble, and the beautiful weather and close proximity made our moves easy. It was also economical and healthy; saving on cabs and walking all around the city helped us burn off the accumulated calories of too many desserts at New York’s finest restaurants, bakeries, and coffee houses.

Prominently located on Lake Conroe, approximately 60 miles north of Houston and 140 miles from Austin, La Torretta dwarfs all other hostelries in the area. Entering from the highway is a long driveway, taking you past the golf course, specialty villas, the spa, water park, conference center and Chez Roux to the hotel’s modern entryway.

The Old Yacht Club Inn is pet-friendly, so we could bring our dog, Boomer. That rates high on the list for our travel needs. Could this be why we were given Hitchcock House? Boomer got to run on the beach every day with Dennis . . . and he loved that.

We had heard about the Saddle Peak Lodge for years, but in more than two decades of living in Los Angeles, we’d never been there. So on our way back from Santa Barbara one recent weekend, it felt like the perfect time to stop and enjoy what promised to be a truly unusual dining experience at this beautiful, rustic dining haven, nestled in the hills above Malibu.

Nikki Beach certainly opens the gate to finding the hippest and the sexiest vibe in party destinations all over the world, and this one in Marrakech rocks! This chain of hotels and resorts started out and was built for Nikki. If you’ve been to one of their beach clubs, you would see a picture of a beautiful dark-haired girl. That’s her!

Here’s a story to make your skin crawl! A traveler in South Mexico had the misfortune to be the victim of a fly that lays its eggs in living flesh. The eggs hatched into four worms beneath the skin—three of them were removed easily by a doctor, but the last one was proving more problematic. The inventive doctor suggested leaving a piece of meat on the leg next to the wound. Surely enough, six hours later the worm had been tempted halfway out and could be removed entirely. Medical costs that are claimed on travel insurance usually aren’t as grisly as this!