Tips for Germ-Free Hotel Stays

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home
and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. 

-Lin Yutang

In a time of year when colds, coughs, runny noses and the like are plaguing many travelers, MDT offers a few tips to minimize your exposure to germs when staying at a hotel year round. 

• Choosing a newer hotel as opposed to the charm of a older hotel may lessen your exposure to allergens and dust.
• If your allergies are working over time - speak to front desk about an allergy-free room, or ask if they have allergy packs (face masks, special pillows and mattress covers).
• Carry sani-wipes with you when you travel - wipe down common use areas such as phones, door handles, faucet knobs, drawer pulls, remote controls and the like in your room.
• Wandering about the bedspread?  Consider removing it from the bed before you go to sleep.
• If you want to drink from the glassware in your hotel room, wash it before you use it.
• If coffee/tea stirrers offered in your room are unpackaged, don't use them in your drink.
• Pack flip flops. Don't walk across your hotel room or its bathroom floor barefoot.
• Don't be shy - wear your flip flops in the shower!  Protect your feet.
• When using the hotel gym equipment - be hygiene cognizant.  Wipe down the machine before and after use.  Don't traverse the locker room floor in your bare feet.

What tips and tricks for a cleaner hotel stay do you have?  Share 'em and we'll repost them in a future blog post!  

Wondrous Wanders: Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

Today we feature the 5th post in our guest blog travel series.  This series highlights the favorite travel destinations that inspired wonder in each guest blogger as they wandered there.  Today's post is from Sandy Ward on her wondrous wanderings on Vancouver Island.  Sandy is the Marketing Director at Future of Flight Aviation Center and Boeing Tour in Mukilteo, Washington, just north of Seattle.  She has been a travel, tourism and hospitality professional for over 30 years.

I’ve been traveling for years for work and play, but I’ve never been a high adventure, “end of the road” kinda gal. Not till I discovered two British Columbia, Canada, destinations that redefine the word getaway. You cannot drive to either one, cell service is iffy, wildlife far outnumbers humans and the night sky is so littered with stars it looks like someone threw glitter onto black velvet. Let the adventure begin!

Eagle Nook Wilderness Resort is in Barkley Sound on Vancouver Island’s west coast. And because I’m not a roughing-it kinda gal, I was delighted to stay at this four-star resort with 23 beautifully appointed rooms and two cabins, all with water views. No phones or TVs in the rooms. Gourmet food. A fully-stocked bar. A spa.  Getting there is half the fun.  Float plane, water taxi or private boat are the only options.

On our first day within the first five minutes of Eagle Nook’s nature boat cruise, we spotted two black bears picking through the rocks at the edge of the bay. We were about a hundred yards away, far enough not to bother the bears plucking clams but close enough that my low-powered telephoto got a full-frame shot.

This was only the beginning of a day of wildlife sightings and full-frame photos. Decked out in bright orange survival suits (for warmth, I was assured, on the deck of our open air boat), we saw California sea lions lounging on rocky islands, harbor seals popping up and down in the water like jack-in-the-box. Whales, too -- humpbacks, then grays and a pod of orcas intent on showing us how high they could spy hop. I lost count of bald eagle sightings within the first half hour, and I will never forget Regal Eagle Princess. Our guide Charlie had trained her to sweep within 20 feet of the boat to snatch the bass he tossed in the air. Another full frame picture without the aid of a telephoto.

On a kayaking expedition our guide led us to a shallow channel where he pointed out oysters the size of a shoe, sea slugs that looked incapable of moving, cartoon-character bat starfish and orange sea stars that looked like they fell into a vat of Halloween dye.

I was so awed I wanted more and the resort laid out options that included fishing expeditions, heli-sightseeing, guided kayaking in the pristine Broken Group Islands and solo hiking on trails the Eagle Nook owners have cut through their 70-acres.

My other favorite BC escape took me a little further out of my comfort zone (must be a bucket list sorta thing) to an uninhabited island a half hour by boat from the northeast edge of Vancouver Island. God’sPocket Resort, they had me at the name.

Six days of kayaking -- would I be able to keep up? In the whale migration zone – what if the leviathans mistook my kayak for something edible? And, like, what else was there to do?

On day one our guide cautioned: "Mother Nature has veto power, so we can't promise whale sightings."  But on day three Mother Nature smiled on us, presenting a pod of orcas that passed within 100 yards of our kayaks. They were close enough to hear and smell (!) but far enough that I didn’t feel threatened.

Kayaking the next day, we came nose-to-nose with a seal sleeping on the rocks. From there we made our way to a gorgeous cove and our guides laid out a lunch that rivaled any hotel buffet I’ve ever seen. And as far as keeping up, we paddled in double kayaks, so when our boat lagged behind, I just blamed my partner.

And we didn’t paddle all day, every day. We hiked through old growth forests where our guides entertained with native lore and nature facts. During cocktail hour, seals popped up and down in the cove as if they wanted a glass of Chardonnay, too. One day I played hooky, totally permissible at God’s Pocket, and wandered solo along a rocky beach.

God’s Pocket’s rustic cabins won’t pass for five-star, but here, it feels right. The food, however, was many-starred. We dined family style on meals built around local fresh seafood and veggies and spent the evenings making new friends, playing board games and watching bioluminescence fill the bay as if God himself had emptied a pocket full of sequins.

Does Sandy's post inspire you to travel to British Columbia, or remind you of a trip you've taken there?  What about this destinations fascinates you?

Wondrous Wanders: Santorini, Greece

Today we feature the fourth post in our guest blog travel series.  This series highlights the favorite travel destinations that inspired wonder in each guest blogger as they wandered there.  Today's post is from Dan Gellert on his wondrous wanderings in Santorini, Greece.  Dan is the CEO and Co-Founder of GateGuru, the leading in-airport mobile application for travelers.  In addition to his love of traveling and technology (hence GateGuru!), Dan enjoys outdoor activities, playing music and family. 

A little over a year ago, I visited Santorini with my wife as part of our honeymoon.  While this wasn’t my first time in Greece, this was my first time to the island of Santorini.  However, that trip will not be my last trip to Santorini.   In short, the island is the most perfect place I have ever been, and through that experience it has been elevated to my favorite travel destination.  Given that I have been to 6 continents and all 50 US states this is a big claim – so what specifically made Santorini my favorite travel destination?  In my mind, what made Santorini such a special place is the following:

Kirini Hotel

• Our hotel was right out of a dream.  Within Santorini, we stayed in the town of Oia, which is probably the most beautiful of the towns in Santorini (it is on the northwest coast of the island).  For those that don’t know anything about Santorini, the island was formed as a result of a volcanic explosion.  Many of the hotels, are basically carved right into the island, and as a result, they look like they are sitting on the edge of a cliff, creating amazing panoramic views of nothing but rock and blue seas.  Within Oia, we stayed at the Kirini Hotel.  We had the type of room where the doors opened up to a view of nothing but the deep blue Agean Sea – not a bad way to open your eyes in the morning!  Apart from the room, the hotel (along with many hotels in Oia) made sure our every desire was met and on our final night we had “The Experience Dinner”.  This aptly named dinner involves a 5-course meal where the diners are sitting on a jutted out part of the main balcony, creating a paradigm where it feels like you are the only two people in the world.  Simply amazing. 
• Lots of fun outdoor activities.  While I enjoy some beach time, I am not the type of person who can spend a week on a beach.  Luckily, on the island of Santorini there are so many fun and exciting activities.  One day we rented an ATV and went beach hoping to explore the island.  Another day we took a hike from Oia to Fira (the main town in Santorini) and another day we did a wine tour (there are lots of great Greek wines!).  Finally, we had one day to do nothing but sit by the infinity pool by the hotel (have I mentioned how much we liked the hotel J).  Overall, Santorini was a great mix of relaxation and activities, something that I would consider a requirement for my favorite travel destination.



Infinity Pool

• Worlds Best Sunset.  The sunset on Santorini is simply unlike anything I have ever seen before.  In short, it is the world’s best sunset.  Every night the people on Santorini go to the northern most tip of the island and everyone watches the sunset together.  The beauty of the Santorini sunset was one of those amazing moments that I will never forget in my lifetime.  

World's Best Sunse

The 4 days and 3 nights we spent on the island of Santorini were some of the most memorable of my life.  Despite my preference to constantly travel to new places, Santorini is one place that I will return to  in the coming years and I hope you have the chance to visit the island as well!

Have you been to Greece, specifically Santorini?   What have been your favorite aspects of traveling to this exotic destination? 

Travel Fit

Are you someone who travels frequently?  Living life out of your suitcase as you hop one flight to the next for that urgent sales meeting, conference or client presentation?  And most seasoned frequent flyers understand that maximizing this lifestyle can be tough and if they're not careful can lead to poor eating and fitness habits.  We're looking out for our road warrior customers have rounded up a few healthful eating tips and simple exercises that can keep you on the road to "wellville!"

While plentiful food choices may not always abound in small and medium hub airports, we think you'll find these tips universally applicable when traveling.  When ordering off the menu, visiting the grab and go kiosk, or even packing your own snacks; we recommend considering the following:

• Ordering a slice of veggie pizza instead of the pepperoni.
• Selecting a baked potato as your side in lieu of the french fries.
• Pack raisins to nosh on instead of a candy bar.
• Purchase a bottle of water, not the bottle of soda.
• Ration yourself some carrots instead of cheese puffs.
• Need some cereal?  Choose the whole-grain, no sugar option instead of the sugary variety.
• An apple will be better for you in the long run instead of the fruit pie.
• Want dairy?  How about low-fat yogurt instead of ice cream.
• Opt for the turkey sandwich instead of the fried chicken.
• Have a plain bagel with your morning cup of coffee instead of the donut.
• Pretzels can provide a salty fix instead of the potato chips.
• 1% milk has less calories per glass than whole milk.
• Have a sweet tooth?  Try graham crackers as opposed to the chocolate chip cookies.

Couple these healthy food selections with these on-the-road exercises and you may just have a bit more energy than you planned on when returning home from that week away.  The best part about these exercises?  You don't need equipment to do them!

• Take the steps instead of the elevator.  Get that blood flowing.  If you're up to it, take two steps up at a a time!
• Lunges, if you do these in the hotel room after taking the stairs, you're sure to get a great leg workout!
• Sit-ups and push-ups are a great floor exercise.  Any reasonable hotel room will have enough floor space for you to throw down a bath towel as an exercise mat after you get back from meetings, dinner or the like.
• Hold up the wall!  Lean against an empty wall in your hotel room as though your sitting in a chair with your legs bent at a ninety-degree angle.  Hold this position as long as you're able without falling.  The more you practice, the longer you should be able to hold this position. 
• If you have time to visit your hotel's fitness facilities, add it to your trip agenda!  If you schedule the time and make a point to consider it a "to do," you may be more likely to stick with the healthy routine while on the road.

Bear in mind that these fitness tips are suggestions and may not be applicable for everyone.  We hope you're able to find something useful and apply it toward your healthy travel pursuits!

What tips do you have to share?  Do you have favorite healthy food choices that you've discovered in airports and hotels during your travels?  Do tell!