Infographic: What Do You Want From Hotels?

I always look at the inclusions when I plan my vacations. If I'm going to stay at an accommodation, it needs to at least have free Wi-Fi, otherwise, I feel like I'm getting a bad deal. I mean, internet is super-easy for hotels to supply to guests, but a lot of them must think that this is a great way to squeeze some more bucks out of us, instead of being a huge insult. It looks like I'm not the only one who has amenity standards for hotels. Hotels.com polled guests to find out what they want from where they stay. Where do you stand? And does it matter where you're going which amenities you'd rather have?

Super Useful Travel Links

Don't forget to enter our contest for a great pair of work + travel men's pants from Bluff Works.

The holidays are upon us, which means many of you are probably getting ready to travel for Christmas or New Year's. Holidays can bring out the best and worst in people when stressed out, so I've found some fun and helpful links for you this week. Also, if you want to get through airport security a little more quickly and less painfully, check out my last blog post.

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Everyone likes to get gifts, but what if you got a gift just for flying and telling the airline what was on your ultimate wish list? That's exactly what happened for some people on a WestJet flight. Kids and adults both had a great time coming up with things they would love to have and when they got off the plane, they were surprised with gift boxes with their names on it. Would you have loved to be on that flight? I know I would have.

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With ever-shrinking space on airplanes for passengers, it's hard to find more room to spread out. When people encroach on your personal space, you probably start to get a bit grouchy. When I'm busy reading or trying to do a crossword to pass the time, when someone uses my seatback as a handle or hogs the armrest, I can get a bit irritated. The worst though is the person who reclines their seat, giving you even less room to keep your drink or use your tablet. It seems I'm not the only one who wants to start wailing on that person for my extra three inches of space back. Soon, we may see an end to reclining seats, at least on domestic flights.

Ugh! Have you ever been woken up in the middle of a flight just for the flight attendant to ask if your seatbelt is fastened? I hate that! Soon, this may be a thing of the past, as some airlines are looking into getting a new electronic system that will show lights on the aisle when a seatbelt is locked. Thanks to Stuck at the Airport for bringing this story to us.

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Don't you love it when people think they are the only people who have somewhere to be on a holiday (or even on a normal day)? For some  reason, they think anything that goes wrong is a personal attack on them and that everyone should drop everything to make them happy, even if they are doing everything they can. Please don't ruin everyone else's day, like the rude lady on this guy's flight. While he may have taken it a bit far, his point was clear. Stop being a jerk. You may have to see the final outcome of his war against rudeness on Twitter, but it's worth it.

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When you travel, can you identify where you've been on a map? Apparently, that's a feat for some, which means they probably couldn't identify many countries or states that they haven't been to either. Buzzfeed asked Brits to label a map of the United States to see if they could name (correctly) all the states. You'll be surprised what their maps looked like.

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Do you travel alone and look back at your photos with sadness? I don't think many of us do, but blogger and photographer Keisuke Jinushi was so depressed about his lonesome travel pics that he decided to do something about it. By posing for "couples" photos with a non-existent girlfriend on his trips, he now looks back on his travel snaps with happiness. Apparently, he doesn't think back on all the time he wasted taking these pics. Personally, I think his solution to solo travel is rather sad, but you might find it genius. What do you think?

If you really want to make your travels more memorable, how about expanding your horizons by doing something new and throwing yourself into your destination's culture. I promise you'll look back on your trip with more fondness than you would if you had a bunch of fake girlfriend photos in an album.

I hope you took something away from this week's posts. If you found anything cool, unusual or helpful related to travel, leave the link in the comments so the rest can enjoy it too! Happy holiday travel!

Winter at the "Beach"

I love the beach. Not so much laying on it, but I like to walk on the beach and enjoy the view while I'm out sightseeing. My husband loves to swim and hang out in the water, which is easy to do when we travel in the warmer months or to tropical destinations, but hard to do pretty much every other time and most of the year in Portland. The truth is, it's hard to get to the beach a lot of the time and it can be expensive. When we feel like a sandy getaway, we have discovered a great alternative: salt rooms.

Okay, I know you probably think this sounds nothing like the beach and, in a way, you're right. In other ways, salt rooms are even better than the beach. It's because of these reasons that we have a plan to build our own in our backyard sometime in the future. So, what the heck is a salt room? That's normally the question I get when I say I'm going to one. Most people don't know much about them, if they've heard of them at all. A salt room is just what it sounds like. You make a reservation and sit in a room on a lounge chair that is covered in salt from the dead sea. Most have salt rocks/bricks on the walls and then large salt "sand" on the floor, making it feel like the beach. 

Us at the now shuttered Salt Grotto in Portland

Your appointment lasts one hour and you do what you normally do at the beach: hang out, maybe play in the sand, chat with whoever you came with or, in my case, do a bit of blogging in a totally relaxing atmosphere. There are a lot of benefits to salt rooms. In Europe, you can visit a salt cave, which have been proven to improve health. One hour in the salt room is like spending three days at the beach. Ever breathed easier after a seaside trip? All that salt from the water that floats in the air is cleansing. A salt room just takes the water out of the equation. Those ionic particles are all around you, helping you soaking up the great properties.

Salt Wonder in Vancouver, BC - this is the best one we've ever been to!

if you have allergies, skin issues, respiratory problems or many other ailments, a trip to the salt room can really help you out. You may not notice after your first visit, but you definitely will after a while. I see a noticeable difference in my skin and my allergy level even after an hour visit. I also feel completely relaxed after my session, which is why it was so appealing to do on my vacation when traveling can take so much out of you. If you're prone to getting sick on trips, the salt room will help you kick the sniffles faster and easier, without cold meds.

A visit to the salt room may not be cheap, but it is more affordable than a trip to the beach - even if you buy multiple sessions at a time - and fits a mini-getaway into even the busiest schedule. Even if you don't have a salt room near where you live, be on the lookout for ones when you travel, like we do, and watch the daily deal sites for discounts.

Salt Therapy in London - I love that we look like lunch ladies :)

Have you ever been to a salt room? If so, which one(s)? I want to add it to my list!