Author - The Durango Herald

There’s a window in my shower – and other hotel design flaws

When Marc Burdiss stepped into the shower at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, he was shocked by the clear view of the bedroom through a glass window. “Weird,” he tho...

DATE: Sep 24, 2017 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

How to survive a marathon airline flight

Surviving long-haul flights wasn’t Akshay Nanavati’s top concern as a Marine. Nanavati, who served as a communication liaison in Iraq, worried more about what would happen after the 15-hour ...

DATE: Sep 17, 2017 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Backpacks are making a comeback – here are some of the best

In a world of shrinking personal space, overstuffed overhead bins and exorbitant airline baggage fees, travelers are rediscovering the convenience and savings of wearing their luggage. ...

DATE: Sep 10, 2017 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

What to do if your vacation is disrupted by a terrorist attack

Julie Hanahan had just checked into the Citadines Las Ramblas, an apartment hotel along Barcelona’s famous La Rambla pedestrian mall, when she heard shouting and sirens. “People w...

DATE: Sep 3, 2017 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Don’t let the post-vacation blues get you down

Welcome back. What’s that? You didn’t want to come home? You might have a touch of the post-vacation blues. “It’s like an anxiety disorder,” says Erika Martinez, a Miam...

DATE: Aug 27, 2017 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

What to do if a destination gets too popular

Daniel Threlfall remembers his visit to Chichen Itza, Mexico, a destination billed as one of the wonders of the world. It isn’t a good memory. Threlfall, an Internet consultant fr...

DATE: Aug 20, 2017 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Checking your work email on vacation? You’re not alone.

If you’re planning to leave your smartphone or laptop at home when you go on vacation this month, you might want to think again. The unplugged getaway is so last year. More than 6...

DATE: Aug 13, 2017 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

When is it OK to return to a site of disaster?

Bad things can happen to good places. Like New Orleans, a city forever changed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Or Alabama’s Gulf Coast, peppered by oil pellets after the Deepwater H...

DATE: Aug 4, 2017 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Mandatory resort fees are rising – again

Tamara Myers thought that her hotel bill at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino would come to $415. At least that’s what Otel.com, the website through which she booked the room, promised ...

DATE: Jul 29, 2017 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Aspiring to travel the world? Read this first

Nothing changes you like travel does. I know, because after 26 years of suburban stability, I recently sold my house, pulled up my stakes and hit the road. I’m a different person ...

DATE: Jul 23, 2017 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Did your great fare suddenly disappear? Blame ‘dynamic pricing’

You probably know what Melanie Frazier felt like when she recently tried to book a flight from Portland, Maine, to Atlanta. She found a $257 fare – not a bad deal – but by the tim...

DATE: Jul 16, 2017 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Bill to protect airline passengers doesn’t go far enough

Here we go again. Congress is trying to pass yet another Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, a rare opportunity to help airline passengers by enacting meaningful...

DATE: Jul 9, 2017 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter