Gadling

In the interests of disclosure and transparency, I don't ski. I did a little bit of snowboarding 15 years ago, but it didn't amount to much. So, when I write about the ski deals that come across my desk, it's not lost on me that some people don't hit the slopes. The latest package from The Lodge at Vail, a RockResort, has something for those of us who don't stumble down the mountain. The "Spa, Savor & Snowshoe" deal is for everyone else. Guests can work up some hunger while snowshoeing, get those taxed muscles rubbed down at the spa and tie off the day with a three-course dinner at the Wildflower restaurant.

At $423 a night, the savings is around 25 percent, but you need to book a three-night stay. You'll get a $300 spa credit, half-day guided snowshoe tour and daily breakfast for two (along with the dinner at Wildflower).

It looks like you don't need to be a skier to enjoy winter in Colorado!

In Bermuda, Cambridge Beaches Resort & Spa is offering a fourth night free if you pay for three by the end of the year. Experience some serious luxury at this AAA Four-Diamond resort, where you can wander the 30-acre peninsula on the island's west coast, soak in the sun on private beaches and get rubbed down at an award-winning European-style spa. Meals and afternoon tea are intricate affairs designed to impress, and duffers can lose themselves on the Port Royal Golf Course, a public course that's only five minutes from the resort.

To score the fourth night free, you'll need to book by the end of the year for a stay between November 1, 2009 and April 15, 2010. So, you can disappear for the coldest months of the year, or hide during that strange period in March that isn't really cold but is just incredibly raw.

But, the real draw for this deal is in December. Holiday stress can be a real nightmare. Yeah, it's only October right now, but you know what's coming. Thanksgiving will having you running a mile a minute, and that's nothing compared to the December death march. Instead of trying to extract yourself from the dizzying schedule with a short weekend away requiring little more than a drive, plan now for the break you'll so desperately need. If I were able to get out of town for a bit in December, I'd do it in a heartbeat ... and I purposefully keep my holiday commitments to a minimum.

Imagine passing into the new year in the newest Ritz-Carlton in the world. On December 22, 2009, the company will open a new property, Phulay Bay, in Krabi, Southern Thailand. This is the world's first Ritz-Carlton Reserve, an upscale brand targeting affluent travelers. It will consist of 54 villas and a pavilion boutique hotel.

"Ritz-Carlton Reserve will feature signature, one-of-a-kind boutique resorts positioned in unique settings, each with a distinctive personality and sense of place reflecting its history and culture," said Simon F. Cooper, president. "A refuge from the expected, Reserve is for travelers seeking to discover a singular location and peerless resort that will offer guests' exotic, hand-selected 'hideaway' destinations in a relaxed, casually elegant atmosphere. Phulay Bay in Thailand is a natural choice for the first Reserve," he continued.

The experience at Phulay Bay will be focused on personalization, with guests able to "design" their own visits. If you're looking for a meditation class with local monks, trekking by elephant or a sea plane tour of the region, the staff will put it together for you. Discretion is valued, with high aubergine walls and dense trees providing something of a barrier against the pressures of the outside world.

There's nothing so gauche as to stick your carry-on into an overhead bin far ahead of your seat, grab a book or magazine from it and walk 17 rows back to your seat. Because, whether you know it (or give a damn), one of the passengers sitting under your bag may not have a place to put his. Then, when the plane settles in at the gate, he'll try to shove his way to the back of the plane (where he was forced to stow his stuff) while everyone else is moving the other way. It's a recipe for disaster.

And, it's getting worse.

Airlines have had to cope with shrinking budgets, thanks to a dismal travel market, and that means making cuts. So, when there isn't another pill water, peanut or blanket to chop, the airlines have to take away the planes themselves. Airline capacity is falling almost across the board this year, making planes more crowded. That translates to fuller overhead bins. The other airline money-making scheme – charging fees for extra baggage – has also cramped the cabin. Passengers are hoping to dodge the extra cost, even though it is modest.

Circle October 30, 2009 on your calendar. Do it twice. That's the date the Telluride Ski Resort 2009-2010 season pass sale closes – you have until Friday to lock in a savings of up to 50 percent. With plenty more people hitting the slopes this year, expect demand to be high, so you'd be out of your mind not to lock this in early.

To pick up the biggest win, buy a 4Pass, which cuts the season pass price in half at a cost of only $998 a person. And, if cash is tight, only half the amount is due up front. If you're going solo, the price of a pass drops from $1,850 to $1,198 – still a pretty steep decline.

If you plan to spend a lot of time out at Telluride this year, jump on this deal – by Friday.

The investigation into the overshooting Northwest Airlines flight continues. The National Transportation Safety Board has found that the pilots were distracted by conversations and the use of personal laptops when flying 150 miles past Minneapolis. One of the topics being bandied about was scheduling, though I suspect it didn't involve the impact of a late arrival because of a missed airport.

According to the NTSB, "The pilots said there was a concentrated period of discussion where they did not monitor the airplane or calls from (air traffic controllers) even though both stated they heard conversation on the radio." In the report generated by its investigation, the NTSB continued, "Both said they lost track of time." Meanwhile air traffic controllers and airline dispatchers were trying to contact Flight 188 for more than an hour. Neither pilot realized something was amiss until they were asked about it by a flight attendant.

Delta was pretty quick to announce that the pilots were involved in activities not related to flying and that they could be fired for it. For now, the fliers are suspended pending the results of the government's investigation (and one by the airline itself).

The travel market may be in the tank, but things are looking good for Vail Resorts. Season passes for their slopes were up 13 percent last month. Sure, some of the deals have probably helped, but the market has definitely changed over the past year. In 2008, travelers were feeling the fresh sting of the financial crisis, and job cuts were looming. Everyone became more cautious, because they didn't know if they'd fall victim to the cruel lottery to come.

Now, it looks like the worst is behind us (though nobody can be sure), and we're all looking for a little bit of relief. For skiers, this means biting the bullet, paying what's necessary and hitting the powder. Mark Kelley, a 59-year-old skier and real estate broker from Denver put it best: "I have always gone skiing, even during difficult times." He continued, "I am more inclined to cut down on my spending on the mountain than to not go skiing at all."

Ski resorts are predicting an increase in bookings this season, thanks to eager skiers who were stuck at home in 2008. And, since flights are still fairly inexpensive, they hope to draw city-dwellers from across the country. Vail Resorts, which has five ski properties, is hoping they'll succumb to their urges.

Business travel can be brutal on your body. One night, you're out with clients, sipping that extra cocktail and scarfing down dessert – you don't want your client doing these things alone. The next day, you stuff fistfuls of French fries into your mouth between meetings and devour a fast food "snack" as midnight is closing in. The project needs to stay on track, so you eat what you can while you work, and sleep is out of the question. This happens over and over ... making it close to impossible to take care of yourself while you're on the road. Before you know it, you've gained (or lost) too much weight, dark circles are forming under your eyes and your complexion has gone to hell.

There has to be a better way ...

All is not lost. There's plenty you can do to take care of yourself while living the road warrior life. None takes too much time (important, since you don't have any), and your bag won't have to get much fuller. If you decide you want to recapture some vigor while traveling frequently, check out the six tips below.

It's been a tough year for Iceland. Thanks to foreign money, crazy lending and borrowing practices and a real estate bubble that amazed the world as it grew and when it popped, the small northern country has suffered severely through the global financial crisis ... which was predicted by a walking tour guide prophetic viking. Now, a year after Iceland went bankrupt, it's losing something else – fast food. McDonald's is leaving the island nation.

Reykjavik, the capital, is home to all three of the country's McDonald's restaurants ... but not for long. The decimation of the Icelandic krona and declining profits are forcing the franchise owner to call it quits. Magnus Ogmundsson, managing director of Lyst Hr., which holds the franchise in Iceland, told The Associated Press, "The economic situation has just made it too expensive for us." His situation was made difficult by the McDonald's requirement that the store's goods be imported from Germany. So, he had to spend in euros, which became incredibly expensive because of the krona's plunge.

To get a sense of how bad the situation became, check out the price of a Big Mac. It already costs $5.29 in Reykjavik, and to turn a profit, it would have to go for $6.36 – making it the most expensive in the world. Currently, the title goes to Switzerland and Norway, where a Big Mac costs $5.75.

All eyes are on the Northwest Airlines crew that missed Minneapolis by 150 miles. Rumors abound, such as dozing and arguments in the cockpit. Richard Cole, a crewmember on Northwest Flight 188, wouldn't talk, except to say that it wasn't his fault: "But other than that, I cannot tell you anything that went on because we're having hearings this weekend, we're having hearings on Tuesday. All that information will come out then."

The flight had 144 passengers and five crewmembers and left San Diego for Minneapolis. At one point in the trip, there were 78 minutes of radio silence, and when the air traffic controllers reconnected with the crew, it had overshot the airport by 150 miles. The police who met the plane said the pilots were "cooperative, apologetic and appreciative."