I have been all over the place the last two weeks - first in LA with the rest of the GT team and then in the British Virgin Islands on a media tour with the Zimmerman Agency. While I was away I had the pleasure of seeing how the other half fly and I must admit, it makes commercial planes and other modes of transportation look a bit unappealing.

While in Los Angeles, I had the pleasure of visiting the first Aloft Hotel. Located in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, Starwood chartered us to the hotel via helicopter. The view of Los Angeles from the helicopter was fantastic and the trip was quick, convenient and fun! Why fly any other way?

The newest Starwood brand, Aloft, has a lot to offer travelers. The funky decor is minimal, yet comfortable and each hotel will offer a fitness area, a community area with fireplace, a bar, meeting space and a Grab and Go food area. I think the Grab and Go area will be especially popular among hotel guests as it allows them to grab delicious salads, sandwiches and drinks and enjoy them at their leisure, wherever they want and when they want. While providing great accommodations for the guests, Aloft will also serve the community, welcoming residents to hang out and play pool, board games and enjoy great cocktails. The chain, springing up all over the world in 2009, will truly offer a hip and affordable alternative to travelers on the go.

My second experience at high class travel was aboard a private plane in the BVI. We flew from Anegada, a remote, peaceful island, to Virgin Gorda and got a great aerial tour of the British Virgin Islands. Once again I found myself thinking “Why travel any other way?” The helicopter and private plane were fast, comfortable and personal. I should travel everywhere that way - oh wait, the expense! That was a quick snap back to reality!

I also thought about how lucky I am to have the job I have, which allows me to experience trips and other things (like helicopter and private plane trips) that I wouldn’t otherwise experience. Trust me, my eyes were wide with awe the whole time I was up in the air.

The private plane tour of the islands was a true delight. As we flew over Necker Island, Richard Branson’s personal island, it felt oddly appropriate to be in a personal charter. While in the BVI, I was treated to a lot of great experiences and really shown what the islands have to offer. Stay tuned for more on my trip in the magazine and future blogs!

-Kimberly Krol, circulation and PR executive

The more I spend time on the West Coast, the more I understand why my West Coast friends put labels on us from the East - there are definite differences. However, what I’m talking about this time is not personality differences, but physical coastal differences!

At the NBTA conference in LA last week, I experienced my second earthquake and I will admit - I was scared! It registered as a 5.4 and was followed by over 50 aftershocks. At the time of the earthquake I was with fellow GTers Kim Krol and Courtney Centeno at the OpenSkies press conference on the third floor of the convention center. Managing Director of OpenSkies, Dale Moss, was announcing their new route to Amsterdam as it felt like someone began to kick my chair. This feeling quickly led to the whole building shaking from side to side. I thought the roof was coming in.

I would say half the room was filled with New Yorkers who looked at each other like deer in headlights! Finally, someone shouted to get under a doorway and the rumbling finally subsided. The experience was a great icebreaker for networking conversations at the trade show, but when I talked to friends who are from California, I found it did not faze them one bit. Everyone attending the conference from NY was certainly more shaken up from the quake. One West Coast person even remarked, “Come on, an earthquake in LA is like rain in Seattle!” To that, I made a retort about hurricanes and I saw the fear in their eyes! I guess, like everything else, it comes down to what you’re used to. And as for which coast is better, I believe the best way to say it is that neither is better, or worse, just different (but you won’t find me living in LA)!

-Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher

What makes a 5-star hotel? The phrase is tossed around, and I think people are confused. I met this past week with Sam Nazarian, who is opening the first SLS hotel in Beverly Hills at the location of the old Nikko/Le Meridian. This will prove to be an impressive and true 5-star property. It will not be your traditional boutique hotel, but a full-service property somewhere between a W and a 5-star property like the Hotel Bel-Air.

I was prompted to write this blog due to a recent review of the Sofitel Los Angeles which ran in a travel magazine in Asia. I picked up the magazine in the EVA Air lounge in Hong Kong, and I was shocked to see this publication refer to the Sofitel as a 5-star property - it is not. Sofitel has done a magnificent job converting their sleepy (some might say dumpy) property to a hip 4-star, but it is not a five.

How can a travel magazine, that claims to be an expert, refer to the Sofitel as a 5-star hotel? I think some of these magazines confuse “getting a free room” for “what is the best.”

This week I am on vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, getting some R&R and some sun…enjoy your travels!

-Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO

**Please note that as all Global Traveler staff members were traveling last week, the blogs got off schedule. Blogs will continue regularly beginning today.**

Hello all,

Your team at Global Traveler is attending the NBTA conference in Los Angeles. At the conference, the newest and best business and first class seats will be on display - this will greatly aid me as I write our annual Business and First Class Survey, which is to appear in the September issue.

The opening kickoff party was held at the still-to-be-completed LA Live, and ended with a concert by Cyndi Lauper in the Nokia Theater. It was a great introduction to LA, the opening to the conference and it kept your Global Traveler bloggers - Kim Krol, Alex Young and Courtney Centeno - dancing in the aisles!

More to report next week!

-Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO

Last week I used this space to ask you what you wanted to read here. The response was great. Many people left comments on the blog and even more emailed me directly. I appreciate the feedback and have tabulated the results.

Celebrity travel stories & meet and greets - 20%

Reader contests (perhaps for GT stuff) - 15%

Conventions coverage - 15%

Business info for smaller cities - 12.5%

Info on GT staff and behind the scenes - 12.5%

Expanding on GT articles - 10%

Travel deals - 5%

Diet and fitness on the road - 5%

Travel bloopers - 2.5%

Very specific topic ideas (aka the rest) - 2.5%

All are interesting ideas. I can start delivering some of the requests immediately. Others will show up gradually. Unfortunately, some are out of my control, but not out of the question. Each suggestion has been noted and is appreciated.

I will continue to write celeb stuff, because I like it and my work brings me in contact with a lot of celebs. I will start getting travel stories from them. As a matter of fact, on a recent trip to Los Angeles, I started working on this. Those stories will be told in the near future.

I meet most of the celebs at conventions. Since I work with the people who run the conventions, I will give more in-depth coverage of the specifics of the convention’s inner workings.

I would be happy to share my travel bloopers. I usually don’t make it through any trip without at least one mishap. Since I do a lot of work in smaller cities like Kokomo (IN), Novi (MI), Rosemont (IL) and Madison (WI), I can bring some attention to them as well.

I will do the best I can with all of the ideas. This is your blog, as much as it is mine. I hope you continue reading, responding and suggesting.

-John Wroblewski, distribution specialist