-- J. Pick, Oshawa
A: Rome's new hotel tax kicks in Jan. 1. Travellers who stay at four- and five-star hotels in the city will be charged 3 euros per night, and travellers who stay a properties rated three stars or less will be charged 2 euros per night. Children under two and youth hostels are exempt from the tax.
Some travel companies have announced they will absorb the new tax for now.
Jeff Element, president of the Travel Corporation -- which includes sister brands Trafalgar Tours, Contiki Holidays and Insight Vacations -- says his company will be absorbing the cost in 2011.
"All clients who are currently booked or plan to book a holiday with us that includes a Rome hotel stay in 2011 will not be responsible for this new government- imposed tax since we feel very strongly in honouring our price commitment," he said.
Trafalgar has five new Italy itineraries with its new "At Leisure" programs. Contiki Holidays has two regional tours, Simply Italy and Italian Espresso. Insight Vacations has launched new Gold deluxe escorted tours that include an Italian Vogue itinerary. For more information, contact your travel agent.
Q: Do you know anything about taxis and public transit in Cardiff, Wales?
-- A. Harwansky, Toronto
A: Wales' capital has a relatively new fleet of environmentally friendly "bendy" buses. For transit information, visit cardiffbus.com. There are several cab companies in the city, which are listed on the official visitor's website of Cardiff, visitcardiff.com. One of the popular ones is Premier Taxis (premiertaxis.net) purported to have one of the biggest fleets in Wales.
Q: Can you offer any tips on finding information on green building projects around the world. My interest is primarily on architecture.
-- A. Stathorne, Mississauga
A: Environmentally sustainable buildings are gaining popularity around the world. I discovered an informative website devoted to green roofs (greenroofs.com) created by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, a Toronto-based nonprofit organization. The website lists winners of the 2010 Green Awards of Excellence and also has a database of green roofs that are accessible to visitors. The search function allows you to narrow queries by location, building type, project name, project year, key words and more.
Q: Florida has been our winter getaway for many years but this winter we're interested in trying a new place. What destinations will be popular this winter?
-- N. Nolan, Etobicoke
A: Canadians continue to book winter getaways in sunny climes. Florida remains a favourite but if you'd like to try something new, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic are popular and well priced. All-inclusive resort holidays are big in the Caribbean. Sandals Resorts (sandals.com) has properties across the Caribbean including Jamaica, St. Lucia, Antigua and Bahamas. Luxury hotel chain RIU Hotels & Resorts (riu.com) has properties throughout Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba, and also also in Tunisia, Portugal's Algarve and Morocco.
ilona@mycompass.ca, Twitter @mycompasstv
Spirits linger at Canada’s hotels
