Epinions Recent Reviews for gandalf2001

Better Than the Original

Sun, 9 Dec 2001 14:28:36 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author gandalf2001 - We had to choose between this and Behind Enemy Lines. It was a close call, largely because we thought we might be disappointed with this remake of the (only) Rat Pack success.

After it was over, my 18-year-old son stood (and stood and stood...

Butchart Gardens Live Up to Their Billing

Sat, 17 Nov 2001 15:03:06 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author gandalf2001 - I've read the brochures. They call the Butchart Gardens "internationally famous" and "a wonder of the modern world" and "breathtaking impact". Please! I'd certainly never heard of them.

Oh, I've been to lots of formal gardens. England...

What a Disappointment

Tue, 13 Nov 2001 22:47:54 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author gandalf2001 - How many of the epinions on Victoria talk about high tea at the Empress? How many suggest that as an alternative to the high price of staying there?

Well, we stayed there (and missed high tea). We should have listened more carefully to the...

Choosing your Niagara Falls Hotel

Sat, 13 Oct 2001 12:30:23 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author gandalf2001 - I've spent many weekends in Niagara Falls. (What a great weekend getaway, by the way.) After a while you realize that to really enhance the experience, you should absolutely spend the extra money to have a room with a great view. But which one? This...

Archived Restaurant Reviews: In Memoriam - Windows on the World

Wed, 10 Oct 2001 16:05:49 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author gandalf2001 - As I watched film of the World Trade Center falling to the ground, I turned to my teenage son and said "Do you remember that place?" He did, and later so did a number of other people who shared times and memories of Windows on The World with me.
...

Held to a different standard

Tue, 9 Oct 2001 11:58:32 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author gandalf2001 - For flights within Canada, Air Canada competes only with discount regional carriers. It is always significantly better, but it's not really a fair comparison. When fares are $900 vs. $300, "you get what you pay for" is the operative principle.
...

Pay attention! There's going to be a pop quiz later.

Mon, 24 Sep 2001 15:56:39 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author gandalf2001 - With most magazines, you can read them in the bathroom, on the subway, even in waiting rooms at the doctor's or the airport. If you pick them up and put them down again and again, so what? You still get something from them, and you never need to really...

The wine that made Australian Chardonnays respectable

Sun, 23 Sep 2001 23:56:00 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author gandalf2001 - I'm not a wine gourmet. I just love chardonnays. Wolf Blass is not my favourite (see "DeLoach Russian River Chardonnay"). It's not even my favourite Australian chardonnay (see "Black Opal").

But Wolf Blass is the first Australian chardonnay...

Archie McNally continues to please

Sun, 23 Sep 2001 21:53:10 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author gandalf2001 - What can you say when Lady Cynthia Horowitz is a suspect?

Private detective Archie McNally, that creation of Lawrence Sanders who brings new meaning to the term "ne'er-do-well", has his life and his list of interesting cases once again...

A surprise gem in S.F.

Sun, 23 Sep 2001 21:22:32 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author gandalf2001 - This isn't the hotel you first think of when you want to travel to San Francisco, particularly if it's a business trip. For one thing, the better chains all have excellent San Francisco hotels (particularly the Westin St. Francis, a really nice hotel),...

My favourite U.S. hotel

Sun, 23 Sep 2001 20:43:43 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author gandalf2001 - In my four stays in this hotel (a total of 19 days), I have never been disappointed. It was the quality of this hotel that prompted me to join the Fairmont President's Club and try other Fairmonts. It turns out that, while there are other Fairmonts...

Who stays downtown in Dallas, anyway?

Sun, 23 Sep 2001 18:05:04 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author gandalf2001 - Next to Westin, Fairmont is my favourite hotel chain, and the Fairmonts in New Orleans, New York, Toronto and elsewhere are world-class hotels. To look at the Fairmont Dallas, you would probably come to the same conclusion. Alas, it's not quite there...

The Westin Harbour Castle: A poor choice for Toronto stay

Sun, 23 Sep 2001 17:30:45 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author gandalf2001 - I've stayed at the Westin Harbour Castle several times over the last ten years, and despite being a big fan of Westin hotels (three of my five favourite hotels anywhere are Westins, and I have for twenty years been a Starwood Gold member), I won't stay...