© 1999-2008 Shopping.com, Inc. This feed is subject to our terms of use: http://www.epinions.com/help/rss_terms http://www.epinions.com/user-mrkstvns Recent reviews written by member mrkstvns en-us 121 37 http://www.epinions.com/ http://img.epinions.com/images/epi_images/logos/epinions_121.gif http://www.epinions.com/content_437910408836?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - There's probably a half dozen corporate name-brand hotels in the city of Managua, and most of them are pretty decent places to stay, but the largest, most modern, most upscale of them all is almost certainly the Intercontinental. I stayed there for a... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~437910408836 Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:22:38 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_437910408836?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_437420396164?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - Costa Rica's Parque Nacional Santa Rosa is the country's oldest, and one of its biggest national parks. It's rugged wilderness that lets nature lovers experience several very different kinds of ecosystems in one area, and it's undeveloped enough... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~437420396164 Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:11:33 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_437420396164?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_434735910532?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - I was looking for a nice hotel in Houston at an affordable price, and ended up snagging a very good weekend getaway deal at the Omni Westside. The weekend went off without a hitch (aside from some rain on our Saturday afternoon barbecue --- but hotel... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~434735910532 Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:42:29 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_434735910532?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_430904413828?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - Nicaragua is probably the most naturally beautiful country you've never even THOUGHT about visiting. It's a land of shocking bio-diversity, with enormous tracts of raw wilderness, rugged volcanic mountains, sparkling jewels of lakes and rivers,... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~430904413828 Wed, 21 May 2008 14:00:24 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_430904413828?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_429449645700?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - There's an easy way for a hotel to get near and dear to my heart: provide excellent service. Doesn't happen all that often, but when it does, I am one happy kind of camper. And I'm sure happy hanging my stetson in the rooms of the Hilton Princess... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~429449645700 Fri, 9 May 2008 18:46:40 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_429449645700?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_428031053444?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - Barely a half hour and change from Houston's Beltway 8 (Sam Houston Tolll Road) and you're in another kind of Texan world --- one without traffic and one with a gentler, mellower mood. You're in the wetlands region of the Gulf Coast --- an area of sandy... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~428031053444 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:57:49 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_428031053444?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_428029349508?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - Barely a half hour and change from Houston's Beltway 8 (Sam Houston Tolll Road) and you're in another kind of Texan world --- one without traffic and one with a gentler, mellower mood. You're in the wetlands region of the Gulf Coast --- an area of sandy... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~428029349508 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:36:44 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_428029349508?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_428027186820?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - Barely a half hour and change from Houston's Beltway 8 (Sam Houston Tolll Road) and you're in another kind of Texan world --- one without traffic and one with a gentler, mellower mood. You're in the wetlands region of the Gulf Coast --- an area of sandy... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~428027186820 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:08:30 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_428027186820?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_427498507908?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - There's nothing like a good war to inspire books, movies, and video games. And when it comes to wars, there's never been anything to top World War II --- a war with starkly defined "good guys" and "bad guys" and a huge battlefield that spanned most of... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~427498507908 Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:08:32 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_427498507908?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_427394764420?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - Innsbruck is world famous for its alpine skiing, having twice hosted the Winter Olympics, but what you may not realize is that there is not one single "Innsbruck Ski Resort". What you find when you get there is that the city is nestled in the valley,... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~427394764420 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:16:27 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_427394764420?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_427376610948?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - In all the times I've been to San Antonio, I'd never visited the Casa Navarro State Historical Site. It's not all that famous --- at least not outside the small community of avid Texas history fanatics --- and I just plain overlooked it. That changed on... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~427376610948 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:57:41 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_427376610948?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_427343122052?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - The alpine ski resorts of the Tyrolean region in western Austria offer some of Europe's most pleasant and challenging ski resorts. St. Anton am Arlberg is one of the most famous resort areas in the region, and it's a spectacularly beautiful place to... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~427343122052 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:47:27 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_427343122052?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_419756478084?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - It doesn't take too many trips before you start to realize a few of life's fundamental truths when it comes to travel. One of these is that airport hotels are never as good as downtown hotels. For some reason, the hotels seem to get beat up more quickly,... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~419756478084 Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:37:37 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_419756478084?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_416533417604?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - Judging from all the negative comments I see about Europcar on this site, I guess I'm a rare beast in this wild world of car rentals. I rented a car from Europcar and did not get gouged, cheated, mistreated, or any othe way abused. I got a decent price... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~416533417604 Wed, 30 Jan 2008 22:50:21 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_416533417604?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_416359747204?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - I suppose it's the light that attracts artists to Taos. Reflected off the rugged peaks that surround the valley, the light seems somehow softer, with more yellow to it than ordinary sunlight. I suppose it's the stories and characters of the place that... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~416359747204 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:08:09 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_416359747204?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_416102649476?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - Elegant hotels often have a seemingly effortless kind of attitude about them and they manage to provide outstanding service with sincerity and conviction. Try as they might, corporate hotel chains often have a tough time with that --- especially the... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~416102649476 Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:31:22 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_416102649476?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_415890050692?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - One of the primest of the prime real estate locations in downtown Zurich is the area right around the Hauptbahnhof --- the city's main train station. It's where you find lots of sights, museums, and shopping opportunities, not to mention easy access to... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~415890050692 Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:15:41 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_415890050692?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_415744560772?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - I just love Innsbruck! It's such a fantastically scenic city, so rich in history and culture that I'd want to go there even if it wasn't ringed by rugged mountains, offering a treasure trove of outdoor activities from skiing in the winter to hiking and... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~415744560772 Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:47:21 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_415744560772?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_415649795716?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) is one of the top 2 or 3 airports in Europe. It's a mammoth, sprawling kind of place that can be a real nightmare to actually use. To begin with, the vast majority of the airport is ostensibly Terminal 2...a mess... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~415649795716 Wed, 23 Jan 2008 19:10:32 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_415649795716?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_415524490884?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - I spent almost a week over the holiday season in Innsbruck Austria, skiing, sightseeing, and generally just having a great time. It's a beautiful place, rich in character, and the experience was made all the more pleasant by staying in the Goldener... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~415524490884 Tue, 22 Jan 2008 18:31:35 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_415524490884?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_415395778180?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - There's at least a couple dozen major ski resort areas in Switzerland and picking the right one can be tough. I wanted an area with a strong ski school and plenty of good beginner facilities for my young daughter, but enough interesting terrain to keep... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~415395778180 Mon, 21 Jan 2008 18:37:21 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_415395778180?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_415291248260?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - Picturebook Switzerland is the land of mountain villages and bucolic summer pastures. You wouldn't know it from visiting Zurich though. The city is more picturebook cosmopolitan sophistication, with museums, nightlife, restaurants, places where history... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~415291248260 Sun, 20 Jan 2008 22:30:43 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_415291248260?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_415144513156?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - Zurich is an expensive place to visit. It's a city of bankers and millionaires, and I think poverty level income must be right around $250,000 a year these days. Finding a moderately priced hotel in a place like Zurich is a bit like finding a virgin in a... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~415144513156 Sat, 19 Jan 2008 15:56:23 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_415144513156?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_407537028740?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - It's morning in West Texas. Very early morning. Too early for most types of civilized humans to be up and about, but the only time to be and up moving if you want to see the Guadalupe Mountains in all their stunning, new morning glory. Mountains have... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~407537028740 Sun, 11 Nov 2007 15:17:09 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_407537028740?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_407143222916?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mrkstvns - Roundabout this time of year, my tastes always start leaning heavier and darker. It starts off in September, when I do my annual shopping pilgrimage for the fall crop of oktoberfest beers, and keeps on going til well past the New Year, by which time I'm... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~407143222916 Mon, 5 Nov 2007 23:02:52 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_407143222916?linkin_id=8003929