Last Thursday night, New Orleans welcomed its first brand new hotel to open since Hurricane Katrina. Harrah’s Hotel New Orleans opened in the city’s downtown area near Harrah’s Casino, the French Quarter and the Mississippi River. The 26-floor, 450-room property includes a fitness center, jazz lounge, Gordon Biersch Brewery restaurant and a French brasserie restaurant called Riche.

Guest rooms feature high-definition flat screen TVs and high-speed Internet access.

Check out the hotel’s Hot Deals section for low rates. While weekend nights can run as much as $399, weekday rooms in October 2006 can be had for as little as $79.

How snazz is Korean Air looking these days? I saw this photograph in a magazine ad recently and thought, now that would make a 14-hour flight fun. The airline’s Kosmo Sleeper chair brings first-class travelers personal video and audio on demand with 40+ movie choices and over 200 full length music albums. And when you’re done over stimulating your eyes and ears, the seat turns into a flat bed for in-flight snoozing. Now why can’t we all fly like this?

Where, you have probably been wondering recently, might I find the world’s oldest rocking horse? I know that this question has plagued me on and off for years. But at last, an answer to this most pressing question.

London’s Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood has reportedly bought the world’s oldest rocking horse for a whopping 25,000 GBP. To this hunk of wood’s credit, it is a 400-year-old relic that’s thought to have been used by King Charles I. The antique toy will join a group of approximately 20 antique rocking horses in an exhibit at the museum, which has been undergoing renovations and is scheduled to re-open on Dec. 9, 2006.

Museum Buys Britain’s Oldest Rocking Horse

V&A Museum of Childhood

Heard about this from the Washington Post’s What’s the Deal column:

MaxJet, which offers nonstop all- business-class service between Washington and London Stansted, has sale fares of $999 round-trip for travel Nov. 1-Feb. 28; usual MaxJet fare starts at $1,749 round trip, and business-class fare on other airlines starts at $2,213. The sale fare must be purchased by Oct. 1; request promo code ANNV06. Info: 888-I-FLY-MAXJET.

Not bad for business class travel between DC and London. Plus, no Virgin Atlantic laptop restrictions.

MaxJet official site

Even a view of several intertwining highway ramps can, at times, take on an attractive air. This, courtesy of one camera-happy TravelPoster, comes from a room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel San Francisco, which, it is important to note, is actually about 15 minutes south of the city proper in Burlingame. Perhaps not so convenient to the city center itself, but quite close to the airport. Not into highway views? I thought the room looked pretty cush…

Tough news for owners of Dell and Apple Laptops: Virgin Atlantic, Qantas and Korean Air have banned in-flight use of batteries from these companies’ laptops. The airlines have chosen to allow laptop use via electrical cords only (and outlets are often only available in Business and First Classes) due to the recent scare over combustible batteries and the subsequent recall efforts put in effect late this summer by Dell and Apple. Of course, not all Dell and Apple laptops contain deffective or questionable batteries, but the Wall Street Journal ran an article today pointing out one unwelcome side effect of the ban: airline employees cannot necessarily tell the difference between the recalled laptop batteries and other ones, so they may likely refuse to let passengers with any Dell or Apple laptops use them during flight. Bummer news if you were counting on using your laptop during your next flight on Virgin Atlantic, Qantas or Korean Air. If you think your laptop might be under scrutiny, check with the airlines directly before your next flight.

Interesting mileage program over at Delta: the Hit the Books and then the Beach promo, linked below. Through the end of the year, Delta SkyMiles members can earn one mile per dollar spent on undergraduate or graduate student loans through Delta partner Collegiate Funding Services. The loan may be for any amount up to $35,000.

Earn Delta Miles with Student Loans

STA has some cool last-minute student travel deals up on its site right now, including flight + hotel to Boston for $169, to Washington, DC for $180, Nashville for $183 and Orlando for $205.

As always, prices go up for the most convenient, popular flights…

STA Last-Minute Deals Under $250

Nylo Hotels, a boutique loft-style hotel concept company, has decided to build its first hotel in Plano, TX. The idea behind Nylo Hotels is interesting: loft-style accommodations aimed at 20- and 30-something professionals, but in secondary suburban markets and with mid-scale rates ($115-135/night, according to the company). The hotels will feature The Loft, a 24-hour restaurant with healthy to-go offerings, wi-fi throughout, a fitness center with saunas and locker rooms, business center, game room and common area.

The Plano Nylo Hotel will also offer 44 “Pure Rooms” designed to cut down on allergens with hypoallergenic linens and an air purification system.

Nylo Hotel Coming to Plano

Nylo Hotels official site