The New York Times recently sent one of its writers on a vacation many travelers would - at first mention - liken to nice afternoon in hell. But in story Project Runway, writer Joshua Kurlantzick’s week-long sojourn in a slew of U.S. airports turns up palatable dining destinations, high-end shops and spa treatments. Many of the airport venues are ones you’ve probably heard of before, but Kurlantzick’s story rounds them all up and does a good job of showing how far airports have come in the last decade.

Zagat has just released its 2007-8 Guide to America’s Top Golf Courses. The book covers 1,000+ courses in the United States, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands.

The guide ranks the following as the Top 10 Best Golf Courses:

1. Bandon Dunes, Bandon Dunes Course, Bandon, OR

2. Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes Course, Bandon, Or

3. Whistling Straits, Straits, WI

4. Arcadia Bluffs, Traverse City, MI

5. Bethpage, Black, Long Island, NY (tied)

5. Cascata, Las Vegas, NV (tied)

6. Kiawah Island, Ocean, Charleston, SC

7. Pebble Beach, Monterey Peninsula, CA

8. Kapalua, Plantation, Maui, HI

9. Shadow Creek, Las Vegas, NV

For more, you’ll have to pick up a copy of the guide. Cost: $15.95.

Come Sunday, your cash will no longer be accepted tender aboard Frontier Airlines flights. Passengers will have to fork over credit or debit cards to pay for DirectTV, pay-per-view movies and alcoholic beverages. The airline says the move will mean faster delivery of beverage and entertainment services.

Grabbed this from press release land this morning. Stay at any of any of Four Seasons in Hawaii in the coming months, and you could get a free night’s stay, depending on the length of your trip. The deals vary by property. The Four Seasons Resort Lana’i’s Lodge at Keole is offering a free 4th night to guests who book three nights between now and Dec. 18, 2007. Room rates start at $295. Over at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea (pictured), guests can score a free 5th night with a four night stay booked May 9-June 30 or Sept. 1-Dec. 18.

Check out each Four Seasons property’s individual deal at the link below.

How to Spend a Free Extra Day at Four Seasons

We’re trying something new over here at TravelPost.com (just like any good travelers are apt to want to do). We’re putting together weekly stories on some of our favorite travel topics. New this week:

The Best Quick Escapes from San Francisco

Have a certain destination you want us to feature in the future? Maybe you’re heading somewhere and need a little help with the research. Let us be your travel guide. Leave suggestions in the comment boxes, and we may use your idea for an upcoming feature.

Oh yeah, you think you’re an expert on Disney and Orlando’s many other fab attractions? But, quick, can you tell us what time each day can you see Shamu at Sea World? Or when to catch EPCOT’s Illuminations Light Show? What about the amount of time you’ll need to tour the NASA Kennedy Space Center?

Instead of hunting around through lots of individual web sites or toting around paper brochures, you can get all of this info, including opening and closing times and visitor info for 14 of Orlando’s top attractions with our brand new Definitive Guide to Orlando Attraction Hours and Event Times. This easy-to-navigate quick reference guide has everything you need to hit up Orlando’s top tourist spots - there’s even a cool chart that maps out everything for you.

We like it, and we’re pretty darn sure you will, too. Here’s that chart we were talking about:

Patricia Shultz’s 1,000 Places to See Before You Die has captured the wanderlust of many a traveler. The Travel Channel took note of the book’s popularity and developed a television show based on Shultz’s worldly advice. 1,000 Places premiers tonight at 9 pm on the Travel Channel. To satisfy the modern viewer’s appetite for reality television, the on-screen version follows two newlyweds from Colorado on a 14-week round-the-world journey to 13 countries and 100 of Shultz’s suggested destinations. First stop? Alaska.

Whilst perusing Europe Travel News today, I learned about Go Pedal, a London-based service that delivers rental bicycles to hotels. If you want to get around town on your own steam, this relatively new service means you don’t have to go hunting for a bike shop once you arrive. The company also comes and gets the bike(s) when you’re done. Prices start at 32 quid/day for one bike, but go down if you rent for several days or rent multiple bikes. For example, renting two bikes for two days would run you a total of 44 quid. Seems it pays to bike with a buddy.

California’s Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite is offering special rates through June. Rates go up each month until peak season hits. In April, for example, you can score overnight accommodations for $139. In May, the rates start at $159, and by June, you’re looking at $225/night. You know what they say about the early bird.

When you’re not out exploring Yosemite’s many trails and to-die-for vistas, you’ll be ensconced in resort surroundings that are decidedly not granola crunch. We’re talking a spa, two heated pools, a fitness area, etc. Great for those I love being in the outdoors as long as it doesn’t involve dirt and sweating types.

You know all those cool travel tips in Budget Travel magazine each month? Well now there’s a entire book of ‘em. The Smart Traveler’s Passport includes 399 tips collected from the magazine’s loyal tipsters. If you ever wondered what you could do with a Ziploc bag, dental floss and trash bags during your next vacation, this would be the place to look. Practical tips for scoring low fares on airline tickets and avoiding long lines at major attractions are among the more down-to-earth nuggets of wisdom in this little book’s pages. Cost: $14.95.