Hotel lobbies are rolling out the welcome mat

(Amanda Voisard / For the Washington Post)

  • Hotel lobbies are rolling out the welcome mat

    Hotel lobbies are rolling out the welcome mat

    Wine, WiFi and other amenities lure guests and locals into refreshed public spaces.

    Becky Krystal

    http://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_296w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2014/02/15/Others/Images/2014-02-14/DSC_41601392425588.jpg 296 197
  • Accident in your room? The hotel may let you off the hook.

    Accident in your room? The hotel may let you off the hook.

    Managers weigh several factors when deciding who foots the repair bill.

    Andrea Sachs

    http://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_296w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2014/02/20/Travel/Graphics/Hotel Mishaps Main.jpg 296 263
  • Service, the ultimate indulgence

    Service, the ultimate indulgence

    Amenities still matter, but high-end hotels such as Georgetown’s Capella focus on personalized attention.

    Andrea Sachs

    http://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_296w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2014/02/16/Travel/Images/CapellaWashington111392511510.jpg 296 180

Travel Features

The word ‘hostel’ doesn’t mean what it used to anymore

Forget the image of grungy youth hostels full of backpackers. Today’s hostels are a whole different animal.

Now showing: Upgraded in-room entertainment

Forget pay-per-view. Hotels are making it easier to stream your content onto some really nice TVs.

Tasting Scotch in the middle of Nowhere, Wyoming

An inn in an old Wyoming mining town offers twice-monthly Scotch tastings for those in the know, or not.

Chart: Warm weather destinations

Which destination best suits your style?

Tasting a bevy of chocolate elixirs in Santa Fe, N.M.

This chocolate emporium in Santa Fe specializes in historically based hot chocolate drinks to tickle the palate.

Sign Language: Funny signs from the road

Readers send in humorous signs from their travels around the world.

Letters to the Travel editor

Readers respond to some of our recent stories.

For expedited passport service, head to 600 19th St. NW

New location is more efficient and welcoming; no more pileups at security.

Arthur Frommer talks about old and new beginnings

The veteran globe-trotting publisher discusses his career, from his Army years to the latest Frommer’s.

Where a drug lord once cavorted, children now play

Burnishing Colombia’s image, the estate of drug lord Pablo Escobar is now a family-oriented theme park.

The myriad charms of German Village in Columbus, Ohio

A former working-class German enclave in Columbus, Ohio, is now a charming and upscale neighborhood.

Reindeer games in Alaska

Interacting with Santa’s Christmas Eve helpers on a reindeer farm in Palmer, Alaska.

The many delights of Vermont’s Stratton Mountain

This spiffy resort with well-groomed trails has something for just about every type of skier.

Hangin’ at a former Band hangout in Woodstock, N.Y.

A low-key, restful weekend at a house once frequented by notable musicians.

Right on queue: Real-time security estimates at Dulles

A video system tells you how long you can expect to wait in line at the airport’s TSA checkpoints.

Travel Deals

This week’s best travel bargains

Save on skiiing in Colorado, airfare to eastern Canada and India, a Switzerland vacation and more.

What a Trip

Taking the kids to his home in Nepal

Binod, Monica, A.J. - January 7, 2014, Elephant Back Ride Safari, Chitwan, Nepal. Picture was taken by Elephant Driver.

A father takes his son and daughter to Nepal to see the country where he was born.

Enter What a Trip

Bed Check

KILMARNOCK, VA -- The Taylor and Tyler rooms at the Kilmarnock Inn are two pet-friendly rooms in one of several cottages situated around the courtyard.

In Virginia’s Northern Neck, the Kilmarnock Inn’s presidential aspirations

BED CHECK | The Virginia bed-and-breakfast mixes history and recreation in a charming setting.

HANDOUT IMAGE: An exterior of the Nolitan Hotel in New York, NY in this undated handout image. (Courtesy of The Nolitan Hotel) **HANDOUT IMAGE, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO TRADE, NO SALE**

Embracing the boutique in Manhattan’s Nolitan Hotel

This boutique hotel in a hipster neighborhood offers nine floors of contemporary comfort.

CAPE MAY, NJ - NOVEMBER 24: The exterior of Leith Hall, a bed-and-breakfast in Cape May, NJ, that also happens to be just half a block from the beach, seen here on November 24, 2013. (Photo by Becky Krystal / The Washington Post)

Time stands still in the 1880s at Leith Hall

The Cape May bed-and-breakfast is as much a museum as a place to rest your head for the night.

STEPHENS CITY, VA - OCTOBER 11: The Inn at Vaucluse Spring is a A15-room Shenandoah Valley property which features six buildings tossed about like wind. In the middle of the property, the eponymous spring runs past the old mill. (Photo by Andrea Barber/The Washington Post)

Good things spring forth at this Virginia inn

A night at the Shenandoah Valley’s Inn at Vaucluse Spring.

BUTLER, PA - OCTOBER 15: Beautifully kept greens grace either side of the driveway of the Conley Resort in Butler, PA seen here on October 15, 2013. (Photo by Bonnie S. Benwick / The Washington Post)

Go for the golf, or resort to the simpler pleasures

At the Conley Resort in western Pennsylvania, there’s midrange golf and a top-notch vibe.

The Navigator

E-checks are handy, but are they safe?

Christopher Elliott

Travel companies are urging people to pay by e-check. But it’s tough to get your money back if you do.

Travel galleries

Hotel lobbies are getting makeovers

Properties hope amenities and new designs will entice people to hang out.

Presidents slept here, and you can, too

These hotels, inns and B&Bs have commander-in-chief connections.

A tour of Colorado’s blossoming pot industry

“Colorado will be a tourist stop for everyone in the United States,” said the owner of a pot store, “until it comes to their state.”

Baotou, China, yields surprising pleasures

It’s not a usual destination, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth going.

Ankara, Turkey’s ‘second city’

Turkey’s second-largest city has been the republic’s capital since 1923, when the nation was founded.

More in Travel

Travel Guide 2013

Practical advice for the inspired globetrotter.