“We couldn’t believe it when we pulled up. Where was the hotel in the photos?” Travelor27 wrote in a review titled “Website Photos VERY Misleading” and posted last month on TripAdvisor.com.

All travelers have been there at one point or another, because it’s hard not to fall in love with the gorgeous marketing photos that hotels use to entice guests. Who can resist swaying palm trees, pristine beaches and luxury decor?

But buyer beware: That resort advertising itself as an oasis of peace may turn out to be next to a noisy construction site.

Welcome to the art of the hotel photo fakeout, where careful framing, zooming and cropping can turn a property into paradise — or at least a place where you’d definitely consider booking a room.

Here are some other common tactics hotels use to entice you with pictures:

Taking a photo from a certain angle

This is often done so that you won’t see a building looming over the pool or the beach.

Getting dressed up for picture day

Accessories can make an ordinary hotel room look extra cozy or opulent, so you might see lots of special touches in a photo that won’t materialize when you get there.

Sexy lady phenomenon

Resort marketing materials will often show an attractive woman surveying an invitingly empty pool.

“The reality is, the pool will be covered with screaming kids or there’s a raucous pool party going on, but what they want you to think is that it’s completely empty except for this one woman who is always very sexy,” Garfinkel said. “Marketers for hotels absolutely love this.” ” (via .cnn.com ) by A. Pawlowski, CNN

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read the rest of  ’The sexy lady’ and other hotel photo tricks

Picture of  Kristin Cavallari  from imnotobsessed.com

Ventura is asking a federal judge in Minnesota to issue an injunction ordering officials to stop subjecting him to “warrantless and suspicionless” scans and body searches.

The lawsuit, which also names Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and TSA Administrator John Pistole as defendants, argues the searches are “unwarranted and unreasonable intrusions on Governor Ventura’s personal privacy and dignity and are a justifiable cause for him to be concerned for his personal health and well-being.”

The lawsuit said the pat-down “exposed him to humiliation and degradation through unwanted touching, gripping and rubbing of the intimate areas of his body.” ” (via msnbc.msn.com ) by AMY FORLITI

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read the rest of Jesse Ventura sues TSA in pat-down smackdown

“You bought a cheap ticket,” the agent said. Turns out I had a T fare, which doesn’t qualify for an upgrade. For that I would have had to buy a more expensive M, B, or Y economy fare, she said. The agent was willing to rebook me at the cheapest price for an upgradable ticket: $2,393. On top of that I would have had to use 50,000 SkyMiles (worth $1,000 based on the commonly accepted value of 2 cents per mile), for a cash equivalent of $3,393. Here’s the kicker: I could have bought a business-class ticket on that same flight for only $2,800—$600 less than the upgrade would cost.

Frustrated as I was with Delta, this situation could have happened with any airline, as fare codes have become increasingly difficult to decipher. So what are the restrictions? It depends on the carrier: American, Continental, and US Airways have little to no restrictions on economy fares; Delta and United have more rules. ” (via travelandleisure.com ) by Mark Orwoll

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read the rest of  The Truth About Frequent-Flier Upgrades

So how do you find the balance?..

In my experience, despite eating slightly worse on vacation than I do at home, weight gain is pretty easy (even fun) to avoid… In fact, the more extended my break, the more likely I am to actually lose weight during my vacation… And it doesn’t require any sacrifices in relaxation or enjoyment.

Here are my tricks for staying thin while traveling.

1. Relax

You can’t expect to eat like a saint during your entire vacation, and I would argue that you shouldn’t even try. But don’t sweat it; if you follow the rest of the advice below, there should be plenty of room for fun and indulgence in your travels.

2. Eat before heading to the airport.

Airport food is horrid, and the food on flight is even worse. Even if you’re rushing around packing before your trip, budget time for a healthy meal as close to takeoff as possible. If your flight is less than six hours long, you can probably get through it without eating (or finishing) whatever the airline is serving. Also consider packing nuts or fruit in your carry-on luggage for an in-flight snack. But don’t forget to eat it before getting off the plane if you’re heading somewhere with agricultural restrictions.

3. Bring sturdy shoes and shorts.

When you’re active your body can be very forgiving with an occasional dessert or heavier meal. To encourage yourself to get moving on your trip, bring a pair of older running shoes. Though these will allow you to use the hotel gym if necessary, they’re even more useful for longer hikes and walks where you can explore the local scenery. Your shoes might get destroyed in the process, so you probably don’t want to bring your newest pair.

4. Do stuff.

Chilling on the beach is awesome, but don’t spend all your time lounging around. Vacation settings tend to be filled with fun activities that can be surprisingly effective at burning calories. For instance, I wouldn’t have expected an hour on a jet ski to be particularly strenuous (and it was crazy fun), but the next day I had aches in muscles that felt like they hadn’t been used in years. Have some fun and earn yourself some extra calories in the evening. Hikes, sports, and even sunset strolls are likely to be more activity than you’d be getting in front of the TV at home.

5. Take advantage of traditional, local specialties.

The big, sugary waffles and French toast can be tempting, but you can get stuff like that anywhere. Traditional foods tend to have long local histories and therefore have fewer processed ingredients than usual indulgent foods. Explore the regional culture and look for foods that emphasize fresh, local ingredients. ” (via .huffingtonpost.com ) by Darya Pino, Ph.D

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read more about 9 Tips To Avoid Weight Gain While Vacationing

“Many airlines are awakening and seeing that people want healthy food choices,” says Platkin, an assistant professor at CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College in New York who has assessed airline food’s nutritional value in five annual surveys as editor of DietDetective.com.

In his latest this year, he ranks United Airlines No. 1 for healthy food, followed by JetBlue Airways and American Airlines.

For this year’s survey, Platkin contacted eight U.S. airlines, analyzed their menus for coach passengers on domestic flights and gave each airline a health score on a one- to five-star scale — with one star representing the lowest score and five stars the highest. The score was based on variety of food served, number of healthy offerings, number of fruit and vegetable offerings, an airline’s cooperation in providing nutritional information and nutritional improvement of food offerings since last year’s survey.

He also thinks highly of United’s Lite snack box, which has only 430 calories and includes lemon-pepper tuna, pita chips, unsweetened apple sauce and a chocolate pretzel.

For flights longer than three hours, a turkey sandwich with sundried-tomato aioli and potato chips contains 600 calories and is a wise nutritional choice, Platkin says.

The nutritional expert awarded JetBlue 3¼ stars.

US Airways received the lowest score — 1¾ stars. The airline offers “poor overall food choices” and not much variety, Platkin says. US Airways’ breakfast box — which includes cinnamon French toast, fruit salad, smoked turkey breast and other items — is very high in calories (705) and “offers little in terms of nutrition,” he says.

US Airways Vice President James Olson says the airline offers “a mix of tasty and healthy choices,” including fruit, cheese and yogurt.

Platkin says it’s important for airlines to provide nutritional information, because it shows how much they care about their passengers and public health. And some airlines are better than others at making it available.

Healthy airline food may seem like a contradiction, but it is possible to eat nutritiously at 35,000 feet, says self-described diet detective Charles Stuart Platkin. ” (via usatoday.com ) by Gary Stoller

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read the rest of Nutritionist combs airlines’ menus for best food choices

Luna is suing American Airlines for $15 million, saying that her delicious airline chicken dinner contained a lizard, which she bit into, and then became sick and dizzy. The airline denies that—American’s lawyer told the New York Post “there may have been some feathers, or what looked like feathers… but there was no lizard.”

So what happens when you find yourself locked in a legal battle with an airline for putting a lizard in your dinner? (After eight years, the trial is finally underway in Manhattan federal court.)

For one thing, you get to sit through a deposition with the airline’s lawyer—a very small portion of which we’ve included below—in which you are absolutely grilled over issues such as:

• The exact size of the bit-size chicken pieces in your chicken dinner, and what, if any, flavorings were included on those chicken pieces.
• The exact size of the green beans in your chicken dinner.
• The reasons behind your allergy to pepper.” (via  gawker.com) by Hamilton Nolan

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read all of What Happens When You Sue an Airline For Putting a Lizard in Your Food?

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Tammy Banovac, clad in undergarments and sitting in a wheelchair, failed to pass the Transportation Security Administration screening process Tuesday when security officers detected traces of nitrates on her wheelchair.

Airport spokeswoman Karen Carney said the issue was resolved this morning and Banovac, 52, caught her flight out of the city at 7 a.m. after going through screening without incident.

Banovac did show up at the airport this morning in her wheelchair wearing her bra and panties again, Carney said. But Banovac had a change of clothes that she put on after being screened, Carney said.

She boarded her flight to Phoenix without incident. Carney said Banovac also had a dog with her, who left on the same flight.

Tuesday night Banovac said she chose to wear her underwear because of an unpleasant experience two weeks ago at airport security.” (via  newsok.com) by ROBERT MEDLEY and MICHAEL KIMBAL

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read the rest of In bra, panties and wheelchair, woman goes thru TSA screening

Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie had to experience the new stricter TSA security rules yesterday at Los Angeles International Airport as she headed to board a flight to New York.

The 35-year-old star had to de-layer and go through the new full body scanners just like everybody else.

The singer was spotted putting her bags through the hand-luggage scanner before taking off her many layers of scarves and other accessories so she could step into the scanner.

The star was subjected to the same security checks as everybody else

If the passenger chooses to skip the scanner, which you are entitled to do, they are subject to an invasive full body pat down.” (via dailymail.co.uk ) by DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to see photos and read more about - Even celebrities have to go through airport security. Fergie gets the TSA treatment at LAX (Black Eyes Peas singer)

Drain a glass of water before your flight takes off. Dry air in an airplane cabin generally aggravates cold symptoms. Fight this problem by drinking a lot of non-caffeinated and non-alcoholic beverages while on board, too. Yes, staying hydrated on a flight can be inconvenient. But when you’re congested, changes in cabin pressure can spark intense pain in your sinuses, and the resulting discomfort can last for days afterward. You won’t regret the hassle of drinking up.

-Don’t overeat. Sorry to break the bad news, but there’s no scientific support to grandma’s saying, “Feed a cold and starve a fever.”

-Don’t assume your local pharmacy knows what Tylenol is. Pack an emergency stash of medicine for your trip. If you have to seek help at a local pharmacy, try to do some Internet research about the names of medicines in advance. Tip: In Europe, the generic pain reliever acetaminophen goes by the name of paracetamol.” (via  current.newsweek.com) by Sean O’Neill

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read the rest of  How to fight a cold on the fly

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