Travel Briefs | Columbia Gorge Hotel closed

Columbia Gorge Hotel closed

Oregon's landmark Columbia Gorge Hotel has closed because of financial problems. The hotel was built in 1921 as the "Waldorf of the West" and housed the likes of Rudolph Valentino, Shirley Temple, Calvin Coolidge and Franklin Roosevelt. Owners Boyd and Halla Graves closed the hotel near Hood River last weekend. They said they face health problems and more than $4 million in mortgage debt, while financing has run out and two sales have fallen through.

Seattle's new cruise terminal opening

Seattle's new cruise passenger terminal — the Smith Cove Cruise Terminal — will open April 24 at Pier 91 near Magnolia to serve cruise ships bound for Alaska. While docked, the ships can run off power from the shore, lessening pollution from their diesel engines.

Holland America, Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean International will be based at the new terminal. Seattle's other terminal, the Bell Street Cruise Terminal at Pier 66 on the downtown waterfront, serves Celebrity Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line.

Universal Studios Hollywood to reopen sets

Universal Studios Hollywood says that most of the movie sets destroyed last June when a fire ripped through part of its back lot will reopen this summer. Production will resume in midsummer on the rebuilt New York streetscape — featured in "Spider-Man 2" and "Transformers" — plus Courthouse Square and Brownstone Street. Roofers using a blowtorch accidentally started the fire June 1. The blaze also destroyed the King Kong attraction and a video vault.

Hawaii tourism tumbles

Hawaii's tourism industry took a big hit in 2008, with a double-digit decline in the number of visitors. A 16.5 percent decrease in December arrivals capped a year that saw 6.8 million tourists, a 10.8 percent drop from 2007, the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism said. Tourism is the state's biggest industry, and it was the first time since 2004 that Hawaii welcomed fewer than 7 million tourists.

Good places to kiss worldwide

Lonely Planet's "Best in Travel 2009" guidebook offers a list of 10 top places to steal a kiss.

Some places on the list are renowned for romance or a sexy vibe, such as New York, Rio de Janeiro and Paris.

Others earned a place for a specific kiss-related reason, such as Hershey, Pa., home of Hershey's Kisses chocolate candy; Blarney Castle in Ireland, where visitors kiss the Blarney stone to be rewarded with the gift of gab; Venice, where lovers might kiss on a gondola passing beneath the Bridge of Sighs; and Casablanca, Morocco, the setting for the famed movie "Casablanca," in which Ingrid Bergman implored Humphrey Bogart to kiss her "as if it were the last time."

Delta, Northwest mileage plans start merging

Delta Air Lines and its Northwest Airlines subsidiary are ready to walk your frequent-flier miles down the aisle. The companies, which officially merged Oct. 29, said members of Delta's SkyMiles loyalty program and Northwest's WorldPerks now can link their frequent-flier mile accounts. If members link their accounts before March 15, they'll receive 500 bonus miles in their SkyMiles account. Delta's program will ultimately be the merger's survivor.

Seattle Times staff and news services