ILLUMINATED CROSSWALK STRIPS IN DOWNTOWN MEDELLIN
Crosswalk edges light up neon green to
tell pedestrians it is time to cross safely.
Most of these are in La Candelaria
Medellin Colombia — the congested and chaotic centro.
Alternately, the edge of crosswalks in
the urban core light up neon bright red — to signal pedestrians that it is not
safe to cross.
The red-green “walk” system helps
combat the ambient noise confusion created by motorcycles, cars and booming
music.
BUT MIAMI DOES NEXT TO NOTHING TO STOP IT
SUPER HIGH VALUE FOR WELL APPOINTED ROOM
IN AN OUTSTANDING AND QUIET LOCATION
Pension Mono’s Location is three minutes’ walk from heart of the old town Cesky Krumlov.
It is just far enough away to be super quiet at night.
My mattress was super comfy and the climate controls worked well.
The value is amazing.
I was in peak June season and my room was less than 100 USD fully loaded (as in taxes, fees, cleaning, etc.)
Just about the only negative is no elevator -- so this would not work as lodging for person who uses a wheelchair or cannot do steps.
The pension does not have on site breakfast.
Staff directs you to a cute deli a few minutes away – where you get a bit of a discount.
I would highly recommend this property.
SUPER HIGH VALUE FOR WELL APPOINTED ROOM
IN AN OUTSTANDING AND QUIET LOCATION
It featured a super nice bathroom with very warm water in the shower.
The staff person was there to meet me right on time and brought up extra flat sheet that I requested.
The property is super close to the smaller bus station in Cesky Krumlov – which is much closer to the old town and all the sights you want to see.
It's a five minute walk to Pension Mono from the Spicak Bus Station.
I took a direct bus from Prague and was there in less than 3 hours.
SUPER HIGH VALUE FOR WELL APPOINTED ROOM
IN AN OUTSTANDING AND QUIET LOCATION
Cesky Krumlov is well worth a two-day visit.
Pension Mono is the ideal place to overnight in the Medieval city.
It all starts with an attentive staff that fields questions before booking.
I'm a communication guy.
I don't just book -- I want to know location, locals food recommendations, be placed in a quiet spot within the property, know the proximity to transit, etc.
The pension’s staff was superb at using the Booking.com messaging system to address all concerns long before I was in the Czech Republic.
From morning to late afternoon, Cesky Krumlov is still beautiful -- but it is choked with tour groups.
That’s why I highly recommend staying overnight.
It's a whole different, quaint town from about 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. the next morning.
FULL APARTMENT IS A TOP 10 VALUE IN THE GOLDEN CITY
Despite the
AC issue, Rezidence Ostrovni has outstanding staff – they are onsite roughly 9
a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Lenka, my
point person -- answered my questions probably a dozen times via messaging
before my arrival -- putting my nerves at ease.
It's a
beautiful historic building modernized inside with an elevator (but not
wheelchair accessible because there are steps to the lobby then elevator.
The mattress
is very firm.
There is
plenty of nice hot water.
The world famous
Reduta Jazz club and gorgeous National Theater are super close by.
FULL APARTMENT IS A TOP 10 VALUE IN THE GOLDEN CITY
Rezidence
Ostrovni would get a 10 out of 10, but the air conditioning wasn't working.
They seal
the AC at 22 celsius, it cannot go below that.
There is a
temp gauge below the AC setting.
It showed
25.7 C (nearly 80 F) the first two nights and I barely got any sleep because of
the heat and stuffiness.
The AC came
on, but only the fan – no cooling
It took a
few days for a repair person – who could not fix the problem.
Ultimately, I
was moved to a larger apartment with fully working AC.
The upgrade
was nice.
The unit with great AC was big enough to live in year round.
FULL APARTMENT IS A TOP 10 VALUE IN THE GOLDEN CITY
Rezidence
Ostrovni’s location is perfect.
It is footsteps
from Prague's outstanding trams.
The full
apartment is not far from a subway station.
There are
zillions of places to eat and shop nearby and they give you a guide to some
locals' faves.
Old Town and
most everything you'd want to see is within walking distance.
The fabulous
Vlata River – with hundreds of vantage points for great photography -- is
footsteps away.
The apartment is spacious, quiet (in a town known for late night noise and partying) and the kitchen is well equipped.
Having a
washing machine is great.
LUXURY IN THE PERFECT LOCATION FOR A FAIR PRICE
My visit included shopping at the legendary Livraria Llelo bookstore and dining at the restaurant row on Flores Street.
Footsteps
from the Carris Hotel is the small, 5-star Taberna Dos Mercadores.
I lined up a
half hour before opening two days in a row to eat phenomenal seafood rice, then
seafood feijoada the next day.
Desserts and
wines are also amazing.
I will be
seeking out Carris branded properties for all my future travels.
LUXURY IN THE PERFECT LOCATION FOR A FAIR PRICE
The staff is super well trained.
I was
treated like someone booking a presidential suite for a month, when I was just
a one-night visitor rolling into town early one day and heading to Lisbon late
the next.
Porto is
such a fabulous city.
I should
have stayed 3 nights.
Everything
is within walking distance of the hotel.
I visited
nearly a dozen classic churches, photographed azulejo adorned building facades and
at pastel da nata.
LUXURY IN THE PERFECT LOCATION FOR A FAIR PRICE
The desk staff suggested a fabulous locals restaurant, so I could eat fresh seafood while avoiding the mediocre tourist spots that dominate the popular neighborhood.
There was a
gourmet grocery very close by, so I could have a bottle of port for the room
and eat pastries on my balcony.
The room was
worth three times what I paid -- at least.
LUXURY IN THE PERFECT LOCATION FOR A FAIR PRICE
The suite had a huge comfortable bed, lavish bath plus a separate sitting room.
I could enjoy city and water views from the
small balconies.
Thick glass
closed around them to make a double layer of soundproofing.
The hotel
itself is in a series of preserved historic buildings, adapted inside with a
super modern and comfortable lobby, bar, front desk staff.
My light
luggage was stored for late afternoon departure after noon check out.
LUXURY IN THE PERFECT LOCATION FOR A FAIR PRICE
I asked for an early check-in, quiet room and small upgrade if available.
In return
for barely more than 100 euros in high season, I was upgraded to a suite with 7
balconies.
I also got benefitted
from very early check in, for a very tranquil and quiet room (despite a prime location
with a fair amount of noise at street level)
The location
is perfect -- crawling distance of Porto's Rio Douro riverfront and in the
heart of the historic Ribeira district.
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
“Milan or
New York, for example are already widening sidewalks, pedestrianizing streets
and increasing bike lanes,” Cristina Garrido said, noting that Barcelona has
converted parking lots into civic space.
“The pandemic has accelerated a change that had to be done if we wanted our cities to be sustainable in a mid/long term.
From now on, cities will be more people-centered, and they will have more public spaces allocated for people.”
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
Cristina Garrido -- Director of Innovation for CitiesToBe, an urban platform powered by Barcelona-based Smart Cities Consultant anteverti –
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
“The current
gold standard for this with small-scale development is Portland, Oregon, which
passed its residential infill program (RIP) last fall,” said Strong Towns
Senior Editor Daniel Herriges.
found that significant affordability benefits would be achieved by the policy the city ended up passing, which provides a sliding scale of allowed FAR for buildings between four and six units -- if they provide rent-reduced affordable units.”
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
Strong Towns
is a nonprofit focused on strengthening the urban core while eliminating
budget-busting sprawl development.
is that of
building density or floor area ratio (FAR) bonuses into the zoning code
specifically for affordable units,” Senior Editor Daniel Herriges said.
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
Strong Towns Senior Editor Daniel Herriges emphasizes that the 15-minute neighborhood saves cities the high cost of maintaining sprawl.
“It's important to remember that the cost premium for compact, mixed-use neighborhoods is largely a function of artificial scarcity, he said.
“Fifteen-minute
neighborhoods, and the kinds of housing that work well in them, are not
expensive to create or maintain.
They often
have high real-estate values only because they are very popular and we haven't
built enough of them in the last few decades.
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
We also regularly partner with community organizations on local hiring and public art installations,” David Lombino said.
“We take
accessibility very seriously at Two Trees -- all of our buildings are ADA
compliant and the vision behind the construction of Domino Park was to create
an inclusive, accessible open space for all.”
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
David Lombino
said Two Trees’ philosophy of diverse community building includes supporting
local businesses, artists and community groups.
“We make a
concerted effort to curate small businesses that suit neighborhood needs and
make an intentional decision to not rent to chains that can pay top dollar.
