The success of Boardwalk Empire has also inspired new visitors, and casinos and restaurants are capitalizing on this by offering special dining and lodging promotions.

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There is literally everything here: steep cliff chutes, bowls, glades, cruisers, bumps, you name it, Snowmass has it, plus tons of on-mountain dining and lodging options.

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About two and a half hours west of New York City and three hours north of Philadelphia, in tiny Hawley, PA, Woodloch does merit the moniker "destination": With the exception of local-area activities such as kayaking, tennis and golf (the lauded Woodloch Springs Country Club course is directly across the road), all its amenities are offered on-site, with fitness center, spa facility, indoor pool, dining and lodging under one roof.

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The most expensive international city for business travel -- based on the average cost for dining, entertainment and lodging -- was Tokyo, followed by Copenhagen, Perth, Sydney then Stockholm.

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But both places have a tourism based economy, need tourists, and I am describing the post-Katrina revival solely as it applies to visitors, who may be stunned by the current breadth of the lodging, dining and activity offerings.

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Lodging is keeping pace with dining, and there are also more hotels than there were before the storm, while classics like the Ritz Carlton and Roosevelt (now a Waldorf Astoria) have undergone massive facelifts.

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