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The Magic of Mukul

By Matt Domino February 19, 2013

For people in most parts of the United States, the month of February truly represents the dog days of winter. The winter holidays are far behind and the mild spring weather just can’t seem to come soon enough.. If you haven’t had the chance to escape the ice and wind or are scratching your head about a spring break, this warm and relaxing spot may be just the ticket.

Mukul is a brand new hotel and spa located in Guacalito de las Isla, Nicaragua. The resort opened at the beginning of February and is in many ways the crown jewel of the burgeoning real estate boom in Nicaragua. Mukul is the vision of Don Carlos Pellas, a developer whose family has deep historical ties with the Central American country. Mukul’s mixture of luxury and sustainability are going to be, as Pellas says, “a game changer for Nicaragua.”

In order to do justice to Mr. Pellas’ hard work and planning, the Manual put together a slideshow of some of Mukul’s highlights, which should be convincing enough for you to get clicking and start day dreaming.

Topics

Golf

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Matt Domino is a writer living in Brooklyn. His fiction has appeared in Slice and The Montreal Review, while his non-fiction…

Travel

American Airlines, United Airlines, and more: Study says these are the most unreliable airlines for holiday travel

Study says these are the most unreliable airlines for holiday travel

Airplane flying at sunset

Airlines, despite being essential components of modern travel, are often criticized for their perceived unreliability. Delays, cancellations, overbooking, and lost baggage are a few of the most common issues when it comes to air travel. Unfortunately, these problems only tend to increase during the holiday season.

With all of the uncertainty surrounding air travel during the holidays, many people wonder which airlines are better than others when it comes to reliability. Compare the Market recently conducted a study comparing major airlines to determine which companies are the least reliable. United, JetBlue, and American Airlines are among the few of the least reliable airlines to travel with.
American Airlines
American Airlines has been ranked as the least reliable airline in the United States, with 2,183 yearly flight problems recorded, 157 cases of oversold tickets, and 1,476 issues with refunds. American is the largest airline in the world when measured by scheduled passengers, completing nearly 6,800 flights per day to 350 different destinations.
United Airlines
Headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois, United Airlines, Inc. comes in as the second-least reliable airline in the country. United Airlines topped the list for lost and delayed baggage, with 763 cases of lost, delayed, or damaged bags over a 12-month period. The airline reported 1,538 total flight problems, including 470 cases of misinformation on fares and 22 cases of discrimination.
Spirit Airlines
Next on the list is Spirit Airlines, which is North America’s largest ultra-low-cost carrier. This airline is known for last-minute cancellations and overbooked flights, causing dozens of disruptions every day. Spirit had a total of 1,102 flight problems recorded over the year.
JetBlue Airways
JetBlue Airlines is another low-cost airline that operates around 1,000 flights every day. The airline comes in as the fourth-least reliable airline, with 1,167 total flight problems recorded within a year. Despite these troubles, JetBlue recently announced several new flight paths from the United States to Europe, which will begin service in 2024.
Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines ranks as the fifth-least reliable airline in the United States, with 1,097 recorded flight problems. Frontier is an ultra-low-budget airline, so many customers understand the risk they are taking when booking with the airline.

Travel

Flight attendant shares genius travel tips and a key hotel hack on TikTok

Finally, a good place to store your toothbrush

Interior of a hotel room with a bed, bathtub, and sink in one room.

Who better to give the best hotel travel tips than a flight attendant? They basically live in hotels when they’re on the job, so it makes complete sense that they would know exactly how to maximize a person’s hotel experience. Globe-trotting flight attendants are a unique resource for travelers to look to for tips. Since she spends so much time in them, one flight attendant has taken to TikTok to share her top hacks for a seamless trip.
Esther Sturrus, who works for Dutch airline KLM, has more than a few tips to keep travelers safe, clean, and refreshed on their next journey. One such video — with more than 34.8 thousand likes to date — garnered lots of support thanks to a genius safety hack and a simple trick to try with a paper cup.

Flight attendant shares top hotel tips on TikTok
In Oct. 2022, Sturrus’ first hotel tip video garnered nearly 39 million views. She walked viewers through the first things she does when arriving in hotel rooms during trips across the globe. Immediately upon entering the room, she goes through a number of steps, including putting on the do not disturb sign, locking the door, closing the curtains, and adjusting the air conditioning before showering and getting comfortable. Then, before getting some shut-eye, she checks for bedbugs.
The comment section of her video is filled with praise for the usefulness and value of her tips for travelers — especially those traveling solo. Below, we’re taking a closer look at the newest set of tips she shared:

Travel

There’s a hidden benefit to Alaska Airlines buying Hawaiian Airlines, and you’ll love it

Frequent flyers will definitely benefit

Hawaiian airlines plane flying at sunset

Earlier this week, Alaska Airlines announced its intention to acquire Hawaiian Airlines in a deal valued at $1.9 billion. This acquisition is poised to fortify Alaska Airlines’ presence in Hawaii and expand Hawaiian Airlines’ reach beyond its primary markets in inter-island and the West Coast.

This deal has the potential to change air travel as we know it and can be even more useful for frequent flyers. While the individual brand identities would be maintained, both airlines would operate under a shared air operator’s certificate (AOC), and their loyalty programs would be integrated.
Oneworld alliance airlines to include Hawaiian
As a part of the merger, Hawaiian Airlines would join the Oneworld alliance, which Alaska Airlines has been a part of since 2021. With this combined loyalty program, customers will now be able to travel and redeem miles on over 25 global partner airlines. Before, members of HawaiianMiles could only redeem rewards from the airline’s flights to, from, and within Hawaii.