News: Mount St. Helens reopens to climbers

Smith has said that the territory needs the resort, including an 18-hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus, to compete with other Caribbean destinations for high-end tourists. His administration, however, insists it can be built in an environmentally sensitive way.

"There must be a balance between the environment and development," spokeswoman Sandra Ward said.

The resort would transform what is still a largely uninhabited spit of land. Developers hope to build 200 hotel rooms, rental villas and the golf course on more than 650 acres by 2009.

Paris opens annual beach on the Seine
Parisians adjusted to Tahiti time on Thursday for the opening of the Paris Beaches -- a city-sponsored initiative that turns Seine's riverbanks into a tropical getaway.

With the landlocked capital gripped by a heat wave, tourists and vacation-less Parisians flocked to the artificial beaches throughout the day. They relaxed on deck chairs and received free shiatsu massages, courtesy of the project's sponsors.

Now in its fifth year, the monthlong event expands this summer to include a new beach on the Left Bank. The half-mile stretch of white sand offsets surrounding architecture: the futuristic Simone de Beauvoir bridge and ultra-modern Francois Mitterand Library.

"It's fun because it's in the middle of the city," said Sarah, a 20-year-old Australian student. "We came to the city and it just happens that it's on. It's lively."

Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe inaugurated the first Paris Plages in in 2002. Skeptics called it silly and contrary to the Paris aesthetic, but visitors embraced it.

Last year, 3.8 million people came, and the idea has inspired other European capitals, including Berlin, Rome, Amsterdam and Budapest, to open similar sand-in-the-city installations. Other towns around France, too, have followed the capital's lead.

Another new attraction in Paris this year is a new sports complex floating on the Left Bank that houses a lap pool with a retractable roof.

The complex, named after jazz era icon Josephine Baker, is the 21st-century version of another floating Paris pool, which sank into the Seine in 1993 after more than two centuries of service.

U.S., Canada: Marriott goes smokeless
Hotel operator Marriott International Inc. said Wednesday that all of its hotels in the United States and Canada will be smoke-free starting in September.

The move follows an industry trend, said analyst William Crow of Raymond James & Associates. The Westin Hotel chain made its rooms smoke-free in February, followed in March by Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif. Other hotels have been steadily reducing their inventory of smoking rooms in recent years.

"It's probably a precursor of what's to come," said Crow. "Given where we are as a country, the no-smoking laws that have been put in place, we'll probably see other chains jump on board."

Marriott said its move is the largest in the industry, with more than 2,300 hotels and corporate apartments and nearly 400,000 guest rooms under the Marriott, JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Courtyard, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites, Fairfield Inn, TownePlace Suites and Marriott ExecuStay brands involved.

The policy means that smoking will not be allowed in any guest rooms, restaurants, lounges, meeting rooms, public space or employee work areas. The company said that currently, more than 90 percent of Marriott guest rooms are already nonsmoking, and smoking is prohibited in many public spaces due to local laws.

When Westin announced its decision to become smoke free, it said an average of 92 percent of its customers had been requesting nonsmoking rooms. The changeover cost the chain about $200 a room, mostly in costs associated with deep cleaning and treating hard surfaces, walls and carpets to eliminate allergens; replacing air filters, and cleaning air conditioning units.

Crow noted that smoke-free hotels recover such costs through reduced maintenance expenses and that eliminating the nonsmoking option makes it easier to track the inventory of rooms.

MORE FROM SUMMER TRAVEL

Summer Travel Section Front

Museum Day showcases culture at no cost Travel’s inconvenient convenience Get your motor running Top 10 national park lodges FirstPerson: Readers share their summer fun Getting through the dog days of summer Summer fun on the slopes Rock out at the world’s coolest music festivals Discover the granddaddy of scenic road trips World's sexiest beaches Summer Travel Section Front   Add Summer Travel headlines to your news reader: