The trouble with supporting charities is feeling so far away from whomever or whatever it is you are helping. When it's a huge corporation, you're wondering where exactly your charitable donation is going, and when it's a small organization, your afraid the group hasn't got the clout to get the job done. Then there are the droll parties with champagne and special appearances of celebs who aren't really sure what they're doing there in the first place. These qualms refreshingly had no place last night in downtown Manhattan as The Setai Club New York & SHO Shaun Hergatt Restaurant partnered with the little juggernaut called Care Through Action.

Sure, you could pay to stay and play, but why limit yourself to just one aquatic experience?

1. Delano - Getting past security may be harder than scoring a table at Casa Tua on a Saturday night, but it's well worth it. If waving to a pretend friend on the other side of the velvet rope fails, head to the bar; chances are, spenders will be welcomed. Plan your wardrobe around lounging; no one comes here for dipping.
2. The Shore Club - More modern than tropical, getting into this pool is fairly simple. No special trickery required. Put away your camera; shooting celebrities will get you kicked out.
3. The Setai - Access to this sought-after pool is doable from the outdoor restaurant by the boardwalk. Favorite among the Parisians and hip-hop moguls, Setai is "ze bomb."

Steve Haffner, the man behind the curtain at Kayak.com, reveals his jet-setting ways, mid-meeting bar games, and the destinations you should add to your globetrotting roster.

Where can we find you outside the office? I travel a lot, and I love the restaurant scene. La Esquina in New York is a great Mexican restaurant in the basement of a nondescript building. I like Rick Bayliss' place in Chicago, the Frontera Grill. I love the bar scene at the Sanderson Hotel in London. It's a good mix of Europeans, Russians, and the occasional expat.



Who do you admire in your industry? There are those larger than life types: David Neelman, who started jetBlue -- he's a serial airline launcher who has made money every time. He just launched Azul in Brazil last week, and he's amazing. Another is Jeff Boyd of Priceline, who has been there for eight or nine years. He took a nice little company and made it outperform everybody in the industry. Now it's worth $3.5 billion.



Jose Ignacio, sleepy Uruguay village turned under-the-radar destination, is the next sun-kissed tropical mecca. Filled with models, bankers, hot Europeans, Argentine beauties, and celebs on the run from the paparazzi, Jose Ignacio has all the trappings of the destination de jour. Despite the ban on discotheques and the strictly enforced 2 a.m. curfews, the beach town buzzes with relaxed socialites sunning late in the afternoons and dancing in Chivas Regal be-tented beachfront soirees. Guests liken Jose to the Hamptons in the 1960s: small, exclusive, and away from the large crowds in nearby Punta del Este. Go now, because when the new Setai resort opens in 2010, the secret will be out, the mobs will surge in, and you'll get no coolness points for visiting before the rush.

The Wealth Bulletin compiled a top ten list for the priciest suites in the world, Luxist chimed in, and here are the final tallies:

10. Brook Penthouse, Claridges, London: $10,000 per night.
9. The Imperial Suite, Park Hyatt-Vendome, Paris: $15,500 per night.
8. The Royal Suite, Four Seasons George V, Paris: $16,000 per night.
7. The Ritz-Carlton Suite, The Ritz-Carlton, Moscow: $16,500 per night.
6. Royal Armleder Suite, Le Richemond, Geneva: $17,500 per night.

Mr and Mrs Smith, the boutique hotel connoisseurs, are launching their latest luxe review in time for the holiday gifting season. Bound in gloss and oozing sex appeal, this coffee-table-cum-designer-hotel-porn is the perfect stocking stuffer for the traveler in your life. The 360-page tome covers 30 destination hotels detailed in the Smith style, wherein a couple is sent anonymously to a Smith-approved hotel to write a cheeky he-said-she-said review of the joint. The Global Shortlist is the sixth book in the series, joining Smith 52: The Game Plan, European Cities, European Coast and Country, and UK/Ireland Volumes I and II.

Economy shmoshonomy. People like to travel, and they like to do it in style. A bit of luxury in the face of the marginalized American dollar is still essential, as far as we can surmise from the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards. These savvy consumers voted on 11 categories, including best hotel, airline, and city to visit. They also revealed the top 100 best of everything, according to the Gridskipper. The highest hotel honors went to Six Senses Hideaway in Samui, Thailand, and The Chedi in Muscat, Oman. New Zealand, the Maldives, and India were chosen as the best destinations=. If your budget keeps you stateside, New York City gets a shout-out as a favored destination at number 16, as does the The Bellagio in Las Vegas, New York’s Carlyle, and The Setai in Miami.

All the pretty people ...

1. Mynt Ultra Lounge - The body beautiful principle rules. Designer labels, too. Suck in your stomach.
2. Skybar - Lofty ‘tude brings in JT and Jay-Z. Outdoors: couches and bars for bold names. Inside: famous Red Room for tweaked-out celeb spotting.
3. The Delano - Trendy beyond measure, billowy curtains and models. Candlelit tables and ... that pool. Secluded bungalows we want to invade.