Forgive a kibitzing prof, Kensington, but it looks a little to me like you've drawn your conclusions based on what you wanted to find, or expected to find, from the beginning. You've more or less ignored a number of comments and keep coming back to the same ideas: leisure and food. Are you sure you aren't trying to describe your own ideal vacation?

Justin, I think Cassandra is right. There doesn't appear to be a logical connection between these responses and your conclusion.

I haven't seen a big response here for either relaxation or food. I have, however, seen a big response for adventure, experiences, and music.

There was a great discussion about boutique hotels and the product they provide earlier this week on the boards, if you do a search. It had me laughing my head off, but the comments were so true!

If you're looking for the ultimate hotel product, I guess phrasing the question a little differently might help.

I look for a hotel room that is big enough so I don't trip over my suitcase or husband. They've already invented a guy's most treasured hotel product in the world -- the remote control -- so I'll give you my wish list:
1. A hairdryer that has the same power as the hairdryer I own, and one that isn't permanently chained to the inside of a drawer so I have to kneel on the floor to use it (yes, this is the new thing we found in almost every European hotel this summer);

2. A choice of pillows, so us pillow carriers (see another thread on this one!) don't have to drag our pillow on vacation.

3. A decent bed table on BOTH sides of the bed. Very important, because once you hit 40 or so, everyone has to wear at least reading glasses (or myopic people like me are stuck with 2 pairs). If you wear glasses, you will understand the extreme importance of a place to put them at night close by, so when you wake up or have to use the toilet in the middle of the night, you won't step on them because you've been forced to put them on the floor. Hmm, maybe even a bed stand with a unique glasses holder on it -- if someone could come up with a great design for this . . . .

Anyone else have any thoughts?

Which pair do you wear when you surf?

Such participation in this discussion - thanks for all the help!

In response to Cassandra's posting, I apologize for making it seems like I have disregarded your message. I have everything written down in my notes and I did find your message very interesting and helpful. My parents (baby boomers themselves) listen to music in the 70's all the time, so, believe me, I have an idea of how important it is to the baby boomer generation. The reason why I didn't further consider the idea is that I thought that it would be contradicting to have a lounge playing music in the 70's where local culture and experience is emphasized. I would appreciate any suggestions on what subtle ways are there to incorporate the music element into a hotel project.

In terms of room configurations, Is the major theme comfort? Nothing small and tragically hip. Correct?

Another attempt to summarize things baby boomers seek in their travel experiences:

Adventure
Experience
Music
Nature
Culture
Food

Based on these observations, is it fair to assume that MOST (not all) baby boomers prefer rural destinations (South Africa, Bali, Maldives...) to metropolitans?

Thanks again for the help! I appreciate the feedback!

Justin,
My husband much prefers cities over rural. He loves the pulse and the magic of visual madness. I like both, usually in combination -- a few days here, a few days there.

I'd pick Provence over the others, but only because it has a mix of bigger and smaller places. I don't know about "boutique" hotels. How do you define that? Maybe an inn would be fun, if it had a decent bar below it, like the place in Four Weddings & a Funeral.

Incorporating music in a hotel project: two ways that I can think of off the top of my head (aside from a surround-sound pre-set radio speakers in a room): (1) live music in the hotel bar; or (2) if the hotel has a pool, piped in music in the pool. The latter is NOT a really wild idea. The coolest pool experience we ever had was piped music in the pool at the Tenaya Lodge outside Yosemite. You don't hear it unless you are submerged in the pool. I don't know how they did it, but it was incredible.

And Wow, think contacts. Worn them since they were first mass produced. But had to give up surfing -- gets difficult when you take out the contacts and can't see the ocean!

Kensington,I'm a baby boomer and a Cornell grad,so I've followed this thread with interest. We alternate our trips between urban and back-country experiences. We love architecture and the energy of cities,so I suggest that you don't concentrate exclusively on the non-urban traveler. I miss my daily after-class walks over Triphammer Bridge. Say hello to Big Red from a 1969 alumna.