Don't expect soy lattes or Internet access for your laptop, but your next visit to Colonial Williamsburg could include a stop in a coffeehouse.

Visitors will be able to experience an 18th-century-style coffeehouse when R. Charlton's Coffeehouse opens Friday on Duke of Gloucester Street at the historic site.

Free coffee, tea and hot chocolate inspired by 18th-century recipes will be served in demitasse cups at R. Charlton's. Costumed re-enactors will discuss with visitors how the consumption of these drinks related to Colonial society, hospitality and political issues of the day, including trade and taxes.

R. Charlton's, named for coffeehouse proprietor Richard Charlton, was a real establishment in the 1760s, frequented by politicians, gentry and others. The China tea imported from England, West Indian coffee, chocolate from the Caribbean rim and high-style cuisine placed the establishment a cut above other local taverns. Patrons gathered there for social gossip, political discussion and the latest news from England.

The coffeehouse re-creation began as an excavation by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. A Victorian home had been built on the foundation where the original coffeehouse stood, and Williamsburg's archaeological studies of the site began in 1995 after the home was purchased by Colonial Williamsburg and moved to a new location outside the historic area.

Gaming is the newest amenity offered at The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.

Purchased in May by the Justice Family Group after years of losing money, The Greenbrier recently opened The Tavern Casino in a lounge in the Virginia Wing. It offers table games such as blackjack, roulette and three-card poker, as well as 44 slots.

The Tavern Casino is a warm-up to a much larger, Monte Carlo-style casino slated to open underground at The Greenbrier in April 2010.

Hotel room prices are expected to drop a total of 8.8 percent in 2009 compared with 2008 and will continue creeping down in 2010, though at a much slower rate, according to the 2010 lodging forecast from PricewaterhouseCoopers Hospitality & Leisure Practice.

"It is expected that the steepest declines in [average daily rates] have passed, but that year-over-year ADR levels will continue to decline, resulting in a 1.8 percent decline" next year, PricewaterhouseCoopers said.

A 3.2 percent increase in the number of hotel rooms this year added to the hotel industry's problems, PricewaterhouseCoopers said, expanding supply just as consumer demand weakened and further hurting the ability of hotel operators to maintain stable pricing.

Many new hotels, including a number of luxury projects and high-end renovations like the Fontainebleau in Miami and the Roosevelt in New Orleans, have opened during the recession as projects that were planned before the downturn came to fruition.

Occupancy levels for 2009 are expected to decrease 8.4 percent over the previous year to 55.2 percent, PricewaterhouseCoopers said.

The number of hotel rooms available is expected to continue to grow next year but so will demand, leading to a slightly higher hotel occupancy rate for 2010 of 55.8 percent, the report said. That's still seven percentage points below the long-term average for the industry of 62.8 percent occupancy.

While the decreases have resulted in lowered revenue for the hotel industry, they've been a boon for consumers looking for travel bargains, as hotels have slashed rates and offered deals in order to lure guests.

If you're curious about what it's like aboard the world's largest cruise ship, check out the live, interactive coverage that CruiseCritic.com will offer from Oasis of the Seas later this month.

Three staffers from the Web site, including its editor, Carolyn Spencer Brown, will be blogging, tweeting and answering questions from the public when Oasis makes its first U.S. sailing from Port Everglades, Fla., Friday and returns next Sunday. CruiseCritic.com's online coverage will begin Thursday.

"We're covering everything we can think of, morning, noon, night, and even the middle of the night," Ms. Brown said. "We'll be tweeting and putting up photos and videos. Whether you've been on a cruise or not, this ship is really special, and we want people to get excited about it."

Five times larger than the Titanic, the $1.5 billion ship from Royal Caribbean Cruises departed Oct. 30 for the U.S. from Finland, where it was built.

With 2,700 cabins, Oasis can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew members.

Taking the art of animation back to its hand-drawn roots, an exhibit "Dreams Come True: Art of the Classic Fairy Tales From the Walt Disney Studio" is now at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

More than 600 original drawings are on display from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937), "Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty," "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast" and the latest film, "The Princess and the Frog," a tale set in 1920s New Orleans and featuring Disney's first African-American princess. The show runs through March 14 (1-504-658-4100 or www.noma.org).

Outside magazine's November issue scopes out the best ski resorts in North America, from Alaska to Vermont.

For the deepest snows, Outside lists Alta/Snowbird in Utah; Jackson Hole, Wyo.; Alyeska Resort in Alaska; and Silverton Mountain in Colorado.

For the apres-ski party scene, the magazine recommends Breckenridge in Colorado; Whistler-Blackcomb in British Columbia; Park City, Utah; and Aspen/Snowmass in Colorado.

For fresh powder without the crowds, Outside mentions Powder Mountain, Utah; Jay Peak in Vermont; Bridger Bowl in Montana; and Crested Butte in Colorado.

And on the magazine's "editor's choice/Best in Class" list were Revelstoke Mountain Resort in British Columbia, Steamboat in Colorado, Taos in New Mexico and Mammoth Mountain in California.

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