The first five-star gay hotel in Latin America has opened in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, an increasingly popular destination on the worldwide gay tourist circuit.

The hotel, near the historic San Telmo neighborhood, is the second of its kind developed by Spain's Axel Corp., which opened a five-star gay hotel in Barcelona in 2003.

"Like any other business, we have economic objectives," general manager Nacho Rodriguez said. But "we're also about fighting to help the normalization and acceptance of gays in society."

The hotel's top floor is a glass-bottomed pool that draws visitors' gazes upward as they enter the breezy lobby.

The 48-room hotel is "hetero-friendly," company officials say, noting about a quarter of the Barcelona hotel guests are heterosexual and predicting a similar pattern in Buenos Aires.

RAIL TRAVEL

Amtrak ridership is up,

thanks to fuel woes

A record 25.8 million passengers took Amtrak in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, surpassing the 2004 record of 25 million, the national passenger railroad announced. Ticket revenue increased 11 percent to $1.5 billion from $1.37 billion in 2006.

The three California corridors, including the Capitol Corridor operating between Auburn and San Jose, ranked as the third busiest in the country. The Capitol Corridor carried more than than 1.4 million passengers in fiscal year 2007, a 15 percent

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increase over the same period last year.
"Highway and airway congestion, volatile fuel prices, increasing environmental awareness, and a need for transportation links between growing communities, are some of the factors that make intercity passenger rail extremely relevant," Amtrak President Alex Kummant said.

UNITED STATES

Planet Hollywood

opening in Vegas

In Las Vegas, the former Aladdin Hotel has been transformed into a Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

The resort will have its grand opening Nov. 16-17. It includes 2,600 movie-themed guest rooms, new and a new lounge. Details: (877) 333-9474, www.planethollywoodresort.com.

Shorts

• Aer Lingus has launched non-stop flights between San Francisco and Dublin. Demand is being fueled by the Bay Area's large Irish community, as well as Ireland's high-tech links to Silicon Valley. The flights depart at 2:15 p.m. Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, arriving the next day at 8:15 a.m.