OLD HOT SPOTS STILL SIZZLE.

HOW POPULAR RESORTS STAY POPULAR?

As more and more cities and resorts clamor for the almighty gay travel dollar, many gays and lesbians find that there is nothing like tradition. But tradition is not the only draw. The most popular gay resorts continue to update themselves to keep fresh. Here's a rundown of what's cool across the nation:

1. Fire Island, N.Y. The cancellation of the Gay Men's Health Crisis-sponsored Morning Party after years of controversy over drug use associated with the event hasn't hurt the popularity of Fire Island Pines. High tea at the Pavilion, the Pines' main daily social gathering, was packed to midsummer levels well before Memorial Day this year, and local real estate broker Bob Howard says, "Rentals are way, way up from last year, and the sales market is as active as at any time in the last ten years. The Morning Party is a story about one week in the summer."

And that one week will still feature a party, although at night and on a slightly smaller scale than the GMHC event. Plans for the Pines '99 party, scheduled for August 21, call for cocktails, gambling, food, and dancing, with net proceeds going to the Stonewall Community Foundation and the refurbishment of the Pines harbor. Organizers are trying to make the party less of a circuit event by limiting the number of tickets and ticket sale outlets.

The boom has also reached nearby Cherry Grove, which is having an exceptional year in terms of gay and lesbian tourism. Evelyn Danko, a real estate broker there, says the Memorial Day weekend was particularly busy. "I don't think anybody has done as well in years," she says. "The boats were just shuttling them over all day."

Women continue to build their strength in the Grove. While they make up just 10% of homeowners, they account for 25% of new buyers, Danko says. Renovations at the fabled Ice Palace disco have also been drawing day-trippers from Long Island, New York City, and beyond.

2. PALM SPRINGS, CALIF. While Palm Springs continues to sprawl farther and farther across the desert, its gay population has become more concentrated in the past few years. While gay life was once scattered over several parts of the desert town, "there's a Palm Springs Castro now," says John Williams, president of the Desert Gay Tourism Guild. "It's on Arenas Road. There are four gay bars, a gay restaurant, a gay theater, a gay clothing store, a gay barber, and a gay card shop."

As in nearly every other resort area, business is booming in Palm Springs, with occupancy "up 10%-15% over last year," says Williams, an owner of the resort INNdulge Palm Springs. He credits the city government with making gay-specific marketing a major part of its overall tourism promotion efforts.

Palm Springs, long home to what is said to be the world's largest annual gathering of lesbians--the Dinah Shore golf tournament--has begun developing a year-round lesbian following as well, says Denise Goolsby, owner of the Bee Charmer Inn. "We have two women's resorts here now," she says, adding that a few bars and restaurants, such as Hunters, Streetbar, and Shame on the Moon, are catering to a lesbian clientele. "We're coming out of the woodwork finally."

3. PROVINCETOWN, MASS. The rhythms of a Provincetown summer change little from year to year: tea at the Boatslip, after-tea at the Pied Piper, dancing at Vixen (for women) or the Gifford House and Atlantic House (for men), and late-night gatherings outside Spiritus Pizza. And that's part of the town's charm, says Gary Reinhardt, president of the Provincetown Business Guild.

"We have people who come at the same time every year," Reinhardt says. "They know people when they come. They have the same bartender and the same waiter they had last year. They feel like they're part of the community."

Still, nothing stays the same forever. One well-known business, the Crown & Anchor hotel, is still rebuilding after a fire in February 1998; and the Post Office cabaret has reopened after a fire this year. Meanwhile, the season continues to extend later into the year, with the fall being especially popular with women, Reinhardt says. And there's a new high-speed boat that makes the trip from Boston in an hour and 50 minutes, a little more than half as long as the trip by the older ferry.

But people who haven't been to Provincetown for several years will still recognize it, Reinhardt says, adding, "New shops are always coming into town, but it's the same fun place."

4. REHOBOTH BEACH, DEL. Once an island of precarious tolerance in a sea of rural homophobia, Rehoboth Beach these days has become an island of acceptance in a sea of outlet malls, says Steve Elkins, executive director of CAMP Rehoboth, a community service group. "There's been so much growth out on the highway this year. People are going to be shocked when they come in here," he says.

The economic boom and the improving social climate--"even Dewey Beach is getting a bit gay," Elkins says, referring to the town next to Rehoboth that was traditionally favored by rowdy fraternity boys--have brought the social scene to an all-time peak. Businesses are trying to horn in on the happy-hour time slot that was traditionally dominated by parties in private homes; there will be tea dances this summer at several Rehoboth restaurants, including Yum Yum and Purple Parrot (mixed crowds) and the Beach House (for women). But the houses are fighting back, scheduling events for this summer with themes ranging from "Squirt Gun Party 4" to "Saving Ryan's Privates."

Women have helped drive the town's growth, Elkins says, "not only coming to the beach but buying houses and staking out a real life here. Even the new leather bar that opened last year is getting some women in there."

Rehoboth is making an effort to extend its season past the usual Labor Day close. The town held its first independent film festival, which featured several gay-themed movies, in November 1998, taking up the entire multiplex at the Rehoboth Mall in the process, and plans to repeat it this year on November 12-13.

5. RUSSIAN RIVER, CALIF. By the standards of gay resorts, the Russian River area north of San Francisco has always had an unusually broad array of attractions, from beach-going and canoeing to tours of the nearby Sonoma County wineries. But until recently it lacked the circuit-party lifestyle of Fire Island or South Beach.

Now a new generation of vacationers has revived the area, particularly its nightlife, which went through a quiet period in the early '90s when the crowds thinned considerably because of AIDS-related deaths among the area's original visitors and after a series of devastating floods, say Bart Broome, a regular weekend vacationer since 1991, and Gregg Seiler, a part-time resident of ten years. "It's really buzzing this year," says Seiler, owner of local nightspot Club Fab, in reference to the increasing number of "specialty weekends" for people ranging from women and "bears" to drag queens and leathermen. The Russian River Resort has a comedy night every Saturday that brings in comedians from San Francisco and beyond.

And, yes, there is a circuit party, called Sundance, and it's so popular, Seiler says, that "the town was completely sold out for this August event in April."

6. SAUGATUCK, MICH. Passions have cooled in Saugatuck, Mich., where the 1995 defeat of a gay rights ordinance provoked calls for a boycott and, in turn, a backlash from the locals, says Frank Rojek, a florist who led the fight for the ordinance.

"The climate has changed," he says. "It's gay as can be. Gay pride flags fly freely in the street. More and more gay people walk hand in hand."

This year will see port calls by the first luxury cruise ships to ply Lake Michigan in 50 years as well as extensive renovations at the area's major gay hostelry, the Douglas Dunes Resort, which is under new ownership and will lose the word Douglas from its name. But the new owner, Mike Jones, says he hopes to appeal to the sort of diverse clientele that the twin towns of Saugatuck and Douglas have traditionally attracted.

"Our market is [ages] 21 to 65," Jones says. "I'd like to think that we can make a 45-year-old happy and that a 30-year-old circuit boy could come in for the weekend and be happy as well."

7. SOUTH FLORIDA Although Miami Beach remains a major stop on the party circuit--with the annual White and Winter parties to be joined this year by Miami Millennium, a New Year's Eve event--many visitors say it seems less and less of a gay area these days. "Heterosexualization ... does accurately, and sadly, describe what is going on in South Beach," says Matt Kalkhoff, a former resident of five years who says the change was particularly apparent when he returned for a visit in May.

Greg Watts, president of the South Beach Business Guild, agrees that the nature of the area has changed. "Absolutely," he says. "You're getting more of a mix, but so far, thank God, everybody seems to be mixing in pretty well. Only time will tell if it gets less attractive to gay tourists [as a result of] being mixed."

Meanwhile, the town is seeking to broaden its year-round appeal with events like its first gay and lesbian film festival, scheduled for July 21-25. "The guest houses are filled practically all year except perhaps September through the end of October," Watts says, adding that "everything still tends to fall between Thanksgiving and March."

Nearby Fort Lauderdale is malting a push to attract those gay and lesbian tourists who might be put off by South Beach's party reputation. "We're not necessarily that shaved-body, bulked-body scene," says Richard Gray, owner of the Royal Palms Resort in Fort Lauderdale. "I think we tend to be maybe more mature, more professional." Another attraction for some, he adds, is the variety of gay clubs, including the city's five leather bars.

Key West, another traditional gay destination, has also been transformed in recent years: A telling sign was the reopening of the La-te-da, a well-known gay resort in the 1980s that tourism officials now describe as a mixed hotel. But the town's resident gay community remains strong, with its first gay and lesbian community center having opened last March.

Flippen is a planning analyst and former editor at The New York Times.