Archive for the 'Islands & Beaches' Category
Two California luxury hotels added to AAA’s 2010 Five Diamond Award list
November 6, 2009 2:45pm
Open less than a year, the Resort at Pelican Hill in Orange County like all hotels, has struggled against the tides of a beleaguered economy. But that doesn’t mean it can’t take a great compliment. The luxury coastal property is one of two California resorts that have danced into the exclusive ranks of AAA’s just-released Five Diamond Award list for 2010. [Corrected at 5:45 p.m. Nov. 6: An earlier version of this post said the Resort at Pelican Hill is south of Laguna Beach. It is north of Laguna Beach.]
California, with 20 five-diamond hotels, also added the opulent Grand del Mar in San Diego to its coffers.
The new Golden State additions join the company of some real longtimers, like the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, which has populated the list for 24 consecutive years, and the Peninsula Beverly Hills, with 17 consecutive years under its belt.
40% off Marriott and Renaissance leisure rates in Caribbean, Mexico & Costa Rica Resorts
November 2, 2009 10:55am
If you are a hotel chain snob, you’re going to want to put aside your inclinations and have a second look at this amazing deal. Marriott and Renaissance are offering 12 of their properties in the Caribbean, Mexico and Costa Rica at 40% off during high season this winter. So what? This hotel offer includes the JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa (pictured) a winner of the AAA Five Diamond Hotel Award for 2009. If you go to the Paradise by Marriott website, you can’t miss the sale. It has a great name that I wish other hotel and resort providers would adopt—”Life begins at 40%.”
Deal: Use promo code LLF to get 40% off leisure rates starting at:
JW Marriott Cancun Resort and Spa - $209 (usually starts at $349 without the deal)
CasaMagna Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa - $149 (usually starts at $249 without the deal)
CasaMagna Marriott Cancun Resort - $131 (usually starts at $219 without the deal)
Participating properties: St. Kitts Marriott, Frenchman’s Reef Marriott, Grand Cayman Marriott, Aruba Renaissance, Aruba Marriott, Curacao Marriott, Curacao Renaissance, San Juan Marriott, JW Marriott Cancun, Casa Magna Cancun Marriott, Puerto Vallarta Casa Magna Marriott and Los Suenos Marriott.
San Francisco is top U.S. city to visit, says Condé Nast survey
October 18, 2009 7:10am
What’s your favorite city in the U.S. to visit? If you picked San Francisco, you’d be in line with Condé Nast Traveler readers who voted the City by the Bay as the No. 1 U.S. city in the publication’s 2009 Readers’ Choice Awards.
Cities were rated on these criteria: atmosphere and ambiance; culture and sites; friendliness; lodging; restaurants; and shopping. San Francisco fared especially well in — you guessed it — restaurants. But the city boasts many lures, and they are apparently consistent. This is the 17th consecutive year that it has won this category in the annual survey.
Following San Francisco in the top U.S. cities category were Charleston, S.C.; Santa Fe, N.M.; New York; and Chicago, in that order. Ubud, Indonesia, ranked as the best city to visit in Asia, and Sydney, Australia, earned the top slot of all cities internationally. Read the rest of this entry »
Mexico: Top-rated luxury resort in Riviera Maya offers half off and other perks
October 16, 2009 12:03pm
The consensus on Banyan Tree Mayakoba, a new-ish luxury resort on the southeast shore of Mexico’s Riviera Maya? Phenomenal, if you’re basing it on on TripAdvisor.com reviews.
The resort, which opened officially on the luxury development Mayakoba in March 2009, ranks No. 1 of 179 hotels in Playa del Carmen (Mayakoba is about six miles north of Playa del Carmen). Review descriptions include such comments as “best of the best” and “heaven on earth.”
Yes, this piece of luxury on the Caribbean coast is the kind that you pay a pretty penny for, but a stay here may have just become a little more accessible for some, with a current promotion meant to lure visitors before the holiday rush.
Deal: With the online-only special, book a three-night-minimum stay this fall and receive 50% off of the best available rate on the lowest price-level room, the “garden pool villa.” The starting rack rate on these rooms is $655 per night, pre-tax, so half off that means you pay $328 per night. The special also includes a complimentary daily breakfast buffet at the onsite Oriente restaurant for two people, and one 60-minute massage (plus 30 minutes of spa “relaxation time”) for one person. Read the rest of this entry »
Oahu, Hawaii: Flight and hotel packages from $399
October 14, 2009 5:58am
When planning a short hop over to Hawaii, it’s never a bad idea to peruse any specials Pleasant Holidays may be offering. The popular travel agency regularly has well-priced flight-and-hotel packages available to the islands.
Deal: For certain dates this fall and winter, those departing from Los Angeles (LAX) or San Francisco (SFO) can get round-trip airfare on United Airlines and three nights accommodation (based on double occupancy) in Honolulu for as little as $399 per person, excluding most taxes and fees.
Past offers of this kind have featured budget hotels like Castle Maile Sky Court — where rates are currently as low as $64 per night, pre-tax — on its lowest price tier.
But this special is all about Starwood hotels, and the cheapest hotel in the packages that I’m seeing currently (though this is subject to change) is at the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, more moderately priced in comparison, where fall rates start at around $119 per night. Read the rest of this entry »
Caribbean Columbus Day Sale - Save up to 70% off visits to destinations discovered by Christopher Columbus
October 12, 2009 10:55am
Columbus Day is the kind of holiday that sneaks up on you. When you wake up your biggest questions might be, do I get the day off; are the banks open and will the mail get delivered? CheapCaribbean gives us good cause to ask another question—what insanely gorgeous Caribbean islands did Christopher Columbus discover? Because right now, stays at them are on sale for two more days. You can even learn something about Christopher Columbus’ voyages because they categorize their sale by destinations in his first through fourth voyages.
Deal: CheapCaribbean’s Columbus Day Sale has packages up to 70% off and starting at $279 per person for five nights including flights + hotel, pre-tax, in the Bahamas. The sale lets you choose from these destinations: Bahamas, Puerto Plata, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Santo Domingo Dominican Republic, Antigua, St. Kitts, Puerto Rico, St. Martin/Maarten, Punta Cana Dominican Republic, La Romana, Dominican Republic, Aruba, Curacao, Costa Rica and Belize, Jamaica and Cayman Islands.
Tested: I tested a four-night deal to Puerto Rico and staying at the Wyndham Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa, a Wyndham Grand Resort. The promotion had a starting price of $379 per person, pre-tax. Departing from Los Angeles (LAX) the price came to $651 per person (on United) or $1,533 total after taxes.
U.S. Virgin Islands celebrates new United States quarter with 25-cent hotel rooms
October 12, 2009 5:56am
If you thought the $19 “Survivor” offer from San Diego’s Rancho Bernardo Inn during summer was cheap, here’s a new travel deal that will really surely raise an eyebrow. Not $10. Not $5. Not even as low as $1 per night. Believe it or not, nine properties in the U.S. Virgin Islands are offering rooms for only 25 cents per night.
The special price is to celebrate their new quarter. For the first time, there will be a United States quarter for the U.S. Virgin Islands (pictured below). And no, you don’t have to get yourself all the way out there just to spend one night for 25 cents. You can count on this special rate for three days. This is a great opportunity to spend some time on the beaches of St. Croix, St. John or St. Thomas.
Deal: To get the “2009 CENTsational Sale,” book a three-night, air + hotel package and get three nights at only 25 cents per night, pre-tax. The deal also entitles you to the following “25″ themed offers:
> $25 per person dining credit
> $25 per person activities credit
> Virgin Islands commemorative quarter Scotiabank coin set
Flu shots, including H1N1, arriving soon at or near LAX
September 28, 2009 5:32pm
With summer now officially over, flu season is right around the corner. Again, as has been the case in recent years, airports are among the places where people are rolling up their sleeves for their shots.
Due to concerns about the potential severity of the coming flu season, some airport clinics started offering the inoculations around Labor Day, USA Today reported.
Because of delays in the production of the regular flu vaccine, Reliant Immediate Care Medical Group, at the LAX Airport Clinic, does not yet have its vaccines in stock, according to Gene Howell, the group’s executive director. But it will soon.
Howell said he expects his supplies to be in later this week. As was the case last year, travelers interested in the vaccine can take a courtesy shuttle from any LAX terminal to the clinic, located near the airport on Sepulveda Boulevard at West 96th Street. The first aid office (number below) can arrange a pickup. The clinic also offers free on-site parking.
And stay tuned, because an effort is being made to provide shots at the airport itself this season. Read the rest of this entry »
Kauai’s St. Regis Princeville hotel to reopen after $100-million makeover
September 27, 2009 6:01am
The St. Regis Princeville is set to reopen Thursday, Oct. 1, after a $100-million redo designed to give it more Hawaiian flavor.
The 201-room, 51-suite Kauai hotel has added a spa that features taro-suffused treatments and added such touches as koa wood trim, raffia and coconut palm hardwood floors. And the pool area (pictured above) also has been redone.
Then there’s the view, which wasn’t redone but is priceless. The hotel looks out on Mt. Makana, which starred as Bali Hai in the 1958 film version of “South Pacific.” The human star of the movie, Mitzi Gaynor, will return to help celebrate the grand reopening of the hotel, which has been closed for more than a year.
Four-day Baja Mexico cruise in 2010 for $154
September 25, 2009 5:56am
You could easily spend more money staying at home than hopping aboard one of Carnival’s four-night Baja cruises. These short, round-trip excursions from Long Beach stop at Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico — just a fun, quick and inexpensive dose of the cruising life.
Deal: On the Carnival Paradise, the trip is available to advance bookers for incredible prices, for certain dates in 2010. Book way ahead for the lowest price I’m seeing, which is for the sailing leaving Monday evening, Nov. 29, 2010 (and returning on Friday morning, Dec. 3). An interior stateroom is available for $154 per person (before taxes and fees; based on double occupancy). After taxes and fees, for two people, that’s a total of $393 — or less than $50 total, per person, per day.
Rest assured, you can still get a good deal not quite as far off. For sailings Jan. 18 and Feb. 1, 2010, pre-tax rates start at under $180 per person. Read the rest of this entry »
