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HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – MAY, 2015

Relax in the new Serenity by the sea Spa atThe Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa in South Walton, FL

Relax in the new Serenity by the sea Spa atThe Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa in South Walton, FL

In this issue: Hot deals across the globe; Two cities party through the summer

HOT DEALS

Seventy-two percent of American business travelers extend their executive trips with a leisure component, which is why the AAA Four Diamond Shores Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach, FL has created “Benefits of Bleisure*” for meeting travelers during select dates, beginning April 27 through September 10. The Shores Resort took the survey responses conducted by BridgeStreet Global Hospitality to heart, which also indicates that six out of 10 are more likely to take bleisure trips today than they did five years ago. With the Shores Resort program, rates will start at $109 and extend over weekend days for leisure stays. Bleisure benefits will include ocean view rooms, a $5.00 rebate per paid and consumed guest room, complimentary parking, waived resort fee, three upgrades to the property’s all-new Cabana Suites, one upgrade to a Presidential Suite, as well as complimentary use of the Ocean Terrace or Atlantic Room for meal functions.  The Bleisure Benefits are available for new groups with a minimum of 50 room nights. Contracts must be received by May 31. The beachside resort has more than 20,000 sf of indoor and outdoor function space, 212 guestrooms and suites offering water views of the Atlantic Ocean or Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway. It recently completed a property-wide renovation.

sales@shoresresort.com; www.ShoresResort.com; (386) 322-7262

Book three nights at Elbow Beach Bermuda and receive the fourth night free. Stay required by September 5. Use promotion code QUEST when booking.

www.elbowbeachbermuda.com; (800) 223-7435

Summer hasn’t officially landed in North America and already there are fall promotions for fall, Read more

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – March 2015

The elegance of Das Stue in Berlin, Germany, one of DesignHotels.com properties

The elegance of Das Stue in Berlin, Germany, one of DesignHotels.com properties

In Orlando, we’ve skipped Spring and jumped straight into 88-degrees of Summer. In Boston, their renowned St. Patrick’s Day Parade had to be cancelled due to impending snow atop already record-breaking blankets of white that have created mountains where once concrete ruled the pavement. No matter where you are and no matter what your weather, escape can be a car, train, boat or plane ride away.
HOT DEALS
DesignHotels.com is one of my favorite websites to ponder when I’m dreaming the dream of exotic travel. Now, instead of having to scroll through each country’s options, Design Hotels has compiled their latest 279 handpicked exotic hotels locations among 178 worldwide destinations into one 500+ page guide that you can peruse at leisure, earmarking the must-dos for your next getaway. There are glorious photographs and behind-the-scenes stories of the Original hoteliers who created them. Pre-order this edition of The Design Hotels™ Book 2015 by March 31, 2015 and you become eligible to win a two-night stay at one of five great Design Hotels™ properties in Stockholm, Berlin, London, Hong Kong, or Read more

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – DECEMBER 2014

My idea of luxury camping. Loimugi House at Serara Camp, Kenya.

My idea of luxury camping. Loimugi House at Serara Camp, Kenya.


In this issue: Hot Deals Will Warm Up Your Winter Chill
Team Building Activities in Montréal Can Run Hot & Cold
HOT DEALS
When you want to save up to £2,000 per day * and are willing to travel to the UK to do it, who are you going to call? Brocket Hall, a 5-star standard Regency stately home that can be your group’s exclusively if you book any time before the end of January 2015 and fulfill the commitment anytime between January and April. The savings include an array of amenities that may make this an offer too good to refuse. Check this out. Traditional English Butler service, complimentary WiFi, meeting capacity for 150 (theater style). The luxurious property boasts 46 en-suite rooms and there are two championship standard golf courses and Palmerston Golf Academy set amongst 543 acres of private land, located just 22 miles Read more

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – LATE FEBRUARY, 2014

From feathers to full period handcrafted clothing, these are Just some of Natasha, The Psychic Lady's finds at the Bay Area Renaissance Festival in Tampa.

From feathers to full period handcrafted clothing, these are Just some of Natasha, The Psychic Lady’s finds at the Bay Area Renaissance Festival in Tampa.


When I was very young, taking a vacation nearly always involved a road trip. With my Dad in the Air Force and subject to frequent transfers, we found ourselves packed tightly into our car of the moment, traversing the country from one base to another. It wasn’t much different when we took a vacation. In the years before my brother arrived on the scene, my sister and I would either share the back seat with piles of boxes and luggage that rose like a wobbly tower from the floorboard, or we’d find ourselves nestled snugly in the back of the station wagon, sitting on blankets and playing board games to pass the time… at least when I wasn’t suffering from motion sickness and forced to just meditate to sleep. (And yes, I know kids sitting sans seat belts are no longer a viable option.) Vacations weren’t luxury resort destinations. They were sightseeing glimpses of the state or country we were in or near at that time. Each journey created indelible images of ethnic cuisine (which my Mom would later strive to duplicate), unusual architecture, or the cultural stamp of the local populace.
Even now, when I travel for work or pleasure, those memorable Read more

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – (late) MAY, 2013

WORLDLY ADVENTURES

luxury tented suites at Mahali Mzuri, which opens in August

luxury tented suites at Mahali Mzuri, which opens in August


You’ll need more than driving gloves, a good sense of direction, or a love for speed to compete in the annual off-road race held in the Kenyan bush or the world’s most challenging wheelbarrow race, held at Hell’s Gate National Park, Naivasha. The 25-year-old Rhino Charge, an off-road motorsport competition sponsored by The Rhino Ark Charitable Trust, has been raising money for conversation of Kenya’s Aberdare Ecosystem since 1989. The event is June 1.  http://www.rhinocharge.co.ke/ The wheelbarrow race, June 7-8, raises funds for a new Kenya Wildlife Service Education Center. http://www.kws.org/info/events/2013/Details/26mayhellgate2013.html
If you haven’t visited Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows, CA in the past couple of years for top-notch winter sports, this may be the year to make it a planned vacation. The resort area is investing nearly $8 million in improvements this winter and next. The investment totals more than $46 million in year three of the resorts’ five-year, $70 million renaissance. Money is being poured into new snow cats for smoother, carve-able slopes, a new Wanderlust yoga studio, Spruce, a new home furnishings store, and comprehensive room renovations at The Village at Squaw Valley, as well as new on-mountain and valley signage for increased way-finding and accessibility. In the past two years, the base village was renovated with restaurants, bars and firepits. Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows Read more