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Booze, Golf and a Colonial Square: It’s not how your group meets and parties in North Florida…. It’s where you do it that counts

Bob Hope is honored with his own room at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, FL

Bob Hope is honored with his own room at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, FL


With real estate, it’s location, location, location.
With travel destinations, it’s experience, experience, experience, especially ones not likely duplicated in your hometown. On a recent press trip to North Florida, I expected to see sand, sun and surf. What I got instead were experiences in unique venues that amped the good-times value meter.
 Shanks for the Memories, Bob Hope
I don’t golf. I’ve had a few lessons, have wiggled my hips in my cute golf skirt trying to place my feet properly, and in my college days, flirted famously with the young pro so I could get a better physical education grade. And though I do know the stellar reputations or tidbits of salacious gossip about celebrity golfers, the game has never held my attention. So why was I standing in the Shanks for the Memories room of the World Golf Hall of Fame (WGHOF) in St. Augustine, riveted in place by a flood of memories?
Surrounding me were images of Bob Hope, a man whose movies I have watched repeatedly throughout my life and who I thought heroic Read more

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – October 2014

Historic. Arty. Modern. It's the H15 Boutique Hotel in Warsaw, Poland

Historic. Arty. Modern. It’s the H15 Boutique Hotel in Warsaw, Poland

IN THIS ISSUE: Richard Petty Driving Experience races you to the finish line.

The London Symphony Orchestra rings in Christmas Holidays with music, dancing and dance.

Hot Deals If I had unlimited funds, I’d travel, travel, travel. At each location, I’d take cooking classes, shop farmer markets (the ones with more than produce), drink lots of locally-produced wines, and luxuriate in all the sensational hotels I see advertised. I get that urge to check out hotels every time I browse the DesignHotels.Com site. The photos of these hotels are meant to entice and intrigue. They’re categorized by country, but also by their individual niche appeal. Is it perfect for a romantic getaway or is the attraction the historical heritage of its architecture and décor? Is the hotel serene or colourfully vibrant? Is it perched atop a mountain or lazily kissing the endless sea? In all cases, it seems that what initially perks my interest are the enticements of incentives. Take for instance, the H15 Boutique in Warsaw, Poland. The 19th century building, originally constructed as a private residence, is located in central Warsaw. Descriptions of the 46-room hotel include that it once hosted secret meetings for Polish independence prior to WWI, was home to a Soviet embassy, and once held the headquarters for the Nazi party. Of course, that’s before the completion of its down-to-the-studs five year renovation that now marries its past through art works with its contemporary image. Best of all, book Read more