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HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – DECEMBER 2018

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Pickering House Inn in New Hampshire is ready for winter

THESE VENUES ARE GOING FOR THE FULL REDO

You won’t want to pass this off as a place for just sports fans, even if NFL legend and Hall of Famer Terrell Owens did join Caesars Entertainment CEO and President Mark Frissora for the grand opening of The Book, an Experiential & Technologically Savvy Sports Bar & Event Venue connected to The LINQ Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. So what makes this 220-seat, 11,000 sf venue so exceptional? Maybe the 87 TVs, some as large as 98 inches. Maybe it’s Vegas’ Read more

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – NOVEMBER 2018

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Caesar’s Entertainment and Saleforce members build wheelchairs for veterans

COMMUNITY SERVICE RESPONSIBILITY IS THE GIFT THAT KEEPS GIVING

Caesars Entertainment, the world’s most geographically-diverse U.S casino-entertainment company, and Salesforce, the global leader in CRM, have given more than “Thank you for your service” appreciation to veterans in Las Vegas, NV. Forty team members of the two companies joined forces to build and donate eight wheelchairs to the veterans through Veterans Village. The build-a-wheelchair event was hosted at the High Roller, the world’s tallest observation wheel at The LINQ Promenade, adjacent to Caesars Forum, which opens in 2020. This is not Caesar’s Entertainment first give-back to Veterans program. Since 2013 when they launched the Enlisting Heroes program, more than 280 activities have been produced and more than $1 million has been donated. Salesforce created their Vetforce program, which is the internal employee resource Read more

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – OCTOBER 201

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Even the lemurs like the pumpkin giveaway at Safari Wilderness in Florida.


HOT DEALS TO WARM UP COLDER WEATHER
Book three-nights at Paradisus Cancún by October 31 and stay before December 22 to get 35% off the stay, plus added amenities for taking advantage of other promotional offers, such as booking a Royal service room and getting a $100 in MeliáRewards points that you can exchange for services at Cocos Beach Club, fine & prime cut, exclusive brand bottles.
www.melia.com

ME Cabo


Book and stay at ME by Melia Cabo by December 22 and receive $500 in US credits that can be used to pay portion of goods and services during your stay including Yhi Spa Services, room upgrade, dinners at BMI Restaurant and Read more

Part 5-EASTERN EUROPE: STRUDEL, SCHNITZEL AND STRAUSS, A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

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Looking at the UFO Restaurant across from Hotel Devin in Bratislava.


Part 4 was The Music and Muses of Vibrant Vienna
SLOVAKIA, once again!
BRATISLAVA
Yes, I have spoken about Slovakia, but only when our intrepid group of travelers paused for lunch on our way from Poland to Hungary in Part 3-EASTERN EUROPE: STRUDEL, SCHNITZEL AND STRAUSS, A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS;
Breakfast in Poland, Lunch in Slovakia and Dinner in Hungary. This time we departed Austria and headed for the Czech Republic, stopping for the night in Bratislava, the world’s only capital to share borders Read more

Part 4-EASTERN EUROPE: STRUDEL, SCHNITZEL AND STRAUSS, A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

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A stately building in Vienna.


Part 3 was Breakfast in Poland, Lunch in Slovakia and Dinner in Hungary
AUSTRIA
THE MUSIC AND MUSES OF VIBRANT VIENNA
Where we stayed:
The Hilton Vienna Plaza didn’t have the same startling views of the Danube River as our Hilton Budapest did, but it did have Alpine tap water so crystal clear that we forewent drinking bottled. Our room was quite lovely, with marble streaks of two-toned greys, a workable desk with a comfortable study desk chair and a divan instead of a lounge chair. Location Read more

Part 3-EASTERN EUROPE: STRUDEL, SCHNITZEL AND STRAUSS, A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

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Our welcoming sight to Budapest, Hungary is the House of Parliament Building


BREAKFAST IN POLAND, LUNCH IN SLOVAKIA AND DINNER IN HUNGARY
Part 2 was From Concentration Camps to Trendy Kraków
Only one road connects Poland with Hungary, and you have to drive through Slovakia to do it. The narrow, exceedingly bumpy road was under reconstruction so traffic barely crawled. It did give us time to peruse the beauty of the Tatra Mountains, popular for winter sports. What I noticed is that the Slovakian houses we passed all have sloped, peaked roofs to prevent snow from mounting.  Flower boxes hang from balconies and even with a typically brief summer season (though not true this year Read more

Part 2-EASTERN EUROPE: STRUDEL, SCHNITZEL AND STRAUSS, A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

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FROM CONCENTRATION CAMPS TO TRENDY KRAKÓW
Part 1 was The Razing and Rebuilding of Warsaw
I grew up with the horror stories of the Holocaust, from family whispers to the stacks of books I devoured. (I can’t count how many versions of The Diary of Anne Frank I have read or seen acted.) Just knowing our Odysseys Unlimited tour included a visit to Auschwitz (known in German as Oswiecim) and its nearby sub-camp, Birkenau, made me edgy. We were travelling to Kraków, but the visit to the camps were scheduled for the earlier part of the day. Could I handle seeing the reality which has heretofore only been personal stories or movies?

Trainloads of prisoners would arrive here at Birkenau


I propelled myself forward and listened attentively to the statistics of how many were killed, how many survived, and why it has been a Polish government project to preserve the camps and their wretched history. I shuddered when we passed by a gas chamber, held my breath when we entered barracks that still echoes the misery of their cramped, emaciated inhabitants, and Read more

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – JULY 2018

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Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort

WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT FOR SUMMER ROAD TRIPS ACROSS THE U.S.

WalletHub, a company that surveys and analyses how people live, travel and spend, knows that across the U.S, summer is a time for road trips. But, all road trips are not equal. According to WalletHub’s latest survey, California has the highest number of scenic byways, 66, which is 22 times higher than in Delaware, the state with the lowest at three. Wyoming has the lowest daily price for camping, $32, which is 2.1 times lower than in Connecticut, the state with the highest at $68. Arizona has the lowest price for a three-star hotel room, $64, which is 3.4 times lower than in Hawaii, the state with the highest at Read more

Part 6: GONDALIERS DON’T SING AND NO ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP? A FIRST-TIMER’S DISCOVERY OF THE REAL ITALY.

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St. Mark’s Square and colorful buildings line Venice’s Grand Canal


GONDOLIERS DON’T SING BUT VENICE STILL EVOKES ROMANCE
In Part 5 – The Classical Beauty Of Tuscany, The Elegance Of Florence And San Gimignano’s Tall Towers
VENICE
Where we stayed:
The Carnival Palace Hotel, opened in 2012, overlooks the Cannaregio Canal in the heart of historic downtown Venice. The modern 67 room hotel is not in the midst of tourist traffic, so if you want to venture to St Marks, museums and art galleries, you either have a very long walk or you can easily take a water bus from a station just a short distance away. The hotel buffet was diverse, with a vegan brioche I mistakenly took for a wheat croissant until I bit down into its soft, buttery texture. These were so amazing I ate them every morning for four days. Russ and I and several Read more

Part 5: GONDALIERS DON’T SING AND NO ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP? A FIRST-TIMER’S DISCOVERY OF THE REAL ITALY.

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View from Villa San Fillippo


THE CLASSICAL BEAUTY OF TUSCANY, THE ELEGANCE OF FLORENCE AND SAN GIMIGNANO’S TALL TOWERS
Part 4 was Medieval City Faced Chemical Warfare And Peace Makers Wage War Against Poverty In Orvieto And Assisi
SIENA, FLORENCE and SAN GIMIGNANO
Where we stayed:
Villa San Filippo is an 18th century 35-room resort in the Chianti hills, in Barberino Val D’Elsa. Russ and I stayed in a magnificent suite that opened up to a dining and kitchen area, tiled floors, and a step down to the bathroom and luxuriously appointed bedroom. A comfy chair positioned in front of a large window and balcony in the living room afforded spectacular views of the lush Tuscan landscape Read more