Lodging

Welcome to the Chimes Bed and Breakfast

If you’re looking for a place to get away from it all, even being a tourist, the Chimes Bed & Breakfast is for you. This little jewel of a B&B is tucked away just three blocks from St. Charles Avenue in the Garden District, a neighborhood seemingly worlds away from the crowded French Quarter and Canal Street. Even if you’re a business traveler, just have a seat with your laptop and a cool beverage in the courtyard, and see how your work experience shifts from “ugh” to “ahhhhh.”

Of course, if you want even more of the New Orleans experience, all you have to do is walk three blocks to Magazine Street, where you’ll find a wealth of cafés, restaurants (La Petite Grocery is a must-stop) and antique stores. Or, walk to the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line, and take a leisurely ride to the hustle and bustle of downtown.

A lush courtyard waits outside your door

All five guest rooms have private entrances that face a lush courtyard and range from cozy to a two-story loft in a carriage house. Rates range from $99 to $160 (except during certain special events, such as Mardi Gras), and include taxes, Wi-Fi, off-street parking and a lavish breakfast.

With such a sweet escape, you might just consider staying when the time comes to go home.

Chimes Bed & Breakfast 504-899-2621
1146 Constantinople St., New Orleans, LA 70115

Photos courtesy of Chimes Bed & Breakfast

More New Orleans-related information:
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Epic Hotel Miami Pool Deck at Night

Most of the attention lavished on Miami hotels goes to those situated on South Beach or the revamped waterfront openings such as Gansevoort South or Fontainebleau. For those who are in town for financial district business or to soak up the city scene, however, the stylish new Epic Hotel might be a better option.

Epic opened at the very end of 2008, just as the recession was really kicking in bigtime, but it has managed to thrive through a great location and the loyal fans of its parent chain, the Kimpton Hotels group. This is a stylish, brash hotel that takes the best of what its chain is known for and adds on Latin flair and great views.

From various vantage points guests can make out several less interesting neighboring hotels that are a block or two away—a Hyatt, an Intercontinental, and a Courtyard Marriott—plus a few high-rise condo buildings. While those seem to be all business, however, this is definitely a hotel that mixes business with a big scoop of pleasure. The 16th-floor outdoor space is a beguiling deck with two heated swimming pools, outdoor dining area as part of the Area 31 restaurant, and a bar, but it transitions to a glamorous club feel at night. Seductive pool lighting, private cabanas, and twinkling building lights all around create a memorable cityscape panorama.

Junior Suite living room at Epic Miami

While Epic is not perched on the Atlantic, it does have access to the water via 900 feet of docking space right off the lobby. So groups and couples can book a chartered boat for the perfect evening on the ocean or the Intercoastal Waterway.

You can hear elevator music that’s actually interesting on the way to your room, which is outfitted in contemporary Kimpton style with lots of great amenities. All 411 rooms have separate tubs, shower stalls and toilets (with a door), iPod docks, robes, and their own computer. Plus the pet-friendly hotel will bring a pet goldfish to your room upon request. Suites have larger flat TVs that swivel to the sofa or the bed and the club level rooms get access to a concierge and five meal/snack settings plus cocktails in the lounge.

The 24-hour gym here has great new equipment and a personal trainer on staff. A new Exhale spa will open in January, adding space for aerobics and yoga on top of the treatment and relaxation rooms.

This sleek hotel is fashionable without losing a sense of humor and the friendly multi-lingual staff does its best to make sure guests from around the world are having fun. You won’t be as close to Miami Beach nightlife as in many of the more famous waterfront Miami hotels, but there’s a good chance your view will be better and you’ll have more beauty all around you.

If you’re a fan of Kimpton’s suave hotels, you can follow them on Twitter @Kimpton.

Review and photos by Tim Leffel, who was hosted as a guest at Epic for one night by Kimpton Hotels.

The Middlebury Inn at Night

This December, the Middlebury Inn, a historic inn with modern comforts, is offering a few great lodging promotions.  Located in Middlebury, Vermont, halfway between Burlington and Rutland, and within walking distance to Middlebury College, the Middlebury Inn is a great location for an early winter getaway.

The Vermont Holiday Season package is valid from November 28th – December 24th. With rates starting at $299, this promotion includes two nights lodging any evenings from November 28th to December 24th, daily breakfast, afternoon tea, taxes on rooms and meals, gratuity for breakfast, a $10.00 coupon for the Morgan’s Tavern at the Middlebury Inn, and an 8 foot (or smaller, your choice) Balsam Christmas tree from Werner’s Christmas Tree Farm (choose a pre-cut tree, or cut your own). Your chosen tree will be baled and fastened to your car for your return home.

In addition, the Middlebury Inn is also offering bed and breakfast packages for either one, two, or three nights.  This promotion includes breakfast in the Morgan Tavern restaurant, afternoon tea and snacks, passes to the Vermont Sun Fitness Center (a few minutes away from the Inn), room tax, and breakfast gratuity.

The Middlebury Inn offers a business center, high-speed internet access, a 24-hour front desk, a spa, and an on-site restaurant.  The Annex section of the Inn is pet-friendly.

The Middlebury Inn
14 Court Square
Middlebury, Vermont 05753
800-842-4666

Photo credit: The Middlebury Inn

The edible, 1,200 pound sugar castle at the Westin St. Francis on San Francisco's Union Square.

You can count on the Westin St. Francis to boost your level of holiday cheer.

The location, in the shopping epicenter of San Francisco — Union Square — places you directly across from the massive Christmas tree that towers over the everything, and sparkles with thousands of lights.

For the past four years, the hotel’s pastry chef and his team have concocted a completely edible 12-foot sugar castle that can be viewed in the hotel’s lobby.

This is not your mother’s gingerbread house. The castle, created in the French chateau style, weighs in at more that 1,200 pounds and requires some 60 pounds of flour with icing mad of 300 pounds of sugar and egg whites. It takes 400 hours of work. I wonder whose job it is to crack all of those eggs…

The famous lobby of the St. Francis.

You can drop in to see it when you’re out shopping, visiting Santa, ice skating on Union Square, or just taking in the lights and holiday window displays. But better yet, avail yourself of some of the St. Francis’ holiday promos:

• Holiday Savings Package — one night rates start at $149; two nights at $111; three nights at $104
• Ice Skating on Union Square — enjoy reduced rates of up to 30% plus admission for two with skate rentals to the Union Square ice skating rink
• Macy’s Shopping Package — reduced rates plus a $100 Macy’s gift card

Photos courtesy of the Westin St. Francis

The Equinox at Night

Are you visiting the Manchester, Vermont area early this December?  The 2009 10th Annual Holiday Open House Tour is taking place in Manchester, Vermont on Saturday, December 5 and 12, from 1 – 5 p.m.  It’s a great chance to really experience the local flavor, help others, and see a variety of hotels and inns.

Visitors will have the opportunity to tour local inns, and participate in activities and tastings.  Tickets for the event are $15 each and all proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Vermont-New Hampshire Komen Race for the Cure. Breast cancer survivors will be at most locations to greet guests and thank them for their participation.

The Holiday Open House Tour includes the following stops:

Dorset Inn: Gingerbread and Christmas cookie decorating to take home and apple cider

Equinox Hotel: Fine chocolate and wine pairings

Inn at Manchester: Piano music (sing along) with baked goodies galore

Silas Griffith Inn: Home-made pierogi with coffee, tea and beverages

Silver Service Inn: Hot appetizers with punch

Three Mountain Inn: Holiday cookies and treats, hot cider, holiday music and coupons from Jamaica shops and galleries

Wiley Inn: Live take-home design Christmas arrangement and centerpiece, wine, cheese, music

Inn at Ormsby Hill: Award-winning Vermont Cheese Tasting (and purchase) with Consider Bardwell Farm, Maple Brook Farm, Taylor Farm and Woodcock Farm. Signed copies of The Vermont Cheese Book by Ellen Ecker Ogden.

Participants will also receive a pink bag with shopping coupons from the following shops: Christmas Days, Equinox Valley Nursery, Green Door Day Spa, Indulgence, Leaves of Gold, Manchester Designer Outlets, Mountain Goat, Mother Myrick’s, Northeastern Fine Jewelry, Northshire Bookstore, Orvis, Southern Vermont Art Center, Susan Sargent, The Lighting Place, Vermont Bird Place & Sky Watch and Vermont Kitchen Supply.

Tickets can be purchased at any participating property. For more information, call Chris Sprague at 802-362-1163 or Frank Haynes at 802-362-1793.

Photo credit: The Equinox

You and I want to go skiing in the Swiss Alps, we buy tickets. Filmmaker Roman Polanski wants to do it, he has to pay $4.5 million to the Swiss govt first. That’s his bail money, and if does post bail, he’s going to end up in the Milky Way.

Chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland

Milky Way is the name of the swiss chalet in Gstaad where Polanski is to be incarcerated under house arrest, with an electronic monitoring bracelet to make sure he doesn’t make a getaway from the getaway resort.

According to the Gstaad Tourism bureau, they offer a genuine ‘Alpine lifestyle’ with 80 Alps, over 100 restaurants and 7,000 cows. The chalets are surrounded by a sweeping mountain panorama, with forests, meadows, streams and lakes aplenty.

With access to over 250 kms of ski slopes and the Bernese Oberland, Gstaad is one of the top three cross-country ski areas in Switzerland and is considered a toboggan fan’s and freerider’s paradise.

During summer, Gstaad attracts visitors with plenty of walking tracks, mountain railways and bike tours, as well as a magnificent 18-hole golf course.

If you’re planning to get yourself a holiday chalet in Gstaad, start your search here.

Photo courtesy Gstaad Saanenland Tourismus

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Mountain Vista Guest Room

How about including warm Arizona sunshine, desert golf and a little pampering in your holiday plans this year at the Omni Tucson National Resort?

Intimate luxury. That’s how General Manager, Danny Goldmann describes the Omni Tucson National Resort. “We aim for a more upscale pampering experience,” he says. Guests are announced from the welcome center as they enter the resort grounds. By the time they reach the front door, an Omni Tucson staff member waits to greet them by name.

Accommodations include a spacious Casita or Hacienda with private balcony and mountain view. The newly renovated rooms of the Mountain Vista Collection sit among winding sidewalks with pockets of outdoor seating. The spacious rooms seem more like residential housing than hotel lodging. The vaulted-ceiling bedroom offers a sitting area with flat panel TV. A five-piece bath includes separate shower and tub areas while plank tiling adds to the motif.

Close by, the resort’s no-edge pool has a classical feel. Four cabanas flank one side near a pool bar. At night, copper bowls, perched on columns, glow with flames bathing the area in romantic lighting.

Bob's Steak & Chop House

Intimate is the word that applies to Bob’s Steak and Chop House. A separate entrance leads to the restaurant’s lobby. Inside, low ceilings mixed with a subdued décor offer a quiet venue for 56 dinner guests. The outdoor patio seats 26 more with the added bonus of a fireplace.

A second restaurant, Legends, sports a pub theme complete with pool table. But it will be hard to stay indoors with a patio overlooking the finishing hole and Pusch Ridge.

Speaking of golf, Omni Tucson offers two distinct courses, one traditional, the other for desert golf lovers. If pampering is more your style, surrender your holiday stress to a Sunshine Sugar Scrub at the Spa, a Mobile 4-Star resort spa.

A holiday escape to Omni Tucson National Resort comes with special holiday rates:
From December 4-30, 2009, room rates begin at $89 for the Casita or Hacienda or $119 for Mountain Vista Guest rooms.

Omni Tucson National Resort
2727 West Club Drive
Tucson, Arizona 85742
Phone: (520) 297-227
Reservations: 1800-843-6664

Photos courtesy Omni Tucson National Resort

Review by Donna L. Hull, My Itchy Travel Feet

1896 O'Malley House

The 1896 O’Malley House is smack in the middle of New Orleans, an area called Mid-City, which is known for great food, music and culture. Nearby is City Park, as well as Mid-City Lanes Rock ‘N Bowl, a favorite spot for music and entertainment.

Its location also makes it extremely convenient to other popular areas of the city, as it’s only a half-block to the streetcars on Canal Street—which can take visitors to the French Quarter and even the fairgrounds (home to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival). Visit during Mardi Gras, and you can see the Endymion parade roll right past the house.

The Colonial Revival home was completely restored in 2000 and upgraded post-Katrina. The eight rooms are furnished with antiques and reproductions, have Wi-Fi and flat-screen TVs with DVD players, and most bathrooms include Jacuzzi tubs with showers. Every morning, a generous breakfast with fresh-roasted New Orleans coffee is served. When you return to the bed and breakfast after a day of sightseeing, you can relax with complimentary soft drinks, beer or wine, while you re-energize for the evening.

Average rates are $135 to $155 per night based on double occupancy, however summer rates can be as low as $99 per night.

Canine host, Cody, keeps a blog to inform visitors of upcoming events, and adds to the fantastic service at the B&B.

1896 O’Malley House 866-226-1896
120 South Pierce St., New Orleans, LA

Photo courtesy of 1896 O’Malley House

More New Orleans-related information:
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The Red Clover Inn

Are you looking for a relaxing ski retreat with no need for a car?  The Red Clover Inn in Killington, Vermont, is offering a free shuttle promotion for those travelers taking Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express train.  The shuttle travels from the Rutland train station to the Inn, and also to Killington and Pico Mountains.  When you book now, you can also get 10%-15% off lift tickets purchased through the Inn.

The Red Clover Inn is an upscale bed and breakfast with two separate buildings – an 1840s Inn and an adjacent Carriage House.  There’s a Great Room with mountain views and a fireplace, as well as a flat screen TV with DVD player, books, and games.  Rooms also include breakfast for two and afternoon tea.  There are a variety of different room types available – from a standard classic room with a queen bed and private bath, to the largest rooms (located in the Carriage House) with a king-sized bed, private bath, double Jacuzzi, gas fireplace, TV/DVD, a deck or balcony, and room for a roll-away bed.

In addition, the Red Clover Inn also has an on-site restaurant and a tavern that uses local farm ingredients.  Guests can enjoy either the more casual menu of the tavern, or a fine dining experience at the restaurant.

The Red Clover Inn
P.O. Box 276
US Route 4
Killington, VT 05751-0276
Phone: 802.775.2290

Photo credit: The Red Clover Inn

Scenic drive. West coast. Luxury boutique hotel. We’re talking about Santa Barbara or Monterey, California. Right? Wrong.

Kapitea Ridge, Hokitika, New Zealand

Kapitea Ridge is located on the west coast all right. And, it takes a scenic drive to get there. But this luxury property is in New Zealand—the west coast of the South Island to be exact.

Situated on a hill with a view of the Tasman Sea, Kapitea Ridge is located between Greymouth and Hokitika.The lodge’s sophisticated decor, colored in a dramatic combination of reds and blues, includes a collection of New Zealand art. Outside seating areas are surrounded by a voluptuous garden where globes of pink and lavender rhododendron blooms provide a pastel summer scene. Six en-suite guest accommodations range from an intimate room on the first floor that looks out into the garden to a deluxe ocean view room with a super king bed.

During my stay, the sound of waves crashing onshore wafted through the open balcony door in my ocean view room. The bath came equipped with heated towel racks, de-misting mirrors and a power shower of rain-collected water. I also appreciated the upstairs computer area that was well-supplied with homemade cookies, coffee and a selection of teas.

Conservatory, Kaiptea Ridge

A gourmet breakfast comes with the room rate. Served in the garden conservatory, or outside if the weather permits, breakfast selections include a buffet of breakfast cereals, fruits and baked goods, followed by a hot egg dish complemented with bacon, grilled tomatoes and field mushrooms. A flat white (my favorite New Zealand coffee) or various coffee and tea selections complete the meal.

Guests gather in the early evening in the downstairs lounge, or out on the patio, to share the day’s adventures over a glass of New Zealand wine. Later, a soak in the garden hot tub provides a relaxing end to the day.

Kapitea Ridge was my headquarters for visiting the Punakaikai Pancake Rocks and Blowholes at Paparoa National Park. In Hokitika, I checked out the thriving arts and crafts scene. But I could have been happy walking the trails at Kapitea Ridge before collapsing on a lounge chair in the garden with a good book.

If you’re looking for romance or relaxation, this is the place.

Kapitea Ridge
Chesterfield Road, SH6
Kapitea Creek, RD2
Hokitika, New Zealand
Tel 0064 3 755 6805

Review by Donna L. Hull, My Itchy Travel Feet
All photos by Alan Hull Photography