Lodging

Posted by Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip

Pike's Waterfront Lodge

Our pod of travelers disembarked Royal Caribbean Cruisetour’s Radiance of the Seas in Juneau during a torrential downpour. We boarded a plane bound for Fairbanks and were greeted with sunshine. Not the liquid sunshine that Alaskans refer to, but honest to goodness warm weather for August. Minutes from the airport, our motorcoach pulled up to Pike’s Waterfront Lodge, which sits beside the Chena River. The lodge is a large 208 room property that is clean, dog-friendly and affordable for man and man’s best friend.

SOLAR ENERGY GREEN STAR AWARD

The folks at the lodge are not only friendly, they are eco-conscious and social media savvy. The lodge recently received Alaska’s Solar Energy Green Star Award with the help of  its eco-friendly solar panels, commitment to environmentally-friendly chemicals, recycled carpet and such. It’s also home to one of the largest private art collections featuring Alaska locations and created by Alaska artists.  Techies will appreciate that Pikes Landing offers free wireless internet access. By the way, you can follow Pikes Landing on Twitter and become a Facebook Fan. Don’t forget to check their website for specials. In fact, if you live in Alaska, they’ll give you a wooden nickel for a free scoop of tasty ice cream served at the lodge. (They import their ice cream from Oregon.)

Deluxe Two Queens in Room 305

I didn’t get a chance to walk next door to sit on the deck and sip a cold one, but I did have a nice slab of salmon at the Pumphouse Restaurant, also located on the Chena River. By the time I returned to my hotel room, a deluxe with two queen beds, I was ready to hit the sack. No writing on the laptop, visiting the sauna or steam room or meandering through the grounds. I needed to be up and out the door at 7 a.m. to climb aboard the Royal Caribbean’s Motorcoach which would take us to the Riverboat Discovery Sternwheeler.  Once on the Sternwheeler, we would pass by Dave Monson’s Trail Breaker Kennels to learn about famed Iditarod Champion Susan Butcher (now deceased) and the dogs they raise, as well as a visit to the Chena Village to learn the ways of the Athabascan Indian people.

Photos by Nancy D. Brown

Pikes Waterfront Lodge 1 (877) 774-2400

1850 Hoselton Road, Fairbanks, Alaska 99709

Posted by Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip

Oceano Hotel Lobby

Don’t you love the smell of new cars? Well, new hotels have that same smell and feel to them. The Oceano Hotel and Spa is Half Moon Bay Harbor’s newest neighbor and I wanted to check it out. Having dropped my daughter at camp for a week, I was foot loose and fancy free for the afternoon. I drove up Highway One from Santa Cruz and admired the gorgeous California coastline.

After arriving at the Oceano, I dropped my bag and looked for a good place to get some fresh seafood. Yes, this would certainly be a nice place to bring my husband for a romantic getaway, but, as usual, he was home with our other child.

My room, #312, was called the Grand Oceano and rented for $379. The suite had a king bed, organic linens and panoramic views of Half Moon Bay’s Pillar Point Harbor. The sliding glass doors opened to the balcony looking out to the Pacific Ocean. As I mentioned, the hotel is new, having opened 16 months ago on March 13, 2008.  Each suite comes with a fireplace, private balcony, a 42 inch, flat screen, HD television, free Wireless Internet access, a separate sitting area and wet bar. Too bad you can’t see the Mavericks Surf contest from the hotel.

ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY

Oceano Room #312

As environmentally-conscientious Californians, we’re used to linen re-use programs, water efficient landscaping and reduced wattage lighting. Oceano Hotel clearly walked the eco-friendly talk with its low VOC paints, their ozone laundry facility and its biodegradable cleaning program and the use of reclaimed cooking oil used to produce Bio Diesel fuel. Heck, if I’d pulled up in my LEV and FEV (low emitting & fuel efficient) vehicle, I could have had free valet parking. But I don’t yet own a smart car, although it is on my list. Instead, I arrived in my slightly dented, but fully-paid for, Honda mini van and self parked in the garage. How very un-sexy.

The Green Suites certified hotel, also has a Spa and Health Club, although the spa wasn’t fully up and running on my visit. The Oceano Coastal Spa will officially open on August 29, 2009 with a soft opening taking place August 24-28. The Spa will offer a barbeque during the grand opening and all treatments, except massages, will be 50% off during the soft opening. Check the website for Getaway Packages and specials.

Oceano Hotel and Spa 1 (888) 623-2661

280 Capistrano Road, Half Moon Bay, California 94019

Regular readers know I’m a fan of the indoor waterpark resort. Well, I’m a fan because my kids love indoor waterpark resorts. Hey, when the kids are happily entertained, I’m entertained.

My mom, my six- and eight-year-old children, and I booked a double room at the Sheraton Ferncroft in Danvers, Massachusetts, for one weekend last summer. We’d planned to spend one day at a Boston Red Sox game (go SOX!) and one day at a couple of Boston’s kid-friendly museums. We didn’t mind staying 30 minutes outside of downtown Boston since we had our own car, and, well, I wanted to make my kids happy with all of the property’s adjacent CoCo Key Water Resort amenities.

Turns out, the Sheraton Ferncroft had lots more to offer than just the water-play area. Here’s what I dug:

Double room.

1. Starbucks in the lobby. Enough said.

2. Great Tradewinds Restaurant. My mom and I sampled the salads and the kids had plenty to choose from with the children’s menu at dinner. Breakfast was a plentiful buffet.

3. Comfortable, modern rooms.

4. A separate indoor pool. This was a nice place to take the kids when we needed a break from the slightly chaotic and loud water-park area.

5. The Coco Key Water Resort water-play area with slides, lily-pad cross, toddler zero-entry area, A&W restaurant & Pizza Hut Express, water sprays and cannons, and more.

Lily pad cross at Coco Key Water Resort.

6. The bar in the water-park area. Again, enough said.

7. Free wireless Internet access in the lobby. It would be nice to have in the guest rooms, but I’ll take it in the common space.

8. The arcade. Not my favorite place to spend my money at all. But the kids loved the games. Unfortunately, when we were there, a lot seemed to be down; and the arcade room is not big at all, so there aren’t dozens and dozens of games to choose from anyway.

9. The location. Just 17 miles from Boston and a nice place to retreat to in the suburbs after a busy day in the city.

10. The package deals. We scored a great deal (the dollar amount escapes me now) that included free arcade games and breakfast vouchers. I love included stuff!

Photos courtesy Coco Key Water Resort and Sheraton Ferncroft, a Starwood property.