YOU MUST BE DREAMING
Have a spare $99,999 and still looking for just the right gift? The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Orlando, Grand Lakes in Florida is offering the chance to own the spa for the day for you or that someone special in your life and nine of her closest friends. Each guest receives a personalized invitation, a limo ride to and from the airport, a customized spa cuisine menu for the day, a choice of any spa service all day for each guest as well as salon services, open bar all day at the private spa pool with a dedicated butler, a personal spa concierge for each participant, monogrammed robes and slippers, fitness classes, customized products (many naturally based using the citrus produce grown in the region), a personal trainer and a nutrition consultation. The entire 40,000-square-foot spa – ranked the No.1 spa in the country by Travel + Leisure readers in November and famous for its focus on “health through water” – is closed for the 10 guests. The offer needs to be purchased by Dec. 31 and used by the end of March. Call 407-206-2400 or visit ritzcarlton.com.
GEARING UP
Listening to kids – OK, and sometimes adults – whine about carrying their skis is enough to make you want to invent something (like, say, instant duct tape), and anyone who has ever carried their kids’ skis as well as their own knows that’s when evil thoughts really begin to cloud judgment. The Bak Rak is one well-thought-out attempt at solving the problem, a backpack-type device where you bungee-cord the skis onto a pad that straps onto your back, leaving your hands free. It comes in adult and kid sizes, and when you get to the lift, just fold it up and squeeze it into a pocket. And that’s the only part that isn’t perfect – you need to have a decent-sized pocket, or you’re really squishing the thing down to get it out of the way. But otherwise, this thing works like a charm, and it keeps everyone from whacking each other with their ski tips. | $19.95-$23.95, thebakrak.com
REAL DEALS
The week’s best travel bargains around the globe, by land, sea and air.
Bolongo Bay Beach Resort on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands has a five-night holiday package for travel through Dec. 25. Package starts at $875 for room only (a savings of $120) and $1,875 per couple for all-inclusive plan (a savings of $275), which includes three meals a day and all beverages. Taxes and resort fees are an extra 15 percent on room-only package; energy surcharge is $2 per room per day on room-only and all-inclusive deals. Info: 800-524-4746, bolongobay.com/html/deal.html.
The Ritz Carlton, New Orleans, which reopened last week after a $100 million renovation, has introductory rates starting at $169 weekdays, $209 weekends through Dec. 30 (discounted rates will start at $259 in January). Renovations at the French Quarter hotel include an upgraded spa and a new restaurant. Taxes of 13 percent and a $2-per-night occupancy fee are extra. Info: 800-241-3333, ritzcarlton.com.
Windstar is discounting several spring Mediterranean cruises aboard the 312-passenger Wind Surf. The starting price is now $1,999 per person double (a savings of at least $400) on a seven-night Rome-to-Barcelona cruise departing May 6 and a seven-night cruise from Barcelona, Spain, to Nice, France, departing June 3. A six-night itinerary from Nice to Barcelona, departing May 28 is now $1,799, a savings of $500. Also, the rate for the May 28 and June 3 cruises starts at $3,499 per person double for the 13-night itinerary, a savings of $1,130 per person. Taxes vary, but they run about $69 on a seven-night cruise. Info: 800-258-7245, windstarcruises.com.
– The Washington Post
BOOK YOUR VACATION
The series “City Walks: 50 Adventures on Foot” ($14.95, Chronicle Books) offers not books but boxes filled with cards, each one a clearly marked, color-coded guide to an easily navigated walk in a major city, often targeted around one or more historical attractions or other interesting destinations. The back of the card offers details and explicit directions, including background information and addresses. Public transportation links are given, as well, including specific bus numbers or train stations, and nearby shopping venues, bars, restaurants and snack concessions are also listed, along with parks and other places to relax. The series is up to a dozen titles now, including the recent releases of Boston and Amsterdam.
roadtrips.com
Sports fans longing to follow their favorite teams around the country should go here, and baseball fans who want to see a game in every minor-league venue possible should go here, and horse racing fans looking to find out what track is located where and what hotel to stay in nearby should go here. Really, anyone looking to do any kind of sports-related travel will be able to find something useful at this full-service site, which covers all of the major sports and offers tours, schedules, dates and more.
TRAVEL BY NUMBERS| Top 10 Luxury Lodgings
The best of the best in luxury lodgings from Conde Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards for 2006.
1. Four Seasons Bali at Sayan (resort)
2. Buckland Manor, England (hotel)
3. Four Seasons Gresham Palace, Budapest, Hungary (hotel)
4. Singita – Ebony and Boulders Lodges, South Africa (resort)
5. Pan Pacific Mountainside, Whistler, British Columbia (resort)
6, 7, 8. (Tie) Chateau Les Crayeres, Reims, France (hotel); Chief’s Camp, Botswana (resort); Four Seasons Lodge at Keole, Lanai, Hawaii (resort)
9. La Casa Que Canta, Zihuatanejo, Mexico (resort)
10. Four Seasons George V, Paris (hotel)
GEO QUIZ | Where are these places?
In this series, in the list of five items, four are related and one does not belong. Name the item that does not belong and tell what the other items have in common.
1. Varna, Izmir, Batumi, Sevastopol, Constanta
2. Apennines, Balkan Mountains, Brooks Range, Carpathian Mountains, Pyrenees
3. Auckland, Christchurch, Manukau, Wanganui, Wellington
4. Chihuahua, Tijuana, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Tabasco
5. Boulogne, Brighton, Hastings, Le Havre, Liverpool
6. Simpson Desert, Gibson Desert, Namib Desert, Tanami Desert, Great Victoria Desert
7. Uxmal, Chichén Itzá, Tikal, Copán, Tenochtitlán
8. Aden, Algiers, Beirut, Tripoli, Benghazi
9. Vänern, Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Iztaccí-huatl, Jungfrau
10. Madeira River, Rio Doce, Paranaíba River, Ucayali River, São Francisco River
ANSWERS: 1. Izmir; the others are cities on the Black Sea (Izmir is located on the Aegean Sea) 2. Brooks Range: the others are mountain ranges in Europe (Brooks Range is in Alaska) 3. Christchurch; the others are on the North Island of New Zealand (Christchurch is on the South Island of New Zealand) 4. Tijuana; the others are states in Mexico (Tijuana is a city and river in Mexico) 5. Liverpool; the others are on the English Channel (Liverpool is on the Mersey River) 6. Namib Desert; the others are in Australia (Namib Desert is in Africa) 7. Tenochtitlán; the others are Maya sites (Tenochtitlán is an Aztec site) 8. Aden; the others are cities on the Mediterranean Sea (Aden is on the Gulf of Aden) 9. Vänern; the others are mountains (Vänern is a lake) 10. Ucayali River; the others are rivers in Brazil (Ucayali River is in Peru)
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
