Travel news from the sources

Ohio lodges offer discounts for kids' good grades

News from Ohio State Park Lodges: Families can save up to $50 per day on state park vacation

Ohio State Park Lodges’ discounts for kids' good grades is now in its third year. The program, called Stays 4 A’s, has proven to be an effective tool for parents to inspire and motivate their schoolchildren. The popular program allows students with A’s on their report cards to transform those A’s into lodge room discounts.

Each A is worth a discount of $10 off the published rate per room per night up to five A’s or $50. Families need only show their star students’ report cards at check-in to earn the discount. One report card per room may be applied for the discount, and families must present the original report card upon check-in.

Reserving Canyon Ranch spa on Oceania ships

News from Oceania Cruises

Passengers on ships operated by Oceania Cruises may reserve treatments at their onboard Canyon Ranch SpaClubs® up to 90 days before departure. Canyon Ranch operates spas on the cruise line’s fleet of premium ships.

“Canyon Ranch SpaClubs have proven so popular with our guests that it makes sense to book early,”  said Oceania president Bob Binder.

Each Canyon Ranch SpaClub features massage, body and skin-care treatment rooms, gym and weight room, men’s and women’s locker rooms, thalassotherapy pool, two whirlpools and Thermal Suite. The SpaClub’s treatments include massages and therapeutic bodywork, mud, aromatherapy, ayuvedic and seaweed treatments, facials and masks, conditioning body scrubs and therapeutic body cocoons.

Bird watching and golf on Scotland's west coast

News from Connoisseurs Scotland

Inver Lodge, overlooking the quiet village of Lochinver, and Blanefield House, an exclusive-use property a stone’s throw away from the island of Ailsa Craig, have joined Connoisseurs Scotland’s impressive collection of properties – and Inver Lodge is celebrating with a special offer for the coming season.

Both provide luxury accommodations on the breathtaking west coast. Each offers a unique experience defined by stunning vistas, award-winning cuisine and outdoor activities ranging from championship golf to bird watching.

Hotel rooftop bees support Charlotte pollination

The Ritz-Carlton in Charlotte, N.C, has built a home for bees on its green, vegetated roof.

The roof, where 18,000 sedum plants enhance insulation for the hotel and a chef’s garden provides organic herbs, now is home to two new beehives that will generate honey for hotel culinary use.

The two fully-contained hives will be home to up to 60,000 honeybees by the time they are fully developed this summer.

Skiing, snowshoeing at Gunnison-Crested Butte

The Gunnison-Crested Butte Valley, in southwest Colorado, has emerged as a Nordic skiing and snowshoeing hot spot. Groomed Nordic trails now number more than 95K, backcountry routes are plentiful. 

 The Crested Butte Nordic Center and Crested Butte Mountain Resort are open for the season. Full-service cross-country ski center provides lessons and complete rental packages for skate and classical skiing, as well as ice skating, snowshoeing and sledding. The Nordic Center maintains more than 50 kilometers of groomed trails that meander around the outskirts Crested Butte and offers tours, races, events and ski programs).

 Located in the heart of town at Second Street and Whiterock, the Nordic Center will be open for the season until April 4, 2010. For more information, call (970) 349-1707 or visit www.cbnordic.org.

Ski, play for free at Rockies YMCA

Rockies’ Snow Mountain Ranch offers skiing and activities for affordable family vacation

YMCA of the Rockies’ Snow Mountain Ranch in Winter Park, Colo. offers guests staying this winter season the opportunity to stay free for a night after paying for two nights, free access to ski trails, and free kid’s cross country ski lessons.

 In an affordable and cozy lodge room or cabin this winter at Snow Mountain Ranch, families can stay two nights and get a third night free with rates starting at $74 per night. Guests staying in a lodge room will also receive two free adult breakfasts each day of their stay.

This package is available at both Snow Mountain Ranch and at Estes Park Center, and is valid through May 27, 2010, excluding holiday periods and during March.

Cotton Tree is cottage hotel in Caymans

News from the Cayman Islands:

A new luxury hideaway, Cotton Tree, is a boutique property on the northernmost point of Grand Cayman, 10 minutes from the famed Seven Mile Beach. The hotel has four pastel-hued, plantation-style beach cottages just steps from the Caribbean Sea and lush garden setting of tropical flowers and avocado, guava, mango, and cotton trees for which the hotel was named.

 Owner Heather Lockington, a global traveler who was born in the Cayman Islands, has built her dream property in West Bay.

 “My inspiration for Cotton Tree,” says Lockington, “was the day when I was stopped on the beach by a family who asked for any places in Cayman other than traditional hotels where they can feel at home. I want people to understand the islands’ architecture, art, cuisine — basically, to learn about the essence of the Cayman Islands and its people.”

Cotton Tree consists of just four two-bedroom, beachfront cottages, ensuring privacy and intimacy. They measure 1,600 square feet and resemble fully equipped houses.

Star-studded dining in Hong Kong

  From Four Seasons hotels and resorts:

Like lightning striking twice, excellence doesn't usually come in pairs. The Mona Lisa was an only child, so to speak. Beethoven wrote just one version of his Moonlight Sonata. And it'd be rare to find an Oscar-winning duo living in the same house — though Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones might have something to say about that.  In the culinary world, Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong has achieved the impossible double take, becoming the world's only hotel with two three-starred restaurants under the same roof.

Winter heats up Santa Fe, New Mexico

From tourism Santa Fe, New Mexico:

Winter is value season in Santa Fe. All of the city's historic charm, attractions, and timeless appeal remain, even as lodging is at its lowest cost of the year.

Whether skiing in the Southern Rockies just outside of town, exploring the city's diverse shopping and art districts, or simply taking some time out, Santa Fe's warm hospitality and bright winter sun are in place to welcome travelers.

The New Mexico History Museum is open, and the city is celebrating 400 years.

With the onset of winter, the city's relaxed pace slows even more as we welcome the holidays and move into a new year.

If it's a couple's escape you're thinking about, setting the mood for a romantic get away comes naturally to this old town. 

Sugar Ridge resort opens in Antigua

News from Sugar Ridge, a 60-room boutique resort on the southwest coast of Antigua:

Sugar Ridge opened December 1 (2009). The resort features Antigua’s first Aveda spa and views of the Caribbean from a natural hillside bordered with sugar cane.

Guests will be able to see the neighboring islads of Redonda, St. Kitts and Nevis. The resort’s elevation provides vistas to the north of rolling landscape. To the east lies forests and Antigua’s dramatic coastal highlands.