Browsing: Lodging

When I think romance, I think boutique hotel. Give me something intimate and unique any day over some sprawling resort! Here are a few top seductive stays for honeymooners looking for R&R in Spain.

****Wine Country Escapes – Can Bonastre Resort:

Newlyweds will adore this exceptional boutique hotel, just an hour away from Barcelona, Spain, by car. Can Bonastre Wine Resort’s twelve rooms are set within an ancient Catalan masia, or farmhouse, in the middle …

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After travelling the length and breadth of the country, Heather (my camera assistant) and I headed out of Windhoek going south. It was long and dusty six-hour drive that took us through one of the most spectacular places in the world: mile high paprika-coloured dunes, lilac mountains, endless golden savannah grassland – all dramatically offset by a big sapphire blue sky.

Our tranquil granite and glass boutique-style lodgings – the Sossusvlei Desert Lodge – was …

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Anyone looking for unique vacation accommodations, and especially those who want the space and comforts of home, should consider a vacation rental – lodging that moves beyond a crowded hotel room and provides options that range from a studio apartment to a resort condo, to single-family homes, villas, and cottages.

Since vacation rental opportunities exist all over the world, a good travel consultant can help you narrow down a destination, book everyone’s travel, and make …

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Some of early-America’s greatest painters and writers called this one of the most beautiful spots in the world. On the map, it’s only two hours north of Manhattan. But it may as well be a world away.

The Kaaterskill Clove is a Catskill Mountain ravine of stunning beauty, with dense forest and thundering waterfalls. And the biggest of those waterfalls — Kaaterskill — is higher than Niagara.

This region is a place of Technicolor surprises …

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Hostels sometimes used to be thought of as dingy, crowded, last-resort lodging that was only for hippies, students, random backpackers and possibly criminals — and perhaps that is the impression that some people still have of them. That old stereotype is completely outdated in the many shiny and modern new hostels that have been popping up around Europe lately and competing with one another for a chunk of a highly coveted market. Hostels cater to …

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Tired of big chain hotels but want to get away?   Try a bed and breakfast.   From big houses with turrets to mansions by the water to cabins in the forest, America’s bed and breakfasts offer quaint escapes to renovated historic properties, guesthouses and inns with an ambiance of a home away from home.  Here’s a roundup of the nations best B&B’s.

Simpson House Inn, Santa Barbara

Set on a quiet acre in the heart of …

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Antigua’s small sister island  Barbuda is truly unspoiled Caribbean at its finest, and we were enroute to Lighthouse Bay Resort www.lighthousebayresort.com sandwiched on a thin sandbar that snakes for some 17 pristine, private miles and accessible only by air, (small plane or helicopter) or a  long ferry ride (three hours) and water taxi.  But we were arriving in high style via Caribbean Helicopters http://caribbeanhelicopters.com/, as complimentary return passage by whirlybird is included with a seven …

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In a world where camping lovers and luxury travelers collided, someone decided to do something about it. Glamping combines the best of both worlds for those who love to sleep under the stars, but want to do it in a comfortable bed; or the couple that is torn between one’s desire to pitch a tent and the other’s need to have a comfortable floor to walk on.

The whole idea of glamping is one of …

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The world is full of beautiful beaches, but some places are better than others to spend your vacation. Think about what you really want to do on that trip before deciding where to go. You will find more to do than lying by the ocean at the best beach destinations.

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Perfect blue water, white sand and beach beds (not just chairs) everywhere. It’s hard to match Punta Cana. There are many …

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When many hear of a Smoky Mountain Vacation they may picture rustic cabins, hunting or animal watching, perhaps a lazy walking trail or two, and a whole lot of peace. While peace is plentiful in many areas of the Great Smokys, there is also a plethora of highly active entertainments that will leave you with a thirst for adventure long after you make your way back home.

Affordable Smoky Mountain Family or Solo Fun

If …

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Couples looking for romance, privacy, adventure and luxury in the Caribbean can take advantage of a number of excellent resorts. Several companies offer couples only resorts, but Sandals Resorts offers 14 different properties throughout the Caribbean and they specialize in weddings, honeymoons and romantic get-aways. From top shelf liquors, gourmet a la carte restaurants and your own private butler, the following hotels cover all the necessary luxuries for a discreet holiday for two. All inclusive …

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A seven a.m. departure from Dover, a UK sea port, will have you across the English Channel in France’s Boulogne  just over an hour later, giving us just sufficient time to freshen up, take in a coffee (and a patisserie) and plan our morning. This ferry service is run by LD Lines which delivers its passengers to the quay at the foot of Boulogne’s town centre in just over an hour (midweek crossings are cost …

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Mazatlan was a weekly stop on episodes of The Love Boat television show. It’s still a big cruise port, but there are plenty of places to stay on dry land, with lots to do to keep a vacationer more than satisfied during a week in the sunshine on the Mexican Gold Coast.

Perfect Weather
It doesn’t matter what time of year you head to Mazatlan, the chances are pretty good it’s going to be warm …

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African safaris are a dime a dozen, especially those in fenced in National Parks or Nature Reserves where tourists are taken on conveyer-belt type game drives. That’s as good as it gets, I thought, and as such lost interest.

That was until I recently discovered the Selinda Reserve in Botswana’s Okavango Delta where game are free to wander across its 320,000 acres of unfenced wilderness. I’d heard much of Selinda ticking all the proverbial green …

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