AOL Travel Ideas

Where to Save on a Vacation Rental Home in Florida

Gary McKechnie — 2011-02-23T14:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Beach

PJ-Foto / Alamy

Skipping the hotel and renting a house or an apartment on vacation in Florida can be a great way to save money. Not only do they come with full kitchens, keeping you from having to eat every meal in a restaurant, there are extra perks like washer/dryers, flatscreen TVs and even free Wi-Fi. Also, you can find them just minutes from theme parks and stops from the beach.

Spring break is considered high season in Florida, when families flock to the Sunshine State for sun, sand, and trips to Disney. Hotel prices skyrocket, but you can still get two-bedroom, two-bathroom houses and condos for less than $100 a night and no more than $200 a night. Here are five vacation-worthy destinations, and where to book.

Orlando
The most popular and plentiful choices are in Orlando's "Attractions Area," a loosely defined area southwest of the city where choices will likely be in subdivisions and condominiums close to Walt Disney World, SeaWorld, and Universal Orlando. There's a lot more stock here than in oceanfront locations, and the price reflects that. A two-bedroom townhouse in the Towns of Legacy Park, less than 10 minutes from Disney, is around $530 a week in March. Or rent a two-bedroom house with a pool for around $800 a week.

Naples
Tucked on the Gulf Coast of southwest Florida, Naples has a pricey reputation. While definitely still upscale, the recession did take some of the bloom off the rose and vacation accommodations can be found at costs unheard of prior to 2008. The two most attractive districts are in Olde Naples near trendy Third Street and anywhere near the beach. Many houses and condos are rented out on a monthly basis, but VRBO reveals a single-family three-bedroom home on a canal leading to the Gulf of Mexico rents for $1,200 per week while, through VacationRentals, a two-bedroom condo corner unit at the 5th Avenue Beach Club (near shopping and the beach) is available at a high of $1,800 per week during the mid-January to mid-May peak season.

Key West, Florida Travel Guide

Orlando, Florida Travel Guide

Palm Beach, Florida Travel Guide

Miami
One of the most populated cities in Florida covers 55 square miles and encompasses a variety of distinct areas from the bohemian enclave of Coconut Grove to the Spanish-Mediterranean beauty of Coral Gables to the ethnic refuge of Little Havana. Each has its own appeal, but as a rule the popular draw for travelers is the jet set trendiness of South Beach. While it's doubtful you'll find a waterfront home (unless Gloria Estefan decides to rent you a few rooms), you can find two (or more)-bedroom choices in SoBe as well as adjacent communities leading north on the barrier island several miles to Bal Harbour and Sunny Isles. VacationRentals has a two-bedroom condo close to the ocean for $1,500, while you can score deals on Craigslist like a two-bedroom in Miami (about ten minutes from the ocean) for a more modest $525 per week.

Cocoa Beach
It may not pack the punch of Miami or the panache of Naples, but little Cocoa Beach has a lot going its way: it's less than an hour east of Orlando, it's ever-so-close to the Kennedy Space Center, and surfers call it the "Small Wave Capital of the World." Putting it all over the top are several miles of beaches popular with students, surfers, seniors, and families. There's also tons of lodging within walking distance of, or a short drive from, the ocean. HomeAway has a two-bedroom oceanview condo within steps of the beach for $1,700 during the spring break season with a similar unit near the pier posted on VRBO for $1,000 per week in high season.

Siesta Key
Located just southwest of Sarasota, this popular island has gained the attention of vacationers thanks to a very special asset: some of the softest sand beaches you'll ever find. Consistently ranked among the finest in the state -- and often the nation -- the beaches of Siesta Key are what draw travelers here, and lodging choices, including some beachfront bungalows, allow vacationers to stay for a day, a week, or longer in one of the most tranquil and calming sanctuaries in Florida. Perfect Places has a two-bedroom villa steps from the Gulf of Mexico for $1,600 per week or a two-bedroom Gulf front condo that can sleep six listed on from HomeAway for $1,650 per week.

For more information on how to find the perfect vacation rental, check out AOL Real Estate's tips and expert advice.

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Five Florida Beaches You'll Have All To Yourself

Gary McKechnie — 2011-02-18T12:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Beach, Best Of

shannonpareil, Flickr

From Pensacola to Key West to Miami to Jacksonville, there are roughly 600 miles of beaches in Florida, many of which are packed with locals, visitors, and Spring Break's collegiate tanning teams. Yet there are also luxuriously long stretches where you can lose sight of hotels and condos and simply savor nature, scanning the shore from horizon to horizon and seeing nary a soul. Here are five stretches of sand where you'll have huge swaths of oceanfront waiting for no one else but you.

1. Sanibel-Captiva Islands
Perhaps the $6 toll required to gain admission to these twin islands is what sends the larger crowds boomeranging back to the free beaches of mainland Fort Myers. The payoff, though, is reaching the beaches of Sanibel and Captiva (pictured above), two of the most, well, captivating islands in the entire state. On each, public beaches are peaceful and quiet and even the Gulf of Mexico plays it part with a steady flow of soft ripples touching the shore. Almost as much as swimming and sunning is the appeal of shelling. Credit unusual tides and the layout of the island for the tens of thousands of curiously colorful and elaborate seashells that are sprinkled along the shorelines each morning.

2. Key Biscayne
The international fame of Miami Beach casts a long shadow over other Florida beaches. Yet, only a few miles down the Atlantic coast, little sister Key Biscayne has a well-developed sense of privacy enhanced by two well-placed and very different parks. Cross the Rickenbacker Expressway (a toll road) to reach Crandon Park, a former coconut plantation, encompasses more than 800 acres including two miles of beaches. At the end of the key is Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park with a mile of beachfront accented by an 1800's lighthouse. Combined, the modest distance, minimal toll, and measures taken to preserve these parks make these remote beaches worth a look.

Robert S. Donovan, Flickr

3. Santa Rosa Island
A 200-mile streamlined string of islands create the Gulf Islands National Seashore and Santa Rosa Island (pictured at right), the longest stretch of protected barrier islands in America. One of the most pleasing strands is southeast of historic Pensacola. Buried beneath tons of sand following 2004's Hurricane Ivan, Highway 399 finally re-opened in 2009 and allows motorists to thread a blacktop needle between Escambia Bay and the wide-open Gulf of Mexico. In the fifteen miles between Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach only occasional parking areas interrupt the flow, giving visitors to this remote beach the luxury of space and a pleasing sense of solitude on the white sands.

4. Canaveral National Seashore
Who knew that -- in addition to satellite television, metal alloys, and the Nerf glider -- America's space program would also spin off some of the nation's most pleasing beaches? In 1975 the federal government set aside 58,000 acres as a buffer from rocket launches, and one of the fringe benefits was the preservation of 24 miles of shoreline. Although security issues mean there are many miles where you can never lay a beach blanket, many more remain blissfully open and undisturbed. Come here and you'll see the ocean the way nature intended. To see people the way nature intended, go just north of the Kennedy Space Center to Playalinda beach where nude sunbathers take advantage of lax enforcement.

5. Fort De Soto
Depending on your perspective, the highlight of this pretty county park is either the remains of a 19th-century fort or the five islands whose miles of brilliant white sands stretch along the Gulf of Mexico. As with other beaches that enjoy the blessings of space, the modest effort it takes to reach the islands from the mainland southwest of St. Petersburg (roughly 11 miles and two tolls totaling less than a dollar) affords a significant amount of privacy. While popular, the several miles of waterfront from East Beach to the most visited and acclaimed section, North Beach, offer enough space to accommodate a slew of sunbathers without the sensation of feeling hemmed in. Add to this placid Gulf waters, waving sea oats, soft sands and repeated rankings among the nation's top beaches.

More Spring Break on AOL Travel

AOL Travel Spring Break Survey Results

Budget Airlines' New Beach Destinations

What Your Spring Break Destination Says About You

What's Cheaper: Staying On or Off Disney Property? Crunching the Numbers

Are Western Mexico's Cruise Ports as Bad as They Say? Not Really

Family-Friendly Florida Resorts on a Budget

Top Beach Vacation Packagers

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Record-Breaking Travelers

Gary McKechnie — 2010-12-30T15:25:00+00:00

Filed under: Real Life Stories, Best Of

Emil and Liliana Schmidt

These amazing globetrotters are always on the go, breaking records via bicycle, hot air balloon, and even one strong breast stroke. Even if you're not out to be a record-breaking traveler, the stories of these travelers will inspire you to take advantage of the whole wide world.

Vin Cox
10. Pedal Power
In February 2010, Vin Cox decided to go for a bicycle ride. So he got on his bike and he began pedaling. And he pedaled. And pedaled. On August 1, 2010, 163 days, six hours, and 58 minutes after leaving, Cox was back in Greenwich, England, having ridden 18,225 miles around the world (the equivalent of eight Tours de France), fast enough to break the previous record by more than a month. Cox covered an average distance of 112 miles each day, but this wasn't a sojourn through the picturesque Alps. On his world ride he covered five continents and seventeen countries, was stricken by a stomach bug in Libya, detained by police in Indonesia, and leapfrogged oceans on a dozen boat and plane transfers. But it wasn't just a record he was pursuing. Cox raised awareness and money for the Geoff Thomas Foundation to help increase access to life-saving treatments for people with blood cancer.

Polly Letofsky
9. A Walk Around the World
The only records that can never be broken are records when somebody did something first. Somebody like Polly Letofsky, who was the first woman to walk around the world. With a mission to raise money and awareness to combat breast cancer, she left Vail, Colorado, on August 1, 1999, and headed west, unaware that she would experience an earthquake, muggings, and religious riots. But by putting one foot in front of the other at a steady three miles per hour, she crossed four continents and 22 countries until she had put more than 14,124 miles under her feet. When she reached home after five years she had a new title, a lifetime of memories, and the satisfaction of raising more than $250,000 to battle breast cancer.

8. Wind-Powered
On May 17, 2004, 23-year-old Brazilians Flávio Jardim and Diogo Guerreiro climbed onto their windsurfing boards in Chui on Brazil's southern border, filled their sails, and headed north. More than a demonstration of endurance, the team planned the ongoing Destino Azul (Blue Destination) expedition to visit schools en route and educate kids on the environment and sustainable development. They also taught the kids about determination. Fourteen months and four days later the hip team reached Oiapoque on the northern border of Brazil and French Guiana having covered an astonishing 5,045 miles. Where are they now? Sailing around the world.

Emil and Liliana Schmid at Lake Mangamahoe, New Zealand; Emil and Liliana Schmid
7. Longest Road Trip
If you see an ad for a blue 1982 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60, be sure to check the mileage. It may be the same vehicle that Emil and Liliana Schmid of Switzerland have been using in their around (and around and around)-the-world trip that has racked up more than 400,000 miles and first earned them a spot in the Guinness book for the Longest Driven Journey in 1997. What sparked it? In October 1984, Emil's mid-life decision was taking a road trip to clear his head, so he left his job as a software developer and Liliana said so long to being a secretary. In the 26 years since, they've made friends in 168 countries around the globe and have compiled a world-class photo album that shows the Land Cruiser beside Egyptian pyramids, Indonesian temples, and landmarks such as Australia's Ayers Rock and Alaska's Mount McKinley.

6. First-Class Explorer
In an age before faxes, iPhones, and the Internet, face-to-face business meetings were standard. So Fred Finn, whose job was setting up licenses for multinational companies, was traveling like no man had ever done before. The British businessman's aerial office took him to 139 countries in South America, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. He crossed the Atlantic an estimated 2,000 times (three of his 718 flights on the Concorde were in a single day) and traveled to Africa at least 600 times. Even after he reached the seven-million-mile mark in 1983 and Guinness certified him as the World's Most Traveled Man, Finn wasn't finished. In the more than a quarter century since, he's more than doubled that figure to reach a probably unbreakable frequent flyer total of 15 million miles.

5. Taking to the Skies
Unless someone else can become the first American to reach the edge of space, it's doubtful anyone can rival the travel exploits of Colonel Joe Kittinger. On August 16, 1960, Kittinger helped pave the way for the nation's space program by flying a balloon to 102,800 feet -- and then jumping out. As he dropped nearly 20 miles, his freefall lasted for more than four minutes at speeds as fast as 614 mph. He wasn't done. After serving three combat tours in Vietnam followed by eleven months in solitary at North Vietnam's Hanoi Hilton, in September 1984 Kittinger set another record. After leaving Caribou, Maine, in the hot air balloon Rosie O'Grady's Balloon of Peace, he landed in Italy over 83 hours and 3,543 miles later, setting records for distance and duration and becoming the first person to fly a hot air balloon solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

4. Motorcycle Mania
Motorcycling members of the Iron Butt Association are known for conquering long-distance challenges, but perhaps the most iron-butted rider of all is 60-year-old Vietnam vet and former state senator Dave Zien. He holds nearly 120 records, such as riding 1,616 miles in 24 hours and covering 3,032 miles in 48 hours. At times the Wisconsin native has ridden through sleet and snow and hail as he racked up perhaps the most impressive record of all. As today's college sophomores were just entering the world, Zien was on his brand new '91 Harley-Davidson FXRT. He kept riding it until he became the first person to pass the million-mile mark on a single motorcycle. By the time he reached the record in April 2009 he had gone through 105 rear tires, 65 front tires, nine seats, and thirteen pairs of boots. Is Zien ready for a rest? Hardly. Reportedly he was mapping out a roundtrip ride from Key West, Florida to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska -- 11,000 miles in 11 days.

3. Most Countries Visited
Robert and Dorothy Pine were curious about the world and its people so they decided to venture out and, in Robert's words, "learn about lifestyles, religion, dress, customs, activities, diets, political values, and the unique ways (people) adjust to their environment." As part of their continuing education they experienced three earthquakes, dodged an elephant on an airport runway, dropped into the piranha-infested Amazon River, ate yak burgers and fried pork fat, and flew aboard a number of less-than-dependable aircraft. The result? The Travelers' Century Club (whose members have each visited at least 100 countries) recognized the Pines as the first couple to visit each of the 315 countries on the TCC's monumental list.

2. Racking Up the Mileage
You know you're a heavy-duty driver when a car club runs a website to track your mileage. The Volvo Club of America's Irv-O-Meter helps fans track the overwhelmed odometer of Irv Gordon who, in his $4,150 1966 Volvo P1800, has driven (get ready) more than 2.85 million miles. Unlike the Schmids, who did all their driving in one long trip, Gordon put 1,500 miles on his new car in the first weekend and a daily 125-mile commute helped the NYC science teacher reach the 250,000-mile plateau in the first five years. By 1976 he had crossed 500,000 miles and by 1998, he had reached 1.69 million miles and earned the world record for the most miles ever driven in a non-commercial vehicle. Even though the car's parked outside, gets blasted by salty winds, and is driven through snow, ice, and rain, the Volvo's still miles ahead of the competition. With three million miles on his radar, Gordon's ready to go the distance. "The car does all the work, and I just go along for the ride."

1. One Long Swim
Few people at the beach venture far from shore. Unless they are Benoît Lecomte. On July 16, 1998, after years of endurance training, Lecomte waded into the waters off Hyannis, Massachusetts, and started swimming...to France. With a mask, snorkel, wetsuit and fins, he covered an estimated 3,716 miles and burned an amazing 9,000 calories a day during his adventure. Including a week he spent recovering from exhaustion in the Azores, it took the then-31-year-old 73 days to make the crossing, in which he was accompanied by a support boat and protected from predators through an electromagnetic field. Still, he dealt with dolphins, jellyfish, sea turtles, eight storms and waves as high as two stories, as he stroked his way across the water before coming ashore in France at Quiberon, Brittany. His first words after conquering the Atlantic? "Never again."

More Articles You Might Like

Real Life Stories: I Built My Own Plane [AOL Travel]

Air India Plane Plunges 7,000 Feet During Pilot's Bathroom Break [Huffington Post]

Winter Cheer: 15 Fantastic Photos from America's Cold Spots [National Geographic]

6 Ways to Survive Holiday Travel [Reader's Digest]

Where Americans Earn the Most (Top 20 Cities) [Forbes]

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Luckiest Spots on Earth

Gary McKechnie — 2010-10-31T22:55:00+00:00

Filed under: Weird, Best Of

DennisSylvesterHurd, flickr

A rabbit's foot, a shamrock, the top of a bald head...certain objects have a way of finding anxious (and slightly superstitious) people reaching out for a rub for good luck. The opportunity to grab some good fortune captivated people for centuries, but where should you go for some serious serendipity. From bronze statues to marble icons, these 10 spots are said to bring good luck to those who rub, kiss, or even spin them.

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Top 10 Good Luck Monuments

Aside from Mick Jagger, perhaps the most famous stone on earth is Ireland's Blarney Stone. For centuries this block of rock placed near the peak of Blarney Castle (just outside Cork) has reportedly endowed any person that kisses it with great eloquence and powers of persuasion. If you're hearty enough to climb to the castle's peak, limber and fearless enough to bend backward on the parapet's edge, and healthy enough to combat a few centuries of germs, steal a kiss, and you may soon be qualified to run for Congress.

Top 10 Good Luck Monuments

In January 1870, Prince Pierre Bonaparte, great-nephew of Napoleon and cousin of the reigning emperor, killed 21-year-old French journalist Victor Noir who had simply stopped by to arrange a duel for his boss. An estimated 100,000 mourners arrived to bid adieu to Noir -- and the attention has seldom wavered. At Père Lachaise Cemetery a life-sized bronze likeness of Noir at the moment of death shows a horizontal young man with a mildly vertical crotch that has been burnished to brilliance by women who rub the protuberance to enhance fertility, improve their sex life, and perhaps find a husband. Maybe they'd have better luck if they stopped hanging around graveyards.

Top 10 Good Luck Monuments

When it comes to rubbing a statue for luck, this one may take the cake. Or should we say takes the buns, since the rear-view display of seven lightly-attired Crazy Girls dancers at the Riviera Hotel is showcased in this bronze bas-relief. Rumor has it that patting the prominent assets of the artwork known as "No Ifs, Ands, O..." bestows good fortune, and the seven femme cabooses have been shined to a high gloss by gamblers searching for a lucky streak.

Top 10 Good Luck Monuments

Inside the Oak Ridge Cemetery, thousands of hands have rubbed the nose of a heroic likeness of Abraham Lincoln at the tomb of our 16th president. The piece, created by Gutzon Borglum of Mount Rushmore fame, reveals a rather pensive president. Maybe visitors started rubbing Abe's nose to cheer him up, but who can tell? It's a friendly gesture that tempers an otherwise somber mood-and may even bring you good luck.

Top 10 Good Luck Monuments

On the Nevada side of the Hoover Dam, several awe-inspiring Art Deco touches enhance one of the world's most amazing feats of engineering. They also draw attention to some amazingly engineered feet. In addition to a bas-relief story of the dam's benefits and a celestial chart marking dedication day, sculptor Oskar Hansen's "Winged Figures of the Republic" are 30-foot-tall, seated bronze sculptures that overlook the canyon. Within arm's reach are the toes of each figure, so using ten figures to rub ten toes (don't worry, they're not ticklish), you'll be blessed with good luck.

Top 10 Good Luck Monuments

More than two dozen sculptures line the famed Charles Bridge crossing Prague's Vltava River, but only will bring you good fortune. The statue of St. John of Nepomuk is the oldest on the bridge and is adorned with shiny plaques that tell his story. Although the Archbishop of Prague ran out of luck in 1393 (he was tortured and thrown in the river), rubbing the plaque that depicts his plunge into the water is said to bring good luck, and a return trip to Prague. St. John's the eighth on your right as you head towards Prague Castle.

Top 10 Good Luck Monuments

Talk about a return on investment. In 1356, Brussels resident Everard 't Serclaes (a.k.a. the Lord of Cruyckembourg) saved the city from an attack by the Flemish and earned the respect of his fellow citizens. More than 600 hundred years later, Serclaes is still adding value to the city through a relief likeness displayed near the Grand Place. Constant handling has kept Serclaes' body, an angel's face, a dog's face, and a shield all bright and shiny.

Top 10 Good Luck Monuments

Some sparring couples may disagree that a golden ring brings good luck, but at Nuremburg's Schöner Brunnen fountain a seamless, shimmering brass ring cleverly set into one of the ornate railings surrounding the fountain reportedly has the power to make a wish come true-but only if you turn the ring three times. Perhaps the ring's powers are due to its intricate placement within the ironwork. Or maybe the real magic is in its ability to attract tourists who believe it works.

Top 10 Good Luck Monuments

The practice of patting a Buddha's belly for luck started in Hangzhou's Lingyin Temple, which has been around since 328 AD. Countless Buddha figures accent one of China's largest temples, but the one visitors love to see is along a section of rock carvings in "The Peak that Flew Too Far," where the Laughing Buddha relaxes. Maybe he's laughing because he has no cares, but it probably has something to do with the number of visitors that tickle his belly in order to be the recipient of wealth, good luck, and prosperity. FYI: Buddha belly rubbing is rumored to be how Trump made his fortune.

Top 10 Good Luck Monuments

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Powerless Cruise Ship Finally Reaches San Diego (Photos) [Huffington Post]

10 More Things Your Flight Attendant Won't Tell You [Reader's Digest]

2010 Photo Contest Winners & Viewer's Favorites (Amazing Pics) [National Geographic]

How to Talk to a Celebrity on Vacation (Fist Bump?) [Fox News]

World's Most Beautiful Lakes (Top 10 Picks) [Budget Travel]

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Unusual Minibar Items

Gary McKechnie — 2010-10-31T08:50:00+00:00

Filed under: Hotel, Weird

The Levin Hotel

You may have noticed some strange items in your minibar next to the overpriced candy, peanuts, and soda.

Comparing today's minibar with those that first appeared in Europe in the 1960s and America in the 1970s is like comparing silent movies with Pixar animation. Yes, the snacks are still there, but now they are only bit players next to the newest minibar stars: exotic bottled waters, toys, and even poolside essentials like flip-flops and bikinis. These ten hotels will make you look twice at the minibar, full of items so surprising that you won't mind racking up another room charge.

Hotel Helix

10. Hotel Helix, Washington, D.C.

Forget Toblerone. At Kimpton's Hotel Helix, the minibars are stocked with Pez dispensers (pretend you are bringing them back for the kids, we won't tell). If you aren't a fan of small rectangles of sugar, book the Helix's sister property. Kimpton's Hotel Rouge raises the whimsical mini-bar with red wax lips.
Washington D.C. Travel Deals

The Cooper Square Hotel

9. Cooper Square Hotel, New York, New York

Decided on a night out on the town, but only packed for sightseeing? The minibars at this Manhattan boutique hotel offer up makeup kits from Lorraine as well as bold, vintage-inspired necklaces from Tina Thor that will make even jeans and a T-shirt evening-ready. And don't worry-there are the usual chocolates and wine if you decide instead on a night in.
New York Travel Deals

Ace Hotel

8. Ace Palm Springs, Palm Springs, California

In Palm Springs, one of the most demanding parts of the day is deciding which pool to lounge next to. The Ace Hotel & Swim Club thoughtfully stocks their minibars with pairs of Brazilian-made Havaianas flip-flops that are guaranteed to keep your soles cool on the hot-baked California pavement. Adding a dash of fun, the white sandals with a black strap are themed for the resort with a tiny coyote medallion (the hotel's de facto icon) attached.
Palm Springs Travel Deals

7. XV Beacon, Boston, Massachusetts

Housekeeping carts were once packed with aerosol room sprays to neutralize the after-effects of cigarette odors. That's not such an issue now, as smokers are quarantined off, but that doesn't mean rooms always smell their best. XV Beacon thoughtfully provides a canister of homeopathic bliss in their minibar: The City Life Detoxer from Sprayology. Designed to counter the airborne pollutants and low-grade toxins found in cities, the detoxer is mixed with St. Mary's thistle-an ingredient that some believe alleviates coughing, weariness and breathing difficulties. With your bed's 400-thread Frette linens and a shot of this oral mist sprayed under your tongue, you will be ready for a good night's rest.
Boston Travel Deals

The Levin Hotel

6. The Levin Hotel, London

Instead of just having a bar in the lobby, this Knightsbridge hotel put one in every room. More specifically, a Champagne cocktail minibar. Each fridge comes filled with half-bottles of Champagne like Krug Grande Cuvée and Laurent-Perrier Brut, plus mixers. There's also a variety of stemware, though no points are taken off for using the wrong glass.
London Travel Deals

5. The Dupont Hotel, Washington, D.C.

This perfectly located hotel on Dupont Circle has a special perk for guests checking in on Level Nine. Unlike those on floors one through eight, where minibars are sadly just minibars, the concierge level's rooms have a complimentary (yes, free) minibar stocked with full-size bottles of Belvedere Vodka, 10 Cane Rum, Tanqueray, Johnnie Walker Black, and a half-bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne. If you happen to polish one off, just call the desk and the empty one will be replenished.
Washington D.C. Travel Deals

W Retreat & Spa, Maldives

4. W Retreat & Spa, Maldives

It goes without saying that if you can arrange a vacation at the W Retreat in the Maldives you're already doing pretty well. And chances are, you probably packed a bathing suit or two (you are going to an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean). But if you happened to forget, the W comes to the rescue with the only mini-bar on earth that provides a $275 purple Heidi Klein bikini accented with silver accessories. If the in-room swimwear is a tad too snug or loose, the "bikini butler" will bring a better fitting model to your room.
Maldives Travel Deals

3. Trump International Hotel, Chicago, Illinois

Teetotalers rejoice. The minibar at this hotel comes stocked not only with bottle after bottle of liquor, but also with bottle after bottle of...water. The in-room water library allows you to taste eau from around the world, including Tasmanian Rain from Australia; Malmberg, mineral water from small village of Yngsjö on the southeast coast of Sweden; 420 from the New Zealand Alps. The star is the best-selling Bling H2O, whose frosted bottle accented with Swarovski crystals makes it the coolest one in the bar.
Chicago Travel Deals

Noble House Hotels & Resorts

2. Edgewater Hotel, Seattle, Washington

Hotels strive to provide their guests with little creature comforts. The Edgewater takes it an extra step by providing little creatures in their minibars, namely teddy bears and rubber duckies. The snugly bears come in black and brown, and there are a variety of ducks on offer if you want to splash around in the bath. Even better: The Edgewater donates a dollar from the sale of each duckie to the
Make-A-Wish Foundation. Seattle Travel Deals

1. W Dallas - Victory, Dallas, Texas

Whether on a business trip or a vacation, the last thing a traveler wants at the end of the day is to be wired. That's why this Dallas W stocks their minibar with iChill. Think of it as the anti-energy drink. The blend of melatonin, valerian root, rose hips, and B vitamins is said to calm the body and the mind after stressful day. Just don't forget to schedule a wake-up call.
Dallas Travel Deals

More Articles You Might Like

Outrageous Concierge Requests [AOL Travel]

13 Things Your Flight Attendant Won't Tell You [Reader's Digest]

20 Best Islands To Never Leave (Photos) [Huffington Post]

99 Coastal Destinations Rated (Great Photos) [National Geographic]

20 Ways to Stay Healthy & Safe in a Hotel [Reader's Digest]

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Fall Foliage Deals to Book Now

Gary McKechnie — 2010-08-24T10:11:00+00:00

Filed under: Hotel, Budget, Seasonal

joiseyshowaa, flickr

Fall is just around the corner, which means that Mother Nature will soon be shedding her summer greens for the brilliant reds, oranges, yellows, and purples that signify brisk autumn weather. Want to get up close and personal this year? Hotels from the Appalachians of New England to the Ozarks of Arkansas, across the Rockies in the west and over to the edge of the Pacific coast are offering deals that make it easy to get close to those gorgeous hues. But you better book now. Like the leaves, these deals won't last.

schodts, flickr

10. Williamsburg Lodge, Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

Stay: You can't go wrong when one national treasure (Colonial Williamsburg) celebrates another (fall foliage). Here, the refreshing breath of autumn is showcased in the three days/two nights Autumn Stories package available at this Federal-style lodge just a short walk from the iconic village. Starting from $449 per couple, the package includes breakfast, passes to the historic buildings and museums, a $100 activities card to use at the shops, restaurants, and spa, and more, making it an incredible deal.

See: You won't have to even leave the lodge to see some color, since the trees within the living museum turn vibrant orange. To experience more, take a drive along the Colonial Parkway, which has multiple areas for pulling over and enjoying the view.
More Williamsburg, VA Travel Deals

Amish Country Inn

9. The Inn & Spa at Intercourse Village, Intercourse, Pennsylvania

Stay: Located in the heart of Amish country, this inn has all the details you are looking for: cozy rooms, patchwork quilts, and lots of fireplaces. During fall foliage season you can reserve an overnight from $159, including an extensive five-course breakfast each morning.

See: If you are looking to splurge, go aloft on a hot air balloon voyage that floats gently above the countryside ($174 per person). Back on earth, explore peaceful Highway 23, a gently rolling two-lane road tucked between lovely low hills. Surrounding Intercourse you'll discover a web of quiet country lanes woven deep into Amish farmland where, during harvest time, the earth tones of nature and the brisk nip of cool weather create a classic American autumn.
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Munro House

8. Munro House, Jonesville, Michigan

Stay: Midwesterner's in the mood for some foliage flock to this inn, about two hours from Detroit and three hours from Chicago. Munro House's Southern Michigan Fall Colors package, offered from mid-September to mid-November, includes two nights starting at $399. If the price still seems a little steep for a deal, know that besides the room you'll also get dinner both nights as well as a one-hour massage each.

See: Explore the back roads and lakes of Southern Michigan, the rolling Irish Hills, the Old Sauk Trail, and fields where the autumn visage of corn and alfalfa and hay complements the colors of the changing leaves.
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selmerv, flickr

7. MSC Poesia

Stay: If you're not content with seeing just one fall foliage location, book a cruise that takes you to several. Departing from New York beginning in September, the fall foliage sailings of the MSC Poesia will hug the colorful New England coast on voyages from six to ten days with a selection of stops in Boston, Newport, and Bar Harbor and then along the Canadian coast to ports in Halifax, Charlottetown, Sydney, Corner Brook, and Quebec City. Sailings start at $599 per person, based on double occupancy.

See: The gold and crimson leaves will be exploding out your cabin window as you sail up the Atlantic Coast and into the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Quebec.
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Jiminy Peak

6. Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Hancock, Massachusetts

Stay: The Berkshires in western Massachusetts are gorgeous any time of the year, whether they are hidden beneath a layer of white snow or the vibrant green of spring. But when the fall weather triggers the beginning of the foliage season, resorts like this will be flooded with leaf peepers. Luckily the rates stay low, starting at $109 in September and $129 in October.

See: Tour the lovely two-lane roads that criss-cross the hills vibrant with fall colors and lead to wonderfully charming New England towns such as North Adams where, on October 3rd, the town will host its 55th Annual Fall Foliage Festival Parade.
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Waverly Inn

5. Waverly Inn, Hendersonville, North Carolina

Stay: Sitting in the center of a circle of western North Carolina destinations such as Asheville, Brevard, and the Pisgah National Forest, the Waverly Inn is offering an Autumn Colors package that starts at $149 per night and adds a third night free. At that price it would be silly not to add on extras like two Chimney Rock Park tickets ($25), two two-day Biltmore Estate tickets ($100), and a picnic lunch for two ($20). An impressive breakfast is included each morning, and the afternoon brings cool mountain breezes and the inn's casually comfortable Front Porch Social.

See: Drive US 64 up to the Highlands or follow your trip to the Biltmore with a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway, where the red maples and yellow sassafras will likely peak in mid October.
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Valley River Inn

4. Valley River Inn, Eugene, Oregon

Stay: The name of this package says it all -- Oregon Wine Country: Autumn in the Vineyards. Priced from $159 per evening ($179 for a river view), the package includes breakfast, a road map to local wineries, a free tour and tasting and bottle of wine at the King Estate winery, and a $20 gas card to help get you there. But if you're willing to splurge, it's worth paying an extra fee and leaving the driving to the inn's shuttle chauffeur.

See: Since you'll be staying on the Willamette River in the heart of the Beaver State's wine country, you're only a short drive to vineyards and wineries in the valley where oak, aspen, and birch trees slowly change into the fiery colors of autumn.
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Grand Central Hotel

3. Grand Central Hotel, Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Stay: One of the oldest hotels in this unexpectedly artistic Gilded Age resort town, this historic 1883 hotel and spa has fourteen guest suites done in upscale Victorian style with high ceilings, period wallpaper, and antiques (plus king beds and double whirlpool tubs). In October and November, their Fall Foliage Package offers a book two nights get the third free deal. Visit Friday and Saturday and stay over on Sunday on the house ($450), or stay two consecutive days between Sunday and Wednesday and receive the following day free ($400). The package also includes extras like a $50 dinner voucher for the inn's Grand Taverne restaurant and a one-hour whole body massage for two in the hotel spa.

See: Drive along the area's country back roads for the best foliage experience. Northern Arkansas color begins in late September, when the Ozarks start putting on their fall wardrobe. The area peaks in late October, with black gum trees burning bright red.
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Strater

2.Strater Hotel, Durango, Colorado

Stay: For a fall package that will reveal the season from a whole new perspective, test-ride the Strater's Autumn in the Animas Valley package. The package at the classic 1887 hotel (a favorite of Western novelist Louis L'Amour) is a little pricey, offering two nights starting at $550, but includes expensive extras like dinner for two at the hotel's Mahogany Grille and a scenic train ride.

See: Included in the package price is a ride on the famed Durango-Silverton steam railroad which huffs and puffs its way to the mining town of Silverton at 9,288 feet. Along the way you'll be riding alongside cliffs and through the wooded forests along the Animas River Gorge, which bursts with color in autumn.
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Omni Hotels

1. Omni Mount Washington Resort, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire

Stay: One of the Granite State's most famed grand hotels, this lodge in the heart of the Presidential Range is a great place to experience the beauty of a New England autumn. Priced at $159 per person per night, the Rest and Recreation Package comes with your choice of a 50-minute spa treatment in the hotel's new 25,000-square foot spa, a round of golf on a new Donald Ross-designed course or -- better yet -- a canopy tour in the Bretton Woods.

See: The 3.5-hour canopy tour will let you immerse yourself into the quintessential New England fall foliage. There are two sky bridges, three rappelling stations, and ten zip lines that are as long as 900 feet and as high as ten stories. But in this case, you don't even want to think of the word fall...
More Bretton Woods, NH Travel Deals

The science behind leaf peeping

If your junior high biology is a little rusty, you may need a refresher course on how leaves change color. It's pretty simple, really. When the trees bloom in the spring, leaves are filled with chlorophyll that gives them their green pigment. As summer begins to fade, a layer of cells begin forming at the base of the leaf and the moisture, minerals, and chlorophyll that once flowed through the veins of the leaf are blocked. When the chlorophyll disappears, the leaf formerly known as green starts to show its true colors.

The beauty of this natural design is that fall foliage begins at different times in different places, depending on a forest's exposure to the sun, its elevation, and the amount of rainfall it receives. Generally you'll see leaves change at higher elevations in the north and then work down the hills and mountains. You can scramble to the top of a peak to find them, or contact the National Forest Service Fall Color Hotline at 800-354-4595. For the full experience, pick up the Fall Color Finder, which identifies more than 150 fall leaves in full color and spells out their range, leaf size, and shape.

More Articles You Might Like

Secrets to Successful Leaf Peeping [AOL Travel]

Cruise to See Fall Foliage from $429 [AOL Travel]

Obama Goes for a Swim During Gulf Vacation (Great Photo) [Huffington Post]

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World's Wildest Water Park Rides

Gary McKechnie — 2010-08-06T14:42:00+00:00

Filed under: Family

Summit Plummet; Disney

When most of us were kids, a waterpark consisted of a front yard, a garden hose, and a rainbow sprinkler. Today, from Denver to Dubai, waterparks are increasing the value of their liquid assets by introducing rides that are higher, faster, and more creative than anything you've ever experienced.With the introduction of slicker composite materials and accelerants like water jets and linear induction motors, waterparks are able to create thrills such as 'water coasters' and near-inversions, features unheard of when Wet n' Wild, the first "official" waterpark, premiered in Orlando in 1977.

"Like theme parks and roller coasters, after time even the wildest water rides become the norm and guests start looking for something more extreme," explains Marc Lassalle, membership coordinator for the World Waterpark Association. "Eventually ideas and creativity meet new technology and designers begin pushing the envelope to deliver what the consumer demands." If you are someone who demands extreme adventures like shark encounters and 140-foot drops, read on for our list of the wildest rides in the world.

10. Tornado
Six Flags Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom, Lake George, New York
After climbing to the top of a 75-foot platform, you'll slip into a four-person raft and drift through an enclosed tube before slipping down an incline and into a cavernous bowl. The first blast into the funnel launches the inner tube almost to the top of the towering rim -- which is scary enough -- but then continues to whip everyone back and forth across the mammoth bowl until you swirl your way down into the splashdown pool.
Lake George Travel Deals

9. Bomb Bay
Wet n' Wild, Orlando, Florida
You start this ride at the top of a seven-story tower in a small chamber that looks like the tail end of an unexploded missile and is slightly smaller than a telephone booth (remember them?). A clear window offers a commanding view of the entire park and the Central Florida horizon. Enjoy it now because in 3...2...1...the floor snaps open and you drop out and accelerate into a freefall for about 75 feet along a nearly vertical slide that curves you into the splashdown lane. Look up before you leap -- a "capsule cam" is broadcasting your impending fall to an audience near the ride's end.
Orlando Travel Deals

8. Dolphin Plunge
Aquatica, Orlando, Florida
When SeaWorld opened Aquatica in 2008 they merged their experience with oceanic theme parks with a new design in water parks, and Dolphin Plunge is the star attraction. From atop a tower, slip into one of two enclosed tubes and after speeding through slow, looping turns in the dark, you'll complete the spin cycle and see the light. In an instant the curved colored tubes become crystal clear as you slip beneath the surface of a lagoon. Suddenly you are not alone, as black and white Commerson's dolphins glide through the waters surrounding the tube. As you marvel at how incredible this is, the dolphins will probably be wondering, "Who's that dolphin in the bathing suit?"
Orlando Travel Deals

7. Discovery Plunge
King's Pointe, Storm Lake, Iowa
On this ride, passengers choose their raft ride experience by pre-selecting encounters with holographic images that range from butterflies and hot air balloons to phantom skeletons, ghosts, sea creatures, and ethereal snapping sharks and dinosaurs. Add some wild sound effects, fog, creative animation, and a kaleidoscope of weird lighting effects and you'll discover a sensation first experienced by fans attending a Jefferson Airplane concert in 1967. Add a total drop of 420 feet and you've got every reason to make way for Iowa.
Iowa Travel Deals

6. Scorpion's Tail
Noah's Ark Waterpark, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
Take Bomb Bay's sudden drop and add a 400-foot long slide plus a twist in the enclosed tube that creates a near inversion and you've got the Scorpion's Tale (new in 2010). Step inside a see-through chamber, cross your arms and legs, and when the bottom falls out the G-forces kick in on a near-vertical drop throwing you down at 50 feet per second and then into a wide, arcing loop that twists you up and a-r-o-u-n-d until you're skimming and screaming to a stop in the run-out lane.
Wisconsin Dells Travel Deals

5. Shark Attack
Aquaventure, Atlantis the Palm, Dubai
This ride starts when you climb aboard an inner tube and drop into a tunnel that speeds around the pitch-black interior of the Ziggurat (a recreation of an ancient Middle Eastern monument). The twisting trip lasts for a good twenty seconds before you meet up with a gently rolling stream that sloshes through a see-through rectangular case. In the crystal clear waters you'll see guitar sharks, bow mouth sharks, white tip, black tip and grey reef sharks circling the lagoon and wondering when it's dinnertime.
Dubai Travel Deals

4. Summit Plummet
Walt Disney World's Blizzard Beach, Orlando, Florida
At twelve stories tall, this Disney-designed attraction has you shoving off from a small launch area into a big drop that begins as you fall over the precipice and hydroplane over the slide then past an Alpine village. You end the wild ride in a tunnel through a snow-capped mountain. The entire water park is themed as a winter wonderland -- so think of this as a hydro-ski jump.
Orlando Travel Deals

3. Wildebeest
Holiday World and Splashin' Safari, Santa Claus, Indiana
With its premiere in May 2010, the Wildebeest became the "world's longest water coaster" -- an aquatic attraction that includes seven drops and speeds up to 36 feet per second (for a bit of perspective, you walk at about one foot a second). Once the conveyor belt speeds your four-person toboggan into the first plunge, there will be no stopping you as you speed through the Wildebeest's darkened tunnels, around banked curves, and skim across a series of moguls on your way to the finish line a third of a mile away. The front seat offers a great view, but be prepared for some super splashes.
Santa Claus Travel Deals

2. Insano
Beach Park, Fortaleza, Brazil
Fortaleza is about a three-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro and worth the trip to experience the Insano -- a name that translates in almost every language. It's a long trek to the top of the tallest water slide in the world. You'll be 14 stories in the air and from the peak you'll see all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. Sit in your lane as a rush of water nudges you a few feet forward...and then a few more...and then gravity takes over to speed you up and over the edge and then drop down the chute at up to 70 miles per hour. Which means you'll cover that 140 feet in about two seconds, just enough time to scream your head off and devise a way to untuck your bathing suit.
Fortaleza Travel Deals

1. Dragon's Revenge
Schlitterbahn Waterpark, New Braunfels, Texas
Eight uphill blasts, a two-story freefall, and a series of computer-generated images projected onto thick sheets of water accent this wild ride at one of America's largest waterparks. Board a raft and blast off through a series of caverns (aka enclosed tunnels) that are enhanced with fiber optics, faux fire, a spinning vortex, and an encounter with an angry dragon before dropping down a steep slide and into the castle moat.
New Braunfels Travel Deals

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