Amansala Bikini Boot Camp

by Karen Walrond on

Yesterday, I was whining to a friend of mine on the
phone.

"I just don’t get it.  I’m working out, and not losing any weight.  My butt? 
It’s getting its own gravitational pull, it’s so big."

"Oh please," my friend
responded.  "Don’t even talk to me.  I can’t seem to stop eating.  I’m apparently on a mission to
inhale everything in sight."

The unfortunate whining continued, and when I got off the phone, I didn’t
feel any better.  I wish I could just get a sign of what I’m supposed to do, I thought to myself.

The sign came this morning, as I was on the treadmill.

I was leafing through my copy of MACO Destinations (which, by the way, is one of the best magazines out there when it
comes to great recreational travel in the Caribbean and Central America), and I came across Amansala Resort,  an "eco-chic resort in Tulum, Mexico." 
Located on the Caribbean side of Mexico, Amansala’s claim to fame is the Bikini Boot Camp — a six-night package guaranteed to make
you look better in your bikini.  The no-phones-no-television-no-computers resort boasts all fresh, organic meals, a
wonderful spa, and the boot camp comes with six hours a day of exercise — but since it comes in the form of yoga, long
beach walks, snorkeling, and visits to Mayan ruins, guests will hardly mind.  The resort has also been visited by
many of the rich and famous:  Jude Law, Sienna Miller, Cindy Crawford, Jade Jagger and Benicio del Toro, to name a
few.

As of the time of the printing of MACO, the package cost $1575 for the six night camp, and includes all
meals, drinks, activities, plus two massages and a Mayan clay treatment.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to tell
my friend we need to call our travel agent.

Plenty Magazine

by Adrienne Wilson on

It’s official now – I’ve been
diagnosed with a case of the Green Holy Ghost.  And who knew catching an eco-spirit could be so much fun?
It all started yesterday when I arrived first thing in the morn for the grand opening of a new Wild Oats market here in Tampa. I was bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and
determined to be one of the first 200 to nab one of the grand opening goodie bags. After they slapped all eagerly
waiting persons with the kind of green wrist bands you’d get at a nightclub and introduced all the VIP’s including the
mayor we were let loose, running rampant  inside the natural marketplace. In their clever little marketing scheme
you could only pick up your bag at the register after you perused aisles and aisles of healthy fare. Nobody was bold
enough to go to the cashier without one item at the very least, so the smart ones plucked up little energy bars, got in
and got out. Adrienne, on the other hand ended up spending $45 bucks when my goal was to spend half.

Needless to say I was hoping there would be a 5-gallon trial size of ethanol
nestled somewhere inside, but there wasn’t. On the contrary, I did find some delicious energy bars, chocolate soy milk,
coupons and a recent issue of Plenty Magazine. Plenty? Hmm… Never heard of it
before. After just spending a few minutes looking through the glossy mag dedicated to several eco-related topics
including travel, I decided it was a fair trade off for the ethanol I had initially expected. Plenty appears to have
lots to talk about if you’re interested in finding very green events, spa destinations or food happenings for your next
vacation. Check out the online blog for frequent updates or find a magazine
in your area.

And I promise you it won’t even cost you $45.

United Loves You

by Erik Olsen on

And here I
thought United Airlines was all about firing people and streamlining the whole flying
experience to save money. Turns out I was wrong. United Airlines,
according to the Washington Post’s Keith L. Alexander, has partnered with
the customer service consulting firm Valtera to add some smiley-faced pizzazz to it’s business.

The
firm has helped lots of other big-name companies like Starbucks, Ritz Carlton and Nordstom to help employees improve
their customer service efforts. Somehow, I am imagining a big group of United flight attendants standing in a line
repeating "buh-bye" as they smile and wave. But I’m sure it’s more than that.

The effort seems to
come…at least in part…from a survey of how the airlines treat customers and manage their on-time arrivals. In the
survey, United Airlines ranked fifth overall, making it the best-ranked traditional carrier, but behind JetBlue, which
did very well in the survey.


Travel Innovators at T&L

by Erik Olsen on

Here’s one for travel buffs who are eager to know more about the folks behind the world of travel and tourism. I
didn’t think I’d find this very interesting when I first stumbled upon it over at Travel and Leisure, but I spent some time with it and
think it’s rather cool. The list here of those who are "changing the way you travel in the 21st century"
lists 35 innovators, a wide range of people who’s ideas are having amajor impact on the world of travel.

It’s an impressive group, from the guy who had the brilliant idea that it would be good to provide people with more legroom on airplane flights, to how
we’re going to all be checking email
at 35,00 feet, to a scientist who
developed a non-addictive sleeping pill, and the guys who pioneered building luxury
hotels in unorthodox destinations (about which we’ve blogged several times), it
really is a fascinating look at folks who, in some small (or large) way, affect each of us as we travel.

Latitudes Number 12

by Erik Olsen on

Ah yes. Happy day. The most recent issue of one of my favorite online magazines is up today. I’ve posted about them a gagillion times before, but every issue provides new visual joy for the avid traveler…or for the vicarious one, which includes most of us right now.

The magazine is called Latitudes and comes out of Italy, even though there is an English version…which is probably the one you should be checking unless you speak Italian.

The issue, as always, is filled with lavishly delightful, artfully composed photographs with a few “Easter eggs” thrown in…by Easter eggs, I mean clever little flash animations that add some pizzazz to the articles. The one thing I object to with the magazine is how it pops off and doesn’t allow you to link into specific stories. But we’ll give them a pass.

Stories this month cover Antigua, Juarez, South Africa, Santiago de Compostela and the Seychelles.