Sizzle in the Bermuda sun this summer

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Bermuda isn’t all that far, especially if you’re on the east coast, making it a great destination for long weekends and brief jaunts. Cambridge Beaches Resort & Spa is also offering a deal that’ll amp up the temptation for you a bit. The resort‘s “Sizzling Summer” special includes a $600 resort credit when you book a six-night stay, with $500 for five nights and $400 for four. The best part is that you can take advantage of Cambridge’s rather liberal definition of summer, which apparently begins in Bermuda on May 1 and stretches all the way to the end of October.

At $615 a night, Cambridge does appeal to a more upscale crowd, and keep in mind that it’s an adults-only property. To take advantage of this deal, remember to use promotional code CBSO10.

What does your mom prefer this May?

by Tom Johansmeyer on

What does the mom in your life prefer? Whether you’re thinking about your wife or your own mom – not to mention anyone who’s given you a motherly nudge throughout your life – consider the gift of travel this may. The Preferred Hotel Group’s Mother’s Day program, IPrefer, offers a unique set of resort escapes at hotels across the United States. The “IPrefer Resort Escapes are valid until July 31, 2010. Sign up online (it’s free), and your favorite mom will enjoy a $75 daily activity credit, breakfast for two every day, a guaranteed room upgrade, late check-in and check-out and complimentary internet access.

Also, every participating resort will have a special amenity waiting for your favorite mom upon arrival. At The Palms Spa, a luxury Aveda spa at The Palms Hotel & Spa in Miami, Florida, discounts are available, and the theme is culinary at The Sanctuary Kiawah Island in South Carolina.

Select national park resorts offer deals on lodging and tours for National Parks Week

by Kraig Becker on

National Parks Week is set to take place from April 17 through the 25, and to celebrate, Aramark, an authorized concessioner of the National Park Service, has announced several great deals on lodging, tours, and retail items.

Several of the lodges that fall under Aramark management are offering two-for-one deals. For example, the visitors to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia can book a nights stay at Skyland Resort for $125 and receive the next nights stay absolutely free. The offer runs from April 18-29, with the deal extending to consecutive nights only. Similarly, visitors to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado can stay for $99 on their first night, and get their second consecutive night free as well. This offer is good from April 22-30.

Visitors to Olympic National Park have multiple choices in their place to stay, with three lodges running specials Book an evening in the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort, Kalaloch Lodge or Lake Crescent Lodge for $157 and you’ll receive the second night free. The offer is good in the first two resorts from April 17-25, and in the Lake Crescent Lodge from May 7-31, but must be booked by April 25.

Finally, visitors to the Yellowstone National Park can stay in the Togwotee Mountain Lodge, located 44 miles from the South Entrance, for just $99 for the first night, and receive the second consecutive night free. The booking must be made by April 25, but is valid for stays between May 21 and June 28.

For more great deals from Aramark, including special pricing on tours, t-shirts and more, click here. Most of the special offers are good through National Park Week, when entry to every park in the system will also be free.

Build up your summer at the Atlantis LEGO workshops

by Tom Johansmeyer on


I wish these existed when I was a kid, and I have to admit, I’m even kicking around going as an adult. The Atlantis is offering three five-day LEGO workshops this July. Kids will get the chance to work with a LEGO Master Builder in hands-on challenges. And, parents can play at the same time. The program is designed to help families spend time together and express their creativity.

The program at the Atlantis includes all activities and LEGO materials, a chance to swim with the resort‘s dolphins, lunch every day for the kids and a variety of other activities, but rooms are separate and require a four-night stay. The three sessions are: July 12 – 16, 2010, July 19 – 23, 2010 and July 26 – 30, 2010. Pricing is $425 per session.

Iberostar Hotels taps Antonio Banderas as new spokesperson for brand

by Melanie Nayer on

The scene: Two women lying on a perfectly combed white-sand beach, waves crashing in the background and sun shining directly on them. The mood: seductive. The setting: luxurious. Remarking that things couldn’t possibly get any better, one woman turns to the other and says, “All I need now is Antonio Banderas to show up on a shiny black stallion.”

Enter: Antonio Banderas on a shiny black stallion.

The “On Vacation Everyone is a Star” marketing campaign from Iberostar Hotels & Resorts was launched during an international press conference at the brand’s Grand Hotel Paraíso in Riviera Maya, Mexico. According to the agreement, all print and broadcast advertising will feature Banderas (and his shiny black stallion) and to add a little more sexy to the game, guests will hear Banderas’ voice when they access the hotel’s site online and take a virtual tour of one of Iberostar’s properties.

Banderas said at the press conference: “This partnership has developed in a very natural way: Iberostar is a brand with a large international presence and corresponding prestige. I share their values, their philosophy, and, of course, their understanding of vacations, which at the end of the day is most important.”

Iberostar has resort properties on some of the most remote beaches including those in Mexico, Jamaica, South America, Greece, Italy, and Spain.

[via Hotels Magazine]