Most hotels now use keycards to unlock room doors (instead of keys). Some hotels suggest you return the keycard after your stay, or leave it in your hotel room.
However, you don’t have to do either of these things. Hotel keycards are deactivated as soon as your stay is complete, and you are free to take them if you wish.
Keycards can provide a fun memory of the hotels you’ve stayed in, and you can even show off your growing pile to admiring friends and family members.
If you’re a big fan of Return of the Native or Jude the Obscure, there’s a travel package that’s perfect for you. Built around the chance to hang with Thomas Hardy’s ghost – or, should we say, Thomas Hardy in ghost form? – Summer Lodge Country House Hotel is bringing four writers under its roof for a unique weekend of literary bliss. Guests will be able to learn how to make it as a writer from some heavy hitters, specifically Roger Collins, Marcelle Bernstein, Eric Clark and Jim O’Connor. Of course, there’s always the possibility that Hardy himself will weigh in with a few tips.
Roger Collins is an actor, broadcaster and writer, who counts his weekly International Herald Tribune column “The Frequent Traveler” among his claims to fame. Marcelle Bernstein is a novelist, nonfiction writer and journalist and has written Body & Soul and Sacred & Profane, both best sellers that later became feature films and television dramas. Eric Clark is an investigative journalist, and Jim O’Connor is an advertising copywriter who has pushed everything from forklifts to Australian rum.If you want to get in on the action, Summer Lodge’s Writers’ Weekend package includes two nights in a classic double room, a full English breakfast every day, champagne and canapés upon arrival and a three-course dinner Saturday evening. You’ll also be able to attend three writer workshop sessions over two days, sip tea and coffee during the events and receive a signed book by either Eric Clark or Marcelle Bernstein.
“Summer Lodge has close associations with Thomas Hardy,” says General Manager Charles Lötter. “He lived nearby and the hotel is at the very heart of the Wessex landscape he immortalized. The village pub, the Acorn Inn is featured in his novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles as The Sow & Acorn. What’s more, in his capacity as an architect, Hardy was asked to design the upper floor and the drawing room of Summer Lodge by the 6th Earl of Ilchester in 1893. So you could say the house is haunted by him – although I’ve yet to bump into him myself.”
Non-smokers probably won’t be too excited by the news, but cigar smokers will rejoice. The Washington DC City Council passed a measure last week that eases smoking restrictions on hotels in our nation’s capital. The Special Event Exemption Emergency Act of 2010 carries an amendment that offers a way for hotels to be exempted from the city’s smoking ban. If you prefer your hotels sans puffing, there’s no cause for alarm – the rules are pretty narrow.
Hotels will be allowed to host special cigar-smoking events once a year, as long as at least 500 people are in attendance (which means the venue must be large enough to accommodate this number of guests). Also, the hotel will have to notify the Department of Health and pay a $250 fee. Quite simply, it has to be a pretty hefty occasion.
As with any “emergency” measure, you’d be correct to assume that this law was passed with something specific in mind. In this case, it was the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day dinner, organized by the social organization the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. Historically, the patron saint of Ireland is toasted with brandy and a cigar.
In Washington DC, most emergency legislation lasts for 90 days, but this measure stretches out for 270, as the council also wanted to protect a charity event called Friday Night Fight, which is held on November 11. Last year, it raised more than $2.8 million for Fight for Children.
RELIQUARY has 21 treatment rooms including a couples rooms with its own soak tub and shower; two aestheticians rooms; two vicci shower rooms and a party room that can host your, well, party. No doubt the spa’s party room will see endless parades of Bachelor and Bachelorette parties, but for those spa-goers looking for something more traditional, I suggest a soak in the Roman Bath. History tells tales of healing powers from Roman Baths, so why should the Hard Rock’s version be any different? This Roman Bath features private cabana areas, lounge space and typical spa amenities.
Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.
There’s only a month left on Curtain Bluff’s “Power of ’10” deal, and if you’re feeling worn down by the fierce winter cold, here’s your chance to win some relief. So, stay at this Antigua resort in the next few weeks, and you’ll be able to add some interesting activities to the SCUBA diving, dep-sea fishing and reef snorkeling that are already available. You’ll be able to take a cooking class with Chef Christophe Blatz, pick up a second spa treatment (of equal or lesse value), add an extra personal training session or enjoy a second tennis lesson.
These perks come at the rich cost of $10, as long as you pick them up by the end of March. The all-inclusive resort starts at $995 a night. I know there isn’t much time, but if you need to get away, this is an excellent way to do it.
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