Daily Pampering: Escape to White Elephant Loft in Nantucket from $6,000

by Melanie Nayer on

The holidays are a stressful time. Whether you’re cooking a feast for the family or the only adult stuck at the kids table, the holidays are nothing if not memorable. And every year, you say you’re not going to do again… and every year, you do… But this year, why not try something different?

Cook the bird, make the stuffing, crush the cranberries and then get out of town! This daily pampering isn’t just luxurious, it’s necessary for your mental health after the holidays.

Leave the chaos and head for The White Elephant Loft in Nantucket. The quintessential New England island glows during the holiday season and the entire town dresses up for Christmas, with Santa Clause arriving via Coast Guard vessel and carolers lining the streets.

Check into The White Elephant Loft and unpack in a luxurious three-bedroom loft, let the staff treat you to breakfast each morning at Brant Point Grill, a four-course meal prepared in the loft, and a Saturday Champagne Reception at the White Elephant spa with hors d’oeuvres, and dinner after at Brant Point Grill.

The price for this daily pampering: $6,000 for up to six people, Dec. 1-4 or Dec. 2-5. The package also comes with $25 towards any $100 or more spa treatment.

The price for reclaiming your sanity after the holidays: Priceless

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay to hold Black Friday camp

by Leigh Caldwell on

If you’ll be in Florida for Thankgiving, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is offering to watch your kids while you shop on Black Friday.

The theme park is holding a Black Friday Kid’s Camp for children ages 5 to 11. The camp is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 26, which should allow you at least 10-11 hours of shopping once you factor in travel time to and from the park.

The cost for a full day is $55, or, if you’re not as serious a shopper, you can choose a morning or afternoon half-day camp for $30.

Programs during the Black Friday Kid’s Camp will include interactions with some of the animals that live at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

Meals and snacks for the kids will be provided, and the park is even promising to greet you with a hot cup of coffee when you drop them off at dark-thirty.

Reservations for the Black Friday camp are required in advance. Make them by calling (813) 987-5087.

Should Splendor passengers sue Carnival after their ship broke down?

by Scott Carmichael on

After the Carnival Splendor incident last week, the logical follow-up is of course whether passengers will sue the cruiseline. Despite being reimbursed for their inconvenience and receiving a free credit towards a future cruise, chances are some of the passengers will only settle for more.

So, online prediction site Predicto Mobile asked the question – will Carnival be sued by angry passengers before December?

Of the 824 votes, 69% suspect they will. Sadly for those passengers expecting a big payout, Maritime cruise lawyer Jim Walker tells passengers that they’d be wasting their time.

In his article, Jim Walker makes some excellent points about why suing Carnival won’t get them anywhere, and how it could end up costing them more and making them lose out on the current offer of a refund and a free future trip.

So, what do you think? Should the passengers from the Carnival Splendor consider suing the cruise line, or just be happy nobody was hurt and accept the current offer?

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Virgin America and Stand Up to Cancer kick off new Dallas service

by Melanie Nayer on

Richard Branson is widely known for many things, among them his endless charitable contributions. So, it’s no surprise that when Branson’s Virgin America wants to make a statement, they enlist the help of one of the top charity groups in the nation.

In an effort to generate awareness for its new Dallas-Fort Worth flights, Virgin America is teaming up with Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) to encourage “do-gooders” in the Dallas market to stand up for a good cause. The “Stand Up Dallas-Fort Worth” digital campaign urges flyers to tap their network of friends and family to raise awareness and funds for collaborative cancer research.

With every unique donation of at least $5, entrants will score a 20 percent flight discount with Virgin America. In addition, the top do-gooders – those who tap the largest network of donors – will score an invitation to the airline’s Lone Star Launch Party. The party, hosted by Branson, will feature some “smoking” secret musical performances at The Winspear Opera House on December 1, 2010.The airline launches daily nonstop flights between Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) starting December 1, 2010, and between DFW and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) starting December 6, 2010. DFW-LAX and DFW-SFO fares start from $119, restrictions, taxes and fees applying.***

Remember: In this case, size doesn’t matter — through the Stand Up Dallas-Fort Worth campaign, the larger the network of donors tapped (not necessarily the size of the donations) – the bigger the rewards.

The campaign runs through November 26, 2010. For more information or to donate, click here.

DealBase shows real honesty: displays worst hotel deals

by Scott Carmichael on

In many ways, travel deal site DealBase does what lots of other sites do – they collect the best deals, create a comprehensive listing for them, and publish these deals in an easy to navigate way. But that is where the comparison ends. In searching for the best deals, DealBase also publishes what they consider to be the worst deals.

Becase the site knows the average prices for these rooms, they also know perfectly well when a hotel has raised its prices beyond what is considered “normal”.

Hotel package deals are one kind of “bargain” where customers are regularly taken for a ride, and when DealBase passes these deals through their Deal Analyzer, they break down the actual savings.

So, instead of blindly publishing a deal and hoping you’ll fall for it, the site shows what the package value is, and how much you are not going to save if you purchase it.

Their “worst hotel deals” are all listed here, but if you don’t like being ripped off, you can also navigate their best deals.