The Westin does Angels & Demons in Rome

by Annie Scott on

Come out of hiding, closet Dan Brown fans. Come out of hiding and get thee to The Westin Excelsior in Rome!

In conjunction with the release of the new movie of Angels & Demons, The Westin Excelsior Rome (above) has partnered with Sony Pictures to create a lavish Angels & Demons Experience package that will run until early 2010.

The Angels & Demons Experience includes:

  • Luxury accommodation in a double room
  • The official Angels & Demons private or group tour
  • 20% off at the hotel’s restaurant and bars
  • 20% off the Angels & Demons theme menu at the Doney restaurant

Does the music on that website remind anyone else of Flight of the Navigator? Just checking.

“With the movie set primarily in Rome, this is the ideal opportunity to offer movie lovers and others a truly special and unique way to explore the city and get to know some of the movie’s original sites,” says Mary Goss Robino, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing Partnerships for Sony Pictures. “We are delighted to be working with Westin Hotels & Resorts on this once in a lifetime package.”

I enjoyed the book (What? It argues that science and religion don’t conflict — interesting stuff!), and I bet the locations you’ll get to on your four hour private or group tour will be pretty great. If I remember correctly, you’ll be visiting Santa Maria del Popolo church, Piazza del Popolo, Saint Peter’s Square, Santa Maria della Vittoria church, the Pantheon, Piazza della Minerva, Piazza Navona, and Castel Sant’Angelo, as well as the Pope’s private chambers at The Vatican and Switzerland (that’s where CERN is). But, you know, no guarantees on those last two.

The Angels & Demons Experience packages are available for booking now, starting at €326 (about $443.76), and Angels & Demons the movie is coming May 15th!
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One-day sale at Abercrombie & Kent on Thursday

by Alison Brick on

Abercrombie & Kent is about to do it again–it’s going to lower the cost of its luxury travel tours by 60% over six hours during the Once in a Lifetime Savings promotion. The question is: will you be ready?

Thursday, May 14th is the day that you’ll want to be prepared. Call in from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (PDT), when prices will start at 5% off, then drop every 30 minutes until they finally reach 60% off.

All sales are first-come, first-served and limited to availability. You could cross your fingers that a spot will still be available on your chosen trip at 12:30 p.m. for 60% off, but you’ll be taking a risk of not being able to book at all.

Destinations include India, East Africa, China, Galapagos, and Antarctica. With original prices between $6,000 to $20,000, 60% off is a significant chunk of change.

For more information about the terms of the promotion, check the FAQs.

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[Thanks, LATimes.com Travel]

Gadling Take FIVE: Week of May 2–May 8

by Jamie Rhein on

Sometimes a Gadling post grabs one’s attention and you think, “Gaad!”

  • That’s what I thought when I read Scott’s post about the flesh eating bacteria that killed a man while he was on a cruise. I’m heading off on my first cruise in August. Naturally, a flesh-eating bacteria cruise story has impact.
  • There are other posts that make a person ponder about life in general. That’s what happened when I read Tynan’s post on coping with travel disasters. His method is a make lemonade out of lemons version which serves him well.
  • As you may have noticed we’re starting a new series on budget travel. This one involves places to drive to from somewhere else. Here are budget destinations so far: Scott has the scoop on Santa Claus, Indiana (from Chicago); Grant’s a whiz at Ann Arbor, Michigan (from Detroit) and Catherine knows about Puget Sound and San Juan Islands ( from Seattle.) There’s much more coming. Each of us have favorite spots that don’t cost a lot, but offer a wonderful time.
  • If you’re looking for an interesting, blogging way to fund travel, check out Aaron’s post on Roads Scholarship. Think of it as a paid internship.
  • For anyone heading to New York City, Jeremy’s post on fun and games offers a unique way to take in the urban scene through Bocce Ball, chess and more. As he points out, immigrant groups have brought their games with them to the Big Apple adding an international mix to what visitors can enjoy.

Memorial Day 2009 airfare deals — it’s not too late!

by Grant Martin on

Memorial Day is right around the corner. Have you got plans yet? Forget the fact that we’re under three weeks away, the economy is flailing and that your job is on the brink. If you factor a little bit of flexibility (read: sick day) into the equation there are still a ton of great deals on flights around the hemisphere. To help you out, we’ve compiled our top favorite deal from every large city in the US to give you some inspiration. Starting today, we’ll be updating the post every day to keep the best deals on the radar, all of the way up to May 22nd. So keep coming back and you just might find a good excuse to get the heck out of dodge.

Check out your city below to find our favorite deals. Got one of your own or found an expired fare? Leave your findings in the comments below and we’ll update the post!

For each of the fares below, run your search on Kayak.com. No hoops to jump through or tricks required!
Atlanta: Frankfurt — $430
Delta and KLM have crazy cheap prices to Frankfurt, Germany right now. Search for Thursday or Friday departures with returns on Monday or Tuesday to get the best price. (updated May 8, 1000)

Boston: San Pedro Sula, Honduras (pictured) — $294
Book tickets from BOS – SAP from Friday night to Tuesday afternoon on American. Use the flex search if you want greater availability. (updated May 8, 1005)

Chicago: Guadalajara, Mexico — $280
Prices are $15 more expensive to depart on Friday instead of Thursday, with returns on either Monday or Tuesday. Fly Delta jets, and don’t worry about the swine flu. (updated May 6, 2220)

Detroit: San Pedro Sula, Honduras — $296
Take Monday off and you can get away with a super cheap fare to SAP, just a hop skip and a jump away from the gorgeous Caribbean coast. (updated May 6, 2220)

Dallas: Monterrey, Mexico — $285
It’s less than three hundred bucks to get to Baja, Mexico on Continental Airlines. Stock up on tequilla, Kahlua and Vicodin to make it worth you dollar. (updated May 6, 2220)

Los Angeles, California: New York City — $267
There’s nothing between Los Angeles and New York anyway, right? Why not take advantage of the current fare wars, book a ticket on any number of available carriers and dates and visit your brothers and sisters on the right coast. We still have our Christmas trees up! (updated May 8, 1009)

Miami: Central America: <$250
Hey Miami: You have no excuse to be staying home this Memorial Day. Nearly every Central American city is in sale from your airport this May, all at excellent prices. Throw a dart into a map and you’ll find a good price. We promise.

Minneapolis: Panama City, Panama (pictured) — $324
While Honduras is still a great bargain at just over $300, we’re going to go ahead and recommend Panama City, Panama as an interesting alternative. Because you’re cooler than Detroit or Boston anyway, aren’t you? Depart on Thursday or Friday and return on Monday or Tuesday. (updated May 8, 2220)

New York City: San Salvador, El Salvador — $251
San Salvador, El Salvador to Central America is the Greenpoint to New York City. Best to get down there while us mouth breathers haven’t figured it out yet. The schedule is wide open on Delta. (updated May 6, 2220)

San Francisco: San Jose, Costa Rica — $462
Why not visit the cool San Jose and stop by Costa Rica for the weekend? You can book tickets on United and Frontier Airlines for travel between Friday and Tuesday. Too expensive? Join the other Californians and fly to the east coast for around $250 (updated May 8, 1015)

Seattle: Juneau, Alaska — $396
Visit your neighbors up north before the pesky tourists destroy all of the fun. You can fly on Alaska Airlines on an open schedule and even get double miles! (updated May 6, 2250)

Washington DC: San Pedro Sula — $231
Once again, Honduras brings in a ringer with sub $250 fares from the nation’s capital on Taca airlines. Depart on Friday afternoon and return on either Monday or Tuesday to get the best price. (updated May 8, 1015)

Not happy with your candidate? Try mixing your former city pair with a latter destination. Chances are, that city is on sale for a reason and it’ll be a similar price from your home town.

Happy hunting!

Budget summer vacations from Detroit: Ann Arbor

by Grant Martin on

Forty miles west of downtown Detroit and twenty minutes from its airport, Ann Arbor is the complete antithesis of it’s next door neighbor. Unemployment and crime are among the lowest in the state, property values are high, education is top notch and the city is alive with innovation and activity.

Sure, The D has it’s virtues (as Mr. Lansel from the Post gently reminds us,) but there is a quaintness about Ann Arbor that’s hard to find in a large city: A two-lane downtown Main Street bustling with boutique shops, restaurants, bars and entertainment. Lush green trees that arch over sleepy neighborhood streets. Rolling parks, a top notch university and a summer festival unrivaled in the state.

Spending time wandering through the Kerrytown Farmer’s market then bouncing among the locals you being to wonder: “Am I really in Michigan?” Ah, but you are. A small blue pocket in an oft red state, Ann Arbor defies many of the stereotypes cast onto Michigan and the Midwest. Stick around and we’ll tell you what to see


The Sights

Home to the University of Michigan, a large part of downtown tree city is devoted to campus, where a leisurely stroll through The Diag will introduce you to many of the architectural hits, including the voluminous Graduate Library and recently remodeled (and free of charge) art museum. Stop by on the first Saturday of April to see Hash Bash, the annual celebration that brings thousands of hippies and revelers out to celebrate their love of weed under the towering, silent Oak trees.

At ether end of The Diag, nose through campus boutiques and restaurants, remembering to pass through the gorgeous Law School (above) before getting a jug of the best sangria in town at Dominicks.

The Big House, Michigan’s enormous football stadium is just south of the Law School, and on most days is open for the public.

Back downtown, you can walk west down Liberty Street and see the world’s first Border’s Book Store on your way past the Michigan and State theaters. During the Ann Arbor Art Fair every July, these streets fill up with hundreds of artists and vendor stalls in one of the largest art fairs in the country.

On Main Street, a host of boutiques including Peaceable Kingdom and the ever popular Moosejaw should keep you busy shopping for the entire afternoon while Kerrytown, a short walk north, hosts a variety of eclectic shops, restaurants and even a local butcher.

If you’ve still got time left in your day, walk North on Main Street to Argo Pond, where you can cross the dam and rent canoes and float down the Huron River past the University of Michigan hospital and sport fields.

The Food

There are far too many fantastic places to eat in Ann Arbor to make a comprehensive list, so we’ll give you the best of the best. For dinner, Bella Ciao is a cozy, privately owned restaurant serving outstanding Italian food, while Ryan and the team at Logan serve modern Americana. On the cheaper end, Fleetwood Diner is open all night while Krazy Jim’s Blimpy Burger fires up the legendary burgers recently filmed on the Food Network.

If you’re not too full from dinner, stop by Bab’s Underground Lounge, where Giancarlo will pour you a stiff vodka tonic, Babs will scowl at you from behind the register and you can play a few rounds of pool on their plush, red tables. Have a few extra drinks and stop in the photo booth on your way out.

Where to Stay

You can stay right on campus and walk everywhere by booking a room at either the Bell Tower Hotel or The Inn at the Michigan League. If that’s to expensive for you taste, try booking a room at the Holiday Inn on North Campus to save a few bucks. Prices range from $200 at the high end to $100 at the Holiday Inn.

Finally, remember that Ann Arbor isn’t the metropolis that Chicago or San Francisco is — you can cover the entire city in two days or even one if you try. The key is to enjoy the setting, soak in the collegiate atmosphere, shop and eat well. If you stick to those standards you’ll have a great time.

Check out more budget summer vacations here!