Daily Pampering: Eat, Pray, Love Little Palm Island

by Melanie Nayer on

One of underlying messages of Elizabeth Gilbert’s breakout success “Eat Pray Love” is that with every new breath, there is new opportunity. What better way to experience life’s options than by seeing something new?

That’s the premise behind legendary Little Palm Island Resort & Spa’s latest allure — the 5.5 acre island wants travelers to “marvel at something” and they’ve created the perfect package to coincide with the release of the major motion movie, “Eat Pray Love,” on Aug. 13. The five-night Eat Pray Little Palm Island getaway allows travelers to experience something new, without having to break out their passport.

Spend the evenings under the sky in a thatched-roof bungalow suite, enjoy breakfast and dinner each day at the Chef’s private table, take daily yoga classes and immerse yourself in guided meditation in the resorts’ indoor or outdoor locations. All of the island’s guest quarters include custom-made beds with mosquito netting, outdoor showers and all the requisite luxe amenities. There are no telephones or televisions, and guests under the age of 16 are not allowed on the resort.

Little Palm Island Resort, located off the coast of Miami, Florida, was recently named one of the world’s top hotels by the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards (2010). The total cost of marvel: $7,500, through Dec. 20, 2010. Book the promotion online and use promotional code “eatpray” this package.

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

Obama visit likely to screw up Bar Harbor vibe

by Tom Johansmeyer on

President Barack Obama‘s about to ruin it for everybody.

The folks in Bar Harbor, Maine, according to MSNBC, value their privacy, especially the rich people who go there to escape the heat and the proletariat. They like quiet; they like to be left alone. When a president comes into town, none of that is possible.

Of course, it will be made exponentially worse by the fact that he’ll have the liberal media in tow. It could be worse – it could be bloggers trailing him.

According to MSNBC, Obama arrives today for a three-day visit and will be the first president since William Howard Taft to shatter the peace of the summer retreat once favored by Rockefellers, Vanderbilts and Morgans.

Nonetheless, the Bar Harbor locals are excited to see the president, even though they’re accustomed to attention from big names:

[W]ith the area’s history of business barons, political power brokers and famous actors among them for generations, they’re used to having the rich and famous in their midst. People in Maine, they say, aren’t likely to get too flustered by the presidential visit.

Even though they’re used to this, there are plenty of locals who’d like to have their pictures taken with the big guy.

[photo by marcn via Flickr]

150 people overcome by heat at Chicago Megabus stop

by Scott Carmichael on

While waiting at Chicago’s Union Station for a delayed Megabus, 150 people had to be treated for heat exhaustion. The temperature in Chicago was in the mid 90’s yesterday, and because nobody wanted to lose their place in line, passengers stood out in the sun while they waited for the bus.

Of course, it is easy to blame the passengers for being unprepared for the heat, but cooled shelters, or a more streamlined boarding procedure could have easily prevented this.

The Chicago fire department had to come to the rescue of the passengers, and a CTA public transit bus was brought in to help cool them down. After being cooled down, the passengers were able to board the delayed bus, and nobody needed further medical attention.

5 signs you’ve been traveling in a developing country

by Catherine Bodry on

There’s culture shock, and there’s reverse culture shock. And sometimes, there are simply the habits you pick up while on the road for a while. Once home, these habits are hard to break at first, and you find yourself doing funny things like using a cup of water to try to flush your toilet. Here are five signs that you’ve been traveling in a developing country for a while:

1. You throw your toilet paper in the garbage instead of the toilet. If you’ve traveled to Thailand, you know that most flush toilets can’t handle paper. If you traveled to China, you know that most toilets aren’t even flush toilets. In a lot of the world, toilets can’t handle paper, and if you’ve spent a lot of time in any of those countries you probably toss your paper into the garbage automatically. Now that you’re home, you toss your paper into the nearest trash can in the bathroom at your parents’ house without thinking. Whoops.

2. You brush your teeth with bottled water. It’s almost unbelievable, after extended months abroad, that tap water in the US comes out free of parasites and bacteria. It’s such a simple act, filling up a glass of tap water, but feels so utterly foreign after months of keeping your mouth glued shut in the shower to ensure that no nasty creatures make it past your lips. Yep, water back home is free and easy to get. Bottoms up!3. You keep your shower at a lukewarm trickle. Water pressure is a glorious things, especially for those of you who have long, thick hair. But showering day after day under a light stream of lukewarm water makes your skin all pansy and soft, doesn’t it? The sheer force of an American shower is enough to blast you away, but add the scalding water to it and you’ve got a recipe for some serious burn. At least you feel thoroughly disinfected afterward.

4. It feels weird and unsanitary to sit on the toilet seat, and you wish you could pop a squat. Some folks never convert to the squat toilet, but for those whose Achilles finally adjust, the squatting position can be life-altering. Without going into detail, let’s just say that it’s anatomically preferable to the sitting position. Then again, being able to relax with a newspaper again is priceless….

5. You’re afraid to drive your car, but when you do you’re amazed at how polite the other drivers are. It’s okay. The roads back home are not only paved, but the pavement is smoooooooth. Everyone is required to take a driving course before getting their licenses, and understand how to merge rather than cut you off. Relax and enjoy the open road. It’s one of the best things about travel in the States.

Photo credit: StrudelMonkey, Flickr

Hotels sued for enabling peeping tom

by Andrew Evans on

ESPN sportscaster (and third place winner of Dancing with the Stars) Erin Andrews has filed a civil lawsuit for $1.2 million against seven hotels (including both Marriott and Radisson) for negligence, invasion of privacy, and emotional distress as they enabled an ambitious peeping tom to film her naked.

Illinois insurance salesman (creepy!) Michael David Barrett stalked Ms. Andrews as she traveled the country, learning which hotels the reporter was staying in–as well as her room number–from hotel staff. Barrett would then check into the adjacent hotel room and alter Andrews’ peephole in order to film her naked and distribute the clips on the internet. He has since been charged, found guilty of interstate stalking, and sentenced to more than two years in jail.

Typically, hotels brandish non-disclosure agreements and front desk employees will refuse to give out names or room numbers of guests. Andrews says she is suing the hotels “for making my most personal moments public.” The hotels named in the suit include the florid Marriott Nashville at Vanderbilt University, the Radisson hotel in Milwaukee, and an another unnamed hotel in Columbus, Ohio. Regardless of the success of the case, the hubbub is likely to increase enforcement of privacy policies at such middle-rate hotels.

Until that day, here’s a small travel tip for hotel guests: if you don’t want people peeking into your room, cover the peephole with a piece of tape, a wad of used chewing gum, a clump or wet tissue, a post-it note covering the peephole, or whatever. It’s that simple.

For further reading, check Robert K. Cole’s excellent analysis of this situation.

(Photo: Flickr/Steve Garfield)