Inn by the Sea to cut rates, benefit Habitat for Humanity

by Tom Johansmeyer on
Inn by the Sea, an eco-luxury property in Cape Elizabeth, ME, is dropping prices 50 percent Sunday through Thursday this spring. The goodwill go guests is wrapped in a larger act of conscience – guests taking advantage of this rate will write a $35 check to Habitat for Humanity.

The “Hospitality for Humanity” program is sponsored by the Maine Innkeepers Association (MEIA), which raises cash to help put deserving Maine families in homes. It runs from May 1 – 22, 2009.

For 50 percent off plus a $35 donation, this is a hell of a deal. Inn by the Sea boasts four diamonds, and a recently completed renovation added several amenities, including a full-service spa, fireplace bar and a restaurant with ocean views.

So, you’re saving some cash, supporting a good cause and living it up at a great destination.

Go Green in El Salvador

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Latin America is becoming a hot spot for green travel, but most adventure-seekers look to Honduras and Nicaragua … rather than El Salvador, with which they share a border. With the country’s civil war in the past, a destination marketing campaign has been launched, and a new web portal can give prospective travelers a place to start.

Art and anthropology museums and other cultural venues dot the country’s capital, San Salvador. If you want to get off the map, check out Izalco, which has the largest indigenous community in the area. Also stop by the ruins of Joya de Ceren, considered to be the Pompeii of the Maya world, where village remains include a fully preserved Shaman’s hut.

This is your chance to truly get off the tourist grid. Scrap your conventional plans this year and try El Salvador. Different is definitely better.

Photo of the day (3.17.09)

by Grant Martin on

What better topic for March 17th’s photo of the day than Ireland, the home of St. Patrick’s Day and the source of many an alcoholic’s happiness on this sacred day of the year?

This shot was taken by colmdc outside of Trim Castle, the largest Norman Castle in Europe. It’s a wonderful green shot, and reminds me of all of my good times in the Emerald Isle.

Have any cool photos you’d like to share with the world? Add them to the Gadling Pool on Flickr and it might be chosen as our Photo of the Day. Make sure you save them under Creative Commons though, otherwise we can’t use them!

Times Square turning pedestrian

by Brenda Yun on

If Times Square experiences traffic jams now, just wait ’til late May when the streets around the Square will be bumper-to-bumper and the sidewalks along Broadway will be filled with — not cars — but feet, and (not to mention) a lot of construction.

I know, it may be the hardest thing to imagine, but starting this Memorial Day through the end of the year, the streets surrounding New York City’s most crowded thoroughfare will be converted into a strictly pedestrian walkway.

The $1.5 million (that’s it?) project will provide green landscaping, tables and benches between 42nd and 47th streets. Currently, the number of pedestrians quadruple the number of cars in Times Square. Roughly 350,000 people pass through per day, which pretty much explains why it has one of the highest injury and death rates in Manhattan. That rate will certainly be curbed with the newer, greener look to the square.

Nearly 50 million tourists paid a visit to Times Square last year alone. With a friendlier and less dangerous feel, I imagine that number could very well increase come the new year of 2010. There will be something worth celebrating in Times Square indeed.

[via USA Today]

Eco-spas: Feel good while feeling good

by Tom Johansmeyer on

There’s nothing quite like getting your tight back muscles kneaded into something resembling a soft, warm mattress. Environment be damned! Whatever it takes to bring relaxation is worth it, right? At The Ritz-Carlton Spa in Orlando, FL, you won’t have to choose between unblemished satisfaction and the planet your children (ironically, the source of your stress) will inherit.

The “rooftop eco-space” takes the environment seriously. A green sod roof cuts down on energy costs while putting recycled materials to work. Rainwater brings life to the flowers, and the lights are solar powered. A nice touch … a wooden table has been fashioned from Hurricane Katrina debris.

But, that’s not enough. The spa has to do what spas do.

The Rooftop Hammock Massage will take the weight of the world off your shoulders – and the weight of your body off your feet. In the hammock, “zero gravity” enhances the massage experience by offering more flexibility and a greater range of motion. Eye goggles are available to change your view of the world while hydrating and restoring dry, tired eyes, and an iPod trickles meditative messages into your ears.

Luxury doesn’t have to come at the expense of the world around you. The Ritz-Carlton, which has a variety of environmentally-friendly initiatives in the works, has proved that you can feel good twice over.