Fourth night free at Cambridge Beaches, just in time for the holidays

by Tom Johansmeyer on

In Bermuda, Cambridge Beaches Resort & Spa is offering a fourth night free if you pay for three by the end of the year. Experience some serious luxury at this AAA Four-Diamond resort, where you can wander the 30-acre peninsula on the island’s west coast, soak in the sun on private beaches and get rubbed down at an award-winning European-style spa. Meals and afternoon tea are intricate affairs designed to impress, and duffers can lose themselves on the Port Royal Golf Course, a public course that’s only five minutes from the resort.

To score the fourth night free, you’ll need to book by the end of the year for a stay between November 1, 2009 and April 15, 2010. So, you can disappear for the coldest months of the year, or hide during that strange period in March that isn’t really cold but is just incredibly raw.

But, the real draw for this deal is in December. Holiday stress can be a real nightmare. Yeah, it’s only October right now, but you know what’s coming. Thanksgiving will having you running a mile a minute, and that’s nothing compared to the December death march. Instead of trying to extract yourself from the dizzying schedule with a short weekend away requiring little more than a drive, plan now for the break you’ll so desperately need. If I were able to get out of town for a bit in December, I’d do it in a heartbeat … and I purposefully keep my holiday commitments to a minimum.

Get a free wedding in St. Maarten

by Katie Hammel on

Hosting a destination wedding is a great way to cut down on the expenses involved in getting married. Fewer guests equal less money spent on food, drinks and invitations, and fewer tables to seat those guests means your costs for flowers and rentals like linens and chairs will also be lower. Two Sonesta resorts in St. Maarten – Sonesta Maho Beach Resort and Casino and the Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort and Casino – are now making the idea of a destination wedding even more appealing. . .and affordable.

Guests who book a seven night stay for themselves and 20 guests (10 rooms with double occupancy) will receive a free wedding package. And we’re not talking a single bottle of champagne and a sheet cake. No, this package includes the reception dinner and open bar. With my friends and family, that savings alone would be significant.

The package also includes the services of a wedding coordinator, marriage licensing services, wedding cake, corsage and boutonniere for the bride and groom, room upgrade, and 10% off of spa services.

[via HotelChatter]

First look: Tcherassi Hotel

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The Tcherassi Hotel + Spa in Cartagena, Colombia is now open! The stylish property is located on the Caribbean coast and blends the property’s 250 years of history with two years of renovations and a fresh new look. Latin fashion designer Silvia Tcherassi’s touch is salient in this new resort, and Gadling is happy to bring you photos of the property that haven’t been published anywhere else.

Get ready to make a reservation – this resort definitely looks like a great place to chill for a week or two. Have a welcome cocktail and relax for a while; you’ve earned it.

%Gallery-75484%

24 Hours in Rio de Janeiro: The easiest best beaches

by Grant Martin on

It’s cliche to think of The Girl from Ipanema and feel corny when planning your beach excursions on a 24 hour jaunt to Rio de Janeiro, but the fact of the matter is, Ipanema and Copacabana beaches (they’re adjacent) are the among the best, easiest to access stretches of sand in the town. Located in the Zona Sul, the heart of tourist activity, they’re also the most popular. So what makes these two beaches better than the rest?

Part of it is the view. It’s easy to find sand, a few palm trees and a gentle ocean breeze anywhere between Malibu and Buenos Aires, but the landscape around Rio is what sets it above the rest. The massive, granite peaks that shoot out of the Atlantic Ocean are most breathtaking, and as you gaze south down the coast line you can see Sugarloaf Mountain and the cable cars sleepily ferrying passengers to the summit. Behind you, Christ the Redeemer gazes onward as always from Corcovado.

And part of the beach experience in Rio is, well, the view. Beauty fits into a wider spectrum in Brazil, with the beautiful people more attractive than anywhere in the world and the uglier more horrifying. Naturally this is exacerbated when you’re on the beach and everyone is wearing next to nothing.
But that’s part of the beach culture here. People come to the beach just to loaf around and socialize, and there’s an entire economy dedicated to revelers. Those that forgot a towel or beach chair or umbrella can rent one anywhere on the beach, and food, drink and trinket vendors snake through the crowds hawking their wares. On a busy warm Sunday, it can be hard to find a spot to pitch your umbrella, let alone take a seat.

The sand, weather and views are with the trip are worth it, however, and no good tourist should visit Rio without a trip to the beach. Be forewarned that the surf at both beaches is quite strong. Anyone braving the waters is subject to an extremely strong undercurrent, and those that aren’t carefully can easily be dragged away. At the minimum, due to constant currents you’ll exit the water far from the point that you entered.

Outback Australia: Mindil Beach Sunset Market

by Mike Barish on

Before departing for the Northern Territory, I was discussing my trip with some Aussie friends. When they heard that I was going to Darwin, they raved about two things: the food and the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets. Darwin is a melting pot of Southeast Asian and Australian cultures, with immigrants from Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines making up a substantial portion of the capital’s population. As such, Darwin has more to offer than just Australian meat pies and wedges (this is not to say that I couldn’t survive on pies and wedges, because I happily could). And if Darwin is a melting pot, then Mindil Beach Sunset Market is the vortex that is produced when you stir it all up.

Every Thursday and Sunday throughout the dry season, hundreds of vendors selling everything from raw oysters to sarongs gather at Mindil Beach to peddle their wares, socialize and watch the sunset. Children run freely around the beach, frolicking with ice cream cones in hand and remnants of that afternoon’s candy still on their shirts. Tourists and locals mingle as they meander through the makeshift paths between booths filled with local musicians’ CDs and food stalls serving everything from roti to shaved ice. And since the market only operates in the dry season, you’re virtually guaranteed perfect weather throughout the evening.

As with any market, there are things worth knowing in advance. I went to the Mindil Beach Sunset Market not knowing what to expect. I left with plenty of tips for your visit to Darwin.

%Gallery-74661%

  • Get there early – The market opens at 5:00pm and things are relatively quiet for the first 45 minutes or so. The parking lot can become a bit chaotic later in the evening, so do yourself a favor and just head up there right when it opens.
  • Do a few laps – There’s nothing worse than buying a souvenir only to later stumble upon something significantly better. The vendors at Mindil Beach are tremendously friendly, so if you’re not sure that you’re ready to commit to that silver bracelet, ask the merchant to put it aside for you. If you don’t see anything better, go back and buy it. Just be polite and let them know if you’ve changed your mind so that they can put the product back out for others.
  • Don’t stuff yourself all at once – The plethora of fantastic and authentic food at Mindil is worth sampling tapas-style. Grab some chili crab from one vendor and a chicken satay from another. Leave room for the mind-numbingly sweet desserts created with lychee, tropical fruits and plenty of ice and syrup.
  • Don’t get the tacos – I love Mexican food as much as the next guy, but Australia is no place for Mexican food. I’ve spent enough time there to know this all too well. You’re not here for tacos. Stay focused.
  • All that glitters is not gold – Just like any street fair or market, some vendors are selling authentic local goods while others are pushing schlocky crap to make a quick buck. Look at everything carefully, ask the merchant as many questions as you’d like and don’t be afraid to walk away empty handed if you’re not satisfied.
  • Walk down the beach for the sunset – Mindil Beach is a mob scene around 6:00 in anticipation of the sunset. Nothing ruins a serene moment more than hundreds of digital cameras chiming. Around 5:45, take a stroll down the beach away from the masses and the market itself. Enjoy the sunset in solitude and then return for your next wave of curried everything,
  • Learn to use a whip – Perhaps my favorite booth at the Mindil Beach Sunset Market belongs to Mick of Mick’s Whips. He sells, well, whips (along with various tchotchkes made from crocodile skins) and teaches anyone who’s interested how to use them in his whip arena. Even this Yank from New York City was cracking the whip before the night was through.

There’s not much else to it. It’s not rocket science, it’s just one of the coolest little markets in one of the most diverse towns you’ll find in Australia. For more information on the Mindil Beach Sunset Market, check out their website. Just be sure that you arrive hungry.

Mike Barish traversed the Outback on a trip sponsored by Tourism Northern Territory. He traveled alone and had no restrictions on what he could cover during his travels. That would explain how he ended up eating water buffalo. You can read other entries in his Outback Australia series HERE.