Las Vegas invites you to get naked

Are you bold enough?

Unlike topless destinations around the world, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino attracts hotties willing to drop their tops and accept fewer tan lines. This stand in stark contrast to most topless beaches, where there’s a distinct lack of legitimate eye candy. The recent “Rehab” party, for example, offered up plenty of skin and is indicative of a new pool party trend in Las Vegas. The 21+ crowd is in the crosshairs of many hotels and resorts, and they are luring us with the oldest bait in the book.

“Daylife,” sunlight’s answer to “nightlife,” is the product Vegas is peddling. Adult pools and pool parties – complete with bottle service and the hardly dressed to deliver it – are bringing in big bucks, big names and big … well, I’ll let you guess. Celebrity hosts, such as Heidi Montag of “The Hills,” help make the pitch to bring you in the door (sans inhibitions).

And now for the disappointing news … it’s not as crazy as you’d expect (or hope). There still aren’t many topless pools in Las Vegas. Those that exist are generally reserved for guests, attract an older crowd and don’t require that the ladies go topless (most of them don’t). The big parties are a different story, where the odds of naked mayhem are much higher.

SkyMall Monday: Underwater Pogo Stick

Spring is in the air and thoughts of warm weather, outdoor activities and water sports (not that kind of water sports, sicko) are starting to dance through our heads here at SkyMall Monday headquarters. Nothing beats frolicking in the ocean, lounging in a jacuzzi or enjoying fun and games in a pool. I’ve always been a fan of playing volleyball, basketball and freeze tag in the pool. Taking games played outside of the pool and dipping them in the water just makes everything more fun (See Floating Blackjack). If I could, I’d play UNO, Twister and Spin the Bottle in the pool. But some games just weren’t made to be played underwater. Knowing the difference between dry games and moist games is the key to avoiding painful friction between you and your partner. Games involving bouncing and bumping require moisture. And that’s why one classic game is screaming for us to just add water. Leave it to SkyMall to know when the time is right to get wet and wild by giving us the Underwater Pogo Stick.The problem with pogo sticking has always been the potential castration fear of falling. I’m all for hipping and hopping, but I’m less thrilled by the prospect of tripping and flopping. By bringing the pogo stick into the pool, the threat of broken bones and concussions has been replaced by the chance of drowning. And drowning is a much cooler way to die. If you’re going to die on a pogo stick, you best do so in a way that gets you featured on the front page of the newspaper and not on page F26. No one cares about F26.

I know what you’re thinking. “But, Mike, a pogo stick in the pool? That’s preposterous! Why not a Pogo Ball or a Sit ‘n Spin?” Well, first of all, Pogo Balls are too small for our adult asses. I’m not sure if you’ve looked in the mirror lately, but you’re not a kid anymore. Second of all, Sit ‘n Spin has always been an inappropriate name for a toy. Why not just name it Flippin’ Ya Off? But, since you insist on having the idea of pogo sticking in the water explained, I’ll indulge you. Let’s read the product description together, shall we?

This is the only pogo stick designed for use in swimming pools that allows you to perform a variety of waterborne stunts as you bounce off walls or bottoms. A rigid ball filled with water fits into the non-slip footrest, providing responsive push-off when compressed against a pool’s floor with your body weight, and enables you to splash effortlessly in shallower water and bound powerfully through deeper water.

Before anything can get wet, you must always start with a rigid ball (or two). When things get deeper, you need to be able to bound powerfully.

Everything is better when it’s wetter, so it’s about time we started moistening up our lives. Get bouncing, get jumping and, most importantly, get lubricated. Get the Underwater Pogo Stick.


Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts
HERE.

Daily Pampering: Las Vegas’ secret pool oasis


Las Vegas pool season is nigh, and there’s a new oasis opening up at Caesars Palace called Garden of the Gods. Seriously.

If you already regarded Caesars as an iconic pool destination, you’re in for a treat. It has been completely, extravagantly redesigned by Allard & Conversano into three levels of aquatic wonder featuring eight unique and lavish pools. There are 44 new luxury cabanas stocked with plush furniture, flat screen TVs and wireless internet. A whirlpool retreat and wedding garden have also been added.

Each pool is named for a god or goddess and has its own special bells and whistles. The Fortuna pool, for example, features an 18-foot waterfall and a swim-up blackjack table. The twin Bacchus pools have butler-staffed cabanas which are, alas, for invited VIPs only. For maximum sun exposure, get to Apollo — it’s strategically positioned to get you tan on a chaise lounge or daybed.

“One of Las Vegas’ greatest assets is its abundant sunshine,” says Gary Selesner, president of Caesars Palace. “Guests make trip decisions to escape drab and enjoy warm sunny getaways. The new Garden of the Gods was created to be the definitive resort swimming retreat — a resort within a resort. Here, guests have the freedom to find experiences they particularly will enjoy in a five-acre retreat that perfectly complements the exciting nightlife and award-winning restaurants at Caesars Palace.”

To be among the first to revel in the Garden of the Gods, click here and book the Garden of the Gods Pool & Hotel Package, which includes a 2-night stay, a $25 Garden of the Gods pool credit and a pool bag filled with a towel and other necessities. With promotion code PKGCGOG, packages start at just $110. That is some pretty cheap fabulous.

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

Big Island Hawaii: Four Seasons Hualalai hotel review

As a budget traveler, I’ve always been averse to spending much more than $150 per night on a hotel room. I’ve always figured, “it’s just a room” and that aside from a comfortable bed in a quiet, clean building, I didn’t really need more much. I never thought I would consider spending $500 for a single night in a hotel. But all that changed when I stayed at the Four Seasons Hualalai on Hawaii’s Big Island.

Located at the southern end of the Kohala Coast, right next to the Kona Village resort and just 15 minutes or so from the Kona airport, the Four Seasons Hualalai is so much more than a hotel. What you are paying for here isn’t just the room, it’s also the service, which goes so far above and beyond the standards at any other hotel I’ve ever stayed at, it’s easy to see why it was rated the top beach resort in the US by Travel and Leisure. Staff here aren’t just “available” when you come to them, they seem to anticipate your every desire, coming out of nowhere just when you need them, but remaining completely invisible when you wish to be left alone. Of course, the rooms and grounds are still pretty nice on their own.

The most basic rooms start at $595 per night and feature king beds and views to the ocean across the 18th hole of the golf course. Partial and prime ocean views are $750 and $895 and oceanfront rooms start at $1035 per night. It’s not cheap, but the hotel does offer the occasional deal, such as “stay four nights and get the fifth free” or “receive a $1000 resort credit for every six nights.” And here’s the best part: if a promotion goes into effect for the nights of your stay after you booked at the regular rate, the Four Seasons will honor the promotion for you as well, without you even having to ask.

From the moment you arrive at the Four Seasons, you know this stay will be special. As you pull up to the lobby, staff greet you by name (thanks to a message from the front gate guard who took your name upon arrival) and offer you a refreshing mai tai and cold towel while you check in. Then staff loads up your bags and whisks you to your room in one of the resort’s ubiquitous golf carts. Waiting in the room, you’ll find a glass of iced tea and a welcome tea cake.

Rooms feature comfortable beds decked out in soft, fluffy down bedding, flat screen tvs (many of which swivel so you can get the perfect view no matter where you are in the room) with DVD players, iPod docks, CD players, terry bathrobes, tea/coffee makers, L’Occitane bath products, aromatherapy turn down, and bottled water refreshed daily. Ground floor rooms also have private outdoor lava rock showers, and all rooms have either private lanais or balconies with screen doors so you can fall asleep to the sounds of the ocean.

But it’s the small touches that really make the room special. Each room is serviced twice a day – once for cleaning and once for turn down service. You will never see the cleaning staff pushing a heavy cart around. To increase morale and to keep the walkways of the resort free of unsightly carts, the cleaning staff services each room with only the supplies they can carry in a small tote bag. Did you notice the upright vacuum unobtrusively hidden under a vinyl cover in the back of the closet? Yes, there is one in every room for this very reason.

Each room has a mini-fridge for snacks, and staff will kindly keep your ice-bucket full of fresh ice. Wine and water glasses are provide, as is a corkscrew, which I found to be a wonderful touch, as it seems my husband and I are always scrambling to find one when we want to enjoy a bottle of wine in our room. There’s even a toaster hidden in the closet as well – and not because the Four Seasons expects you to make your own toast. To ensure that guests receive only piping hot toast, browned to their preferences, the room service staff will toast your bread as they set up breakfast. It’s a little touch that I never would have thought of, but now seems to make perfect sense.

There are four pools to choose from – the secluded, quiet adults-only pool (which is self-service), the snorkel fish pond (made partly of natural lava rock and stocked with thousands of fish and several manta rays), the quiet pool (also adults only and featuring a special mechanism to help lower disabled guests into the water) and the infinity-edge family pool, which has a nearby kiddie pool (complete with complimentary swim diapers, ice cream cart, and kid-sized lounge chairs) and looks out onto the beach. I spent most of my time at the family pool, where I was able to order food from the Beach Tree restaurant’s lunch menu and get a wi-fi signal.

Service at the pools is just as impressive as it is around the resort. As you walk towards the pool area, a staff member seems to appear at your side, holding a stack of towels and waiting for you to choose a lounge chair or cabana, where they will then spread out your towels for you. According to Ciro Tacinelli, the director of marketing, the standard of service at the pools is to check in with each guest once per hour. It seemed every time I thought I might want a cool drink, someone would arrive and ask me if I needed anything. Snacks are served at the pools twice per day and ice-water and sunscreen are available for guests. Should you decide to get out of the sun for a while, staff will hold your seat for up to two hours.

The ocean in front of the resort, though lined with a beautiful sandy beach where sea turtles often bask in the sun, is a bit rough for swimming and water sports. However guests are free to use the equipment at next-door Kona Village, where they can boogie board or learn to stand-up paddle board.

The guests at the Four Seasons seemed to be a mix of families and couples. Other than lounging by the pool or snorkeling in the ocean, there’s a spa, golf course, fitness center with climbing wall and tennis courts, cultural center, and a kids clubhouse to keep guests entertained. The kids clubhouse had games and activities for all ages – from a small playground for the little ones to computers, Wii games, and a pool table for older kids. Kids and adults all seemed to love watching the manta ray feedings held in the lava rock pool weekdays at 1pm. Many of the kids even got the chance to touch and feed the rays on their own.

There are three restaurants and two lounges onsite at the hotel, all of which operate on a credit system where charges can be directly applied to your room (though you can also pay with cash or plastic). The Pahui’a restaurant serves three meals a day, including a lavish $34 breakfast that includes spreads of fruit, cheese, muffins, cereals, granola, juices, oatmeal and salads, plus an omelet station and rotating specials. The day I had breakfast, there was a miso soup station, waffles, french toast, and a perfectly cooked eggs Benedict. Other options are available a la carte as well.

At each of the restaurants, the hotel takes care to use locally produced, organic, sustainable products whenever possible. Some of the fish served is raised onsite and oysters are mined from the waters just off the golf course. There’s an onsite herb garden and several varieties of fruits and vegetables are grown on the grounds and used in the restaurants. The hotel also composts much of its organic waste and waters the grass of the golf course with water from underneath the lava rocks.

Aside from the impeccable, attentive, anticipate-your-every-need service, what I loved the most about the Four Seasons Hualalai was that despite being fairly large (there are 234 rooms plus additional private houses onsite), it felt like a boutique hotel. The rooms are located in two-story buildings scattered around the area, separated by lush landscaping and rocky lava outcroppings. There were plenty of other guests there during my stay, but the space was never crowded. With four pools plus beach chairs, I never saw more than maybe a dozen people in each area. The restaurants were busy but not full, and in the fitness center, it was easy to find an empty machine to use.

And the staff certainly didn’t make me feel like I was one of hundreds of other guests. I was called by name and never had to wait for assistance. As I watched others in the lobby, at the pool, and in the hotel’s restaurants, I noticed the high level of service wasn’t limited to just myself. In fact, at breakfast one day, after a tiny bird landed ever so briefly on the table of a couple who had gone up to the buffet, I noticed the staff immediately swoop in and reset the table, just in case the bird had stepped on the silverware.

So, after a stay at the Four Seasons Hualalai, am I a budget traveler no more? Probably not. I still appreciate a bargain and really just can’t afford to spend over $500 per night on a hotel. If you can….well then you probably don’t need my convincing to stay at the fabulous Four Seasons. But if the price is one you can afford for just a few nights, maybe for a special occasion like a honeymoon or birthday vacation, I highly recommend starting or ending your trip at here. From the beautiful grounds and inviting rooms to the fantastic customer service, the Four Seasons Hualalai is a perfect paradise on the Big Island.

This trip was paid for by the Kohala Coast Resort Association, but the views expressed are entirely my own.

Tie the knot or just recharge in the Riviera Maya

Surround yourself with an emerald-green jungle, and take a plunge in turquoise blue waters with a stay at the Valentin Imperial Maya Resort. This luxurious all-inclusive property is just the destination you’ll need when we reach the depths of winter and just need a break. Have kids? Line up a babysitter: this is an adults-only property, so you’ll be able to take a vacation from every aspect of real life imaginable, enveloped by the warmth and comfort of the Riviera Maya. Sun yourself on the Playa Del Secreto, and recharge your spirit.

The Valentin Imperial Maya Resort offers 540 suites in six categories, a 900-foot meandering swimming pool with three island pools across the property and a natural lagoon. There’s a main pool, as well, featuring two swim-up bars. Back in the rooms, you’ll find marble bathrooms with hydro-massage tubs, nightly turndown service and nine restaurants, featuring cuisine from Italy, France, Japan, Mexico and other cultures. But, if you really want style, arrange for a private dinner on the beach. Spa treatments are available on the property, along with couples rooms that feature a Jacuzzi and rain shower.

“By offering guests a high level of elegant and personalized service, Valentin Imperial Maya Resort is setting new standards of quality for all-inclusive resorts,” says Dirk Urban, General Manager Valentin Imperial Maya. “What sets Valentin apart from other hotel brands,” he continues, “is our attention to detail and the unique ability of our staff to make guests feel comfortable and taken care of, as if they were among family.”

If the Valentin puts you in the mood for a big move, there’s an official Roman Catholic chapel on the property, a great place to tie the not. Don’t worry, there are two dedicated wedding concierges who can help with planning the big day.