Vacation comfortably in (only) your own skin

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Lost your shirt in the market? Thankfully, some destinations will provide service absent one. You won’t need shoes … or pants … either. Nude tourism is on the rise according to some estimates, and the industry is pegged at $400 million annually.

Ready to throw your vacation fund into the mix?

Packing, apparently, is easy. Maybe you’ll need some sandals or bring a book, and sun block is certainly in order. Once you get settled, strip down, step outside and join the fun. Most nude resorts have plenty of naked activities for you to enjoy.

When you think kink, Hedonism II is usually at the top of the list, but there are plenty of other resorts that cater to the nudies. Click here (CNN) to check a few of them out.

“Sip and Stay” at Peter Island

by Tom Johansmeyer on

When times are tough, $590 a night probably doesn’t sound like a bargain. But, when you consider that this gets you a night at the Peter Island Resort & Spa – on the largest private island in the British Virgin Islands – your thinking will probably begin to change. Add to this the fact that complementary beverages are included in the deal, not to mention three meals a day and an afternoon tea, it really does become an absolute bargain.

The new “Sip and Stay” program at Peter Island includes non-alcoholic beverages and house wine and beer … as much as you like (unless the bartender shuts you off). Of course, you’ll probably want to be somewhat judicious when ordering that next glass of beer, as you’ll want to take advantage of the windsurfing, snorkeling, kayaking and mountain biking offered at the resort.

Peter Island Resort & Spa has 52 guestrooms and three villas that sit on 1,800 acres of property, along with five beaches, tennis courts and a private yacht. So, this really is good living … made better by the free beer goggles you’re likely to don.

To take advantage of the “Sip and Stay” deal, book your stay by April 30, 2009 for trafel from May 1 through October 30.

Your next luxury vacation – on an oil rig?

by Scott Carmichael on

Picture this – instead of taking a bus to your next hotel, you grab a boat and sail out to a remote oil rig in the gulf of Mexico. On board the platform you’ll find all the amenities you’d expect from a luxury resort, including a spa and several swimming pools.

This may sound like something out of a James Bond movie, but the concept is actually not that far from becoming reality.

The brains behind the idea come from Morris Architects, a design firm with offices in Houston, Los Angeles and Orlando who won an international hospitality award with the concept.

There are currently just under 4000 platforms in the gulf of Mexico, varying from tiny facilities to massive concrete structures. Sooner or later the oil and gas in their field will go dry, and the normal solution is to blow the thing up and let it sink. By converting some of the platforms to hotel resorts, the impact on the environment could be greatly reduced.

That said – I’m not sure I’d feel entirely comfortable in the gulf of Mexico during hurricane season. Despite being built to withstand pretty bad weather, the thought of being stuck in my pre-fabricated oil rig room waiting for a category 3 hurricane to move away is a tad unnerving.

Morris Architects, via Curbed LA

Pay like it’s 2008 in Antigua this year

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Need a deal to make it to Antigua? Curtain Bluff is ready to help you out. The upscale resort has only 72 guestrooms and is only feet from the beach. To entice you down to the island this spring, the hotel is offering an unprecedented deal. Book six nights, and the seventh is on the house … but only from March 1 to March 14 and March 21 to April 4. Reserve an additional room for the kids (under 18), and you’ll save another 25 percent.

To make Antigua even more attractive, Curtain Bluff is freezing rates. This year, you can reserve rooms at 2008 rates. So, do a bit of SCUBA diving or snorkeling and eat like a king – everything is included in the hotel’s daily rate.

Luxury is tough to imagine in this market. Curtain Bluff is making it a little easier this year.

Make ski resort losses your gain this year

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Skiers are winners in the current recession. Lodges and resorts out west are offering generous deals to put you on their powder. So, if you have a bit of extra cash on hand and the urge to hit the slopes, there’s never been a better time to be alive.

In the Aspen/Snowmass area, you can get a free flight, a free night’s stay and a free lift ticket. Of course, there’s a catch. You’re total stay has to stretch to five-days/four-nights, and you need to pay for one of the two airline tickets – which have to be on Frontier Airlines.

Vail Resorts, with properties in Colorado and on the California/Nevada border, can get you three nights in a room and three days on the hills for the price of two at its Heavenly Resort or Lakeside Inn & Casino. RockResorts, which operates on the luxury end of the scale, is kicking in a free night, a bottle of wine and a $50 gift card for guests who stay at least two nights.

These types of deal are rare this time of year, when skiers normally flock to the slopes. But, times are tough. Visits to Vail Resorts are down 5.8 percent (through January 4, 2009), and revenue from lift tickets is down 7.5 percent. Bookings through the end of last year … down 14.8 percent. More and more reservations are hitting at the last minute. For the airlines and resorts, this is brutal, and they’re willing to go the extra mile, it seems, to get you to dig into your wallet.

[Via NY Times, where more deals are listed]