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Archive for the ‘Christmas’ Category

Check out these great gifts for the holidays (and any other time of the year) – some make great stocking stuffers while others are clearly items you’ll want to wrap with gift paper and a bow to reside under the tree for Chrismas morning.

Gift items for your favorite traveler at Christmas

Sample holiday treats, peek inside beautiful inns, and stay merry from B to B.  Tour a luxurious home, sample holiday cookies, candies, even wines; then repeat. This holiday season, why visit one inn for a holiday extravaganza when you can visit several and still fit in some light exercise along the way?  Go door-to-door, peek at meticulously decorated homes, and revel in holiday cheer. It’s a lot like an open house set to music and merriment. The tours are highly popular because they offer visitors an inside look at bed and breakfasts and the opportunity to meet the innkeepers and ask questions about what a B&B stay is all about; in addition to the amazing culinary snacks.

Here are some holiday tours offering a dash of edible favorites. While there are ticket costs to participate in the tours, some inns have special tour packages that cover the cost of the event when you book an overnight trip.

Annual White Mountain Inn to Inn Cookie Tour – White Mountains, NH
Loosen your belt buckles, now in its 14th year, this self-guided inn-to-inn cookie trek grows in popularity, and with good reason. The candies and cookies are homemade, secret recipes divulged, and gingerbread sculptures are featured throughout—proceeds of which sweetly benefit area nonprofits. At least a dozen inns are participating in this year’s treat trek. Each within 15-minutes from the next from 11 am – 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday December 11th and 12th. BnBFinder.com inns participating in the tour include: Admiral Peary House, Covered Bridge House, Darby Field Inn and Restaurant Bed & Breakfast, Eastman Inn, Inn at Crystal Lake & Restaurant, Inn at Ellis River, Notchland Inn, Riverbend Inn, and the Wildflowers Inn Bed and Breakfast. For a full list of participating properties visit NHliving.com. Tour ticket information is available by contacting the inns.

Annual Sweet Treats Tour – Eureka Springs, AR
It’s a sugar high like no other. More than half a dozen bed and breakfasts in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, have teamed up to welcome revelers homemade holiday cookies and treats (and recipes) as they wander inn-to-inn. Entering its fourth year, the annual Sweet Treats Tour will take place between 1-6 pm on Saturday, December 11th.. Organized by the Alliance of Better Bed & Breakfasts, the quaint Victorian town nestled in the Ozark Mountains of northwestern Arkansas provides a picturesque backdrop and, in many ways, a life-like version of the Candy Land board game. The tour is self-guided and there is a nearby local trolley. Participating BnBFinder.com inns include: Red Bud Manor, 1884 Bridgeford House Bed and Breakfast, 1908 Ridgeway House Bed and Breakfast, Main Street Inn Bed & Breakfast, Arsenic & Old Lace Bed & Breakfast, 5 Ojo Inn Bed & Breakfast, Heartstone Inn and Cottages, and the 1881 Crescent Cottage Inn Bed and Breakfast. Tickets cost $20 per person.

Napa B&B Holiday Tour & Taste Event – Napa Valley, CA
Leave it to Napa to see the traditional holiday treats tour and quadruple the stakes. Bed and breakfasts in California’s Napa Valley will be decorating their historic inns with festive lights, calling in entertainment, and offering a chic wine and hors d’oeuvres tour.

At least a dozen inns will deck their halls with hundreds of miniature lights and greet guests with decadent food and locally-harvested wines from premier chefs and winemakers. Visitors may walk or take shuttles between groups of inns from 2 to 6 pm on Saturday, December 4th. Proceeds go to local charities, as well as to promote downtown Napa and the participating inns. BnBFinder.com inns participating in the tour include: Arbor Guest House B&B, The Beazley House Bed & Breakfast Inn, Candlelight Inn, Cedar Gables Inn, Churchill Manor Bed and Breakfast, Hennessey House Bed & Breakfast, The Inn on First, Inn on Randolph, and the Napa Old World Inn Bed and Breakfast. For a full list of participating inns visit NapaHolidayTour.com. Tickets cost $55 per person.

First Annual Bed & Breakfast Holiday House Tour – Baltimore, MD
Rediscover the charm of the holiday season and give Santa a helping hand. Better Baltimore Bed & Breakfasts and several inns are joining forces to benefit Santa Claus Anonymous. Tour home-to-home from 2-7 pm on Sunday, December 12, collect cookies and treats, and let the season’s inspiration help charity provide Christmas to underprivileged children in Maryland. Tickets are $25 to $35 per person. BnBFinder.com inns participating in the tour include: The Inn at 2920, 1840′s Carrollton Inn, and Celie’s Waterfront Inn. For a full list of participating inns visit bedandbreakfastholidaytour.ticketleap.com/2010.

Information kindly provided by www.BnBFinder.com, a comprehensive online bed and breakfast directory, providing site visitors with more than 130 search categories, including availability, price, location, and local attractions. Founded in 1998, BnBFinder.com was the first directory to offer advanced interactive technologies, including RSS feeds, a blog, downloadable content for mobile devices, and guest reviews. BnBFinder.com is a 5-Star Rated directory with thousands of B&Bs, inns, and small hotel listings from all over the world.

 Referenced Websites:

www.BnBFinder.com/AdmiralPeary

www.BnBFinder.com/CoveredBridge

www.BnBFinder.com/DarbyField

www.BnBFinder.com/Eastman 

www.BnBFinder.com/CrystalLake

www.BnBFinder.com/InnatEllisRiver;

www.BnBFinder.com/Notchland

www.BnBFinder.com/RiverbendInn

www.BnBFinder.com/WildflowersInn

www.BnBFinder.com/RedBudManor

 www.BnBFinder.com/BridgefordHouse

www.BnBFinder.com/1908Ridgeway

www.BnBFinder.com/MainStreet

www.BnBFinder.com/Arsenic

www.BnBFinder.com/5Ojo

www.BnBFinder.com/HeartstoneInn

 www.BnBFinder.com/CrescentCottage

www.BnBFinder.com/Arbor

www.BnBFinder.com/Beazley

www.BnBFinder.com/Candlelight

www.BnBFinder.com/CedarGables

www.BnBFinder.com/Churchill

www.BnBFinder.com/HennesseyHouse

www.BnBFinder.com/InnOnFirst

www.BnBFinder.com/InnOnRandolp

www.BnBFinder.com/NapaOldWorld

www.BnBFinder.com/InnAt2920

www.BnBFinder.com/Carrollton

www.BnBFinder.com/Celies

The Hyatt Regency Irvine has announced ultra low rates for the most desired holiday nights in 2010.

Traveling during Thanksgiving and Christmas is as painfully expensive as it is uncomfortable. But there is no need to break the bank or a back. Hyatt Regency Irvine is offering an unbeatable rate of $89/night from November 21-28 and again from December 17-30. Those looking for a Southern California getaway or a comfortable place to house relatives need to look no further than the relaxing and centrally located Hyatt Regency Irvine.

Situated close to the Los Angeles and Orange County airports and positioned with fun-filled attractions around every corner, Hyatt Regency Irvine is the affordable hotel that has it all. Enjoy the area’s outdoor delights such as some of California’s best beaches, including Newport, Huntington and Laguna, famous South Coast Plaza Mall, Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm theme parks, and renowned Pelican Hill and Oak Creek golf courses among others. Guests can even rent bikes from the hotel and enjoy a family bike ride. And, for those looking to keep off the holiday pounds, guests can either swim laps in the hotel’s lush pool or indulge in Hyatt’s signature “Stay Fit” gym, a fully equipped fitness facility with state of the art cardio and strength building equipment, available 24 hours per day.

“We always like to reward our loyal guests with tremendous value during the holiday season,” said General Manager Colleen Kareti. “Year after year traveling family members have chosen to return to us while celebrating the holidays.”

Hyatt Regency Irvine has 536 modern rooms that offer city, mountain and pool views. Each room is equipped with iHome stereo with iPod® docking station and pampering Portico products. The hotel also offers RegencyClub® suites. Amenities of the hotel include heated, outdoor freeform pool and whirlpool, complimentary bicycles, tennis court, 24 hour StayFit™ gym with state-of-the-art equipment, YogaAway™, high speed internet, 24-hour business center, valet parking, concierge services, FastBoardTM and meeting rooms. There are four dining options in the hotel, including room service and an outdoor fire pit where guests can make s’mores.

To take advantage of Hyatt Regency Irvine’s special rates:
Visit: http://irvine.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp�
Call +1 888 41 HYATT (888-414-9288) from the U.S. and Canada
Call direct 949-975-1234

NOTE: Rates, availability and minimum length of stay requirements vary by property.

More Information:

Hyatt Regency Irvine is located at 17900 Jamboree Road, Irvine, California, USA 92614 and can be reached at 949-975-1234 or by fax at 949-852-1574.

In thinking about what Christmas means to people all over the world, it recently occurred to this Romance Travel Examiner that if one had the means to travel to any destination in the world to spend Christmas, where would we go?  Read more and comment….       Where in the world would you spend Christmas if you had a choice?

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December 2009, the most wonderful time of the year, for shopping , entertainment, activities with family and loved ones, dining out and more, in downtown Seattle.  Seattle has some of the best shopping, the best food, and the best entertainment in the United States.  If you have not visited Seattle before, the holidays are a great time to make your list, check it twice and come to Seattle, whether you are naughty or nice.   There is something for everyone in downtown Seattle.  Read More….     Holiday calendar of activities in Seattle filled with shopping and travel deals: December 2009

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