Among My Souvenirs

Dear travelettes, as I have been traveling throughout the States, I came across a phenomenon that was yet unfamiliar to me. A way to get low-budget deals on high standard hotels. It’s called Hotwire.com. After a fellow German traveler told me that his friends paid only $28 for a night at the Sheraton Hotel I just had to try it for myself, and what do you know? I found a $59 room at the amazing Chateau LeMoyne Hotel in New Orleans’s French Quarter. Comes with a heated pool, breakfast in bed and lovely original features. Usually, the rates at this hotel are around $169, so I saved a good 65%. How it works: You enter the city you’re interested in and select the neighborhood you’d best like to stay in. Hotwire then suggests hotels to you. without revealing their names or exact adress. However, they do tell you what anemities the hotels have and their star-rating. That way you can be sure not to get dumped somewhere. Try it sometime! Hotel Chateau LeMoyne in Ne...

Mexico is open to U.S. (and other international) travelers arriving via flights, and for travelers comfortable taking a getaway now or in the future, The St. Regis Punta Mita is ready and welcoming. The 120-room resort on the country’s Pacific coast (about an hour’s drive north of Puerta Vallarta) offers three infinity pools, a private beach club, and two Jack Nicklaus-designed golf courses. Here, our best advice for making the most of your stay: Explore the uninhabited Islas Marietas, a haven for natural wildlife. Embrace the butler service. Every single one of the resort’s accommodations – from the deluxe garden-view rooms to the private beachfront villas with Jacuzzis on their terraces – comes with around-the-clock, on-call butler service. “My favorite part about The St. Regis Punta Mita was the butler service that’s available to all guests during their stay,” says Virtuoso travel advisor Victoria Zandell, who visited the resort last November. “Our butler made a conscious note o...

Some cities never get old – NYC, Tokyo, and, of course, Paris. To me, Paris is magic: the light, the food, the architecture, the art, and the très-chic Parisians with their enviable sense of joie de vivre. After spending a week in the French countryside, I took the high-speed train from Bordeaux to the City of Light and immediately checked into the Shangri-La Hotel, Paris, a 100-room jewel-box hotel in the city’s swanky 16th arrondisement. This former home of Prince Roland Bonaparte is full of exquisite architectural details, all of which were meticulously restored and preserved during a past four-year renovation – the building itself is registered as one of the city’s Monuments Historiques. Upon arrival, I knew this place was everything I’d want my dream Paris hotel stay to be. Here, five things I loved about Shangri-La, Paris: The OMG View One word: speechless. I could see the Eiffel Tower from my bed, my bathroom, and my closet! The balcony doors remained open whenever I was “...

By Jessica Mueller A host of factors are putting increasing pressure on shorebirds, including climate change in their Arctic breeding grounds and habitat loss worldwide (they make globe-spanning migrations). The Georgia Bight Shorebird Conservation Initiative aims to protect birds in the southeastern U.S. – stewards on public beaches educate visitors on bird-friendly practices, and hotels are helping too. In Georgia, naturalists for Sea Island Resort’s The Lodge and The Cloister offer birding tours and educational opportunities to guests. Two hours north of Sea Island, guests can tee off at Hilton Head Island’s Inn & Club at Harbour Town at Sea Pines Resort, whose three Lowcountry golf courses are certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries. Oystercatchers take flight on Sea Island. [Photo: Sea Island Resort] / Featured image: Offshore pursuits at Terranea. [Photo: Terranea Resort] In a state where drought and fire have severely affected the environment and communities, Te...