When I began planning my recent trip to Paris, a high school graduation gift to my stepdaughter who has been taking French classes since she was 13-years-old, the easiest part was choosing where to stay.

Hôtel Caron de Beaumarchais is my favorite boutique hotel in Paris, having stayed for a week in October of 2010. Stepping into its charming, Baroque-inspired lobby is like stepping into the past with its 18th century décor of embroidered cushions, a harp, candelabras, and chandeliers.  Even the resident regal Scottish Terrier, Bobby, adds charm and character to this one-of-a-kind boutique hotel.

The hotel is named for the playwright, watchmaker, arms dealer, musician, spy and financier, Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732 – 1799) who lived just up the street from the hotel. He is perhaps best known for his plays, Le Barbier de Séville, Le Mariage de Figaro, and La Mère coupable. 

Beaumarchais also played a key role in providing munitions and money to the American army during the American Revolutionary War. He negotiated the supply of ships and gunpowder to George Washington from his home near the hotel. He was one of the first French supporters of the Americans in that war, risking his reputation and spending his own money to aid the Americans and their cause.

Inside the hotel, the rooms are elegant, though on the small size by American standards. While you will not find large dining tables, couches, wet bars or walk-in closets in the rooms, you will find everything you need to make your stay enjoyable including free wi-fi, soundproofed rooms, satellite television, small refrigerator and air conditioning.

The staff is friendly, welcoming and helpful. When we made online reservations to go the summit of the Eiffel Tower, a staff member happily fulfilled our request to print out the tickets from her front desk.

Each morning, we had fresh, hot coffee delivered to our room, served on a wicker tray with a pitcher of warm milk. Fresh coffee in bed was a great way to begin a long day of sightseeing.

Both stays at Hôtel Caron de Beaumarchais were in street-facing rooms. The first time, we had a lovely patio with a French café set so we could sit outside. weather permitting, and enjoy our coffee and breakfast, or wine with locally purchased cheese and a baguette.

We spent a good portion of our time in Le Marais, the neighborhood where the hotel is located. Having been to Paris four times in the last five years, I can say without reservation that it is my favorite in neighborhood in Paris.

Hôtel Caron de Beaumarchais is located in an ideal location within Le Marias. It’s close to St. Paul and Hôtel de Ville metro stations, a leisurely 10 minute walk to Place des Vosges, and a stone’s throw from a variety of international cuisines, boutiques, bakeries, bars, friperie shops, tea rooms, and museums.

Our favorite thing to do was to go out into the neighborhood each evening, after dropping our new purchases off at the hotel and freshening up, and find a sweet treat to eat. Gelato, macarons, crepes, and pastries are all just short walk from the hotel’s door.

Hôtel Caron de Beaumarchais Review

On my next trip to Paris, I will stay at Hôtel Caron de Beaumarchais. With the ideal location, reasonable rates, charming decor, friendly staff, and clean, quiet rooms, I wouldn’t dream of staying anywhere else!

HÔTEL CARON DE BEAUMARCHAIS 12, rue Vieille-du-Temple 75004 Paris
Tel : +33 (0)1 42 72 34 12 – E-mail : hotel@carondebeaumarchais.com

From Dreams to Reality: how to travel more

So far this year our team members have been anywhere between Paris to Bali, experiencing Italian romance in North Carolina and in Rome, Italy. We have skied in Norway and in Aspen, Colorado, and sipped wine anywhere between the country clubs of English country side to vineyards of Sonoma county, California – and it’s only February. We are travel writers, and while we also do some press trips, traveling for us is a lifestyle and it didn’t start when we started writing about traveling. Most of us don’t have unlimited travel budgets, and our team members have various income levels and with different kind of marital statuses, some with kids, some with none.

The one thing we have all in common: we all like to live life to the fullest and we all like to travel and we have made traveling part of our lifestyle. Here are some of our secrets how we make traveling part of our lifestyle – and afford it too.

5 Money Saving Tips for Traveling

1. Simplify your daily life
Many people say money is the biggest obstacle for not traveling more, however most people could easily save money for dream vacations if truly wanted. What could you give up for a dream vacation? How about cable TV, gym membership, monthly hair appointments, manicures & pedicures, eating out, going to movies, having a second car (payment)? The list is endless when you start thinking where your money goes to. Start cutting off your regular spending, and you will most likely be able to start saving hundreds of dollars a month to your travel fund. Buying lunch of coffee out every day is inexpensive, but it really adds up and bringing your own from home can save you a few hundred each month. Saving $5 daily for one year saves you a total of $1,825.

2. Do staycations – local vacations
Instead of spending time and money traveling somewhere far, stay close by. Our hotel and resort expert Leigh is the master at staycations, and we have always traveled this way as well. Sometimes just a night in a nice hotel or renting a nice cottage can do the trick. Even if it’s less than 50 miles from your home.

3. House swap or couch surf
Do you have relatives or friends who live in locations you want to visit? House swap. Not just you will get a free place to stay but also a kitchen so you don’t have spend money on eating out. Couch surfing and staying with someone is OK to some extent, but I don’t recommend staying at anyone’s house for more than 3 nights if they are home. It doesn’t give you the same freedom to really travel on your own pace and it is kind of rude to ask to stay in someone’s home for weeks at the time.

4. Book cheaper travel
Learn how to collect travel points with airlines and credit card companies, and how to book travel for less by using discount sites and discount airlines. If you have specific locations where you would like to travel, sign up for airfare alerts to get notified when the prices are the cheapest for your wanted route. Many hotels give discounts when you stay 3 or more nights, and you can also get memberships to most hotel chains to collected points and get member discounts or perks.

Even if you want to experience the luxury for less, there are ways to book the luxury hotels and experiences for less, for example using flash sale sites like Jetsetter. When it comes to hotel chains and airlines, my favorites depend on the destinations and where I live. For example when we lived in New York, I only wanted to fly with Delta and collect SkyMiles and only flew out from a smaller more convenient airport instead of JFK or other NYC airports to save time on going to the airport and for expensive parking at the airport. So always also think if the money saving is worth of your time, and how much it will cost you to “save” money. You might save money on the flight but end up paying for airport transfers, parking, luggage or other fees and end up paying the same as for the more convenient option. Same with hotels, the cheap hotel might not give you free wifi or breakfast buffet and you end up paying as much for them as you would have when you had booked a nicer hotel with those included. The “cheapest” isn’t always the most cost effective or convenient.

5. Rent an apartment & minimize expensive eating out
I am a huge fan of renting vacation houses or ski lodges but they are often even more expensive than staying in hotels. However, this is only true when you book through luxury property management companies and from popular tourist locations. On our recent trip to Frankfurt am Main, we rented a house 20-minute train ride from the city and it was half the price double hotel rooms downtown would have been for our family of five. It added inconvenience but the small town in Taunus mountains was also a destination on its own, so we got two destinations for one. On our trip to Rome we saved money on renting an apartment close to Campo dei Fiori and saved money on eating in a few nights. I am now a huge fan of Airbnb.com for booking apartments.

The biggest money saving from renting apartments doesn’t just come from the daily rate – it comes from saving the money by eating in. If you are not planning on cooking in the kitchen – there is no point of paying for one, and you might as well stay in a hotel. But the eating cost savings can massive depending on your location if you opt in eating in. It might also make your trip more pleasant especially if you have small children and picky eaters.

5 Career & Work Trips – How to Travel More

6. Get a second job
Instead of spending money on your free time – get a second job to save up even more for your travels. Even better: get a part-time job in the travel industry. When we lived in Durango, Colorado, I worked part-time in a t-shirt shop in the ski resort and got a season pass to ski for free. There are several jobs that give you travel-related perks even if you only work for part-time or seasonally.

7. Do bizcations – mix business and vacation
When you go on a business related trip, take a day or two off before or after to visit the place too and get a short getaway. This is great for example young couples, and even for families with younger children – bring them along! If your spouse travels for work, see how you could tag along and maybe do sightseeing alone while your spouse works and stay in the company-paid hotel room with your spouse.

8. Create ways to travel with your job
If your job doesn’t require traveling, there still might be a few ways to travel within your current job. Are there industry related conferences or any training you could travel to? Does your company have several locations? Maybe you could transfer to a new location? Instead of looking at your job as the chain keeping you from traveling, start looking at it how it could provide you more traveling.

9. Get a telecommuting job
If you think you can… with a telecommuting job you can work and telecommute from almost anywhere from the world. This is also great for freelancers and self-employed. And one of the reasons I personally started an online business – so I could work from anywhere in the world (the picture is from my “office” at the moment). It takes a lot of discipline and guts to work from home, but it does give you the opportunity to do it virtually from anywhere.

10. Really love traveling? Make it a career.
If you really want to mix business and pleasure, make traveling your career. I know people who book travel for others and make a commission out it and get a travel discount as a travel agent, or I know several airline crew members who still enjoy the luxury of traveling around the world as a crew member, although they say the luxury of that industry is gone. I know even more people who have become travel writers and get paid to travel and write about it. Unfortunately many of the traveling jobs are not great for people with families and it is difficult to bring your family with you for many of this kind of jobs, so keep that in mind.

5 Creative Ways to Travel More

11. Volunteer
There are many organizations that offer volunteering opportunities. You volunteer your time and expertize in a specific location and they will pay your lodging and food, sometimes also your flights to get there.

12. Negotiate a leave or less pay for more vacation time
I do understand that the daily grind and your job is the main reason keeping you from traveling. Try negotiating a 2-3 month leave or take a pay cut for more vacation days to travel more. Of course these require planning, because at the same time you are cutting your income, but for example our writer Nina was able to get a several month long leave from her job and she moved to NYC for 3 months. It required years of planning, but it was an experience she will never forget. Teachers in Canada (and perhaps all government employees, unfortunately I don’t have details) can take 4 years of only 80% of their salary and then get the 5th entire year off and get paid the same 80% of their salary on the year they are not even working.

13. Study aboard
If you are young, take an advantage of exchange programs or go and study aboard. If you are older and already finished with your studies – don’t think this is completely out of your reach. You can continue your studies and look into graduate programs or even short term courses in Universities around the world. Studying in Europe is much less expensive than in the US, so you will not only be able to travel and experience the culture, but also educate yourself.

14. Win travel from sweepstakes
I know entering sweepstakes sounds like a long shot, but I do have several friends who have won trips, and I won a trip from New York to Finland to Singapore and back two years ago from a contest with an airline. There are several travel sweepstakes going on in any given moment, and there are sweepstakes websites where you can find them. Just start by googling “travel sweepstakes”. Dedicate 30 minutes a day for finding and entering travel sweepstakes and use every entry method you can to maximize your changes of winning.

15. Become a modern nomad
The word nomad comes from a Greek word that means one who wanders for pasture, but I don’t really mean that you move where there are better hunting possibilities nor that you join the gypsies, but that you move where there is work. My husband and I have been “modern nomads” for over 15 years together, and moved after his work. It has given us the opportunity to see the world and travel more than we ever could have otherwise. We have moved every two years or so and have lived in some beautiful areas like in Main-river valley in Germany, in the mountains of Colorado and just outside New York City and now in Sweden. With our moving address it has been very easy to see the world just by doing inexpensive 4-day weekend length staycations where ever we have lived.

Bali Inspires

Last week I posted about our stay in Bali at the Westin Nusa Dua Resort with the children, today I will share more reasons why to travel to Bali.

So what is there to do in this paradise island? Everything is my answer.

First, of course comes the beach – silky sand and clear, warm water, snorkeling and kids favorite – beach combing for seashells. So many little pretty seashells they found!

Tropical Paradise on a dime

Unlike Hawaii and many other popular destinations Bali is still cheap, meaning that a family of five can take a private glass-bottom boat-trip to the turtle sanctuary and snorkel for a total of 3-4hours, and all for less than $50. The added bonus is that you can negotiate (and you should always haggle) right on your beach and the boat comes to pick you up from your beach. The turtle sanctuary is a bit commercial, but we all still loved holding and feeding turtles of all sizes, so this a definitely recommended.

Any trip of course includes some shopping too. The beach has licensed sales people offering their goods and they are not pestering much, which is what happens in other parts of the island a lot. They have some cute saris, dresses, and jewelry at bargain prices: except to get a cute bracelet for well under a dollar and a dress for under $5 USD. And talk about friendly and trusting people – you are always greeted with smile and kind words. When we had no money with us on the beach, we were told just to pay tomorrow; so unusual in today’s society!

For more serious shopping head into the city of Ubud, where you have hundreds of stores lined up with all sorts of lovely local things. For garden and other furniture you also have a lot of choice and they’ll do international shipping. Oh those treasures!

Stunning Culture in Bali

If you love culture Bali is great for that too – there is a mix of cultures and religions around you, although island is mostly Hindu and you can literally see temples almost in every house for there are over 200 000 temples on the island. They are just breathtakingly beautiful is all I can say. The local bus system is not that great, so the best and easiest way to explore is to hire a car for the day: for a mere $50 USD you get a driver for 10 hours and he’ll also act as a guide for you.

Depending on how long you stay at the island I’d recommend a walk through the rice paddies, a hike up the Kintamani volcano, a visit to the monkey temple and the oldest temple called Besakih, the Mother temple – and seeing Balinese Kecak Dance at sunset in Uluwatu temple (but go early as tickets sell fast and it’s a bit crowded).

In general, whenever you see something nice just ask your driver to stop for a moment. Do remember though that this is a tropical region and that it rains often and a lot; but normally not for long periods. When we trekked the Besakih temple it was raining cats and dogs, but the water was warm and kids just loved waddling in ankle-deep water. Just think of it as another adventure!

Get ready for your adventure with this great Bali sightseeing guide and fall in love with Bali!

I have never cruised on Princess Cruise Lines, my preferred cruise line is the Disney Cruise Line, and I am in fact going on a cruise with them next month, can’t wait! But I couldn’t resist sharing this Princess Cruises Memorial Day sale starting today. Princess Cruises Memorial Day sale starts today and continues until the 29th, and the sale offers deals on cruises leaving from U.S. ports.

Princess Cruises Memorial Day Sale

You can save up to $1,000 per stateroom ($500 per person), plus an onboard credit of up to $100 per cabin on departures leaving from September to December of this year. Read the details here. Over 80 cruises to the Caribbean, Hawaii, Panama Canal, Mexico, Canada & New England, and the coast of California are included in the sale.

Some examples of the sale include a seven-day Caribbean sailing discounted to $599 from $799 for an inside cabin; a 14-day Hawaii cruise in a balcony cabin for $1,995 from $2,445; and a seven-day Canada & New England sailing for $599 in an inside cabin, marked down from $799.

Have you ever been on a Princess Cruises cruise? What did you think?

$5 Flights in Costa Rica

Costa Rican Nature Air airline is giving you a reason to book your trip to Costa Rica for June now. On Cinco de Mayo, 5th of May, 2012, Nature Air offers five dollar flights for travel during the month of June 2012 and recommends the top 5 spots of Costa Rica. Travelers can book a domestic flight to any of Nature Air’s 13 Costa Rican destinations from May 5 to May 10, 2012 for $5 (plus applicable fuel surcharge and airport service fees). The promo code for the $5 flights will be posted on Nature Air’s website, on Friday, May 4, 2012.

“Bargain price aside, when travelers choose to fly with Nature Air they get to experience the country’s beauty from a whole new vantage point, optimize their travel time and take advantage of our in-depth knowledge of the country. We can point out all the secret spots for any traveler’s ultimate adventure, romantic getaway or back to nature experience,” says Claire Saylor, director of marketing for Nature Air.

Nature Air is based out of San José, Costa Rica and is the world’s first certified carbon neutral airline. With 74 daily flights to 15 destinations in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama, the company’s mission is to offer reliable, innovative and fun flights throughout Central America while helping maintain the beauty of Costa Rica in its natural state through sustainable policies, projects and initiatives. I’m especially interested in the eco-tourism options available in Costa Rica, and how much they are working to create sustainable solutions in tourism industry. You can read more about Costa Rica, including about the sustainability programs they have at Visit Costa Rica.

Top 5 Destinations in Costa Rica

Nature Air recommends these five destinations in Costa Rica to sample the diversity of Costa Rica.

1. Liberia: The provincial capital of Guanacaste and the gateway to the northern Pacific beaches and tropical eco-systems of Santa Rosa and Rincón de la Vieja National Parks. The region’s idyllic beaches, active volcanoes and wildlife reserves offer superb sightseeing, diving, hiking, sport fishing, world class surf and coastal golf courses.

2. Puerto Jiménez: A remote coastal village recently rediscovered by adventurers and conservationists, Puerto Jimenez is one of the few towns of significance on the Osa Peninsula and a jump-off point to visit the Corcovado National Park. It has typically been the staging ground for adventures deep into the wild; Costa Rica’s most breathtaking scenery and most abundant wildlife thrive on the Osa Peninsula including five species of cats – the jaguar, puma, ocelot, jaguarondi and margay.

3. Manuel Antonio: One of the most beloved destinations in Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio’s powdery white beaches run directly into thick rainforest brimming with wildlife – sloths, macaws and four species of monkeys rule the rainforest canopy. The forested ridge leading to the tiny town center offers 360 degree views of beach, jungle and the shimmering Pacific Ocean dotted with rocky islets and secluded bays.

4. Tamarindo: Once a quaint fishing village, Tamarindo has blossomed into a cosmopolitan beach town with a variety of outdoor activities and nightlife attractions. The town is unique in Costa Rica for its gourmet restaurants offering international cuisine, boutique shops and hotels, and a thriving community of international artists, developers, surfers and locals. Tamarindo is a town for those that play hard by day and play harder by night.

6. San José: The capital of the Republic of Costa Rica is known for its theatre, performing arts and art galleries. In addition, San José has great hotels, a lively nightlife, and an array of excellent restaurants. But, the real beauty of the city is its location – in less than 30 minutes, visitors can be on a coffee plantation tour, at the base of an active volcano, white water rafting, bungee jumping or enjoying a museum or cultural performance.

When you visit Europe the next time, choose to fly with Icelandic airline Icelandair, and take upon their offer to visit Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, by utilizing their free stopover. Icelandair is your top choice for cheap flights to Europe, even if visiting Iceland doesn’t interest you (yet).

A few years ago I flew for the first time with Icelandair. I simply chose them for their cheapest price to fly from New York to Scandinavia, and was very happy with the airline, and knew from trip one that I’d be flying with Icelandair again. The only bad thing about the low airfare is that even the 5 hour flight from New York to Reykjavik doesn’t include a meal in the price, but since I took the night flight, I didn’t really miss food anyways. And unless you fly first class, the airplane food, well, it’s airplane food, even the meals you can buy on Icelandair for the extra cost.

On my first flight with Icelandair I wanted to get to know the airline a bit better, and read their on board magazine and watched all of those promotional videos you can watch on board. You can’t help but want to know what kind of country is the mysterious Iceland when you fly with Icelandair, and what it would be like to visit. Icelandair does an excellent job marketing their nation, and in fact Icelandair won the “Best Marketing Company of the Year” award for 2011, and it was presented to the company by the president of Iceland, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson last November. This small airline has grown the past few years and done an excellent job marketing themselves and their home nation Iceland at the same time.

On my first flight with Icelandair I saw all of these amazing videos of horseback riding on the beach, visiting hot springs and gorgeous untouched nature. The airport in Keflavik (Reykjavik) is modern, welcoming and gives you another sneak peak to Icelandic culture and design, and got me wanting to go back.

If you are flying to Europe anytime soon, I highly recommend Icelandair, and taking advantage of the free stopover Icelandair has to offer, and visiting Iceland. You can book your flight using the special booking engine on their site, and you’ll notice that the price will be the same with the 1-7 day stopover in Reykjavik. The stopover really comes with no extra cost. I was afraid that since we had to take our luggage and then check it in again we wold be forced to pay a luggage fee for the European flight. We had our max amount of 8 pieces of luggage and carry-ons, and we didn’t have to pay anything for them during the entire trip.

I guarantee you will also like the flight prices they have to offer. Even if you’d prefer to use an airline that you are a member of. I’m a Delta Skymiles member, and have a Silver Elite status and I would have gotten two free flights to Europe with Delta with all of the points we’ve collected. It was cheaper to buy four flights from Icelandair than buy two flights from Delta!

This Unique Iceland video by Icelandair gives you some ideas what to do in your stopover in Iceland in case you want to give it a try…

Now you understand why I was determined to visit Iceland..?

Travelocity wants you to have easy-breezy Holiday trip, and help you to save time and money when booking your Holiday trip. For instance, I typically like to wait ’til the last minute and get the last minute deals, but when it comes to traveling during the Holidays you can’t do that, trust me, there never will be last minute flight deals during the Holidays. In fact – we already have our flights bought to Texas for Christmas. Continue reading and get more Holiday travel tips like this!

1. Don’t wait to purchase flights.
The cost of airfare goes up, not down, the closer a holiday gets, and due the increased amount of travelers no last minute deals will be available. Don’t hold out for a last-minute deal. Book as soon as you know your plans for lower prices and more choices and for getting seats for your entire family.

2. Be flexible with travel dates.
Airlines know some dates are more popular than others when it comes to holiday travel, so some may charge more for flights on those days. Travelocity’s analysis of Thanksgiving airfare for 2011 found you can save an average of $200 by adjusting your travel dates. In general, dates to avoid this holiday season: Nov. 27 and 28, Dec. 22, 23 and 26 and Jan. 2.

We booked our family of five’s trip from New York to Texas and saved over $1,300 by booking our flights on December 25th and 31st. I’m fine flying on Christmas and saving that money for more fun in the destination.

3. Research alternate airports.
Many major cities are serviced by several airports, so don’t forget to check the ‘search alternate airports’ box, flying to an airport that’s a little less convenient can mean big savings. Bare in mind the cost of transportation as well. We live in NYC area and only fly from Stewart in Newburgh or White Plains because they are closer to home and take less time to get to the airport, the parking is cheaper and no expensive road tolls to pay to get there. Flights from JFK or LaGuardia typically are little cheaper, but when you sum up the time, parking, tolls, the other airports are not just more convenient but also cost effective.

4. Leave enough time for connecting flights.
Avoid connecting flights if you can — during the holidays and otherwise. Every additional flight increases the chances of something going wrong. If a connection can’t be avoided, be sure to allow plenty of time to make your connection and build in extra time in case your first flight is delayed. With planes flying at near capacity over the holidays, it could be a very long time before the airline is able to find you an available seat on another flight.

5. Don’t over pack.
Nearly every major airline charges $25 for the first checked bag and $35 for the second. If each member of a family of four checks two bags, that’s an additional $240 round-trip. Travelocity advices to carry on only and save yourself money, but I recommend checking in a large bag and packing it jointly with other family members because you also don’t want to over pack for carry on and especially on smaller planes they might check it in anyways at the gate.

6. Don’t put important items in checked baggage.
If you must check bags (see No. 5), be sure you don’t pack away items like medication, a cell phone charger and anything else you can’t live without. Once you check that bag you’re not going to see it again until you arrive at your destination, no matter how delayed your flight may be.

7. Check in online before flight.
Every major airline allows passengers to check in online up to 24 hours before the flight and print boarding passes, pre-pay for checked baggage and more. This is a huge time saver at the airport and means skipping the check-in line and heading straight to security with boarding pass in hand.

8. Show up early at airport and leave enough time to get through security.
Airlines, airports and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will be staffed up to deal with holiday crowds, but expect security lines to be longer than usual. Leave one hour from the time you arrive at the security to get to your gate. Even if you are an expert traveler remember that Holiday time is often the time when the casual travelers travel the most. Many airports have casual, expert and family traveler lanes; choose the one that best describes you so you and your fellow travelers have as easy a trip through security as possible.

9. Know the latest TSA rules.
You have to take off your shoes at security at most airports. Everyone must follow the 3-1-1 rule and take laptops out of their bags and put them through the metal detector in its own bin. Outerwear must be removed before walking though the metal detector. Don’t be the one who holds up the line – know the rules. For more information, visit TSA.gov.

10. Take advantage of cheap hotels.
Of course you love your family. You probably love your in-laws even more, right? But wouldn’t these holiday visits be even a little sweeter with a little privacy? Consider checking into a nearby hotel instead of sleeping on the sofa — hotel deals (with the exception of properties in resort areas) are plentiful during the holiday season.

These tips were provided by Travelocity and fully agreed by me! Be prepared for a fun Holiday trip and start booking and planning today!

I visited the Hotel California in Todos Santos, Mexico, in August.

I was invited as a guest of the Mexican Tourism Board, and it was my first trip to Mexico, but it won’t be the last. I will also share many more details of our trip to Mexico in the upcoming weeks, but today I wanted to feature Hotel California, it was one of my favorite spots during the trip. You can read more how Hotel California is a great place to spot Mexican interior design inspiration and see several more pictures of the hotel.

History of Hotel California

Visiting Hotel California was one of many highlights of the trip. It’s located in town of Todos Santos in the Southern Baja California Sur. Todos Santos, meaning “All Saints,” is officially designated a Pueblo Magico (Magic Town) by the Mexican Tourism Secretary and the town has authentic colonial architecture and cobblestone streets. The hotel has vibrant history and a great story and we where showed the hotel around and heard this and many other stories of the hotel. The people working in the hotel are incredibly nice and welcoming, and I wish I can return soon.

Hotel California was already founded in 1947 by a Chinese immigrant Mr. Wong, who wanted the locals to believe he was Mexican so he changed his name to Don Antonio Tabasco. It didn’t work as well as he had planned since he soon became known as “El Chino,” meaning “The Chinese Man”. Don Antonio Tabasco became very popular in town despite being the Chinese Man, he was the first one starting to buy ice in 1950 and serving the first cold beer in town, and not surprisingly, became very popular after that. Continuing the success and being a visionary in town, he started a general store “”La Popular” and then the first gas station in town.

During the Hippie years between the 1960s and 1970s, people were growing their own marijuana in the extremely fertile land of the Todos Santos area and perhaps for this reason the history of the hotel itself is half-forgotten. There is no confirmation if the famous Eagles song is about this Hotel California, but many tend to think so. It is often visited by famous musicians and perhaps they are looking for the same inspiration, which Hotel California most likely will offer them.

A Canadian couple John and Debbie Stewart purchased the hotel in 2001 and did a full renovation and the original 16 rooms were transformed into the eclectic 11 suite hotel, which has won numerous awards for design and décor. The restaurant, La Coronela and bar were added and the original gas station was turned into the tienda Emporio, the hotel’s boutique gallery/bazaar.

Shopping at Emporio in Hotel California

The Emporio bazaar has an eclectic collection of jewelry, trinkets, clothing, home decorating products and Hotel California branded t-shirts and tequila. You will be able to shop a lot of your souvenirs here, and it’s a great shot just to stroll around. Pictures tell more…

Right next to the bazaar and shopping, you will find the hotel restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Dining at the restaurant

La Coronela Restaurant & Bar offers you a fantastic place to dine. The restaurant is run by Belgian executive chef Dany Lamote and the menu focuses on organic locally grown and raised ingredients. The menu has classic Mexican dishes but also dishes like pear and gorgonzola pizza and lamb burger with caramelized onions.

We had fish tacos and chicken enchiladas for lunch, and refreshing margaritas and piña coladas with cinnamon on the top. The region is famous for fruit farms, especially mangos and avocados, and the guacamole and mango margaritas are worth to try at La Coronela!

The restaurant has a nice bar and seating inside, but my favorite was the outdoor dining area with a courtyard with a water fountain. The place was just perfect and even though it was a hot summer day, it stayed surprisingly cool outdoors.

Relaxation & Gorgeous Rooms, Inexpensive Retreat

The restaurant serving delicious Mexican dishes and the shop for unique souvenirs are all worth the visit, but my favorite was being in an environment of rich colors, unique furnishings and art all around. A relaxing pool area for hotel guests only, and several private patios provide an escape.

The hotel is small, only 11 rooms, so you will now you will never be surrounded with large amounts of roaming tourists, but you will have a relaxing stay at Hotel California. Each of the rooms is decorated differently with art, fabulous furniture, bold colors and the beds are equipped with soft 500 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. They rooms have an access to the many private patios of the hotel. The below one is a picture of a private patio that comes with a hotel room. Pretty nice, huh?

The prices for this luxury vary from $80 per night to $150 per night for the 2 story high penthouse suite. The specialty dinners were all under $25 making it very easy to indulge on a budget, and making Hotel California the perfect spot for luxury for less.

Now, doesn’t this call your name…? I know Hotel California has been calling my name ever since I left Mexico.

Disclosure: My trip to Mexico was provided by Ogilvy and the Tourism Board of Mexico. I was not paid to do this post and all of my opinions are my own.

The picture above is taken at the Harbor Hotel Provincetown’s outdoor lounge area, and this fall Harbor Hotel Provincetown lets you have the cake and eat it too with their enticing fall price promo.

We stayed in the Harbor Hotel Provincetown in our stay in Provincetown this summer, and it is a great inexpensive hotel right by the beach and a few minute bus ride to downtown area.

Harbor Hotel Provincetown offers a cool price promotion for the entire fall. In fact, the cooler the weather, the better the price, because the temperature on the day of check-in will determine your rate for the stay. The average temperature in Provincetown in September is 70 degrees, and either you win for getting a cheaper price or you win by getting a warmer weather, so either way you are golden.

You can read more about the town and the hotel in my post about Provincetown. If you want to book a reservation based on the daily temperature call 800.422.4224, the special rate cannot be booked online and is based on availability. Unfortunately it is not available on weekends in September and stay must be completed by December 1, 2011. Guests will be charged a $50 non-refundable deposit when booking and the daily room rate for the duration of their stay will be determined upon arrival based on the Provincetown temperature at 2pm, as reported by the National Weather Service.

Read more about the Harbor Hotel Provincetown in their website.

It isn’t a summer without taking kids to the beach. This summer we realized that my husband was going to be on a couple of longer business trips and we had to decide whether to tag along with him, or do a trip of our own, just me and the kids, while he was gone. We decided to have a beach trip on our own, and invited Grandma, my mother-in-law, with us.

We headed to the tip of Cape Cod, to Provincetown.

It’s about 6 hour drive from New York City, but in reality with the summer traffic and stops it was closer to 8 hour drive, and you could easily drive it on one day. We stopped in Rhode Island for the night to see our friends, and then we stopped in Sandwich on The Cape for lunch and shopping before heading all the way to the tip of Cape Cod to Provincetown making it a fun drive with the kids.

Provincetown has light houses, Pilgrim museum, dinner shows, whale watching and everything you can imagine a Cape Cod beach town would have – but we didn’t do any of them. We were looking for a relaxing getaway with beach & lobster, without crowded and too hot beaches, and that’s what Provincetown offered for us.

Serenity, Beaches

All what we wanted out of our trip was to relax on the beach, enjoy the ocean and eat good sea food. There are several beaches in Provincetown, but we stayed on the beach on the East side of the downtown, by the Commercial Street, right across our hotel, the Harbor Hotel Provincetown. We didn’t want to waste time for driving, parking and walking to any of the other beaches, and this was so quiet, and you could truly just enjoy the water, sand and serenity of it all. After seeing this serene quiet beach so conveniently, we didn’t even want to see any other options, we had found our spot.

We spent most of our days on the beach. Most of the time I saw my kids like this on the beach – bent down picking sea shells, building sand castles, or dipping their toes in the water. And me? I even read a book by the beach, which is an accomplishment for me. Not that I don’t like books, I love them, but I never take time to read any at home.

Provincetown Downtown Shopping

The Provincetown downtown area is a busy touristy harbor where you can catch whale watching boats and spend a day shopping and eating in the numerous restaurants. The traffic can get pretty busy, and the parking is fairly expensive too, so I recommend taking the local bus to get to the downtown area, it’s $2 per person one way, and seniors $1 and children free. Well, a few times we paid for the kids, so maybe the other times they were free by the kindness of the driver, I’m not sure. We didn’t want to make a fuss about it by asking, I was just happy to get a free ride. The bus route was right by our hotel making it easy to take the 5 minute drive to downtown area for dinner.

Someone is playing a guitar and singing anything from soft rock to French songs and you can see amusement for adults and kids alike in the downtown Provincetown. Be prepared to see the sometimes very colorful gay population of Provincetown in the downtown area. The drag queens are selling tickets to the dinner shows on the streets right by the other performing street artists. It hit me as we were walking down the streets that we probably looked like a lesbian couple with my mother-in-law as we herded the kids together through the busy streets.

While you can definitely find many tourist shops with souvenirs in Provincetown, my favorites were the art galleries and small interior design stores. Last summer I bought a painting in Rockport, and I was hoping to buy one in Provincetown as well, but while the selection and quality of art was high, so were the prices, and I came home empty handed. My favorite art gallery in town was the Thanassi gallery.

The art galleries and the expensive interior design shops in Provincetown are amazing considering the location and the size of the town, but what you can’t find anywhere else is the Marine Specialties Inc.. This Provincetown specialty store is also known as the army-navy store, a store filled with army surplus junk, marine equipment like ropes, chain and anchors, everything surplus from hotel soaps to airline branded serving ware. And between the wooden buoys and lobster pots you’ll find anything you’ll need for Mardi Gras, and nested somewhere between the used license plates from 50 states and the army jackets you’ll find a selection of white wedding dresses, because everything goes, and you never know, you might want to buy a wedding dress wile you are getting air to your scuba tank, also available at Marine Specialties Inc.

Provincetown Food

Downtown Provincetown is full of restaurants in any price range and cuisine, and it actually makes it difficult to choose where to eat. On the first evening we were starving and we didn’t read any reviews or ask around where to eat, and chose Grand Central Restaurant on Masonic Place, off Commercial Street. The atmosphere was great and we had a private dining room to ourselves, but the food was not worth it for the price we paid. However, they still had a happy hour going on at 7 PM and we got a free dessert with our meals. Still, I probably don’t recommend going there.

Next day we tried Lobster Pot, an award-winning Provincetown favorite in the busiest corner of the town. Touristy, yes, and more like a diner by water where they were flipping crab cakes instead of burgers. Not a fancy place, but the food was the best we ate the entire time in Provincetown.
We tried the seafood platter, crab cakes and a lobster roll there, and I would highly recommend eating at Lobster Pot regardless the dineresque atmosphere.

We discovered the Nut House nut, chocolate, ice cream and coffee shop on the first night, and went back everyday. The selection of yummi to-go desserts was too much to keep us from going back. The place was packed on the evenings, but worth the wait. You’ll find chocolate dipped pretzel sticks, chocolate dipped S’Mores, nuts of every variety, freshly baked cookies (often still warm) candy galore and freshly popped pop corn. My favorite: the white chocolate dipped marshmallow sticks.

Harbor Hotel Provincetown

While planning our trip to Cape Cod, a friend of mine, Stacie recommended the Harbor Hotel Provincetown for an inexpensive place to stay right by the beach. After connecting with the hotel, they offered us a free stay, but after checking them out online, I would have stayed there anyway. We were looking for an affordable last minute trip but wanted to stay somewhere nice, and Harbor Hotel Provincetown fit the bill exactly. The place has gone through a complete makeover from an old beach side motel (formerly known as Cape Inn) to a fresh mod hotel. On the other words.. from something where I would have never stayed to a hotel I’m now happy to recommend for others too.

The Harbor Hotel Provincetown actually offered an inexpensive beach experience that I have never seen anywhere else. The rooms were freshly painted with bold turquoise making the rooms from bare minimalistic to retro mod. Even though it was more like a motor inn, they had done amazing job turning it into more resort-like with a bar by the pool, and restaurant with movie nights and outer deck with comfy lounge chairs. On the evenings you could play board games in the Whaler Lounge restaurant, pick a book from their bookshelf to read, or have a drink by the open fire in the front lawn overlooking the sea. The personnel, especially the summer workers from Eastern-Europe were friendly and helpful, and made it a pleasure to enjoy the free breakfast and a night cap in the hotel restaurant.

Harbor Hotel Provincetown was a great inexpensive alternative and I liked how it was located at on Route 6A, only a few minute drive from downtown. The beach cross the street and the ocean view from our rooms just made it perfect.

Disclosure: My stay at the Harbor Hotel Provincetown was comped, but my opinions are my own.