C’mon, you know you love Facebook. Even those who make fun of it are secretly obsessed.

Well, it turns out that one Manhattan hotel has picked up on the popularity of the social networking site and is now offering a special to members of its Facebook page. According to HotelChatter, the tres chic Bryant Park Hotel is offering two complimentary cocktails at the Cellar Bar, a complimentary room category upgrade, a special amenity to be delivered to the room after check-in and a late check-out of 1pm.

And you thought Facebook was just a way to waste time at work…

Technorati Tags: Travel, Facebook, social networking, hotel, NYC, New York City hotel, Bryant Park Hotel, Facebook fan, hotel specials, hotel packages

Traveling can be indulgent; I know my trips always include stops at a few restaurants that I’ve been dying to check out. And, although eating out every night while you’re gone can be a delicious experience, sometimes we pay for it when we get back home.

Kimpton Hotels is offering a way for travelers to eat healthier while they’re on the road. The company just recently announced that they’re partnering with popular cooking magazine Cooking Light starting in January 2009, offering health and wellness packages for travelers at its 42 hotels across the country. The hotel group will be collaborating with the magazine on healthy menus at its properties.

Even better, if you’re a subscriber to the magazine, you’ll be eligible for special discounts and offers. Now that sounds like a delicious proposition.

To learn more about Kimpton Hotels, visit www.kimptonhotels.com. To learn more about Cooking Light magazine, visit www.cookinglight.com.

Technorati Tags: Travel, Kimpton Hotels, Cooking Light, dining out, dining and traveling, eating healthy, health and wellness packages, boutique hotels

As if being in Hawaii isn’t paradise enough on its own, the Hilton Hawaiian Village, located on Waikiki’s longest stretch of beach, has introduced a new Paradise Pass, offering families the chance to save a little cash while they savor the surf and sun.

For $20 plus tax, the Paradise Pass entitles guests to the following: fifty percent off toys at the lagoon or beach, daily fitness center access for two, twenty percent off a treatment at the Mandara Spa, two tall Starbucks drip coffees, two Mai Tais at the hotel’s Tropics or Taha bar, two bottled waters and unlimited local phone calls. That’s more than $100 in value.

Heck, count us in for the Mai Tais alone! For more information on the Hilton Hawaiian Village, visit www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com.

Technorati Tags: Travel, Hawaii, Hilton, Waikiki, paradise, paradise pass, travel savings, travel packages, travel deals, hotel savings, hotel offers

As if visiting California’s wine country wasn’t already alluring enough, now there’s one more reason to make a trip. You may have already had a taste of the beauty of wine pairings, but Sonoma’s Lynmar Estate, located in the Russian River Valley, just might have figured out how to pair our two favorite things with its “Pinot and Pizza Fridays.”

Every Friday this summer, visitors can stop by Lynmar Estate’s private Redwood grove, a tiny enclave surrounded by giant trees and rolling vineyards, for current release Lynmar Estate Pinor Noirs and homemade pizzas made fresh in the wood-burning oven. In-house chef Sandra Simile chooses the day’s pizza toppings based on the freshest produce from Lynmar’s gardens.

The party starts every Friday at 4:30 pm. Reservations are recommended, and can be made by calling 707.829.3374 x102. For more information about Lynmar Estates, visit www.lynmarestate.com.

Technorati Tags: Travel, wine country, Napa, Sonoma, Russian River Valley, Lynmar Estates, wine pairing, Pinot, pizza, winery, winery visit, wine country special events, Sebastopol

It seems as though pets are becoming more and more a part of our families—and some of the country’s most luxurious hotels are sitting up and taking note.

For travelers looking to take their favorite furry friends along on their next mini-break, Petside.com, a popular online resource for pet owners, has released an exclusive list of the top five pet friendly hotels in the country. The are:

1. The James Hotel, Chicago, IL (pictured above)
2. The W Tuscany, New York, NY
3. The Hotel Monaco, Denver, CO
4. Bowen’s by the Bays, Hampton Bays, NY
5. Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Los Angeles, CA

It is possible, it seems, for Fido to travel like a king. The James Hotel’s pet-friendly perks include everything from spa treatments to in-room training sessions to special meals prepared for pets from David Burke’s Primehouse Restaurant.

To read more about the top pet-friendly hotels, and to see Petside.com’s entire summer travel package, complete with travel ideas for pet lovers to tips on how to fly with your pet, visit http://petside.com/news/pet-travel.html.

Technorati Tags: Travel, Petside, pets and travel, pet friendly travel, pet friendly hotels, James Hotel, pet packages, W Tuscany, Hotel Monaco, Bowen’s, Hyatt Regency

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to travel like royalty, the new book The World’s Coolest Hotel Rooms by Bill Tikos (Collins Design) is worth a look.

The book takes a look at more than 50 of the most extravagant, unusual and striking hotel rooms across the globe, including a room for wannabe rock stars (with a soundstage, no less), to a hotel in Mexico that has a vintage Polaroid handcuffed to every bed, to a room with a personal concierge in Buenos Aires. Each room is profiled from an architectural and amenity standpoint, along with local points of interest.

Tikos should know what he’s talking about: He pens the column The Cool Hunter, which runs in magazines and newspapers worldwide, and the proprietor of the trend-spotting website www.thecoolhunter.net, known for its cutting-edge eye for up-and-coming design, fashion, technology and more.

To order the book on Amazon, click here.

Technorati Tags: Travel, travel books, world’s coolest hotel rooms, Bill Tikos, Cool Hunter, coolhunter, hotel design

It seems that many a hotel in NYC is capitalizing on the Waterfall exhibit by internationally acclaimed artist Olafur Eliasson, which features four waterfalls around the city that will be on display until mid-October.

The gorgeous Carlyle Hotel (pictured above), for instance, is offering a Waterfall Package for two that includes luxury accommodations, buffet breakfast, a one-hour cruise around the Waterfalls and cocktails at the hotel’s Bemelman’s Bar. The package starts at $850 per night.

The Ritz-Carlton, Battery Park is offering a Waterfalls package that includes luxury harborfront accommodations equipped with telescopes for better viewing, two tickets on the Circle Line cruise that circles the waterfalls and more. The package starts at $480 a night.

Meanwhile, the Gild Hall hotel, a new dowtown Thomson hotel property, is offering a Waterfalls offer that features two complimentary tickets to the Circle Line cruise when you book a suite (it’s $479 for a King Suite and $749 for the Thomson Suite).

Technorati Tags: Hotels, New York City, Waterfalls, Olafur Eliasson, Waterfall exhibit, New York City Hotels, Carlyle, Gild Hall, Ritz-Carlton

A few months ago, I wrote about the travel planning site Holiday Golightly, which is a one-stop shop for planning your next girlfriend getaway. Well, for those of you who are getting married in the coming months (or will be serving as a maid of honor, perhaps), there’s a special Bachelorette-focused page that can help you plan a destination party for you and your girlfriends.

The gals over the site recently conducted a survey, and found the top ten favorite bachelorette party ideas from their readers. Among the top picks? Rafting in Colorado, rock climbing, a boat party in Austin and a Napa wine country excursion (pictured above).

If you’re looking for inspiration, and especially if you’re looking to book a destination bachelorette, check out the site at www.holidaygolightly.com.

Technorati Tags: Travel, girlfriend getaways, Holiday Golightly, bachelorette party, bachelorette party ideas

Seeing as it’s the middle of the summer, a dip in the pool sounds heavenly right about now. If you’re thinking of lounging poolside this season, the folks over at Fodors asked their readers to rank their favorite pools in Hawaii, Walt Disney World and Las Vegas, and came up with their Top Resort Pools list.

Among the best of the best according to Fodors are the Yacht Beach Club Resort and Polynesian Resort in Disney World, the Mandalay Bay (pictured above) and MGM Grand in Las Vegas and the Grand Wailea Resort and Grand Hyatt Kaua’i Resort and Spa in Hawaii.

To read the entire article, visit www.fodors.com.

Technorati Tags: Travel, summer travel, pools, resorts, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Disney World, Polynesian Resort, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Grand Wailea Resort, Grand Hyatt Kaua’i

It can be a hassle to carry a map around, with all the awkward folding and re-folding that comes along with most traditional paper versions.

The folks at Rand McNally have come up with an ingenious idea with their microfiber fabMAPs. The maps, which are available for most major US cities, require no folding, and are wrinkle-proof, tear-proof and waterproof.

If you’re heading to a beach-friendly destination, like South Beach, here’s another bonus: Because they’re made of microfiber, you can even use them to clean off your sunglasses.

To purchase a Rand McNally fabMap, visit www.randmcnally.com.

Technorati Tags: Travel, maps, Rand McNally, fabMap, South Beach