...and happy North Carolina travels in the New Year!
Tweet
Monday, December 24, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
Comfort...where we stay
We patronize a number of hotel chains when we travel, depending on the city and the price. But we do have a preference.
It's the Choice Hotels line of lodgings. More specifically, we generally stay at a Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites or Sleep Inn.
The reasons are simple. All three offer rooms that usually are comfortable and clean. We usually can find a good price on a room at the hotels. We have found a few gems.
We both are fond of sneaking away to the lobby to read quietly, and Choice tends to provide cozy lobby spaces. Depending on the owner/franchisee, the hotels usually offer a decent free breakfast. In short, we rarely have been disappointed with our reservation.
Sleep Inns, a bit lower on the chain's spectrum, are simple and usually clean. They are affordable. And they have a funky circular shower that breaks the hotel-room monotony.
We book with Choice so much that I joined its Choice Privileges rewards plan. It's brown-wrapper plain, and I recently had a bad experience with it. But it's simple to use, and we enjoy a free room about once a year!
In a future post, I'll share the way I search for a good price on accommodations.
Tweet
It's the Choice Hotels line of lodgings. More specifically, we generally stay at a Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites or Sleep Inn.
The reasons are simple. All three offer rooms that usually are comfortable and clean. We usually can find a good price on a room at the hotels. We have found a few gems.
We both are fond of sneaking away to the lobby to read quietly, and Choice tends to provide cozy lobby spaces. Depending on the owner/franchisee, the hotels usually offer a decent free breakfast. In short, we rarely have been disappointed with our reservation.
Sleep Inns, a bit lower on the chain's spectrum, are simple and usually clean. They are affordable. And they have a funky circular shower that breaks the hotel-room monotony.
We book with Choice so much that I joined its Choice Privileges rewards plan. It's brown-wrapper plain, and I recently had a bad experience with it. But it's simple to use, and we enjoy a free room about once a year!
In a future post, I'll share the way I search for a good price on accommodations.
Tweet
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Deal alert! Oceanfront efficiency
Pay $40 per night for
an $80 efficiency at The Whaler Inn Beach Club. It’s a deal through The News &
Observer’s dealsaver.com site. But hurry. You have to make the purchase – up to
five nights -- by midnight Saturday.
Tweet
We’ve never stayed at The
Whaler, but it’s been around forever and has a good reputation. The oceanfront
hotel is in Pine Knoll Shores, just down the road from Atlantic Beach, on the Crystal
Coast. It boasts an enclosed swimming pool and game room, if you’re taking
the children.
There are a number of
restrictions. It’s only for Sunday through Thursday stays. The deal is subject
to availability, but fewer than 30 nights have been booked of a total of 300
available.
Click
here for all of the details.
Tweet
Surprise her. Or him
Many years ago, when our daughter was 2 or 3 years old, it struck me that my wife was feeling pretty stressed. What I did next has stayed with her and me all these years. Let me recommend this course of action to you, when you see your spouse feeling weary.
The thought popped into my mind to take my wife away for a short vacation. And I mean short: We didn't have lots of vacation money. I looked around for what for us would be an exotic destination, but close enough that it wouldn't cost a lot in gas and meals.
I'm not sure how, but I came up with Danville, Va. It was just a few hours away. It was across the state line, which was exotic enough. It had a section with old houses, where we could just walk and enjoy. I learned that it had a museum of the Confederacy, which for us meant indulging our enjoyment of history. And I found a good hotel whose rates were modest in early spring.
My little daughter and I called ourselves "kidnapping" Mom from an appointment that she had that morning. We drove up to Danville, which straddles the Dan River, along back roads lined with trees just beginning to show their spring buds. We packed a lunch, I seem to remember, but otherwise we ate at local places that didn't charge chain-restaurant prices.
We left early enough in the day to see a good portion of Danville's sights. We stayed only overnight, but that gave us enough rest to take in more of Danville the next day, including its quaint downtown.
It ate up just two vacation days, but that was plenty to absorb a lot of at-home stress. It was time very well spent!
Tweet
The thought popped into my mind to take my wife away for a short vacation. And I mean short: We didn't have lots of vacation money. I looked around for what for us would be an exotic destination, but close enough that it wouldn't cost a lot in gas and meals.
I'm not sure how, but I came up with Danville, Va. It was just a few hours away. It was across the state line, which was exotic enough. It had a section with old houses, where we could just walk and enjoy. I learned that it had a museum of the Confederacy, which for us meant indulging our enjoyment of history. And I found a good hotel whose rates were modest in early spring.
My little daughter and I called ourselves "kidnapping" Mom from an appointment that she had that morning. We drove up to Danville, which straddles the Dan River, along back roads lined with trees just beginning to show their spring buds. We packed a lunch, I seem to remember, but otherwise we ate at local places that didn't charge chain-restaurant prices.
We left early enough in the day to see a good portion of Danville's sights. We stayed only overnight, but that gave us enough rest to take in more of Danville the next day, including its quaint downtown.
It ate up just two vacation days, but that was plenty to absorb a lot of at-home stress. It was time very well spent!
Tweet
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
A Crystal Coast freebie
One of our favorite times to spend at the beach is the late fall and winter. Sunrises and sunsets are spectacular. The crush of tourists is long gone...which makes long, quiet walks on the beach that much easier. The weather is usually pleasant, and sometimes even warm. And here's a treat: Cottage rental rates are at their lowest.
Here's one better. Bluewater Vacation Rentals is repeating its offer of one night free when you rent a cottage or condo for three nights. The deal is good from December 15 to January 6. You must pick from a selection of rental properties and then call 866-976-3512 to make the reservation. And you must mention the 4-for-3 promotion.
Actually, there are a growing number of families that have started a tradition of spending Christmas or New Year's at ocean's edge. Some of the rental companies even offer Christmas season vacation packages that include a Christmas tree delivered to your cottage door! Be careful, though, since rates can be higher during the holiday weeks than the rest of the winter season.
We're old-fashioned enough that Dec. 25th has to be at home. But we've spent more than a few January 1sts in the salty air.
Tweet
Here's one better. Bluewater Vacation Rentals is repeating its offer of one night free when you rent a cottage or condo for three nights. The deal is good from December 15 to January 6. You must pick from a selection of rental properties and then call 866-976-3512 to make the reservation. And you must mention the 4-for-3 promotion.
Actually, there are a growing number of families that have started a tradition of spending Christmas or New Year's at ocean's edge. Some of the rental companies even offer Christmas season vacation packages that include a Christmas tree delivered to your cottage door! Be careful, though, since rates can be higher during the holiday weeks than the rest of the winter season.
We're old-fashioned enough that Dec. 25th has to be at home. But we've spent more than a few January 1sts in the salty air.
Tweet
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)