HIlton Oceanfront Resort: Hilton Head Island, SC

As usual, I used Priceline to bid on a resort on Hilton Head Island. This time my bid got me The Hilton Oceanfront resort. It's in the same plantation as the Marriott Resort & Spa. They are practically right next door. The Hilton Oceanfront is different than the other resorts we've stayed at on the island. Here's my view:

The lobby is smaller than the other resorts. The lobby (among other places) is a free wi-fi area.  The front desk staff is much more friendly than the Crowne Plaza but not as friendly as the Marriott. The Concierge, Will, is great. The bellmen are all great. You never have to go through this lobby to go to the pools or other outdoor areas, which is a plus to me. 

The room is pretty nice. It has a table with a couple of chairs, a larger than usual fridge for a hotel room, microwave, a few plates, mugs, bowls, and silverware. The bathroom is a bit awkward with door configurations rendering the outer area unusable since it's a tight pass-through to the actual bathroom, but it's nice to have two sinks and counters. In our King bed room there was also a desk with chair, two more chairs, plus a sofa bed. Adding up all the chairs in the room and you have 6 plus a three seat sofa. There was a good sized balcony with two chairs and a table inside, upping the possible seating to 11. No real complaints about the room at all. It has an iron & board, hair dryer, and safe. Two robes are provided as well. Coffee maker with decent coffee. The freezer section of the fridge doesn't keep things frozen. We learned this the hard way with Blue Bell ice cream turned to liquid.

My biggest complaint of the whole stay would be the housekeeper we had. One day of our stay we had a different lady because it was the regular housekeeper's day off. The regular housekeeper returned and the service she provided was just junky. The replacement should replace her permanently. She did the whole thing with love. The regular lady didn't clean a lot of stuff - sinks, floors, counters - all dirty when she was done. Replacement housekeeper had made everything perfect, left the towels all fancy-folded and put toiletries on the tray in an organized way. Regular housekeeper literally tossed the stuff on the tray all willy-nilly, left the same dirt on the floor our whole stay, left the same thing in the sink, threw out toiletries which were still half full, and in general had a nasty attitude when we saw her. She even kept leaving only decaf, even though my husband only drinks regular. I would have to go out in the halls and find other maids and trade after she did our room every day but one.

Room service is totally lackluster. We are usually big room service piggies, but this place left  much to be desired, even for us. If my husband says a chicken sandwich was too greasy to eat, it had to be bad.

The layout of this resort kind of wins me over. It's not as high-falutin' as Crowne Plaza or Marriott, but you go down the hall and go outside and you are at the pool. You are almost at the beach. If you want to go to the beach from your room in the Crowne Plaza you have to go through the lobby and walk through a maze of gorgeous to get out to it. I enjoyed the simplicity of being dressed for the beach and being practically there when we got outside. The balconies all allow for an ocean view. Ours was nearly the furthest from the ocean, so it wasn't a perfect view, but you could see it. It beats the views we've had at Crowne Plaza and Marriott. (I don't mention the Westin much because we only stayed there once for a couple of nights and I wasn't impressed. Sorry Westin lovers.)

The fancy restaurant on site was also disappointing to me. Not much on the menu and I felt like it was trying to hard to be 'fancy' and not trying hard enough to be delicious. The desserts were sad looking, so we passed. It just seemed like there was no love. 

The pool setup at Hilton Oceanfront Resort was pretty nice. Two pools, one for adults only, which was far away from the family pool. The water was like a lukewarm bath, which was good for me. There are also two jacuzzi tubs, although they were a maze-walk away from the pools.  The bartender at the pool area bar was unfriendly to the extreme, but reviews online all seem to agree about him, so I guess it's not very shocking. We kept our encounters with him to two. 

There is a little cafe/store downstairs which offers many types of drinks, a bunch of candy, some desserts, and things like microwave popcorn. The cafe serves you at little tables. Burgers and pizza, etc. We used the store part, but not the cafe. 

If you go through Priceline you can't use Hilton Honors at this property, which is the only oceanfront resort on the island with this policy. That said, internet is $9.99 a day per device unless you sit in the lobby or other free wi-fi areas. Parking was $9.00 or $10.00 a day with valet parking being an extra $3 per day. Valet parking doesn't seem as necessary in this resort as the others because it seems like parking is readily available, but don't take my word for it because we used the valet.  

You can't go wrong with any oceanfront resort at Hilton Head Island as far as I can tell.  They each have their strengths and weaknesses.

Go on and visit. Tell them I sent you!

SOHO South Cafe in Savannah, GA

Food: Above and beyond expectations!
Price: $8.50 - $12.50 per person
Service: friendly and attentive
Atmosphere: 'relaxed eclectic'

     I feel very fortunate to be able to tell you about SOHO South Cafe in Savannah. I highly recommend you visit this place before other more touristy places. The first and best reason is the food.

     Mom ordered their signature sandwich, a lump crab-cake sandwich. It looked so perfect I was even jealous of her roll! You could tell it was freshly baked with love and beautifully buttered and toasted. The greens on her salad were perfect and dark and lovely, the tomato was dark read and juicy. She declared it the best meal she'd had the whole vacation! Not only that, she also declared it the best seafood she has ever had. I was, frankly, just a lot jealous. Until I bit into my sandwich. I had a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. How exciting could it be, right? Quite exciting, actually. The bread is fantastic, the cheeses were lovely, it was perfectly done, and the giant bowl of soup was amazing. I thought I was ordering a plain lunch. Instead I got something delicious well beyond my expectations.

     As I looked around the restaurant all the meals looked as if they were prepared with the same amount of love as ours. You do not see pictures on a menu then get served something which sort of looks like it might be the same thing. You get no pictures on the menu. Any meal they serve, picture taken, would do any menu justice.

  
     Beautiful, delightful, four thumbs up!

Travel In Style Tuesday

Don't be jealous. This guy had way more room in his car than you did, but that's because he thinks outside of the
box
trunk. And besides, who needs to see directly behind them anyway? We had a really interesting road trip. This was just one of the things which made it so.

Crowne Plaza Resort - Hilton Head Island, S.C.

During our time at Hilton Head last week we decided to extend our stay. I hopped on Priceline again and landed a different resort - The Crowne Plaza.We had stayed at this Crowne Plaza on other occasions, so we knew what to expect, sort of. I say sort of because this time, and maybe it was because we booked on Priceline(?) we didn't get the same quality of room as in the past. We always get a view of a rooftop full of air conditioners. This time we got a a better view... of the parking lot. Hey, it's better than air conditioners. Plus there was a big palm tree sort of in our face so it blocked a lot of the parking lot view.

The rooms we had (3065 - and the kids had 3061) started out with a television remote which did not work, a missing ethernet cord, a toilet which took a carnival strong man two pushes to flush, (and it was loud!) and hardly any water pressure. There was a red drink of some kind spilled all over the wall and carpet near one of the beds, which the maids never cleaned while we were there, either. I bet if you go check 3065 today, it is still there. Some odd stuff was falling onto the balcony which was barely wide enough to fit a chair, and and a television signal was very bad, even on our pay per view movie. You know what though? These things really didn't amount to a hill of beans.

As far as the room goes, it's attractive. It had two double beds, which I always find sort of insulting. Come on, you can't give us two queens? To be fair, this double bed thing also happened at the Marriott Resort and Spa. The air conditioning worked well, and the hallways were not hot like on previous visits, but also comfortably air conditioned. The sounds were terrible. You could hear the other rooms taking a shower, flushing, or pretty much anything they did. And it felt like Florida during Spring Break as far as the noise levels in the hallways. I just don't remember any of these issues in previous stays at this location. Then again, we were never on this end of the resort in the past.

Beautiful grounds:

They have gorgeous grounds with lots of lush greenery. There are ponds of water with wildlife. The turtles, especially, love to swim their mossy-backed selves over to the little bridge when you stand on it. The hammocks are the perfect resort hammock, and shaded for the lucky loungers. There is an outdoor pool with chairs. The umbrellas for the chairs are few and far between, leaving most guests in the blaring sun while they lounge. There is also an indoor pool. The lone jacuzzi is indoors with this pool. You have to have a room card with you to access this pool room. There are a handful of chaise lounges in with this pool. The hamburgers from the pool bar are out of this world. The fries hold their own, as well. I had a virgin orange creamsicle icy drink and it was really good too.

Mossy Turtles:

The beach access is fantastic. At low tide you end up with warm and interesting tide pools. There are ample showers and there is a nice big bathroom right there by the showers. Very handy for when you are staying at the beach for a while.

The kids made new friends on the beach:

David from the restaurant was really great with us. He's my choice for #1 employee at this location. We loved the Key Lime pie!

They have a decent gift shop, although the staff, usually consisting of one person, follows you at every turn. They do not greet you or try to help, they just watch you as if you're apt to rob them blind. Do resorts of this calibur have a big old bunch of shoplifters or do I just look like a gypsy?

Did I mention the kids made a few friends on the beach?

The check in desk, save a nice girl from England, could always use a course in 'friendly' as far as I am concerned. Ditto the bartender out by the pool, and pretty much any employee of this resort except the girls in the towel hut, who were sweet. The Crowne Plaza could take a lesson from the Marriott in how to treat the guests to make them feel welcomed. Nobody was terribly rude or anything, they just don't know how to make you feel like they enjoy you being with them.

Checkout is noon, and before 11:30 the same girl from housekeeping had bothered us THREE times to see when they could make up the room. Each time I told her we would be checking out that day. When I told her the third time, at 11:30, we would be gone by 12:00 she gave me an unhappy look. What was this about? I have no idea. I didn't care, either.

This isn't a place to avoid, but it isn't a place to expect a quiet getaway. It more than met our needs for us and our four children aged 16-23. I wouldn't be upset if I named my own price on Priceline and got the Crowne Plaza again, even with their less than friendly staff.

I would give them a B- overall, but on all my other visits I would have given them an A.

Omni California Plaza, Los Angeles

From the moment we arrived at the Omni California Plaza we were treated like valued guests. Considering we booked our trip on Priceline, let's just say I was not expecting this. Sometimes you book a trip online at a discount site and the hotel treats you less than stellar. Not the case with the Omni California Plaza.

Omni Hotels have what they call a Select Guest Program. Go enroll, you'll thank me later. Because we enrolled in Select guest before we went, they knew our preferences. Corner room, check. High Floor, check. King bed, check. Quiet room, check. Newspaper of choice, in our case the NY Times, check. But that's not all! They also brought the Los Angeles Times every morning. You can be catered to in other ways as a select guest as well. Pillow preference, Smoking vs. non, near elevator or away, etc. There are just too many options to list here. Registration is free, so go check it out yourself.
My favorite part of being in the Select Guest Program was the complimentary drinks (your choice of one hot & one cold drink per guest) they sent up in the morning. We always chose the hot chocolate and the orange juice because they were both out of this world. I don't know how to duplicate their hot chocolate or I would - every morning. And with a quick search I've found this! (Hey, sometimes it pays to click my links and just see what I'm talking about, folks) Another wish granted, courtesy of Omni hotels.

Our location was great, the view was great, the room was great, and the staff was very accomodating. When I say the view was great - even though we were in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, we could see the Hollywood sign from our room.

If you are staying in Los Angeles, I definitely recommend this hotel.

Great Wolf Lodge, Mason Ohio

We've taken a couple of trips to Mason in the past few months to hang out at Great Wolf Lodge. The main draw of the lodge is a giant indoor water park. We took our high school and college kids the day after Christmas for a brief stay. There are restaurants in the lodge, which we did not use. There are lots of restaurants nearby, so we chose to leave the property to eat. Partially due to the bad reviews of their eateries, partially because we love the hot fudge cake at Bob's Big Boy, just a minute away. And we frankly did want to escape the whole water park crowd for a while. It can get overwhelming for me with people and noise and confusion.

Here were my impressions:

Parking: The parking is surprisingly good. While it seemed like there was 'barely enough' we always found a spot. They have a good amount of short term parking for you while you check in, even on the busiest of days.

Front Desk: It's a shame, really. This is their chance to make a really great impression on you, but they clearly are not interested. You walk into this grand, amazing lobby which clearly was a labor of love, only to stand in very long lines. I have no issue with waiting in line, but this was ridiculous. They have a big counter where four, or maybe even five people could be checking in the guests. They have a lot of staff behind the counter. But only two people are helping guests. The others stand around talking to each other. And you can tell they don't like their job, they don't think much of their coworkers, and they really don't care about the guests. In a word "Attitude". Attitude with guests, with each other, and audible complaints you can hear even from the back of the line about how many people are in line. It's 4:15 the day after Christmas. The place is booked solid. Yeah, you're going to be busy. This is your job. So do it well and be friendly. The one way they are efficient, in our experience, is you at least get the room you reserved. Also, someone is very nice on the phone about extending your wristband for incidental expenses after checkout.

The Rooms: We had a loft suite. It does give everyone more space and an extra bathroom, which is always nice. The rooms are pretty much standard hotel room fare. The rooms are clean and in good working order. We had a mini fridge and a microwave and coffee maker. We had a packet of decaf Maxwell House available in our room. The fireplace was a nice touch. Although the room we had was for 6-8 people, and we were 6, there were only four towels, four cups, etc. This seems like an issue which just does not need to exist. It's obviously just the standard for them, but in the rooms for more people they should have a 'more towel' policy. There are bar soaps and a childrens body wash (which they sell in the spa) and a shampoo in the bathroom. There is a balcony, but the view is depressing and it was full of cigarette butts floating in a couple of big yuchy containers. I think these balconies must only exist for people to smoke on them. This is a decent room for a family, especially if you are going to be spending most of your time in the water anyway.

Pizza Hut: They were as fast as they could be, considering, but very undercooked. (Think dough still raw in the center of the pizza.) Order from a real Pizza Hut from your room. They have a bunch of pizza places who deliver in the booklet in the room. You'll likely get better pizza, more of it, and it will be less expensive. If you buy from the lodge you pay $5 for a 2 liter of Pepsi and nearly twice as much for the food items. Ordering direct gives you more options.

Gift Shop: Prices compare to Disney, but there are a few reasonable items to be found. Gift shop staff is sparse, but they all seem very nice and willing to help. They even have their own Build a Bear type thing. Perhaps the person in charge of the gift shop should be in charge of the front desk as well?

Starbucks: Good service, good coffee. The Starbucks is inside the gift shop.

Spa: I would avoid this place. Better to go to the spa at home. They are about as friendly as the front desk and seem more eccentric than anything else.

Arcade: Kids enjoyed this when they were not in the water. You can win tickets and bring home great prizes. This seems actually very reasonable to me.

Common areas: I can't say enough good things about the lobby. There is a huge fireplace and a story telling area where kids go, dressed in pajamas, in the evening. From the lobby you can access well kept restrooms, a couple of restaurants, the gift shop/Starbucks, elevators, great big windows into the water park, and whatever else I'm forgetting. The day after Christmas it was still decorated beautifully for Christmas. There was a giant Christmas tree, an area with a bunch of regular sized trees, set up for taking snapshots, and a lot of decorations everywhere. Even overhead we were impressed with how much attention they had paid to detail. They even had a beautifully decorated gingerbread house.


There is a nice sitting area which looks into the water park. Big overstuffed couches and chairs, with plenty of tables for books or bags or snacks. This was nice for us on the second day when some of us wanted to take a rest after lunch. We sat there and read and relaxed while still getting to watch the water park fun when we felt like it.

There is free wi-fi throughout the resort. We didn't see anyone using it in the lobby, maybe because it was right after Christmas and people were a little more in the spirit of things. You can forget about taking your laptop to watch Netflix. We tried in the room. The connection is fine for browsing the internet, but just can't quite cut it for Netflix.

Now for the water park: I want to tell you to just go already! It's great. There are plenty of towels available at the door. They keep it a balmy 84 degrees. For the adults 21 and older there is a nice big jacuzzi. They do enforce the 21 and older rule, although they don't actually ask for identification. It's not very hot, but it's warm enough and kind of a nice way to relax after getting flushed. Yeah, I said flushed. You go down a big old water slide and at the bottom you get flushed, just like you were in a giant toilet. I didn't do it because, as difficult as it may be to believe, it's just not one of my fantasies. The rest of the family did, most of them repeatedly. They agree it's great fun. I did ride a couple of the other water slides (I think there are 9) and they are fun. Most of them dump you right out into the lazy river. My husband and I rode around the lazy river on a two person raft. You could just ride around in there all day. There is also a wave pool, many little fountain/geyser type things, a rope course, a pool where there's basketball and maybe volleyball and lots of things little kids like to climb on. There is also a jacuzzi for the under 21 set, which was packed with people all day long.

There are a lot of tables, which people tend to stake out with their towels while they are in the water. There seem to be enough to go around. There are a few private cabanas for rent, although I have never seen one rented. I didn't inquire because although their prices are Disneyesque, their service is not. I'm not paying premium prices for less than premium service. They have lifeguards stationed everywhere and they are really on top of things. They have been efficient and helpful - and even friendly! There are parts of the water park I have not yet discovered, but it all seems very popular. No part sits unused, that's for certain.

There's a snack bar in the water park and a bar, too. I wouldn't know about the bar. The snack bar sells the typical snack bar fare. You can also ask them for a glass of water. It's nice to know they'll give you a cup of ice water with a lid and straw for free. You don't have to buy the bottled water. You don't have to buy anything at all. Outside food is prohibited in the water park by policy, but in reality there seems to be little issue with your own reasonable little snacks in the water park. You can't drag in your own cooler though.

There's also a shop selling swimwear and Crocs. It's a small shop packed full with stuff. Don't go there expecting to find a clearance rack. I think the prices are in line with full price a Macy's type department store, for what it's worth. We picked out a really cute suit for my daughter in July and they were selling the same one in December.


*Remember to take your camera, your flip flops and cover up for walking the halls, and your own big towels if you want. Don't go thinking you are going to 'sit this one out'. This place is truly enjoyable for everyone. There are plenty of things I didn't mention because we didn't use them like the Magic Quest game, which seems to be very popular for kids up to around age 13. There's a program for young children where they do crafts and make t shirts which looks really neat, too.

Although check in isn't until 4:00 and checkout is at 11:00, you can make use of the water park from 1:00 PM the day you check in and until closing the day of departure. They give wristbands to the adults which serve as the key to your room and a way to charge items to your room. No need to carry a wallet or a key. Your wristband can still work to pay for charges even after checkout time, all you have to do is call or stop by the front desk and ask.

Did I mention it's right next to King's Island? Well, it is. Across the street is a giant movie theater, giving you another entertainment option.

I just read this article full of tips about Great Wolf Lodge written by Lorain Blanken. You should go give it a read.

You can always find coupon codes for Great Wolf Lodge, usually on their own website.

Get This, Travel Industry:

I do not want to go on a repositioning cruise, no matter how low you price it. No, not even for $39 a day does this sound like a fun idea to me. Unless, of course, I can 'reposition' to the exact same place I started in the first place for super cheap as well. Then, all I need is the magic element of time.

You see, although I live a life of total freedom from any responsibility, my husband and children seem tied to these 'responsibilities'. I warned them against this type of thing, but nobody listens to me. Apparently they can't even admit to themselves how much they want to emulate my life of total glamor. Silly, silly people. The dog enjoys the same freedoms I do, but he has no passport.

Hints? Tips? Suggestions? I'm all ears.

Final Game of the World Series - Thank You Pepsi!!

Luis Velez  Tammi Velez - World Series 2007

Pepsi took us to the final game of the World Series!!

We rode to the hotel with another winner from Pepsi. He had read the posts Jacqueline and I had made at Sweepsheet and knew who I was.

We got to the hotel hungry so we walked across the street to Jose O'Sheas. They served potato tacos, so of course I had to try one. And a raspberry margarita. The food was great. According to our shuttle driver it's the local favorite. I can see why. We ate a week's worth of food and went back to our room for a while.

The hotel shuttle took us to an outlet mall which is a circular mile. I found Spanx in NM and found Jelly Belly beans in Dr. Pepper and A&W rootbeer for Mike and Zack. Then we went to eat at the Keg. http://www.kegsteakhouse.com/ We've had steaks as good - but never a meal better than this. It wasn't even crazy pricey like some steakhouses. The bill for the two of us was just under $90 before tip. The bread was great, the Caesar salad was great, the salmon spring rolls were amazing and the steak and potato were fantastic. They do a cheddar cheese butter on the potato which made me even more stuffed than usual.

We went back to our hotel for the night after dinner.B y the end of this day we'd eaten 3 meals = about enough to feed a family of 4 for a week.

Sunday was game day and we had to meet downstairs at 2:00. I woke up at 5 a.m. starving. I never eat breakfast. The altitude or something made me ravenously hungry. I stared at my husband until he woke up. He wasn't ready to get up and eat so I paced around, read, and went crazy. Finally, we went downstairs and ate breakfast.

We stayed here .

There was a china convention going on in the hotel. The old ladies were interesting.

After breakfast we went back upstairs and got ready to go. We went down to the desk to ask for a shuttle and they said we had to wait an hour. So we went to the internet cafe and used some computers for 20 minutes. We met other Pepsi winners at the front desk. We were able to help them with their reservation information. The hotel didn't have a room ready for them so they offered us a ride to the outlet mall and we left with them. On the way back they showed us some sights we wouldn't have seen otherwise. They live about 40 miles away from the Denver.

I bought another pair of Spanx, and so did Linda, and I bought candy from Harry & David's and we went back to the hotel. We pretty much grabbed our bags to take to the game and went downstairs to meet the group in the lobby.

In the lobby we met the grand prize winner. She was a 22 year old girl who didn't realize she'd entered. This was one where everyone who used their supermarket card and bought Pepsi products was entered. She didn't believe it was real when the people called her so took three days calling Pepsi, etc. to verify it was legitimate. She took her father with her to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. When the MLB reporter interviewed him he cried.

The bus gave us a little tour of downtown and took us to Via for the pregame party.
We were here in the red room for our private party. There was a grand prize winner, 8 first prize winners, and the winning Pepsi sales guy. They had door prize drawings and Jacqueline and I each won a $50 Dick's gift certificate. Other people mostly won baseball caps, except for the grand prize winner, who won $100 gc to Dick's.

Speaking of Pepsi swag, they had lots of Aquafina sent to our room, and frito lay chips. They sent them up in a nice Pepsi messenger bag with a World Series t-shirt, cap, official ball with a serial number, a high quality golf shirt with a Pepsi logo, and some Quaker snack bars. We also got a $250 Visa gift card.

We all took coats, scarves, layers of clothes in our Pepsi bags because the weather was supposed to be even colder than the night before. We didn't end up needing the extra gear. A coat alone was enough.

Via is a block away from the stadium so we walked over and went in for the game. We found our seats, which were all the way to the top (2nd to last row) on the first base line and directly across from the jumbo screens.

I cannot begin to tell you how emotional it was. I wasn't expecting it to be emotional at all. From our seats we could see the jumbo screen, the city behind it, and the mountains behind that. Beautiful. We got in our seats about 20 minutes before sunset. Our guy threw out the Pepsi ceremonial first pitch, Hank Aaron presented an award, they brought out the biggest flag I've ever seen, they told about two police officers assisting at a scene where another motorist crashed into them and both police officers were hit. The little boy they were trying to help and one officer died. The other was in critical care for a while. He was at the game in a wheelchair. That officer, the 7 year old son of the officer who was killed, and the father of the little boy who was killed all threw out another pitch and I started welling up with tears. After that Air Force fighter jets flew over the stadium in formation and tears started streaming down my face. Trisha Yearwood sang the Star Spangled banner while I wept and watched the sunset.

Some time during the game Lonestar performed America the Beautiful. I rooted for both teams.

When the Rockies would score they'd shoot off fireworks When the Red Sox WON THE WORLD SERIES - nothing. No music, not fireworks, nothing. There were Red Sox fans there cheering, but that was it. I cheered along with them. It seemed strange there would be no fanfare, but there wasn't.

On the one block walk to the game we'd been asked to sell our tickets quite a few times. We joked about selling them to get $$ to take a cruise together. (Luis and I/Jacqueline and Dave) On the way out people were trying to buy our ticket stubs. I guess there really is a market for everything!

We went back to the restaurant and waited a few minutes and boarded the bus again. The driver showed us more sights and even stopped the bus at one point when people asked to get out and take pictures of the big bear at the convention center.

When we got back to the hotel I packed our stuff. Our flight was leaving at 10:05 and our ride was arranged for 6:00 am. We got up at 5:00 and got ready and left. We got to the airport, checked in, went through security, and had breakfast at a little bistro. It was wayyyyy better than the hotel restaurant. After breakfast I got a 20 minute massage from a giant man and we went to our gate - B82. Yes I said EIGHTY-TWO!

We didn't have to wait too long for our flight to leave.

When we arrived in Cleveland the girls and Tony Blair were waiting for us!!!

Thank You Pepsi!!! We had the time of our lives.

4D - Best Ice Cream Ever!

The best ice cream I've had anywhere in the world is in Venezuela at 4D. Since it's pronounced in Spanish it sounds to my ears like "Quatro Day". The yummiest, most flavorful ice cream anywhere. Great berry, hazelnut to die for, and I wouldn't throw a stick at their chocolate either. The whole family was always happy to stop and grab some 4D. If you're ever in Venezuela, don't miss this wonderful treat!

Prime Real Estate in The Caracas Area?

The first time I ever went to Caracas my plane arrived after dark. As we rode from the airport right at the beach (therefore at sea level) up to the valley of Caracas the mountainsides shimmered with lights. I imagined the glory that must be the homes residing on that prime real estate. Wow... there must be so much weatlh in the oil-rich country of Venezuela. We arrived in Caracas that night and ate al fresco at a romantic restaurant. We stayed a very hice hotel. For a few days I went to places around Caracas. The largest mall in South America, many nice restaurants, etc. When it was time to leave the ride back to the airport happened in the light of day. Prime real estate, indeed!

Library Hotel, NYC

Do you want proof I'm a geek? Here it is! I haven't stayed at the Library Hotel
in NYC yet, but as soon as I get a chance, I will.

The rooms all have different categories of books. I'd like to stay in the Fairy Tale room and the Romance Room and the Classics Room and the Erotica Room and the Poetry Room. I want to stay in the Paintings Room and the Photography Room and the Music Room and the Fashion Design Room. I want to stay in the Ancient Room and the Romance Room. I want to stay in the Museums Room and the Logic Room and the Ethics Room. I want to stay in the Philosophy Room and the Paranormal Room and the Love Room and the Psychology Room.

Okay, I obviously need many nights at the Library Hotel.

Going to Orlando? Stay at Sheraton's Vistana Resort

You can thank me later. Vistana is close to Disney, across the street from a real, albeit a little depressing, grocery store. It's chock full of nice amenities, including a store or two on property. The pictures online just don't do it justice. Nice apartments, with their screened patios, washer/dryer, full kitchen, grand master bathroom give you all the niceties of home.

The giant pool in the picture is a fun place with lots of people, but there are a bunch of pools and hot tubs all around the property that feel much more private, and are usually right outside your back door. You can sit on the patio while older children swim. You can see the nightly midnight fireworks show from Disney's Pleasure Island from the Vistana property.

They have their own on site Pizza Hut and 3 or 4 other eateries. You can play tennis, rent bicycles, watch the chameleons, use the fitness centers or the game room. Or you could just relax. There's a television in the living room and the bedroom. I can't remember if there was a television in the 2nd bedroom?

Biltmore Estate, Asheville North Carolina

Go here. Definitely. Take a day, or better, take two. The house and surrounding shops are worthy of a whole day. The gardens and surrounding areas area worthy of a day, too. They have an inn, a winery, and other odds and ends to keep you engaged for a couple of days, easy. Asheville is beautiful on it's own.

The drive itself is awe-inspiring, rather than tedious. Face it, nobody wants to drive around in some of the other vacation desitnations in our Country. Who wants to drive around the surrounding areas of DisneyLand or DisneyWorld? Not I. When it's the Biltmore Estate getting there is fun.The House is fabulous inside and out.

There is so much to see, you have to work hard to see it all in one day. It's just grand. What other way can you describe places like The Biltmore, Versailles, Stan Hywet, etc? It's awesome to stand in the big old library and see how many books they had. We would love to have a library like that at our house!

Go, explore, have fun, create memories. I wont bore you with all they have to offer.

The Buddha Bar, Paris

From the outside, the Buddha Bar doesn't look much different than anyplace else in the neighborhood. I sort of wondered why we were headed into the place at all, not being big bar hoppers. I was told it's a place to see and be seen in Paris. A late night hot spot where people like Madonna like to hang out. I like to explore new places, so I wasn't about to protest, but I didn't expect to be impressed.

I say expect to be impressed. Plan on going and having a lot of fun in an energetic crowd. They eat, they drink, they dance. Mostly, they socialize.

The Ritz, Paris France

The Ritz in Paris is a dining room heard of all over the world. Royals eat there, movie stars eat there, men doing business eat there.When I was there I saw couples and men in business suits. I dont think any of them were royalty or movie stars.

If you sit in one of the rounded red booths in the center of the restaurant, like we did, you feel like your'e in a fish bowl - and everyone's staring at you. They do stare. I tried to convince myself they were just trying to figure out what movies we'd starred in. It's a bit overwhelming for my standards to be stared at by strangers the whole time I have my meal. Especially when I managed to make a sugar cube do circus tricks, although I'm sure that wasn't the fault of the oglers.

Be sure to take a trip to the ladies/gents, as even the restrooms are worth a look. If you want to say you've been to the Ritz, go ahead and go. I'd never try to dissuade you. It's an experience worth having. But I'd vote for Le Train Bleu if I had a choice between the two.

The Restaurant at Hotel Italo, Maracay Venezuela

One of my two favorite spots to eat in Maracay is the restaurant at Hotel Italo. They have a great menu, wonderful waiters, and the place was always clean and neat. My husband didn't seem to mind their wine list, either. I used to choose their salmon a lot, with a side of fettucini Alfredo, and a lemonade frappe. Their calzones and pizzas are a treat, too. They have a nice kids menu, with a Mickey Mouse pizza generous enough to feed two children.

To see the Hotel Italo website click here: http://www.hotelitalo.com.ve/indexeng.htm

Chanterelle Restaurant, NYC

Dress for Dinner.

Yes, I know it's expensive, but I'd rather go to Chanterelle once a year than McDonalds 25 times a year. The cost of either alternative is the same. They treat you like you are special from the moment you walk in the door. The whole place feels like it's lit with special lights made exclusively for the Waltucks. It's magical.

The people at Chanterelle have a masters degree in presentation. On top of being delicious, everything is wonderfully arranged and adorned.

To buy me their dessert cookbook go here: http://www.chanterellenyc.com/store.htm

Turnberry Isle Resort & Club, Aventura Florida

Turnberry claims a spot in The Leading Hotels of The World. One visit will show you why. It's grand by most any standards. It's one of those places that could have been uncomfortably stuffy with the wrong management and staff. They did a good job hiring the right people, and have created a comfortable resort. The onsite dining is on par with the rest of the fine dining in the area. Even the food ordered through room service is outstanding. I'd suffered a pancake trauma (something to do with a helpful child exchanging salt for sugar in the recipe) and their banana pancakes helped me to recover.

From the time you drive up and leave your keys with the valet you'll notice the folks at Turnberry haven't missed a thing. They've been generous with the gorgeous marble from the check in areas to the perfeclty appointed, spacious guest bathrooms. This may be my all time favorite bathroom away from home.

Pink Elephants? No. Blue Elephants? Yes!

You go to a different country and you expect to eat different cuisine, right? How about going to London and getting awesome Thai Food?

That's The Blue Elephant. Leave it to graceful Aunt Margot to takes us to such an exquisite place. She's transplanted to London for some 30+ years now.

This was a fabulous restaurant. It's the kind of food that makes you lose your self control and eat way more than you normally would. It's so worth it.

Everything about this place is exquisite, right down to the ladies room. The hand towels are adorned with the elephant design above.

Hotel Residence Des Arts, Paris

Do you have a picture of the place you got engaged? This is mine. The only thing is, we were still on the other side of the curtain, in the living area. For the first couple of nights in Paris we stayed at The Hotel Residence Des Arts.

There was a restaurant downstairs, part of the hotel. This hotel on the left bank gave us a different part of Paris within walking distance than the little apartment in Sacre Couer.