$80M Clement Monterey Hotel Coming Soon To Monterey

Brian Miller, GlobeSt.com, writes about the first new hotel to open in Monterey in 20 years - The 208 room Clement Monterey hotel will open in May across from the Monterey Bay Acquarium, at an estimated cost of $80M. Located 120 miles south of San Francisco, the hotel is rising on a historic waterfront site once occupied by the Del Mar Canning Co. The street address of the project is 750 Cannery Row. The 208 rooms include 19 suites and 189 guest rooms, most with views of Monterey Bay. All rooms have a king-size bed or two double beds, marble and granite bathrooms with soaking tubs and walk-in showers, flat-screen televisions and high-speed Internet access. Other amenities include a restaurant and bar, a full-service spa and a Kids Club.

In related news, a runaway tour bus crashed into the Monterey Bay Acquarium. The 40-foot Coach USA bus rolled downhill on David Avenue, about a block and a half away from the aquarium. Along the way it knocked down several street signs and hit the front end of a car. The bus also sideswiped an office building before ramming into the aquarium.

And stealing attention from the much ballyhoed whales and bigger fish in Monterey Bay are tiny sardines. Melissa Schilling, Santa Cruz Sentinel, has a detailed article on the re-emergence of the sardines and the benefits for both humans and the environment. Studies by researchers with the Seafood Watch of the Monterey Bay Aquarium suggest it's the topical temperatures of the water itself that dictates whether the giant herds of silver swimmers stay or swim on. Eating sardines is good for you and good for the environment -- because they simply hurdle into local shops as fresh as can be. There's no long, overnight plane ride like fish from Hawaii [mahi mahi], Chile [Chilean seabass] or Alaska [salmon]. Instead, sardines hit fresh fish counters, such as those of The Fish Lady, caught just that morning.

Pepper Tree Inn Palm Springs

The two pepper trees originally planted by Dr. Pepper at the Pepper Tree Inn, Palm Springs are no longer there, and have been replaced by new trees. Same as the Inn, which has been completely renovated and has morphed away from its original 1920 style into a Spanish colonial boutique hotel with intimate and peronsal care for the guests in each of the hotel's 32 rooms.

The Pepper Tree Inn sits sandwiched between the uptown Gallery District and downtown Palm Springs, so guests at the Inn get the best of both worlds, with antique shops, art galleries and boutiques of the uptown side competing with the trendy restaurants, Spa's and designer brand boutiques of the downtown area.

The new version of the Inn is a highly stylised and artistic rendition, with the two stained glass leaf gates at the entrance, worth a whopping $25,000 each, setting the tone for the inside. Hand painted intricate designs and shades on the walls give each room a distinct identity and the rooms themselves are divided into a range of types and sizes, with varying amenities such as jacuzzis, fireplaces and patios, along with a view of the poolside area on one side and the imposing San Jacinto mountains on the other. The shaded glow of the lighting, the solid furnishings, the ceiling fan and the artistically painted walls combine to create a certain rustic charm which you won't find in a chain hotel or big spa resorts dotting the Palm Springs area.

Best to schedule visits during weekdays, since weekends cost upwards of $30 extra over the weekday price. A standard two bedroom suite for a family of four would cost around $329 on weekdays and $359 on weekends. If you're planning for a full week, the hotel offers half a day free on a 4 day booking and 1 full day free on a 5 day booking.

For hotel offers all the usual amenities in-room, including flat screen LCD television, coffee maker, iron/ironing board and a refrigirator, all of which are tastefully tucked into the wodden structure, thus enhancing the apparent size of the rooms. There's a dining area where you can polish off muffins, cereal, fresh juice and coffee for breakfast before you set out for an exploration of Palm Springs. Half a block on either side of the Inn lie the Palm Canyon theatre and Koffi, which serves some really mind-blowing coffee, sandwiches and pastries.

Info: 622 North Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs CA 92262; (760) 318-9850

Web Links: Palm Springs family hotels, attractions, golf courses, spas, shopping, restaurants

Governors Inn Hotel Sacramento CA

Old Town Sacramento is probably one of the most under-rated tourist areas in the US, inspite of having a truckload of historical landmark buildings and a breathtaking natural beauty along the banks of the Sacramento river and the marshes of the Delta. This is because Sacramento is often treated like the poor cousin in a family of rich brats, struggling to divert attention from the world famous attractions of the SoCal coast, the natural splendour and wealth of the Wine Country and the vastness of Palm Springs and the desert parks.

But being the Black Sheep in California's tourist wars has its advantages. For one, less tourists mean lower prices for hotels, restaurants and services for visitors. Secondly, the staff you'll encounter in Sacramento hotels are infinitely more friendly and attentive than their overworked counterparts on the Pacific Coast. What this all means is that Sacramento, with all its history and old town attractions, virginal natural beauty unspoilt by chain resorts and high-rise condos and hordes of garbage dumping tourists, relatively cheap hotels and friendly staff, is perfect for a family vacation.

And perfect among family hotels in Sacramento is the aptly named Governors Inn Hotel, straddling the center between the State Capitol and Sacramento International Airport, minutes away from downtown Sacramento, Railroad Museum, historic Old Town and the upscale Westfield Downtown Plaza.

The hotel offers budget accomodation for the entire family with a lot of freebies thrown in - Complimentary airport & train shuttle service, complimentary breakfast, complimentary parking, complimentary high speed internet, complimentary phone calls...The hotel also offers use of a fitness center, meeting rooms with a business center equipped with audio/video equipment, outdoor swimming pool and spa, room service, housekeeping and same day laundry services. All this in addition to 'service with a smile' - A genuine smile. There's a lot more, but I think that gives you a fair idea of the value that you can get in Sacramento, for much less than what you would pay at a similar size hotel in LA or San Francisco or San Diego.

A stay here is sure to slow down your pace and maximize the benefits of a relaxing holiday poking around the historic landmarks and quaint pleasures of the Old Town and the Delta, topped off with a liberal helping of old world hospitality and tasty California cuisine.

Governor's Inn offers 133 beautifully decorated and furnished spacious rooms and suites, comfortable, oozing old world charm with a leafy view of Sacramento's windy tree-lined streets. The rooms are fully furnished and equipped with all the modern conviniences and gadgets that you might need - Coffee maker, internet access, Cable TV with free HBO, CNN and ESPN, in-room movies, hair dryer, iron/ironing board and a complimentary bowl of fresh fruits. For a family, the hotel offers a two room suitewith a seperate living room and a King size bed, a sofa bed, work desk, two television, microwave and refrigirator. All guests are offered complimentary breakfast and an afternoon managers' reception with tea, along with a free copy of the Sacramento Bee. A single room costs $93 and a double $103, per night.

Info: 210 Richards Boulevard Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 448-7224

Castle Inn & Suites Hotel Anaheim California

What the Castle Inn & Suites Hotel, Anaheim, CA, offers for the ultimate in family vacations is location. And you couldn't ask for a better location - Slam-bang across the street from Disneyland® Resort and minutes from Downtown Disney® District Disneyland® Resort.

That's a lotta Disney's in one sentence, and its all waiting for you, when you take a look out of your Castle Inn & Suites hotel room window.

You really can't ask for much more than this, but they do offer you more - Accomodation for the full family in spacious rooms with queen size double beds starting at $112 for a three night stay for a family of four, including two adults and two kids.

It works out to about $40 for an entire family per night - And you're sleeping with a view of the Disneyland® Resort. If you want to splurge, you could go for a double room family suite, which will set you back $152 for the same terms - 2 adults, 2 children, 3 nights. The family suite has two rooms, one with a single king bed, and one with two queen beds. Both rooms have television, and the room with the King Bed additionally has a refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker. One bathroom combined for both rooms. This is the most reasonable you can expect in terms of cheap family hotels in Anaheim, CA.

Of course, there are a few downsides to this reasonableness. For starters, there are very few add-ons or luxury amneties or services. What you see is what you get. Secondly, it may look like a fairy tale palace from the outside, but the reality inside is well...a bit different. Let's just say the hotel is a bit rundown and hasn't had a makeover since probably before Mickey was born. Meaning that you're not about to smell the fresh paint or work out exactly what color the room was when it was first painted. Like I said, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Still, the hotel does offer a heated pool, whirlpool and a children’s wading pool, a gift shop, valet laundry and coin-operated laundry facilities, complimentary morning coffee and faxing services. Bottom line - The Castle Inn & Suites hotel offers cheap accomodation for the full family in front of the Disneyland® Resort and that's just about all there is to say about it.

Info: 1734 S. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim, California 92802; (714) 774-8111