Hyatt Travel Challenge Sweepstakes

How about a chance to win two nights and three days for two people before the end of the year at one of the most romantic hotels in California? All you have to do is enter yourself into the Hyatt Travel Challenge Sweepstakes.

If you win, you could be enjoying a Hyatt Retreats weekend getaway at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa with Ryan and Trista Sutter, the stars of ABC's hit reality show, The Bachelorette. What you need to do is pretty simple.

Ryan and Trista took the travel personality quiz, and now you have to do the same. If your If your answers make you a compatible travel match for Ryan and Trista, you'll be entered into the sweepstakes. You need to answer 12 questions about your personality. The results will categorize participants into four travel types - balanced, energetic, driven and romantic.

So you go to www.hyatttravelquiz.com/ and fill it in before Nov 7 2008. Prize includes 3 day/2 night stay for winner and 1 guest at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa, with round-trip coach air transportation, standard hotel accommodations, ground transportation, the opportunity to meet Ryan & Trista, and an American Express branded prepaid card worth $1,000.

Halloween Horror Nights Package at Peabody Orlando

Not that there's any shortage of tricks or treats for Halloween at Orlando's famed theme parks, but its nice to have a complete experience. So if you book into a Halloween themed hotel or package, that rounds it up nicely.

To that end, the Peabody Orlando is offering a 'Halloween Horror Nights Package', which includes Two tickets to Universal Orlando's ® Halloween Horror Nights ®, one night accommodations at the Peabody, valet parking and VIP turndown service. Rates from $275 per night (taxes included). More details here.

Great! But then you say what happens if it turns out that the Peabody is one of these seedy tourist trap Orlando hotels which aim to suck in the dollars from innocent family travelers and then give them the shaft? Au Contraire - Its a frickin' luxury hotel. For starters its location near the Orange County Convention Center takes away a lot of transportation hassles. its just a short drive to short drive to Walt Disney World, Sea World, and Universal Orlando. And 15 minutes from Orlando International Airport.

Secondly, the Peabody is one of only two Mobil Four-Star, AAA Four Diamond hotels in the entire city. That by itself carries a lot of weight. And then, the hotel has been in operation since 1986. That's before a lot of you punks were even born. The grandeur of the soaring marble halls, stately palm trees, cascading waterfalls, exotic orchids, and the priceless art and artifacts, all combine to create an impression of stately opulence. The Peabody Club occupies the top three floors, and is exclusively available by private access.

As for dining, the Peabody offers 3 of the finest restaurants in Orlando, including Capriccio Grill, Dux Restaurant and the Lobby/Mallards.

The deluxe rooms have King beds or two signature Double Peabody Dream Beds, and a spacious sitting area with an overstuffed chair and ottoman, along with a fully stocked service bar. You don't get all this at seedy hotels, so you can rest assured that you get value (in addition to having the bejezzus scared out of you for Halloween) for your $275.

Info: 9801 International Drive Orlando FL 32819; (407) 352-4000; www.peabodyorlando.com/

B&B Special at Doubletree Oceanpoint Resort Miami

Is there any Miami Beach hotels which do not have a spa? Don't answer, cause that's a rhetorical question. Just that I'd like to find a good spa on the oceanfront or Collins Ave which is nothing except for a spa.

Anyway, while searching for the lone ranger spa, I bumped into this resort+hotel+spa+B&B - The Doubletree Oceanpoint Resort & Spa, which is offering a 'Dream Deal' bed and breakfast package. Includes accomodations, breakfast for 2 adults and 2 children, and Hilton HHonors® - earn Points & Miles® for the same stay. Rates from $209 to $389, depending on your choice of room/suite. And you get a chocolate chip cookie greeting when you arrive. More details here.

Again, while its a pretty good deal for 4 people to stay and eat breakfast for $209 (plus taxes), the whole point is that it can hardly be labeled as the Miami experience. I mean, if you want a free breakfast, there are any number of nifty Bed and Breakfasts. If you want a spa, the standalone spas probably offer better and cheaper massages and treatments than the ones which are attached to hotels.

The Miami experience, as we call it, involves staying at an oceanview resort with a private beach where you can hobnob with the celebs, then you go shopping and sightseeing, maybe poke around Lincoln Road, check out the Miami Metro Zoo, Vizcaya Mansion and the gardens, and then maybe some physical and spiritual rejunevation at a high end spa. That's a Miami experience.

On the other hand, if you wanna save money, there are a lot of cheap hotels and B&B's where you pay the minimum (probably around $120 for the entire family, breakfast included), and then head for the public beaches and Jungle Island and stuff like that.

What that means is that the Oceanpoint Resort falls in between these options, which leaves you neither here nor there.

Info: 17375 Collins Avenue Miami Beach FL 33160; (866) 623-2678; www.oceanpointresort.com/

$95 for a Princess Suite in Brooklyn

Sometimes, you bump into something utterly unbelieveable, and its just too good to be true. Well, it usually is, but in this case, I'll leave the judgment to you. How about if I told you that Brooklyn hotels have started offering rooms with a kitchenette and private bath with Jacuzzi tub for $ 95.00 per night. Well, its true.

That's what the Princess Hotel in Downtown Brooklyn is offering. Located near the Brooklyn Courts, the Fulton Mall and the Subway Station, with Manhattan 3 stops (or 10 minutes) away, its a great deal. And it gets even better. They have single rooms from $80 per night. A slightly larger room, also with a private bath, costs $85. All prices include complimentary breakfasts and lunch buffetts.

And it gets still more better. All rooms have refrigirators and maid service is included. They will provide extra cots for children, if necessary. All said and done, what you have is a room for a family at $100, meals included. 10 minutes from Manhattan.

Do these kinds of cheap hotels even exist in New York? You tell me. Its all written here. Have to say, though that you should exercise some caution before paying for it.

On the plus side, there is no online reservation system, so you have to see it in person, if you want to book in. If you're in New York, see it, and if its all that it claims to be, and as cheap as they say it is, then you pay for it.

Info: 211 Schermerhorn Street Brooklyn NY 11201; (718) 596-4179; www.princehotelgroup.com/

$1,000 Cash Promo at Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel

I'm so fed up of writing about hotels which you can see from Times Square that I thought I'd try one from Upstate NY for a change. After stuyding the pros and cons of various scenic spots and locations, decided to home in on some Niagara Falls hotels.

Would be refereshing change from the urban decadence of the City. Or so you hope. First hotel I see on TripAdvisor happens to the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel. And they're offering a $1000 cash prize which you can win. It's called 'Risky Business', and you have a chance to win it every hour on every Wednesday & Thursday from 12 p.m. – 8 p.m., until Oct 23 2008. More details here.

Each hour between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. a lucky Seneca Players Club member will be chosen to receive $250 Seneca Slot Dollars. But that is not all. The chosen winner then has the opportunity to risk that $250 for a chance at $400 or $500 Seneca Slot Dollars or $750 or $1,000 cash! But, choose carefully, for you may risk that $250 and get a lower prize amount.

These Seneca guys sure know how to make a gambler out of an honest God fearing Christian. That's because its an Indian casino, run by the Seneca Nation of Indians.

As for the hotel, its the largest luxury htel in Western New York, with 26 levels of luxury spread across 486 deluxe rooms, 86 corner suites and 22 one-bedroom suites. All guest rooms and suites have breathtaking views and are kitted out with a pillow-top bed, oversized shower, flat screen TV, internet access and more.

There's a full service spa with 12 treatment rooms which offers Swedish massages, aromatherapy, full body wrap and facials. There's also a well equipped fitness center alongwith an indoor pool and whirlpools. For banquets, events, meetings and conferences, the hotel ofers up 30,000 sq ft of space and the Seneca Events Center with a capacity to hold 2,200. The business center is well equipped with the latest A/V aids and other electronic equipment.

Best of all, its location just blocks away from Niagara Falls means that you can virtually smelll the water, hear the roar and feel the mist from your hotel room window. Ad its not just about a tall body of water. There's plenty of shopping to be done, with a 150 brand outlets at the Fashion Outlets, along with art galleries and quaint antique shops.

Info: 310 Fourth Street Niagara Falls NY 14303; (716) 299-1100; www.senecaniagaracasino.com/

Railroad Museum Package at the Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza Sacramento

I never get tired of saying that never look twice at Sacramento hotels which don't offer large rooms for around $100 per night, free parking and complimentary breakfast. The Holiday Inn Coapitol Plaza offers all this and more. And they have a Railroad Museum package special, which includes admission to the California State Railroad Museum for two adults, four tickets to ride on the museum train, as well as overnight accommodations and breakfast for two adults (kids eat free). Rates from $154 on weekends and $199 on weekdays. More details and booking here.

Factor in the cost of two tickets to the Railroad Museum, the perfect location of the hotel, the many and varid luxuries and amenities offered, and you can say that its well worth spending your Sacramento vacations at the Holiday Inn.

Amenities and services offered include the Cyprus Grille restaurant, concierge lounge, gift shop, fitness center, outdoor pool, sundeck, and a full service business center. teh hotel also offers valet, dry cleaning and laundry services.

The guest rooms are spacious, with equally large pillowtop bedding, cable television, coffee/tea maker, high speed internet, free morning newspaper, and iron and ironing board. If you upgrade to the concierge floor, you get robes, upgraded bath amenities and access to the Concierge Lounge’s flat screen TV, business center and full city views.

Info: 300 J Street Sacramento, California 95814; (916) 446-0100; www.sacramentohi.com/

Tech Package at DeAnza San Jose

No place better suited to help you understand how technology has invaded every aspect of your daily life, and just what makes Silicon Valley such a hotbed of innovation and entrepreunership, than the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose. And the Hotel DeAnza is offering a 'tech package' which includes two combination exhibit/IMAX tickets to The Tech, along with accomodations. Rates from $179. More details here.


Now normally I'd prefer one of the more upscale San Jose hotels, like the Valencia, but if you're looking to take a tour of the Tech Museum, then the DeAnza is just a short stroll away. And its not like the hotel is a dump. Its got a bucketload of modern amenities, which contrasts neatly with the classic architecture. There's one restaurant, a cafe, a lounge and a special buffett breakfast room.

The hotel offers 100 guest rooms, including 3 junior suites, 5 parlor suites and a penthouse which occupies the entire 10th floor. The rooms are neat and clean and spacious, with ornate wooden furnishings, shuttered blinds on large windows allow the rooms to be airy and bright, a workdesk and chair, along with a small coffee table with cushioned chairs all neatly arranged to maximize space gives the room a perfection like everything is in the right place. Its something which you rarely get to see in hotel rooms where things are crammed into as small a place as possible.

Info: 233 West Santa Clara Street San Jose CA 95113p; (408) 286-1000; www.hoteldeanza.com/