10 Weekend Getaways from Los Angeles | AOL Travel
I was born and raised in Southern California and am still amazed by all of the truly worthwhile places to visit that are easily accessible by car from LA. AOL Travel offers a curious list of choices considering a few of them are actually in Los Angeles itself. They highlight obvious places (like Santa Barbara, San Diego and Big Sur) and some less celebrated locales (Ojai, Paso Robles), but don’t even touch on any of the nearby parks like Joshua Tree, Death Valley or Yosemite, or mountain towns like Big Bear and Mammoth. And they just as easily could have ventured out of state to Las Vegas, Scottsdale or Sedona, all of which are not terribly long drives.
Photo: Novo Restaurant | San Luis Obispo
America's Best Beach Hotels | Travel + Leisure
Speaking of T+L readers, they have spoken up about their favorite beach hotels in America as well, and Little Palm Island Resort & Spa (Little Torch Key, Florida), the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai (Big Island, Hawaii) and Halekulani (Oahu, Hawaii) top the list. My local favorite — the Montage in Laguna Beach — barely misses the top three, falling in at number four.
Top 50 Hotels Under $150 | Sunset Magazine
Sunset Magazine seems to have a better grasp of “affordability’ than some of the other travel publications and websites I come across. Here they list their favorite hotels in the West that run you less than $150 per night, broken down by Southern California, Northern California, Northwest, Southwest, Rockies, Hawaii, Mexico and, for some reason, a “4 Star Service, 2 Star Price” category.
Photo: Hotel Terra | Jackson Hole, Wyoming
12 Coastal Hotels with Stunning Shore Views | Frommer’s
A hotel’s best amenity might be what you see out the window. From the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, and from Maine on down to Mexico, some properties are lucky enough to be able to capitalize on their shoreline real estate.
Whether you’re on a windswept beach cove in the Pacific Northwest or on a lit-up stretch on the Jersey Shore, each region’s waterfront scene differs from the next. Either way, a jaw-dropping view of the shore from your hotel is a definite perk.
—Kristine Hansen, Frommer’s
Photo: Bodega Bay Lodge | Bodega Bay, California
27 Things to Do in a Penthouse | Jetsetter Passport
Jetsetter continues to up its game, now offering flash sales on expansive penthouse suites at luxury hotels in New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. These sorts of suites have always struck me as overkill, but I suppose if money is of absolutely no concern and you have no interest in rational thinking, then why not? If you’re going to indulge in such extravagance you might as well go all in. Jetsetter Passport offers some pointers for doing just that.
I smell a road trip.
Introducing a feature that presents the U.S. as seen by its residents, rather than the typical images shown on postcards or TV news backdrops. See below to learn how to submit a photograph.
VENICE BEACH, California - A man naps on the grassy patch that separates the boardwalk from the sand. Blurred in the background is an area where anyone is permitted to spray paint one of several walls with graffiti. The policy has spread to neighboring palm trees. This is the first entry in this recurring feature simply because Venice is home for me at the moment. I hope you’ll send in a photograph taken near where you live.
Submission guidelines: email photos to whatamericalookslike@gmail.com - doing so affirms that you hold all rights to the submission, and grants us permission to publish your photo at TheAtlantic.com and in any future collection of What America Looks Like photographs. Be sure to include the city and state where the image is taken, and as detailed a description as you’re willing to offer. Also let us know if you’ve got a photo Web site or if prints of your shot are available for purchase.
Source: The Atlantic
14 Easy Weekend Getaways | The New York Times
Want to be on the beach by midafternoon? There are new flights to Destin, Fla., and the Turks and Caicos that are ready to make that happen. Feeling the urge to hit the mountain before the snow melts? Heavy snowfall and spring rates as low as $99 a night are making resorts like Breckenridge, Colo., and Snowbird, Utah, good bargains. Or are poolside cocktails more your style? There are plenty of options in Palm Springs, Calif., where newly renovated hotels are showing off freshened digs.
So, here you go. Whether you want high desert landscapes, powdery slopes or pristine blue water, we’ve done all the heavy lifting for you. Here are 14 top-notch escapes that require fewer than four hours in either a car or a plane from more than a dozen major cities. Wherever you live, we’ve got you covered.
—Michelle Higgins, The New York Times
Just to add a personal editorial note: I’m happy to see Breckenridge get a nod from the Times. I went to school in Boulder and spent a great deal of time skiing and partying at the Summit County resort. It’ll never receive the attention places like Vail and Aspen get, but Breck is a great spot; it’s centrally-located (a straight shot from Denver and easy to take a ski day at the wildly underrated Arapahoe Basin, for example), a good (if unspectacular) mountain, and offers a lot of extra-curriculars. It’s not as hoity-toity as Vail or Aspen, but it’s laidback groove makes it a welcome alternative.
Ten California Day Hikes | AOL Travel
The state of California is so blessed with day hikes boasting remarkable views, stunning vegetation, birds and wild animals, it’s almost impossible to settle on only 10 to recommend. But, after some agonizing, we’ve picked 10 of the best, most distinctive hikes that highlight California’s diverse geography.
—Laurel Delp, AOL Travel
Behold The Mini-Shredder | Venice Beach, California
