10 Under-The-Radar Islands of the World | AOL Travel
Our friends at Travel +Leisure have done the requisite digging to find places you can truly unwind, from the rugged Chilean spot that inspired the novel Robinson Crusoe to a tiny island in the Caribbean that was virtually deserted for decades until a luxe resort opened in 2010.
Photo: Skopelos, Greece (Roger Cracknell01/classic/Alamy)
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.
World’s Best Island Hotels | Travel + Leisure
Of the 20 best island hotels, Caribbean properties made the biggest splash this year, with seven on our list. Coming in at No. 11, Jamaica’s Couples Swept Away in Negril, epitomizes the destination’s couples-only, all-inclusive appeal in its 312 romantic suites with louvered windows overlooking the soft sand and gentle surf of Seven Mile Beach.
-Donna Heiderstadt, Travel + Leisure
Sorry, I know it’s a pretty respected brand, but any place called “Couples” just sounds cheesy as all hell to me. I mean it may not be a swingers joint*, but it certainly sounds like it. Oh, and the “Swept Away” part doesn’t exactly do it any favors either. This resort could be the most romantic place in the world, but with a name like “Couples Swept Away” all I get is a very B-Movie, Skinemax vibe, you know? I mean, why would my girl and I go to a place called that when we could instead go to the exotically-named Halekulani or the romantic and charming sounding Wickaninnish Inn?
Photo: Halekulani Hotel | Waikiki Beach, Oahu
* Not that there’s anything wrong with that of course.
Best Resorts in the Caribbean | Travel + Leisure
Speaking of the Dominican Republic’s Tortuga Bay, Travel + Leisure lists here the best resorts in the Caribbean, based on the results of their annual reader’s poll. The Punta Cana resort doesn’t make the list, but there’s always next year.
Photo: Tucker’s Point | Bermuda
AAA Announces Five Diamond Hotels for 2011 | USA Today
The list of 124 hotels features 15 new entries, only four of which are outside of the U.S. (including Tortuga Bay, pictured here). Apparently Las Vegas has more Five Diamond hotels than any other city with nine, which I find sad for some reason (though not surprising). AAA also released it’s Five Diamond restaurants list which you can see here.
Photo: Tortuga Bay | Punta Cana, Dominican Repbulic
10 Great Caribbean Secrets | Lonely Planet
“The Caribbean isn’t all just yachts and cruise ports (or souvenir hassle). Here are a handful of the region’s great experiences that don’t get as much press, but deliver unbeatable trips.” —Robert Reid, Lonely Planet
Photo of the Day | Cabarete, Dominican Republic
Source: Flickr / eldano
Top 10 Backpacking Travel Destinations for 2011 | Offtrack Planet
Offtrack Planet offers “a brand spanking new, 100% all organic, freshly squeezed batch of places to ponder with OTP’s Top 10 Backpacking Travel Destinations for 2011.” The list is broken up into categories based, I surmise, on what the average backpacker might be looking for - like Berlin and its art scene, for example. It does highlight Buenos Aires as best “overall,” I presume because of the promise that “you will dance, chew through mountains of meat, relax at parks and on beaches, hear odd, yet romantic, Spanish accents and you will love it.”
Photo: Cuba by Robin Thom
Photo of the Day | Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
Source: Flickr / philputnam
Hidden Hotels of the Caribbean | Jetsetter
I don’t mind the unhidden ones. It’s the Caribbean after all. But if you can go incognito, why not?
Photo: Mount Cinnamon | Grenada
