Weekend getaways are always a coveted luxury; an opportunity to get away from the daily grind. Throw in a hotel with a on-site spa and you’re practically in heaven. Does it get any better? 

It just did. 

The Fairmont Chicago will actually bring the spa to your room. Included in it’s in-room dining services, the hotel offers the Serenity Bath. Order one and a bath sommelier comes and sets up a relaxing atmosphere for you. They’ll draw your bath, adding soothing aromatherapy oils. They’ll also set up neck pillows and loofahs, a fruit plate and bottled water, a variety of soaps and lotions, and leave a CD player with an assortment of relaxing music.

Add this to the already tantilizing array of gourmet dining options from the hotel’s in-room dining menu with signature dishes like pan-fried crab cakes with tomato-herb chipotle aioli, or roasted halibut and suddenly seeing all that Chicago has to offer from the view of your posh suite doesn’t seem so bad.

Order up a Valhrona chocolate lemon tart for a post aroma bath treat, indulge, repeat.

Getting kids to bed on a normal night can be harrowing. Trying to get them to bed while on vacation can be down right impossible. What with hallways to run down, elevator buttons to push and beds to jump on, kids have a lot of ground to cover before its lights out.

But, as the old saying goes, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. So while staying at the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach why not surprise your kids with a pillow fight! Enjoy this lively turndown service that will get the whole family involved (and hopefully tuckered out). Guests are armed with 30 small silk pillows and miniature boxing gloves. Boys vs girls, parents vs kids, or every man for themselves. You’ll also get game ideas to help inspire some of the greatest memories a vacation can offer: having fun with the family.

The pillow fight service also includes milk and cookies and a sweet treat that can go to the winner. 

Other awesome kid-oriented amenities at this family-friendly Ritz include a ‘Bath Science’ service that features a floating science lab of test tubes, beakers, and things to make the water froth and change color. Send them out for the day to hang out at the AquaNuts day camp where they can meet other kids and participate in both indoor and outdoor activities like swimming, arts and crafts and nature tours. 

We’re crazy about our pets–and the White House is too. But just because Bo is getting all the special attention doesn’t mean that your pooch can’t be treated the same as “First Dog.” We’ve found some unique hotels and packages that cater to man’s best friend—with some interesting amenities to boot (or would that be to paw?)

Each guestroom at The Resort at the Mountain, in Mt. Hood, Oregon comes stocked with freshly baked homemade dog treats, dog dish, bottled water, and a dog-friendly hiking trail map, making your pet feel like White House royalty. Pampering your pooch doesn’t end there—the “First Dog” package includes a $30 credit towards a Canine Cuisine entrée from the in-room dining menu.

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We first wrote about the most expensive bath ever in the Summer 2008 issue of Sherman’s Travel. Featuring a 350-gallon infinity tub full of 1000-liters of Evian water, it’s quite possibly the most indulgent soak at $11,000. Guests of the Hotel Victor, South Beach, can only access this hyper-hydro experience by booking the penthouse. Now before your eyes bulge at the cost, take into account the service and amenities that follow. The full-service Spa-V team will draw the bath and set up a meal service of champagne (bring it on!), display of chocolates (yum! yum!), foie gras (huh?), and smoked salmon on a lollipop (wait a sec?). This is all being served alongside the tub? I’m definitely not into the eating in the tub trend. Where does the napkin go? Does etiquette just…go down the drain? What do you think? Does food have a place in the bathtub?

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