Downtown Miami’s new Hotel Urbano bills itself as the city’s first boutique “art hotel” with an exhibit schedule directed by William Braemer, artist and Curator of Art Fusion Galleries in Miami’s Design District, who will plan seasonal art exhibitions to be displayed throughout the hotel; artwork – all from emerging artists – will also be available for purchase. An unofficial opening date is predicted for late December, but Hotel Urbano is really giving us something to look forward to in 2010 with their Grand Opening special. From January 1 through January 29, the hotel is offering rates from only $20.10 for the first night when booking two or more nights. The special includes a complimentary welcome cocktail, buffet breakfast, and the chance to win a piece of art valued at $2,010. Rates for the remaining nights go for $159. To book this deal, call 888-657-3448 or visit hotelurbano.com and use code SPECIAL.

Visit Beantown in style this fall and winter without paying a pretty penny. Ames, Morgans Hotel Group’s brand-new luxury boutique hotel in downtown Boston, is celebrating its grand-opening with special introductory rates starting at just $124/night for select stays from November 22 to January 31 – quite a bargain considering nightly summer rates are expected to be as much as $300/night. Also included in this offer are two complimentary welcome drinks. This introductory rate requires a minimum two-night stay and must be booked by December 2. Other travel dates through April 5 start at $146/night. To book this offer, call 800-697-1791 and mention promotion code SPMO25, or visit www.morganshotelgroup.com.

Kentucky’s hippest hotel, just voted by Conde Nast Traveler’s readership as #1 in the country (and #6 in the world) for 2009, announced plans Wednesday to debut a new sister property just upriver in Cincinnati, Ohio. The 21c Museum Hotel, an upscale boutique which opened on downtown Louisville’s Main Street in 2006, has played a key role in revitalizing Derby City’s art scene. The renovated 19th-century tobacco & bourbon warehouse has drawn national acclaim for its high-style halls packed to the brim with whimsical paintings, abstract video art, photos and sculptures (like the lobby’s army of red penguin statues) – all from this millennium. The hotel’s 90 rooms feature custom touches, from furniture to pewter mint julep cups. Popular restaurant Proof on Main has become renowned for its modern twists on locally grown, regional cuisine (ahem, gourmet Bison burgers). Read the rest of this post »

Large hotel corporations aren’t generally known for the pure-hearted promotion of good deeds – but Denver-based Sage Hotels (the chain’s portfolio includes select Marriott, Starwood, and Hilton properties) is an exception. Sage’s Give a Day, Get a Night deal rewards guests who have volunteered at least 8 unpaid service hours to a registered non-profit organization since July 1, 2009 with 50 percent off their first night’s stay – or, depending upon availability, a full night on the house – at any one of its 53 hotels nationwide. Valid for travels through March 2010 (the offer’s travel period was just extended 3 months), karma buffs can rest vindicated at a variety of properties ranging from full-service Marriotts (e.g. Chicago’s historic Blackstone) to luxurious Starwoods (like Portland’s The Nines). Read the rest of this post »

Need a break from updating your Twitter, facebook, and/or Myspace accounts? Kimpton’s new Lorien Hotel & Spa, a lovely Alexandria boutique, just outside D.C., has crafted a refreshing PDA-free package that will leave your followers and friends wondering, what’s up with her status, or lack thereof.

Rates for the Social Media Detox package start from $199/night and include a 10-minute chair massage, a $20 credit to BRABO or BRABO Tasting Room, complimentary use of bicycles and route maps, and an item off the Dream Service Menu such as milk and cookies or a lavender eye pillow.  Plus, resist the urge to update your profile during your stay and earn a $25 certificate that can be used towards a future stay at the hotel through February 28, 2010. At checkout, prove your social media abstinence by presenting a print-out (from the in-room computers) displaying your lack of activity, or via Blackberry/iPhone.  

Book this offer by December 30 by calling 877-856-7436 (rate code DTOX) or visit www.lorienhotelandspa.com.

The Deal Save 30 percent off standard room rates and spa services, with a free upgrade.

Stay Choose either the Tides Riviera Maya, made up of 30 private villas (each with a plunge pool) on six idyllic acres of jungle and white-sand beach, or Tides Zihuatanejo, a laid-back resort with adobe-style villas and a clutch location on one of Mexico’s best beaches.

Details The Sol Y Mar promotion includes 30 percent off going rates and spa services. Plus, Sherman’s Travel readers secure a free upgrade to the next category of villa. Discounted rates start at $410/night at Tides Riviera Maya and $249/night at Tides Zihuatanejo with breakfast. This special is offered October 1 to December 18.

Book It 866/332-1672 for Tides Riviera Maya; 866/905-9560 for Tides Zihuatanejo (online code SHER or mention Sherman’s Travel Sol y Mar Exclusive); thetidesresorts.com.

From the Summer 2009 issue of Sherman’s Travel magazine

Spa treatments are no longer limited to the confines of a dimly-lit treatment room. These days you can have your massage alfresco, in and under water, and, now, aboard a Venetian gondola floating in the waters off San Diego’s Coronado Bay. The Loews Coronado Bay Resort introduces Voga Voyage, a romantic spa experience brought from Venice to California. Couples can board a 33-foot Venetian-style gondola, equipped with massage beds and manned by two gondoliers (wearing traditional attire), for a 40-minute massage that begins with sunscreen application and ends with champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries, all while cruising the waterways of the Coronado Cays. It may lack the privacy of a standard treatment room but, as they say, whatever floats your boat. The Voga Voyage package includes an overnight stay at the waterfront resort, a couple’s gondola massage, and access to the spa’s excercise classes, sauna, steam rooms, and lounge. Packages rates start from $499 per couple. To book it, click here or call 619/424-4000.

Picture dropping in on the family home of Sir Winston Churchill, sitting beneath the famous apple tree at Sir Isaac Newton’s manor, or exploring the grand estates familiar from Harry Potter and Sense and Sensibility. The nonprofit National Trust, which preserves historic country homes and gardens across the United Kingdom, will allow you to do just that. Some homes can even be rented overnight, allowing any Anglophile to try the life of landed gentry.

New to the collection is the 17th-century, thatched Shedbush farmhouse in Dorset, which sleeps six and is near miles of breathtaking coastal walks. Also just added: a pair of Compton 19th-century stone farm cottages, each sleeping four, on the Isle of Wight; and Greenway, once the Devon holiday home of Agatha Christie and now accommodating 10 guests (with access to a private garden including a small heated pool and patio). Read the rest of this post »

The knockout Regent Grand Hotel Bordeaux, the area’s first and only luxury hotel, opened in early 2008. The beautiful 1779 façade of the former Grand Hotel has been kept intact but the interiors boast a totally new look. French designer Jacques Garcia has transformed the hotel’s 150 rooms with rich, decadent fabrics, beautiful paneling, and marble bathrooms; suites have wine-tasting wet bars. This fall, prime wine-tasting season, you can save nearly 30 percent off regular rates with the hotel’s Gourmet Package. The deal includes two nights’ accommodations, daily breakfast in Brasserie L’Europe, dinner or lunch for two at Le Pressoir d’Argent (includes a three-course menu with wine, mineral water, and coffee), and an in-room welcome gift. Rates normally start at a whopping $1,057, but you’ll pay $757 through December 30, 2009 (exclusive of Sunday and Monday night stays).

The final post in a three-part series on “glamping” (glamorous camping).

It’s 11pm on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada. As I soak in a hydrotherapy tub facing a glass-surface front overlooking the water, the light is slowly disappearing on the horizon beyond the Straight of Georgia. I’ve just had a superb dinner of locally sourced Pacific Northwest fare. After my luxurious soak, I’ll take a rainforest shower and then proceed to my king-size bed for a night of sweet sleep. Can life get any better, I wonder? I’m staying in one of the luxurious tenthouse suites at Rockwater Secret Cove Resort, located on a scenic stretch of the Pacific Coast. Read the rest of this post »