Archive for the ‘Honeymoons’ Category

Work sucks. So when it comes time for your wedding, you’ve probably been saving up vacation days like a squirrel saves up acorns. Your natural inclination will probably be to dart out of work as soon as you can and make a beeline for the airport for an evening flight out of town. I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Stick with morning flights and you’ll be happier.

I realize that waking up at 0-dark-thirty and dragging yourself to the airport before the sun comes up is not your idea of fun, but you’ll thank me in the end. Morning flights tend to go on time more often than afternoon or evening flights. It’s worth waking up early if it means things go smoothly.

Think about how airplanes spend their days. The goal for an airline is to keep planes in the air as often as possible. When they’re in the air, they make money. When they’re on the ground, they don’t. Airlines would fly their planes 24 hours a day except for two problems.

1. Nobody is willing to pay for a 3am flight to Jackson, Mississippi.
2. They have to maintain those planes sometime, so the airlines do most of their maintenance at night when demand is lowest.

Simply put, most planes start the day fresh each morning. Then they fly like crazy until late at night when they go back to sleep for a few hours.

But what happens when there’s bad weather? Or there are 25 sets of new parents with strollers to be checked on that flight from Omaha? Planes get bogged down during the day as traffic increases and things conspire to really mess up schedules. By the end of the day, you’re paying for all the problems that happened earlier. But each night, the planes get to where they’re supposed to be going, sometimes very late, and the airline is able to reset for the next day.

Sometimes flights get canceled, planes break, etc and things don’t work out as planned. So when you’re running to the airport after work on a bad day, that plane is falling behind and your flight may end up being canceled. That’s not a big deal if there’s another flight five minutes later with an empty seat on it, but in an era of very high load factors, that’s a rarity. Sometimes, you can be out of luck for several days and your trip may be ruined.

So spend that last night in eager anticipation of what lies ahead and then wake up early and enjoy that on time departure. Oh, and on the way home? Who cares. You don’t want to go back to work anyway.

Have a cocktail and take The Plunge this V-day.

Intimate, romantic Deluxe Suite.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, and having just returned from a luxe press trip in NYC courtesy of the Thompson Hotel Group, the Hotel Gansevoort and Destination I Do for my magazine, , I am thrilled to report back on what to do in the Big Apple for V-day. Sifting through the best and the hippest travel options out there to save you time and energy with the most amenities (see below) in the best part of town is the goal. In my humble opinion, this V-day package is power loaded with goodies. Throw a  romantic neighborhood meal into the mix (Spice Market and Pastis) and you are good to go. Having stayed in a Deluxe Suite, perusing a view of the city over a glass of delicious wine in my adjoining living room, or a complimentary cocktail at Plunge Bar and roof garden, the only thing missing was my sweetie (okay, it was a press trip). Breakfast at Tanuki Tavern is delish (try the small plates for an intimate tete a tete around happy hour time too)….Next time around, I’ll be sure to bring him (maybe next Valentines Day?). I heart the Hotel Gansevoort and hope you can take advantage of this hip and happening V-day special. Happy Travel Tuesday!

Hotel Gansevoort V-Day Package

Hotel Gansevoort, a chic, full-service urban resort in New York City’s Meatpacking district, is offering a Valentine’s Day Indulgence Escape Package with all the items necessary for creating some naughty distractions this winter.

With prices starting at $615.00* for a Deluxe room and $855.00* for a Suite, this package is offered from January 15, 2010 – February 21, 2010 and includes:

•    Early check-in (1pm)
•    Deluxe Room or Suite accommodations
•    A dozen red roses
•    Chocolate-covered strawberries
•    Pool access and two complimentary poolside beverages
•    Bottle of chilled Moet champagne
•    Mile High Kit
•    Twister
•    Book of Erotic Games
•    Complimentary Continental breakfast in Tanuki Tavern
•    Late check-out (2pm)

About Hotel Gansevoort

Sleek and stylish, Hotel Gansevoort is the first luxury, full-service hotel in Manhattan’s vibrant Meatpacking District.  Located on Ninth Avenue at 13th Street, Hotel Gansevoort’s signature rooftop offers stunning 360-degree river and city views and features a 45-foot heated outdoor pool with underwater music; Plunge Bar and roof garden; and an event loft with soaring 20-foot ceilings. Generously appointed guestrooms blend chic design with hi-tech and include sumptuous feather beds, flat screen TVs, CD players, and complimentary Wireless Internet. The 187-room hotel includes 20 corner suites, one duplex Penthouse, exhale Spa; and Tanuki Tavern Japanese restaurant.