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| Vol. 5 | Issue 17 | April 24, 2007 |    |
Bonaire, just off the Venezuala coast, is a great place to decompress after a
South American business trip — in more ways than one. Once
its “winter
warmer” season
is
over,
the
Caribbean
island
focuses once again on its biggest attractions, diving and snorkeling,
with a summer-long and island-wide promotion. Most of the special features start
up June 1, but many of the discount programs are starting now.
The full-fledged Dive Into Summer program will include a coupon book for every visitor to the island that includes discounts on restaurants, shopping, rentals and various activity. Once a month (June 8, July 6, Aug. 3 and Sept. 7) there will be a Taste of Bonaire event featuring the food and culture of “all things Bonairean,” and a photo contest will run all summer long with prizes of photography equipment. There’s a substantial schedule of other activities that will also be going on all summer.
All sorts of hotel-based packages are already being offered. For example,
explore the island with the Lizard
Inn’s
Stay Drive & Dive package — it includes a studio apartment, car rental,
and unlimited shore diving with equipment — at $499 per diver, $399 for
a non-diver. The Sand
Dollar Condominium Resort Ride
to the Reef package is great for families, at $732 per person for seven nights
based on quad occupancy of a two-bedroom condo, with six boat dives, seven
days’ truck rental, daily buffet breakfast, and a free Kids Club for
children between the ages of 3 and 6. 
Delta Air Lines is becoming the first U.S. airline to offer a public carbon-offset
program. As of June 1, passengers who purchase tickets through Delta’s
Web site can donate $5.50 for domestic round trips, or $11 for
international round trips, to The Conservation Fund, which offsets emissions
by planting trees. To kick off the program, Delta made a donation for every
customer flying Delta on April 22, Earth Day, and has committed to planting
a tree for each of the airlines’ 47,000 employees.
The historic Connaught Hotel in London’s Mayfair district, which opened
in 1897, has closed for $120 million worth of renovations and will reopen on
Nov. 1. The renovations will restore some original features and add new ones,
including a new wing that will house 33 more rooms and suites, a spa and a
swimming pool. The most noticeable change will be a terrace added to the front
of the Victorian building, extending the Red Room, which is known for its afternoon
tea. The hotel’s staff will be temporarily relocated to sister hotels
Claridge’s and The Berkeley.
Starting May 1 and for six consecutive full moons, a Canadian resort will
help you celebrate moonlight by kayak. Rockwater
Secret Cove Resort on the British Columbia coast will host
moonlight paddles on Halfmoon Bay for these two-night stretches: May 1-2, May
31-June
1, June 29-30, July 29-30, Aug. 28-29, and Sept. 26-27. Guests stay in Tenthouse
Suites and at sunset head off in kayaks for a remote island marine park, led
by a guide. The resort’s executive chef cooks up some outdoor dining
on the island, and then it’s back in the moonlight to the home base for
a final nightcap under the stars.
Call it social networking for train buffs: Amtrak has established a new Web
site for its travelers to share their experiences on the rails. Whistle
Stop hosts personal travelogues — seeded, to begin with,
by professional writers — and a Rider Memories section where travelers
can post their own accounts and photos. Amtrak will also be posting information
to the site about its environmental initiatives, new programs, trivia and tidbits.
It’s getting cheaper to make same-day flight changes on Northwest Airlines.
Northwest’s popular FlyNow program previously allowed travelers with
nonrefundable tickets to pay just $25 to change to another flight within three
hours of the
one they were scheduled to fly; other changes cost $100. Now the airline is
expanding FlyNow to include the entire day of departure, if seats are available,
for the $25 fee. If the flight change cannot be confirmed, there will now be
a $25 charge to stand by for available seats on an alternate flight; this was
previously free. Travelers holding refundable tickets
continue to be able to make changes at no charge.
Jackson Marriott Downtown
200 Amite St.
Jackson, MI 39201
tel 601 969 5100, fax 601 353 4333
http://marriott.com/hotels/travel/janmc-jackson-marriott-downtown/
Driving from Memphis to Jackson, Miss. is simple — it’s a straight shot south on I-55. Our printout of directions provided by MapQuest said to exit on Pearl Street, but if there is a Pearl Street, we never saw it. We did see the state Capitol, built in 1903, an impressive building that closely resembles the national Capitol in Washington, D.C. As the sun was setting, we finally spotted the Marriott logo on the skyline.
The Jackson Marriott Downtown is a 12-story hotel that recently underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation. The first floor is a huge lobby, with opulent chandeliers and formal furniture. Tucked into a corner is the business center, where guests can use the Internet for free and print out directions to their next destination, among other things.
We had dinner in the hotel’s restaurant, Bistro 200, and enjoyed the southern cuisine. Then we made our way to our attractive room, with pale yellow walls, dark blue carpet, and an impressive high-backed desk chair with arms. Had we wanted, we could have paid $9.95 to have 24 hours’ Internet access from the room. Instead, we spent the evening reading in the comfy bed. In the morning, we made coffee in the room’s coffeemaker and read USA Today, which had been delivered to our door.
The cost of our good night’s sleep was $159; a full day’s parking was a reasonable $8.
Score: ••••• Barbara
and Jim Twardowski
Silverjet, the all-business-class airline flying between Newark (EWR) and
London (LTN), wants you to try them and will give you a free flight just for
the asking. Book any roundtrip ticket on Silverjet between now and May 25 for
travel up to Dec. 31 and Silverjet will only charge you half the fare — in
effect, you pay to get to London and they fly you back for free. There is no
limit to the number of flights you can book during the “FREEquent
flyer” promotion. You must belong to another airline’s
frequent-flyer program in order to qualify, as you will be asked to enter the
name of another program to which you belong each time you apply; you will then
be a given a promotion code that entitles you to the half-price fare.
You have until May 3 to book tickets at sale prices for travel on BMI
from Aug. 31 through Oct. 15. The fare sale is good for BMI’s flights
to London (LHR) and Manchester (MAN) from Chicago (ORD) and Las Vegas (LAS),
and start at $588 in coach, $1,088 in premium economy
and $2,586 in business class. Add $38 in all fare classes to continue to Aberdeen
(ABZ), Glasgow (GLA) or Edinburgh (EDI). The sale fares require a minimum three-night
stay and are nonrefundable.
The Champions’ Tour is heating up, and you can witness the action first-hand
in Birmingham in May with packages from the host resort. Stay at the Ross
Bridge Golf Resort & Spa and get free parking, breakfast for
two and two tickets to the Champions Tour Regions Charity Classic May 17-19
for $239 a night.
Mother’s Day is coming soon (May 13), and surveys show that what busy
moms want most (after more sleep, that is) is some time at a spa. The Hyatt
Regency Bonaventure Conference Center & Spa in
Weston, Fla. has a package designed just for her. The Spa Package includes
one night’s deluxe accommodations, buffet breakfast, a 50-minute massage
or facial at the Hotel’s Red Door Lifestyle Spa, and use of fitness facilities.
Rates start at $235 per person based on double occupancy.
Through April 30, Air New Zealand is offering special
fares good for travel
through May 31. Fares from Honolulu (HNL) to Auckland (AKL) start at
$814, from Los Angeles (LAX) from $866. For that price, you can also add up
to two more New Zealand cities at no extra charge. Tickets for travel in the
month of June, if purchased by April 30, cost a bit more.
