Jetsettersblog

Grande Rockies Resort is a new Canmore hotel owned by Edmonton’s SFJ Hospitality and managed by luxury hotel brand Metropolitan Hotels.

Whether you invest in the real estate, or simply come to stay for a family ski holiday, it’s the latest trend in Rocky Mountain accommodation.

Unlike many of the new condo-style hotels lining this popular lodging strip between the Trans-Canada Highway and Canmore’s Railway Avenue—most with fully or fractionally owned self-contained units—the suites at Grande Rockies Resort have the added amenities of a full-service hotel.

That means a restaurant, lobby bar and a large family-friendly indoor pool with waterslide. It also has a small business centre, and plenty of conference and meeting space for corporate retreats and weddings.

Inside, the 150 one- and two-bedroom suites come with full-sized kitchens, granite countertops, laundry, large flat-screen TVs with Blu-ray players and wireless Internet.

Computerized shower units translate into everything from back and foot massage jets to rain showers and telephone service. Comfortable Vera Wang beds with crisp white Italian linens, Margaret Kisza’s modern mountain canvasses, plus finishes in dark wood, granite, leather and stone give Paul Waddell’s interior design a contemporary feel.

http://www.granderockies.com
www.travelalberta.com
www.canada.travel

General Lee’s Headquarters Museum in Historic Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is now offering tour groups a chance meet the top-ranking Confederate commander through an interactive program.

The museum, located atop Seminary Ridge along the Gettysburg National Military Park, is inviting tour groups to experience the story of Gen. Robert E. Lee, as told through one of the museum’s great General Lee presenters.

Upon exiting their motorcoach, groups will meet Lee and be introduced to a program – able to be personalized for each group – that focuses on the Confederate general, the house he once used to plan the Battle of Gettysburg or other topics of interest to the group.

Groups will then tour the famous house and see the hundreds of artifacts inside.

The stone house – once belonging to noted statesman Thaddeus Stevens – was built in 1834, and on July 1, 1863, the house became the personal headquarters of General Lee. An ideal location, it was at the center and rear of his battle lines and it was on the same road that many more of his troops were quickly approaching.

At the time of the battle, the house was the dwelling place of Mrs. Mary Thompson, who was known by the residents of Gettysburg simply as the “Widow Thompson.”

She was not excited about having her house occupied by a “Rebel,” but she “… testifies that the gentlemanly deportment of General Lee whilst in her house, but complains bitterly of the robbery and general destruction of her goods by some of his attendants.”

For more information on the General Lee’s Headquarters Museum and its new interactive programs for tour groups, call 717-334-1813 or email generallee@civilwarheadquarters.com

Southwest Idaho Travel Association
CONTACT: Debbi Long
PHONE: 208.869.5307
Debbi@cascaderaft.com
WEB: http://www.visitsouthwestidaho.org

SOUTHWEST, Idaho- The grand opening ceremonies for Kelly’s Whitewater Park, Idaho’s first whitewater park.

The  park is situated on the North Fork of the Payette River, located in Cascade, ID.

Kelly’s Whitewater Park is a great place for families, just an hour and a half drive north of Boise on State Hwy 55, and it’s free to the public!

Kayakers, tubers, rafters, and canoeists of all ages will enjoy the park’s five in-water features which will be challenging for both beginning and advanced paddlers.

Beginner and advanced areas have been divided by a man-made island which splits the river.

All features were engineered with safety in mind, with waves designed to move guests to the banks of the river rather than being re-circulated back into the action.

The park is also home to a 2,600 square-foot Welcome Center that is perched over the river with panoramic views of the water features and will be a major attraction all by itself.

The center will feature exhibitions showcasing the history of area Native Americans and settlers, ranching, railroads, mining and timber industries and the recreational background of the region in a gallery type setting.

The Welcome Center provides bathrooms and changing rooms, a wood burning stone fireplace and indoor seating. The 3.4 acre landscaped grounds include an outdoor amphitheater.

The Grammy award winning band Blues Traveler will perform on August 21, 2010 in Donnelly, Idaho.

Proceeds from the concert will be used to fund operating costs of KWP. Watch for tickets going on sale in the coming weeks.

Recently Kelly’s Kayak School was launched and aims to provide students in Valley County with free kayaking lessons. The school is sponsored by Friends of Kelly’s Whitewater Park, a nonprofit organization that built the park. Its goals are to introduce a new sport to area youth, provide kayak instruction in a safe environment and ultimately cultivate future Olympians. The enrollment for the first year is 64 students.

Kelly’s Whitewater Park is expected to be open 10am – 8pm, Monday through Friday and 8am – 8pm, Saturday and Sunday through September 17, 2010. KWP is located at mile marker 114.4 on Highway 55.

For more information contact Wayne Brown, Kelly’s Whitewater Park Director, at 208.315.2363 or visit www.kwpid.com

Fish for steelhead, practice spey casting

MERLIN, Ore – Orvis-endorsed fly fishing lodge, Morrison’s Rogue River Lodge, is one of the few classic steelhead fisheries in the West, with reliable fall migrations that run from August until November.

With Morrison’s all inclusive packages and expert guides, guests can experience all types of fishing methods, including the newest trend in fly fishing, spey casting.

This year they are offering a Spey Casting & Steelhead Fishing Trip Oct. 3-5.

During the trip, receive expert instruction on spey casting by Roseville Orvis Fly Fishing Manager Doug Duncan.

The first fishing day will focus on spey casting for switch rods and shorter spey rods.

These casts should work for short Scandi heads and Skagit heads.

The following days will also have instruction but will be spent primarily targeting the Rogue River Steelhead.

Guides will have the flexibility to adjust to the needs and casting style of all anglers.

The packages include guided fishing and instruction; all meals and lodging (does not include gratuities, alcohol or one percent lodging tax).

Two-day three-night at double occupancy is $1,117 and three-day four-night at double occupancy is $1,550.

www.morrisonslodge.com

The Dominican Republic is a yachtsman’s paradise, with a huge coastline and first-class marinas where they can moor up. Yachtsmen visiting the Dominican Republic can spend their days exploring numerous bays and beaches where sailors can drop anchor and laze in the sun or explore ashore.

The Dominican Republic has one of the most expansive coastlines in the Caribbean with more than 800 miles of diverse ecological environments ranging from desert to tropical rainforest.

Regardless of where yachtsmen choose to drop anchor, grand mountain backdrops, white sand beaches and turquoise blue waters are sure to meet them.

At present time, the Dominican Republic is able to dock yachts to 250 feet in length overall (LOA).

In fact, Cap Cana Harbour and Marina will be the largest world-class mega-yacht marina in the Caribbean with capabilities of hosting over 500 yachts.

To illustrate the exceptional sailing facilities available in the Dominican Republic, the Casa de Campo Marina was chosen to host the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, which is being staged from 21 – 24 April, 2011.

Over the next two years, the Dominican Republic is planning to more than doubling the number of full-service marinas, some with unique features never before available in the Caribbean. These additions are more than new places to dock ship. Several of these marinas are being opened in parts of the country that never before could service large vessels.

The Siegel Group has reopened the Artisan Hotel in Las Vegas after a six-month renovation.

The Siegel Group bought the property in 2009 and Stephen Siegel personally oversaw the extensive renovations.

The hotel is launching the new Mood at the Artisan Restaurant, Artisan AfterHours, newly renovated rooms and a new pool with day beds, cabanas and weekly events.

Artisan is a non-gaming boutique hotel. The 62-room, two-suite property is literally covered from floor to ceiling with eclectic art and paintings.

The Artisan features a full-service lounge and restaurant, a wedding chapel and a landscaped Mediterranean pool. In addition to the renovations, the hotel is launching a line-up of special events and happy hours and will announce new lounge and poolside events in the coming weeks. Rates start at $99 during the week and $129 on weekends.

For more information, call 800-554-4092 or visit www.artisanhotel.com

Crestline Hotels & Resorts Inc. will assume management of the Hilton Checkers Hotel in Los Angeles.

The announcement comes as Chesapeake Lodging Trust, a real estate investment trust (REIT), completes its acquisition of the 188-room hotel in the heart of Los Angeles’ business and financial district.

The AAA Four-Diamond, 15-story hotel recently completed a renovation of its guest rooms and all public spaces.

The hotel contains 3,300 square feet of meeting and event space.

It is walking distance to the Los Angeles Convention Center and is close to many leisure attractions including the L.A. Live Complex, Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Located at 535 South Grand Ave., the Hilton Checkers is a European-style boutique property.

The hotel occupies an historical building that dates back to the 1920s and has been fully restored.

A favorite feature is the rooftop deck with a view of the Los Angeles skyline. Guest rooms and suites feature 42-inch flat-screen TVs, large marble desks, leather desk chairs and wireless Internet connections, while suites offer spa-style marble bathrooms.

For dining, the hotel has the Checkers Downtown Restaurant. Checkers Downtown is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as Sunday brunch. Additional recreational amenities include an outdoor rooftop swimming pool, a fitness center and whirlpool. The Hilton Checkers is about 20 minutes from Los Angeles International Airport.

The hotel is easily accessed from I-101, and offers valet parking.

Hawaiian Airlines has introduced its fleet of the future by welcoming the first of up to 27 new long-range Airbus A330 and A350 aircraft joining the company’s fleet this decade.

Hawaiian’s new aircraft will offer improved onboard amenities as well as greater operating range that will enable growth and expansion in the years ahead.

The company will inaugurate service with its first new 294-seat, wide-body A330-200 aircraft this Friday on a flight departing Honolulu for Los Angeles.

The next-generation A350s will seat 322 passengers in a two-class configuration and have an operating range of 8,300 nautical miles, providing Hawaiian with the capability to offer nonstop flights to Hawaii from points in Asia, Australasia, the Americas, and Europe. Passengers flying in coach class on Hawaiian’s A330 will have more legroom and a state-of-the-art on-demand entertainment system.

High-resolution LCD touch screen monitors in each seatback allow each passenger to choose from a wide selection of movies and video programs, audio channels and video games.

Each system also includes a USB port allowing connectivity for personal media players.

First Class passengers on Hawaiian’s new A330 aircraft will have larger in-seat LCD screens and iPod compatibility.

American Cruise Lines said upgrades to its newly acquired Queen of the West are underway and the company is anticipating a successful first season in the Pacific Northwest, starting Aug. 7.

American Cruise Lines is converting 17 staterooms to private balcony rooms and adding a library lounge on the third deck.

The company also is upgrading the existing lounges and dining room with new furniture and other amenities.

American will operate one-way itineraries between Portland, Ore., and Clarkston, Wash., including the Columbia River Gorge.

With this relaxed cruising schedule, American plans to improve the quality of shore excursions and bring onboard local talent from historians to entertainers.

Weekly departures are scheduled through October.

The company said many of this year’s cruises are sold out or close to it, and that 2011 bookings are becoming very popular.

 A longer season is scheduled for next year, from April through November.

For more information, call 800-814-6880 or visit www.americancruiselines.com

Six Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) actors with a suitcase of props and costumes performed a 20 minute version of Henry V at a press briefing today at New York City’s Algonquin Hotel.

The ‘Shakespeare in a Suitcase’ production of Henry V, edited by Ben Power and directed by Roxana Silbert, RSC Associate Director, offered a taste of the RSC as the company invited North Americans to visit its transformed Stratford-upon-Avon theatres, due to reopen in late 2010 following a $200m makeover. VisitEngland, the official tourism body for England, also invited visitors to discover the Arden Hotel, Stratford’s first independently-owned boutique-style hotel, opening opposite the theatre in July 2010.

Now in its final stages of transformation, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, will have a new thrust stage auditorium at its heart – one of just a handful in the world and the only one with such sophisticated stage technology, allowing directors and theatre artists, huge flexibility and creative freedom.

The audience will be much closer to the action, wrapped around the stage on three sides, with the seats at the back twice as close to the stage as they were in the old 1932 Elisabeth Scott cinema-style auditorium.

The new building, right alongside the River Avon, contains both the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres.

It retains some of the best elements of the original Art Deco building and is packed with new features – a rooftop restaurant, a linking colonnade, riverside terrace, a Theatre Tower from which all the main Shakespearean locations can be seen, a new theatre square – Weston Square – and the PACCAR Room for exhibitions, along with much needed new facilities for visitors and theatre artists.

Vikki Heywood, RSC Executive Director, said today: “It’s long been our ambition to create the best playhouse for Shakespeare and a closeness to our audiences which is only possible in a thrust stage space.

People already love our award-winning temporary Courtyard Theatre, which opened in 2006 and has been used as a prototype for the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

Our new home will be a place for everyone, offering Shakespeare, other classics and new plays by living writers as well as opportunities for visitors to understand and be involved in the theatre-making process.”

“We are on time and on budget, and plan to open to the public in late 2010 with a series of preview events and activities designed to test the building, leading up to our opening performances in February and March 2011.

We will reopen the transformed Royal Shakespeare Theatre auditorium with productions from the current repertoire, performed by the same RSC acting ensemble that will visit New York’s Park Avenue Armory in 2011 as part of the Lincoln Center Festival.

The Swan Theatre will also reopen at the same time. We will then celebrate our 50th birthday with new companies and new productions.”

Sam Warnock, Visitor Marketing Manager at Advantage West Midlands, said: “We are delighted to be working with the RSC, providing both core refurbishment finance and support for this important project. Shakespeare is an iconic brand for England and for The Heart of England and, together with the Royal Shakespeare Company, we are committed to increasing the profile of Shakespeare and his legacy throughout the world, making The Heart of England, Stratford and the RSC must-see attractions for all international visitors to England.”

The RSC has long enjoyed a close relationship with North American audiences, who helped fund the 1932 Elisabeth Scott building and its adjoining Swan Theatre in 1982, and a significant number of visitors to Stratford-upon-Avon and the Heart of England are from the US and Canada. Attracted not only by the RSC, visitors travel to see where Shakespeare was born, where he went to school and where he died, as well as some of England’s most beautiful countryside on the banks of the River Avon.

Providing a further boost to the area’s travel and tourism offerings, the RSC’s joint venture partners, the Eden Hotel Collection, will reopen the Arden Hotel in July this year.

As Stratford’s first independently-owned boutique-style hotel overlooking the river, the hotel will offer overnight visitors an ideal location situated directly across from the theatre.

The RSC will announce titles of the February and March 2011 opening productions in September. Details of its 50th birthday anniversary year will be released when the Royal Shakespeare Theatre reopens for preview events in late November 2010. Meanwhile, the company continues to perform a full repertoire of Shakespeare plays and other titles at the award-winning Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, including a special week of short Young People’s Shakespeare productions in September.

In November, the RSC opens a new musical version of Roald Dahl’s Matilda – the magical story about a little girl with extraordinary powers, which has been a favourite novel for millions of children across the world since it was first published in 1988. Matilda, A Musical will be directed by Tony Award-winning Matthew Warchus.

The book is by playwright and screen-writer Dennis Kelly, and the music and lyrics are by the anarchic Australian comedian, musician and composer Tim Minchin.

This family show will entertain audiences through the winter in The Courtyard Theatre, running alongside the reopening preview period of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

Further information on the RSC can be found at www.rsc.org.uk