Jetsettersblog

A new company, Bay Voyager, has just launched San Francisco’s first bay tour featuring the Navy Seals-type large passenger rigid inflatable boat (RIB), which can accommodate up to 12 people.

Regardless of the choice of six tours, an overnight excursion and private charters, Bay Voyager’s cruises provide access to the less traveled corners of the San Francisco Bay as well as a more individualized experience.

A snapshot of Bay Voyager’s tours may include history and stories of the San Francisco Bay while observing the former mooring sites of abandoned gold rush ships or active estuaries populated by cargo ships and tug boats.

While Bay Voyager does have specific routes on the variety of tours available, deviation is an integral part of the experience.

The “San Francisco Bay Highlights,” for instance, travels 25 miles in one hour, 45 minutes and focuses on the highlights of the Bay. This tour cruises past the San Francisco downtown area, the Marina and North Beach from a waterfront excursion of California’s most historic city.

For more information, call 510-542-4200 or visit

www.bayvoyager.com

This week, Hilton Hotels & Resorts rolled out Hilton Huanying, the new Hilton Worldwide welcome program for Chinese travelers, at 51 participating properties in 13 countries worldwide, with a global unveiling at Hilton San Francisco Union Square. Taking its name from the Chinese word for “welcome,” Hilton Huanying enables travelers, agents and tour operators to book participating hotels knowing the hotels will meet cultural needs and expectations of Chinese travelers.

Initially launched by Hilton Hotels & Resorts, the program is available for all Hilton Worldwide hotels prepared to deliver Hilton Huanying service standards. Travelers can visit www.hilton.com/huanying to view a list of participating hotels and can call their desired hotel directly to request special Hilton Huanying amenities and services in advance of their stays. Visitors to the site can also download recipe cards for traditional Chinese breakfast items now offered at hotels offering Hilton Huanying.

Hilton Hotels & Resorts selected San Francisco as the location for the global launch of Hilton Huanying as the city has long been recognized as a leading global destination for Chinese travelers and is home to one of the largest Chinese communities in the U.S.

Four Bay Area properties are currently enrolled in Hilton Huanying, including Hilton San Francisco Financial District, Hilton San Francisco Union Square, Hilton San Francisco Airport Bayfront and Hilton Santa Clara.

For more information, visit www.hilton.com/huanying.



Palace Resorts opened the Jack Nicklaus Academy of Golf on Aug. 15, 2011, at Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort in Cancun, Mexico, as well as the company’s Riviera Cancun golf course.

An additional academy is scheduled to open at Palace Resorts Playacar Spa & Golf Club in Playa del Carmen, Mexico this fall.

With the opening of the golf academy, Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort, Riviera Cancun and Playacar Spa & Golf Club will be among the only resorts in the Caribbean to boast a Jack Nicklaus Academy of Golf.

The resorts join a multitude of other prestigious Jack Nicklaus Academy of Golf programs spanning across the globe including Spain, Denmark, China, Japan, Korea, Brazil, India, Mexico and the United States.

The academy program incorporates such practices as the Nicklaus Academies Analysis Software, high-speed video for capturing the swing, a balance and weight shift mat, and integrated ball flight monitor, as well as other high-tech teaching tools.

Students can participate in 13 different tailored teaching programs from Welcome to Golf and Equipment Fitting Sessions, to Couples Only Golf Schools and Corporate Programs. Additionally, students can apply a portion of their Resort Credit for classes at the Academy.

Palace Resorts’ $1,500 Resort Credit can be applied to room upgrades, spa and beauty salon treatments, romantic dinners,

Precious Wedding Collection packages, off-site excursions and tours, golf outings and now lessons at the Jack Nicklaus Academy of Golf.

The combination of options is unlimited, allowing guests staying in any room category for five nights or more to mix and match resort credit among all included amenities.

The $1,500 Resort Credit is available through Dec. 23, 2011, at all 11 Palace Resorts properties in Mexico and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

Guests can also forfeit the $1,500 Resort Credit to opt for unlimited golf at all Palace Resorts properties excluding Cozumel Palace, Isla Mujeres Palace and Vallarta Palace.

Guests must mention the unlimited golf promotion at the time of reservation or they will receive the $1,500 Resort Credit by default.

For more information, call 800-635-1836 or visit

www.palaceresorts.com

Jamaica’s Sunset Resorts is offering new wedding services at its all-inclusive resorts in Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Negril, including U.S.-based wedding and honeymoon planning assistance, a registry option and an exclusive “We Do” package.

Sunset’s Stateside Wedding Services are designed to serve engaged couples, newlyweds and those looking to renew their vows.

The office is available to arrange commitment ceremonies and honeymoons at Sunset Beach Resort Spa & Waterpark, Montego Bay; Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort Spa & Conference Centre, Ocho Rios; and Sunset at the Palms Resort, Negril.

The office is open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, excluding major holidays.

Sunset’s free online wedding and honeymoon registry option enables couples to manage gift preferences for a Sunset Resorts destination wedding or honeymoon.

Users can browse through sample registries for ideas then create a personalized version adding features including spa treatments, room upgrades and activities on the island.

Sunset’s “We Do” wedding package offers a complimentary on-site wedding service to couples staying a minimum of seven nights in an oceanfront room.

Groups of more than 15 rooms in any category earn the marrying couple’s wedding courtesy of the resort.

For more information, call 877-251-2155 or visit www.sunsetresortsjamaica.com

Little Whale Cay in the Bahamas’ Berry Islands is available for rental to leisure travelers. The private island offers guest accommodations, a main beach and a marina for sailing, fishing, water-skiing, and off-island excursions.

The island accommodates up to 12 guests in three individual villas set on 93 acres skirted by white, sandy beaches.

Villas are all air-conditioned, with flat-screen TVs, DVD players, Wi-Fi and telephones.

Little Whale House, the main house, features a bar and satellite-fed flat-screen TV, plus two bedrooms, a study with computer, living room, dining room and terrace. Flamingo House offers four bedrooms, a living room and terrace, and Peacock House offer one bedroom a living room and a terrace.

Houses are connected by pathways but sheltered for privacy.

The property also offers spa and gym facilities, an infinity pool, tennis court, a chapel, plus a chef and dedicated staff.

Island rentals are priced at $10,500 through Dec. 15, 2011, for up to 12 guests with a minimum of five nights, or $4,375 per person for five nights including accommodations, staff, chef, food, drinks, use of island facilities, boats, fuel, telephone calls and Wi-Fi Internet connection in each guest house.

For more information, call 800-783-6904 or visit www.tvlmarketing.com

Guests who book a last-minute stay at Sandals Grande Riviera Beach & Villa Golf Resort in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, will receive a complimentary Horseback Riding Adventure from Island Routes Caribbean Adventure Tours. The offer applies to guests who book a minimum six-night stay between now and Sept. 15, 2011, for travel through Sept. 30, 2011.

The offer is combinable with current Sandals Grande Riviera promotions. For more information, visit www.sandals.com/specials/last-minute.cfm

The Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, Utah, will open a 3,000-square-foot wellness studio as part of its spa in time for the 2011-12 ski season. The studio will be called Verdandi after the Norse goddess of necessity. It also means “to become,” and the wellness studio will reflect the necessity of daily exercise to maintain wellbeing. It will be open year-round and will feature 60-minute seasonal programs, such as pre-ski stretching in the winter; a mid-morning class that will alternate strength training, yoga, cardio and Pilates; and an apres ski stretch. For more information, call 800-453-1302 or visit www.steinlodge.com/spa.

Great Freedom Adventures is combining crafts festivals with fall bike tours of the Hudson Valley and Vermont. The first is the annual Vermont Fine Furniture and Woodworking Festival, Sept. 24 and 25 in Woodstock, Vt., in tandem with a Sept. 25 to 30 “Best of Vermont” tour.

The second is the Oct. 7 to 10 Art’s Walk in Hudson, N.Y., the region’s largest arts festival, that begins on the day an Oct. 2 to 7 Hudson Valley tour ends. In both locations, cyclists will ride high under fall foliage canopies that make these two regions popular for autumn travel.

In tandem with the showcase in Woodstock of some of the world’s finest handmade furniture, the nearby Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park presents its annual Forest Festival that sheds light on the birthplace of the environmental movement in America and the fact that George Perkins Marsh and Frederick Billings were among the first men in the country to realize that deforesting land would ruin it.

The Hudson Valley arts festival includes literary and music events and an Artist’s Marketplace at the waterfront in Hudson along the Hudson River.

Scheduled departures and per person double occupancy rates for all of Great Freedom Adventures’ late summer/fall programs are:

Best of Vermont Fall Foliage Bike Tour, six days/five nights, Sept. 25 to 30, $2,395.

For more information, visit www.greatfreedomadventures.com/vermont-bike-tours.html.

The Magnificent Hudson Valley, New York Fall Foliage Bike Tour, six days/five nights, Oct. 2 to 7, $2,350. For more information, visit www.greatfreedomadventures.com/new-york-bike-tours.html.

The Enthralling Block Island, R.I., Tour, four days/three nights, Sept. 11 to 14, $2,195. For more information, visit www.greatfreedomadventures.com/block-island-ri-vacations.html.  (A three-day/two-night tour is also offered, Sept. 11 to 13, for $1,225.

The Maritime New England Bike Tour, Boston’s Fabled North Shore, six days/five nights, Aug, 21 to 26. For more information, visit www.greatfreedomadventures.com/new-england-bike-tours.html.

On all trips, guests may use their own bikes or take advantage of a complimentary helmet and bike offer from Great Freedom Adventures. The programs include some lunches and all but one dinner so that guests can explore local eateries on their own now and then. Lodging, all breakfasts, most meals, guides, van support, entrance fees where required and other region-specific costs are included in the tour rate, with the exception of alcoholic beverages and guide gratuities. For more information, call 877-545-1864 or visit www.greatfreedomadventures.com.

The Beverly Hills Hotel has debuted two new Presidential Bungalows, each measuring nearly 5,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space.

Each Presidential Bungalow features a private entrance; a great room with a dining room and living room; a professional kitchen; custom-designed furnishings, including collected pieces from the 1920s to modern day; three bedrooms, each with a bathroom that boasts a free-standing tub, a steam shower and a vanity; and five limestone fireplaces — one in every room.

Each bungalow also is surrounded by gardens and has a private pool, an outdoor fireplace, an outdoor dining area with nighttime illumination, an entertainment system, an exercise area, a courtyard, and a private, outdoor shower. Nightly rates start at $13,610 per bungalow. For more information, call 800-283-8885 or visit www.beverlyhillshotel.com

Blount Small Ship Adventures is offering up to 50 percent off on Northeast and Great Lakes cruises in September and October. Blount offers a 25 percent discount on the 15-night “Great American Waterways” cruise from Chicago to Rhode Island on four Great Lakes and the Erie Canal. Eligible departures are Sept. 11 and Sept. 12.

The Oct. 15 departure of the nine-night “Scenic Lake Champlain: New York to Vermont” cruise is available at half price. The 12-night “Locks, Legends and Fjords: Erie Canal to the Saguenay River” is eligible for 25 to 50 percent off departures on Sept. 17, Sept. 29, Oct. 1, Oct. 13 and Oct. 15. The seven-night “Magical Lake Michigan” cruise is discounted by 25 percent on the Sept. 2 and Sept. 3 departures. For more information, call 800-556-7450 or visit www.blountsmallshipadventures.com