Jetsettersblog

The Club Med Sandpiper Bay in Port St. Lucie, Fla., is offering a Sandpiper Bay resident’s special for residents of Florida, Georgia and Alabama, starting at $129 for adults and 50 percent off for children. Residents of the three states must book by Oct. 26, 2011, for travel Aug. to Oct. 28, 2011.

The recently renovated Sandpiper Bay features two new restaurants, Slice Bar & Lounge, and four swimming pools including an infinity pool exclusively for adults and a certified lap pool.

The resort also features conference and meeting facilities and a new waterfront wedding gazebo. Enhanced accommodations include new deluxe family rooms with separate bedrooms and one-and-a-half bathrooms.

For more information, call 800-CLUB-MED or visit www.clubmed.us/sandpiperbay

The Alisal Guest Ranch & Resort in Solvang, Calif., has announced its specialty weekends and packages for September 2011 through May 2012.

The Round-Up Vacation package includes unlimited golf, horseback riding on regularly scheduled two-hour rides, access to the fitness center and spa, tennis and fishing for two people per room.

The offer is valid on stays of two or more consecutive, midweek nights from September through May and on weekends from November through March at published rates. Holiday and summer restrictions apply.

Golf carts and boats are available for additional fees.

The Couples Boot Camp weekend takes place Oct. 20 to 23, 2011, and features daily horseback rides including a breakfast ride to the historic Old Adobe, rodeo instruction, a fly-fishing lesson, all meals including a gourmet wine dinner and a lakeside dinner, an Alisal Signature massage for two, a moonlight hay ride, romantic turn-down gifts and taxes and service charges.

The rate is $2,750 per couple.

The three-night BBQ Boot Camp take place Oct. 27 to 30, 2011, and features a welcome basket with Western-style accessories; all meals including special dinners with local celebrity chefs, winemakers and brew masters; workshops on grilling methods and equipment, barbecue instruction, spice blending, and other topics; a keepsake booklet for notes and recipes; a Saturday morning breakfast ride to historic Old Adobe by way of horseback or hay wagon; and unlimited golf green fees, horseback riding, tennis, fishing pole and bait for fishing at Alisal Lake.

Rates start at $2,500 per room, double.

The two-night Harvest Weekend with Lucas and Lewellen Vineyards takes place Nov. 11 to 13, 2011, and features a welcome basket; breakfast and dinner daily including wine with dinner, a welcome wine reception and barbecue dinner, a Sunday breakfast ride to the historic Old Adobe and a winemaker’s dinner with Lucas and Lewellen principals; line dancing and Western entertainment; transportation and admission to the Lucas & Lewellen Harvest Party; another wine reception; horseback riding on scheduled two-hour rides; golf green fees; tennis; fishing at Alisal Lake; and taxes and service charges. Rates start at $1,475 per couple.

The two-night Cowboy Christmas package is valid in December and January (except Dec. 18, 2011, through Jan. 1, 2012), and features all meals, as well as unlimited horseback riding, golf green fees, tennis, and fishing pole and bait for fishing on Alisal Lake.

Rates are $550 per room, double, $125 extra per child ages 6 to 18 and $66.43 per child ages 3 to 5.

Children under age 2 stay free.

For more information, call 800-4-27-4725 or visit

www.alisal.com

Read the Jetsetters Magazine feature about the Alisal.

The Mission Inn in Riverside, Calif., is offering a two-night Labor Day Escape package at $339 per room, double. The package is valid Sept. 2 through 5 and includes dinner for two at Las Campanas Mexican Cuisine & Cantina (including two Signature Mission Inn Perfect Margaritas), a $25 resort gift card for dining or spa services and valet parking. The hotel also is offering a three-night Summer Finale upgrade for $509, which also includes a choice of a docent-led history tour of the Inn, a Mission Inn coffee table book or a 20 percent discount shopping pass for the onsite Kelly’s Boutique during the weekend stay.

For more information, call 800-843-7755 or visit www.missioninn.com

The Honua Kai Resort & Spa on Maui has announced its fall specials, which run through Dec. 22, excluding Thanksgiving week.

The hotel is offering 50 percent off published rates and fifth night free for studio and one- and two-bedroom suites with a minimum five-night stay.

Nightly room rates start at $263. Guests will receive 35 percent off published rates in three-bedroom and specialty suites, based on availability.

For more information, call 888-718-5789 or visit www.honuakaimaui.com

The Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club in Redondo Beach, Calif., is offering an Ocean Sale, featuring a 25 percent discount off of oceanview rooms, with a $25 dining credit to BaleenLosAngeles restaurant. Nightly room rates start at $199 through Oct. 31.

For more information, call 800-468-4292 or visit www.hotelportofino.com

The Bahamas’ Sunrise Resort & Marina on Grand Bahama is offering a “Frugal and Fearless Traveler” travel package offering two nights for the price of one.

The offer is available from Sept. 1, 2011, including Labor Day, through Dec. 31, 2011. Daily rates start at $105 a night, double occupancy or at $1 per day, per foot for vessels at the protected marina, plus any utilities.

For more information, call 800-932-4959 or visit www.sunriseresortandmarina.com

Sonoma County’s Wine Road has launched a website and smartphone apps.

The website’s interactive map highlights 190 vintners and more than 50 lodgings throughout the area. Using GPS, the map pinpoints a traveler’s exact location and highlights wineries, lodging and other sites nearby.

The website’s concierge service offers up-to-date information on restaurants, accommodations, activities and events, helping visitors create a custom itinerary. This service also covers recreational activities, galleries and museums, tours, transportation services, shopping and information for wedding planners.

The site also allows users to locate Wine Road member wineries that are hosting events and pouring wines in their cities. Since cell phone reception in the more rural parts of wine country is not guaranteed, developers created the apps to store reference information that is available offline.

For more information, call 800-723-6336, email info@wineroad.com  or visit www.wineroad.com

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport reached a major milestone on Aug. 16 when Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon unveiled the first PHX Sky Train car.

Beginning in early 2013, the PHX Sky Train will transport airport visitors between the regional Metro light-rail system, Sky Harbor’s East Economy Parking and Terminal 4, which serves 80 percent of the airport’s passengers.

By early 2015, the train will serve all of Phoenix Sky Harbor’s terminals. The PHX Sky Train will continue all the way to the Sky Harbor Rental Car Center by 2020.

Throughout 2012, airport visitors will see the empty train cars being tested along the guide way. Train system operator Bombardier (www.bombardier.com) began shipping the first 18 cars in August.

They will be assembled into two- and three-car trains. The driverless train will run on an electrically powered, center-rail guide-way. More than 6 million passengers are expected to ride it in the first year.

It will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is the single largest economic engine in the state of Arizona,” Gordon said. “It brings people to the state and is the largest employer. … This project has created jobs — 8,000 jobs. We have been able to put people to work here in Arizona.”

“The Phoenix Sky Train will forever be known in Phoenix as one of the greatest, most forward-thinking projects of our time,” said Phoenix Aviation Director Danny Murphy. “It will serve our customers well into the future.”

Construction of the first two sections of the PHX Sky Train is employing 8,000 people in the Phoenix area and more than 170 workers in Pittsburgh, Pa. “Train construction is on time and on budget,” said Murphy. “We are also very proud of the fact that the PHX Sky Train will be LEED certified.” For more information, call 602-273-3300 or visit www.skyharbor.com

The city of Chicago will host the 13th annual World Music Festival, Sept. 15 to 22. Presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, in partnership with the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture, the city-wide, multi-venue festival features musicians from more than 40 countries.

The performances and events include a combination of free and low-cost ticketed concerts, many of which are family friendly.

The festival kicks off in Grant Park’s Spirit of Music Garden as part of Chicago SummerDance, followed by seven days of performances and events in parks, clubs, cultural centers and downtown venues, culminating with the “One World Under One Roof” finale at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Highlights include the Chicago debut of Staff Benda Bilili, a group of paraplegic street musicians from the Democratic Republic of Congo who perform on homemade instruments. New venues this year include Margate Park, Lincoln Hall, The Dock at Montrose Beach and Hostelling International, in addition to downtown venues such as Daley Plaza and Millennium Park.

For more information, visit

www.WorldMusicFestivalChicago.org

AirTran Airways will add a new nonstop destination from Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI) with Saturday and Sunday service to Aruba. For sale beginning Aug. 17, AirTran’s new BWI-AUA service will begin on Dec. 17, 2011. The airline is celebrating the new route with a special fare of $159 one way for travel between Dec. 17, 2011, and March 14, 2012. Customers must book this fare by Sept. 16, 2011, at www.airtran.com