Jetsettersblog

The all-inclusive Smugglers Cove Resort & Spa St. Lucia will host a “Big Game Weekend” party weekend from Feb. 2 to 6, 2012, highlighted by the presence of retired National Football League players and former New York Giants stars Billy Taylor and Eric Dorsey, with whom guests will watch Super Bowl XLVI on super-sized television screens.

The weekend will include football strategy chats with the former NFL players, a golf tournament with the former players, special work-out clinics and a football game with NFL alumni. Also planned are competitive activities including archery, beach volleyball and kayaking on the black and gold sand beach. All meals, premium drinks, fitness center activities, entertainment and additional activities including tai chi, yoga and pilates are included. The four-night packages start at $675 per person, double occupancy.

For more information, call 866-297-1685 or visit www.smugglersresort.com

The Turks & Caicos’ Seven Stars Resort on Grace Bay is offering a fall sale featuring a free fourth night for travelers who book five nights or more, along with a $100 resort credit. The sale is valid for bookings made through Nov. 30, 2011, for stays through Dec. 15, 2011. Rates start at $386 per night. The resort credit may be applied towards food and beverage, and/or spa services. Seven Stars features a large pool that serves as its centerpiece, plus junior, one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom suites; island-inspired dining; a tranquil spa; and complimentary water sports including kayaking, surfing and snorkeling.

For more information, call 866-570-7777 or visit www.SevenStarsGraceBay.com

The Medical Tourism Association has published the Las Vegas Health and Wellness Destination Guide in partnership with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). The 176-page, full-color guide is available in print and digitally.

As the first guide focused on a U.S. medical tourism destination, the Las Vegas Health and Wellness Destination Guide is a how-to guide for individuals and employers seeking to learn about health and wellness opportunities in Las Vegas.

Over the last five years the city has become an important medical tourism destination.

The guide provides in-depth analysis about what medical tourism is and considerations in receiving healthcare away from home; what makes Las Vegas a great medical tourism destination; medical procedures and treatments available in Las Vegas; how to budget for a Las Vegas medical trip; tips for planning a Las Vegas medical trip; and a directory of healthcare providers, spas, hotels and entertainment.

For more information, visit

www.medicaltourism.com/online-view.php

Guests at La Quinta Inns & Suites can now plug their laptops, tablets, smartphones, gaming systems, cameras and other electronic devices directly into one of La Quinta’s new 32-inch Samsung flat-panel TVs. La Quinta has recently invested over $50 million in this new entertainment platform, which included the installation of more than 50,000 HD flat-panel TVs in the majority of its hotel rooms across the country.

With the latest in HD technology, this new platform provides 37 free-to-guest channels, 30 of which are delivered in high definition, along with the Showtime premium television network. To help guests on the road easily locate their favorite show, a fully interactive program guide like those used at home has been incorporated along with a selection of themed screens to help the guest settle in and relax. For more information, visit www.LQ.com

Sea Kayak Adventures is offering a new Yoga and Whales tours in Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico, that combines daily yoga with a little mild adventure and full catering.

The trip will be offered Dec. 4 to 9 and Feb. 10 to 14, 2012. Each sea kayaking day begins with a yoga session on the beach led by certified yoga instructors.

Then participants will accompany naturalist guides on nature hikes, whale watching, snorkeling and sea kayaking outings depending on the trip.

Additional activities will include treks along deserted beaches, exploring uninhabited islands and star gazing.

Each evening begins with a restorative yoga session while guides prepare happy hour — margaritas on the beach at sunset. No prior kayaking or yoga experience is necessary.

Sea of Cortez — Baja Bliss, Dec. 4 to 9, will give novices an opportunity to sea kayak and snorkel in the Loreto Bay National Park, in the Sea of Cortez, a UNESCO World Heritage site. “One third of the world’s marine mammals live in the Sea of Cortez,” said owner Terry Prichard.

“On most tours October through April our tour groups view dolphins, sea lions, fin whales and if very lucky the elusive plankton-eating whale shark or the blue whale, which is the largest animal ever to have lived on earth.”

Gray Whales of Magdalena Yoga, Feb. 10 to 14, 2012, provides the opportunity for close contact with a baby gray whale from a motorized skiff. It headquarters at a safari-style basecamp in the heart of gray whale congregation. Clients can go to sleep in their tents to the sound of whales blowing.

The itineraries are made up of visits to uninhabited islands for camping and exploration.

Participants stay at camps on secluded island beaches, and can choose to do daily yoga at sunrise and sunset. Yoga is always optional. Naturalist guides do the cooking and camp chores and teach the basics of sea kayaking and lead nature walks.

The tours depart from Loreto and include airport transfer upon arrival, two nights’ hotel in Loreto, two or three nights’ safari-style camping, all guided activities, all meals while camping, daily yoga sessions, all taxes, all land transport and naturalist guides. Groups are small and food is gourmet.

The price is $1,050 for the Dec. 4 to 9 tour and $895 for the Feb 10 to 14, 2012, tour. Airfare to Loreto, meals in town and gratuities are not included. Alaska/Horizon Air provides a direct 75-minute jet flight Los Angeles LAX to Loreto LTO once daily.

For more information, call 800-616-1943 or 208-765-3116 or visit www.seakayakadventures.com

La Manga Club has announced a new package for golfers to enjoy three nights at the five-star resort while doing their bit for charity.

Saturday, October 8, will see the first outing of the venue’s new UNICEF golf tournament and those wishing to compete in it can take advantage of a new offer giving entry to the tournament, a practice round and three nights at the resort for just €278 per person.

The package is based on two people sharing a twin or double room in the fully serviced Las Lomas Village apartments on a bed-and-breakfast basis, and all guests can enjoy free entrance to the saunas, steam rooms, indoor pool and gym at Spa La Manga Club.

The UNICEF golf tournament is a Stableford competition played over the par-73 South course, one of three premier golf courses at La Manga Club. Prizes include luxury golf and lifestyle breaks at the prestigious resort, as well as spa treatments and green fees.

Money raised at La Manga Club will help further the good work of two UNICEF programmes: the Schools for Africa Project, which has seen more than 5.5 million children enrol in education across 10 countries since it started in 2005; and the Horn of Africa initiative, which aims to increase aid for children and women affected by prolonged drought and conflict.

La Manga Club boasts unrivalled facilities as a sport and leisure venue including three 18-hole championship golf courses, a 28-court tennis centre and a 2,000sqm spa and fitness centre. It also offers the choice of a five-star hotel, four-star serviced apartments and townhouses, more than 20 bars and restaurants and great fun for children.

For more information or to book a stay at La Manga Club call 00 34 968 17 5577, email reserve@lamangaclub.com  or visit www.lamangaclub.com

Celebrity Cruises is partnering with Rodale Inc., which publishes books and magazines on health and wellness, to offer onboard activities focused on healthy eating.

The first activities are themed around Rodale’s New York Times best-selling “Eat This, Not That!” series.

Celebrity’s version of “Eat This, Not That!” is an interactive trivia game that challenges guests’ knowledge of healthy eating and promotes ways to make smart choices when dining out. “Drink This, Not That!” is a mixology demonstration that presents tips for serving tasty libations while avoiding unnecessary calories.

Celebrity and Prevention Magazine are developing additional wellness-focused activities, including enrichment talks led by health and wellness experts from the title.

For more information, call 800-437-3111, or visit www.celebritycruises.com  or www.rodaleinc.com

The Dukes Bar at the Dukes London in St. James’s has joined in partnership with London-based fragrance maker Floris to introduce Fleming ’89, a new martini crafted in honor of the author Ian Fleming. A frequent patron, Fleming penned much of his book, “Casino Royale” at Dukes and is said to have dreamed up the famous “shaken not stirred” line as well as Bond’s classic Vesper Martini in the Dukes Bar.

Fleming was also a frequent visitor at Floris, where his fragrance of choice was No. 89, named after the number of the shop on Jermyn Street. The new Fleming ’89 was created by Dukes Bar Manager Alessandro Palazzi, who was inspired by the ingredients written in the original 1951 formula book for the No. 89 fragrance. After much experimentation, Palazzi arrived at the final creation, which combines vodka infused with Tonka beans, chocolate bitters, Dukes’ specially made English Amber Vermouth, Stolichnaya ELIT vodka and rose liqueur. The Fleming ’89 runs £18.95, only at Dukes Bar. For more information, call 800-381-4702 or visit www.dukeshotel.com

SilverRail Technologies said that its rail search and ticketing platform, SilverCore, integrates multiple rail connections from around the world into a single booking system.

This means that customers can search and buy tickets for multi-country journeys with two or more train operators in a single booking.

It also allows online travel agents (OTAs), traditional travel agents and travel management companies to offer simplified rail search and booking, include rail as part of holiday packages and display rail fares side by side with air, thus making the booking process as easy as booking flights.

The SilverCore platform now includes rail connections in the U.K., U.S., Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Additional rail operators across Europe and elsewhere in the world will be added later this year and in early 2012. No longer will booking a multi-country train ticket require trawling multiple websites each with separate logins, and requiring payments in different currencies.

“Europeans are investing $250 billion in 48 high speed-rail projects, China plans to lay down 10,000 miles of high-speed tracks by 2020 and President Obama presented a $53 billion proposal to Congress for a high speed rail project that will provide transport to 80 percent of Americans within 25 years,” said Aaron Gowell, CEO and co-founder of SilverRail Technologies. “We are at the beginning of a real rail renaissance, but unless buying tickets becomes easier, we won’t be able to realize the full potential of all these projects. We need to make sure that rail tickets are as easy to buy as flights. They need to become available on websites of online travel agents and included in holiday packages.”

SilverRail Technologies’ SilverCore is the only platform to offer an integrated rail API, where different rail content can be accessed by simply changing station codes. Through direct supplier connections, standardized search, booking and fulfillment processes, SilverRail enables access to global rail irrespective of operators, geographies and currencies. With SilverCore, distribution partners can focus on selling rail while SilverRail handles the underlying complexities of each rail operator’s ticketing system.

For more information, visit www.silverrailtech.com

Airberlin is offering winter specials on weekend flights to numerous city destinations within Germany and Europe, at a fixed price of 98 euros. Passengers planning on traveling to Germany or Europe on airberlin this winter from North America can take advantage of this sale and include some additional destinations to their winter getaways at drastically reduced rates. Weekend special tickets will be available for weekend trips between Nov. 18 and March 11. For more information, visit www.airberlin.com/weekendspecial