Jetsettersblog

Select Hilton Worldwide properties in the Caribbean and Latin America are offering up to 20 percent off stays through March 17.

The company’s Winter Warm-up Sale applies to stays of four or more nights booked before March 10, 2013. Participating properties include participating hotels include the Hilton Papagayo Costa Rica Resort & Spa; the Hilton Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic; the Hilton São Paulo Morumbi in Brazil and the Hilton Lima Miraflores in Peru. A full listing of participating properties is available at the Hilton website.

Costa Rica’s Alma Del Pacifico Beach Hotel and Spa has expanded its available accommodations by adding two private homes and 12 three-bedroom condo units to its options for guests. The boutique resort’s new accommodations complement the property’s 20 beachfront bungalows and villas.

Located down the road from Alma Del Pacifico’s existing accommodations, the condos and private homes sit on a lush hillside overlooking the shores of Playa Esterillos and Costa Rica’s tropical rainforest. Each offers a private and intimate setting for large groups or families with three full baths, a full-sized kitchen, living areas and a washer and dryer. Guests have full access to hotel amenities and are also provided with concierge services, maid service and 24-hour security. Condo rates start at $350 per night or $2,100 per week, and private homes start at $450 per night or $2,250 per week.

JetBlue Airways will add daily nonstop flights between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose, Costa Rica effective June 27. The flights will mark Jet Blue’s third route in the Central American country. Allan Flores, Costa Rica’s minister of tourism, joined JetBlue officials at a press conference held Wednesday at the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) in San Jose to announce the new service.

“This important piece of news reiterates our airline attraction policy, focusing our efforts in getting closer to the main tourism outbound markets,” said Flores. “This new offer on JetBlue’s behalf materializes the negotiations done to Costa Rica’s benefit.”

The Fort Lauderdale-San Jose flights are currently available starting at $129 one way for travel between June 27 and August 8, 2013 (blackout dates apply).

RIU Hotels & Resorts opened the Riu Palace Costa Rica in the country’s Guanacaste region. The 538-room property features free Wi-Fi Internet, 24-hour room service and five restaurants. The hotel will also feature five bars and four pools, one with a swim-up bar and a children’s pool.

The property also offers a mini-club for kids, entertainment programs and El Poblado, a pedestrian plaza featuring boutiques, a kiosk, souvenirs and photographic shop, spa, gym, and sauna, plus a casino, and nightclub. The new property will be located adjacent to the Riu Guanacaste hotel.

EcoAmerica Tours added four Costa Rica itineraries to its collection of Rainforest Adventures.

The programs include first class hotels for seven nights with daily breakfast and taxes, private van transfers between each destination, guided excursions and adventures, entrance fees, and meals as applicable. The programs are priced from $1,123 per adult and $599 per child, double, land only.

The four programs offer varying combinations of Costa Rica’s attractions, such as the Caribbean rainforest of Tortuguero, Arenal Volcano Park, Manuel Antonio National Park and the Santa Elena region of the Monteverde Cloud Forest. Activities include horseback riding, zip-lining and dips on thermal pools.

Programs are guaranteed to operate with a minimum of two adult guests.

Guests departing on Star Flyer’s Feb. 24, 2013, Costa Rica cruise will have an opportunity to take part in a special yoga program that is exclusively featured on this Star Clippers sailing.

Under the direction of yoga expert Melanie Camp, the program will highlight two complimentary daily yoga sessions on deck under thousands of square feet of billowing sails — the ultimate relaxing environment for the body and soul, enhanced by fresh sea air.

Each class is open to all guests and suitable for all yoga levels; no prior experience is required.

All classes and lectures are optional, and additional ship activities will be offered as part of the standard daily program.

Camp brings many years of teaching experience to Star Clippers, having earned her certification in the Barkan Method and her Yoga for Seniors and Yoga Therapy certification at Duke University Integrative Medicine. She teaches at Barkan Method Studio in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and she is a guest teacher at Yoga Connection in Davie, Fla.

Camp taught yoga on a private island in Fiji as a guest instructor at Treasure Island Resort and she practiced and taught yoga to her crew while ascending Mount Kilamanjaro in Tanzania, Africa.
She has conducted retreats in Sundance, Utah; Peru, Costa Rica, Morocco and for Yog Sadham Ashram.

Camp also is the author of “Artful Yoga,” a book of yoga tips featuring her original oil paintings.

For guests who want to follow a healthy or vegetarian diet during the sailing, Star Clippers’ breakfast buffets feature an abundance of fresh, seasonal fruits, and guests can select from a variety of salads at lunchtime and vegetarian options at dinner.

To request a brochure, call toll-free (800) 442-0556 or e-mail brochures.

To make a reservation, contact a travel professional. For information, call Star Clippers at (800) 442-0551 or visit

www.starclippers.com

to view a video about the line or take a virtual tour of the Star Clippers ships.

Keep up to date on the latest Star Clippers news by visiting us on our blog at

www.starclippersblog.com

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Wyndham Hotel Group opened the 230-key Wyndham San Jose Herradura Hotel and Conference Center in San Jose, Costa Rica.

The hotel is the second Wyndham Hotels and Resorts property to open in the country’s capital in December, is located minutes away from Juan Santamaria International Airport and downtown San Jose, and offers complimentary high-speed wireless Internet access, several on-site dining options and the some of the country’s largest meeting and conference facilities.

The hotel’s 230 oversized guest rooms and suites feature contemporary furnishings and flat-screen televisions and offers views of the city. Guests staying on the hotel’s executive level will have access to a private lounge and complimentary happy hour. Additional hotel offerings include a full-service spa, salon, gift shop, a daily complimentary breakfast buffet and three on-site restaurants, including the country’s first Hard Rock Cafe, scheduled to open in early 2013.

Thomson Family Adventures, based out of Watertown, Massachusetts, announced an exciting series of new educational family vacations with Smithsonian Journeys this year.

These Smithsonian Family Adventures offer families enriching cultural learning experiences in Tanzania, Peru, Costa Rica, Turkey and China, and two new Smithsonian Family Adventures will be launched in Ecuador and the Galapagos as well as Panama in 2013.

These exclusive family vacations, ideal for families with children ages 6 and up, take place during summer and winter vacations, and focus on providing families with enhanced educational experiences in some of the world’s most fascinating travel destinations.

These special tours combine Smithsonian Journeys’ 40 years of experience in educational travel with Thomson Family Adventures award-winning family vacation itineraries.

Tour guests will have extensive hands-on cultural learning opportunities within each of these destinations. In Tanzania, for example, guests travel full-time with a professional photographer to learn tricks of the trade.

In China, families spend three days at the Linden Centre in Yunnan Province, experiencing Chinese village life close-up.

Travelers on Smithsonian Family Adventures in Peru travel to a floating reed village on Lake Titicaca and in Costa Rica they study the earth’s dynamic forces during visits to two volcanoes.

Seeing the world through travel with experiences like these can teach children about life and what it means to be a part of this earth on a more immersive level, and these new trips offer truly exceptional educational experiences to all families as a way for them to get in touch with their world. www.familyadventures.com

Wyndham Hotel Group launched the 111-room Wyndham Garden San Jose Escazu in Costa Rica.

The hotel, owned by Rocca Portafolio Comercial and operated by Desarrollos Hoteleros, is Wyndham’s third property in Costa Rica.

Guest rooms and suites feature complimentary high-speed wireless Internet access, 37-inch LED televisions, coffee makers and laptop-sized safes.

The hotel also offers designated floors for women with female-friendly amenities, 24-hour room service and complimentary shuttle service to nearby shopping centers and business parks.

Additional services and facilities include a 24-hour business center, an on-site fitness center with a 65-foot indoor heated lap pool and Jacuzzi, and a full-service restaurant, El Cortijo.

Guests can also enjoy a cocktail or dinner at the hotel’s Provenza lounge and its outdoor terrace.

Located in an upscale San Jose suburb, the property is 20 minutes from Juan Santa Maria International Airport and within walking distance of Avenida Escazu, putting guests in close proximity to La Sabana Metropolitan Park, and the city’s volcanoes and Pacific beaches.

Abercrombie & Kent is offering special holiday savings on its programs for five days beginning on Cyber Monday, Nov. 26.

A&K is offering savings of up to 50 percent on luxury private travel between January and April 2013, to destinations around the world.

Included are programs by Abercrombie & Kent to eight of the world’s most inspiring destinations: the Galápagos Islands, Costa Rica, India, Peru, Tanzania, Kenya, Thailand and Turkey.

While savings are available beginning Nov. 26 at 8 a.m. CST through Nov. 30 at 4 p.m. CST, departure dates are limited. Sample programs include:

India: Get acquainted with India’s treasures, taking a rickshaw ride through Chandni Chowk market and visiting inspiring mosques, Jaipur’s striking City Palace and the incomparable Taj Mahal along the way.

Ten days from $1,895 (was $3,895).

Thailand: Explore Bangkok by boat and tuk-tuk, set out on a river safari to Don Sao Island in Laos and meet Padong Long-Neck and Akha hill tribe villagers, pausing to visit stunning wats and the merchant-filled Night Market in Chiang Mai. Seven days from $1,570 (was $2,570).

Peru: Discover colonial Lima and Cusco, where the architectural marvel of Sacsayhuaman resides. Take the Vistadome train to magical Machu Picchu, exploring the “Lost City of the Incas” at afternoon and sunrise. Six days from $2,285 (was $3,285).

Costa Rica: Experience wildlife-rich Costa Rica, visiting the scenic Arenal hanging bridges and Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve with a private guide. End with two relaxing days on the beaches of Guanacaste. Eight days from $2,995 (was $3,995).

Galapagos Islands: On this five-night cruise, explore the unique Galápagos ecosystem on twice-daily shore excursions among iguanas, giant tortoises and other native species, led by expert naturalist guides and complimented by comfortable shipboard amenities. Eight days from $3,960 (was $4,960).

Turkey: Embark on an exploration of Turkey, one of the oldest continually inhabited regions in the world. In Istanbul, see the incomparable Basilica Cistern and Hagia Sophia, continuing to Izmir and the ancient city of Ephesus. Six days from $4,095 (was $5,095).

Tanzania: View the richness and diversity of Tanzania’s wildlife in three of its national parks – Tarangire, Lake Manyara and the Serengeti – as well the Ngorongoro Crater, Africa’s Garden of Eden. Learn about traditional Maasai life from a village elder. Eight days from $4,995 (was $5,995).

Kenya: Immerse yourself in the teeming wildlife, sprawling natural wonders and tribal cultures of Kenya’s spectacular Samburu and Masai Mara Game Preserves, lodging in luxury in the midst of Africa’s most untouched wilderness. Eight days from $3,995 (was $5,995).