Jetsettersblog

Emirates Business Rewards, the airline’s loyalty program for small and medium enterprises (SME), will offer its customers double reward miles throughout March, highlighting the airlines commitment to supporting SMEs.

For every dollar spent on travel with Emirates and booked via Business Rewards in February and March, the company will be awarded four Business Reward miles, rather then the standard two.

These miles can be redeemed for free flights on Emirates services worldwide, including any of the four U.S. gateways –

New York (JFK), Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO) and Houston (IAH).

This offer is available to all new and existing Business Rewards members globally. SMEs remain one of the greatest contributors to the UAE’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with the UAE Ministry of Economy recently announcing it will be investing in the development of SMEs across the emirates this coming year.

For more information, visit the banner at right.

All three locations of The Gem Hotel in New York City (Soho, Chelsea and Midtown West) are offering 25 percent off the standard daily rate for guests who pre-pay in full, when booked by March 31, for travel through Dec. 31, 2010.

Reservations require full pre-payment for the entire stay at time of booking. The offer is fully non-refundable and must be booked by March 31, 2010.

Reservations must be booked online at www.theGEMhotel.com/25

Leveraging the recent and substantive success of its Suite Winter Package, which offered varying levels of resort credits depending upon length of stay,

The Whiteface Lodge announced that the program will be available throughout the year.

Reintroduced as the “Customize with Credits” program, the package will be available yearlong.

Offering a package with credits was developed to inspire guests to enjoy the property’s myriad activities, amenities and food/beverage experiences.

Customize with Credits provides guests who book a superior one-bedroom suite for one night with a $50 credit, a two-night stay garners a $150 credit, and a three-night stay secures a $300 credit.

The program permits guests to apply their credits towards dining, beverages, spa treatments and/or ice cream treats in the property’s onsite, old-fashioned Ice Cream Parlor.

Additionally guests may use their credits to enjoy water skiing or a motorized boat tour on Lake Placid, which offers breathtaking views of the Adirondack Mountains.

The price for a Superior one-bedroom suite is $375 per night from April 1 to June 20, 2010. Throughout the year, and whenever guests choose to enjoy the Customize with Credits program, they receive a free full hot/cold American breakfast each morning. The package is also available for the lodge’s two- and three-bedroom suites.

For more information, call 800-903-4045 or visit www.TheWhitefaceLodge.com

Starting with the New York Yankees home opener against the Los Angeles Angels on April 13, NY Waterway’s Yankee Clipper baseball cruise makes the trip to Yankee Stadium a sailgate party. Serving all New York Yankees home games, this sightseeing cruise offers hot dogs, soft drinks, beer and mixed drinks as it glides past the skyline — and the traffic — arriving at the stadium 30 minutes before game time, and leaving 30 minutes after the last out.

Yankee Clipper baseball cruises depart at several points in New Jersey and Manhattan on a schedule linked to game time. Roundtrip cruises on the Yankee Clipper cost $22 for adults and $18 for children under 12. Children under 3 ride free. Reservations are strongly recommended.

For schedules, prices and additional information, call 800-533-3779 or visit www.nywaterway.com

Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises launched its inaugural Harbor Lights Cruise on March 5. The two-hour sunset cruises, which sail down the Hudson, around the Battery, up the East River and back, includes commentary from Circle Line’s tour guides.

The Harbor Lights Cruise sets sail at 7 p.m. every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through April 18, 2010.

Beginning April 19, the cruise will sail daily at 7 p.m. Ticket pricing for adults is $31, $20 for children, and $27 for senior citizens. Onboard cocktails and refreshments are available.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.circleline42.com  or at the Pier 83 ticket office.

The Gansevoort Hotel Group, known for pioneering the rooftop pool, will open its fourth and most upscale property this summer, with the opening of Gansevoort Park at the corner of Park Avenue and 29th Street in Manhattan.

The 249-room urban resort is being built from the ground up on what had formerly been Marathon bank.

The hotel will feature rooms and suites, many with balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows; a heated indoor-outdoor pool; six distinctive event spaces; unobstructed views of the Empire State Building; four fireplaces; Exhale spa including a yoga and core studio; fitness room; sauna; ballroom; Asellina, an Italian trattoria and an infusion liquor bar operated by the One Group; a duplex corner retail space and Cutler Salon.

The three-story lobby, guestrooms, penthouse suite and pool area are being designed by architect Stephen Jacobs and interior designer Andi Pepper (the team responsible for Gansevoort Meatpacking). Manhattan-based ICrave is designing Asellina and the infusion bar. Photographer Deborah Anderson’s art will be integrated throughout the hotel on walls, table tops and in guest rooms.

The rates at Gansevoort Park will start at $495 per night.

For more information or reservations, call 877-426-7386 or visit www.gansevoorthotelgroup.com

Tours4Fun launched an Octet Plus Travelers Vacation Deal, which targets families with discounts on vacation packages of two days or longer, if booked by a group of eight or more.

“Our tours have always attracted a group of travelers who enjoy exploring a new place in the comfort zone of their family or in the company of their own circle of friends,” said founder Maggie Lang.

Tours4Fun’s group travel discount can be combined with other discounts and inclusions such as Rewards4Fun.

Bookings can be made online at the Tours4Fun website and specifying the number of travelers in the group.

Once the online booking is confirmed, the group travel discount will be incorporated into the final price of the tour.

Itineraries include a seven-day Mt. Rushmore & Yellowstone Bus Tour package, a six-day East Coast U.S. tour with airport transfers (standard quality), and an eight-day East Coast U.S. and Canada tour with airport transfers (first class).

Tours4Fun, founded in 2006, is an online travel supplier.

For more information, visit www.tours4fun.com

The Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan invites guests to leave winter blues behind with the Comfort Stay package, starting at $229 per night through Sept. 6, 2010.

The offer is valid now through Sept. 6, 2010, and guests can upgrade to a junior suite for an additional $100 nightly.

Included in the package are accommodations in a Superior Room, milk and homemade cookies upon arrival, Roosevelt Hotel teddy bear, full American breakfast at the Roosevelt Grill, high-speed Internet access, late check-out and access to the hotel’s 24-hour fitness club.

For more information or reservations, call 888-TEDDY-NY or visit www.theroosevelthotel.com

TourCrafters is offering a seven-day/six-night Taste of Spain package starting at $1,499 in September and October, or $1,565 in April and May.

It includes roundtrip air from New York to Spain on Alitalia; fuel surcharges; two nights hotel accommodation in Madrid, two in Saragosa and two in Barcelona; daily buffet breakfast; a three-day car rental; a gourmet lunch in Saragosa; a wine-tasting visit to the Vilarnau Winery; and all service charges and taxes.

Those who book the package will have time in Madrid to see the big three museums and the Plaza Mayor, check out the smart boutiques on Calle de Serrano, and enjoy the old cafés and picturesque tabernas.

Then a drive through scenic countryside – the backbone of medieval Spain and the Aragonese dynasty — to Saragosa, to spend two days in this enchanting old city that dates back to Roman times.

At Restaurante Los Borrachos in Saragosa, travelers can indulge in a gourmet lunch that includes truffled goose liver mousse, pasta with porcini mushrooms, venison medallions, a dessert tasting and wine.

Then it’s off to Barcelona, with a stop along the way at the Vilarnau Winery to taste their sparkling cava — Spain’s answer to champagne.

The trip ends with two days in Barcelona and time to see the city’s flamboyant Gaudi architecture, the old Gothic quarter and the famous Ramblas, and to dine on wonderful tapas and fresh seafood.

Air fare add-ons are $45 from Boston and $135 from Chicago and Miami.

All prices quoted are per person, double occupancy, do not include airport taxes of approximately $116 and are subject to availability and change.

The package must be booked by March 31 and reservations must be paid for within 72 hours of booking. For more information, call 800-482-5995 or visit www.tourcrafters.com

United Airlines has announced the schedule for the airline’s first-ever nonstop service to the African continent, with once-daily service linking Washington with Accra, the capital of Ghana, beginning June 20.

To promote the new service, United is offering special fares for travel between June 20 and Aug. 29.

Sample discounted fares to Accra are each-way based on a required roundtrip purchase and tickets must be purchased no later than March 22, 2010. Additional taxes and fees apply.

Sample fares are Washington Dulles, $706; San Francisco/Los Angeles, $879; Denver, $865; and Chicago, $738.