Four Seasons Punta Mita | Early Bird Special

Four Seasons Punta Mita just sent out this email blast. Although anyone can take advantage of the 15% discount, only guests who book through a Four Seasons Preferred Partner travel consultant will also receive the following added-value amenities, all at the same nightly rate you'll find online.

• Daily full American breakfast for two people per bedroom, served through In-Room Dining or in the hotel restaurant (including buffets)
• Lunch for two once during stay (up to USD85, excluding gratuity and alcohol)
• Upgrade of one category, based on availability at time of check-in (excluding signature suites and villas)
• Complimentary high-speed Internet access for all suite bookings

Rates begin at just $455 per night plus tax in a Garden View Casita. Guests come to the Four Seasons Punta Mita for the warm sun, the beautiful crescent beach, and the complimentary all-day Kids for All Seasons program. Kids age 4 and under eat free in the restaurant.


Four Seasons Punta Mita (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2012 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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Hangzhou | Lingyin Temple and West Lake

Hangzhou is the most beautiful city in China and the final stop on our trip to China last November. A three-hour drive south of Shanghai, it is the wealthiest city in China. With a population of "only" 4 million, with some lovely wooded areas and a large, beautiful lake (West Lake), most western tourists will feel more at home here. Hangzhou is a worthwhile destination to include on your trip to China.

Lingyin Temple, one of the largest Buddhist temples of China, is located outside the city. We spent our two nights in Hangzhou at Amanfayun, an Aman resort adjacent to Lingyin Temple. I took the above picture during an early morning walk around the temple grounds. I was captured by the soft dawn light falling on this small statue of the Buddha. Of course, there is a large Buddha inside the main temple, as well as some stone carvings of Buddha that survived the Cultural Revolution.

West Lake is the large lake in the western section of Hangzhou. We enjoyed a boat ride around the picturesque lake, a fitting way to conclude our trip to China. Alongside our boat was a second boat with two Mandolin players who serenaded us during our cruise. The new Four Seasons Hangzhou is located right on West Lake and is one of the most beautiful Four Seasons hotels I have ever seen.

How to get there: Hangzhou can be reached from air from many cities in China and also has direct flights to/from Hong Kong.


Hangzhou (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2012 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe | free lift tickets

Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe is a true ski-in, ski-out winter resort located mid-mountain at Northstar, and this January special must be booked by January 17 (next Tuesday) for reservations from January 16-30, 2012. This is an amazing value featuring two free lift tickets at Northstar!

With a nightly rate of just $399 per room, what's included?

• Deluxe Room
• Two (2) adult or child lift tickets valid at Northstar California (a $200 value) for one day

The photograph above shows the Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe. Call down to the ski concierge to tell them you're coming, and they'll get your equipment ready. Just slip into your dry, heated boots and ski down to the base of the lifts a few hundred yards away. At the end of the day, you can ski up right up to the back of the resort, drop off your skis and boots, and enjoy cocktails or a spa treatment.

While the incredibly low pricing of this package does not include breakfast (you're getting free lift tickets instead), STARS guests will receive a personal welcome by management, priority early check-in, late 4 p.m. check-out, and a customized welcome amenity.


Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe (search here on Google)

Package must be booked by January 17, 2012 and is valid through January 30, 2012 based upon deluxe room availability. Full pre-payment is due at time of booking and is non-refundable. Rates exclude applicable taxes. Tickets cannot be used on the day of arrival and may be picked up at the Front Desk after 3:00pm day of arrival. Tickets must be used consecutively during the stay and are not valid after the check out date. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable and are only valid at Northstar California. Rate does not apply to groups and cannot be combined with any other offers. Unused tickets or portions thereof have no monetary value.

copyright (c) 2012 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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Little Dix Bay | guaranteed two-category upgrade

Little Dix Bay is a Rosewood resort on Virgin Gorda in the British West Indies. In recognition of Brownell Travel's 125th Anniversary (just celebrated this past weekend in Birmingham, Alabama), Little Dix Bay is offering Brownell clients this special double upgrade offer for stays in January and February, 2012, subject to availability and blackout dates.

Garden View Rooms upgrade to Tree House Cottage
Premium Ocean View Rooms upgrade to Ocean Cottage
Tree House Cottage upgrades to Beach Front Cottage
Beach Front Cottage upgrades to Rosewood Junior Suite

Because we are members of Virtuoso, you'll also receive the following amenities, in addition to your double upgrade.

• Daily Full breakfast buffet for up to 2 in-room guests, served in the Pavilion Restaurant (from 8 am - 10:30 am)
• Fresh fruit and a bottle of private label rum upon arrival
• A $100 spa service credit per stay for use at Sense, A Rosewood Spa (valid for spa services only)
• 12 Noon early check-in, subject to availability

Contact our Caribbean specialist for full details.


Little Dix Bay (search here on Google)


copyright (c) 2012 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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Shanghai | the Bund and Pudong

Pudong through Shanghai's smog
(c) 2011 by David Ourisman

Shanghai is the financial center of China and the second largest city in the country with a population of 23 million (the largest being Chongqing). We were amused, during the trip, when we would hear cities with 7 million residents — roughly the population of New York — being described as "small cities," but this is an indication of China's immense population. With over 1.3 billion residents, China is the world's most populous nation.

Shanghai is an attractive city. I took this photograph from the Bund, looking towards Pudong, the contemporary high-rise section of Shanghai. Pudong lies "south of the Pu" River (which is the literal meaning of Pu-dong). At the left of the photograph is the Pearl Tower, and you can also see the Park Hyatt Shanghai, at the top of the city's tallest building, shrouded in the haze.

Our historical walking tour of the Bund was very interesting, and we also toured the French Concession, a beautiful residential section of the city with low-rise buildings and streets lined with leafy trees. Shanghai is also the home of the Shanghai Museum which houses an impressive collection of art, furniture, and cultural artifacts — a must-see.


Shanghai (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2011 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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Serengeti: The Eternal Beginning

Serengeti: The Eternal Beginning is a photo essay documenting the fragile beauty of the vast Serengeti, a World Heritage Site which is now endangered due to climate change. Author and photographer Boyd Norton has been visiting the Serengeti since he was a schoolboy in the late 1940's, and this 250-page book conveys his intimacy with and passion for this area. This book is not for the casual reader looking for an easy read that describes what to do and what to see on safari. Norton conveys an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the Serengeti, its history, and its wildlife — and a prophetic passion for the ecological preservation of this irreplaceable wilderness.

One of the world's 40 most influential nature photographers (see a gallery of some of his favorites here), Brad Norton uses his own images to illustrate this book. There must be hundreds of full-color photographs, some covering an entire 9" x 20" two-page spread. The book is also an invitation to join Serengeti Watch and to stop the Serengeti Highway, a proposed commercial highway across the park that would cut off migration routes.

See video of the Serengeti in the clip below.


Serengeti: the Eternal Beginning from Boyd Norton on Vimeo.

The book is available on amazon.com.


copyright (c) 2011 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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bamboo rafting down the Li River

A typical feature of many tours of China is a three day cruise down the Yangtze River, but Imperial Tours does tours differently. Although there is some spectacular scenery along that cruise, they reason that three days is too long to be stuck on a boat instead of actually exploring one of the most intriguing and diverse countries in the world. So instead, they planned a scenic cruise on a bamboo raft down the Li River near Guilin.

Claire and I had our own raft and sat on a bamboo bench while our boat was being "poled" down the river. The mountain peaks were gorgeous (see my photograph above), and I happily watched the scenery drift by as we slowly made our way downstream. At the end of our river cruise, we enjoyed an experience that tourists on the big river boats never get to see - a visit to the home village of our guide, seeing her family home where they made tofu, and having an open and free-ranging conversation with the Party Secretary of the local Communist Party that ran the village.

Sometimes less is more, and our short rafting trip was the perfect amount of time to spend on a scenic cruise in China.


bamboo raft down the Li River (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2011 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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