Traveling can be indulgent; I know my trips always include stops at a few restaurants that I’ve been dying to check out. And, although eating out every night while you’re gone can be a delicious experience, sometimes we pay for it when we get back home.

Kimpton Hotels is offering a way for travelers to eat healthier while they’re on the road. The company just recently announced that they’re partnering with popular cooking magazine Cooking Light starting in January 2009, offering health and wellness packages for travelers at its 42 hotels across the country. The hotel group will be collaborating with the magazine on healthy menus at its properties.

Even better, if you’re a subscriber to the magazine, you’ll be eligible for special discounts and offers. Now that sounds like a delicious proposition.

To learn more about Kimpton Hotels, visit www.kimptonhotels.com. To learn more about Cooking Light magazine, visit www.cookinglight.com.

Technorati Tags: Travel, Kimpton Hotels, Cooking Light, dining out, dining and traveling, eating healthy, health and wellness packages, boutique hotels

As if being in Hawaii isn’t paradise enough on its own, the Hilton Hawaiian Village, located on Waikiki’s longest stretch of beach, has introduced a new Paradise Pass, offering families the chance to save a little cash while they savor the surf and sun.

For $20 plus tax, the Paradise Pass entitles guests to the following: fifty percent off toys at the lagoon or beach, daily fitness center access for two, twenty percent off a treatment at the Mandara Spa, two tall Starbucks drip coffees, two Mai Tais at the hotel’s Tropics or Taha bar, two bottled waters and unlimited local phone calls. That’s more than $100 in value.

Heck, count us in for the Mai Tais alone! For more information on the Hilton Hawaiian Village, visit www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com.

Technorati Tags: Travel, Hawaii, Hilton, Waikiki, paradise, paradise pass, travel savings, travel packages, travel deals, hotel savings, hotel offers

As if visiting California’s wine country wasn’t already alluring enough, now there’s one more reason to make a trip. You may have already had a taste of the beauty of wine pairings, but Sonoma’s Lynmar Estate, located in the Russian River Valley, just might have figured out how to pair our two favorite things with its “Pinot and Pizza Fridays.”

Every Friday this summer, visitors can stop by Lynmar Estate’s private Redwood grove, a tiny enclave surrounded by giant trees and rolling vineyards, for current release Lynmar Estate Pinor Noirs and homemade pizzas made fresh in the wood-burning oven. In-house chef Sandra Simile chooses the day’s pizza toppings based on the freshest produce from Lynmar’s gardens.

The party starts every Friday at 4:30 pm. Reservations are recommended, and can be made by calling 707.829.3374 x102. For more information about Lynmar Estates, visit www.lynmarestate.com.

Technorati Tags: Travel, wine country, Napa, Sonoma, Russian River Valley, Lynmar Estates, wine pairing, Pinot, pizza, winery, winery visit, wine country special events, Sebastopol

It seems as though pets are becoming more and more a part of our familiesand some of the country’s most luxurious hotels are sitting up and taking note.

For travelers looking to take their favorite furry friends along on their next mini-break, Petside.com, a popular online resource for pet owners, has released an exclusive list of the top five pet friendly hotels in the country. The are:

1. The James Hotel, Chicago, IL (pictured above)
2. The W Tuscany, New York, NY
3. The Hotel Monaco, Denver, CO
4. Bowen’s by the Bays, Hampton Bays, NY
5. Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Los Angeles, CA

It is possible, it seems, for Fido to travel like a king. The James Hotel’s pet-friendly perks include everything from spa treatments to in-room training sessions to special meals prepared for pets from David Burke’s Primehouse Restaurant.

To read more about the top pet-friendly hotels, and to see Petside.com’s entire summer travel package, complete with travel ideas for pet lovers to tips on how to fly with your pet, visit http://petside.com/news/pet-travel.html.

Technorati Tags: Travel, Petside, pets and travel, pet friendly travel, pet friendly hotels, James Hotel, pet packages, W Tuscany, Hotel Monaco, Bowen’s, Hyatt Regency

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to travel like royalty, the new book The World’s Coolest Hotel Rooms by Bill Tikos (Collins Design) is worth a look.

The book takes a look at more than 50 of the most extravagant, unusual and striking hotel rooms across the globe, including a room for wannabe rock stars (with a soundstage, no less), to a hotel in Mexico that has a vintage Polaroid handcuffed to every bed, to a room with a personal concierge in Buenos Aires. Each room is profiled from an architectural and amenity standpoint, along with local points of interest.

Tikos should know what he’s talking about: He pens the column The Cool Hunter, which runs in magazines and newspapers worldwide, and the proprietor of the trend-spotting website www.thecoolhunter.net, known for its cutting-edge eye for up-and-coming design, fashion, technology and more.

To order the book on Amazon, click here.

Technorati Tags: Travel, travel books, world’s coolest hotel rooms, Bill Tikos, Cool Hunter, coolhunter, hotel design