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Palm Beach Florida, a dream holiday like no other!

Hi Guys,

If you are wondering why I am sitting all depressed at my desk - its because I am missing Palm Beach!!!! 

Just returned from such a wonderful fam trip so I thought I'd share some of the highlights with you all.

Flew on Virgin from LHR to Miami - although we did not get upgraded we got extra leg room seats (£30 for people to upgrade at airport - well worth it!) - flight was seamless - great service and food!!! I watched The Help and cried quite a bit!

Arrived in Miami and we had a transfer to Palm Beach which is North of Miami - approx 1 hr 30 mins.

So I didnt know much about Palm Beach prior to the trip - well actually I knew nothing about it at all - it is in our Florida brochure page - 57!!!!

Palm Beach makes Beverly Hills look like the Ghetto!! It is absolutely fabulous! Very wealthy area - there is more Billionaires in Palm Beach than any other area in the USA! The beaches are gorgeous - golden sandy beaches, lovely restaurants and bars and great shopping.  I think this would be the perfect place for our clients who want a twin centre holiday or perhaps as an alternative to Fort Lauderdale pre or post cruise.  This is a big Golf Destination too.

For all the single ladies - If you are looking for a Sugar Grandad - it is also the place to go !!! All the men seems to be about 90 and married to 20 year olds! Palm Beach is definitely for older people - if you are looking for a crazy night out - its not the place for you.  But if you are looking for an amazing hotel to relax and sun bath or enjoy a spa - it is the place to go!  All of the hotels feature world renowned spas with really good deals.  The area is so pretty - there are no chain restaurants in Palm Beach as they feel it would cheapen the area so all the shops and restaurants are really unique with a boutique feel.  Rod Stewart, Donald Trump to name a few are resident here!

We also visited West Palm Beach - which is just a short drive away (about 10 mins!) West Palm Beach was much younger and trendier - I would love to holiday there! Hotels are alot more affordable too - Hyatt Place was really nice :), Shops were really good and great atmosphere about the place - reminded me a lot of Pasadena in LA.

Delray Beach was probably my favourite place that we went too - its a small Seaside town - about 20 mins from Palm Beach - just one main street dotted with Shops, restaurants and bars - they had Florida's Largest Christmas Tree.  The Intra Coastal waterways flows through it - so we sailed up it on a private yacht (locally you only pay $20!) and have lunch onboard and see all the amazing homes.  Great night life here too!!!!

Our last stop was Boca Raton - we stayed in the Boca Raton Beach Resort - all I can say is WOWSER!!!!!! The hotel is just amazing - super trendy - Shopping is great here too! - check out the website - http://www.bocaresort.com/

As I mentioned I knew nothing about Palm Beach - but I will definitely be recommended to all our clients. 


Thanks Jennifer

 

Kathleen's inspirational trip to South Carolina November 2011

This Novemeber, I was chosen to visit South Carolina in the South of the USA. Although I had known it was famous for it’s incredible beaches, history & Southern Charm - to experience these all first hand was just amazing. 

We started our trip flying to Savannah Georgia where we picked up our rental car from Alamo. We had a large jeep which was a great size vehicle for the large US roads. We then travelled into the South Carolina State and within an hour we reached the first of our stops, Hilton Head Island. The drive from the airport was very easy and watching the sunset over the swaps was just amazing. I was snapping away on my camera like crazy! (luckily I wasn’t the driver!!) 

We stayed in the Marriott Hotel which was situated on the beach. The staff were incredible and were always on call if you needed a helping hand. Our room was huge and we had a sea view and a large balcony. The next morning we awoke to the most breath taking sunrise. It was just incredible. 

Hilton Head Island is a very relaxed, low key area. Perfect for those who want a more low key holiday. They are very nature conscious and the island doesn’t have any street lights. It’s a beautiful place, with incredible food. I had some of the best shrimp I have ever tasted. While your here, make sure to sample some of the local Southern Cuisine. I recommend Hush Puppies which were very very tasty! 

We then hit the high road and headed for Charleston. Charleston, without a doubt is the prettiest city I have ever been in. I fell in love with it’s cobbled streets, old colonial mansions and it’s strong Southern Charm. We spent our time, on a must do horse & carriage tour which takes you around the city and explains the history of Charleston & it’s gorgeous colonial homes. We also visited the Middleton Place Plantation & the Boone Hall Plantation. To see these big plantation houses and gorgeous landscaped grounds was just amazing. We even seen a wild alligator in Middleton Place! Charleston is full of life, the food the people & the pubs were all great fun. It’s a water front city so there is lots to do out on the water too. A walk around the waterfront is very enjoyable with it’s shaded parks, colonial houses and gorgeous weather. In Charleston we stayed in the Marriott Hotel. 

After our two days in Charleston, we headed further north up to Myrtle Beach. En route we stopped at Brookegreen Gardens & Huntington Beach which were incredible. The gardens are home to incredible sculptures, flowers & even a zoo. A few minutes away, Huntington Beach lies where you cross a swamp to enter. You can alligator watch or chill out on the perfect white sandy beach that just seems to go on forever. There are lots of picnic areas here to & we even saw a family setting up for a big BBQ! 

On arrival to Myrtle Beach, we stayed in the Hilton Kingston Plantation. The hotel was very nice and situated right on the 60 mile Myrtle Beach! 

Myrtle Beach is a very family orientated resort, full of lots of things for kids and families to do! From nascar racing to water parks and live nightly shows, the city is designed for it’s guests to have fun! We took a trip on the Myrtle Beach Skywheel which was great fun. It was the nicest day & we had views for miles around. We also attended the Legends Show on our first night and we had so much fun! It’s a great show if you enjoy music and a giggle as the Legends are very funny & love to interact with the audience. 

Although Charleston is a walking city, you would definitely need a car when staying in Hilton Head Island or Myrtle Beach. We stayed a total of six nights, two nights in each destination. The weather for the whole week was amazing with temperatures up to as high as about 23-25 degrees.

Overall my favorite things about the trip were the people, who were just amazing, the incredible food with it’s southern twist and the amazing breath taking sunsets. 

I would highly recommend a fly drive trip of South Carolina to anyone who wants a holiday that’s a little different, someone who enjoys scenery, history & nature and who like me, cannot take a camera out of there hand! 

It really is an incredible place. 

“Beautiful Places, Smiling Faces”  :) 

Written by Kathleen O’Rourke 

Edgy NYC club's hidden in hotel basement

Shhhh, don't tell anyone - the most exclusive nightclub and bar in New York is in the basement of a new hotel, just off its loading dock and garbage area.

If you look for the Electric Room from outside the Dream Downtown hotel near the trendy Meatpacking District, the only way you'll find to it is if you see a series of small, blue-neon lightning streak signs and gritty walls covered with funky art.

And if you arrive before the clock strikes midnight, you won't find anything because the Electric Room only opens at 1 a.m.

The small, ultra-exclusive Electric Room only fits about 110 people. You can sit at the bar or on Chesterfield couches or - if you're truly a VIP - sit behind at the hidden table behind the DJ booth. Expect to pay almost $22 for a cocktail, a price that includes a 20% gratuity added to your tab.

The club's operator does make an effort to dress up the garbage with dramatic, 20-foot-tall black velvet curtains but the drapery also can't disguise the stench that will likely be worse on hot summer days. Still, it's all part of the club's mystique, right?

Despite its high-voltage name, the Electric Room doesn't look like an over-the-top designed nightclub. Besides a bar and an elevated DJ booth, the room is decorated in a simple yet edgy, British punk kind of way.

Reclaimed wood covers the club's walls and floors. You'll see an array of inviting Chesterfield couches - some in caramel leather, including one with a giant Union Jack flag painted on it, and one done in a peacock-blue velvet. In terms of art, you'll see painted mirrors, including one featuring a Sid Vicious portrait.

While the Electric Room may be an extreme example of a super-exclusive room, expect to see more high-end hotels open venues that cater to an elite few in the future.

 

Spend New Year's Eve in Las Vegas

Not sure what to do this New Year’s Eve - what about Vegas? Some highlights for 2011:

• For old-school music lovers, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas --- which rocked the rafters last year with Coldplay and Jay-Z -- is offering Stevie Wonder.

 

• Kim Kardashian of 72-day marriage fame is due to head back to one of her favorite haunts: Tao Nightclub at The Venetian. She had her bachelorette party there before she wed basketball player Kris Humphries.

 

• Sis Kourtney Kardashian and her babydaddy, Scott Disick, are set to host at Chateau Nightclub at Paris Las Vegas.

 

• Fergie of the Black-Eyed Peas is the attraction at the grand opening of 1 Oak nightclub at The Mirage. The avant-garde club officially opens in late January.

 

• Fergie's bandmate Will.i.am is to do a DJ stint at Surrender nightclub at Steve Wynn's Encore Las Vegas.

 

• Bruno Mars is at The Bank nightclub at the Bellagio.

 

• Former Hugh Hefner galpal and Peepshow star Holly Madison is due at the Gallery Nightclub at Planet Hollywood.

 

• John Legend hosts a party after his concert at the Palms Casino Resort at its Moon Nightclub. And the Palms' Playboy Club has "Playmate Takeover " night, with star bunnies and playmates mingling with partygoers.