inns (53)

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New York State's Hudson Valley stretching north of New York City is filled with artisan food producers, bucolic scenery, and a wide array of historic inns and bed and breakfasts. One lesser known attraction is the region's horse racing heritage dating back to the 1700s. The village of Goshen is home to the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame, along with a historic track built in 1838 now incorporated into the museum and still in operation today. In fact, what were once horse stables that dire

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Situated in the refreshing trade wind breezes of the Leeward Island chain in the West Indies, Nevis remains authentically Caribbean, eschewing the homogenization that has befallen so many other island destinations. This means absolutely no strip development, fast food chains, casinos, or stoplights and only one international brand resort on this 36 square mile island. Nevis's 12,000 residents live in villages where no buildings exceed the height of a palm tree and locally grown and prepared foo

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Classic New England villages in the Berkshires Mountains region of western Massachusetts are typically defined by walkable centers with family run storefronts clustered around the library and post office flanked by towering gnarled centenarian maples & rugged foothills as a backdrop in the distance. Stockbridge is a post card example, with the added distinction of having the Red Lion Inn anchoring the corner of Main and South Streets.

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Originally founded in 1773, The Red Lion Inn is a charter memb

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When TV newscasters show two or three global leaders meeting in seclusion to talk peace, we are often impressed with the beautiful woodland surroundings the planners choose for such discussions. Well, we found a retreat these meeting handlers have missed, and the world leaders will be disappointed – however, you needn’t be.

It’s in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State

Eleven thousand years ago, glacial activity formed five lakes in the shape of outstretched fingers. American Indians believe t

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Distinctive Inns Along the Coast of Maine

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Contemplating an escape to coastal Maine evokes images of Clipper ships, rugged beaches, lighthouses, and the most prized lobsters in North America. Kennebunkport is a fine example of where all this and more comes together. Where you stay has a big impact on the quality of your experience, and thankfully your search is now much simpler with Inns Along the Coast, a new coalition of eight historic inns also situated in Bar Harbor and Rockland Maine that all meet five-star standards like impeccably

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Driving into Newfane, Vermont means you're visiting an authentic village in the Green Mountain State. This isn't a ski mountain town or a faux village artificially inflated with outside money. This is a town with a working storefront grocery store, white clapboarded church, and meeting house flanked by historic homes surrounding the town green. Walking the village takes no more than 15 minutes but its character and scenic charm is undeniable. Residents stack firewood, do their own home improvem

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Our favorite travel season is upon us. The summer heat has ebbed, the kids are back in school, traffic is a bit more tolerable, and most lodgings are dropping their prices in anticipation of winter. Best of all, the leaves are putting on their autumnal extravaganza of color. This is an exceptionally rewarding time to visit New England.

We are particularly fond of everything Cape Cod in the fall. There is a certain serenity in the air as October ushers in the cool breezes off the bay.

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Last fall w

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For the third and final leg of my Southern business trip, I pulled in to charming Charlottesville, Virginia and was eager to sample one of the town’s premier lodging offerings.


While the popular Boar’s Head Inn, Omni Charlottesville Hotel, and Keswick Hall all seemed interesting, each – IMHO - had its downside (too big, way too big, too stodgy, respectively). Digging a bit deeper, I found the elegant Oakhurst Inn, and judging from the ebullient reviews on TripAdvisor (4.5 stars), Yelp (5 stars)

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This was our first visit to the Captain Jefferds Inn and the famous Maine coastal community that is home to the Bush family retreat on Walker Point.

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Long before news of presidential visits put quaint little Kennebunkport on the global tourist map, it was a favorite vacation spot for local New Englanders.

Pounding ocean waves, with seagulls gliding over sand and rocky shores all entreat the visitor to savor the sights and sounds of Kennebunkport, and we were glad to be there.

It was raining

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We ran

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VTTastingCenter.jpg?width=450There's a movement underway spanning from Burlington VT to Northeast Kingdom towns like Newport, Hardwick, and St. Johnsbury. For many visitors, perceptions of Vermont center on bucolic foliage scenes, maple syrup, and skiing. But residents are increasingly making their living from the area's booming farm-to-table movement.

The Vermont Fresh Network (VFN) is a big driver behind getting seasonal produce from local farms & small-batch 

northest-kingdom-535x1024.png?width=535artisans directly to your favorite restaurants' menus. This mu

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Originally dubbed the greatest playground in the world by New Yorkers in the early 1900's, throngs of tenement dwellers weren't the only visitors here looking to escape the city's summer heat. J.P. Morgan and the Rockefellers stayed over and entertainment headliners Harry James and Tommy Dorsey made their appearances. Throughout the 1930s and 40s, the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, and the New York Knickerbockers basketball team used the park's extensive field as their training headquarters.

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Staying at truly unique hotels and inns transports you to a different time and place, allowing you to forget the real world for a bit. Mirbeau Inn & Spa at The Pinehills in Plymouth, Massachusetts is a great coastal escape 45 minutes south of Boston without the hassle of battling Cape Cod traffic.

Ensconced by thick pine forest buffeted by salty ocean breezes, Plymouth's Pine Hills are a unique topographical feature as well as the name of an ever growing planned community. Stunningly rural despit

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'Babymoons,' Booties and B&Bs

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Jennifer and Craig Ruckert, a very attractive 30-something couple, were sitting in front of a terrific fire, enjoying some great cheeses and local wines, a regular pre-dinner ritual  at the Tidewater Inn, in the laid back, classy Connecticut shore town of Madison.

Except Jennifer wasn't drinking wine. She was nursing a sparkling-something drink because she's pregnant with the couple's first child.

"This is a special weekend for us," she said. "This is the weekend we pick a name for our baby, a

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Caldwell-House-Exterior-1024x768.jpg?width=393Considering that the wide open countryside of New York's Lower Hudson Valley is just 60 miles north of Manhattan, exploring the back roads here is like stepping back in time, particularly in the vicinity of Caldwell House B&B, a Select Registry and Diamond Collection Inn located in the tiny village of Salisbury Mills. Ornate Victorians seemingly untouched since the Gilded Age overlook rolling fields and large tracts of forest land with Moodna Creek cutting a dramatic chasm most visible along por

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What to Expect When You Stay in a B&B

B&Bs, aka Bed & Breakfasts, are the perfect choice for a couple or a single person traveling. I can't honestly say how it would be to take kids--I've been at a B&B where the owner's two kids controlled the place, but that was the parents fault, not the guests. I guess it would depend on how well behaved your children are.  In all my stays at B&B's I have yet to see other guests bring their children. 9008635290?profile=original

 

Upon arrival, you will be given a tour of the common rooms and shown to your room. Unless you go

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Buying Great Fake Reviews on Trip Advisor


If power corrupts then as they say absolute power corrupts absolutely.

TripAdvisor, with it's 45 million reviews of some 500,000 destinations is the undisputed leader in shaping people's perceptions of what hotel they should stay in and where.

Good or bad reviews on the giant site can profoundly affect a hotel's bottom line.

So it comes as no real surprise that some hotels are bribing their guests with offers of free rooms, upgrades, and discounts if they po
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Our B&B Locanda Lugagnano is in an ancient noble country house in  Milano southwestern countryside village , Cassinetta di Lugagnano

We just started our activity less than one year ago, as soon as we finished the restoration works in some rooms.

The B&B is 25 km. away from the center of Milano, in the Ticino Park, along the Naviglio Grande, a channel reprojected by Leonardo da Vinci in the XVI century.

Many historical places in the surroundings9008632673?profile=original, like the city of Pavia, Vigevano, the ancient Abbey o

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The Appeal of Intimacy: B & B's  Make a Come Back

Not so long ago we reported on the study that most travelers avoided Bed and Breakfasts as a destination or place to stay.

The reasons primarily had to do with lack of familiarity with the B &B culture, and the apparent preference of younger travelers for the anonymity of a hotel as opposed to the intimacy of Bed and Breakfasts.

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One very savvy inn owner explained that younger people really don’t want to eat breakfasts with strangers and are uncomf
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The quiet and restful Genal Valley has a history that goes back hundreds of years. It is located in La Serranía de Ronda (the Ronda Mountains) just to the south of the bustling white village of Ronda, near the Mediterranean coast in southern Spain.

The Genal Valley is sandwiched happily between two national parks, La Sierra de las Nieves and Grazalema, and it is commonly acknowledged as the greenest part of Andalusia.

The valley is divided into upper and lower sections, with the Alto Genal (upper

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