If you’re visiting the beautiful island of Sardinia and are looking for a green retreat that’s quiet, relaxing, breathtakingly gorgeous, friendly, inspirational and also has donkeys and a cool pool, Ca’ La Somara is just the place for you.

Friendly staff, enough grounds to loose yourself and let your thoughts fly mixed with a communal dinner table allowing for fun and light conversation with the other guests, a modern spa and an authentic barn and farmhouse design and decor, this hidden treasure (yes, literally hidden, as the local taxi driver had a bit of a hard time finding it) suits almost everyone.

I have been there in May, off-season. It was not fully booked, but there were enough people to make it all fun, it was hot enough to get a nice tan by the pool and the sea water was warm enough that you could actually swim in it.

Donkeys play a big part in the Ca’ La Somara scenery. The female half of the pair running this venue, Laura, told us she’s always loved donkeys. So when they opened the place, they got a couple live ones (which are very fun to watch and know how to properly act when cameras are around).

Rooms don’t have boring numbers. They are each associated with a colorful donkey. Which makes it all fun! If you’re having dinner at Ca’ La Somara, you can go for a meat or vegetarian meal and to specify it, you must go to this cool board with all the colorful donkeys stuck on it, take a round shaped magned (red for meet, green for veggie) and place it on the one donkey corresponding to the room you’re staying in.

Dinner is a feast! Everything is so delicious! And they do their best to accomodate guests with special culinary needs. They made sure they made not only vegetarian, but also gluten-free meals for someone in our group. By the way, if you must now (and I did, cause I am curious like that), gluten-free pasta is excellent. 4 courses, local wine and some stronger local spirits, deserts to die for, in a word, I could barely walk afterwards!

And the breakfast! The morning equivalent of the evening delights! Actually if you have breakfast and dinner at Ca la Somara you only need a very light lunch in between! Nothing more, otherwise you’ll explode!

Those seeking for space to think and find inspiration, be it for their work, art or just life in general, are bound to find everything they need here. This for example was my favorite spot to write (awsome for lunch as well):

I felt free, at peace and thought I could do anything while I was staying at this Sardinian marvel. I hope I’ll return soon enough, maybe next spring! Who else is comming with me? Not decided yet? Here are some more photos to convince you:

As getting to Bulgaria is extremely easy for those of use fortunate enough to be living in Bucharest, a lot of the short gettaways I have been on included a place in Bulgaria. Their lovely beaches when I was in mood for a few relaxing days spent sunbathing and diving into the Black Sea, and Veliko Turnovo when I was in the mood for a mountain top sceneray.

Every time I go to Veliko Tarnovo, I stay at Hotel Concorde. I felt so great the first time I stayed there, I just did not feel the need to try another one! Only a few minutes away from the colorful center with the town hall, purring bikes, great looking cars and delicious ice-cream that I never seem to have enough of, Hotel Concorde is a chic and small venue, with only 18 rooms, all extremely big and all looking chic, a restaurant, a bar on the top floor where you can enjoy an amazing view, conference rooms and a small and intimate breakfast room.

If you’re like me and just can’t breathe without an Internet connection, don’t worry, they have both wireless and wired Internet, all free, but the wireless might play a few tricks from you if you stray from the lobby.

The rooms, especially the three VIP ones, are perfect for romantic gettaway. Bold colors, sparkling wine, great decorations and a jacuzzi, let’s just say it’s enough to keep you inside for a long time! If you get hungry, you can go downstairs to the hotel restaurant or take a 5 to 10 minutes walk and try out one of the many restaurants in Veliko. Main street tarraces, hidden treasures on narrow streets with artisans seeling souvenirs, wherever you choose to eat the portions are huge! Make sure to ignore anyone else eating around you, allowing yourself to get distracted by what they are having usually leads to ordering way too much!

Hotel Concorde has great personnel! They are friendly, they all speak English and they are always doing their best to help. So are the hotel partners – we’ve enjoyed a great chat with the guy who takes hotel guests on helicopter tours of the city!

VIP Room - Hotel Concorde

Try to avoid dropping in without a reservation, especially during summer! You might get lucky, but it’s safer to book at least a week in advance!

Luxury room - Hotel Concorde

P.S. The room photos I chose are of the ones I actually stayed in and I can wholeheartedly say that, in real life, they look better than the pictures.

All my friends know I’m a Booking.com fan! I preach about it quite a lot. And although I put my love affair to test every chance I get by comparing destinations and prices, Booking.com is always my number one. I’ve booked hotels in Istanbul, Trier, Oludeniz, and the Golden Sands through them and they never disappointed me. So I decided I could whole heartedly recommend them.

That is why, soon after starting my very own travel blog, I also applied for their affiliate program and got in! So you’ll see a whole lot of them in my links and banners. But no matter how big of a fan I am, I promise to keep checking up on them and make sure you get access to the best offers out there.

And to prove I’m not kidding about being their hard core fan, here’s a photo I just had to take last summer in Amsterdam featuring my visit to…their headquarters (or one of he buildings they have offices in). I never went in. Will do so next time.

In case you were wondering, all the reviews I write are for hotels I’ve been to and I’d like to keep it that way. Writing about hotels one has never set foot into seems a little weird to me.

• Keep mixing the travel spell recipes!
• Love,
• The Travel Wizard

Rosemont was my next stop in the US ever. I had come to the States for an industry event held near Chicago, in the Donald E. Stephens Convention and Conference Center, which is practically across the street from the hotel I stayed in: DoubleTree.

It was a heart warming welcome, as the young woman at the reception desk was born, yes, you guessed it, in Romania! Although she only spent a few years there, she still remembered a few words and we had a nice conversation. And they also gave us some nice, chocolate filled warm cookies that simply made us forget about the 16 or so hours that had passed since we left our homes in Bucharest.

DoubleTree is extremely close to the O’Hare airport and that’s both an advantage and disadvantage. We all know there’s nothing better than a cookie and a nice shower after a flight, especially a long one. But hearing airplanes taking off and landing all the time might have some impact on your sleep, especially if it’s helped by the jet lag.

Having breakfast there was a bliss. Although I am used to more types of cheese and vegetables for breakfast, it was my first time experiencing American bacon and waffles! And the restaurant staff was hilarious! Everything you needed for a good morning start.

As the whole Rosemont seems to be dedicated to business travelers, displaying convention centers and lots of hotels, most of them above 3 stars by European standards, DoubleTree is a wonderful choice for business events, conferences or business meetings. The only problem is if you come with European electronics, you won’t be able to plug them in and have them charged and the hotel won’t be able to help you. Your solution is going to the nearby mall and buy what you need. You’ll get a full package, allowing you to travel around the world and have no problem charging your laptop.

If you’re there as a tourist, beware: it takes quite a while to get to downtown Chicago and back. So if you’re hoping to mix some fun with the work assignments, don’t waste any free time on resting! Otherwise you won’t get to see anything!

Photos from the DoubleTree site.

What is a Dream Vacation? It’s a masterpiece of Travel Wizards, the kind of vacation that you enjoy so much, you speak about it years and years after coming back. You enjoy every second of every minute of every hour of every day. You take lots of photos, dance like a dervish on the streets and charge yourself with enough energy to last you for a year or two.

How to come up with such a vacation? That’s a mix of knowledge, advanced hotel search skills, planning, great advice from friends passionate about traveling and a whole lot of luck. I’ve had such a vacation last year, when I spent 10 days in the Netherlands. So I did my best to organize an at least similar one for this year. I thought it would be nice to share my plans with you now and then report back every day and tell you what the real deal is like.

Location: Fethiye, Oludeniz, Turkey!

Oludeniz is said to be the best place for paragliding. It’s home to a paradise-like lagoon and beach on the Mediterranean and the nearby mountains are the perfect place for those looking for extreme sensations. Placed in between Kusadasi and Antalyia, it is less popular among travel agencies, but hard core tourists know is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. The location of choice, Fethiye, is a few miles away from Oludeniz.

I started planning early. I made the reservations at the Blue Pearl hotel back in February. And I advise you to plan early as well if at least part of your trip is in peak season (July-August). I made reservations for an apartment from August 23rd to September 12th and there were only 2-3 apartments left at each hotel in the area. I also advise you to go there in early summer or late summer/early autumn to make sure you’re not affected by extreme heat.

As you can tell, I had quite a lot of time to find out what to do while staying in Oludeniz. You’d think 3 weeks are hard to fill with loads of fun activities, but in these parts of Turkey, it’s actually quite easy!

What to Do in Oludeniz? Anything You Want Basically!

Of course, there’s the beach where you can lay in the sun, swim in the Mediterranean Sea, read a book under an umbrella, have fruit cocktails or simply enjoy the view. There are always the magic moments to be treasured: the sunrise and the sunset. But that’s enough to fill three days. What else?

Let’s Start with Paragliding!

They say Oludeniz is the best place for paragliding in the world. As it will be a first in my life, I’m guessing I’ll love it anyway. And I have this not so secret plan of getting it all on my camera and then share it with you.

For beginners like me, there are several professionals of tandem paragliding to take you on a breathtaking experience from the top of Babadag, above the Oludeniz Beach and Lagoon, and finally landing on the Oludeniz Beach.

Of course, hard core paragliders are not obliged to have an instructor with them and for those wannabes looking for a license, you can get one here, after acing a 5 or 10 day course. You’ll get excellent paragliding conditions from April till November, 8 months every year. Now that’s some extended season for extreme sports!

White Water Rafting

It just so happens that there are quite a few of Turkish rivers perfect for white water rafting. The nearby Dalaman River is the perfect place to try out your rafting skills. The river is graded 3-4 and is open to rafting from April till October.

It also has a 5 grade section for more experienced rafters which is only open from April to July. And if you want to have fun for more than a few hours, there are one day or overnight rafting campings trips. So get your life jacket and helmet ready, add jackets, wet suits and bootees if it’s cold and let’s go!

Dalayan Mud Bath and Turtle Beach

As you must be tired after such extreme experiences, some light visiting is in order. On your way to the Dalyan Delta, stop to see the ancient rock tombs of Caunos. Then go see the mud bath and dip in the sulfur springs of Dalayan. It’s then time for the spectacular Iztuzu Beach, one of the last nesting places of the endangered Caretta Caretta turtles. The turtles measuring up to 3-4 feet in length come here to nest from May to September.

Canoing

You can then take a day canoing down the Xanthos River (Eşen Çay) through the Patara National Park. Luckily with those like me, no previous canoing experience is necessary.

Horseback Riding

Now that you’re a little rested, nothing like a horseback ride to fill your afternoon! The 18km beach of Patara is the perfect place to start, then make your way through the dunes and along the farmland of Cayagzi.

Walking

Alternatively, you can take long walks on the beach or start going up to see snow-covered mountain peaks and the yayla (highland plateau). You’ll be free to enjoy the extensive pine and cedar forests, the junipers, the maquis and everything else the impressive Babadag mountain has to offer.

Time to Dive!

After spending so long on the surface, I’d say seeing the Mediterranean underworld is a must. The Fethiye and Oludeniz areas offer a wide range of perfect places for both scuba diving and snorkeling and there are plenty of experienced teachers ready to give you a few pointers if you haven’t done this before. You can sign up for a 2 to 5 days diving course or become a master diver in one of the specialty courses.

The underwater landscape is typically a varied selection of reefs, walls, drop-offs and caverns. Local marine life is less abundant than in tropical seas but includes grouper, rays, moray eels, turtles and octopi.

Jump on Board for a Cruise

If you made it all the way to Oludeniz, then experiencing a Turkish gulet is a must. Boat trips come in all directions and lengths possible so it’s impossible not to find something to suit your mood. For example, if you get tired of the Oludeniz beach, take a boat trip to Bodrum and enjoy your time in the sun.

And if all these were not enough for you (and I for one still have some hours to fill), then write these down:

• *Must see where Helen of Troy and Paris had their love story – Pamukkale
• *Visit the ruins of Tlos
• *Visit Yakapark trout farm and water gardens
• *See the Hellenistic city of Hierapolis which is over 2500 years old and swim in Cleopatra’s spa bath
• *Visit Ephesus, one of the best preserved classical cities in the eastern Mediterranean

If this is still not enough, just ask around and you’ll surely find out about amazing places to see and new things to try out. I’m guessing I won’t get bored. What do you think?

Photo credit (hotel). Photo credit (Tourist Attractions).

There are several Quality Hotels in the New York area and I stayed at the one placed in the very heart of Manhattan, 3 minutes away from Times Square. It’s clever location is the best thing this hotel has to offer. Other than that, especially in this period, when they are renovating, a lot of things might really suck when you stay there.

There are two elevators, which basically have a will and life of their own. When leaving the hotel, it took us half an hour to get from the third floor to the reception desk downstairs. Why? Simply because it went up and down several times before actually reaching the ground floor. It was nice! The doors were opening and we were seeing now familiar faces and hearing the same old tune: “Look, it’s those two girls again! Didn’t you manage to get off?”.

Their site has photos of a nice looking restaurant. That was closed. They’ve sent us to a nearby diner and that is one of the things I still thank them for every time I remember it. The room looks nice in the photo. But that’s actually it. As a tiny extra space and you get the room size. The bathroom is also tiny and there’s no where to put your toiletries, especially if there are two people in a room.

The staff was however nice, really nice. Their Concierge clerk was especially nice when figuring out she messed up our shuttle reservation and left us waiting for it for 30 minutes, saying it might be late. We got a refund and paid extra to get a city car to the airport. Nice ride indeed!

Quality is pricey because of it’s location. It was actually more expensive than Omni Shoreham. That’s to be expected for a Manhattan hotel, true, but I am pretty sure you can stay at Westin or DoubleTree for roughly the same amount, especially if you sing for their frequent customer programs. So my advice, look around more before choosing Quality Hotel. If you don’t care much, aren’t staying long and just want the closest and cheapest deal in the Times Square area, then book a room there.

Photo credit

I’ve spent three great days at Omni Shoreham in May, while attending an IT&C summit organized by a virtualization company. As the conference kept us for quite a while close to the hotel, I got well acquainted with what it had to offer. I thought I’d share my views with all of you traveling to Washington for business or pleasure and for those looking for a place to throw a party.

The hotel looks amazing and the rooms are placed in such a way that their overwhelming majority has a nice view to offer. The architect coming up with this hotel was really client oriented! The hotel might look like a little labyrinth at times, but there are enough signs to help you find your way.

The rooms are huge, the beds are extraordinary and their bathrooms are impeccable. Yet in the room I stayed there was no mini bar. There’s no vending machine on each floor either, so if you get really thirsty in the middle of the night, you have to get dressed and go downstairs. I think this is an aspect they should really work on, given their clear position of a luxury hotel.

The hotel restaurant looks extremely fancy. And if it’s warm outside, I strongly recommend eating on the terrace. There’s a lovely, relaxing view of the garden and its fountain to enjoy. The food was quite good, yet a very limited selection of dishes. Breakfast offered the most choices if you asked me.

I think if you pay attention to the menu selection, throwing a spring or autumn wedding reception at this hotel might be wonderful. If you’re traveling here on business, feel free to ask your business partners here to have lunch or dinner, they’ll appreciate the atmosphere. If they’re picky about what they eat, take them somewhere else though.

If there’s one area where Omni Shoreham is really outstanding, it must be the facilities it has to offer for seminars, conferences and other events. During my stay there, there were quite a few events taking place at the same time and there was enough room for everyone. Do keep the map offered to you by the organizers close by, otherwise that labyrinth feeling will kick in again.

To conclude, I’d like to say Omni Shoreham was one of the finest hotels I stayed in. But their staff should really learn how to give better advice. Their doormen know more than Concierge staff about transportation to airports, which is cheaper and which is faster. Being helpful is nice, actually helping someone make a smart move is even better.

Photos credit.

There are three possibilities when it comes to travel planning: (1) do it all yourself, (2) have an agency arrange lodging and transportation and worry about what to do yourself and (3) leave it all to the agency and just show up and follow their lead. Each of these approaches comes with ups and downs and it also depends on the traveler’s personality, available or inexistent planning time and other such circumstances.

As I want to make it easier for you to choose how to have your trip planned, I’ll explore all these possibilities and focus on what’s good and bad about them. Relax, stay tuned and decide after reading this.

I Am the Master of Disaster

DIY trips come with all the freedom you’ve always dreamed of. Everything is exactly how you wanted it and you have control over every detail. You’re also responsible for every detail of your trip. But if you think you know best what you like, if you don’t want a standardized trip and want to just put your inventiveness to work, you should really go for it.

With all readily available online, finding a hotel, discovering all the major attractions and estimating costs and time can be quite easy. You’ll have to keep a close eye on travel blogs, forums and online booking site reviews.

Thumbs up:

* Everything is your choice, from how you get there, to the hotel and what you visit
* You can change everything as you go if you have a better idea
* You will not be forced to travel with people you don’t know and might not share interests with

Thumbs down:

* It takes a very long time to organize everything
* You might not find out about all the cool places to see and fun stuff to do; also might overlook important details and find everything closed (museums and other attractions)
* You might not estimate everything correctly: time, prices, fun factor

With a Little Help from my Friends…

Partly relying on an agency when planning your trip might spare you quite an effort. You can just email them their request and have everything booked for you, at a certain price. You can have them book your stay, arrange for transportation and go.

Thumbs up:

* Easier to organize and less of a hassle for you
* More time to research what to do on the trip instead of worrying on how to get there
* You still have enough freedom to do what you like and change plans each day

Thumbs down:

* It might not be the best deal you could get. Don’t only think money, also think location and other such details
* As the booking decision is based on just a few objective request, it might not be exactly what you dreamed of
* You’re still left with the largest time consumer and hard part of it all: planning everything you’ll do while you’re there.

Someone Else Has to Worry about EVERYTHING!

There’s a wide range of ready made vacations you can choose from. Everything is already scheduled – from your meals to your activities, and you’ll also have a couple of hours of time to do things on yourself.

Thumbs up:

* Everything is ready for you, you just need to show up
* Groups get discounts when visiting, so when it comes to expensive museums, you can have a big smile on your face
* They agency know everything tourists like and it will all be there for you. If anything is closed, they have 3 other objectives to replace it

Thumbs down:

*Most of the times, you travel with groups of people who can get on your toes quite often
*Your own plans don’t really matter
*The agency might want you to see so much that everything will be in a hurry, no time to really enjoy.

As you can see, there’s something for everyone of us, from the individual travel that wants to do it all on their own, to the lazier ones of us who just want to enjoy their time off work with no real worries on their minds. You should decide what you want and then mix the ingredients to your spell accordingly. But choose wisely, all trips are meant to be enjoyed.

There are dozens of hotel booking sites available online. Some are general, and you can find a hotel in every country of the world, some are region specific, built around a continent or a larger region and some are country specific. As you see, your options are unlimited, you can search and find the best deal ever. But how to choose wisely every time? Well, there are a few tricks to that.

I for one have started booking my vacations online about three years ago. It started with a sort of an accident: some friends were planning a vacation and used such a site to book our stay. I loved the simple process, the hotel, the fact that we had no major issues with the reservation. I have to admit I was a bit worried, but it all turned out perfectly.

What online booking sites are best at is putting you in charge of your holiday. You’ve already drawn up a budget, you know how much you’ll spent on transportation, sightseeing and food and now you have an amount of money to spend on a hotel. Where to book your stay? And what to keep your eyes open for?

First Ingredient: Research

You should start by selecting a few online booking sites to choose from. You can find online reviews and you can ask friends to recommend some. Do a quick search and work on trial and error.

Remember one thing though! Reviews of booking sites are not always about the best ones. They are sometimes about the newest challengers, so combine them with other resources in your research.

Second Ingredient: Setting up the right criteria

As you might have guessed, the cheapest deal is not the only thing you should look for. You should also keep an eye on what’s included in the room price, how far it is from your visiting objectives, how hard will it be to find it. Also, the price of not included services is important! If what you save on the room is spent on parking, air conditioning or other such services, it’s not the best deal!

Third Ingredient: Selecting a Couple of Great Sites

When you plan your own vacation, research and planning tend to get a little time consuming. So you need a list of top 2 or 3 sites to compare every time you need to find your hotel accommodation. For example, pick one with the most possible destinations, one that also has hostels or apartment rentals and one specific to an area you most frequently choose for your trips.

Third Ingredient: Keep an Eye on New Sites

New hotel booking sites are launched quite often. You should stay updated and make sure to check out the launch contests, special offers and new destinations. I for one have one favorite booking site, but always compare it with new kids on the block. In some areas, they are better, in others, my long lasting love still rules

Your spell is now ready! Stir all ingredients and say the magic words: I’m going on an amazing trip and I’m the one who organized it! All you have to do now is show up and enjoy every second

Your master in travel spells,

The Travel Wizard