Brooke Shields with a Godiva chocolate statue.
For the week of Feb. 2, 2009
AIRLINES & AIRPORTS
Fare Sale I. SouthWest has got tickets on sale, fly from Chicago Midway to Los Angeles for $99, or travel from Denver to Seattle-Tacoma for $69. Fly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, if you can, for the best deals, and check out the website for more destinations. Purchase by Feb. 19, for travel by May 20.
Fare Sale II. AirTran Airways has got travel to all the airline's destinations (like Chicago to Tampa for $79, or Atlanta to San Juan for $99) on sale. Purchase by Feb. 10. Good for travel to Florida and San Juan through March 11, and all other destinations through May 20. 800-AIR-TRAN
It's a Small World After All. From 2004 to 2007, world travel grew an average of 7% a year, but that ain't gonna be true this year. The U.N. World Tourism Organization predicts the number of tourists, which reached about 924 million last year, might decline by up to 2 percent in 2009, with Europe and the Americas hit the hardest. At least the beaches in Bora Bora will be less crowded.
HOTELS
Both President's Day and Valentine's Day fall on the same weekend this year, so we're featuring some getaways for the three-day holidayHello Sunshine. Gansevoort South in Miami has a rooftop pool and and oceanside infinity pool. They're offering a "Forever Valentine's Day" package with champagne and strawberries, and cocktails by the plunge pool. You also get two bathrobes to keep and a Mile High intimacy kit to turn up the heat, in case the sun isn't enough. $395 per night, available Feb. 12-16. 2377 Collins Ave; 866-932-6694
Shakespearean splendor. At San Diego's US Grant Hotel, part of Starwood's Luxury Collection, you get a 3-course dinner and tickets to San Diego Ballet's performance of Romeo & Juliet. Hope your night ends better than theirs did. Rates start at $349. Ask for the "Passion" package.326 Broadway, San Diego; 866-716-8149
Feathered Friend. If you like birds, especially the patriotic kind, the Tidewater Inn Bed & Breakfast on Connecticut's coast, just 2 hours from New York, has a President's Day weekend with an Eagle Viewing Boat Trip. The day starts with an early morning Valentine's Day breakfast, then off to the 54-foot boat to see the New England's largest winter population of bald Eagles. Warm up upon your return with afternoon tea, and get a $25 gift certificate to the nearby Audubon shop. Rates start at $315, available through March 7. 949 Boston Post Rd, Madison, CT; 203-245-8457
Love Apple. In the big city, New York's Empire Hotel has a "Desire" package with a bottle of Veuve and Godiva chocolates ready to welcome you. Continue imbibing with chocolate martinis in the Lobby Bar. The concierge can make dinner reservations and you'll return to a rose petal turndown. Next day have a breakfast buffet and return to bed — no check out until 3pm. Rooms start at $379 W. 63rd St. at Broadway; 212-265-7400
Live a Little. Off the mainland, at the San Juan Marriott Resort, you get a suite, with chauffered airport pickup and a dozen roses waiting in your hotel along with champagne and strawberries, all as part of their "Romantic Rendezvous" package. To properly appreciate the champagne, you can take tasting lessons with a sommelier, then enjoy a candlelit 3-course dinner. The next day, relax with breakfast served on your balcony, and take a packed picnic to the beach. Clean off the salt and sand with a romantic bath prepared in your suite. $536 per night, available through Feb. 28. Mention code RZ8.1309 Ashford Ave., San Juan, PR; 888-817-2033
Kick Back. A Caribbean "Sandals with a Kiss" package starts at $289, and you get a further 60% off of that. Or you can pay for four nights, and stay for seven. You get champagne served in Waterford flutes, chocolate covered tropical fruit, and a 15-minute professional photo shoot session. Add a candlelit dinner on the beach served by a white-gloved butler and steel-drum seranade starting at $160 for two. 888-SANDALS
It's Better. The Sheraton in Nassau is offering a "Lovin' the Bahamas" package, including champagne on arrival and daily breakfast. You also get a daily $50 resort credit to use toward your food and drinks. $214 per person, per night. 877-782-0149
Dream Date. For those metro-sexual men out there, the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego's "Fantasy Dream Date" package gets you a six-hour treatment with your significant other, including facials, body wraps, reflexology and massages at the hotel's spa and, if you can sit upright after all your muscles have been thoroughly worked over, dinner at Nobu. Rates start at $1,500.207 5th Ave., San Diego; 866-751-ROCK