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Bermuda hotel offering family plan
A family getaway package is being offered at the Fairmont Southampton in Bermuda, a quick flight away from Boston, which includes an adult room accommodation and a second connecting room for the kids free of charge. Children 12 and under can eat free from the children's menu and those up to 18 pay 50 percent off the adult prices of the a la carte menu. The package is for families with children 18 years old and younger, and includes free access to the hotel's Explorer camp and a family welcome amenity. The package is available through March 31, with rates starting at $269 per night, excluding taxes, tips and resort levy. For information and reservations, visit www.fairmont.com/southampton-bermuda, or call 800-441-1414.
Discounts to be had via AAA Disney specialists
AAA Travel has announced new discounts and deals for consumers booking their Walt Disney vacations through their local AAA branches in January. Benefits to AAA members include exclusive the Disney Story Tell Experience; Diamond Savings Card, which gets holders up to 20 percent savings on dining, shopping and events; Diamond parking, which gets you closer proximity to the park; and preferred fireworks viewing locations. Booking in January gets members things like a Disney Gift Card offer; a $50 onboard credit for Disney Cruise Line trips when booking for a May 2-Sept. 26 departure; and $100 off the land-package price of an Adventure by Disney vacation. Check it out at your local AAA travel office, visit www.southernnewengland.aaa.com/sne/travel/disney.php or call 800-222-7448.
Holiday hiatus on the Hub waterfront
Faneuil Hall hosts street theater festival
Contortionists, jugglers, acrobats and more can be found in Boston at Faneuil Hall Marketplace's first Street Theater Festival Oct. 20-21. Scheduled to appear are Alakazam, aka "The Human Knot," who puts on what is billed as a self-contained freak show as he twists his body into pretzel shapes. Wacky Chad is scheduled to be there as well, a guy who does comedy with tricks and pogo-stick stunts, who has bounced on programs like 'America's Got Talent" and "Live with Regis & Kelly." Also on hand will be magician/juggler/comic/mind reader/fire eater Lucky Bob, and Jason Escape who lives up to his name by wriggling out of constraints, a Houdiniesque display of magic that features him wrapped in 75 feet of rope and hung by his ankles by audience members.
The two-day festival runs 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and is free to all. Check out the full listing of events at www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/info/streetperformers
Ottawa hotel joins Ascend Collection
By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent
National Hotel and Suites in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, which just became part of the Ascend Hotel Collection, is offering rates through December 2013 from $129 to $270. The hotel is now part of a network, though it remains independently owned and run, while gaining a presence on www.choicehotels.com, and also benefitting from giving customers a loyalty program, Choice Privileges, with more than 15 million world-wide members.
The 328-room hotel is located in the heart of Ottawa, Canada's capital city, and is within walking distance of Parliament Hill; Rideau Canal, the country's largest skateway at five miles long; the National Art Gallery; and a variety of stores, restaurants and night life. It's also about 10 miles from Ottawa International Airport, and 15 minutes from the Gatineau Mountains. For information, visit www.ascendcollection.com/hotel-ottawa-canada-CNA16
Foliage train scheduled for Blackstone Valley
The Blackstone Valley Tourism Council is hosting its annual Fall Foliage and Shopping Train Excursion Oct. 20 aboard the Providence and Worcester Railroad, which leaves the Woonsocket train depot in Rhode Island at 9 a.m. and returns at 4:30 p.m. The foliage train travels through historic Blackstone River Valley to the many antique shops, restaurants and gift shops in Putnam, Conn., where there will be an arts and crafts fair, music, sidewalk sales, a pumpkin festival, bazaar and luncheon, at the Putnam Congregational Church. The train leaves Putnam at 2:15 and chugs back to Woonsocket by 4:30 p.m.
Ticket prices run from $28 to $58. There is a snack bar on the train, and passengers can also bring their own, though no alcoholic beverages are allowed. For information and reservations, visit www.tourblackstone.com or call 401-724-2200.
Hail the pig at Hogtoberfest on Nantucket
The weekend lineup includes the carving demo which will show head-to-tail carving and showing diners how to harvest and use each part of the animal; a beer and charcuterie master class; an "All-Things Pork" dinner, featuring a range of pork specials at American Seasons.
For complete pig-out information and reservations, visit www.americanseasons.com/hogtoberfest.html or call 508-228-7111.
Hanging with Don Shula at his new burger joint
I've never been a huge football fan, but given the chance to talk to Don Shula, one of football's most beloved coaches, winner of back-to-back Super Bowls with the Miami Dolphins, while at the same time chowing down a world-class burger at a new restaurant bearing his name, you think I'm gonna say no?
The occasion was the opening earlier this year of the first Shula Burger at the Postcard Inn in Islamorada (formerly Holiday Isle, a legendary hotspot of the Florida Keys back in the day). The burger joint is the newest part of the Shula culinary empire, which consists of Shula's Steak Houses, Shula's 347 and Shula's 2 Steak and Sports.
"We had a lot of success in restaurants, starting in Miami Lakes where we live, then on to Tampa, then outside Florida," said Coach, as I found myself respectfully calling him as everyone does, a title he'll righteously never lose despite not having coached for years. "We'd never done it before, but my wife, she has a great business mind."
So does his son, David, who runs the food empire, and who also had coached for the Cincinnati Bengals. Opening night at Shula Burger, David was explaining to rapt football fans the details of a play scrawled on one wall, one of his dad's plays from the Super Bowl years that was found on a yellow legal pad Coach had drawn. Sitting near the wall bearing the play writ large was a familiar face: Bob Griese, fabled Dolphins quarterback and winner of said Super Bowls, and long-time great and food friend of Shula.![]()
Coach looked great, still fairly active at 83, though not as much as he'd like: A balky back had sidelined his golf game, he grumbled. I asked where the next Shula Burger would be opening.
"I don't know," he shrugged, as we sat on the outside patio of the restaurant. "They don't tell me anything."
"But Coach, you're the face of the franchise," I offered. He just smiled.
And he's still good dealing with reporters bearing loaded statements.
"Coach, I have to say, you have a way better personality than Bill Belichick," I teased about the sour-pussed Pats coach.
He laughed and held up one hand, Super Bowl ring flashing, as if about to make a point, but diplomatically stopped, talking instead about what a great receiver Wes Welker was for the Pats and calling Tom Brady "a great quarterback, just so cool under pressure." Just a few feet away sat Griese, one of the greatest and coolest of all time.
Shula Burger is a lovely place with, naturally, a football motif, and an impressive menu of burgers of all stripe, the buns fresh and fluffy and branded - literally - with the Shula name. My fave was Coach's as well, "The Don,"which has an all-beef hot dog, split and grilled, served atop a burger with pickles, onion, sauce, cheese and mustard served on a branded brioche-style bun.
"You go to a barbecue, what do you get?" the Coach asked, setting up the punchline as easily as Griese set up in the pocket all those years ago. "A burger and a dog. Why not put 'em together? Makes perfect sense."
Coach was looking a little tired, but remained gracious despite my blabbering, but I moved on as he moved inside, to pose with the staff, Griese, his son, his wife, anyone who wanted his time and chance to pose with him and talk burgers or football. But mostly football.
Now, I wish I had his ear, I'd love to know what he thought of the replacement officials in the NFL. I'm sure he'd have plenty to say - between bites of "The Don" that is.
Photos from Shula Burger. Top photo, from left, Bob Griese, Mary Anne and Don Shula'No Socks Allowed' at new Turks hotel
Call it barefoot chic: At the new Beach House Turks and Caicos, slated to open Oct. 22 as Grace Bay's first boutique hotel, "No Socks Allowed" signage will be found on specialty items throughout, reminding guests to kick off their shoes and socks and relax. Beach House has 21 one- and two-bedroom suites (each a minimum 1,150 square feet) with what hotel officials call interior designs melding Caribbean with New England, showcasing crisp whites and blue hues. French doors frame views of the expansive beach and open to oversized patios that have daybeds. Suites also have culinary nooks where private chef dinners and surprise treats can be placed in the refrigerator.
The hotel also has a 90-seat Beach House Restaurant, run by Chef Eric Vernice, a native of France, who has created eight-course meals. According to hotel folks, menus will focus on one item, such as lobster, a unique spice or a country, with each course more unique than the last, paired with wines and cocktail teasers.
If it sounds pricey, it is: Nightly rates run from $532 to $1,038 on weekends and holidays, with special rates available in shoulder seasons. For more information, visit www.beachhousetci.com or call 855-946-5800.
Stowe away for good food this fall
It was such a hit the first time around, they decided to do it again: The 2nd annual Stowe Restaurant Week is on tap Oct. 21-27, celebrating the local Vermont culture. Restaurants will offer a prix-fixe, multi-course menu with prices of $15, $25 or $35 per person (in some cases per couple). Lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch menus are available as well as wine, beer and other cocktail options. Some restaurants are offering a new menu each day, and others will have the same fare throughout. Participating restaurants include Cactus Cafe, Charlie B's Pub and Restaurant, Harrison's Restaurant and Bar, Pie in the Sky, The Whip Bar and Grill and Winfield's Bistro.
Overnight accommodations are available from $85 a night during the week. Call Stowe's central reservation line at 800-467-8693 for lodging info. For the skinny and all that good food for restaurant week, visit www.gostowe.com/restaurantweek
Epicurean will be food-focused hotel in Florida
The Epicurean is being developed in collaboration with Bern's Steak House in Tampa, and will be the first newly built property to join the Autograph Collection of Marriott International. Joe Collier, president of the development company doing the project, Mainsail Lodging & Development, said some of the special experiences planned for the Epicurean includes wine lockers for guests, evening wine sampling, signature organic bath products and luxury linens and pillows. The Hotel will also be home to the popular annual Bern's WineFest, and will host a variety of cooking demos and classes, wine exhibitions and more from chefs and sommeliers around the world.
For more information on the Epicurean, visit www.epicureanhotel.com
Get it while it's still warm
Bermuda's a short jump from Boston, couple hours tops, and is a big draw for those wanting to extend or get a jump on summer; the island's prime season runs roughly April through November, give or take. The Bermuda Department of Tourism is offering a chance for an extra night free for those who book through Oct. 30 at participating hotels in its "Endless Summer" deal, valid for travel through Oct. 31. Book then, and get a third, fourth or fifth night free. Rates start at $189 a night. Hotels in the promotion include the Fairmont Hamilton Princess,Elbow Beach Bermuda, Cambridge Beaches, Royal Palms, Grotto Bay, Rosedon, The Reefs and others.
Bermuda is a pricey island but visitors can find a bunch of free stuff to do through October, such as the "Taste of Bermuda" culinary sampling, Harbor Nights street festival and a St. George walking tour. Check it all out at www.gotobermuda.com/endless-summer
Opulence hidden behind a hedge in Newport
I've probably driven up and down Memorial Drive in Newport a million times, and have long heard of the upscale Chanler at Cliff Walk, but never put two and two together and realized the Chanler was so close to Cliff Walk. OK, so it's smack dab on Cliff Walk, but my reason for not knowing that is a big one: It is completely hidden behind a giant hedge, affording it remarkable privacy and quiet despite being steps away from one of Newport's busiest streets. Set back on a cobblestoned drive, it is a magnificent building, loaded with charm, elegance and a pretty neat history: Built in 1865 as a summer home for New York Congressman John Winthrop Chanler and his wife, Margaret Astor Ward, it was the first mansion built on Cliff Walk and hosted the likes of President Theodore Roosevelt and poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It was later a museum and then a girls' school before becoming a hotel in the 1940s.![]()
We had the occasion to stay there one night and got the Empire Room; each of the 14 mansion rooms in the main building are decorated and named for an historical period based on the furniture design and architecture of that time, themed from Gothic to English Tudor to Greek Revival. One of the many beauties of this place is no two rooms are alike. And throughout, some of the furnishings from the Chanler Museum are sprinkled throughout. There are also three separate garden villas and three ocean villas.
Our Empire Room in the mansion was gorgeous, on a corner facing Easton's Beach and Cliff Walk. The room had a sizable living room with a two-person Jacuzzi on the far wall, which doesn't exactly befit the historical period on which the room is based, but was a very relaxing respite after a long stroll on Cliff Walk. Here, for an extra cost, a butler will come in while you're at dinner, run the bath and leave rose petals strewn about, and lighted candles surrounding the tub set in a mirrored alcove. A more romantic setting we could not imagine.![]()
The fireplace mantel is of antique slate, taken from a mansion in Michigan and painted to look like granite. Empire decor, inn officials said, often used a faux treatment of materials to look like granite or marble. Several antique tiles with figures on them in ochre and lime green are embedded into the mantel, making it more unique and interesting. The room itself is unique; being on the corner, the ceiling height varies from corner to center, from around six feet to more than eight, with a stained-glass skylight in the ceiling. The room's feel is decidedly Victorian but with modern touches such as a triple-head shower in the gold-hued granite bathroom, and iHome docking station.
The main culinary draw is the Spiced Pear, a restaurant with incredible ocean views, some of the best in Newport, and cuisine to match. Give the Spiced Pear martini a shot, with Absolut pear vodka, Amaretto DiSaronno, pear nectar, cinnamon and lemon juice. We also had local chilled oysters, wild burgundy escargot, Narragansett Bay striped bass and the menu's highest priced item, the exquisite butter-poached Maine lobster for $42, worth every melt-in-mouth cent. Before and/or after a meal like that, a long jaunt down nearby Cliff Walk is almost a necessity. Or you could wait until the next day, because breakfast here is insane, too; check out the salmon and goat cheese omelet.
We retired to the bar of hand-rubbed mahogany for a nightcap before heading back to the room where that rose-petal strewn tub awaited, and got more proof of how renowned the Chanler is: The following weekend, it would be closed to the public, privately booked for the wedding of the creator of the Facebook logo. And yes, Mark Zuckerberg was scheduled to attend.
Newport used to go to sleep in the off season, but no more. At the Chanler, a fall two-night special ($425 per night) includes full breakfast, a bottle of Spiced Pear sparkling wine, two tickets to a Newport mansion of your choice, and one, three-course meal for two in the Spiced Pear. Wait until winter and you can get the two-night "A Chanler Christmas," ($375 per weekday night, $430 per weekend night), available Nov. 28-Dec. 29 which gets you the same as the fall special, minus the bottle of wine; instead you get a minted Chanler Christmas ornament. All prices include room taxes, food taxes and dinner gratuity. And if you want to check out other parts of the city, you can get a free ride any place in Newport, up until 11 p.m., first come, first served. Check it out at www.thechanler.com
All that behind a hedge? I have to start paying attention where I'm going.
Rhode Island inn offering grand-opening deal
Nassau Paradise Island offering up deals
Swing into fall at the Sugar Ridge Swing Fest on Antigua
Stylin' in Providence
Tickets start at $30, and for $75 on Friday, you can sidle up to fashion industry insiders, at the industry-only Swarovski VIP suite. That ticket includes access to all shows that night.
The Biltmore is offering deals for those attending the show, with superior rooms fetching $89 a night, and junior suites $119. For all information, visit www.styleweeknortheast.com
The event was created to provide emerging designers a platform to showcase their debut collections to the reason, said Rosanna Ortiz Sinel, president and founder of Styleweek, adding that it "evolved from a local to regional event and is one of the few regional fashion expositions supported by the council of Fashion Design in America. Styleweek not only brings together the fashion business and the community but is a true celebration of style and culture."
Beaches offers single-parent families a deal
- Anne Fitzgerald, Globe Travel Editor
- Paul Makishima, Globe Assistant Sunday Editor
- Eric Wilbur, Boston.com staff
- Kari Bodnarchuk writes about outdoor adventures, offbeat places, and New England.
- Patricia Borns, a frequent contributor to Globe Travel, writes and photographs travel, maritime, and historical narratives as well as blogs and books.
- Patricia Harris, a regular contributor to Globe Travel, is author or co-author of more than 20 books on travel, food, and popular culture.
- Paul E. Kandarian, a frequent contributor to Globe Travel, writes and photographs New England and Caribbean stories.
- Chris Klein is a regular contributor to Globe Travel. His latest book is "The Die-Hard Sports Fan's Guide to Boston."
- David Lyon, a regular contributor to Globe Travel, is author or co-author of more than 20 books on travel, food, and popular culture.
- Hilary Nangle is a regular contributor to Globe Travel. Her latest guidebook is Moon Maine (Avalon Travel, 2008)
- Joe Ray, a frequent contributor to Globe Travel, writes and photographs food and travel stories from Europe.
- Kimberly Sherman writes about unique happenings throughout New England.




