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Fun Travels Across the United States

BOSTON

AAA Four Diamond Rating Makes Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel Sparkle

The Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel has earned the AAA Four Diamond Rating for 2011, North America’s premier hotel rating system.  This distinction, awarded to less than four percent of the 32,000 properties evaluated by AAA annually, recognizes the property’s stylish accommodations, extensive amenities and a high degree of hospitality, service and attention to detail.  

AAA awards the Four Diamond Rating level to hotels that consistently demonstrate high standards in the following areas:
·         Cleanliness and Condition of Property
·         Management and Staff
·         Exterior, Grounds, and Public Areas
·         Guestroom Décor, Ambiance and Amenities
·         Bathrooms
·         Guest Services

AAA Diamond Ratings represent a combination of the overall quality, the range of facilities, and the level of hospitality offered by a property. These widely recognized and trusted symbols help AAA members choose lodgings that will meet their needs and expectations. AAA inspectors are responsible for determining a property’s Diamond Rating based on established standards that are developed with input from our trained professionals, AAA members, and various lodging industry professionals.

AAA's Diamond Rating Guidelines indicate what is typically found at each rating level. However, the size, age, and overall appeal of an establishment are also considered, as well as regional architectural style and design. Diamonds are assigned based on the average of all property characteristics, with a focus on overall guest impression rather than on individual elements. Therefore, not meeting a guideline (in one area) may not necessarily affect the overall Diamond Rating.

The AAA Four Diamond Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel features 471 guestrooms and 21 suites, a sleek, marine-inspired interior design, as well as full health club facilities and a sparkling lap pool. The hotel is within walking distance to many major attractions, including Faneuil Hall, the New England Aquarium, the Institute of Contemporary Art and the new Liberty Wharf center, opening in 2011. It is conveniently located near downtown Boston and Logan International Airport. Executive chef Gregory Griffie, together with the creative direction of acclaimed chef and restaurateur Michael Schlow, directs 606 Congress, which features modern, American food with regional influences.

For hotel information and reservations, please call 1-800-hotels1, or 617.338.4111 or visit www.RenaissanceBoston.com.

Boston-area artists featured in new exhibition at ICA/Boston

On Sept. 22, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston opens a new exhibition featuring work by the 2010 finalists for the James and Audrey Foster Prize. The ICA’s Foster Prize is a biennial award show that recognizes and celebrates artists who live and work in Greater Boston. Presented in a newly expanded format, this year’s exhibition includes work by nine finalists: Robert de Saint Phalle, Eirik Johnson, Fred Liang, Rebecca Meyers, Matthew Rich, Daniela Rivera, Evelyn Rydz, Amie Siegel and Steve Tourlentes. From large-scale photographs of the Peruvian Amazon to experimental film to installations inspired by 17th-century frescoes, these artists offer a wide-ranging view of the art being created in the Boston area today. The 2010 James and Audrey Foster Prize exhibition runs through Jan. 17, 2011. The winner of the prize will be announced in early January 2011.

About the ICA
An influential forum for multi-disciplinary arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art has been at the leading edge of art in Boston for more than 70 years. Like its iconic building on Boston's waterfront, the ICA offers new ways of engaging with the world around us. Its exhibitions and programs provide access to contemporary art, artists, and the creative process, inviting audiences of all ages and backgrounds to participate in the excitement of new art and ideas.

The ICA, located at 100 Northern Avenue, is open Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 am - 5 pm; Thursday and Friday, 10 am - 9 pm; and Saturday and Sunday, 10 am - 5 pm. Admission is $15 adults, $10 seniors and students, and free for members and children 17 and under. ICA Free Admission for Youth is sponsored by State Street Foundation. Free admission on Target Free Thursday Nights, 5 - 9 pm. Free admission for families at ICA Play Dates (2 adults + children 12 and under) on the last Saturday of the month. For more information, call 617-478-3100 or visit Web site www.icaboston.org.

Indulge in the Sweeter Side of Boston -- The Back Bay Hotel’s Chocolate Lovers Tour Weekend Will have you Coming Back for Seconds

WHAT:             Located in the heart of Boston’s most stylish quarters, The Back Bay Hotel invites you to indulge in the guiltiest of pleasures… Chocolate!
                       This one-of-a-kind overnight stay at The Back Bay Hotel offers guests the chance to live la dolce vita with a walking chocolate tour of your choice of two of Boston’s most unforgettable neighborhoods: Back Bay or Beacon Hill. A true connoisseur will whisk you off into a world of exotic imports, closely-guarded recipes, and intimate tastings from the very finest artisan chocolatiers and celebrated restaurants Boston has to offer.                     

The Back Bay Hotel’s Chocolate Lovers Tour Weekend Package Includes:

· Overnight accommodation in a Superior bedroom
· Amenities including all-natural bath products, 400-count Frette linens, terrycloth bath robes, complimentary high-speed internet
· Complimentary box of chocolates for you and your loved one
· Boston Chocolate Tour tickets of the Back Bay (available Saturday only) or Beacon Hill (available Sunday only)

WHERE:           The Back Bay Hotel
350 Stuart Street
Boston, MA 02116

WHEN:            Available now through November 27th, 2010

COST:             This package is available beginning at $371.00 per night, excluding taxes.

**For reservations, please contact The Back Bay Hotel toll-free at 877.587.9774**

ABOUT THE BACK BAY HOTEL:

Located in the former headquarters of the Boston Police Department, it is now an even more arresting proposition after a stunning renovation program that has created a modern-day landmark in this magnificent city. The stylish interior of The Back Bay Hotel offers vibrancy and warmth unique to this luxury Boston hotel and our team complements that warmth with a highly engaging and personal form of service that makes your stay a genuinely luxurious experience. We're equally well located for exploring the tourist riches of Boston or doing business in this strategically important business capital. The Back Bay Hotel Boston, by the Charles River, is the perfect base from which to explore or exploit this compact and beautiful city. But whatever your purpose for visiting Boston, your stay will be infinitely more memorable if it includes a visit to The Back Bay Hotel. For more information, please call: 877.587.9774or visit: www.doylecollection.com/boston.

ABOUT THE DOYLE COLLECTION:

Based in Dublin, The Doyle Collection – formerly known as the Jurys Doyle Hotel Group - is a privately-held hotel group managing eleven luxury hotels spanning six major urban centers in the U.S., Ireland and the UK, representing 2,300 rooms and approximately 1,400 employees. With an intensive Euro 200 million capital investment program, The Doyle Collection is enjoying new life and luster with refurbishments in properties and brand identities across the eleven properties. Each property shares a single aim: to provide their guests with extraordinary hospitality, dedicated service and an atmosphere of modern, understated luxury. In addition to The Back Bay Hotel, The Doyle Collection The Dupont Hotel, The Normandy Hotel, and The Courtyard by Marriott in Washington DC; in Ireland, Dublin’s The Westbury and The Croke Park Hotel as well as The Cork Hotel; and in England, The Bristol Hotel, and London’s The Marylebone Hotel, The Great Russell Hotel, and The Kensington Hotel. The first Jurys Hotel was founded in 1839 by William Jury at No.7 College Green in Dublin, and the Group has traded as leading Irish hoteliers ever since. The Doyle Group was founded in 1964 by PV Doyle, and was Ireland’s largest privately-owned and managed hotel group.  In 1999, Jurys Hotel Group plc acquired the Doyle Hotel Group. The group was taken private in 2005. The re-launch of The Doyle Collection marks the evolution of the company in keeping with PV Doyle’s original vision, delivered by the next generation of the Doyle and Beatty families. For more information, please visi www.thedoylecollection.com.

The Institute of Contemporary Art (presents the extraordinary art of Charles LeDray

This summer, the Institute of Contemporary Art presents an exhibition of the extraordinary art of New York-based artist Charles LeDray. Remarkable for their unexpected scale and fine detail, his sculptures can stop us in our tracks for the sense of wonder they elicit and the deeper human stories they suggest. The artist stitches together complete, tiny men’s suits, shirts, and other clothing. Cuffs, collars, hems, and buttons are all made by the artist. He throws thousands of ceramic pots, each barely the size of a finger. Objects carved from bone—a door, a bench, a model of the solar system—are each rendered with breathtaking precision. Accompanied by a full-color publication, this exhibition includes approximately 50 sculptures and installations, from early works to a new installation never before on view. Organized by ICA Associate Curator Randi Hopkins, Charles LeDray: workworkworkworkwork runs through Oct. 17, 2010. After its debut at the ICA, the exhibition travels to the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (Nov. 18, 2010—Feb. 13, 2011) and to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (June-Sept. 2011). 

In an era of high-tech, mass production, LeDray insists on a painstaking manual process that lends deep feeling to each of his works. In this, LeDray diverges from many artists of his generation who embraced a hands-off, fabricated method of art-making. While LeDray’s techniques are rooted in the traditions of folk art and he learned to sew at home, his art is in no way “naïve.” He absorbed and was inspired by centuries of art as a museum guard and art handler, and has drawn comparisons to artists such as Robert Gober and Mike Kelley.

Featuring nine galleries of work spanning 25 years, Charles LeDray: workworkworkworkwork offers a rich view of the ideas and themes that have evolved and developed through the artist’s career. For example, the first gallery that viewers enter contains the welcoming, homey “Hall Tree” (2006), hung with coats but with a few hooks still free; the colorful, exuberant “Party Bed” (2006-2007); “Village People” (2003-2006), an installation of 21 tiny hats that conjures a parade of identities; and also “Orrery” (1997), LeDray’s earliest work carved from bone, which references ancient models of our solar system. Some works are connected to personal history and memory, others to communities and social milieus, or one’s sense of time and place within a vast universe—all ideas that are recurrent throughout the exhibition. 

LeDray’s most recent work is characterized by increasingly expansive, multi-part installations that take the artist years to create. The exhibition will premiere “Throwing Shadows” (2008-2010), an extraordinary new ceramic work including more than 3,000 small black porcelain pots. It also features the U.S. debut of the installation “MENS SUITS” which recreates three rooms of a second-hand clothing shop to precise, yet intimately wrought detail and scale. In a scene that feels suspended in time, LeDray’s art invites viewers to imagine the lives through which these objects seem to have passed.

Artist bio

Charles LeDray was born in 1960 in Seattle, Washington, and currently lives and works in New York. Charles LeDray: workworkworkworkwork, a major exhibition surveying 25 years of the artist’s work, opens this summer at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (July 16—Oct. 17, 2010). The exhibition will travel to the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York (Nov. 18, 2010—Feb. 13, 2011) and to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (June-Sept. 2011).  The artist’s previous exhibitions include a solo show organized by the ICA Philadelphia (2002); and a number of significant group exhibitions including Sculpture, the Cartin Collection, Hartford, Connecticut (2005); Past Presence: Childhood and Memory, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2005); and the Lyon Biennale, France (2000). In 1993, LeDray received the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award and in 1997 he was the recipient of the Prix de Rome from the American Academy in Rome. The artist’s work can be found in major public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Exhibition-related programs

Gallery Talk: Shop TalkLeDray’s Mens Suits, a three-part, scaled-down store display, is a fascinating look at the relationship between clothing and identity. Join Christopher Luxton and Sue Otto, Creative Directors at Urban Outfitters, as they discuss the role of display in their (full-size) stores. Free with museum admission.


Gallery Talk: Dress Patterns
Sunday, August 8, 2 pm
Take a closer look at LeDray's remarkable handmade garments with Kathleen McDermott, a historian who has spent 20 years pursuing the connections between history, business, culture, and fashion. An instructor in fashion history at MassArt and RISD, she is also an accomplished hat designer. Free with museum admission.

About the ICA

An influential forum for multi-disciplinary arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art has been at the leading edge of art in Boston for more than 70 years. Like its iconic building on Boston's waterfront, the ICA offers new ways of engaging with the world around us. Its exhibitions and programs provide access to contemporary art, artists, and the creative process, inviting audiences of all ages and backgrounds to participate in the excitement of new art and ideas. The ICA, located at 100 Northern Avenue, is open Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 am - 5 pm; Thursday and Friday, 10 am - 9 pm; and Saturday and Sunday, 10 am - 5 pm. Admission is $15 adults, $13 seniors and $10 students, and free for members and children 17 and under. ICA Free Admission for Youth is sponsored by State Street Foundation. Free admission on Target Free Thursday Nights, 5 - 9 pm. Free admission for families at ICA Play Dates (2 adults + children 12 and under) on the last Saturday of the month. For more information, call 617-478-3100 or visit eeb site at www.icaboston.org.

Four Seasons Hotel Bristol Lounge

If you're planning a trip to Boston, make one of your stops The Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons Hotel. Here, savor the special autumn menu, ideal for upcoming cooler temperatures and colorful views of the Public Garden. This menu celebrates seasonal fruits and spices in dishes like Sweet potato bisque with smoked maple syrup and Bosc pear chutney; Baby arugula salad with candied cranberries, black walnuts, blue cheese and Ceylon cinnamon vinaigrette; and Slow-roasted Vermont chicken with butternut spoonbread, wild mushrooms, rainbow chard and herb broth.

After dinner, comforting desserts from Executive Pastry Chef Tim Fonseca tempt the sweet tooth and warm the tummy with Carmelized Apple Millefeuille with cranberry cider sorbet and Warm Pumpkin-Ginger Bread Pudding with maple walnut ice cream. If you've never been to The Bristol Lounge, you're in for a treat for it has a lovely lounge-like atmosphere and an impressive menu. Executive Chef Brooke Vosika creates upscale comfort food and traditional New England favorites inspired by local, seasonal and artisanal products. The restaurant regularly receives awards from local and national publications for service, atmosphere, food and cocktails including Improper Bostonian "Best Power Lunch," and Zagat Survey "#1 Décor." It's open for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner seven days a week.

Reservations are recommended. Call 617-351-2037.

Currently, the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts manages 70 hotels in 31 countries with more than 20 properties under development. Open since 1985, Four Seasons Hotel Boston provides a preferred address for both business and leisure travelers, and the highly personalized, anticipatory service that Four Seasons guests expect and value around the world. The 273-room Four Seasons Boston has been honored with top rankings in international surveys including the coveted AAA Five Diamond Award, Mobil Five Star Award, Conde Nast Traveler 2006 Gold List, Travel + Leisure Top 500 Hotels in the World and the 2006 Zagat Survey No. 1 Hotel in Boston.

Information on the company and on Four Seasons Hotel Boston can be accessed through the Four Seasons Web site at www.fourseasons.com.

Four Seasons Hotel Boston "Do Not Disturb" Romantic Getaway Package

Boston winters have a reputation for being unbearable, but that's only if one ventures outside. Four Seasons Hotel Boston advises visitors to check in and stay in by offering a package that lets you get away with your sweetie without ever leaving the hotel.

A weekend trip to a cozy B&B sounds just dreamy until faced with icy mountain roads for three hours. This winter, Four Seasons Hotel Boston encourages couples to head to the city where intimate rooms, 24-hour room service, two of Boston's best restaurants, spa services, sauna, steam room, and a whirlpool await. The real bonus? Aside from easy access from any Northeast location and a 10-minute trip from Logan airport, guests receive a complimentary reservation for two to the Bristol Lounge Viennese Dessert Buffet, two free movies with popcorn and soda and a "lazy morning in bed" late check-out. Room rates are for weekends only and start at $375 based on season and availability.

Information on the company and on Four Seasons Hotel Boston can be accessed through the Four Seasons web site at www.fourseasons.com.

Millennium Hotels and Resorts Offer Guests Exclusive Visual Arts Programming

Millennium Hotels and Resorts in the U.S. is unveiling art-themed packages for its 2007 Millennium on View (MoV) program, providing guests with access to exhibitions and museum events across the country. Millennium on View is a unique visual arts program that sponsors the art of our time at partner museums.

To learn more and sign up for a complimentary membership to Millennium on View, check web site www.millenniumhotels.com/onview.  You may reserve packages on the web site or by calling 866-866-8086. All packages based on availability; blackout dates may apply.

About Millennium Hotels and Resorts

Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR), established in the United States in 2000, is the North American arm of London-based Millennium and Copthorne Hotels plc (MLC). The MHR portfolio includes 20 holdings in The Americas, and the company operates properties including: Millennium Broadway Hotel, New York City; Millennium UN Plaza Hotel, New York City; Millennium Airport Hotel, Buffalo, New York; Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles; Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel, Chicago; Millennium Bostonian Hotel, Boston; Millennium Hotel, Minneapolis; Millennium Hotel, St. Louis; Millennium Hotel, Cincinnati; Millennium Harvest House, Boulder; Millennium Hotel, Durham; Millennium Alaskan Hotel, Anchorage; Millennium Resort, Scottsdale, McCormick Ranch, and the Millennium Maxwell House, Nashville. MLC holdings outside of the Millennium brand include the Millenium Hilton in New York City.

For further information on Millennium Hotels and Resorts, call 866-866-8086 or visit www.millenniumhotels.com.

CAMBRIDGE

More soon

FOXBOROUGH

Bass Pro Shops Open

Bass Pro Shops has opened its store in Patriot Place ---- a first in Massachusetts. The 140,000-square-foot store is the signature tenant for the new Patriot Place development project located adjacent to Gillette Stadium at 1 Patriot Place in Foxborough.

About the store:

The entire store is a tribute to the vast diversity of the New England landscape and its people and, like other Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World stores, takes on the flavor and atmosphere of the region in which it is located. Using more than 3,500 area artifacts, antiques, pictures, mounts and memorabilia, the store becomes a living museum of New England’s hunting, fishing, camping and other outdoor legacies.

Hand-painted murals from renowned artists depict scenes that are quintessentially New England--the beaches of Cape Cod, the rocky coasts of Maine, the cranberry bogs of Massachusetts, the forests and mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire and historic Lake Champlain. State and record wildlife mounts are displayed alongside local historical prints depicting early New England residents enjoying sporting adventures.

Massive log and rock work frame the Grand Entrance and a porte-cochere protects visitors from inclement weather. Old snow fencing from Wyoming has been reclaimed and used to side the exterior. Inside, rustic wood timber and chink walls and vaulted post and beam construction ceiling make up the front lobby. The lobby resembles an old boat building operation reminiscent of Gloucester’s historical wharfs and waterfronts. It even has a gantry crane for hoisting big boats. A fire crackles in the large stone fireplace (one of three in the store)  complete with a handcrafted metal screen depicting New England fisherman casting their nets on the water. An authentic New England lobster boat rests on top of the Customer Service counter while a 43’, 3,000 pound Humpback whale hangs suspended from the ceiling.

Giant, exquisitely crafted outdoor themed chandeliers, made by Bass Pro Shops’ own artisans, hang throughout the store. Deer, duck, turkey, bear, bobcat and wolf tracks are imprinted in the concrete floor. Moose, deer and other wildlife in natural and action settings are set amidst boulders on top of the 35,000 gallon Bass Pro Shops and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Educational aquarium.

A cave structure surrounds the aquarium, which will be stocked with more than 400 fish native to the area including largemouth bass, striped bass, northern pike, bowfin, giant carp, Atlantic salmon and crappie. Two elevators rise up from either side of the aquarium offering riders a bird’s-eye view of the 3-story waterfall. Other water features include a 5,500- gallon-turtle pond and a 3,800 gallon trout pool. A large moose stands in the trout stream. One can almost visualize his antlers dripping as if he has just dipped his head for a cool drink.

Other museum quality wildlife exhibits and dioramas are seen throughout the entire store. At any moment visitors could expect to come upon a covey of quail being flushed from grasslands or a sentinel of turkeys standing guard in a thicket.

A feature diorama is comprised of a 43-foot-long 1960’s sport fishing boat shown cutting through the surf while fishermen reel in tuna from the rear deck. Special displays in the store include a pictorial and memorial tribute to long-time outdoorsman, Massachusetts native Ray Whitaker. At one time Ray oversaw the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Wildlife. Another display features photos and items from the collections of American Gun Maker William Ruger.

Bass Pro Shops’ dedication to detail is evident wherever you look as their own artisans work with local craftspeople to create a visual style unique to that store, including handcrafted ornate metal fire screen doors, iron railings, sconces and more. But the attention to detail doesn’t stop with store design and imagery elements. The same consideration is given to merchandise selection. Visitors will have the area’s largest array of freshwater and saltwater rods, reels and fishing accessories to choose from, all hand-picked and specially selected for the area.

The World Wide Sportsman Fly Shop, featuring antique and collectible fly fishing memorabilia, has a vast selection of the latest in fly fishing gear. Experts will continue the art of hand-tying flies on site and assist customers in making the perfect selection.

The attention to detail continues to be evident in the hunting department where cabinets are adorned with hand-carved animals. World Class record deer mounts grace the walls. Customers will find an equally impressive array of hunting clothing and gear. The archery department offers a bow set-up shop and a 25-yard archery range that is perfect for testing new bows or sharpening necessary archery skills.

More than a hunting and fishing store, visitors will also find items perfect for camping, hiking, outdoor cooking, bird watching or whatever your outdoor pleasures may be. A gift and nature center offers a variety of items from artwork to lamps, to bird feeders and furniture, to home decorating items and gifts for the holidays. Cooking accessories include cookbooks, spices, grills and jerky making items. The store also features a wide selection of men’s and women’s footwear and apparel, featuring popular brands including Columbia, North Face, Tommy Bahama, Bob Timberlake, World Wide Sportsman and RedHead. A NASCAR® department offers racing clothing, caps and memorabilia for your favorite drivers.

Kids of all ages will enjoy the logging mill themed 2-story laser arcade featuring approximately 55 animated targets. The Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in Foxborough will also include a Conservation Room celebrating the local conservation groups. A Bass Pro Shops hallmark, the company’s dedication to conservation is apparent through the many groups and organizations whose ongoing efforts and continuing outdoor education they support.

The store also houses the 2,000-plus square foot Blue Fin Lounge that pays homage to New England pubs. The menu features a great selection of food and beverages from tasty appetizers like Shrimp and Crab Parmesan Dip with Flatbread to meals of Fish & Chips and burgers. Eat in the main room or dine outside on the patio where a fine beverage and fire pit will chase away any autumn chill.

A marine and boat center displays a full range of boats from Tracker Marine--the world’s largest manufacturer of fishing boats. From big water boats to small fishing boats, canoeing and even kayaking, customers will find exactly what they need to have fun on the water with selections from Tracker, Nitro, Tahoe, Sun Tracker, Mako and more. An on-site, state-of-the-art boat service center with 4 service bays will also be available for customers’ convenience for boat rigging.

Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World has hired associates from the Foxborough and surrounding southern New England area that have a passion for the outdoors so customers will be assured of getting local skilled, knowledgeable assistance with questions and selections. The store will also offer free Outdoor Skills Workshops for adults, kids and families that will help maximize outdoor fun by teaching new skills and improving existing ones.

About Bass Pro Shops:

Bass Pro Shops, also a major catalog and Internet retailer, is headquartered in Springfield, MO. They currently have 46 other locations across the United States and Canada that attract more than 90 million visitors a year. In addition, Bass Pro Shops provides products and services for thousands of independent dealers world wide through its subsidiary company, American Rod & Gun.

For more information regarding Bass Pro Shops store locations, products or special events, please visit www.basspro.com . To request a free Bass Pro Shops catalog call 1-800-BASS PRO.

LENOX

Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club Garners Multiple Travel Awards

Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club, which has been rated Four Diamonds by the AAA for the five past years and features one of the largest full service spas in New England, recently received top honors from two of the industry's most prestigious organizations: The World Travel Awards, which has named Cranwell the "Best Resort in Massachusetts" and SpaFinder, whose millions of readers named Cranwell the "Best Spa for Golf."

These awards are in addition to a number of accolades Cranwell received in the past year, including the Best Resort in Massachusetts by Boston Magazine's New England Travel and Life. Cranwell Resort was also featured in the book "100 Best Spas in the World," and its golf course was included in "America's Top100 Golf Courses," by Zagat's reader survey.

13th Annual World Travel Awards

The highly prestigious World Travel Awards; recently called the "Oscars of the Travel Industry" by the Wall Street Journal; are granted annually by leading travel professionals around the globe. This year 167,000 voters, including 110,000 travel agents, participated in the balloting, and Cranwell was chosen Best Resort in Massachusetts from among an elite crop of finalists.

Since 1993 the World Travel Awards have recognized the best the travel industry has to offer, and clearly Cranwell Resort fits the bill. Distinguished as one of the Historic Hotels of America, Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club sits on a 380-acre site landscaped by Fredrick Law Olmsted, the famed designer of New York City's Central Park and Boston's Emerald Necklace. The elegant mansion, centerpiece of the Resort's grounds, dates back to the Gilded Age of the late 19th century.

SpaFinder Readers Choice Award

Spafinder.com and Luxury SpaFinder attract millions of spa consumers annually. To construct their Best of List, patrons of both the magazine and website cast ballots for what turned out to be more than 1,000 different spa properties worldwide. Voters were asked to vote only for spas they've personally visited within the past three years and, as one of the most popular spots for golf in New England.

Cranwell boasts a 6,200 yard, 18-hole golf course, and a 12-acre driving range, with breathtakingly beautiful views of the bucolic Berkshire hills. The course winds throughout the resort's 380 acre property, and the golf course itself was designed and built in 1926 by Wayne Styles and John Van Kleek. Styles and Van Kleek were responsible for over 60 golf courses between 1924 and 1932, most of which were in New England.

Additionally, Cranwell runs a prestigious Golf Digest school on its grounds, and top-tier instructors are available for private and group lessons. The golf course offers state-of-the-art amenities like GPS equipped carts, which provide golfers with yardage calculation and other resort communication.

About Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club

Cranwell's renowned spa is the only facility in New England that features the Carita Paris facial "The Renovateur", as well as its signature treatment, "The Grand Mosaic Dry Float," an ethereal two-hour body wrap, warm water immersion, and full body massage. The Spa also offers classes in Pilates, Yoga, Body Conditioning and Aerobics, as well as specialized yoga and other conditioning classes specifically for golfers. Additionally the resort provides an ideal setting for outdoor activities, including tennis, biking, hiking and Nordic walking, with the majestic Berkshires as your personal playground.

The award-winning, 107-room, 380-acre resort is located at 55 Lee Road in Lenox, Massachusetts, approximately two and one-half hours from New York and two hours from Boston.

For information about rate packages, of which Cranwell offers a variety, and reservations, call (800) 272-6935 or visit www.Cranwell.com

NANTUCKET

The Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum is open and showcases its collection of over 5,000 objects – including period surfboats, beach carts, vintage photographs, and more. Now, the museum has a special a historical retrospective exhibit on “Madaket Millie,” a colorful local character, who personally took over Coast Guard patrols of Madaket Harbor.

The Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum is located at 158 Polpis Road, just 3.5 miles from Nantucket Town. Hours of operation are 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. daily. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children 5 – 18, and free to children under 5, and also includes admission to Egan Maritime Institute exhibits at the historic Coffin School, located at 4 Winter Street in Nantucket Town.

For more information call (508) 228-1885, or visit online at www.nantucketshipwreck.org.

SALEM

Peabody Essex Museum

Wedded Bliss, The Marriage of Art and Ceremony

The Peabody Essex Museum is featuring Wedded Bliss, The Marriage of Art and Ceremony - a wide- ranging exploration of the wedding as artistic inspiration across cultures, lifestyles and three centuries.

No exhibition has ever before taken this connective and comparative approach, with 130 paintings, sculptures, photographs, decorative objects and multimedia from the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Pacific, highlighting the complex beliefs and emotions surrounding the matrimonial experience. From the 18th century to the present, these works reveal the diversity of creative response to weddings, as well as changing attitudes and customs over time.

The following programs celebrate the opening of this exhibition. All are included with museum admission.

Film | Monsoon Wedding
Noon | Morse Auditorium
2001, 114 minutes, directed by Mira Nair
Mira Nair's Golden Globe-nominated Monsoon Wedding depicts various romantic entanglements in the days leading up to a traditional Punjabi arranged wedding. Nair weaves together five intersecting love stories, crossing geographical, social and moral boundaries. Acclaimed internationally, Monsoon Wedding was a winner at the 2002 British Independent Film Awards and the 2001 Venice Film Festival.

Cake Designing Demonstration
2 - 5 pm | Atrium
A professional cake designer will decorate a wedding cake in the museum's Atrium. Try your hand at cake decorating using professional tools and expert guidance.

Gallery Presentation with wedding cake designer Cile Burbidge
2 pm | Wedded Bliss exhibition
See above listing.

Illustrated Presentation | Wedding Ceremonies: Ethnic Symbols, Costume and Rituals
With photographers Tiziana and Gianni Baldizzone
3 pm | Morse Auditorium
Acclaimed photographers Tiziana and Gianni Baldizzone (www.baldizzone.com) have traveled the globe in their quest to photograph people, cultures and traditions in remote regions. Published in 2001, their book Wedding Ceremonies: Ethnic Symbols, Costume and Rituals is a stunning photographic survey of marriage ceremonies from around the world. They will share some of these images and discuss some of their more recent projects, followed by a question-and-answer session moderated by Peabody Essex Museum Curator of Textiles and Costumes, Paula Richter.

Supported in part by the Henry Luce Foundation, the Coby Foundation and New Trade Winds/ECHO. Media Partners are Magic 106.7, WFXT-TV Fox 25, The Boston Globe and grace ormonde Wedding Style New England. I\

Special exhibitions may require an additional fee. Location: East India Square, Salem, MA 01970. Call 866-745-1876 or visit web site www.pem.org.

 

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