The Resort at Pelican Hill...Better than Palmilla in Cabo?

While I must admit that the One and Only Palmilla in Cabo is one of my all time favorite resorts, I think I may have found a new property that could give Palmilla a run for its money as the best destination resort in North America. Now I know, some of you, especially my incentive clients are going to balk at the thought of something better but trust me when you build a resort with $1 billion in cash, there is no stone unturned, or crack in the pavement, or a paint chip, or bad service....I can keep going and going.

The Irvine Company truly spared no expense in the design and creation of such a fabulous and unique resort community. Each bungalow begins at an amazing 847 square feet of living area, plus an outdoor patio area that includes 2 chaise loungers and a table for two. There are only a few garden or golf course views, as many of the 144 bungalows offer idyllic Pacific Ocean views. The breezes off the water aren't bad either, and with no humidity or bugs many days I sat with my doors wide open.

The bungalows can be configured into a one or two bedroom option to accommodate multiple family members or multigenerational trippers. And with these options square footage grows to over 2000 square feet. Way bigger than my first apartment. Not to mention, each room has its own fireplace, 52" plasma HD flat screen tv, a bathroom the size of my bedroom with an oversized, incredibly deep soaking tub, granite tiled shower for 2 and a shuttered partition window that can be opened to showcase the beautiful views off the balcony.

There are no resort fees so WiFi in every inch of the property is complimentary, along with bottled water, newspapers,fitness center and spa access. Spread out on the rolling hillside and encompassing over 500 acres including two Tom Fazio designed golf courses, bellman offer rides to every corner of the resort and their service is quicker than you can snap your fingers. Transportation service is even offered down to the beach, where you are given a beach bag full of towels, toys for the kiddos and bottled water. At the Beachcomber restaurant you are met by a beach concierge who sets you up with chairs, umbrellas, blankets and answers every need from drinks to walking options to activity ideas. Shuttles also run to the Fashion Island Mall, which is definitely not a place to miss even if you only want to people watch. Trust me, everything in Orange County is beautiful...the resorts, golf courses, homes, people, cars.....

The Coliseum Pool measures an exact 147 foot circle and each chair boasts a view of the Pacific. Cabanas are available for day rental complete with flat screen tvs, bar service, mini bar, and staff. The Grill at the Coliseum draws locals and guests alike, and provides breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks throughout the day. The Spa and Fitness center are lavish. No detail was forgotten and the fitness director offers daily beach walks, yoga classes, and a Friday evening Soiree where a local artist is on hand creating an amazing piece of work in which the guests can participate. The Spa...oh how I wish I was back. The relaxation room was truly dreamy with exotic teas, food service, gauzy and flowing curtains partitioning off the room that was filled with cushy and plush sofas, chairs and ottomans. There is a large Roman soaking tub heated to 102 degrees and filled with mineral water, a dry sauna and eucalyptus steam room. Definitely treat yourself to a service at the spa.

Andrea's is the Resort's signature restaurant offering Northern Italian fare and truly one of the best in the OC, if not America. Our waiter was impeccable and most of the staff has been on hand since day one. The Risotto for two is an experience in and of itself in regards to taste and preparation. True Italian chefs were brought over to provide insight and design ideas for the restaurant and the menu.

Stay tuned, more tomorrow on the Villas - who wouldn't want their own private butler, Camp Pelican - every child's dream destination, and Golf!

Meeting Industry Council of Colorado

Today I'm blogging from the Sheraton in Denver, where MIC is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The week started with supplier receptions and culminated with the event today. Its filled with great workshops for both planners and suppliers as well as a supplier trade show in the afternoon. Everyone in the Denver event planning business is here, and the speakers have been awesome. If you haven't heard of Colleen Stanley, check out her website at www.salesleadershipdevelopment.com. This is the second time I've heard her speak on sales and ideas to grow you business and each time she surpasses my expectations of the past. No matter which industry you are in, she is one to follow. Brian O'Malley was the keynote during the lunch and he is owner of www.adventurespeaking.com and wow is all I can say. His topic at lunch was finding your Everest, your passion, something that keeps you awake at night and conquer it. Thank you MIC for a great 10 years in the business we all love.

More Happy Airline News

Well, not really...as if the airlines making changes will surprise you. Continental has decided to end the free meal deal on their domestic flights and will begin charging for meals. Joining the ranks of the other mega carriers, Continental will save $35 million per year by eliminating this last free perk. The airline will continue to offer free beverages (coffee, tea, soft drinks, etc) and snacks, but any meals will cost the passenger.

American Airlines was fined this week over $700,000 by the FAA due to maintenance violations. Hmm, can't they find something else to skimp on than maintenance issues? Really, I'm thinking food poisoning might be better than an engine which quits working at 35,000 feet.

And in other airline news, the major airline execs are still heavily protesting the pending new tarmac delay rule which will allow aircraft to return to the gate to let passengers disembark rather than sitting on the tarmac for hours upon end. Airline officials are worried that fines could be as high as $27,000 per passengers. Which in my opinion is totally worth it if you are going to leave me overnight on a 50 seat jet without food or restroom facilities as what happened to a flight last year.

Something Out of the Ordinary

Whether you are looking for some sun and fun times or wanting to offer an incentive retreat that is beyond normal, check out Windstar Cruises. The ships are more intimate than the larger cruising vessels of today and accommodate only about 300-600passengers vs. the 5000 plus people found on the mega ships. You actually feel the water and when the sails are up, you are literally sailing across open seas. The staff is fantastic and go above and beyond to satisfy every request and activities abound with every port stop. Windstar is also offering a future cruise credit of $250 per person for guests that book by June. What wouldn't be a better way to reward your top sales person or best client with a true Caribbean cruise experience and they leave with a little incentive to come back on another vacation.

Shout out to Disney Cruise Lines

Our family just returned from a fantastic vacation aboard Disney's Magic and I just have to give them a huge shout out. This was our 4th trip with them and the longest, 7 days. The weather wasn't great and we had to cancel Grand Cayman to visit Nassau instead, but there was always something to do on the Mickey ship as my boys refer to it.

But my shout out is to the way they handled the embarkation and debarkation procedures. Their cruise prices are worth just those two things. We arrived the evening before into the Orland airport and stayed on property at the Hyatt. At check-in there is this LARGE sign that says "Please tell us if you are on a Disney Cruise." We were told to leave our bags in our room the next morning, the bellman would pick them up, take them to the Disney shuttle bus and we wouldn't have to worry about them again until we got to our stateroom. Wow! We actually checked out, had breakfast and headed down to the Disney Departure area, all the while our bags were shuttled around for us.

Now if I had anything to complain about it would be the Disney Departure area in the Orlando Airport. Not all the employees are full trained on what the procedures are and several have power issues. Needless to say, we stood in one line to make sure we had all our forms filled out and signed. Then we proceeded to the next line, to give all of our forms to a lovely lady behind the desk that didn't speak English very well and we were quite sure she had never seen a computer before either. We were checked into the wrong cabin, and give key cards before she realized it and then stood there another 30 minutes while she figured it out. Finally we were handed our embarkation packet with our keys and a little blue card with "Stitch" on the front. Then we headed over to the waiting area, for the bus driver to call our character before loading us on all the coach to the port.

The shuttle to the port was very enjoyable with Disney music, original Disney cartoons and a great video discussing the Disney Cruise we were about to embark. We made it to the Port in less than 45 minutes and were able to immediately board the ship! We headed straight to the dining reservations area to make a Palo's reservation, then over to the Spa and finally stopped for lunch. It was all smooth sailing from that point on.

The debarkation was even easier! The night before the ship docked we were told to tag our bags and leave them outside the door for the steward to take down to the storage for us. Word to the wise, if you are flying out make sure you don't leave anything out that can't be checked through security! The next morning, we had breakfast one last time with our wonderful dining team, then said a sad good bye to the Mickey Ship.

Definitely take advantage of Disney's onboard airline check-in system. When we tagged our bags the night before, they were tagged all the way through to Denver. When we walked off the ship, down to customs, we didn't need to worry about trying to find our luggage, and schlep it through immigrations. The immigration official didn't even ask to see our Passports, so we walked over to the buses and rode back to the airport. We already had our boarding passes, so we stood in line at security and went out to our gate. It was so simple!!!

Thank you Disney!

Great Group and Meeting Incentives

Fiesta Americana is offering several great group promotions for Mexico. You can receive up to 35% off on Food and Beverage and 25% off rooms & spa services.

Palace Properties has fantastic group promotions based on the number of rooms you block you can received free unlimited promotions.

Curacao Tourist Board just announced its newest property: the Hyatt Regency Golf, Spa and Marina Resort. Groups can save up to 20% on their master bill including meeting facilities, guestrooms and catering/banquet. The group must block at least 10 rooms and events can be held between now and December 20th.

Las Vegas and Spiritual Tourism?

Like most people, I rarely like to admit my faults but I must confess I am immensely behind in reading my plethora of travel industry publications. Seriously, as much as I love the industry you would think I would devour each one as soon as it arrived on my doorstep. Unfortunately, not so much and I'm blaming the holidays.

So I just finished Travel Weekly dated November 9, 2009 and there was a very interesting article urging Las Vegas to consider the financial impact of catering to the spiritual tourism market. Hmmm, I must say that's an interesting proposition.

Given the economic conditions of 2009, I understand that industries will try anything to make money. But honestly, I can't exactly see my grandmother's church group hitting Sin City. I'm almost positive that her church friends are probably praying for all the sins of those of us that hit that town on a regular basis.