As 34.9 million travelers hit the road for Memorial Day, the biggest concern is the price of filling the tank. To help ease the pain at the pump, many hotels, hotel groups and booking agents are offering free gas cards.

Pumping gas

Hotels.com: The summer giftaway promotion offers three tiers of rewards. Travelers who stay 1 night can save upto 30% while those who stay 2 nights get a $25 gas card (use promo code ROADTRIP). Stay 3 nights and you get an Amazon Kindle e-reader (promo code BOOKWORM). More details here.

IHG: IHG is offering a ‘Vacation Pay’ promotion, where U.S. travelers get a $75 prepaid card for staying two consecutive weekend nights at any of IHG’s 4,400 hotels worldwide. The card can be used for gas and other things too. Promotion valid until Aug 31, 2011. More details here.

Marriott: California road-trippers can get a $25 gas card free for booking a stay at any of the participating hotels in California, including in San Francisco, San Diego, La Jolla and Bakersfield. The promotion is valid until Sept 6, 2011. Use promo code TRS for online booking.

Marriott also has a free gas card offer for those who want to head north across the border to Canada. The ‘Cars Eat Free’ package offers a $25 CAD gas card for each weekend night’s stay. Most of the participating hotels also provide free parking, so your car also gets to ‘stay free.’ Use promo code TRS and the promotion is valid until Aug 19, 2011.

On top of these offers from hotel groups, there are hundreds more from individual hotels. For example, the Hyatt Regency Long Island in New York State is offering a gas card package that includes overnight accommodations, a $25 gas card per stay, free breakfast and complimentary parking and internet.

The Four Seasons Hotel Boston is offering a ‘Fueled up’ package with a $50 gas card. The Bay Point Marriott Golf Resort & Spa in Panama City Beach, Fla. is offering $100 to $50 gas cards, depending on the length of stay.

It would be impossible to list all such offers here, but it’s a good bet that most cities will have at least a couple or more hotels offering free gas cards in addition to the hotel group offers mentioned above.

Photo by FutureAtlas (via flickr)

Related posts:
Mansfield, Ohio is giving away $50 gas cards
Memorial Day Weekend Hotel Deals
Road Trip Planning – 18 Travel Tips for Your Next Road Trip

Just off Michigan Avenue, the Four Seasons Chicago offers the luxury you want

Hotel Site

Dr. House, anyone?

Celebs Spotted: Demi Moore, Madonna, John Cusack, Nicole Kidman, Gary Busey, Diana Ross, Elton John, Hugh Laurie, Victoria Beckham, Drew Barrymore

Chicago is in the news lately, a hopeful for the 2012 Olympics. (This just in: they didn’t make the bid.) Even President Obama has been there. And he’s not the only celebrity spotted in the Windy City. Lots of stars spend time in Chi-Town, and the Four Seasons is one of their favorite places to stay.

Come on up, the opulence is fine

Located right off Michigan Avenue (shopping, anyone?), the Four Seasons Chicago has over 300 rooms with amazing views of Lake Michigan and that spectacular Chicago skyline. You’ll find French decor all over the place. Oh, style, thy name is Four Seasons!

The Conservatory for a nice cup of tea

Demi Moore stays at the Four Seasons, as does Nicole Kidman (who reportedly sends 800-thread-count sheets ahead so they’re there when she arrives, ooh la la!) and Elton John. In fact, there are a couple of ex-Four Seasons concierges who wrote a book about the famous people at the Four Seasons, complete with tantrums and outrageous demands. The book was pulled by the publisher before it went on sale, but still. Juicy stuff.

Check out that view

Chicago skyline looks lovely

Every room has LCD flat screen TVs, wifi, DVD players, and in-room safes. Mix that up with refrigerated private bars, luxurious terrycloth bathrobes, twice-daily housekeeping service, and even a Bedtime Stories Butler for the kiddos. No kidding, the Four Seasons has a special butler that comes to your room to read bedtime stories to the kids! I kind of want one of those myself.

The Spa offers everything from manicures to massages and wraps

There’s also a fantastic spa – you can have a massage in your own room if you prefer – and a fitness room, including locker rooms, sauna, and an indoor 50-foot pool.

Glass dome ceiling, 50-foot pool

A bit sunny for my taste, but you just know that bed is comfy

A Moderate Room starts at $395 a night. The Four Seasons Executive Suite is $560/night. But if you think that’s where Hugh Laurie and Drew Barrymore stay in the Moderate Room, you’re insane.

It’s all about the Presidential Suite, baby. Oh yeah! 2,315 square feet of glamor and opulence, the Presidential Suite sits at the corner of the 46th floor of the Four Seasons. Enough room to seat nine guests in the living room, a dining room that’ll handle eight people.

Have 9 or 10 friends over for dinner

Two private bars, surround-sound stereo, four-poster bed in the master bedroom. Two – yes, TWO - marble bathrooms. Deep pink marble soaking tub, shower enclosed in glass, and a flat-screen TV…in the BATHROOM. If they deliver room service in the tub, I might never have to leave the water.

Presidential Suite

And that, my friends, will set you back $4,300 a night. But hey, if you want to pretend you’re Madonna or Victoria Beckham, that stuff costs.

Drew Barrymore

Fine dining, too, of course. The Seasons Restaurant is beautiful and offers a hybrid French-North American cuisine. A grand marble fountain and a wonderful comfy lounge on the 7th floor ensures that you’ll not only enjoy the food, but the ambiance, too. You may have to provide your own company, though.

And every Thursday through the end of this month, you can enjoy Dine Without Whine. For grownups and kiddies both, there are seasonal food items that will delight your tastebuds. For the children, there’s a special buffet near the adults, where they’ll love the movies, activities, and video games…all with a licensed babysitter. Did I mention the babysitter is free for parents? Yeah. Just in the restaurant, mind you…there are babysitters available in your room, too, but that’ll cost you.

Or spend time at the Chef’s Table for an incredible culinary experience. You and up to five others sit in the kitchen with the Executive Chef and watch your courses fixed right in front of you. A four-course meal starts at $85 a person, $125 with wine.

Chicago is magnificent, particularly this time of year. Loads of restaurants nearby, the Navy Pier, Lincoln Park Zoo. Enjoy it all while bathing yourself in luxurious comfort at the Four Seasons Chicago. And bring me along, eh? I’m tons of fun and will be a gracious accepter of your hospitality. Seriously, I will. I’m the graciousest.

What? That’s totally a word.

I’m always interested in hotels that might fit into the Celebrity Hotel of the Week feature. If you know of any, please email me. southernyank01 at gmail dot com. Thanks.

Photo Credits

Hotel Photos: Four Seasons web site

Hugh Laurie: Celebutopia.net

Drew Barrymore: Zimbio.com

This is the first part of a series showcasing the best gyms in hotels across the United States.  We’ll start with the most populated city: New York, and work our way through popular U.S. destinations.  Travelers venturing to New York know they are in for some walking but what if your trip is all stuffy business meetings and thinking outside the box?  (Raise your hand if you’re in corporate America and hate that phrase.)

To keep your fitness routine going while you’re away, consider one of these hotels that really put some thought into their gyms.

The New York Palace:

The New York Palace offers top of the line equipment and 7000 sq.ft. of spacious fitness center and spa.

If you find yourself without running shoes and workout clothes, (because you’re like me and forgot to pack that sort of thing) don’t sweat it (heh).  The New York Palace offers complimentary sneakers and workout clothes!  Each of the many cardio machines has it’s own personal screen.  Also free?  Bottled water and fruit.

Trump International Hotel and Tower:

Personal trainers at your service at the Trump International Hotel and Tower, NYC.

If you are a Plus One Active user, you will certainly find access to that as well as the internet in this hotel’s fitness center.  On top of having free personal trainers at your service, the center also can provide, upon request, a comprehensive fitness evaluation and nutritional counseling beyond ‘stay out of the carb-filled mini bar in your room, Missy/Mister.”

The Affinia Dumont:

The Affinia Dumont in New York City has a Fitness Concierge!

Complimentary Experience Kits come in yoga, running, and strength-training flavors and they are yours if you stay at this fabulous hotel.  In addition to the Experience Kits, the Affinia Dumont boasts a beautiful fitness center that is sure to get your mojo moving.  The Fitness Concierge (swanky!) “can offer fitness-related information about the neighborhood. And he can act as your personal trainer in our fitness center, or provide a complimentary fitness evaluation by request. (Yours, not his.)”

The Hyatt and the Grand Hyatt:

The Hyatt can deliver workout clothes to you room within an hour. (Charges apply.)

Trusted source TODAY loved this chain of hotels for their 24 hour fitness centers, as well as the service (gym clothes delivered to your room within an hour.)  “Some locations even offer customers a Garmin Forunner, a wrist-top GPS monitor, which you can borrow from the concierge and use during your run.“   TODAY went on to rate the fitness facilities a 5 out of 5.  {source}

The W:

The W

With three locations in New York City, The W covers a lot of ground both in geography and with their stunning “Sweat” centers.  Like the New York Palace, each cardio machine is outfitted with it’s very own screen.  No peeking!
While there are many more hotels in New York that boast beautiful workout centers, you and I both know the trick is motivating yourself to get into one.  With so much to do in New York City, you’d be hard-pressed to find me on a treadmill when I could be taking pictures of the sights of The Big Apple.  Still, these hotels seem to get it right.

Photo credits: The New York Palace, Trump International Hotel and Tower, The Affinia Dumont, The Hyatt and the Grand Hyatt, and The W.

Sunshine Guaranteed for Florida Vacation

Two Florida hotels are guaranteeing the state’s famous sunshine during your hotel stay through Sept. 30.

The Hyatt Place Orlando/Lake Mary and the Hilton Garden Inn Jacksonville/Ponte Vedra are offering a discounted $99 hotel room rate and the assurance that you will get a free night certificate for a future vacation if it rains more than 0.5 inches on any night of your stay.

The Sunshine Guaranteed package also includes extras such as free breakfasts and dinner discounts.

“We know vacationers are looking for packages like Sunshine Guaranteed- great deals with the kind of valuable extras that make summer travel fun and affordable,” says Chuck Schoonmaker, general manager of Hilton Garden Inn Jacksonville/Ponte Vedra.

Here’s a look at what each hotel has to offer:

Hyatt Place Orlando/Lake Mary

This new hotel opened in January 2009 in Lake Mary, Fla. It has 128 guestrooms, each equipped with Hyatt Grand Beds, separate seating areas and roomy workspaces, refrigerators and flat-panel TVs. Wi-fi and parking are free at the Hyatt Place Orlando/Lake Mary. The hotel has a heated outdoor pool and a new fitness center.

Staying at the Hyatt Place Orlando/Lake Mary on the Sunshine Guaranteed package gets you:

* $99 per night discounted room rate
* Free future room night for each day it rains more than 0.5 inches
* Free made-to-order breakfast for up to four guests per room, per night
* $25 gift certificate to Stonewood Grill

You can book online using the discount code “SUNS” now through Sept. 15, 2009, for stays through Sept. 30, 2009.

Hilton Garden Inn Jacksonville/Ponte Vedra

This hotel is at the entrance to the TPC Sawgrass, a golfer’s paradise. It has 127 guest rooms, and all of them have a refrigerator and microwave, which is great for family travels. The Hilton Garden Inn Jacksonville/Ponte Vedra has an outdoor poll and whirlpool, as well as a free fitness center. Wi-fi and parking are free.

Staying at the Hilton Garden Inn Jacksonville/Ponte Vedra on the Sunshine Guaranteed package gets you:

* $99 per night discounted room rate
* Free future room night for each day it rains more than 0.5 inches
* Free full breakfast for two each day at the Great American Grill restaurant in the hotel
* $25 gift certificate to Cruisers Grill

You can book online using the discount code “P3″ now through Sept. 15, 2009, for stays through Sept. 30, 2009.

If you’re planning a trip, check out Jacksonville flights.

Guest post by Leigh Caldwell.