Harth at the Hilton McLean Tyson's Corner

Are you planning to visit the Washington, DC area this wintertime?  If you are a foodie, the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner has a great hotel package for you!  The Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, along with their on-site restaurant Harth, is offering two cooking packages for two this winter/spring.  Packages are running on January 14, February 11, and March 17, and they include the following:

• A two-hour cooking class for two with Harth Executive Chef Thomas Elder with the following themes for each weekend – January 14 – Holiday Leftovers; February 11 – Romantic Meals for Two; March 17 – St. Patrick Day Treats
• Lesson from Harth’s in-house mixologist Andrew Pecoraro
• A copy of From our Harth, to Your Home
• A bottle of Moët Gold to enjoy during your meal
• free valet parking at the hotel during your stay
• Overnight accommodations in a redesigned guest room at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner

Packages start at $259, and include a one night stay.  If you are local to the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner and still want to do the package without the overnight stay, there’s a no-room option available too.

Hilton McLean Tysons Corner
7920 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, Virginia 22102
703-847-5000

Photo credit: Hilton McLean Tysons Corner

The Exterior of the Hotel Monaco Alexandria

Do you believe guest and staff rumors that ghosts haunt the sixth floor of the historic Hotel Monaco in Alexandria, Virginia?  Want to add a little spookiness to your family vacation this October/November?  Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco, in Alexandria, Virginia, is the location where two martyrs, Union Colonel Elmer Ellsworth and secessionist innkeeper James Jackson were killed in a battle that is often considered the unofficial beginning to the Civil War.

This October and November, the Hotel Monaco Alexandria is offering a Ghosts of Alexandria Family Package, which includes the following:

• Deluxe accommodations in a King or Double Room on the “haunted” sixth floor
• Two tickets to the “Ghosts and Graveyards” tour of Old Town Alexandria, where you’ll follow an 18th century costumed guide by lantern light through Alexandria’s historic district – with ghost stories and tales of the Civil War
• Complimentary valet parking at the Hotel Monaco
• A “Key to the City” Pass featuring special discounts on historic sites throughout Alexandria

The Ghosts of Alexandria package starts at $150 and is based upon availability through November 20, 2011.  To book the package, call (703) 549-6080 locally or (800) 368-5047 toll free.   You can also book online using the rate code GHOST.

Hotel Monaco Alexandria
480 King Street, Alexandria 22314
(800) 368-5047

Photo credit: David Phelps

Jim Justice, new owner of The Greenbrier, wants the legendary and historic W. Va hotel and resort to be more friendly to ordinary Virginians, and not just to Presidents and the rich and the famous. To that end, The Greenbrier is offering a jaw-dropping special - $59 per night, as a ‘Tribute to the Virginias.’

The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va

This offer is exclusively for residents of West Virginia and Virginia, and available only on the nights of November 15-16, December 18-20, 2009, January 8-10 and February 5-7, 2010.

In a press statement, Mr. Justice said that “The Greenbrier is a national treasure, and we want to share our enthusiasm and our new amenities with the citizens of West Virginia and Virginia.”

If it’s a national treasure – we think it is – and The Greenbrier wants to share their enthusiasm, then shouldn’t the special rates have been offered to everyone, instead of just the good people of the Virginias?

Even so, the offer is still amazing. Standard room rates offered by The Greenbrier on the same dates start from $275 per night, as compared to the $59 that Virginians will be paying.  

In addition to the ridiculously low rate, also included in the offer is $20 in Match Play coupons per night for The Tavern Casino, complimentary greens fees and 20% off on all other outdoor activities. Plus, daily resort fee is waived for guests on this package.

For more details, visit www.greenbrier.com/tribute.

Info: 300 W. Main Street White Sulphur Springs WV 24986; (304) 536-1110; www.greenbrier.com/; Photo by riptheskull 

by Barbara Weibel of Hole In The Donut Travels

“If these walls could only talk,” I thought as I walked into the lobby of the Linden Row Inn. I was in Richmond, Virginia for a writer’s conference and, sight unseen, had made reservations at this historic hotel at the suggestion of conference organizers. As it was located in the slightly dilapidated – yet reawakening – city center, I expected another run-of-the-mill, seedy hotel. Instead, I found eight Greek Revival row houses that have been lovingly restored and converted to a 70-room hotel.

Linden Row Inn, looking toward historic row houses

The moment I set foot in the Linden Row I was transported back to the nineteenth century, when Richmond was the capital of the confederacy. Wooden rockers line the interior balconies, wrought iron tables and chairs dot the red brick paved courtyard, and antique leather sofas and chairs in the Parlor Lounge tempt guests to while away the hours with a book and a glass of wine. Guest rooms, many with original windows nearly reaching to 12-foot ceilings, are filled with antiques and reproductions from the Victorian and Empire periods, yet the facility has bowed to modern times by providing cable TV with premium channels, coffeemakers, clock radios, and complimentary high-speed Internet access. Read More »