With Summer just days away 'SaveOnFloridaTravel' has launched it's new promotional website www.SummerInFlorida.com featuring exclusive offers to great destinations throughout Florida. To kick off the new campaign is a focus on the Florida Keys, with a series of 30 second videos.First featured is Key Largo in the feature below.
SARASOTA, Fla., June 10 FL-SarasotaHotel-Rank, SARASOTA, Fla.
/PRNewswire/ -- June 10
& Her Islands (www.sarasotafl.org) are scoring high on national rankings this summer with Lido Beach being named one of America's best restored beaches and the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota
ranked as the number one domestic hotel and number three hotel world-wide by Expedia.com's Insider Select List. Sarasota
Lido Beach has been raising eyebrows since thecompletion of a federal-grant supported re-nourishment project. The beach on Lido Key was expanded 150 - 200 feet and has more than 600,000 tones of new white sand. It has been restored to its condition prior to the damaging 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons. The restoration was recognized by the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association in May as one of America's best restored beaches. April 2009
"Guests to Lido Beach will delight in the beauty of the beach," said Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau President. "We locals are amazed with the transformation and are so happy to be able to share it at its best, with the world." Virginia Haley
Lido Beach is located just beyond St. Armand's Circle, which is commonly referred toRodeo Drive offering dining, shopping and entertainment. With Lido Beach being conveniently located near St. Armand's Circle as well as the rest of the destination's miles of white sand beaches, accommodations, attractions, culture, shopping and dining, the refreshed appearance of the beach is estimated to inject a potential of Sarasota's
in economic impact into $21 - $37 million
, according to city officials. Sarasota
The Lido Beach Resort, (www.lidobeachresort.com) is offering five exceptional packages to meet any budget or expectation. The packages are:
"HONEY WE'RE STUCK WITH THE KIDS"
Make your next family getaway fun for the kids and the adults alike. This family fun package includes:
Tiki Bar
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
Fourth of July
Sarasota
Tampa
Sarasota
Sarasota
Longboat Key
Siesta Key
Casey Key
Englewood
Nokomis
North Port
Osprey
Venice
Sarasota
Sarasota
Rakesh and Madhu Anand of Anand Photo & Video specialize in Indian weddings. Their full service company also includes wedding planning and decorating with such traditional items as these Welcoming Lady and Lord Ganesh statues. (Susan Stocker, Sun Sentinel / May 27, 2009)
How do you get a groom riding an elephant to his wedding in South Florida traffic?
Or, transform a parking lot into a colorful, yet regal, setting fit for a Hindu bride and her 500 guests?
Think planning a traditional Western wedding is difficult? In South Florida, where the Indian and Indo-Caribbean communities are booming, the demand for Indian wedding planners has also spiked.
Lavish by design, a typical Hindu wedding revolves around festivities that typically last about three days, but can span up to 10.
These wedding planners often have to make sure the proper statues are in place, the fire rituals have the necessary clearance, and authentic Indian foods are prepared.
For years the Indian wedding market was untapped in this area, said Raj Shah, editor of the Indian magazine Desh-Videsh. For the first time, he will host a South Florida Indian bridal expo on Sunday at the Hilton Deerfield Beach/Boca Raton.
"Non-Indians are finding out that the market is huge,'' said Shah, who expects at least 50 vendors peddling everything from wedding-planning services to traditional Indian wedding wares and jewelry.
The Asian-Indian community in South Florida is made up of about 40,000 people, according to recent census surveys, but community leaders say those numbers are low and don't take into account the growing number of people from the Caribbean who are of Indian descent.
One sign that more local banquet facilities are trying to cash in on the market is their well-placed ads in ethnic newspapers and magazines. Some boast of having authentic Indian caterers on call, and Indian-American planning consultants on site.
Over at their Plantation office and warehouse, Rakesh Anand and his wife Madhu, owners of Anand Photo & Video, are getting ready for the expo.
The Anands have been in the Indian wedding-planning business locally for about two decades. In the beginning they would transform Western wares into Indian-looking wedding objects. Now they fill their showroom with imported Indian statues, fabrics and pillars.
Their 6,800-square-foot showroom has tall columns with intricate carvings, used to set up a wedding mandap, a canopy under which traditional Hindu weddings take place.
Life-sized turban-wearing female statues, known as greeters, meet visitors at the showroom's entrance. In almost every row are a variety of bronze elephants, known as Ganesh, a widely worshiped deity almost always present at a Hindu wedding.
The weddings they plan and shoot range from $5,000 to $50,000, the couple said.
"Traditionally, as soon as a girl is born the parents start saving for this event,'' said Madhu Anand.
Rakesh Anand said he's had to get an elephant transported from Ocala to Miami for a groom who didn't want to use the traditional white horse.
"It took a lot of coordination,'' said Anand. The groom--and the elephant--made it to the wedding site, a convention center, on time.
Getting every detail down is also a priority for Jilna Patel Jasani, who parlayed her experience planning her own traditional Hindu wedding into a full-time business.
Jasani was born in Kenya, but since her parents were North Indian, she grew up rooted in her culture. Her wedding in 2007 was held at her family's motel in Homestead, where the parking lot was transformed into an authentic Indian setting with a stage and a tent. The festivities lasted four days.
Jasani was dressed in red and blue, fabric she purchased in India. Her uncles wheeled her to the wedding in a kind of carriage; her groom rode in on a white horse.
Through her business, Suhaag Garden Inc., several times a month she transforms nondescript sites into the setting her clients have dreamed of.
"It's such a big celebration,'' said Jasani. "The wedding for any Indian person or their parents comes before any other milestone.''
Georgia East can be reached at geast@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4629.
Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa together with Loggerhead Marinelife Center of Juno Beach are joining forces in order to heighten awareness of our local endangered Leatherback, Loggerhead and Green Sea Turtles.
Escorted Turtle Walks are conducted at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center located just 5 minutes north of the Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa. The walks are designed to allow visitors to observe the nesting process of threatened Loggerhead Sea Turtles without disrupting them. Walks begin promptly at 9pm through midnight with a half hour educational presentation.
The Sea Turtle Awareness Package includes Deluxe Partial Oceanview Room Accomodations, breakfast for two, two admission tickets for Escorted Turtle Walk, and a souvenir "Loggy" the Turtle. The package cost only $179 per night based on double occupancy. Additional nights may be purchased at $159, including breakfast for two.
Turtle Walks start June 1st and continue through the end of July only on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. There is a limit of 10 persons per night.
It is a truly unique experience! Turtle Walks happen every year and due to their popularity waiting lists develop quickly. Don't miss your chance and book now!
Local paper Sun Sentinel coverage of Ocean Properties own 'Hero's' Bill & Nick Burckhard.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/delraybeach/sfl-flpheroes0204pnfeb04,0,6242371.story
Additional coverage from local TV (Delray Beach FL) of Ocean Properties Hero's Bill & Nick Burckhard.
This is one of the local (Delray Beach FL) TV stations coverage of the heroic actions taken by Ocean Properties own Bill & Nick Burckhard.
Property Offers New Modernized, Socialized Lobby Experience
The new, 170-room Courtyard Boynton Beach in southeast Florida opened on October 17th showcasing Courtyard by Marriott’s new stylish and modern lobby of the future.
In the open, bright and contemporary new hotel lobby, the traditional front desk is replaced with separate welcome podiums designed to create more personal interactions between staff and guests. Among the flexible seating options is a communal table in the middle of the action, more private media booths with high-definition televisions, and a more intimate, semi-enclosed lounge area.
A signature element of the imaginative new lobby space is the exclusive Courtyard GoBoard™, a 52-inch LCD touch screen packed with local information, maps, weather, and news, business and sports headlines. Guests can navigate using the touch screen to find popular Palm Beach area restaurants, attractions and directions. The lobby also features free WiFi, ample electrical outlets, a business library with several complimentary computer terminals, along with a free printer and separate computer stations dedicated to printing airline boarding passes and checking flight status.
Lobby dining has also been completely redesigned with casual, flexible seating; easier access to food and higher quality, healthier menu options for breakfast and lunch; and light evening fare, including snacks, wine and beer so guests can unwind. The Market™, a 24/7 shop for snacks, beverages and sundries, is always open for late-night cravings or forgotten travel items.
In addition to the trend-setting lobby, the Courtyard Boynton Beach includes an extreme makeover of the hotel’s 170 guest rooms. Stylish and innovative, rooms feature Marriott’s highly-acclaimed, plush bedding and bath linens. Other guest room amenities include high-speed internet access, a large flat screen TV, a large well-lit work desk, comfortable ergonomic chairs and a coffee maker. The Courtyard Boynton Beach features 18 two-bedroom suites with a king-size bed and a queen-size bed and full kitchen including stove, refrigerator and microwave oven. Wireless internet access is available throughout the hotel.
The four-story hotel offers 5,000 square feet of meeting space to accommodate small meetings and functions of up to 300 people. Other guest amenities include an outdoor swimming pool with whirlpool spa, fitness center and guest laundry.
