Recently in Experts Category

Lucy Williams is an Orlando-based writer for Starwood Vacation Ownership and thelobby.com's expert on the subject.

If you're seeking new ways to beat the heat this summer, consider slipping away for a refreshing vacation on St. John, a serene island that offers an array of water sports in its sparkling Caribbean waters. For a limited time, you can experience invigorating adventures amid the wonders of the Virgin Islands with a six-day, five-night vacation package at The Westin St. John Resort & Villas. A retail value of $4,500 during peak season, you can vacation at this resort for just $1,995. To learn more about this offer or to view the complete details of participation, please call 888.294.0616 or click here.Whether you prefer relaxing strolls along powdery white sand beaches, exhilarating underwater excursions or the culinary delights of tropical cuisine, the pleasures of St. John will renew your spirit when you stay at The Westin St. John Resort & Villas.

Lucy Williams is an Orlando-based writer for Starwood Vacation Ownership and thelobby.com's expert on the subject.

You're invited to experience a celebration of wine and spirits in Beaver Creek, Colorado from August 7 through 9, 2008. The Beaver Creek Wine & Spirits Festival will feature San Francisco-area celebrity chefs as well as the winners of the San Francisco International Wine Competition and World Spirits Competition. You can expect an exciting array of events, including tastings, food pairings, a wine auction, cooking classes and much more. Enjoy the natural beauty of the Rockies when you attend Walk & Wine, a guided hike from the Beaver Creek Hiking Center followed by a wine pairing luncheon. Or check out Fly Fish/Eat Fish, an event where you can fish the Eagle River with an experienced guide, plus taste over 40 award-winning wines, spirits and dishes from celebrity guest chefs at the festival's finale. To purchase tickets, visit here. After each day of wining and dining, return to comfortable and spacious accommodations when you stay at Sheraton Mountain Vista in Avon, Colorado.

Maxime Francis is the Interactive Marketing Manager of Global Web Services for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.

If you're like me--lazy and it takes weeks to unpack and clean your clothes, even though your trip itself was only 3 days, then you'll love what Flylite has to offer. Better yet, if you are a frequent business traveler, this will take all of the stress of planning, packing, unpacking and cleaning your clothes, so you can focus on the important details of you business trip: the business.

Flylite basically acts as your personal travel assistant. Here's how it works. They clean, steam and store your clothes, including polishing your shoes, before scanning and storing all of your items into a virtual i-Closet. Each trip, you can virtually pack your suitcase by dragging and dropping clothing icons after which Flylite delivers the bags to any US destination. After each stay, Flylite picks up the bags, cleans the clothes and stores everything for the next trip.

Candice Kraughto is the director of public relations for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Hawaii, and thelobby.com's expert on the region. This past week, she has been reporting on dining in San Francisco.

I always bring an eager appetite to San Francisco - the city that my husband and I both adore. We were so sad to learn that Michael Mina's in the Westin St. Francis stopped serving afternoon tea, but dinner there is exquisite. The Palace Hotel on New Montgomery St. is our home away from home. Everytime we walk into the lobby, gaze up at the amazing atrium and feel so privileged to be at such a grand and glorious hotel where over a hundred years ago Hawaii's King David Kalakaua also stayed. One day I'll bring my parents here as well. My father, a Cal Berkeley grad, says he visited The Palace once during the prom (did colleges have proms back then?), but never stayed there.

Dim sum at Yank Sing, gingerbread cupcakes from Miette, fresh seafood from Swan Oyster Depot and little plates from Cortez are all on our regular Bay itinerary. We also never leave San Francisco without making our faithful pilgrimage (on BART no less) to Rockridge to hand-carry home 10 pounds of Italian almond cookies from Market Hall Bakery to share with friends and family.

Maxime Francis is the Interactive Marketing Manager of Global Web Services for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.

Everything is going up in price and candy and chocolates are no exception! If you are searching for the perfect hostess gift, the most unique wedding favor or just the right surprise for your loved one, look no further than a series of new boutique bakeries, all with excellent websites and extraordinary presents under a hundred dollars.

Indulge in Parisian macaroons, a milk-based snack containing almonds and other nuts that are available in 13 flavors, including apricot, almond, coffee and raspberry at L'Epicerie. ($72 for 48 cookies)

Getting married soon? Consider writing personalized fortunes on the inside of dark or white chocolate coated Giant Wedding Fortune Cookies; they come with white, gold or silver sprinkles. Fortunate Biscuits creates them for $100.

Of course, as a native New Yorker, my favorite place to indulge (and at $75 for a stack, it's quite a rare indulgence) is Eleni's for a gift box of Butterflies in Nature cookies. These big, beautiful hand iced sugar biscuits come in all sorts of colors. Sometimes I feel so guilty for eating them as they look like little works of art. But boy are they good! Eleni's is a little over a mile away from the W New York - Union Square. If you visit after 6 pm each day, enjoy their half off sale on freshly baked treats!

Candice Kraughto is the director of public relations for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Hawaii, and thelobby.com's expert on the region. This week, she reports on dining in San Francisco.

The first time I tasted parsnips was at XYZ restaurant in the very chic, but cozy W San Francisco. I was having dinner with media and some colleagues from Hawaii including Sumithra and Chef Bart from The Westin Maui Resort & Spa. Chef Bart had just completed a live on-air cooking segment earlier on ABC San Francisco KGO-TV's "View from the Bay." We sat around an elegant round table near the window looking out at 3rd Avenue. The parsnips were positively delicious - why had I never eaten parsnips before? I called my husband excitedly later that night, "It had a savory taste between a creamy potato and a carrot," I raved. I dreamed of eating those parsnips again.

Was it just me? Or do most of people who grow up in Hawaii seldom have an opportunity to experience parsnip perfection? Macaroni and cheese is another mystery.

Jaime Gottlieb is the Manager of Online Communications for the Luxury Brands Group and thelobby.com's source on all happenings at W Hotels.

The days of heading across the street from your hotel to the Waffle House or downstairs to the lobby for a less than exciting bite from the buffet are long gone. Well, at least for some. In the case of W Hotels' recent partnership with the Food Network's young, up-and-coming Dave Lieberman, those days are a DeLorean ride into the wild west.

This delicious duo will be coming together to offer guests and exclusive menu created by Dave himself. Starting on June 1, 2008, select W Hotels in North America will debut Dave's tWists on the classics, giving guests access to exclusive creations to nibble at W destination bars, Living Rooms and through in-room dining. What's on the menu? Sample the warm balsamic asparagus, pea shoot, & baby arugula salad with shaved pecorino; or Bubby's chicken dumpling soup; or even Moroccan chicken kebabs, harissa ketchup and cucumber yogurt sauce. He'll even be coming by to change things up each season, basing the new menu items on one of W's upcoming global destinations to keep you guessing.

Want to meet the man himself? W will host Dave at three exclusive W Happenings events in May at W San Diego, W Chicago City Center and W New York-The Court.

Candice Kraughto is the director of public relations for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Hawaii, and thelobby.com's expert on the region.

Lt. Andrew Baldwin, ABC's Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentleman recently chose to spend his last nights in Hawaii at The Royal Hawaiian. The 31 year-old doctor and world-class tri-athlete gained national famed staring in the tenth season of the show in 2007. Andy came to Hawaii in July 2005 and was assigned as a member of the Navy Medical Corps to serve as Diving Medical Officer for Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit One in Pearl Harbor.

During the season finale of the tenth season of The Bachelor in May 2007, ABC filmed Andy at Kaua'i's luxurious Princeville Resort on his dream dates. He was named the best bachelor on a 2008 special episode of The Bachelor last month titled 'Where Are They Now?'

The doctor emailed me last week asking if he could stay at the iconic "Pink Palace of the Pacific" one last time because he was bringing someone special. Who could that be?

How fitting that Andy would choose The Royal Hawaiian for rest and relaxation before shipping off to his new home in Washington D.C. to assume a new post as an advocate for Navy medicine. After Pearl Harbor was bombed in December 1941, The Royal Hawaiian hotel was closed to the public and leased exclusively to the U.S. Navy as a place for rest and relaxation for the troops. When WWII ended in 1945, The Royal Hawaiian closed for an extensive two-year renovation, re-opening in 1947.

Jeremy McCarthy is the Director of Spa Operations Development and Marketing for Starwood Hotels & Resorts and thelobby.com's expert on everything spa. He is currently on an "around the world" spa tour with Starwood where he has been posting from his various destinations throughout the month. Today, he concludes his trip in India.

I was able to travel around India in style as The Westin Sohna Gurgaon Resort & Spa sent me with Vinod, one of the hotel drivers, in a new SUV that very much represented the personality of the hotel. Vinod was the perfect companion for my journeys. At times, he respected my privacy as I tuned into my Ipod and watched India roll by through my window. At other times, he entertained me with lengthy and fascinating conversations on the history of his country and his culture.