Sorry, I’m going deal crazy, but the Ghosts and Legends package in Colonial Williamsburg was just too cute to pass up. With your nightly rate at one of six different Williamsburg hotels and inns, you get admission to historic Williamsburg, dinner at a local tavern, either a continental or full breakfast (depending on which place you stay) and tickets to either the Ghosts & Legends Tour or the Tavern Ghost Tour. If you stay for two nights, both tours are included in the price. Descriptions of the tours:

On the Ghosts & Legends Tour, you may hear the distant cadence of the “Ghostly Drummer” who died while marching into battle. Or you might catch a glimpse of the “Lavender Ghost” as you investigate real 18th century mysteries.

On our new Tavern Ghost Tour, you’ll make your way down a dark Duke of Gloucester Street while hearing of the eerie experiences and unexplained phenomena both staff and guests have encountered in the Historic Area over just the past few years.

The cheapest option is the Governor’s Inn, where rates start at $75/night for a two-night stay. You can also stay at the Woodlands Hotel and Suites, where rates begin at $99/night for a two-night stay.

[Photo: TravelPoster Magnus1941 photo]
[The Governor’s Inn on TravelPost.com]
[Have you stayed at the Woodlands Hotel and Suites? Review it for us!]
[TravelPost.com Williamsburg hotel reviews]

You’ve got toddlers, or perhaps grand-toddlers, who will someday grow up to be savvy little world travelers and need a lovely place to stay on a chic trip to New York City. In one of the most unusual promotions I’ve ever seen, Rosewood Hotels is offering its Next Generation promotion for The Carlyle in New York. You can buy a gift certificate at 2005 rates (deluxe room at $750/night) and give it to your children/grandchildren for redemption anytime before Dec. 31, 2030. Kind of like a savings bond your kids will actually get psyched about.

Have you stayed at The Carlyle? Why not review it for us?

[TravelPost.com New York hotel reviews]

[Caution: My California residency has colored my reaction to the source article for this blog post.]

CNN.com writes about the booming New York wine industry. Funny, I didn’t know New York had a wine industry. But I suppose it’s high time I learn that Northern California is not the epicenter of the world. But, seriously, when was the last time you saw a wine label from Long Island?

If somebody out there has a New York wine bottle on them, shoot me a picture of the label, and I’ll post it here. (Or send me the bottle, and I’ll take the pic myself.)

[Source: CNN.com]
[Photo: NY Wine]

This week’s TravelFinds from SideStep include:

- Cheap fall airfares from American Airlines between 60 U.S. cities.
- 10-day vacation to Paris and Nice from NYC, including RT airfare, for $899 from Gate 1 Travel.
- Spirit Airlines deals from Atlanta to Caribbean destinations from $49.

And many more.

Sometimes I make fun of the New York Times, but today is not one of those days. Joe Sharkey, you da man! You da man!

Oh, the reason for my excitement: Sharkey writes about the silliness of paying for wi-fi in hotels when city parks are rolling the service out for free. Read on.

I swear, you MUST read this email exchange between a customer (oops, sorry, shouldn’t have used that word, and you will understand when you read it) and an Airhitch employee. It comes from Gridskipper, and it is just beyond absurd. I can’t even imagine what I would have thought had I been the woman writing the initial email inquiry. It made me want to jump out of my skin just reading it. It takes a few minutes to get through, but it will leave you rolling your eyes, slowly shaking your head and wondering about the deranged intricacies of the human brain.

[Source: Gridskipper]

The Londa Hotel has reopened in the seaside resort town of Limassol on the island of Cyprus. If you’ve never imagined visiting Cyprus or thought of it as a destination, consider the following: it gets an average of 350 sunny days per year, has a thriving wine country culture, is located about four hours by plane from London and three hours by plane from the Persian/Arabian Gulf (which makes it an easy trip for anyone in Europe) and has both oldschool attractions like the medieval castle near Limassol, as well as newschool trendy restaurants, hip hotels and nightlife.

As for the Londa, it recently underwent an 18-month renovation process that turned it into a “couture hotel,” whatever that means. Facilities include a private beach, health center with fitness equipment and spa treatments, new restaurant and bar. There are 68 rooms, including suites, done up in neutral hues and mod, streamlined furnishings. A quick check on the rates for this weekend showed rooms ranging from 105 to 555 Cypriot Pounds, about $220 to $1,165 USD per night.

[Source: Hotel News Resource]
[Photo: Londa Hotel Room]

I know I’ve posted about this before, but I am doing it again because I am just a big believer in the power and general awesomeness of travel blogs that carry information about uncommon places from travelers who are actually there. That wasn’t an overly wordy sentence. Anyway, Gadling’s Erik Olsen is traveling through Armenia and sending dispatches back to the blog while he’s there. They are a great resource to check out, and also great examples of “being there.” You can find all the dispatches under the blog’s Armenia section.

I just got an Apple AirPort Express to use on an upcoming trip. I haven’t tried it out yet, but I am tickled about the possibilities. You can plug it into any Internet connection and have insta wi-fi. Lovely for those hotel rooms where the Internet cord is like two feet long and chains you to the uncomfortable desk with upright wooden chair. Lovely when you stay at a friend’s house and that friend only has landbased Internet. You won’t have to keep unplugging them and plugging yourself in. Also, the device extends already existing wireless networks. So if there’s a weak spot in your house, one of these little guys should clear up the problem. Will let you know how it goes when I use it next weekend.

Oh, I forgot to mention the AirPort Express’s most obvious function: it allows you to play iTunes through your stereo or stereo speakers. But you can read about all that jazzy-jazz on Apple’s web site.

News of the Da Vinci Code film cast and crew arriving in Roslin Village in Midlothian, Scotland this week to film the movie adaptaion of Dan Brown’s best-seller of the same name. The small village is about six miles south of Edinburgh. The filming is taking place at the 15th century Rosslyn Chapel, which figures heavily in the novel’s climactic scenes. The cast includes Tom Hanks in the lead role as Robert Langdon and Audrey Tatou, (i.e. the chick from Amelie) playing the French love interest Sophie Neveu. The film is being directed by Ron Howard, who arrived at Endinburgh’s 5-star hotel, The Balmoral, on Sunday. No word on whether Hanks and Tatou are there, although one would assume that to be the case….

[Source: The Scotsman]
[Source: The Telegraph]
[Photo: Deluxe Room, The Balmoral]