The Dream: Let’s just say you had $100,000 to burn, and you really wanted to spend it during one luxury-packed weekend in San Francisco. You could book The Fairmont, San Francisco’s little-publicized $100,000 Best of San Francisco Centennial Package - an offering for haute travelers created to commemorate the famed Nob Hill hotel’s 100th birthday. The package isn’t mentioned on the hotel web site, but did grace the pages of San Francisco magazine this month. So what exactly does $100,000 get you at The Fairmont, San Francisco? Two nights in the 6,000-square-foot penthouse suite, a welcome toast with a 1907 medeira wine, use of the house Maserati, a dinner for 12 in the penthouse’s formal dining room and jewelry from Shreve & Company for everyone in attendance.

The Reality: Let’s say you had $599 to burn, and you really wanted to spend it during one luxury-packed weekend in San Francisco. Luckily, The Fairmont is offering another deal that’s more suited to the masses. The Live the Legend package includes two nights at the hotel (rates increase from $599 depending on which room type you choose), a coffee table book commemorating the history of the hotel and the surrounding city, centennial toasting glasses, a bottle of bubbly and a $100 food and beverage credit for use during your stay.

We’ve got snow on the brain. The good kind. The kind that keeps us happy even when our fingers are threatening to freeze off. Fortunately for visitors to Northern California’s Lake Tahoe region, the temperatures rarely plunge as low as those in the Rockies, the Wasatch in Utah or the White and Green ranges in northern New England. But that’s hardly the only reason to opt for a Lake Tahoe ski trip over another region.

In North Lake Tahoe’s Squaw Valley, skiers and snowboarders alike get the benefit of some 4,000 acres of downhill fun in a part of the country that sees an average of 300 sunny, cloudless days per year. And then there are all the great places to eat, sleep and hangout while you’re there. One of our favorite places to bunk in for the night is the PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn, whose 61 rooms are a treat anytime of year. During the winter, ski-in, ski-out access to Squaw Valley lifts and onsite rentals and equipment storage sweeten the deal.

This week, we checked in with Mike Murphy, GM of PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn for his insider take on doing Tahoe like a local.

One plank or two?

Both. I enjoy snowboarding on a powder day and some fast GS turns on the skis on the groomer days.

The best place to fuel up before a day on the mountain?

Home. A greasy breakfast burrito waiting in line for the lifts to open doesn’t work for me.

Best run first thing in the morning?

Wherever hasn’t been tracked out by all the die-hards that get in the lift lines two hours before opening.

Geekiest piece of outdoor gear you own?

I have one of those GPS watches that tracks your distance, speed and altitude change. I bought one for when I actually thought I was going to start training for a triathlon. The watch is still in the box.

On the mountain, the gear you can’t live without:

Helmet. Helmet. Helmet.

Favorite non-downhill winter Tahoe activity:

Snow-shoe with the snowboard strapped to my pack for some great local back-country turns.

Best cheap eats in North Lake:

Tacos Jalisco in Truckee. You have to try the “Armadillo!”

After a day on the mountain, where to head for beer with buddies:

The bar at PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn is always fun and has a great location for those getting off the slopes. The Stone “Smoked Porter” is my personal favorite.

Most romantic spot at Squaw?

Table 8 at the PlumpJack Cafe. It seems to be where all of the wedding proposals and special anniversary dinners happen.

What should every visitor take home?

The tourists seem to love the pinecones. You would think that you can’t find them anywhere else in the country.

Whenever a friend visits, you always make sure they see:

Lake Tahoe. Any time of year it’s a pretty amazing site. I never get tired of it, and I have been here 13 years.

A day on the mountain wouldn’t be complete without:

Watching a touron hooting and hollering at the top of his lungs right before he yard-sales.

Well, I know we can all rest a little easier knowing that Britney Spears has escaped the hotel celebrity banning trend that seems to be hitting Hollywood. While the Internets were abuzz on Friday when Brit showed up to dine at the Four Seasons Hotel Beverly Hills and was denied entry to a private parking area she apparently had used before, subsequent reports have squashed rumors that Brit was no longer welcome at the hotel. In this TMZ.com video, you can see the Gimme More singer getting turned away by hotel security.

While some jumped to the conclusion that the Four Seasons had banned her from the hotel because of unpaid bills or too much paparazzi mayhem, others on the scene caught the final outcome. After pulling out of the parking area she was trying to enter and driving to the hotel’s front entrance, Spears drove her white Mini convertible into yet another parking area. This time, she was allowed to enter the hotel as security guards pushed back the paps with cameras a-snapping. If you’re so inclined to watch Britney’s eventual admittance to the hotel, where she frequently goes for meals, you can do so at Britney Banned from Four Seasons? Nope!

It seems fancy schmancy Shutters on the Beach Hotel in Santa Monica may have shuttered any hopes Lindsay Lohan has of returning to the hotel, where she reportedly stayed recently with then-boyfriend and fellow rehaber Riley Giles. If the reports are true (and that’s anybody’s guess), Lohan may just be win the distinction of being an even worse hotel guest than Courtney Love.

According to the rumor mill, the hotel will not be welcoming Lohan back anytime soon. The reasons? Apparently, hotel employees entered the celebrity’s suite to find ciggies peppering the carpet and “a bloody syringe” on the bedside table. (What’s that they say about dating people you meet in rehab? Oh, yeah. I think it goes a little something like, “DON’T DO IT.”) The only plausible explanation, other than rehab being a massive failure, is that Lohan’s father must have stopped by for some QT with his daughter.

Luckily for the rest of us, the posh hotel is still fair game. The hotel’s luxurious spa has many celeb fans - Madonna and daughter Lordes among them.

This just in from Kirkwood, one of my fave ski destinations in Lake Tahoe:

Limited Time Offer Dec. 3 to Dec. 9 - Only Available Online

$59* Adult Full Day Lift Tickets

$45* Junior Full Day Lift Tickets

Give the gift of lift access this holiday season! Kirkwood is offering a special online offer to purchase unrestricted lift tickets for the holidays. This limited time offer is only available from Dec. 3 to Dec. 9, and only available on our special ecommerce website. To purchase, simply logon to Ski Kirkwood and enter the special username THEWOOD and password HAPPYHOLIDAYS. You can save up to $13 a day and give the gift of skiing and riding!

*Offer includes savings on adult full day and junior full day lift tickets only. No restrictions apply. Offer expires December 9, 2007. All purchases are final, refunds not available.

Happy Holidays from Kirkwood!

Rapper Pimp C (a.k.a. Chad Butler) of musical duo UGK was found dead today in his room on the sixth floor of the Mondrian LA Hotel in West Hollywood. According to reports from TMZ.com and the Associated Press, the L.A. County Fire Department arrived at the hotel in response to a 911 call and discovered the 33-year-old in bed. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

While many recognize Pimp C and rapper Bun B, the other member of UGK, as pioneers in the Southern hip-hop movement, they are best known in the mainstream for appearing in hit songs from Outkast (International Player’s Anthem) and Jay-Z (Big Pimpin’). The cause of death has not yet been announced.

Gasp! In a shocking development, Paris Hilton went out to dinner and then went to a hotel this week. Crazy, wild, wacky stuff. Especially since she stepped completely outside of the Hollywood norm by choosing the Roosevelt Hotel for her final destination. Because so, so few celebrities visit the Roosevelt Hotel these days. It’s almost as dead as the Chateau Marmont and the Four Seasons Beverly Hills….

The mildly intriguing part? The blond ex-con was took her new boyfriend Alex Vaggo (reportedly a Swedish tourist whom she rescued from a cheap hostel in L.A. earlier this year and has since proceeded to cart around like a version of Tinkerbell with decent pecs) to meet the parents. The foursome dined at Madeo restaurant - an uber-trendy and, by some standards, rather overpriced Italian joint on Beverly Boulevard.

Angel Island is simply “the other island,” glimpsed from the ferry to and from Alcatraz. But those who make a special trip to this park in the middle of the San Francisco Bay will be glad they did – especially if they chance to go on a “five-bridge” day, one so clear that observers at the top of the island’s Mt. Livermore can see five bridges traversing the Bay’s waters.

When visitors arrive in Ayala Cove (ferry companies and schedules), they stroll past the Cove Cantina, which started offering Segway Tours this year. You can also hop on a tram for a one-hour ride around the island. Many visitors bring bikes to ride, while others choose to spend their entire time enjoying the lawn and picnic tables in front of the stately white building that houses the Visitor’s Center.

For an easy jaunt that still rewards with gorgeous views, head west from the cove and follow the trail that begins behind the Visitor’s Center. Along the way, you’ll spot the ADA campsite pictured here. It’s one of the best on the island (total of nine, Angel Island camping information). Because of the site’s ADA status, you can’t reserve the site in advance unless you qualify under the Americans with Disabilities Act. But it often goes unreserved, so the park makes this site available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you’re interested, reserve another site and check for this one’s availability at the camper kiosk in the cove when you get off the ferry.

About a mile in, walk or picnic among what remains of Camp Reynolds (also known as the West Garrison), a military outpost that dates back to the Civil War. The soldiers lived in the barracks (the white buildings along the left), while the higher ranking officials occupied the building closest to the water.

Of course, one of the best reasons to go to Angel Island has to be million-dollar views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay and the surrounding skylines (you can see Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco, Sausalito and Tiburon depending on where you are on the island. There are 13 miles of trails on the island, but the paved perimeter road is about five miles – easily doable on foot in the space of an afternoon.

For more information about Angel Island, visit Angel Island State Park (good general visitor information) and Angel Island.org (more historical information).

Celebrity Travel News 11.23.07

Backseat Britney

First, folks, the bad news. Britney Spears didn’t do anything outrageous this week. In fact, she actually did something smart and responsible. She let someone else drive her and her sons around Los Angeles. I am sure the feet on several paparazzi breathed a sigh of relief at that news.

But the semi-responsible Brit sighting leads us to our question of the week: why is Britney Spears always at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills? I mean, it’s a great hotel and all, but why does she need to be there multiple times a week, every week. The girl lives in Malibu.

Anyway, you can watch her rolling through the parking lot – this time in the backseat with her kids – in this video from x17.

Brad Bails with Blond

Now that we’ve got that burning question out of the way, we can move on to what is, for better or for worse, the week’s biggest celebrity travel news. Brad Pitt reportedly left a post-premier party for wife Angelina Jolie’s new film Beowulf and headed to the Peninsula Beverly Hills Hotel with – gasp – a blond and some other unidentified person. Though no one has proof or even vaguely convincing circumstantial evidence to back this up, the rumor is that Brad flirted with the aforementioned blonde, Angie got upset and Brad left with the other woman and was seen exiting the hotel around 4 am.

Pissed Off at the Polo Lounge

David Hasselhoff is back in the blogs after reportedly causing a stink at the Beverly Hills Hotel restaurant the Polo Lounge last week. Though everyone in Hasselhoff’s camp denies the rumors, onlookers say they saw Hasselhoff get huffy and storm out of the lunch after complaining to his agent about all the crap jobs he’s been getting recently. You know, it’s probably completely his agent’s fault. ‘Cause I’m sure the shirtless, drunken hamburger incident had nothing to do with it.

Meanwhile…

On Tuesday, Lindsay Lohan was spotted exiting a Ritz Carlton in Manhattan. We’re not sure whether the hotel is question was the Ritz Carlton Battery Park
or the Ritz Carlton New York Central Park. In fact, all we can really confirm is that she stood on a Ritz Carlton rug and has really long fake blond hair that we hate and wish she would leave alone because her red hair was so much prettier.

Also on Tuesday, Tara Reid reminded everyone that she still exists. Proving that not every celebrity cares what she looks like in public, a frumpy Tara Reid flashed the paps with her thong at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday.

Virgin America’s Secret

If there were any doubt that Virgin America is vying for the title of sexiest airline, this should put it to rest.

Tuck into the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills this week, and you can save 20 percent off your room rate just for spending Thanksgiving ensconced in hotel’s oh-so-cool mid-century modern aesthetic - designed by none other than Kelly Wearstler of Bravo’s show Top Design. From the hourglass-shaped pool set in a motel-chic patio to rooms with custom-designed furnishings with vintage appeal, the 84-room hotel is a great choice for Southern California travelers who not only want a roof over their head, but a stylish one at that. Dine at the hotel’s award-winning blue on blue restaurant on Thanksgiving, and you’ll have but one difficult decision to make: whether to stay traditional with the roasted turkey with brioche stuffing or nosh on unconventional Thanksgiving offerings like New Zealand king salmon with garnet yams and huckleberries.

When we last checked rates on Sunday afternoon, a premium king room was available over Thanksgiving for $231/night (rates usually start at $289/night for premium rooms). The special rates are good for stays through Nov. 26th.