Carnival season in New Orleans officially kicked off on Sunday. And as of today, Mardi Gras 2008 is officially 28 days away. If you’re planning to hit the Big Easy for all the fun leading up to Feb. 5th, now’s the time to lock in hotel reservations. We’ve done some checking around to find the best hotels for different tastes and budgets. Note that many require full payment upfront for stays the weekend prior to Mardi Gras.

Where to stay for Mardi Gras 2008 if you want…

Bourbon Street Accommodations

It ain’t cheap, but the Royal Sonesta Hotel New Orleans is one of the best options for revelers who want to be right in the middle of the French Quarter action and want a moderately upscale place to rest their heads at night (hint, bring some earplugs…staying here means lodging in the part of the city that never sleeps). Double and King rooms are still available for the weekend prior to Mardi Gras. When we checked, rates were $339/night.

A Taste of the Traditional

For lodging that features a dose of classic New Orleans, Hotel Monteleone is hard to beat. The hotel offers many of the amenities you’d find at a similarly-priced chain (fitness center, rooftop pool, on site dining), but ups the ante with rooms outfitted in grand window treatments, ornamental moldings, prim sitting areas and marble bathrooms. Spa junkies can escape the rabble rousers in the French Quarter with a trip to Spa Aria, which offers luxe treatments like the signature Caviar Facial. Ready to splurge? Try one of the decadent suites, named after Southern literary heroes like Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and Eudora Welty. When we checked rates for the weekend before Mardi Gras, we found a variety of guest rooms and suites available with rates starting at $279/night.

A Party Pad

With nightly rates for the weekend starting at $129 and a location near the French Quarter, the Baronne Plaza Hotel is our pick for budget-minded travelers who care more about having a convenient home base than top-notch service, flashy interiors or high-end amenities.

A Full-Service, Business-Class Hotel

Even if you’re hitting N’awlins mainly to party, you may still want all the creature comforts of a business-class hotel. Bed down at either the The Renaissance Pere Marquette Hotel or the JW Marriott New Orleans Hotel, and you won’t be disappointed. Both hotels are located a few blocks from the action, but the real draw to these picks is knowing your room will be comfortable, clean, attractive (good design, marble bathrooms) and that amenities like high-speed Internet, room service, fitness facilities and concierge assistance are there when you need ‘em. When we checked, available Double and King rooms for the weekend were $279/night at both hotels. Note: you’ll have to prepay in full for accommodations during Mardi Gras weekend.

Jetsetter Digs

For travelers who put aesthetics on par with practicalities like location and amenities, the W Hotel New Orleans is the way to go. With touches like the outdoor courtyard area, pictured here, plush in-room furnishings, private poolside cabanas and sleek interiors befitting urban sophisticates, this destination won’t disappoint those willing to pay for looks. A recent check showed rooms for the weekend before Mardi Gras starting at $339/night.

We wish you safe and happy travels in 2008. Thanks for reading along as we’ve waxed poetic about travel over the last year (and the year before that, and the year before that). Things will be quiet around here today as we figure out what to do with all the leftover canapes, corks and cordials that saw us through the final moments of ‘ole ‘07. Check back in tomorrow for your regular dose of travel news, tips and advice from around the web.

Whether you’re spending the day around a decorated tree, heading to a Chinese food restaurant, braving the airport or kicking it low-key style at home in celebration of the national holiday, we wish you a safe, happy and healthy day and the same for the rest of 2007. We’ll be back tomorrow with your regular dose of travel news, tips and advice from around the web.

Wanna spend New Year’s Eve at New York’s Hotel Gansevoort with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton? He posted the following on his blog today (So Much to be Thankful for):

And, if you wanna spend New Years Eve at the best party in New York City, then call (646-432-5947) to purchase tickets to the ultra exclusive soiree Perezzz is hosting at the Gansevoort Hotel. Lots of celebrities are expected to attend!

Yee-haw. ‘Tis the season to spend, spend, spend. The Travel Gear Blog has a post up that rounds up the blog’s many recent posts about gift-worthy items for travelers and coupon codes you can use during the holiday season. Check check checkitout.

Gift List Roundup, Coupon Codes and More

Vail kicks off the winter 2007-2008 season today with SnowDaze, a week-long series of activities and events to get you pumped up for the (hopefully) snow-filled months to come. Buy a SnowDaze Festival Pass ($74.50) - which includes admission to all three headliner concerts - or a ticket to the Ludacris and The Roots concert ($40) on Dec. 8, and you’ll be able to purchase a $49 Vail lift ticket good through Jan. 31, 2008.

Along with great music, SnowDaze has some other cool events and offerings, including free morning ski tip sessions at the Vail Snowsports School, nightly DJ events at local bars and pubs, bonfire parties, an all-women’s snowboard and ski clinic and nightly Dine Around fixed price menu specials at local restaurants.

Through the end of the year, the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead is offering the Shop ‘Til You Drop package ideal for travelers who want to power shop through the many stores and boutiques at Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square. The package includes:

- Deluxe guestroom accommodations

- HyTea for Two in Onyx

-$50 Simon Mall Gift Card

- Onyx Coffee Bar Specialty Coffee Coupon for Two

- Special Keepsake Ornament

- Power Shopping To-Go Amenity for Two

- Complimentary car service to Phipps Plaza and Lenox Mall

- Late checkout at 2:00 p.m.

This package is currently available through December 31, 2007, but it isn’t listed on the hotel web site. Rates vary depending on the time of your visit and type of room, but a quick scan of the package deals for several dates in December revealed rates in the $239/night and up range. For rates and reservations, telephone (404) 2371234.

Here’s wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving - wherever you are and however you choose to celebrate. We’ve got a lot of things to be thankful for this year. The most recent of which is yesterday’s mention of the TravelPost.com Airport Wireless Internet Guide in Daily Candy’s travel section. Thanks for the shout out, guys.

Today we’ll be off dosing ourselves on tryptophan, baking rolls, finishing the sweet potato brulee and drinking good wine. Check back tomorrow for your regular weekly helping of celebrity travel news. Until then, have a safe and happy holiday.

The 2007 Thanksgiving travel period is supposed to be so bad this year that even the Pres has taken notice and opened restricted military airspace for commercial airplanes traveling up and down the busy East Coast flight corridor. For its part, the TSA has promised to open up as many security lines as it can and put more screeners on duty.

As much as we like to look on the bright side (at least you’re not at work, right?), we’re not gonna lie. Getting to and from your Turkey Day destination this week might be a wee bit hectic. In fact, you might as well count on wanting to kill someone at least once during your travels. That way, you’11 be pleasantly surprised if everything goes according to plan.

We’ve put together some tried-and-true tips to help you during your travels. They’re simple. And they work:

1. Have a zen moment. Sometime before you strike out for the airport, take a moment to level with yourself and your traveling companions. Admit that the next few hours of your life are likely to be marred by too many people trying to get too many places in too little time. And know that you’re going to be in the thick of it. And someone on the plane near you is probably going to have noxious body odor or an annoying voice or an elbow that keeps creeping into your precious personal space. Ponder these realities. Then take a deep breath, exhale and just get to it. Sometimes, preparing yourself mentally for the mayhem can make all the difference. Or at least, that’s what we keep telling ourselves.

2. Go online before you leave. It may seem like a pedestrian point in this day and age, but use the power of the Internet before you head to the airport. You can check-in, check flight status, upgrade to exit row seats, check traffic reports and make off-airport parking reservations before you leave the house.

3. Get there early. Just do it. Just this once. Through Sunday, plan to arrive at the airport no later than an hour and a half before domestic flights.

4. Be your own Wolfgang Puck. Don’t rely on the airline or the airport to feed you. A week ago, I was shocked to find only one kind of nasty pre-packaged sandwich in the airport terminal in which I happened to be waiting. I was really surprised – but yeah, there was only one option. And it was beyond foul. Bringing travel-friendly snacks can be a lifesaver during the holiday travel season – especially if you have kids. Here are of my favorite snacks that travel well:

- Crackers and cheese
- Apples, grapes and nuts
- Sandwiches with the lettuce and tomato packed separately
- Cold pizza (seriously, what else tastes as good at room temperature?)

5. Know the rules. In the last few years, airlines have made lots of little changes to rules governing checked bags. Most charge fairly high fees for overweight bags and passengers checking more than two bags. Many airlines won’t check bags in after a specified cut-off time. Be sure to know the rules and restrictions that apply to you and your travel companions.

6. Pack essentials in a small carry-on. Using a small carry-on (not a large one that will be subject to mandatory checking if the airplane you’re on runs out of overhead space before you have a chance to board) to stow medicine, phone chargers, computer power cords, a toothbrush and other essentials is one of the smartest things you can do. Running out of battery power while you’re stranded in the airport or arriving at your destination only to find your luggage hasn’t made it can put a major wrench in your plans.

7. Distract thyself. Whether you’re driving three hours to grandma’s house or flying cross-country, never underestimate the power of an enticing distraction. Stop by the bookstore for a new book you’ve been dying to read, create a new iPod playlist (or 12), bring a stack of note cards and start your holiday greetings, knit up a storm. We don’t care. Just figure out something to keep your mind occupied during long periods of downtime.

8. Take care of yourself. Down an Airborne tablet before you go. Wash your hands like a crazy person. Drink water like a fish. Stand up and stretch. Circle your ankles. Bring a pack of tissues and some Tylenol. Do whatever you can to stay healthy and avoid the colds and sniffles that hit so many travelers after a long flight.

9. Dress the part. Wear clothing that will cut time in the security line and remain comfortable throughout your trip. Remember that belts, shoes and outerwear have to come off before you clear security. Slip-on shoes are ideal. Take a sweater or extra layer on the plane – you never know what cabin temperatures are going to be like.

10. Don’t blame the innocent. Now this one’s obviously less for travelers and more for the common good. Blaming employees when planes get delayed, flights get canceled, storms strike, hotels run out of rooms or traffic jams gum up the works really only accomplishes two things: it pisses the employees off and make them less likely to help you. Neither are beneficial to you. Being nice won’t work miracles, but masking your surly attitude can help. And it’ll save you from getting booted from the plane or out of a rebooking line.

And now for the final last minute Thanksgiving hotel package of the day. After much hunting, we found a great spot that still has availability: the Samoset Resort on the Ocean in Rockport, Maine. First opened in 1889, this coastal resort is a well known golfing destination that’s home to the ESPN Golf School of Northern New England. Other diversions include the health club with its 30′ x 50′ indoor pool, gorgeous grounds and ample activities for kids.

The Samoset Resort Thanksgiving Package includes two nights’ accommodations, breakfast for two each morning, Thanksgiving dinner for two and activities like kids’ crafting sessions (pinecone picture frames, anyone?), an adult pastry class, a live turkey display and cupcake decorating. Following a $3 million renovation project completed earlier this year, the 178-room hotel offers rooms with new furnishings, flat screen TVs, free wi-fi and private balconies or terraces. The hotel still has queen oceanview and king oceanview rooms available. Rates start at $189 and go up to $209/night.