One thing that always gets us in the mood (to travel, of course): a Valentine’s Day getaway. And we feel that way whether or not it’s a lovey-dovey kind of adventure. After all, February can be a cold and dreary month. Besides the frigid temperatures outside many of our windows, it’s a time of year when not much else is going on. The holidays are long gone. The Superbowl is over, and March Madness feels like a painfully long way off. School’s in full swing, and mid-terms are right around the corner. So you can see why we think February is a prime time to shake-up the monotony, regardless of our relationship status.

Now’s the right time to book for the best deals on mid-February trips. Special promos are popping up everywhere. Here are six:

Hotels.com: Through Feb. 14, the Sweet Deals for Valentine’s Day promo offers hotel rates discounted by up to 30 percent for stays Feb. 13-Feb. 16, 2009 in a slew of popular destinations around the country. For example, you can overnight at the the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas for $151 per night or at the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago for $119 per night.

Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort: The Lovin’ the Bahamas package at this resort includes an ocean view room, daily breakfast for two, a bottle of bubbly upon arrival, a $50 per day resort credit and all taxes, gratuities and resort fees. And if you can’t make it in time for Cupid’s big day, don’t worry. This package is good through March 14, 2009.

Marina Inn at Grand Dunes: The Valentine’s Weekend Getaway at this Myrtle Beach resort offers a couple-oriented retreat that includes two nights’ accommodations, Champagne and chocolates upon arrival, breakfast in bed each morning and a five-course dinner at WaterScapes Restaurant. Rates start at $335 per couple for the two-night stay.

Renaissance Boston Waterfront: Through Feb. 15, this New England hotel is offering a Valentine’s Day package with the promotional code LUV. For $299 per night, guests can bunk in overnight in a king room, enjoy a bottle of bubbly upon arrival and indulge in dinner for two and breakfast each morning at 606 Congress restaurant. The package also includes free use of the health club and indoor pool, late 4PM checkout and valet parking for one car.

The Ocean Sky Hotel & Resort: If you’re looking for a warm-weather jaunt, try the Suiteheart Package at this Fort Lauderdale hotel. For $325 per night, you’ll receive a one-bedroom suite, a bottle of Champagne and a full breakfast in your room each morning of your stay.

The Mirage: This Las Vegas destination is offering the All You Need is Love package for two through Feb. 28, 2009. For $318 per night on weekdays and $368 per night on weekends, you and one other guest can stay overnight in a deluxe room and see the Beatles LOVE by Cirque de Soleil show that night. To reserve, contact the hotel directly at (800) 732-8412.

Want to party with the stars on New Year’s Eve? Celebrity appearances at New Year’s Eve bashes are bigger than ever, and the stars like them ‘cause they mean extra dough for doing little more than raising a glass. Of course, the definition of celebrity has also expanded in recent years. While some parties tout A-list hosts, others are hoping revelers will be thrilled ringing in the New Year with of-the-moment (and some not-so-of-the-moment) reality television stars.

Here’s where to find celebrity hosts on New Year’s Eve:

Lindsay Lohan
You can catch a glimpse of the redhead (or is she blonde now? Or brunette?) starlet in Miami at Mansion, where tickets start at $200. Decks-obsessed girlfriend Samantha Ronson will be providing the evening’s entertainment from her perch in the DJ booth.

Paris Hilton
Party with the hotel heiress during the launch of the Bongo Virus party in Sydney, Australia at the nightclub Trademark Hotel. Little sister Nicky Hilton will reportedly join Paris for the festivities. Can’t make it down under? Live footage of the New Year’s bash will be available via an online webcast for $6.

Ashley Simpson and Pete Wentz
Parenthood isn’t stopping this celeb couple from ringing in the New Year (after all, the $150,000 they’ll reportedly make from the appearance is more than enough to hire a good babysitter). The pair will be hosting the New Year’s Eve party at Pure Nightclub, inside Las Vegas casino Caesar’s Palace.

Denise Richards
The one-time film star and recent subject of a reality television flop will flash her winning smile at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino nightclub Prive. DMC of famed group RUN DMC will provide the beats.

Mario Lopez
Welcome 2009 with this smooth operator, who’ll be hosting the party at Marquee New York on Dec. 31. Who knows, maybe he’ll show you a few of his dance moves.

The Kardashians
Riding the coattails of their oddly popular reality television show, the Kardashian sisters will be raising their glasses at LAX Nightclub in Las Vegas at the Luxor Hotel and Casino.

Heidi & Spencer
If you just can’t get enough of The Hills, then you can welcome ’09 with the reality show’s notorious duo Heidi and Spencer during the New Year’s Eve throwdown at Christian Audigier The Nightclub, located inside the Treasure Island hotel and casino. One of the less expensive Las Vegas party tickets, general admission for this event starts at $125.

The Real World
This one may be pushing the limits of celebrity, but it made us laugh, so we’re including it nonetheless. Of all the crazy party people to have graced The Real World in recent years, Colie Edison somehow managed to snag a gig hosting the MTV New Year’s Eve party in New York at the Hawaiian Tropic Zone.

When a handsome bull is in the room, it seems some folks just can’t keep their hands to themselves. Such was the case with Bodacious the Bull, a life-size bronze statue that once marked the entrance to celebrity chef Mario Batali’s new-ish steakhouse Carnevino, located in the Palazzo Las Vegas Resort Casino Hotel.

On multiple occasions, the restaurant witnessed female Vegas-goers groping, climbing and otherwise engaging in “inappropriate fondling” activities with the bull while their co-conspirators snapped pictures.

Whether it was his well-defined musculature or ample rear that attracted them, we shall never know. After a spate of incidents, one of which allegedly involving George Clooney’s girlfriend Sarah Larson, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports, management at the restaurant confirmed this week that the bull has been moved to one of the restaurant’s back rooms.

But Carnevino wasn’t trying to protect Bodacious and his prominent posterior from molestation at the hands of casino-crazed vacationers. Instead, the restaurant cited legal and safety concerns as the reason for the bull’s relocation.

Bodacious Moved for Decency’s Sake

The next time you’re strolling through the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, keep your eyes peeled for a Jessica Simpson sighting. The saccharine sweet songstress is reportedly one of the first celebs to close on a unit at the newly opened Palms Place Condo Hotel, located next to the Palms proper. Other celebrities rumored to be purchasing units include Eminem and Hulk Hogan (why is everyone buying here a blond?).

In an effort to offer something that no other Vegas property has, the Palms Place has created a Hammam, or Turkish bath, where men and women can mingle in air that’s basically just really hot and wet. Hmm. Why not just go to a Vegas nightclub instead? As much as we are not into the idea of being trapped in a room with a bunch of sweaty randoms in Vegas, the Palms Place is pretty swank. The 30,000-square-foot Drift Spa intrigues us with its private outdoor garden lounges, and the fire pits around the pool aren’t too shabby. Should you want to bunk in at the latest lodging option from the Maloofs, nightly rates start at $179, but expect to pay between $209 and $299 on most nights (you can check the reservations calendar online to see the rate breakdown).

Simpson’s Found Her Place in Vegas

If you’re going to be in New York this weekend and you love travel, consider checking out the New York Times Travel Show, a veritable smorgasbord of travel information from resorts, hotels, spas, cruise lines, tour operators, tourist agencies and adventure travel companies from around the world. Along with vendor booths and live entertainment performances representing a vast array of cultures, the show features a Taste of the World Pavilion filled with international cuisine and cooking demonstrations, a Spa Pavilion offering sample treatments and discounted packages at spa resorts, travel author appearances and special travel deals offered to folks brave enough to book their next vacation on the spot. And with travel experts Rick Steves, Arthur Frommer, Ian Wright and Stephanie Abrams – among many others – leading seminars, the show offers a rare chance for face-to-face learning from leading peeps in the industry. Cost: $15.

Fire? What fire? The Monte Carlo Resort and Casino reopens today after recovering from the Jan. 25th fire that closed the hotel and sent much of the Vegas Strip into a panic. Check out Major Fire at Monte Carlo Resort & Casino for the details on the blaze, which was reportedly accidentally caused by welding work being done on the roof.

The goal was for the hotel to be up and running again by President’s Day Weekend, so they’ve accomplished that. Most of the hotel and casino is open, including the wedding chapel and spa. The Monte Carlo Brew Pub and a few retail shops will stay closed a little longer, but everything will be open by the 22nd.

Yeah, last minute travel can be cool. But it can also leave you cash poor, especially when you’re talking high-season travel in major vacation destinations. But as with most things in life, a just little edumuhcation can go a long way. Case in point: Kayak.com’s Fare Alerts.

Create a Fare Alert (or 12) on Kayak.com or SideStep.com for the summer getaway(s) currently sequestered in your noggin by clicking on the “Get fare alerts for this trip” link on the top right-hand corner of the flight results page. You can track fares for specific dates, a flexible span of time (e.g. summer weekends or, say, the month of June) or an entire region (e.g. Europe). When your daily or weekly Fare Alert (you choose how often it arrives) touches down in your email inbox, you’ll be able to make informed travel decisions.

Depending on what you ask it to track (specific dates, flexible span of time or even top cities in a region), each Fare Alert can show you:

- How much the fare for specific dates has increased or decreased in dollars since the last alert

- The airfare history for your trip dates based on searches made by Kayakers over the past 90 days

- A snapshot of prices in Kayak.com’s matrix view, so you can quickly compare prices by carrier and number of stops

- The lowest fare available during a specific span of time (e.g. the next four weekends)

- The best fares available for popular destination cities in a region you want to visit (e.g. Africa)

Who knows, maybe you’ll still pay craptons to travel to the most expensive resort on the hottest island right in the middle of the high season. After all, it’s high season for a reason. But at least you’ll be pimping it out with full knowledge of your unbridled American excess. Just remember the wisdom of G.I. Joe.

(**Editor’s note: Yeah, Kayak.com owns us. You wanna make something of it? I’ll have you know I was surreptitiously using Fare Alerts to aid in making my personal travel plans long before Kayak.com bought our parent company SideStep.com in December. Nepotism, bias, blah, blah, blah. Fare Alerts just make good travel sense.)

Well, things got hot in Sin City this morning, but not in the way you might think. The Monte Carlo Resort and Casino Hotel caught fire and sent panic through the Strip. Thankfully, the fire has now been stopped and all hotel guests safely evacuated.

Another one of our favorite celebrity travel tidbits of 2007? Back in October, we reported:

Branson Swan Dives

On Wednesday evening, Sir Richard Branson celebrated Virgin America’s inaugural flights to Las Vegas by free-falling 40 stories – harnessed to a safety wire of course. But during the fall, a gust of wind slapped the daredevil billionaire into the side of the Palms Casino Resort. Branson emerged alive, but not without some scrapes and bruises.

Gee, I can’t imagine any better way to promote your new airline than crashing into solid objects at breakneck speeds.

On the upside, Branson did apparently scatter free Virgin America tickets as he fell, though none have been claimed. So be on the lookout in you’re in Vegas this weekend.

As part of the ongoing Virgin America festivities this week, Branson threw quite a shindig at the Wynn Las Vegas nightclub TRYST, where celebs like newlyweds (ew!) Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon (double ew!), Carmen Elektra and The Hills star Lauren Conrad showed up to take part.

Celebrity Travel News 11.16.07

Foot Fetish

The Four Seasons Hotel Beverly Hills figured heavily in the news this week, thanks to Britney Spears. The nutty singer reportedly ran over a photographer’s foot as she was attempting to drive out of the hotel parking lot. You can see it all with your own peepers below.

While some cry foul and accuse the pop star of poor driving (this was apparently the third foot she’s run over this month), anyone who knows anything about the paparazzi knows that those guys are practically plastered to the side of her car wherever she goes. They have a right to snap away in public places, but it’s their own darn fault if they get their feet banged up in the process.

Also at the Four Seasons this week? Another blonde pop star known as Shakira. But the paps didn’t snap any pictures of her, as far as we could tell. Instead, her visit got reported, thanks to a Fox News writer who chanced upon her in the elevator. We hear Shakira spent the ride obsessing about her looks and asking anyone who would listen whether she looked okay.

Queer Eye for the Traveling Guy

Elsewhere in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Times writer Valli Herman visited the W Los Angeles – Westwood and gave the swish new interiors designed by Queer Eye for the Straight Guy alum Thom Filicia the thumbs up. Our take? The new environs look, um, exactly like every living space from the television series. And of course, plenty of throw pillows and candles. Because throw pillows and candles make everything better.

French Connection

Jennie Garth – if she still counts as a celebrity – was spotted lifting her glass in honor of Beaujolais recently at the Paris Las Vegas Resort. We got way too much Garth way back when she was a real celeb during the halcyon days of Beverly Hills 90210 (will there ever be a character as unintentionally funny as Steve Sanders?), so we’re going to show you a photograph of the Paris Las Vegas Resort pool instead:

Dude Looks Like a Lady

Tomorrow night, travelers to the Bay Area can get a load of celebrity judges Sandra Bernhard, author and personality James St. James (a.k.a. club kid who piggy-backed off convicted murdered Michael Alig’s notoriety), Peaches Christ and Anna Conda at the annual Miss Trannyshack Pageant, which, if you don’t know, is a very San Francisco affair featuring some of the best-dressed dames who aren’t really dames this side of Texas. Actually, better make that anywhere.

Dumb Tattoo News

Celebs from Julianne Moore (love her) to Heath Ledger (so-so) descended on the Bowery Hotel in Manhattan this week for a screening of the film I’m Not There, which features a bevy of big name actors playing different aspects of Bob Dylan’s complex personality. The big news from the event? Heath Ledger sported a new tattoo during a screening. It’s of a dragonfly. Fascinating. He might as well have gotten a dolphin inked around his ankle while he was at it. We would have preferred something a little more hardcore. Like skulls or something. Or maybe Jake Gyllenhaal, though that’s really more Reese’s territory these days. Also in attendance? Richard Gere, Bruce Greenwood and a wasted looking Todd Haynes, the film’s director.