Lodging

Reports and advice on stays at hotels, resorts – any form of lodging

Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Weekly Column

TO AUSTIN, TEXAS
ByEileen Ogintz August 17, 2008July 14, 2021

All around Lost Pines were other families determined not to miss one second of vacation fun — floating in the lazy river, watching the kids on the water slide or in the baby pool, saddling up for horseback rides or bike rides around the extensive property (405 acres and an adjoining 1,100-acre nature park!), playing “golf” with preschoolers on the lawn and watching them on the playground nearby.

Read More TO AUSTIN, TEXAS
Beach Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries | Volunteer & Service

An amazing journey to see the sea turtles lay their eggs
ByEileen Ogintz August 6, 2008July 6, 2021

Tortuguero is all about the turtles. The Caribbean Conservation Corporation (www.ccturtle.org) is the oldest sea turtle conservation anywhere and the program here — more than 30 years old — has documented an over 400 per cent increase in green turtle nesting here. For a $25 donation to the Conservation Corporation, I adopt a turtle tag # 105549.

Read More An amazing journey to see the sea turtles lay their eggs
Destinations | Families & Groups | Lodging | Weekly Column

Having a destination wedding when kids are part of the equation
ByEileen Ogintz July 20, 2008July 14, 2021

Not only are destination weddings — from Orlando (Disney does 1,500 a year) to the Caribbean to Hawaii to cruise ships — more popular, they account for 16 percent of weddings every year, up 400 percent in the last decade — but kids increasingly are part of the equation says Milli Martini Bratten, longtime editor-in-chief of Brides Magazine.

Read More Having a destination wedding when kids are part of the equation
Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries

Fun in the Texas Lost Pines Country
ByEileen Ogintz July 16, 2008October 17, 2023

DAY TWO — It’s barely 9 a.m. and kids are in full vacation mode, playing water basketball, floating in the lazy river, zipping down the…

Read More Fun in the Texas Lost Pines Country
Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Travel Diaries

A Trip Down Memory Lane in Austin, TX
ByEileen Ogintz July 15, 2008December 22, 2021

DAY ONE — It’s a trip down memory lane — literally, for my husband at least. We’ve flown down to Austin, TX where he was…

Read More A Trip Down Memory Lane in Austin, TX
Families & Groups | Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Weekly Column

Getting free gas, free golf, free s’mores and more this summer
ByEileen Ogintz July 6, 2008July 2, 2023

Free gas anyone? Not quite. But the higher gas prices go — and the more we rethink summer vacation plans as a result — the more hotels, resorts, cities and towns across the country are rolling out the welcome mat with rebates and credits all designed to help fill your gas tank and ease the sticker shock that comes with it, as the price of gas climbs to $4.07 a gallon on average. That is $1.09 a gallon more than a year ago, according to AAA.

Read More Getting free gas, free golf, free s’mores and more this summer
Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Weekly Column

TO UNIVERSAL ORLANDO
ByEileen Ogintz May 25, 2008July 14, 2021

Welcome to Krustyland! Where we join the Simpsons — yes those Springfield Simpsons of TV and movie fame — in Krusty the Clown’s crazy cartoon world, a theme park within a theme park. Talk about make-believe — and incredible technology – as we’re swept along, flying, bumping and crashing through the attractions, just opened at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando.

Read More TO UNIVERSAL ORLANDO
Destinations | Families & Groups | Lodging | Weekly Column

BEYOND THE BEACH IN BELIZE
ByEileen Ogintz May 11, 2008July 7, 2021

Mick Fleming arrived in dugout canoe; Lucy Fleming on horseback a day later. There were no roads to the overgrown farm in the Cayo district of Belize that the young couple hoped to run. Their land was a jungle – literally. “But there was something about the place,” Fleming, who was raised in England, recalls more than 30 years later.

Read More BEYOND THE BEACH IN BELIZE
Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Weekly Column

TO SEATTLE
ByEileen Ogintz May 4, 2008July 14, 2021

So what if it rains a lot in Seattle. As long as you’ve got good rain gear, you won’t care, especially when there’s so much to do and see. Where else can you take the kids to see guys throwing raw fish, introduce them to ferries (yes, parents commute to work via ferry) take a turn on a sailboat, learn all about rock music, science fiction and the creatures who inhabit the sea in this part of the world.

Read More TO SEATTLE
Destinations | Families & Groups | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries | Volunteer & Service

Chaa Creek — started small before “eco” was a word
ByEileen Ogintz April 30, 2008July 14, 2021

Mick Fleming approached in a dugout canoe. “But there was something about the place,” he recalls more than 30 years later.
His wife Lucy, who arrived on horseback the day after he saw the overgrown farm, agrees. “This place always had a certain amount of magic — a pull. I felt it. We were young and crazy — no money and decided to be pioneers.”

Read More Chaa Creek — started small before “eco” was a word