Tamarind shrimp from Citron at The Viceroy, Palm Springs

When I learned that I would be invited to preview some menu items for Palm Springs Restaurant Week  (May 31 – June 16, 2013) my mouth started watering like Pavlov’s dog experiment, only no one had to ring the bell for me to salivate! You see, I remembered my last visit to Palm Spring, California in the fall.  This was my first time to visit this desert community and I didn’t really know what to expect.  There are so many things to see and do in Palm Springs, California and the restaurant scene is really heating up (pun intended.)

Value dining in Palm Springs

Now in its sixth year, Palm Springs Desert Resorts Restaurant Week is a chance for locals and visitors alike to sample signature dishes, meet restaurant owners and chefs, visit Palm Springs attractions and save money. How’s that for value dining? And the savings aren’t limited to Palm Springs; over 100 restaurants, hotels and attractions from the entire Coachella Valley participate in Restaurant Week. During this 10 day time frame, foodies and frugal travelers visit their favorite restaurants, hotels or spas.

Stay at the Viceroy Hotel and take a dip in the pool

Palm Springs Restaurant Week

Special prix fixe dinner menus are offered over the 10 days. All of the restaurants offer three-course dinners, offering several choices for each course. FYI, the $26 or $38 per person restaurant menu does not include  beverages, tax or gratuity.

Eat, see, stay in Palm Springs

If you like dining deals and hotel package offers, Restaurant Week offers value. During my Palm Springs visit, I stayed at The Saguaro. Condé Nast Traveler recently named The Saguaro one of the best new hotels of 2013. For my next trip, I’d stay at the Viceroy Hotel. In addition to California creations from Citron restaurant, this place has multiple swimming pools and looks like a private estate.

Soft shell crab BLT from Jakes

One of my favorite restaurants was Tinto,  inside The Saguaro. Iron Chef Jose Garces offers up pintxos like the ones I discovered during my travels in northwestern Spain. We also traveled to Austria via Johannes Restaurant in Palm Springs and made it to Norma’s at The Park Palm Springs for decadent desserts.

Head out on the Palm Springs highway

Day two found us at King’s Highway at ACE Hotel for breakfast before a morning Red Jeep Tour to Indian Canyons with Desert Adventures. This tour was a Palm Springs highlight for me because our naturalist guide, Morgan Levine, brought Andreas Canyon to life with stories of the Aqua Caliente Cahuilla Indians. After our jeep tour we dined Al Fresco at Jakes. I ordered the soft shell crab BLT, but the show stopper at Jakes was the dessert – a chocolate peanut butter cupcake. Jakes has not one, but three pastry chefs. Dine here simply for the desserts!

Workshop Kitchen + Bar arrives on the Palm Springs restaurant scene

Cooking and cocktails in Palm Springs

My last day in Palm Springs included a cooking class with Chef Andrew Copley of Copley’s on Palm Canyon and small plates at Workshop Kitchen + Bar, Palm Springs latest newcomer to the restaurant scene.

Don’t miss the bar scene in Palm Springs. It seems that every restaurant we visited, from Citron to Melvyn’s, featured their own signature cocktail. With mint juleps to Au Pear cocktails, sangria, Pomegranate Martini’s at Copley’s and Mel-tini’s on the bar menu, I tried them all. Fabulous – but don’t forget a designated driver!

Have an Au Pear martini at Johannes in Palm Springs

Palm Springs spa time

Last, but not least, what’s a visit to Palm Springs without a spa treatment? My time was too short at Riviera Spa Terre at the Riviera Palm Springs, but that just gives me another excuse for a return trip to Palm Springs. Won’t you join me?

For additional insider tips follow Luxury Travel Writer Nancy D. Brown on Twitter and follow Palm Springs Restaurant Week and Palm Spring  on Twitter.

If You Go:

Palm Springs Restaurant Week

I was a guest of Palm Springs Visitors Bureau and Palm Springs Restaurant Week.

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Aria Resort & Casino hotel review

You have decided to travel to Las Vegas and get a hotel room on the strip. Now what? Is this trip a girlfriend getaway? Maybe you are headed to Las Vegas for a bachelor or bachelorette party? Of course, this could be a romantic trip to Las Vegas to take in some shows, discover a couple of new restaurants or simply hang out at the pool, enjoying the Nevada desert heat.  Whatever your travel plans, you’ll need somewhere to recharge after a busy day and night in Las Vegas.  My new favorite Las Vegas hotel is Aria Resort & Casino on the strip.

ARIA Resort & Casino hotel review

Opened in 2010, with 4,004 hotel rooms and suites, Aria Resort & Casino is one of the largest hotels in the world! Aria, owned by MGM Resorts, features a combination of amenities, high-end service, cool architecture and sustainable design. I liked the abundance of natural lighting in the public areas and the fact that the casino didn’t smell like smoke – they have state-of-the-art ventilation systems in the flooring. And while the 150,000 square foot casino does have a substantial presence in the lobby, non of the slot machines make obnoxious noises with constant ringing.

Aria’s swimming pool and private cabanas

From culinary offerings created by chefs to nightlife, private cabanas poolside, spa treatments and Zarkana by Cirque du Soleil, Aria typifies the vitality of Las Vegas resorts.

ARIA’s restaurant scene

Las Vegas is known for its culinary chops. Any celebrity chef worth his salt has a presence in Las Vegas, Nevada. Featuring 16 restaurants under one roof, Aria is no exception to the more-is-better rule. Tequila fans, check out the Tequila tree at Javier’s Mexican-themed restaurant.

Those looking for an over-the-top breakfast, lunch or dinner buffet, with reasonable prices, might like to visit The Buffet. For great seafood, try Michael Mina’s American Fish. After sampling the truffled mac and cheese at Mina’s Arcadia in San Jose, I was pleased to see the truffled mac and cheese on the Las Vegas menu, as well.

While the quality of the food and chocolate is good at Jean Philippe Patisserie, they need to get the ordering process under control. I saw several frustrated folks on the morning of my Las Vegas departure standing on the sidelines waiting for, what appeared to be, simple orders to be processed.

Aria’s deluxe king room with Las Vegas city view

High tech, high touch hotel rooms

From the moment I walked into my Aria hotel room, I felt like a VIP.  Upon entrance to my hotel room, the tv turned on (showing a state-of-the-art menu offering every way imaginable to customize my room) the curtains opened and the bell man explained all the bells and whistles. He also pointed out my city view “city center view” that was an additional $30 upgrade.

My deluxe king room, #20018, rented for $175 per night, not including the $25 resort fee that covered access to the fitness center, pool and wifi. Please check the website for current hotel room pricing.

ARIA Spa

The Spa at Aria Resort & Casino

With 62 treatment rooms and 80,000 square feet of spa space, The Aria Spa will make anyone’s list of top spas.

I sampled the 50-minute reflexology massage – this was a first time for me to experience a massage focusing solely on my head, neck, shoulders, feet and hands. Did I mention that she used hot stones during this treatment? Make sure to arrive early or stay late to take advantage of the indoor hot tubs and sauna, as well as the outdoor therapy pool.

Sky Suites at Aria Resort & Casino

Five star luxury at ARIA Sky Suites

If you are looking for an ultra-luxury experience, Aria is also home to Sky Suites, Forbes Five-Star hotel-within-a-hotel. If you require a paparazzi-free zone, the Sky Suites are for you, as they offer a gated entrance to the resort.  Whether you visit CityCenter’s The Shops at Crystals or browse the public Fine Art Collection, Aria is a resort experience unlike others in Las Vegas.

Insider tip

For additional insider tips follow Luxury Travel Writer Nancy D. Brown on Twitter and follow Aria on Twitter. Aria is an AAA Five Diamond resort.

If You Go:

Aria Resort & Casino (866) 359-7757

3730 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Article written by and photos courtesy of  Travel Writer Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip, Travels from Northern California. I was a guest of Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Custom Hotel near LAX in Los Angeles.

Among a glut of colorless generic airport hotels, L.A.’s Custom Hotel is a breath of fresh air.

Make no mistake — it’s still an airport hotel located in a charmless neighborhood 15 mins from LAX (not counting rental car return — for that add 1/2 hour).

But given that it’s part of the Joie de Vivre brand, there are nice touches like the sleek, stylish lobby, a poolside bar open in the evening, and Deck 33, a restaurant overlooking the postage stamp-sized pool that serves Pacific Rim cuisine.

300-count linens on comfortable beds.

Other JDV niceties include a “relaxation room” with a massage chair and a game room with Xbox Kinect. A multi-tiered sun deck features five cabanas and a fire pit, and there are two fitness centers, one for weights and one for cardio. There’s even an art gallery featuring the work of students from nearby Otis College of Art and Design

As with all of the JDV properties I’ve been to, Custom Hotel has a theme. Mid-century aviation is the motif here, with staff dressed in mod, 1960s airline-inspired outfits.

Bathrooms are tiny but stylish.

Guestroom amenities include free wifi, 300-thread count linens, and dual-paned windows (think airport proximity!) but perhaps the coolest feature is the controllable LED lighting system for color personalization. Each floor has a different color and graphic pattern and in the rooms, guests can personalize their room with a color-changing LED lighting system installed in the windows.

Custom, indeed.

Insider Tip

Custom Hotel offers complimentary shuttle service to and from LAX daily from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. Just call them when you arrive at baggage claim and have bags in-hand. For LAX drop-off, a shuttle runs every half hour on the hour and is based on availability.

Custom Hotel
8639 Lincoln Boulevard, Los Angeles, California
310-645-0400

Contributed by Lisa Dion of Friscomama. Photos courtesy of Joie de Vivre and Dan Dion.