Sherman's Travel

Marriott International announced today that it will open five new hotels for Edition – the company’s boutique, luxury lifestyle brand – on three continents. Plans are underway for Editions in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Bangkok, while contracts have been signed for additional hotels in Los Angeles and Gurgaon, India. Marriott Edition enlisted the help of Ian Schrager, hotelier and real estate developer, to pioneer the creative design and positioning of the hotels. Schrager is well known for Studio 54 and the Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood, among others.

Manhattan’s Clock Tower building, on Madison Avenue, will be home to the New York Edition; the renovation and transformation of the historic building are set to begin in late 2012. The Bangkok Edition, opening in 2015, will be in one of the tallest buildings in the city, and will be part of a mixed-use development. Read more

Are you a contemporary art fan looking for a place to take your next vacation? Well, look no further than Miami’s boutique Hotel Urbano at Brickell. Right now, this stylish hotel is offering prices starting at just $109 per night with the third night free – after taxes that’s only $83 per night! This 65-room hotel provides an art-inspired oasis just minutes from Miami’s famous beaches and top tourist attractions. If you book now you can receive an added bonus of 20% off the contemporary artwork of William Braemer.

THE VALUE: Other hotels in the area can cost up to three times as much per night during the summer and won’t give you the art culture you crave.

THE CATCH: Art can be an expensive investment. If you plan to buy, be aware that prices can range from only $500 to upwards of $10,000 per piece.

THE DETAILS: Click here to book your stay in May through September 30 and don’t forget the promo code BOGO where it prompts you to “click here to enter special code.” Or call 305-854-2070 and request the Third Night Free summer offer.

WE’VE GOT MORE: Need a flight to Miami? Use our Travel Search Price comparison tool to find the best rates!

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Beyond the shillelaghs and shamrocks, a handful of shops spotlight modern Irish craft:

Dolls This pint-size boutique features a carefully edited collection of muted basics and stylish footwear by rising Scandinavian designers as well as Irish ones like Lucy Downes, known for knit dresses and cardigans. Other standouts include owner Petria Lenehan’s cashmere sweaters and ’40s-style silk dresses; high-waisted trousers by Fabiana Filippi of Umbria, Italy; menswear by Peter Jensen; and velvet sandals by The Jackson Twins. A second outpost of Dolls recently opened on Emorville Avenue in the Portobello neighborhood. 32B Clarendon St.; 011-353-1-672-9004

Cow’s Lane Designer Studio This 2-year-old designer co-op offers shelf space to a dozen Irish creative types, with an emerging jewelry designer occupying one corner and a second-generation millinery occupying another. (The latter once supplied hats to Aer Lingus flight attendants.) Among the locally made wares at Designer Studio are goat’s milk–and-almond soaps from the Curlew Mountains, sterling silver and stone baubles, and grosgrain ribbon-adorned straw or felt hats by Shevlin. West Essex Street; 011-353-1-874-0447; cowslanedesignerstudio.ie

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Whether traveling for business or pleasure during the here-before-you-know-it snowy winter months, Taj Boston will help you unwind and shake off the winter chill via a warm, crackling fire. The hotel’s 42 suites come with wood-burning fireplaces and the complimentary services of a fireplace butler.  To build the perfect fire, guests are invited to choose from a Firewood Menu of five aromatic woods, including quick-burning birch, fragrant cherry wood, delicate oak wood, sweet maple wood, and the delightful Taj-blend. After explaining the different wood varieties, fireplace butlers expertly prepare and light the fire while you sit back and relax.  Read more

Adventure seekers and Scuba diving enthusiasts looking for the best bang for their buck can direct their attention to St. Vincent and the Grenadines where the Summer & Fall Dive Special from the Mariners Hotel and Dive St. Vincent gets travelers an 8-night stay with 12 dives (gear included) for $999! Divers of all levels are welcome and are sure to be awestruck by these gentle Caribbean waters that abound with exotic marine life and unique topography caused by La Soufrière, Saint Vincent’s own active volcano. When the underwater exploration comes to an end and divers are ready to relax, the boutique, 20-room Mariners Hotel with a picturesque restaurant and beach bar awaits them.

THE VALUE: With this deal travelers get the equivalent of one free night’s stay and two free dives! Additionally, this offer includes daily breakfast, round-trip airport transfers, and a 20 percent discount on dinner at the French Verandah Restaurant!

THE CATCH: Sadly, airfare is not included.

THE DETAILS: To book your dive special, visit www.marinershotel.com.

WE’VE GOT MORE: Use our Travel Search price comparison tool to find cheap fares to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Know before you go with our St. Vincent and the Grenadines Travel Guide.

It was featured in the spring 2010 issue of ShermansTravel, but it’s such a great deal, we decided to feature it on Daily Deals as well. The summer is the best time to check out luxury Caribbean resorts that are super pricey during the high season, especially because islands like St. Bart’s aren’t unbearably hot thanks to the cool breezes and temperate climate. (Plus the off-season means that the boutiques have great sales and the beaches are less crowded.) Frequented by high society “snow birds” during the winter season, the famed Eden Rock has summer packages with rates that are 42% off the January-April prices. A boutique oceanfront hotel, the Eden Rock’s accommodations range from a charming garden cottage to the new spacious, high-design villas, each with their own unique personality and amenities. It’s the perfect setting for a fairytale beach getaway to one of the Caribbean’s prettiest islands.

THE VALUE: With the 4-day, 3-night Pick Me Up package, rates start at 395 euros or $510 — 42% percent less than high-season rates. Plus, a stay at the Eden Rock is packed with amenities including airport transfers, welcome wine and snack, daily breakfast and free use of a car. 

THE CATCH: Book a minimum of three nights for the offer. Cancellations less than 29 days before will result in forfeit of deposit; for cancellations 10 days and less, the total stay will be charged. *The resort is closed August 29-October 16.

THE DETAILS: Check the Eden Rock web site for prices and details. Call 877-563-7105 for reservations.

WE’VE GOT MORE: Read our St. Bart’s Travel Guide. 

See more Caribbean Travel Deals. 

Compare flights with our Travel Search. 

FOUND A BETTER DEAL? Tell us.

Explore the concrete jungle this summer with low rates and fabulous city swag from boutique Affinia Hotels in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York City. Offering guests a chance to document their urban adventures via complimentary Flip Video Camcorder (worth $150), reservations start from a reasonable $209/night at their Chicago, Magnificent Mile location – complete with a rooftop lounge – and also include a $10 Metrocard and an Affinia tote bag. 
 
THE VALUE: Affinia Hotels are known for their spotless service, myriad amenities (magnetic therapy pillow, fitness kit, golf putter), and gorgeous design.

THE CATCH: The unfortunate two-night booking max!

THE DETAILS: Visit www.affinia.com for more information or book at individual hotels through September 6.

WE’VE GOT MORE: Check out other great Hotel Deals.

Browse the Savvy Flyer blog for under-the-radar airfare bargains.

Use our Travel Search price comparison tool to find other great hotel, airfare, and vacation deals.

FOUND A BETTER DEAL? Tell us.

In honor of its new status of Green Seal eco-certification on the Silver Level, Aspen’s Sky Hotel is offering a special deal for similarly eco-minded guests. The Green Sky Package ties in 20 percent off room rates, a free Green Seal cocktail (a fruity mix of vodka, Malibu, Midori, and pineapple juice) at the hotel’s 39 Degrees lounge, and free valet parking. On top of that, the hotel will plant a tree for every guest to book the package. Special bonus points go to drivers of hybrid or electric cars, for whom Sky Hotel will donate 5 percent of the room rate to the Aspen Valley Land Trust.

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Here are the Daily Deal’s favorite ShermansTravel deals from the past week. Become enamored with Costa Rica’s effervescent cities and attractions on a six-night vacation that is priced from just *$579 per person. Save 50 percent and get round-trip airfare from the U.S., rental car, six nights’ of hotel stays and a free Safari Float tour or an Arenal Volcano hike.

Park City, Utah, isn’t just for skiers — in the off-season, it offers loads of outdoor activities like hiking, fly-fishing and horseback riding. Nearby Newpark Resort serves as a great jumping-off point for all of it. The exclusive ShermansTravel offer slices the resort’s nightly rates down to $82 for a Deluxe Hotel Room, but one- and two-bedroom suites as well as townhomes are available.

Air Tahiti Nui customers are being rewarded for booking round-trip flights from Los Angeles to New Zealand, with prices starting as low as $1130, by receiving a free, three-night stopover in Tahiti! This vacation within a vacation is valid at the Radisson Plaza Resort Tahiti and the Sofitel Tahiti Maeva Beach Resort, for travel between August 15 and March 31, 2011.

A New York City hotel debuting in July, Andaz 5th Avenue is located directly across from the New York Public Library, and is ideal for window shopping on 5th Ave or catching an outdoor movie in Bryant Park after the sun goes down. The special preview rate of $295 is now available for stays from July 25 through September 1 – a great rate for any upscale New York hotel, let alone a brand new one. After that, prices go up to $463, so this offer saves you $168/night for peak-season travel.

Between the hot bodies and hedonistic partying, South Beach has plenty of sex appeal, and after five years, The Setai is still one of Miami’s sexiest hotels. Part of a second wave of boutique hotels to sweep Miami Beach, these designers eschewed the Art Deco look for a more subtle and exotic ambience. Inject some heat into your fall — or even summer if you are so inclined — with a deal that offers guests a free 4th night through November 30. Exclusively for ShermansTravel readers, the deal, with rates starting at $550, also includes a daily Setai Grand Breakfast. The hotel pulls out all the stops for this breakfast, offering made-to-order omelets, freshly baked breads and pastries, fresh fruit and smoothies, Asian dim sum and more goodies.

THE VALUE: With the fourth night free, the deal even beats out the Setai’s anniversary offer which promotes rates starting at $475. Plus, the Setai Grand Breakfast has a value of $47 (with taxes and gratuity).

THE CATCH: Be careful of heatstroke if you go to Miami in August. Been there, done that.

THE DETAILS: Call 305.520.6110 or email setaireservations@ghamericas.com and mention the Stay Three Night and Receive a Fourth Free Exclusive ShermansTravel deal.

WE’VE GOT MORE: Find more Florida Hotel Deals. 

Check out our Miami Travel Guide. 

Compare hot airfare, hotel rates and more using our Travel Search.