Chicago, Chi-Town, The Windy City!

My latest adventure took me to one of my favorite cities AND my new favorite Hotel!

When The Trump International Hotel and Towers was announced as the location for the meeting I was attending, I felt like a kid in a candy store! Not only am I junkie for great hotels, but I was really excited to see what "The Donald" was up to in the hotel industry!

I had heard that Chicagoans were originally not in favor of The Donald building on their landmark, famous riverfront, but eventually the barriers came down and a Magnificent new addition to Chicago was born. Not only is the hotel not what one would expect of the brash, gold-plated billionaire, it is a beautiful architectural masterpiece on the outside, and a chic, subtle, exciting, relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable experience on the inside!

Usually heading to a newer hotel with this kind of anticipation and high level of expectation can lead to disappointment, but The Trump truly "trumps" the other luxury hotels I have visited in the United States.

Upon entering the intimate lobby, the idea that there would be grand expressions of excessiveness and "over the top" decor where immediately wiped away by the beautiful, subtle furnishings, fresh flowers and small spaces. The staff was not in the way, tripping over themselves in a obtrusive manner, but were right there when you needed, to get checked in and get your bags whisked away to the room.

The rooms are impressive, but again not gaudy in any way, shape or form! One of the great features of the guest rooms at The Trump are the "Urban Kitchenettes" in all of the rooms, except the Spa Rooms. These allow for a private, romantic dinner in your suite, prepared by the Hotel Chef, as well as the small luxury of being able to make something for yourself if you choose to stay in or simply want to have a nice cup of coffee and relax with a newspaper.

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NOTE: If your dreaming of experiencing this hotel!

The Trump International Hotel and Tower is part of our Signature Hotel and Resort Program of over 600 of the finest hotels, resorts, boutique inns and adventure lodges in the World!

For all of our Guests at The Trump, we are pleased to be able to offer the following, exclusive amenities:

• Continental Breakfast for two Daily, also Available through Room Service
• Welcome Chocolates in Room Amenity
• $50 Spa Credit per Room, per Stay

The following amenities are subject to availability at the time of check-in:

• Upgrade

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OK - back to the Trump! I was originally to be at the hotel for two days of gruelling meetings, if you can call hanging out with some of the brightest minds in the travel industry - and at The Trump Hotel anything close to gruelling. :)

The meeting space and the staff were incredible! Our meeting room looked out over the city and was a fantastic space to share ideas and reports on what we are up to in our travel businesses. We were hosted to a reception by the executives of the The Trump Chicago and The Trump Hotel Collection in the Skyline Room, a luxurious, intimate space overlooking the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, just as the sun was setting. It was a great way to complete our meetings, socialize with friends and get to know our partners at Trump a little better!

For me it was the beginning of a busy weekend of sightseeing, sports, dining, and hanging out with my favorite niece for the weekend!

Thanks to the entire crew at The Trump that made our meetings and
my trip so enjoyable! We all really appreciate it!

Here is a fun little video I put together showing off The Trump and our Fun, Crazy, Chicago Weekend!

Click the image above or HERE to view video! Enjoy!

The Thousand Fan, Thousand Follower CHALLENGE!

Well, we have finally taken the plunge!!  

We have created a Facebook Fan Page (Click here to become a

 FAN!), we have set up a Twitter Account and will start tweeting on July 1st (Click here to Follow us!) and have taken Legendary World Radio to the Internet as a Podcast (Stay Tuned for details - we are awaiting the proper links from our web developers!

But in true Legendary World style - we did not just want to start having Fans, Followers and Listeners - we want to have FUN with it and do some good.  And, if you are going to have fun and raise money for charity - 

DO IT BIG!

So today we are launching The Thousand Fan, Thousand Follower CHALLENGE for our existing Fans, Followers and Friends - and many new Fans, Followers and Friends.  And I promise I will not use those "F" words again in this post!

Today we start with One Fan, One Follower - and that is OK!

We have partnered with our favorite Cruise Lines, Holland America, Carnival and Princess, yet again for an exciting, fun and interesting experiment to see how fast we can get to 1000 Fans on our Facebook page and 1000 Followers on Twitter!  

Many of you remember that in 2008 it was our 20th Anniversary and we gave away TWELVE CRUISES over Twelve Months!  I think we had as much fun as our clients!  Many of the winners are still in the planning stages.

We have put together a special CHALLENGE for all of you to help us recruit these Fans and Friends - and once we get to 1000 Fans in Facebook, we will do a drawing and award a seven day Mexican Riviera or seven day Caribbean Cruise to one luck Fan!  The same for Twitter - 1000 Followers and a Cruise will be awarded!  In addition, we will donate $1000.00 to charity at each Milestone - AND let the Fans and Followers decide who to donate it to - through an online poll!

Once BOTH have 1000 - a THIRD Cruise will be awarded!  No we are not CRAZY - we just like to interact with you and have some fun while we are at it.

So...

• Tell your friends in Facebook to become a FAN - and have them tell their friends...
  
• Sign up to follow our Tweets and RT (Retweet) them to your followers...
  
• And e-mail anyone you think would enjoy this Blog and this experiment to come along for the ride!
  

Ireland! This weeks eNewsletter Topic

Click Here to Read this weeks eNewsletter - featuring Ireland!

To have the weekly eNewsletter, specials and deals sent right to your inbox weekly - click here and sign up on our e-mail list - AND enter to win an incredible vacation!

Se’ San Diego – A Feast for the Senses!

I recently decided it was time for a weekend getaway to San Diego, to visit friends, favorite restaurants and see what “America’s Finest City” was up to! My regular readers know this is one of my favorite getaways – and they are always different!

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Julie Chavarria, Director of Leisure Sales for Se’ San Diego, while she was traveling though Arizona promoting her amazing new hotel. During our lunch, I was invited to come see the hotel the next time I was in town. Never being one to miss out on a new hotel, new experiences and always wanting to see what new innovations and programs are being launched, I decided to call Julie and see if she had availability for the first night of my adventure in San Diego. Luckily she did!

One of the first things that impressed me about Se’, was the call I received from the Chef Concierge, Chuck Huller, about 5 days prior to my stay to introduce himself and offer to help me make Tee Times, Dinner Reservations or anything else that would make my stay more enjoyable! WOW! I’ve stayed at some of the best hotels in the World, and this was the first time I actually received a phone call, in advance, to see how my experience could be made more enjoyable. It was perfectly timed as I wanted to take some of my friends to dinner at the onsite restaurant Suite & Tender, by James Beard award winning executive chef Christopher Lee. Chuck took care of all the arrangements and sent me an e-mail to confirm the reservations and offered me is direct phone line in case I needed anything else. We are off to a great start with Se’!

So, on a beautiful Friday morning in Tucson, I boarded my favorite Southwest Flight to Lindbergh Field in San Diego. I fly Southwest about 40 flights per year. I am not sure why, but just getting aboard, getting settled with my iPhone, coffee and a magazine is like coming home! The flights are usually on time, the crew is ALWAYS accommodating and happy, and the trips are just so easy.

Anyway – back to the trip at hand! When I arrived in San Diego it was overcast, cold and dreary, and after leaving a warm, beautiful day in Arizona, I was wondering if I made a mistake. But that is what travel and exploring are all about, so I headed to Hertz to get my car and then to a few business appointments I made while in town. It is great when you can mix business with pleasure on these trips!

I arrived at Hertz and went to the car, and was surprised and excited that is was a new Altima Hybrid! I’d been dying to try a hybrid, but had not had the chance – until today. The first thing I noticed was no key, just a switch. Now that part was not all that surprising as I had gotten used o my moms Mercedes not having a key. The strange part was that when I pushed the button a little light came on and simply said “ON”, but there was absolutely no engine starting or noise of any kind. I assumed it was not working, turned it off, made sure the car was in Park, and hit it again, still NOTHING! I got out of the car, made sure the electronic locks where off, reentered the car and tried it again. Still nothing! I went ahead and put the car in drive, no noise, but as I eased off the brake – IT MOVED FORWARD! For those of you that have a hybrid, you probably think this is a little weird – but I was so amazed by the lack of noise while the car was in electric vehicle mode. Once I got out of the parking spot, the engine roared to life and all was good in the world. It took me awhile to get used to the car engine stopping every time I got to a stop sign or intersection, and being completely silent – but I sure got used to it over the weekend, and climbing back in my Expedition at the end of my trip sure had me thinking about a better way to get around.

OK, I’ve finished my work and headed to Se’ San Diego to settle in and see the hotel before meeting my friends for dinner. When I first arrived at the hotel, I was escorted into the lobby though this amazing, huge wooden door that was absolutely beautiful and pivoted in the middle to allow it to open enough to “sneak” in, like you were entering some kind of super secret clubhouse or private enclave. Once inside you are struck by the simple design, but soaring ceiling, floating staircase and multitude of textures! There is not the traditional desk, where you wait in line to check in, but comfortable seating where you are offered Se’s Signature Cocktail, the Zen Royal, made of organic vodka infused with cucumber and rosemary, and topped with sparkling wine. It was perfect! It is very light and refreshing with a taste of vodka, but not overwhelming. Within just the first 10 minutes of my visit the entire experience was perfectly crafted to relax, take away any pressure of the day and prepare you for an incredible stay.



Next the hostess brought my room keys right to me, asked if I had any questions or special requests, then politely took my credit card and went off to get me checked in while I enjoyed my drink and took a closer look at the lobby and thought about my plans for the evening. Once I arrived in the room, I was again awed by the beautiful one bedroom suite (Thanks Julie!), sweeping views of the city, and again all of the textures and exotic materials used in the décor, it was stunning!




We had reservations for dinner at 7:00 PM, so my friend Whitney and I met in the lounge at 6:00 PM for a drink and to catch up on life! The lounge was again awash in textures, from Stingray leather covering the bar, to exotic wood furnishings, a “Flame” wall, live plants covering another wall – it was simply amazing and relaxing at the same time. In the evenings on the Weekend - the rooftop Lounge "Siren" has a series of incredible performers that do a Cirque-type of show and presentation while perched over the hotels pool - it was impressive to say the least!

I have to wrap this up, so I will tell you that the dinner in Suite and Tender was another “Feast for the Senses” with simple, small portions, but combining many different and unique flavors and combinations – you’ll have to check it out to get all the details!

Away We Go Again! Celebrity Solstice, Eastern Caribbean!

This week I am off to the Eastern Caribbean with about 60 friends and associates from the Travel Industry for our Annual Horizon Club Cruise, consisting of the top travel professionals from Signature Travel Network.

It is a great week to learn more about the particular cruise line we are sailing, and this year our cruise is on the new Celebrity Solstice!  It is also a fun event to gather with OLD friends (Paul - I'm referring to you!), make new friends, and relax.   The Solstice is one of the newest and most innovative ships afloat.  Watch this blog over the next week and I will update you on all the Cool, Exciting and Fun additions to this ship!

We have recently added Celebrity Cruise Line as one of our Partners in our Food and Wine At Sea program and will soon announce our newest cruises and chefs for 2010!  Stay Tuned!  For current details visit us at www.LegendaryFoodAndWine.com.

We are in Fort Lauderdale today and it is perfect!  It is currently 73 degrees, high clouds and a great, cool, but balmy breeze blowing in from the sea.  I have been "volunteered" by the guys to take the girls out in search of Champagne this morning - so we are off to Totally Wine -  conveniently located near the hotel!  :)    Joyce has to have her Veuve Clicquot!!  And she has got me hooked as well!  The cruise lines allow each person now to carry on one bottle of wine or Champagne per person - and of course we would NEVER sneak on any additional!  :)

Richard Fox - forget you ever read this!

Tomorrow we are "At Sea" - so I will update with details of our "Sail-Away" party (Blended Drinks and Little Umbrellas are involved!) and some of the great new innovations on this ship!

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Mariner of the Seas!

I have just returned from a two day Inaugural Cruise on the Mariner of the Seas! Click Here for a Ship Tour. It has been years since I was on a Voyager Class ship, and I forgot how INCREDIBLE these ships are!

For me cruising has always been about choice - but Mariner offers choices not found on other ships! From an Ice Skating Rink, to the signature Rock Climbing Wall (no - not this trip!), to In-Line Skating, to Amazing Dining Choices, the list goes on and on.

Our entire staff was able to attend, with spouses and companions - so it was a great getaway for the team, a time to see a new entrant into the Mexican Riviera and just hang out. I was lucky enough to get a Junior Suite, and my niece Brittany flew in from Philadelphia to join me on the cruise and visit for a few days - that is always a blast!

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and the service in the multiple dining venues and options. We had dinner in the main dining room both nights - and everything was exceptional! We had breakfast in the Windjammer and it was very good, lots of choices and lots of stations where items where made to order.

The Casino was GREAT! :) Brittany and I play craps, so the first night we played for a few hours and lost only $10.00 or so - but the next night we played and got on a roll and won $300.00 for the night! Brittany and I happily split the winnings and went off to the Irish Pub for a celebration and sing along! Both nights found our group out until after 1:00 AM!

Then on Sunday we had a very busy day visiting some cousins in Los Angeles and then driving to El Centro to stay with friends on the way back to Tucson.

I'm now back in sunny Tucson and loving it! It has been in the 90's the last few days and I am headed out to the Accenture Match Play Tournament this weekend - should be amazing! Its a great week to be in Tucson, as in addition to the Golf - it is also RODEO WEEKEND in Tucson! The schools have been closed since Wednesday and everyone gets into the activities!

I'm home for a few weeks - then off to the Caribbean for a week on the new Celebrity Solstice with about 50 friends from around the country!

Until next time!