Tips & Trips

By Sheila Callahan | December 31, 2004

SKIING

Downhill skiers looking to plan their next getaway might consider Ski Search, a new nationwide database of resorts, lodging, dining, area attractions, and shopping available throughSwitchboard.com. Courtesy of the nationwide yellow page service, Ski Search provides individual directory listings for more than 350 ski areas across America, with links to their Web sites.

To access the database, go to Switchboard.com's home page and click on the Ski Search link below the search box. There you can find trail maps, slope conditions, and lift ticket information for 38 states. The "maps and directions" tab provides route finding from any American location.

For more information, click the Ski Search link at www.switchboard.com.

VALENTINE'S DAY

Cupid's arrow might just hit the bull's eye with Millennium Hotels and Resorts Valentine's packages. In Los Angeles, the historic Biltmore Hotel, known for its Spanish-Italian Renaissance-style architecture, offers club-floor accommodations: champagne, chocolate-dipped strawberries, a three-course dinner at the hotel's Smeraldi's Restaurant, continental breakfast, afternoon beverages, and hors d'oeuvres, and valet parking. Available February 11-14, the package costs $299.

At Millennium's Bostonian Hotel, rates range from $299 for a deluxe room to $499 for a room with a fireplace. And for $150, Nashville's Maxwell House's Valentine rate includes a four-course dinner for two in addition to overnight accommodation.

For more information, call 866-866-8086, or visit www.millenniumhotels.com.

FLORIDA BY AIR

Journeys to "the other Florida" - the state's "Great Northwest," or panhandle - haven't always been easy; the trip has generally required two flights and the better part of a day's travel. Starting January 31, visitors can jet to this forgotten coast on Delta's new twice-daily nonstop flights from New York's JFK airport to Tallahassee, the brand new gateway to the riches of northwest Florida.

The area from Pensacola to Tallahassee offers family getaways, ecotourism, authentic Southern cuisine, adventure travel, boating and fishing, antiquing and folk art collecting, and white sand beaches.

For more information, visit www.delta.com.

SPAS

Italy's Terme di Saturnia spa has opened a new Roman bath. Lined with travertine stone and lit by skylight, its sulfurous, carbonic, and alkaline waters gush at a rate of 800 liters per second.

Rolling hills, archaeological and Roman burial sites, and medieval fortresses and villages surround Terme di Saturnia, located in the heart of the Tuscan Maremma region. First recognized by the Romans, Saturnia's thermal spring is known for its relaxing properties. For current visitors, the resort offers 140 guest rooms and suites, recently decorated in a neoclassical style featuring marble baths, Frette linens, and Saturnia's own line of amenities.

For more information, visit www.termedisaturnia.it.