RESORTS | Sweet Leisure

Category Archives: RESORTS

MERMAIDS, THE WRECK BAR, RUM PUNCH & SHRIMP SALAD

Bet you think mermaids are fantasy beings. Hello! The captivating sea creatures are a real deal that you can catch frolicking, flittering and flirting outside the porthole windows of The Wreck Bar in Fort Lauderdale. (Sometimes they even shed their shell bikini tops and fishy fins just to prove how real they are.) The ship-shaped […]

THE SANTA MARIA, A LUXURY COLLECTION HOTEL & GOLF RESORT IN PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

It’s brand new and utterly wonderful. The Santa Maria Hotel & Golf Resort opened in February, 2018, and is already Panama City’s first-choice stay for golfers, business persons and luxury travelers. Located in the exclusive Santa Maria Panama community—eight miles from Panama City and seven miles from the Tocumen International Airport—the resort perfectly suits contemporary […]

¶ Posted 16 March 2018 † Susan Manlin Katzman § ACCOMMODATIONS § ART § BARS § BEVERAGES § BREAKFAST § COCKTAILS § GOLF § PANAMA § PANAMA CITY § RECIPES § RESTAURANTS § SPAS § TRAVEL ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: Anny Arroyave, Carlos Chombolin Alba, cocktail, Embera, Gatun Lake, Geisha coffee, Luxury Collection, Mestizo Restaurant, Panama, Panama City, PANAMA VIEJO, REPROSA, The Santa Maria Hotel & Golf Resort

CAL-A-VIE HEALTH SPA, AMERICA’S MOST PERFECT DESTINATION SPA

The second I win the lottery, I’m calling Cal-a-Vie and booking an extended stay. Why do I love the spa? Here are just a few of the many reasons: LOCATION Nestled in a valley surrounded by lavender scented hills, Cal-a-Vie sits 40 miles north of San Diego and seven miles inland from the Pacific coast […]

¶ Posted 25 February 2018 † Susan Manlin Katzman § ACCOMMODATIONS § BREAKFAST § CALIFORNIA § DIETS § LOW CALORIE § LOW FAT § RECIPES § SALADS § SPAS § TRAVEL § VISTA § WINE ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: Cal-a-Vie, California, Chateau Cal-a-Vie, Curtis Cooke, decor, destination spa, fitness, French Provincial, Gina Worful, Golf, lemon-mustard vinaigrette, spa, Ted Robinson, Vista

TEN REASONS KIDS LOVE ATLANTIS PARADISE ISLAND

Cross my heart, Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas is the tip-top, absolute best resort in the Caribbean for kids of all ages. Why? Many reasons. Here are ten: 1. Atlantis sports what is probably the greatest waterpark on earth. Covering 141 acres, the wet and wonderful playground includes 18 different thrilling, chilling water slides, two splashy […]

¶ Posted 18 January 2018 † Susan Manlin Katzman § ACCOMMODATIONS § BAHAMAS § BEACH § BREADS § BREAKFAST § CARIBBEAN § CASINOS § ENTREES § ISLANDS § NASSAU § PARADISE ISLAND § RECIPES § RESTAURANTS § SPAS § TRAVEL ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas, beach, Caribbean, Chicken Souse, Nassau, recipe, resort, waterpark

OURAY COLORADO, HOT SPRINGS & BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Whoever first said, “The best things come in small packages,” had to be thinking of Ouray. This teeny tiny Colorado town covers only about 0.84 square miles, yet it overflows with appeal. Located in southwest Colorado, near the Four Corners where Colorado meets up with Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, Ouray sits in a box […]

¶ Posted 16 November 2017 † Susan Manlin Katzman § ACCOMMODATIONS § BRUSSELS SPROUTS § CHOCOLATE § COFFEE § COLORADO § OURAY § RECIPES § RESTAURANTS § SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS § SIDE DISHES § SPAS § THANKSGIVING § TRAVEL § VEGETABLES ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: Brickhouse 737, Colorado, Hot Springs, Mouse's Chocolates & Coffee, San Juan Mountains, The Wiesbaden Hot Springs Spa & Lodgings

SUNSET AT THE PALMS, NEGRIL, JAMAICA AND CHICKEN RUNDOWN

I know where Santa Claus vacations. And I know why he chooses Sunset at the Palms in Negril, Jamaica. The resort is the polar opposite of the North Pole. Here wooden treehouse-style guest rooms sit on stilts surrounded by tropical splendor. A profusion of palms and ferns and bamboos fill the property, covering the […]

¶ Posted 12 May 2017 † Susan Manlin Katzman § ACCOMMODATIONS § BARS § BEACH § CARIBBEAN § ISLANDS § JAMAICA § RECIPES § RESTAURANTS § TRAVEL ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: Caribbean, chicken, Club Mobay, Cosmo's Seafood Restaurant and Bar, Jamaica, Jamwest Motorsports & Adventure Park, Negril, Rick's Cafe, rundown, Santa Claus, Scuba Caribe, Sunset at the Palms

CANYON OF THE ANCIENTS GUEST RANCH & NAVARIN PRINTANIER

Wish you were here to experience the glories that can’t be put into words: the quiet so peaceful as to hear the cattle chewing in the pasture, the wings of a bird flap overhead and the swishing sway of the wild apricot trees that line the creek; the air so fresh as to send scents […]

¶ Posted 20 April 2017 † Susan Manlin Katzman § ACCOMMODATIONS § BOOKS § CANYON OF THE ANCIENTS NATIONAL MONUMENT § COLORADO § CORTEZ § ENTREES § HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT § MESA VERDE § NATIONAL PARKS § RECIPES § TRAVEL § WINE ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: Canyon of the Ancients, Colorado, Cortez, Garry Adams, grass-fed beef, lamb, Mese Verde Country, Ming Adams, Native American, Navarin Printanier, Spirits of the Stone, stew, Sutcliffe Vineyards

LAKE CHARLES, SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SHRIMP CHOWDER

Laissez les bon temps rouler (let the good times roll) is more than a Cajun French catchphrase; the motto captures the spirit of Lake Charles in Southwest Louisiana especially at Mardi Gras, when the city costumes in fluff and finery and parades and parties like no other. (And by like no other, we mean no […]

¶ Posted 24 February 2017 † Susan Manlin Katzman § ACCOMMODATIONS § BARS § BEACH § CASINOS § LAKE CHARLES § LOUISIANA § RECIPES § RESTAURANTS § SIDE DISHES § SOUPS ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: boudin, chowder, corn, crab, crackling, Creole Nature Trail All-American Road, Golden Nugget, king cake, Lake Charles, Louisiana, Mardi Gras, shrimp, Steamboat Bill's

ASIA AT AMERISTAR CASINO AND HONEY WALNUT SHRIMP

One can gamble on any restaurant that is run by Don Yamauchi being terrific and Asia, at Ameristar Casino in St. Charles, Missouri, is a sure winner. Chicago born Yamauchi grew up with a love of fusion food fed by his second-generation Japanese-American father and Filipina mother. After attending culinary school, he worked in a variety of […]

¶ Posted 03 February 2017 † Susan Manlin Katzman § APPETIZERS § DESSERTS § ENTREES § MISSOURI § RECIPES § RESTAURANTS § SIDE DISHES § ST. CHARLES § ST. LOUIS § TRAVEL ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: Ameristar Casino, Asia Restaurant, Don Yamauchi, Hai-Ying Bushey, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Missouri, St. Charles

KANE RUM BAR AT JW MARRIOTT ISLAND BEACH RESORT MARCO ISLAND

Yep. It’s true. I love rum. So imagine my delight discovering a rum bar at the newly refurbished and rebranded JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort. The bar is named Kane—I thought because rum is deliciously divinely made from sugar cane and drinking too much can muddle spelling, but not so. Marriott officials say that […]