We've seen an inn in Vermont offer getaways for the unemployed. Now a different inn is offering a free getaway for the uninsured. Tim and Amy Brady, the owners of Forty Putney Road Bed and Breakfast in Brattleboro, Vermont know firsthand the challenges of being without health insurance. In 2007, when they left their corporate jobs to start the bed and breakfast they struggled to find a healthcare coverage option that would be affordable and not exclude existing conditions. Now they hope to provide a healthy getaway to those who may be facing the same struggle with their own health care coverage by giving away one healthy getaway each month, complete with an apple a day , to an uninsured couple in need of some stress relief. Each month until a National Health Care Reform Bill is passed Forty Putney Road Bed and Breakfast will award one deserving couple with a two-night stay that includes a healthy breakfast. Visit the Forty Putney Road Bed and Breakfast website for more details.

The Peter Island Resort & Spa, the largest private island resort in the British Virgin Islands has unveiled newly refurbished guest rooms and enhanced spa experiences. The resort's 32 ocean view rooms and 20 beachfront junior suites have just been redesigned. To celebrate the resort has created the "New Us, New You" package which is available now through October 31, 2009. The package includes a five-night stay (for the rate of four nights), an Ayurvedic Abhyanga 75-minute two hands massage per person in the Couple's Suite at The Spa and a private yoga class for two.

The Spa at Peter Island has introduced Ayurvedic "Science of Life" wellness programs which are overseen by Dr. Sabari Sabereesan and Dr. Raja Mannar, two doctors from India who are experts in the field of yogic science and naturopathic medicine. Ingrid Millet Paris, the caviar-based, luxury skincare offers 13 facials featuring specific masks based on collagen, caviar, vitamin C and botanical extracts. The Pristine Diamond Microdermabrasion Peel is coupled with three facials to offer first-time fantastic results. The 10,000-square-foot spa offers treatments and products harvested from Peter Island and neighboring islands with fresh flowers and aromatherapy candles for an added sense of tranquility and calm.

Based on double-occupancy, "New Us, New You" rates in an Ocean View Room start at $2,780 ($556 per night), and rates in a Beachfront Junior Suite start at $4,020 ($804 per night). Rates include a full American meal plan (daily breakfast, lunch and dinner) and resort activities, including windsurfing, snorkeling, kayaking, mountain biking and more.

If there was ever a time of year where you could take off on an overly extravagant getaway without feeling guilty it's over Valentine's Day. Resorts and hotels know this too, with most of them putting together romantic and pampered packages in luxurious settings -- many times all-inclusive so minimal planning is required. Just decide where in the world you want to go, and if you'd prefer to stay in or go out, and finding a deal somewhere that fits the bill should be easy as pie. Here are a few we found that look particularly tempting:

Norwegian designer Kaia Peterka knows a good bag is essential to the traveling girl. You need something that is durable, roomy and above all, stylish. This bag is all three. With a soft shape and a distressed look, the Getaway is dressed up with a broad strap, threaded through loops and wrapped casually around the bag. At 13" x 15.5" it is large enough to hold your travel essentials with room left over for shopping finds. Available in pewter, night, whiskey or choco, it has a zip top closure and is lined in a brocade fabric. $550.

The Whiteface Lodge in Lake Placid, New York was already luxurious enough to make our list of the top ten U.S. resorts last year. It is even more of a draw now that it has opened the Spa at Whiteface Lodge. The intimate spa matches the rest of the resort with rustic wood timbers, antler chandeliers and stone water features. The spa includes a salon with hair, make-up and waxing services. There are six treatment rooms including a double suite for couples that includes a tub for two. There is also a wet treatment room with a Swiss shower. The spa uses the B Kamins' signature line and the Red Flower's signature line and offers treatments that reflect the setting such as Adirondack Forest Facials, the Whiteface Peak Facial, and Dreamcatchers' Massage Rites featuring a Maple Butter Massage which costs $135 for 50 minutes or $205 minutes for 80 minutes.

For some, reading about the latest island vacation hot spots and hearing other people's opinions about how it does or doesn't meet their expectations and stack up to the competition is where it ends, but for others that's just the first step -- after reading they actually head out and go there to see for themselves. If that's you, then here's the perfect way to weigh in your own opinions on something someone else will read before they book a flight: Concierge.com's "Vote for your favorite" island getaways. You can vote for your favorites, "sink" the ones you hated, and even submit a location or two of your own. It's fast, anonymous, and free, so there's no reason you shouldn't pop over and see what's topping the list!

Some days I know I'd like to run from reality, don't we all sometimes? Preferred Boutique is banking on it with their newest set of adventure-themed packages geared towards getting away from it all. It's a given that most vacation and resort packages want that "escape reality" feeling, but they don't all imply the adventure that "running" from reality does. And the "Run from Reality" package name is backed up with the thrill of tandem paragliding, whitewater rafting, or (for those who want a calmer adventure) horseback riding. Starting at two nights minimum, the getaways are available now until the end of August this year.

Bulgari Hotels have opened their second boutique hotel, a 59-villa property in Bali. This resort is located near the village of Pecatu a full 40 minutes from Kuta, the more touristy part of Bali. The resort sits on a cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean and has a long beach is accessible only through the resort's inclined elevator. The resort is designed to reflect a luxury interpretation of the traditional Balinese design. The most luxury place to stay is the 1,300-sq.meter (nearly 14,000 square foot) Bulgari Villa. All rooms offer a plunge pool and patio with secluded tropical garden.

The resort also includes two restaurants, an all-day dining option with Balinese food and an Italian restaurant that is open for dinner only. There is also a bar located at the cliff's edge and an oceanfront spa with a swimming pool, yoga pavilion, hot and cold plunge pools and two private spa suites.

A new luxury resort has opened in Connecticut just in time for New England's prettiest season, fall. Winvian is located in the Litchfield Hills and sits on 113 tranquil acres bordered by a 4,000-acre wildlife sanctuary preserve. The accommodations include charming themed cottages that include a tree house, helicopter and library. The hotel also has a 5,000 square foot spa with six treatment rooms including one with a circular woodburning fireplace and another suite with a chromatherapy tub for multiple therapies. The fully renovated Seth Bird House which dates back to 1775, is home to the property's one-bedroom suite, and gathering areas including the main and private dining rooms, wine cellar, games room and cigar / brandy lounge.

The layout of this unique resort reminds me of one of my favorite childhood book, Andrew Henry's Meadow with its collection of 18 fantasy cottages devoted to various themes and hobbies.Rates at Winvian are from $1,450 per night and include all meals (continental breakfast nook, full breakfast, room service, lunch, picnics, spa snacks, afternoon tea, cocktails, dinner, after dinner petit-fours) and accompanying beverages at all the property's 24-hour bars, open wine cellar and unlimited use of all facilities and activities.

Another luxury getaway has opened in Bali. The Elysian is a member of the design hotel group and is a 26 villa hotel. Each vill has its own pool and an open floorplan. Each villa also has broadband internet connection, 40 channel cable television, DVD/VCD/CD player and a preloaded ipod Nano on request & Bose sound dock. The main pool has a Balinese temple and cabanas draped with traditional cloth. There is a clubhouse that includes the Rush-Bamboo poolside cafe and bar, a gym, a library and a spa. The hotel is located in Seminyak and there is a drop-off service that takes you to the beach which is a few minutes away. The villas are each privately owned and there are resale units available. Rates start at $195 per night.

As a former Boston girl I am definitely biased but there's nothing like Spring in New England when the weather is good. To celebrate National Preservation Month next month, the classically charming Emerson Inn by the Sea, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s former vacation retreat in Rockport, Massachusetts has a special Preservation Package. If you find museums and history boring this is not for you but for those interested in learning the history of this classic New England seaside town, the three-night package includes tickets to the Essex Shipbuilding Museum, the Gloucester Maritime Museum, the Cape Ann Historical Society, the Paper House and the Rockport Art Association gallery. After all that museum touring you are going to need a good meal. The package also includes a $50 gift to Woodman's of Essex home to the first fried clams and a $50 gift certificate for dinner in the Grand Cafe, the hotel's restaurant.  The package costs $515-1115 per couple and there are 36 guest rooms  Of course it is New England so no guarantees on the weather.

A while back I mentioned the St. Regis in Bora Bora which was supposed to open this month but now is opening in late June. Another idyllic getaway in this remote location will be the InterContinental Resort and Thalasso-Spa Bora Bora. The $70 million resort should open in May. It has a great feature, an eco-friendly air-conditioning system which uses a 7,874 foot pipe (the deepest ocean pipe in the world) to pump deep sea water through a titanium heat exchanger, which transfers the cold from the sea water into the fresh water circuit that powers the air conditioning throughout the hotel. The water is then returned to the ocean (rerouted to avoid hurting the ocean ecosystem). The resort has 80 over water bungalows. The resort’s Thalassotherapy Deep Ocean Spa which will open in September will use mineral-rich deep seawater extracted from 2,500 feet below sea level in its treatments. It will also have what may be one of the most romantic settings for a wedding, an over water chapel with a glass bottom floor.

Hotel Travel News has an interview with Lorenzo Giannuzzi, the managing director of Forte Village. What's Forte Village? It is an a resort on the Italian island of Sardinia that includes seven hotels, a spa and restaurants.  The hotels are all four and five star and each has a slightly different feel, from village quaint to seaside luxe like the Hotel Castello, shown here. The village recently went through a big renovation and  will host the German soccer team before the FIFA World Cup. A future renovation will include a dedicated pool with sea water. For those of us who can't do without our laptops, the village offers wireless in the rooms and most public areas around the resort. Currently the resort caters mainly to an Italian crowd but more and more people are finding out about the resort which offers a wide variety of recreation opportunities from golf and tennis to diving and jet-skiing. They are currently booking Easter packages that start at 600 euros for a three-night stay with breakfast, lunch and dinner with mineral water and local wine and  free entrance to the “Thermae del Forte” spa  with use of the thalassotherapy pools, gym, sauna and Turkish bath.
 

With all the buzz around ABC's "Lost," the deserted tropical island is looking more appealing everyday. Daniel Defoe started it all with the classic Robinson Crusoe and now you can get away from it all like him in the Maldives. Soneva Gili is a resort that doesn't just give you an ocean view, it puts you in the ocean, moreover, above the ocean. All of the 45 rooms stand above the Indian Ocean's crystal waters on stilts, some are connected to the main land by a pier, others, known as the Crusoe Residences are detached and require a boat to access. My personal favorite is the Private Reserve, a capacious 15,000 sq feet made up of 5 buildings. Featuring 2 master suites and a guest room, this floating palace even includes Mr. and Mrs. Friday to serve you as you relax on the many open decks or indulge in the spa room. For me, I'll be partaking in the 2 story slide into the ocean. Cowabunga!

The Quinta Splendida is part of the newly formed Quintas da Madeira collection, a group of 16 hotels on the island of Madeira off the coast of Portugal. The Quinta Splendida will be opening a new spa in June 2006.  The new spa includes a vitality pool and an indoor pool next to an in-door waterfall feature surrounded by orchids. There will be ten treatment rooms including a couple’s massage room and a fitness room, a sauna and an ice fountain in combination with a separate cold water bath and a footbath. Other treatments include a Turkish steam bath and mud bath. The hotel is surrounded by botanical gardens which are home to hundreds of species of tropical flowers and plants. The Quinta Splendida High Package which includes seven nights in a studio sea room, a Madeira wine tasting and garden guided tour goes for 312 euros including daily breakfast.

[via E-Travel Blackboard]