One of the advantages that Park City, Utah has over other Western ski destinations is its convenience -- it lies 35 major highway minutes east of Salt Lake City's airport. So if your desire to ski exceeds the time you have available to devote to the slopes, you don't have to lose an entire day to transportation: wake up at dark-thirty almost anywhere in the United States and catch a flight into Salt Lake and board your chair lift by the afternoon.

To sweeten the deal, you don't even have to buy a lift ticket on your first day. The Quick START Vacation program allows you to convert your boarding pass into a lift ticket at Deer Valley Resort, The Canyons Resort, or Park City Mountain Resort. You need to register in advance online for a voucher, which you present along with your boarding pass, a non-Utah driver's license or other official state identification at the ticket window.

Make sure you read all the rules and regulations on the website, since there's no flexibility in these requirements. Like, if you're a person who shuns printing boarding passes at home and relies on your PDA for check-in, you're going to need to change your ways to get this deal. And if the airline wants to keep your boarding pass, you're going to need to put up a fight.

As you'd expect there are also black out dates: you're not going to get this deal over Christmas week (December 25th, 2009 to January 2nd, 2010) or from Valentine's Day weekend through March 27th, 2010.

There are more Park City deals and promotions to be had, and I'm particularly keen on is a package offered by The Sky Lodge which is throwing in a complimentary breakfast and a 50 minute spa treatment with each night's stay November 26th to April 13th, 2010. The spa treatment deal is especially nice since the Sky Lodge's Amara spa offers all of its massage and body treatment clients a soak in traditional wooden Japanese tubs called Ofuro baths. Per Japanese tradition, you shower before entering the tub, which is filled with piping hot water I'll admit that the soak made me a little nauseous when I visited this past summer (when it was nearing an unusually sultry 85 degrees outside) but it would definitely be just the thing after a day on the slopes. Once again, there are blackout dates during peak periods, so from December 26, 2009 - January 2, 2010, January 21 – 31, 2010 and February 10 – 15, 2010, you'll be paying for your own spa treatment and breakfast.

Here are Luxist we love hotel deals. Here comes another one but you will have to act fast. Omni Hotels is offering a sale on hotel stays between December 2 and February 10 but you have to book in the next couple of days. Their 72-hour sale has already started and ends Thursday. The sale offers as much as 40 percent off hotel rooms in Austin, Chicago, Dallas, New Orleans, Houston and other cities. These are some of the same cities that both Southwest Airlines and American Airlines offered deals on last week

[via USA Today's Hotel Check-In]

It should be more widely known that Canadians are a giving people. The folks in the geographical apartment above ours invented provided the pager, the foghorn, and basketball. We also have them to thank, or perhaps curse, for the Blackberry. As for talent, or something close to it, Canadians Alannis Morissette, Leonard Cohen, Keanu Reeves, and Natasha Henstridge have all come down to borrow our proverbial cups of sugar.

And although the Maple Leafers didn't give us The Fairmont Hotels -- that's a San Francisco invention -- they own them now, and they're offering you ten days of deals. Book a room in a Fairmont between November 10-19, and you can spare your bank account up to 25% off the normal rate or get a night free.

Of course there are terms and conditions, because even honey comes with bees. Still, when The Fairmont Orchid Hawaii can be had for $299, The Fairmont Southampton in Bermuda for $199, The Fairmont Singapore for $195, and for you devil-may-care MI6 types The Fairmont Monte Carlo for $370, well, bees be damned. Should you wish to visit the company's on its home turf, The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac in Québec City (pictured) is just $165. While you're there, have a Reese's Cup -- they were invented by Pennsylvanian H. B. Reese, but peanut butter and candy bars are yet more Canadian gifts to the world...

The "Mammoth" in Mammoth Mountain, California actually comes from the 19th century gold rush, when a group of prospectors among the clamoring hordes founded the Mammoth Mining Company. But with winter -- and a yearly average of 400 inches of snow -- rapidly approaching, the kind of mammoth you should be concerned with right now is the resort, its luxury, its skiing, and the fun you can have with all of those.

The Westin Monache Resort in Northern California is Mammoth Mountain's only 4-star resort, and it intriguingly lists "excellent soundproofing" as one of its signature features. When you're finished testing your bedside klaxons, you'll find it is also just steps from the mountain's 15-passenger express gondola that will begin the trip to 3,500 skiable acres and 3,100 vertical feet of skiing at a maximum altitude of 11,053 feet.

At the conclusion of exploring any of the 150 named trails you can head back to your suite -- the resort has 230 of them in studio, 1- and 2-bedroom varieties, each one benefiting from a kitchen and a fireplace, and that Heavenly Bath (you'd never guess how good a second shower head can make you feel; it's almost like being tenderly scrubbed to by mermaids... or so we've imagined). Regardless of whether you brought your own skis or snowboard or used the on-site shop's pro fitments, the ski valet will be happy to relieve you of your equipment and prepare it for the next day's adventures, 24 hours a day.

Book a package before November 5 and you could save 25% on your winter getaway. Direct air service on Horizon Air begins December 17 from some West Coast and Nevada cities, and the Village Ski Back Trail should open around that time as well, so you can glide straight from the mountain into the base Village. The only thing you'll need to worry about then is getting back in time for the Korobuta pork chop in a cognac demi-glaze at Whitebark and saving room for s'mores...

Snuggled in among the 800,000 acres of the White Mountain National Forest, settled at the base of the 6,288-foot Mt. Washington, is the Omni Mt. Washington Resort. Although it sounds singular -- and in many ways it is -- the resort is actually a group of four properties: the epic Spanish Renaissance edifice and National Historic Landmark that houses the Mt. Washington Hotel, the 19th century Bretton Arms Inn, The Lodge, and The Townhomes.

Among them there are nearly 300 rooms in addition to the 80 townhomes. Even better: there's a ghost. Now, ghosts in New England aren't exactly uncommon -- departed souls apparently have a thing for clam chowder -- but this ghost is royalty, and has her own lounge. Princess Carolyn Stickney Faucigny-Lucinge was the widow of the Mt. Washington's owner, and word is she's not ready to let go of her castle.

If you hurry, you can sneak in for the resorts Fall Colors package, which offers fall views, daily breakfast, and a carriage ride but ends October 28. If you can't make it by then there is still plenty to do: fourteen places to eat means you'll never be hungry, and working off the kilojoules can be done with alpine and Nordic skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, ice climbing and snow tubing, sleigh rides, winter hiking trails, a Canopy Tour on 10 ziplines... or the 25,000 square foot spa, because nothing says workout like "all-day massage."

Nightcaps won't be a problem either, since the resort has enough drinking spots to justify its opening its own distillery if it chose. And apres-ski, if you do your best Balzac impression and arrive with 50 pairs of gloves -- we hear princesses really like them -- perhaps the Her Highness Faucigny-Lucinge will join you. If you don't want to wait for her, ask for room 314 -- it's her favorite... haunt.

Planning a trip to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C. this February? If you're quick you might still be able to snag one of the 96 rooms at the Opus Vancouver, the city's top luxury boutique hotel. Located in historic and fashionable Yaletown steps away from the inner harbor, the Opus has played host to a long list of A-listers including Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, Zac Efron, Janet Jackson, R.E.M., and The Pussycat Dolls, to name a few. The lavish rooms boast five different décor schemes to suit every taste, ranging from modern and minimalist to artful and eclectic, with comfort and style as the unifying elements. In addition to standard amenities, luxuries for guests include Frette bathrobes, L'Occitane bath products, an in-room oxygen dispenser and complimentary transportation within the downtown area via the hotel's luxe 7-Series BMWs. The penthouse suites feature wrap-around balconies, floor-to-ceiling windows, and double-sided fireplaces; all suites have a wet bar, while the hotel also features a fine French bistro, Elixir, as well as the Opus Bar, voted "Vancouver's Most Popular Nightspot" by the Zagat Survey.

Thanksgiving with the family again this year. How about an escape to St. Barths instead? Hotel Carl Gustaf is offering the Thanksgiving Holiday Escape. The luxury hotel is perched atop a hill overlooking the capital city of Gustavia. Stay in one of the hotel's one-bedroom, 800 sq foot suites decorated with hand-carved wooden furniture and with its own private plunge pool, living room, a separate bedroom, kitchenette and a marble-floor bathroom with a multi-jet shower. The six-day, five-night stay in the one-bedroom suite includes a chilled bottle of wine served in your suite upon arrival, daily continental breakfast served in your suite, five -day car rental (excluding insurance and fuel), dinner for two at the Carl Gustaf Lounge, one-hour massage 'tete-a-tete" in the Boutique Spa by Carita and free access to the fitness center and hydrozone "Blue Spa." The Thanksgiving Holiday Escape starts at 2,525 Euros ($3,642) and must be booked by October 31, 2009.

The Deer Valley area in Utah is very popular with winter travelers but if you head there in the fall you can enjoy the beautiful foliage and catch a sweet deal. The Fall for Luxury Package at the Stein Eriksen Lodge offers five-star, five diamond luxury accommodations at a reduced rate. The room rates are upward of $250 per person double occupancy in the winter season but the rates for this package start at $99 per person, per night for Deluxe Room accommodations and $125 per person, per night for a Luxury Suite. The Fall for Luxury package includes one-night accommodations, a three-course dinner at the award winning Glitretind restaurant, and complimentary valet parking. The resort has a luxurious spa, pool as well as hiking and just enjoying the mountains in the fall. If a visit here doesn't get you in the mood for the coming ski season nothing will.

[via On The Snow]

The Benjamin, a Manhattan hotel known for its pillow menu and other sleep-focused amenities, has announced its 10th Anniversary Package. The package starts at $439 per night and includes one 40 Winks spa treatment at the hotel's Wellness Spa, a bottle of champagne, choice of a pillow from the hotel's 12-choice pillow menu delivered to the guest's home after their stay and a stay in a one- bedroom suite. The package is available for stays through December 31, 2009.

The hotel is committed to sleep. A sleep concierge is on staff to advise you on getting your best rest. The hotel also offers a sleep guarantee that promises that you will have a good night's sleep during your stay or they will provide you with a refund.

The Desert Springs JW Marriott Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, California has jumped on the Twitter bandwagon with a special contest deal. They will be running a "Tweet to Retreat" promotion throughout the month of October 2009. Followers will have their knowledge of Desert Springs tested with questions ranging from the ingredients in the Angel Kiss cocktail at Oasis Bar & Grille to the number of rooms at the hotel. Luckily you can cheat, all answers can be found on the Desert Springs website. One winner will receive a three-night stay at the resort, including dinner at Ristorante Tuscany and Mikado Japanese Steakhouse, daily breakfast at LakeView, four 60-minute spa treatments, a VIP table at Costas nightclub, and a choice of tennis or golf lessons for two. To play follow the hotel at www.twitter.com/DesertSprings, and keep an eye out for the questions which will begin October 1st and continue throughout the month. First person to respond with the correct answer each day will be entered into a drawing for the ultra-luxe prize. The winner will be notified on November 2, 2009.

It's been 20 years since the fall of The Berlin Wall, and the city's been celebrating all year, with special events, exhibits and hotel packages. I was in Berlin a few months ago, and even then, the energy around the anniversary was palpable -- strolling the sites defined by where the wall once stood, bristling with energy, it's hard to imagine the city divided. Potsdamer Platz, for example, was a barren urban wasteland and is now home to a moving temporary exhibit. And of course there are plenty of museum exhibits and memorials. (A list of special exhibitions here.)

Since we're now entering the anniversary of the season of unrest that led to the wall's euphoric end, on November 9th, 1989, this is the time to go relive one of the last century's landmark historic events, in a city with uniquely troubled modern history. The Westin Grand Berlin is offering a package that includes the opportunity to take hammer and chisel to a portion of the wall that the hotel has artfully (if a bit jarringly) placed right in front of its portico. This cushy hotel is convenient to the Brandenburg Gate and to other Wall memorials.

More fun than a trip to the dealership, the BMW Ultimate Drive package at the WaterColor Inn & Resort in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida offers the chance to choose from one of eight models: Z4, 128 Convertible, 335 Convertible, 650 Convertible, 750 Li, X5d (diesel), X6 (first ever Sports Utility Coupe) and the MINI Cooper S Convertible. Guests can take the cars to nearby Grayton Beach State Park, home to rare coastal dune lakes, and Eden Gardens State Park, with well-manicured grounds covered in moss-draped live oaks or just cruise along wherever they'd like. The package also includes a $100 resort credit, WaterColor beach bag gift upon arrival, daily European continental breakfast and use of WaterColor Workout Fitness Center and tennis courts. Kayaks, bikes canoes and fishing gear are also provided. The package runs from now through October 17 and starts at $265 per night.

The Fairmont Scottsdale has declared this "The Season of Personal Discovery", and happily for people who love books, much of the personal discovery comes from what amounts to a super-mega book club meeting: weekends centered around books in different genres, that include panel discussions, Q&As and several opportunities to rub elbows with the authors themselves over dinner and cocktails.

Pick your genre. If you're a self-help addict (and no one will judge you for that), try Living Your Best Life, September 25th-27th, which will make you likable, fit, sexy, and a music expert. Or the Ultimate Girls Getaway Weekend, October 9th-11th, which will help you lose weight, and develop an expertise in wine, social media, and your own soul. If fiction is where your heart lies, For the Love of Books,October 2nd-4th, features Anita Diamant, Lisa See and Debra Dean, while Literary Stew, brings in Ridley Pearson, Dave Barry and Scott Turow. Check out the rest of the schedule here.

It's promising to be an early foliage this year in New England -- the leaves are already starting to turn -- so it's the perfect time to take advantage of a special at Rock Hall, an Addison Mizner designed bed and breakfast in Colebrook, Connecticut.

The "Road Show" package includes a horse-drawn carriage ride, during which you can toast the landscape with a split of champagne, a 25% discount for dinner at charming restaurant Pastorale in Lakeville, CT, and a second night's stay at the B&B at half-price. (Weekend rates $480-$600/night.) The special runs through November 25th, 2009.

We are barely starting to feel the first hint that fall is on its way but some people in Jackson Hole, Wyoming are already focused on ski season. Spring Creek Ranch has a deal for budget-minded winter sports enthusiasts this winter. Their Ski Free package gives skiers the option to hit the slopes at either Grand Targhee Resort or Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, both prime locations for making the powder fly.

Starting late November through April 1, 2010 Spring Creek Ranch's "Ski Free" Package starts at $87.50 per person per night double occupancy. It includes a lift tickets to Grand Targhee Resort or Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (up to two per day), accommodations, breakfast for two daily at The Granary restaurant and complimentary shuttle service to town and to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Both ski resorts are scheduled to open at the end of November this year.