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Loews 5th Annual Surf Dog Competition Returns to San Diego

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Pets

Loew's Coronado Bay Resort will be the site of the Surf Dog Competition on Saturday, May 22 from 11 am to 2 pm. After the canines have waxed their boards to perfection and adjusted their sunnies, they get ten minutes apiece to ride the waves and are judged on their top two runs. The judges are looking for confidence level and "overall ability to grip it and rip it," which is really hard to do with paws.

There's even a breakdown, American-Idol style, of which pooch to peep out: English Bulldog X Factor who can ride it all the way into shore, but who also wears a life jacket because he can't swim; a 10-pound Boston Terrier called The Underdog; and Jack Russell Terrier Buddy, the reigning champ who scored a perfect 10 last year. Celebrity spotters will want to watch out for the Great Dane Marmaduke – yes, that one, there to promote 20th Century Fox's coming movie by the same name.

Winning dogs will get "the ultimate pet vacation" at the resort. Proceeds from the event will benefit San Diego's police dogs.

Gallery: Loews Coronado Bay Resort Surf Dog Competition

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Tags: Loews, loews coronado bay resort, pets, surf dog competition, surfing, surfing dogs

Loews' Voga Voyage Combines a Slice of Venice and a Slice of Heaven

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas

For the rates Venetian gondoliers charge you might expect a massage and a 3-course meal during your cruise of the canals. With the introduction of the Voga Voyage at Loews Coronado Bay Resort Gondola Company, you can at least check the massage off the list.

Your vessel for the journey among the Coronado Cays will be a softly wrapped, sun-warmed massage table. In turn, that table will ride upon an authentic 33-foot gondola that launches from the resort's private marina and then embarks on an hour-long cruise of Mediterranean-like waterways. Forty minutes of that will be occupied by masseurs tending to your physical needs, which includes the laying on of sunscreen before the more serious application of massaging hands. The last ten minutes of the trip will be given to sight-seeing, if you're in any mood for that, while you and your chère company feast on the gondola's supply of champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries.

Booking the $499 Voga Voyage also gets you a free night at the resort and its amenities, spread out on a secluded, 15-acre peninsula. And having saved on airfare to the Italian province, you just might have enough left over for the 3-course meal. It's certainly not what Iago meant when he mentioned "creating the beast with two backs," but this ride has a far less drama and a much happier ending...

Gallery: Loews Coronado Voga Voyage

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Tags: california, coronado, false, gondola, hotel, journey, loews, loews coronado bay resort, loews corp, loews hotels, LoewsCoronadoBayResort, LoewsCorp, LoewsHotels, resort, san diego, SanDiego, spa, venice, venice italy, VeniceItaly, voga voyage, VogaVoyage

Loew's Santa Monica Eco-friendly Spa has Soothing Rewards for Guests and Locals

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas

The 7,000-square-foot Ocean Spa & Fitness has just reopened at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, and now provides a relaxing dose of eco-friendliness to go with its revamped facilities and salty air. Plus One Health Management oversaw the redesign and manages the spa, which means you're probably in good hands -- the same company has spent 13 years creating such oases for Merrill Lynch, Trump, and Google.

The greenness comes courtesy of the gym rebuilt with Ecoresin panels made from 40-percent post-industrial recycled resin, Armstrong sustainable ceiling tiles, Mondo recycled rubber floors, and Shaw carpet with Cradle to Cradle Certification. Even the furnishings do their part, coming from reclaimed wood.

As for the spa itself, the treatments have also gone into the revamp shop and come out more verdure. Essential oils from Red Flower are certified organic and come in numerous scents, from Indian jasmine to Icelandic moonflower. Skincare is provided by Pevonia Botanica, all of whose products are paraben- and chemical-free. Our favorite is the Beachcomber, with heated tiger clam shells used to knead away any ill you might have brought in with you. It's the best use of a clam since, well, chowder.

The extensive spa menu is filled out with the usual suspects: manicures, pedicures, a full-service hair salon with cutting, coloring and styling services, dry saunas, and eucalyptus steam rooms. But if you're committed to things of iron and muscles of steel, the gym's cardio equipment comes from Technogym, networked Expresso bikes allow for side-by-side "racing," and the group fitness studio is a playpen for adults that offers all of the c'est necessaire twisty-bendy classes.

And you don't need to be a hotel guest to take advantage; locals can join sign up for memberships, with terms as short as three months. Once you do, you'll get discounts on spa services and restaurant visits, and you can avail yourself of the guests-and-members-only pool deck whenever you wish. Put that all together -- a masseur's hands, poolside cocktails, and ocean air -- and it doesn't get more environmentally friendly than that, does it?

Gallery: Loews Santa Monica Ocean Spa & Fitness Spa