News

Side Trips

Looking ahead

Compiled by JANET K. KEELER
Published July 10, 2005

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It's never too early to start socking away money for the exclusive Stone Crab, Seafood & Wine Festival, at the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort in Longboat Key. Guest chefs and vintners celebrate the opening of stone crab season during the festival Oct. 27-30. Package rates start at $1,890 for two and include culinary events and three extravagant evening celebrations. Guests stay in villa suites. Call toll-free 1-800-426-5669; www.colonybeachresort.com

DIVE OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma is OK, but who knew it was a hot place to scuba dive? Lake Tenkiller in eastern Oklahoma's Tenkiller State Park has long been popular with divers because of its clear, deep water.

This year, the state added a dive park with campsites. The lake has an underwater visibility range of 8 to 35 feet, and the water is warm enough during the summer that wet suits aren't needed. Among the underwater features to explore is a town that was flooded when the Illinois River was dammed to create the lake.

Call toll-free 1-800-654-8240; www.touroklahoma.com

COMPASS QUIZ

In which general direction would you drive if you were going from the music halls of Branson, Mo., to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.? That'd be southeast, ma'am.

GOLDEN SLUMBERS

The hotel industry appears to have awakened to the fact that it's not just about 24-hour room service, wireless Internet and cable TV. It's also about a good night's sleep.

Here's how the major chains are upgrading in the sleep department, according to the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News:

- Marriott International has been replacing mattresses at its Marriott and Renaissance hotels for several years and is adding new bedding at its 2,400 hotels.

- There is new bedding at Hilton, Doubletree and Embassy Suites: sheets with a higher thread count, plush-top mattresses, extra pillows and user-friendly clocks.

- Radisson last year began moving in custom-designed beds at 230 of its hotels and resorts, with most of its 90,000 beds to be replaced by 2006.

- Hyatt recently rolled out a 131/2-inch pillow-top mattress and added more luxurious linens and decorative pillows.

- Red Roof Inns will offer pillow-top mattress pads, 230-thread-count sheets and hypoallergenic pillows at select hotels this summer.

- Some Best Western hotels will add new mattresses, comforters, feather pillows and triple sheeting.

TICKET TO RIDE

If you hold a ticket on a U.S. airline that goes belly up, other U.S. carriers are required to try to get you on board - but now they may charge up to $50 each way. On overseas flights, they may also pass along any fees charged by a foreign government.

That's the latest change to a post-9/11 rule issued by the Department of Transportation after terrorist attacks threatened the viability of already struggling airlines. Previously, the cap was $25.

GOLF GETAWAYS

The July/August Travel+Leisure Golf magazine lists resorts that cater to the family that golfs together, while Fodor's has just published Golf Weekends, a guide to the best places to play golf near 15 large cities.

Recommendations for family-friendly golf resorts include:

- Treetops Resort, Treetops Village, Mich., toll-free 1-888-873-3867 or www.treetops.com

- Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, Scottsdale, Ariz., 480 624-1000 or www.kierlandresort.com

- Wild Dunes Resort, Isle of Palms, S.C., toll-free 1-800-845-8880 or www.wilddunes.com

Golf Weekends ($19.95) includes course reviews from Golf Digest magazine, along with advice on where to stay, where to eat and how to get there. There are chapters on Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C., that list golf courses within 250 miles of each.

Compiled by JANET K. KEELER from staff and wire reports. You can reach her at 727 893-8586 or krieta@sptimes.com

[Last modified July 8, 2005, 09:45:07]