USA Travel Guide

See this morning’s post for all the fancy jib-jab I’m so well known for. Truth is, New York City is such a large destination we just had to come back with a couple more suggestions. Enjoy.

Valentine’s Day Hotels – New York City
We’ve got a stop at an affordable boutique destination in Manhattan’s financial district, then we’re hopping across the Hudson for Valentine’s Day in New Jersey (if you can believe it!).

Hotel Reserve
The boutique Hotel Reserve offers upscale sensibility for not too much money, not to mention brilliant views of downtown. New York City Valentine’s Day destinations nearby include Battery Park, SoHo and Central Park. Of course, they’ve got the package, too:

A Little Romance at Reserve
Gotta love the classics:

• Deluxe king room
• Breakfast for two at Federal Café (on-site)
• Bottle of champagne in room
• Chocolates in room

Learn about this Valentine’s Day package at Hotel Reserve.

Crowne Plaza Englewood Hotel
Englewood, New Jersey is actually closer to some things to do in Manhattan the most hotels in Manhattan. Take the quick drive over George Washington Bridge and New York City is yours for the taking. The package:

Romance Package
Clean, comfortable rooms complement your night:

• Overnight accommodations
• A bottle of champagne
• Chocolate-covered strawberries
• Full American breakfast for two at Carlyle’s Restaurant

Learn about Valentine’s Day in New Jersey.

We’ll be back soon with more Valentine’s Day picks. In the meantime, head over to our Valentine’s Day Getaways portal to see all of our coverage.

At USA Travel Guide, we don’t often feature traveling shows or exhibits, especially if show dates are no more than a couple days each. This is because we like to recommend hotels and all that, and with traveling shows that always feels a little silly. However, and this is the official vocabulary, exceptions can and will be made when the particular show in question is awesome!

Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular is awesome in the truest sense of the word: it inspires awe. It is a jaw-dropping, mouth-gaping, eye-bulging spectacle sure to thrill men and women, the young and the old, and probably some higher-functioning animals. As special effects and CGI take over the big screen, here’s a place where you can still experience the astonishing impact of live animatronics.

What is it, already? Walking with Dinosaurs is a full-length arena show featuring 15 life-size animatronic dinosaurs. The fearsome and stirringly lifelike creatures have the entire arena floor at their disposal as your live guide, Paleontologist Huxley, regales you with the fascinating history and current scientific thinking on each of them.

Much more than a walking museum exhibit, however. Huxley interacts, plays with and challenges the majestic dinos, who respond so naturally it’s hard to believe it’s not real. As one incredible creature after another takes to the arena floor – allosaurus, stegosaurus, the gigantic brachiosaurus (life size, really!), utahraptors and the king of them all, tyrannosaurus rex – you might find yourself shaken with amazement.

If I haven’t impressed upon you the gravity of this experience yet, that’s because you haven’t seen these animals in action. Remedy that by checking out their videos. Nothing can really do justice to the thrill of sitting in those stands, but here you’ll get an idea of what’s in store.

The only negative I can muster about Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular is the price. In this economy, you can find a lot of other uses for $30-60, but I’ll pay it anyway. It is so worth it! Learn more about this show.

Walking with Dinosaurs is a traveling show visiting several arenas throughout the first half of 2010. Here are some choice selections with our hotel recommendations:

January 5-6, 2010
Hampton Coliseum
1000 Coliseum Drive
Hampton, VA 23666
757-838-5650
Hotels: Crowne Plaza Hampton Marina

January 15-17, 2010
Mississippi Coast Coliseum
2350 Beach Boulevard
Biloxi, MS 39531
228-594-3700
Hotels: Ocean Club at Biloxi

March 24-28, 2010
Thomas & Mack Center (UNLV Campus)
4505 S. Maryland Parkway
Las Vegas, NV 89154
702-895-3761
Hotels: Holiday Inn Las Vegas

July 21-25, 2010
Madison Square Garden
4 Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10001
212-307-7171
Hotels: Crowne Plaza Englewood
Crowne Plaza Times Square

July 28 – August 1, 2010
Allstate Arena
6920 N. Manheim Road
Rosemont, IL 60018
847-635-6601
Hotels: Hilton Garden Inn Chicago / Magnificent Mile
The Silversmith Hotel

We’re already back in the Big Apple, and as before, we’re bound for a bloody good bash. Last time it we did battle with ravenous vampires, but this time it’s an insane, evil and oft-undead smorgasbord of creatures and crazies come to kill us (and not with kindness). We’re headed to the Blood Manor haunted house in Manhattan, New York.

Entering their fifth year of spine-tingling spook-tainment, the folks at Blood Manor have spent the time and earned the experience to put together a real beast of a haunted bastion. There’s absolutely nothing pleasant about this place, and I mean that as a high compliment.

Your unease sets in early. The waiting area walks with disgusting visages and mangled monsters, a few of which hail from the famous DisGraceLanD family of freak show entertainers (love the name). Still, it’s all in good fun. You shouldn’t worry for you life, or your sanity, until you step inside the Blood Manor.

The directors don’t recommend guests below the age of 14, and boy do they mean it. Room to room, horror to horror, this is a grizzly and gruesome journey, and the strong-hearted will love every second of it. Blood Manor mixes cool, sometimes out-there ideas but flawless invention. Impeccable set design, drenched in detail, provides atmosphere to spare, and can even pull off something as outlandish as the “Beauty Shop of Horrors”.

Throughout the Manor, hi-tech lighting effects are employed, including some 3D sequences. Each of the 19 rooms is also set to its own soundtrack, always striking the right note. And especially exciting, among the new creates this year are a pack of “Sexy Zombie Strippers”. Do you really need anything else?

Blood Manor is located on West 27^th Street in Manhattan. Advanced online tickets cost $25 and guarantee entrance on the selected night. As always, early arrival is recommended to avoid longer lines. The season runs from October 2 – November 7, with show dates varying. View the Web site.

We already recommended our downtown hotels in a previous post, so this time I think we’ll hop across the Hudson to the Crowne Plaza Englewood Hotel in New Jersey. This affordable New Jersey hotel is actually located closer to several Manhattan attractions than most New York hotels, and we always get a good price.

Have fun.

Want more? Read up on all of our featured attractions at Top Haunted Attractions in America. Don’t forget to recommend your own favorites.

Here’s a neat one. From now through September 13, the New York Botanical Garden is combining agriculture and education with every red-blooded American’s favorite pastime: eating. They call it The Edible Garden. If you live in New York or even New Jersey, or if you’re traveling in sometime over the summer, don’t miss this one-of-a-kind attraction.

Quick background: the New York Botanical Garden is located in the Bronx and is acclaimed for the quality and variety of its grounds, programs and facilities. Guests explore up to 50 gardens, collections and exhibits depending on the season. Perennial favorites (pun intended) include the Rock Garden, the Forest (dense with 100+ year old trees) and when the time is right, the fall foliage. At 250 acres, there’s a lot to see.

There’s also a diverse schedule of special exhibits, and right now we’re all about The Edible Garden. Nothing short of mouthwatering, this unique exhibit aims to inspire the amateur gardener in you. You learn basic gardening techniques, how to the get the most out of a home garden, lessons on sustainability and what/when to plant, and of course, what to do with your bounty.

One thing we love about The Edible Garden is how well it uses this awesome setting. Trust me, we’re not sending you to stew in some uncomfortable seminar. Exhibits are located throughout the gardens. You can even take a tour of the entire grounds focused on the edible inhabitants, whether fruits and vegetables or even flowers and tree bark.

There are dozens of events within the event as well. The Haupte Conservatory will host several cooking demonstrations over the summer. For something even more special, plan to drop in Thursdays for “Edible Evenings”, a series of special demonstrations hosted by celebrity chefs and local restaurateurs. The first event is tonight, but I’d wait until July 30 for a class on fresh summer desserts hosted by Sara Moulton.

These seminars are joined by daily and one-time events spread out over the course of the program, so be sure to check the schedule before you go.

The only downside of The Edible Garden is that ticketing is a bit complicated. There are several options, but basically it’s $20 for general admission, $35 for VIP admission which earns you select seating at some events. The details of what you get, as well as event hours, differ from weekdays to weekends as well, but only slightly. You can also visit just the grounds at the standard admission price of $6.

Learn more about The Edible Garden here.
Learn more about the New York Botanical Garden here.

We’re doing something a little different this time and staying across the river in Englewood, New Jersey. Why? Affordability is one good reason. Not only are the rates much better than you’d find in a Manhattan or Bronx hotel of comparable quality, you usually enjoy additional perks like free parking and a laidback atmosphere. Besides, from Englewood it’s just a few miles to the Gardens.

We like the Crowne Plaza Englewood Hotel. Check out there “Stimulus Package” for even more savings.

Have fun, and be healthy!

How do you know a guy from New Jersey has gone green?

He hides dead bodies in the trunk of a Prius. Oh!

(Forgive me)

In all seriousness though, there is a fine bunch of Jerseyites that actually have gone green over at the Crowne Plaza Englewood Hotel in Englewood, New Jersey, and since we’ve mentioned this place before, we loved the opportunity to brag once again.

According to their Web site, the hotel has adopted the EarthPact by Crestline Initiative*, an exhaustive program dedicated to sustainable and eco-conservative operations for hotels and resorts. Adopters are rated for compliance against a hefty list of guidelines set by EarthPact’s Energy Management Plan.

The page goes on, so I won’t repeat the whole list, but here are some steps that the Englewood hotel either has taken already or is in the process of enacting:

• Switching to energy-efficient light bulbs
• Recycling program
• Using non-toxic cleaning supplies
• Using low-flow water fixtures
• Training programs for staff
• Reducing paper use
• Purchasing recycled materials
• See the whole thing here

Support green hotels for you travel. Not only are they good for the planet, they’re good for business. Learn more about the Crowne Plaza Englewood Hotel.

*Crestline is a hotel management company, btw. They’ve got another one that you see us mention from time to time: the Phoenix Park Hotel in Washington DC. Also a green hotel, come to think of it.

Hotel image used with permission

I’ve mentioned shopping in New York City before, and no doubt I will again, but as I was looking for a quick topic to write about I thought of the USA Travel Guide Pledge, specifically the point about doing as the locals do. I got to thinking: do New Yorkers really shop on Fifth Avenue, or is that nothing but tourists?

Of course, the answer is a little from column A and a little from column B, but still I knew there had to be more to it. I did some digging and found out the real answer: savvy New Yorkers don’t shop in New York where the taxes are higher, they hop on over the Hudson River and shop in New Jersey. To be more exact, they go to The Shops at Riverside.

With an impressive collection of 70 upscale retailers, many of the same stores, in fact, that you’d find on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, The Shops at Riverside is a popular destination for Manhattan trendsetters looking to find some New York style at not so New York prices, and no matter where you’re from, you can enjoy the same benefit. The Shops is anchored by Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and Barnes & Noble, and is also home to fine retailers include Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Hermes, Barney’s Salvatore Ferragamo, The Fountain Spa and so many others.

Beware, shops are closed on Sundays (though the restaurants are still open). For a sneaky New York shopping experience that’s friendly to the current economy, head over to the Shops at Riverside. Learn more.

We don’t expect you to travel to New Jersey just to visit a mall, but as part of a larger New York vacation, why not give it a try? For northern New Jersey hotels only minutes from the Shops and New York City, consider the Crowne Plaza Englewood Hotel.

I know, I know, I’ve neglected one very important Valentine’s Day vacation destination: New York City. I know romantic getaways in the Big Apple are big business, and believe me, I scrounged around for a good package. But I just couldn’t find one that hit the sweet spot between convenience, reward and affordability. Until now!

Turns out the trick to finding a great New York City Valentine’s Day package is not looking in New York City. Consider instead a neighbor in New Jersey: Englewood.

Crowne Plaza Englewood Hotel

While a charming, upscale city in its own right, the real benefit of choosing Englewood for your Valentine’s Day getaway is the quick access to New York City, even downtown Manhattan. A short drive over the George Washington Bridge and down Hudson Parkway and you can make an easy hop to Broadway, Times Square, Central Park and so many other romantic destinations. You’re in New York City! Go all out! Head over to the Park for an relaxed, cozy and whimsically romantic carriage ride. Do the whole one-knee thing at the top of the Empire State Building. Yeah, it’s cliché, but I don’t think she’ll mind.

Valentine’s Romance Package 

• Spacious Accommodations
• Bottle of Chilled Champagne
• Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
• Full Breakfast for Two

This package is only available Fridays and Saturdays, but they are extending it through February, so go ahead and take a holiday on your time. Learn more here.

Get a recap on all of our Valentine’s Day Packages here.

At 265 acres all told, the Bronx Zoo in New York City is the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States, a sprawling complex of state-of-the-art habitats, natural park grounds and clean guest facilities built on and around the Bronx River. Opened in 1899 at a fraction of the size, it is also one of our oldest zoological parks, and it’s been a hit pretty much from day one.

Of course, when choosing our Top American Zoos, size matters not. The Bronx Zoo gets in on the quality of its exhibits. One of the most awe-striking exhibits is Tiger Mountain. With a tireless fitness routine and fun guided activities with the zoo handlers, this large paddock of Siberian tigers is livelier than you’d expect. See some of the world’s most majestic, and sorry to say most critically endangered, big cats eat, exercise, play and even hunt.

One of the more exciting exhibits at the moment is Madagascar!, a fascinating collection of flora and fauna from the planet’s “eighth continent”. The 4^th-largest island and distantly-separated from all true continents, Madagascar has developed an infinitely vast and remarkable ecology, and this one-of-its-kind exhibit puts it on full display. It’s an especially welcome attraction for younger children because they can see many of the creatures from that silly animated flick where the giraffe falls in love with the hippo. This includes obnoxious lemurs, but don’t be expecting a round of “Move it! Move it!”

For more information about the Bronx Zoo, visit the Web site here. Standard admissions fall in line with big city average, but they do offer a donate-as-you-wish option every Wednesday. Guided tours are also available in 90-minute intervals.

A lot of New York City visitors, especially those headed for Manhattan and the Bronx, stay just across the river in New Jersey, and we’re all for the strategy. So among Northern New Jersey hotels we like the Crowne Plaza Englewood Hotel. It’s only about 8 miles out from the zoo and provides easy bridge access.