I grew up in a large family where sharing was commonplace. Sharing my bedroom with my younger sister, sharing the bathroom with all my sisters, sharing clothes and sharing our VW bug.

With people looking for creative ways to stretch their resources, sharing has come back in style. For travelers this offers some great options for staying in places with more personality and more space than traditional hotel lodging. Some of the top services for vacation home sharing are: VRBO, HomeAway, FlipKey by TripAdvisor and AirBnB.

I used VRBO recently and stayed in a nice 2 bedroom/2 bath condo in Scottsdale for $100/night and had a great experience. Booking through an individual home owner requires a little more coordination than a hotel, but in return you’ll get much better accommodations for the same or lower price of a hotel.

Going to Baja Mexico for some sun? Book this Mexican villa near the beach with a rooftop deck for ~$100 a night. Wonder what it would be like to live on a vintage tug boat? Stay overnight on this 100 year old boat in Sausalito for $150/night.

Booking Tips

Before booking it’s a good idea to check what the deposit, cleaning fee (if any) and taxes will add beyond the basic nightly rate. Read the reviews from previous guests, call the owner with questions, and check to see how walkable the location is. When making payments, use your credit card or paypal on a secure site to protect your transaction.

Here’s to sharing!

Summer is officially here and for many of us, it’s a time to sleep under the stars and spend more time enjoying the outdoors. Tents come to mind immediately (along with mosquito repellent) for camp lodging, but there are other interesting options available such as yurts, teepees and even vintage trailers.

If your idea of camping is having a feather bed, resort amenities and a camping butler who can build the campfire and serve as story teller, then head over to Montana where Paws Up Ranch defines luxury camping. Here’s one of my earlier posts that describes what they have to offer.

For those of us with a smaller camping budget, state parks have some great options and offer platform tents, cabins and yurts for about $55/night.

Washington State Park’s collection of cabins & platform tents

Of course if you’re into cool retro lodging, try staying in a vintage trailer.

Bisbee, Arizona is where you’ll find the Shady Dell, whose trailer accommodations offer “leopard carpet, martini glasses and a breakfast booth”. There’s even Dot’s Diner on site where you can enjoy 50’s style hamburgers and shakes.

El Cosmico, which is located in Marfa, Texas was created by Liz Lambert, designer of Austin’s well-known Hotel San Jose. El Cosmico offers “the latest lodging concept” with a unique collection of vintage trailers, yurts and teepees that you can book by the night. Guests can use the outdoor kitchen, dining area and relax in the elm grove of hammocks.

No matter what summer lodging option you choose for your next camping excursion, don’t forgot the s’mores!

The votes of millions of travelers are in! Conde Nast Traveler and TripAdvisor have both released this year’s list of best places to stay based on readers’ favorites.

• Conde Nast Traveler 2011 Hotel Gold List
• TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Hotel Awards

Conde Nast’s scoring system is based on sub-categories for Room, Service, Food, Location and Design. TripAdvisor travelers used an overall 1-5 rating system. Both lists are great resources to help you plan your next girls getaway.

Summer is in full swing and many of us are planning a road trip or summer getaway. Whether your destination is the beach, a scenic town or a family gathering, here are some summer hotel deals to check out before you book your stay.

Hilton’s The Great Getaway
Hilton is offering up to 30% off during the summer, breakfast included (must be pre-paid)
More details

Starwood / AAA deals
The Starwood Hotels which include Westin, Sheraton, W and others are offering AAA members 30% off this summer.
more details

Hyatt / AAA deals
The Hyatt Hotels is offering AAA members some summer deals as well:

• - 25% off at participating Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt and Andaz hotels. Plus, use offer code BREAKF and receive free breakfast for two daily.
• - 15% off at Hyatt Place and Hyatt Summerfield Suites (breakfast included).

more details

Kimpton Ride the Rails promotion
The Kimpton Hotels’ summer promotion encourage guests to reduce their carbon footprint. Ride the train and show your ticket at check-in to get 15% off their best room rate. Urban trains from the airport count as well!
more details

Marriott Summer Weekends Deal
From June 1 - August 24, 2010, book your escape for Thursday-Sunday (Friday or Saturday required) and save 20% off normal nightly rates. Use code M11 when booking.
more details

La Quinta Route LQ promotion
La Quinta offers 15% off their best available rate for stays through June 30, 2010. Guests also receive discounts from local merchants. Booking must be made on LQ.com/ENJOY15 using the code ENJOY15.
more details

TIP: When booking hotel reservations online check the weekend rate (Friday/Saturday) to see if it’s different from weekdays. On my upcoming trip to Toronto, I saved $70 by booking Thursday (higher rate) separately from Friday/Saturday (weekend special rate).

“Would anybody else like another scone?” My three sisters and I had just checked into the Arizona Inn in Tucson, and were relaxing in the library with afternoon tea. A novel experience, compared to our normally hectic daily routines. With one of us celebrating a milestone birthday, we’d opted for a weekend at a luxury hotel with a spa day at Canyon Ranch.

Opened in 1930, Arizona Inn has a fascinating history with beautiful architecture and gorgeous flower-filled landscaping. We stayed in a generously-sized casita with its own private porch, grassy yard and outdoor lounge area. The inn has about 100 private casitas, each different and tucked away across the inn’s 14 acres. After tea we headed to the pool to soak up some perfect 75 degrees-in-March weather. The inn has had so many movie stars stay there that their DVD library is comprised only of movies featuring past guests. Stars like Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, James Stewart, Clark Gable and Gary Cooper.

For dinner we headed just up the road to Guadalajara’s for margaritas and Mexican food. This place is fun but extremely popular so be prepared to wait at least an hour on weekend nights.

Returning to our place via the light-scaped paths, we saw that our beds had been turned-down and signature chocolates placed on each pillow. I could definitely get used to this!

The Arizona Inn is a gem - although expensive, you can share the cost with your girlfriends.

Other unique hotels: The Del, Huntington, Empress

The Shores Resort & Spa is offering luxury front row seats to the last-ever night launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor on February 7, 2010 at 4:39am. Guests of The Shores Resort, which is located 70 miles from the Kennedy Space Center, will have shoreline seats and enjoy the following perks for the blast off:

• - Overnight deluxe accommodations
• - “Shores Coffee”, a variation on Irish Coffee or “Shores Hot Chocolate”
• - “S’Mores at Four” at oceanside fire pits
• - Breakfast treats, including Tang
• - Champagne toast at launch
• - Memento photo

The “Shuttle Launch” package starts at $169 per room.

To reserve visit The Shores Resort & Spa website.

Planning a getaway in the next month or two? From now though January you can enjoy a stay at a luxurious five diamond hotel for as little as $129 per night - about a third of the normal room rate. 

The Bellagio, one of only two five diamond resorts in Las Vegas has six pools, a botanical garden, spa services, elaborate water displays, and Cirque du Soleil performances. With Italian inspired surroundings, its lobby is filled with thousands of beautiful hand-blown glass flowers by Dale Chihuly and high-end shops that include Chanel and Tiffany. 

For more information see the Bellagio site, which has a clear calendar of available days and promotional rates.  

On the outskirts of Santa Barbara is the village of Montecito – very exclusive, with homes starting at over $1 million.  We ventured into Montecito one evening to have dinner at San Ysidro Ranch. With rates between $795-3,990 per night, we had to see what it looked like. On entering the ranch, we knew we were in the right place when we passed olives trees and rows of blooming Spanish lavender. 

Before having dinner at the Plow & Angel Bistro, we wandered through the ranch’s beautiful gardens, where Vivien Leigh and Sir Lawrence Olivier exchanged vows.  After we made our way back to the restaurant, we chose a table outside so we could continue to enjoy the surroundings.  With the white linen-covered tables, pea gravel and limestone fountain, we felt like we were having dinner at a private estate rather than a restaurant.

At the other end of the ambience scale, we had lunch one day in Santa Barbara at La Super-Rica. This is the taco shack that Julia Child loved to go to.  After standing in line to order (it doesn’t matter what time you go – it’s always busy) you sit at picnic tables in a covered patio area and enjoy freshly-made corn tortillas, pork and roasted peppers – not fancy, but very tasty.

If you love almonds, stop by Andersen’s Danish Bakery & Café right on State Street. Besides many other desserts and pastries, they have an almond tart that is truly delicious.

What weekend in southern California is complete without a celebrity sighting?  While shopping at a few of the boutiques in Montecito, we passed a group of four friends having lunch at the Cava restaurant. On closer inspection we saw that it was Rob Lowe and Ellen DeGeneres with their significant others.

With its beautiful setting and great shopping, restaurants and outdoor activities, Santa Barbara is a perfect place for a girls getaway.

Related links:  Santa Barbara (Part I)  |  SantaBarbara.com  |  San Ysidro Ranch