Courtyard’s Favorite Business Travel Gadgets

It can be difficult to decide what to bring along on a business trip to ensure everything goes off without a hitch. Getting lost an hour before your meeting, having your cell phone run out of battery power while you’re using it and finding out you have no internet connectivity when you need to Google some last minute information before a presentation are among a few of the disasters that business travelers look to avoid.  In order to steer clear of any of these misfortunes as well as a couple others, we have selected 5 great business travel gadgets that you should bring along with you on all of your future business trips.

Tumi Universal Power Adaptor Kit

Bringing along a power adaptor kit is a necessity on business trips.  You never know when you may need to turn on your computer to send an emergency e-mail or charge your phone.  The Tumi Universal Power Adaptor Kit makes it easy to charge your electronic devices no matter where you are.  You can use a wall, automobile or even an airline connection, so it comes in handy whether you are flying or driving to your destination.  It is also compact, lightweight and comes with a foldable carrying case.

Victorinox Flash 2G Ruby

The Victorinox swiss army knife has several different parts that can help you out in a variety of situations It comes with the following items:

• Removable USB flash drive
• Scissors
• Nail file with screwdriver
• Blade
• Key ring
• LED mini white light
• Retractable ball point pen

Whether you need to jot something down immediately, open a package or save some data on a flash drive, the Victornix Flash 2G Ruby will be able to assist you.

Courtyard’s Weekly Round-Up

Here’s this week’s round-up of travel news, tips and info that we found to be the most interesting and helpful.  If you are trying to plan a camping trip this summer, check out the article on the best camping spots in New England.  Also, feel free to use the comment section to let us know if we left out any articles that should have made it into this week’s roundup. Enjoy!

Best Airline Tips for Trouble Free Trips

Many people often overlook the most essential precautions when booking a flight and heading to the airport.  Take a look at this article for some great tips on how to have a problem free trip.

10 Best International Cities For Shopping

When traveling internationally, it’s often fun to go shopping and see what kind of unique items you can buy that you may not find back home.  If you are traveling to Paris, Milan, Berlin or any of the international cities discussed in this article, it looks like you’re in luck.  Click above to see which international cities have the best shopping.

Take 10-Camping

Summer is always a great time for a camping trip, especially in New England.  Whether you want to take a trip with a few friends or your whole family, camping is a great way to get together, have a great time and bond with one another.  This article has 10 great camping spots in New England that you may want to check out.

World’s Best Eco-Friendly Beaches

Have you been trying to plan an eco-friendly beach trip but running into some roadblocks? If so, take a look at this article.  It lists eco-friendly beaches that offer a sanctuary for both wildlife and travelers.

Afternoon Escapes

If you can’t travel to any of the eco-friendly beaches in the post above, what about one of these beaches?  Take a look at this article to learn about some of the best beaches near big cities that you may not know about.

Best Amusement Parks For Your Buck

Amusement parks are fun whether you are 5 or 50 years old.  Take a look at this article for the best amusement parks with great values.

Our Favorite Resources For Brushing Up on Your Wine Knowledge

Wine has been quickly becoming more and more popular over the past 5-10 years. It seems like everyone is a connoisseur—or is expected to be—and restaurant wine lists are getting bigger and more complicated. Even if you’re an oenophile, picking the right wine for a party, as a gift, or for a business dinner can be intimidating. And if you’re a wine novice, the prospect of entertaining friends or clients over dinner can be even more unsettling.

We’ll bet you already know about big wine sites like Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, and Food and Wine. You iPhone users have probably already checked out some of the wine apps in the App Store too (there are a lot of great ones). But if you still feel like you’re a little short on wine knowledge, here are a few of our favorite apps, sites, and shows for improving wine knowledge.

Drync Wine – (iPhone, $4.99) – Drync Wine is a wine search engine and review app that helps you keep track of the wines you’ve had. It’s been around since 2008 and is always one of the top-rated wine apps. The listings for each wine often come with information about prices, an explanation of the wine’s style and background, and professional reviews. You can save wines you look up in your “Cellar” and add your own tasting notes too. The layout is simple, snappy, and easy to use—and you’ll never again find yourself sitting at a business dinner, trying to recall the great Cabernet you had last month while your clients look on awkwardly. Drync Wine makes you look like an expert.

Hello Vino (Mobile Site and iPhone, Free) – Hello Vino is definitely for the less-experienced wine drinker. If you know the difference between a Zinfandel and a Cabernet Sauvignon, you might find this app a little too basic. But novices will love Hello Vino’s simple recommendation engine. You answer a few simple questions and get a handful of recommendations back. And if you’re using the app version, you can share your choices on Facebook and Twitter.

Wine Library TV – Gary Vaynerchuck’s Web series has been around for just over four years now, and Vaynerchuck himself is a household name in the online wine world. Even if you don’t watch his show, you’ve probably run into him on Twitter or seen him on Fox Business or Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

If you’re a wine lover that really isn’t into the pretense and elitism that sometimes appears in the wine world, Vaynerchuck’s show is perfect for you. He may be effusive, brash, and sometimes blunt, but he knows his wine. You can follow him on Twitter at @garyvee.

Localwineevents.com – The best site for finding wine events in your area, Local Wine Events is to wine what Beer Advocate is to beer. Videos and apps are great, but nothing will improve your understanding of wine more quickly than attending a tasting or two. Make sure you’re got a way to jot down some notes though (if you’ve got Drync Wine on your iPhone, put it to good use). You want to leave the tasting with a few new wines you like. Local Wine Events also has an iPhone app that’ll allow you to search quickly for nearby events.

Finally, don’t forget your local wine & spirits shop – Many small shops do their own small wine tastings in the evenings and on the weekends. They’re probably not big enough to pop up on LocalWineEvents.com, but they’re likely either free or very inexpensive, and you can get to know your local store owner. Use Twitter search to find these small tastings. If there’s one going on, it’s almost certain that someone’s Tweeted about it.

Are there any other wine-related iPhone apps, blogs, or social networks that would be on your list of must-haves? Leave a comment.

Courtyard’s Weekly Round-Up

Here’s this week’s round-up of travel news, tips and info that we found to be the most interesting and helpful.  If you’re feeling overwhelmed with the daily stresses of life, check out the article on top spots that will help you relax.  Also, feel free to use the comment section to let us know if we left out any articles that should have made it into this week’s roundup. Enjoy!

Top Tourist Hot Spots Worth The Crowds
Looking to take a trip full of unique attractions, excitement, shopping and great food?  Take a look at this article to learn which destinations are worth the crowds.

Great Reads For Frequent Travelers
Most of us don’t have a lot of time to read with everything else we’ve got going on in our daily lives.  Traveling is the perfect time to bring a book along as reading is a great way to kill time on long flights and layovers.  Check out this article for some great reads for frequent travelers.

iPhone Tips For International Travel
Traveling internationally often makes it difficult to stay connected during your trip.  For those of you who own an iPhone, there are several steps you can take to make sure you are connected at all times during your travels.  Take a look at this article to learn more.

Top Spots For Mind-Body-Spirit Revival
Between working and the daily stresses of life, it’s easy to get overwhelmed at times.  Sometimes, the best way to de-stress is to take a relaxing and calming vacation.  This article shares with us the best places to travel when you are in need of a break.

Wi-Fi At 7-Mile High: Too Expensive Or Something Else?
We’ve all heard about in-flight Wi-Fi, but some of us may not be 100% happy with it.  Check out this article to learn about the issues that many fliers have with Wi-Fi in the air.

10 Great Places To Cheer With The Crowd
Have you ever traveled across the country just to go to a sporting event?  To some of us this may seem a bit crazy, but to others it sounds completely normal.  There are some sporting events that are definitely worth attending even if takes a significant amount of effort to get there.  Here are 10 sporting events you don’t want to miss.

5 iPad Apps for Travelers

iPad’s are extremely popular among travelers because of their size, weight and capabilities.  Once you buy an iPad, you need to make sure you purchase the best and most appropriate apps for your needs.  More and more iPad apps continue to be released, making it difficult to know which ones to get and which ones to pass on.  Frequent travelers have a variety of apps to choose from that will help them out during trips, whether in a car, plane or train.  We have chosen five great apps that will help make any frequent traveler’s trip go off without a hitch.

FlightTrack Pro
There are several that may run through a traveler’s head before leaving for the airport to catch a flight –  Is my flight delayed?  How is the weather?  Will the airport be crowded?  For frequent fliers, FlightTrack Pro is a must have.  Below is a list of features this app offers:

• Provides the status of any flight
• Gives estimated departure and arrival times based on both the weather and airline info
• Provides information about flights en-route including the speed, altitude and location.
• Provides gate information
• Contains details of all airports including average delays and weather forecasts

Beat The Traffic
A couple common complaints about road trips revolve around the difficulty of predicting traffic and the uncertainty of the weather.  For those who often take road trips, Beat The Traffic is an excellent iPad app to download.  Beat The Traffic has live traffic maps, constantly updated weather conditions and provides warnings about traffic delays related to accidents in over 100 different cities.  Best of all, this app is completely free.

UpNext3D Cities
Sure, Google maps are helpful, but have you checked out UpNext 3D cities?  This app is a step up from Google maps.  The only downside to UpNext 3D cities is that it only has information about the following five cities: Boston, Austin, D.C., San Francisco and New York.  However, more cities will be added shortly.  The features this mapping application offers and Google maps doesn’t are:

• You have access to maps with 3D buildings
• Provides you with subway lines and directions
• Reviews and tips for a variety of different venues

Above all, this app is a more detailed version of Google maps that will definitely help you out if you are traveling in one of the 5 cities listed above.

Urbanspoon
It’s been said that iPhone users aren’t huge fans of Urbanspoon because of the size of the iPhone’s screen.  However, the Urbanspoon app for the iPad is very popular.  For those of you who aren’t exactly sure what Urbanspoon does, this app gives you information and helps you choose a restaurant by providing information and performing searches based on:

• Location
• Price range
• Type of food

You may wonder what the difference is between Urbanspoon’s iPhone and iPad apps.  The iPad app has a map with touchable pinpoints that will bring up a new window of information instead of taking you to a separate screen like the iPhone app.  This information pane contains content including the exact location of a restaurant and a restaurant’s popularity.

Submaps HD
Subway systems can be extremely confusing.  Most subway systems have a variety of different lines, going in different directions.  The last thing you want to do is get on the wrong train and head 30 minutes in the wrong direction.  Submaps HD is a great app to download in order to avoid getting lost, and it has subway maps for several different cities that will help you navigate around with ease.

Has anyone tried out any of these apps?  Let us know in the comments if they have helped you out in your travels!

Courtyard’s Weekly Round-Up

Here’s this week’s round-up of travel news, tips and info that we found to be the most interesting and helpful.  If you often have a hard time deciding where you should go for your next vacation, take a look at the article on how to make a five year travel plan.  Also, feel free to use the comment section to let us know if we left out any articles that should have made it into this week’s roundup. Enjoy!

Making A Five Year Travel Plan
It can be hard to choose a destination for an upcoming vacation.  How much money should you spend?  How far do you want to go?  How long should your trip be?  These are all questions that everyone tends to ask themselves.  Take a look at this article for some great tips on how to make a five year travel plan.

Handy Tips For Airport Travel
We all know that airports can be chaotic at times.  Here are some great tips on how to make sure your next experience at an airport is a good one.

Healthy Summer Strategies: Hit The Road With Tips For Exercise And Good Snacking
Traveling in the summer and sticking to a healthy diet tend to be difficult.  However, if you focus and stay on track it’s possible to hit the road and maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Check out this article for some great ways to stay fit during your summer trips.

How To Pick The Perfect Travel Netbook
Have you been searching for an inexpensive computer that you can bring along on your business trips?  Sure, the iPad is great for business travel, but if you are planning on doing a lot of content creation while in transit, a netbook may be the way to go.  This article shares how to go about picking the perfect travel netbook.

Surveys Show Nearly $7 Billion Bump In Summer Vacation Spending
It looks like there is a huge increase in the number of people taking summer vacations this year compared to last year.  What are your summer vacation plans?  Share with us in the comments!

Solar-Powered Plane Flies At Night
An airplane relying completely on solar energy flew for 24 hours straight.  Engineers say the next step is to make a solar-powered plane that will fly around the world by 2013.  Although this is still in the experimental stage, it’s a big accomplishment and gives us a look into what the future of air transportation may look like.  Take a look at this article to learn more.

Summer Weekend Getaways in the Northeast

Summers in the Northeast can be just as gorgeous as the region’s famously colorful autumns. This area of the U.S. occasionally feels the heat and humidity of the south, but usually to a much lesser degree. With easy access to mountains, lakes, rivers and the Atlantic, there are myriad weekend getaways options for those who live close by. The following destinations are among the best this region has to offer.

Plymouth, MA

Cape Cod is a hot spot for a lot of New Englanders in the summer, with its beautiful beaches and access to boating, fishing and miles of bike paths. For many heading there, traffic can be a major problem. Plymouth, which is just 30 minutes north of the Cape, can be an attractive alternative. Besides great beaches like Long Beach, visitors can explore the historic Mayflower and Plymouth Rock, climb aboard chartered whale watches from the harbor and hike, fish or swim in the kettle ponds of Myles Standish State Park.

Biddeford, ME

Biddeford is north of Kennebunkport and south of Old Orchard Beach. The public beach along Biddeford Pool boasts serene, sun-heated waters; soft sand and a huge sandbar to explore when the tide goes out. At night during the summer, you can head up the shore to the glittering lights of the amusement park at Old Orchard Beach. The downtown area is small and quiet, making this a great escape for those seeking true relaxation.

Narragansett, RI

Narragansett comes alive in the summer, as visitors flock to this resort community. Golfers will enjoy putting around at Rose Hill and Pinecrest golf courses, while beach-goers can play at one of three state beaches in town: Roger Wheeler, Salty Brine, and Scarborough. If you tire of dry land, Southland River Boat Cruises offers harbor tours and sunset cruises. You can also take a ride on the Block Island Ferry which departs nearby. Block Island has great beaches, restaurants and shops as well as bike and moped rentals for those who want to go exploring.

Burlington, VT

Summer is a great time to visit Burlington thanks to its wide variety of outdoor activities. Shoppers will love the open-air Church Street Market that spans four blocks of downtown. The market is a mix of unique shops and restaurants and most days it is peppered with street performers. If you’re looking for something more physical, you’ll enjoy a visit to Lake Champlain, which borders the city against the backdrop of the Green Mountains. Hiking, kayaking, sailing, mountain biking and swimming are among the many forms of recreation that are well-suited for this area.

Portsmouth, NH

Fans of the arts will love this historic seaport town along the New Hampshire coast. The Seacoast Repertory Theater, Player’s Ring and The Music Hall are all great venues to enjoy a play or some live music. Prescott Park has outdoor theater in the evening, as well as musical performances by well-known artists. The town also hosts a variety of fairs and festivals throughout the summer months. As with most waterfront cities, there are plenty of options for cruises, particularly those taking tourists along the rocky Isle of Shoals six miles off the coast.

And, another added bonus – each of these fun destinations has or is within 30 minutes of a Courtyard by Marriott hotel!

Courtyard’s Weekly Round-Up

Here’s this week’s round-up of travel news, tips and info that we found to be the most interesting and helpful.  If you are looking to go on an outdoor adventure vacation, make sure to check out the article on the best adventure travel ideas.  Also, feel free to use the comment section to let us know if we left out any articles that should have made it into this week’s roundup.  Have a great 4th of July everyone!

Easy Way To Improve Your Vacation Photos
Have you ever taken rolls of photos while on vacation, and later realized that they all came out blurry?  There are several ways to avoid this and make sure your photos will serve as wonderful memories.  Take a look at this article for some great tips on how to improve your vacation photos.

50 Essential Travel Tips
From packing light to picking a seat on your next flight or saving money, this article shares 50 essential travel tips that will help you out on your next trip.

Best Adventure Travel Ideas
Are you looking for an adventurous, outdoor vacation that you will remember the rest of your life?  Have you ever thought of bungee jumping in Switzerland or swimming with killer whales in Norway?  Check out this article for some great adventure travel ideas.

11 Tips For Making The iPad The Perfect Traveling Companion
The iPad continues to be extremely popular among business travelers because it’s so convenient to bring along on trips.  Take a look at this article to find out how to make the iPad a great travel companion.

Fly Safe, Fly Smart: When Kids Fly Alone
Many parents get extremely nervous when their children fly alone.  This article shares some great information about how to make sure your kids are safe when flying alone.

How To Survive A Long Flight
Long flights can be boring, uncomfortable and exhausting.  However, there are ways to make these flights pass by a little more quickly.  Here are some great tips on how to survive a long flight.