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Travel Tips: Vacation Like Wealthy Do

Posted: 12:30 pm EDT August 6, 2004Updated: 4:10 pm EDT September 23, 2005

Where: Kauai, Hawaii

Hotel: Princeville Resort

Why:
  • Two spectacular golf courses and great views

Activity:
  • Golden Eagle Helicopter Tour -- See Waimea Canyon, Olokele Canyon, and the Na Pali Coast. Highlights include Kipu Kai Ranch, Hanapepe Valley, Hanalei Bay and Valley, and Wailua Falls. Takes one hour.

Where: Paris

Hotel: Hotel InterContinental

Why:
  • It's across the street from the Tuileries Garden -- on the right bank, near the Louvre. Built in 1878, remodeled in 1998.

Activities:
  • Reims Champagne Tour -- Full-day tour with great scenery and visits to a couple of France’s best champagne cellars.
  • Loire Valley Chateaux Tour -- See how kings and queens of France pampered themselves.

Where: Hong Kong

Hotel: The Peninsula (so luxurious, we rank it as a six, and our rating system only goes to five!)

Why:
  • You know it’s luxurious when certain clothing is not allowed: shorts, vests, "flip-flop" shoes and torn jeans are not permitted in the restaurants or any of the hotel's public areas. Photo taking is also strongly discouraged.
  • One of the most exquisite and prestigious hotels in the world, it’s famous for its traditional afternoon tea.

Activities:
  • Macau Tour -- Take a 75-minute high-speed boat ride to Macau, a former Portuguese colony and the oldest European settlement in Asia, sometimes called the Monte Carlo of Asia, due to numerous casinos.
  • Take a helicopter tour around Hong Kong.

Where: Riviera Maya, Mexico

Hotel: Occidental Royal Hideaway Playacar Resort & Spa

Why:
  • Luxury, all-inclusive, beachfront resort located in the Playacar golf resort community.
  • The villas represent a fusion of Spanish and Mexican-colonial architecture while winding rivers, waterfalls, and fountains make up the grounds of this 13-acre resort.

Activities:
  • Thalasso / Marine Care Center designed in France by prestigious Thalgo Cosmetics. Soak in the unique hydrotherapy tubs, indulge in a Swedish massage or consult the French-trained estheticians on skin care to enhance your complexion and soothe your skin.
  • Swim with the Dolphins for $115 per person

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