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Vicki Stout
Vicki Stout is a freelance journalist living in Nashville. Her passions are travel, food,
pets---and writing about them. Locally, she is a regular contributor to The Tennessean, Southern
Exposure Magazine, serves as editor for a monthly publication for Leiper’s Fork in Williamson
County, and writes for a number of other publications, some of which are internationally based.
She travels extensively, regionally, domestically and abroad. She has a penchant for fine
destinations, hotels and cuisine.
Local food and fun
Stoney River Legendary Steaks
West End Avenue, Nashville
Jazz on the Patio every Thursday and Friday evening, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Trio Blanco performs
For more info, 340-9550
Vicki’s Hit-The-Road Recommendations
Caribbean destinations usually sport discounted rates in summer and fall, before high season (winter,
holidays and spring). Following are a few favorites.
Caneel Bay, St. John
U.S. Virgins, destination resort, huge acreage; no clocks or phones in room. Trolleys run between
accommodations, beaches, tennis, pools.
Fly into Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas. A Caneel Bay lounge is on premises. Ground transportation
whisks guests to private boat service to St. John.
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Rates vary by season and accommodations, with standard rooms ranging from $375 to $925 daily during low
season with primo digs going from $525 to $1,475 daily at the holidays, though likely you’d have to kill
someone to be able to snag a room. Repeat guests are especially plentiful this time of year.
Rates are based on double occupancy and priced in U.S. dollars.
888-ROSEWOOD or visit www.rosewoodhotels.com
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Cap Juluca, Anguilla
Posh destination resort; fabulous accommodations. No tv’s in rooms. The perfect honeymoon and R&R
destination. Pretty beach. Tea served in afternoons, British style with scones and clotted cream.
Cap Juluca: (888) 858-5822; direct to the hotel, (264) 497-6779; e mail capjuluca@anguillanet.com.
Web site, www.capjuluca.com
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Little Dix Bay, Virgin Gorda
British Virgin Islands; boasts of the most fabulous spas in the Caribbean. Beautiful resort, great
accommodations, several restaurants on property.
American Airlines via Miami and San Juan to Tortolla. A Little Dix boat transports guests to the island.
Or some guests choose to fly to St. Thomas, visit Rosewood sister property, Caneel Bay on St. John in the
U.S. Virgins, then boat over to Little Dix.
Rates are seasonal of course and vary by accommodation. Rooms begin at $395 in summer and that same room
escalates to $675 in winter; beach front rooms go from $725 to $1,100 seasonally; suites begin at $825 in
summer and go to $1,500 in winter. All rates based on double occupancy. A number of packages are available
year round.
Little Dix Bay: (888) ROSEWOOD; www.littledixbay.com
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*******
Hawks Cay on Duck Key, Florida
www.HawksCay.com
(888) 443-6393 toll free
Fly into Miami, rental car to Duck Key
Hawks Cay covers 40 of the 60 acres on Duck Key, an island in the Florida Keys. Just a two-hour drive
from Miami, Hawks Cay offers a bit of the Caribbean without leaving the country. No passport. No customs
lines. And your cell phone works, business as usual.
Surrounded by the Atlantic on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other, the waters have the iridescent
turquoise of the Caribbean. There’s no real beach but 5 swimming pools pretty much make up for that.
The 50-year-old resort has just undergone a $35 million renovation. Rooms are lovely; restaurants are
handsome and offer great food. And there’s every imaginable water sport available---fishing, snorkeling,
sailing, kayaking, diving, parasailing, jet ski, water skiing, wakeboarding.
Kids program.
Hawks Cay is a destination resort; there’s little reason to leave by land, only by water. It has the
laid back nature of the Caribbean---but with American service standards.
*******
Peru
South America is one of the few places in the world these days where the U.S. dollar is good. In Peru,
$1 buys nearly 3 Sols.
The primary attraction: Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Inca, discovered in 1911 by Yale’s Hiram
Bingham.
Planning a Peruvian adventure: Adventure Life, based in Montana; specializes in Latin America and
Antarctica; uses only local guides. Small groups, cultural experiences. www.Adventure-Life.com
Where to stay: Inkaterra Machu Picchu, a member of the Small Leading Hotels of the World. Located
in Agua Calentes, this is a beautiful boutique hotel with fabulous grounds. It gets my vote over the
Sanctuary Lodge, which is located just outside the gates to Machu Picchu. www.Inkaterra.com
Cusco: once the center of the Inca Empire, this historic city has stood sentinel at its 11,500 feet
above sea level here in the Andes for 9 centuries.
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Where to stay: Hotel Monasterio, the finest hotel in the city if not in all of South America. Built
in 1592 as a monastery, the stone structure is arch and art filled. It’s a destination within a
destination. www.Monasterio.Orient-Express.com
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Where to eat: Hotel Monasterio has a wonderful restaurant; Tupananchis; Ciccolina; and for an authentic
Peruvian lunch, Quinta Ehwlia.
Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world at 12,553 feet above sea level. Its ink blue
waters appear ocean-like; on the shores of Puno (not much of a place in itself). Travel there from
Cusco via PeruRail’s Andean Explorer. Operated by Orient Express, the journey is as wonderful as the
destination. www.PeruRail.com; www.Orient-Express.com
Where to stay: The best game in town is the alabaster, low slung Libertador Hotel Isla Esteves.
www.Libertador.com.pe/eng
Tour the Lake, its islands and visit with its people.
*******
You can contact Vicki at Vicki.Stout@comcast.net.
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