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Hotel Commonwealth
Category:
Hyperbaric Services
500 Commonwealth Ave
Boston,
Massachusetts 02110
(866) 784-4000
This luxurious hotel really prides itself on the quality of service they provide to their guest....
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This luxurious hotel really prides itself on the quality of service they provide to their guest. And rightfully so, as they will try to make sure that your stay is comfortable even if they have to go the extra mile. The staff is ultra-pleasant and the concierge service simply fantastic. While most of the restaurant recommendations include restaurants from the nearby Copley Square area, this has the oft-forgotten benefit that one can actually walk to the chosen place for eating. This, with Boston's infamous traffic and parking reputation, is an invaluable plus. Another benefit is that the T stop is right in the hotel itself.
Just as with other hotels with great location in downtown Boston, the parking is what it is here.
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Great location
We stayed here as a mini-treat to escape the daily stress. The hotel is very...
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Great location
We stayed here as a mini-treat to escape the daily stress. The hotel is very pretty and the rooms were comfortable. The best part of it for us was that the hotel is located right in the heart of Copley Plaza and most especially it is attached, or better yet part of, the Prudential Center Mall. We loved walking out to the many indoors corridors to shop at each of the little shops. The Sheraton staff was very helpful with telling us about Boston activities that were going on which we weren't aware of even as Boston residents. Great location.
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Gourmeli's
Category:
Hotels
110 Huntington Ave
Boston,
Massachusetts 02116
(617) 236-5800
Gourmeli's is inside Copley just before you walk the footbridge to Prudential. For a hotel...
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Gourmeli's is inside Copley just before you walk the footbridge to Prudential. For a hotel restaurant it's great and for that matter it's great all around. They do an amazing brunch on the weekend with an inclusive price where you can choose from hot and cold foods including make your own omlette, french toast, pancakes, cereals, yogurts, fresh fruit, juice, coffee, tea. There's another part of the restaurant where you can just chill out and have drinks, coffee, dessert. They also have a regular a la carte menu. There's great people watching too and it's a good place to go anytime of the year.
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Puritan Travel Inc
Category:
Travel Agents
735 Willim T Mrrssy Blvd Ste 15
Boston,
Massachusetts 02122
(617) 265-9100
I went with a friend on the River of the Pharoahs tour in the fall of 2000, it was hosted by...
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I went with a friend on the River of the Pharoahs tour in the fall of 2000, it was hosted by General Tours. It was a great experience and I am happy that I did this before all the terrorism stuff started up again in the middle east.
We did not take the included air tickets, I arranged a separate flight on British Air. They were going to use Egyptian Air and I preferred British Airways to London and then to Cairo.
Well, arriving in Cairo was like another world! We were met by a man who barely spoke English however he was holding a large General Tours sign printed with our names. He promptly took our passports and ran off with them! Well this made me a bit perturbed but it's part of the process: he ran to get us a stamp in our passports to enter Egypt. However I ran after him because I didn't want to be left in Cairo without a passport! It was alright as he went right to a counter and got us our stamps to enter.
We were escorted to a van and taken to the Hotel Ramses, which is a beautiful place. My first trip to Egypt and I didn't know about baksheesh. Everyone who comes near you wants baksheesh so unless you want them to carry your bags you have to hold on tightly. The hotel was wonderful and we joined the General Tours tour group of about 15 people the next day. We were all introduced to our guide, Mahmoud, a very well spoken and knowledgeable guide. He accompanied us everywhere through Egypt.
We saw the Egyptian Museum, the pyramids, the city of Cairo, the Blue Mosque, the bustling marketplace, wonderful. Then we flew to Luxor to meet the Nile cruiser. The flights within Egypt are via Egypt Air which uses old Russian jets. I was fascinated and a bit nervous on these old Russian jets but they seemed to work alright, One of them was a bit loud as it had an extra jet engine on top that the pilot kept turning on and off. Flying in Egypt is beautiful - no clouds, you can see forever.
The tour guide was wonderful, he was the General Tours representative as well as our nanny. One older lady became ill on the Nile cruiser and General Tours found doctors and treatment for her immediately, I was impressed. The Nile experience was fantastic and unforgettable. Mahmoud our guide got us everywhere and we even climbed all the way up inside pyramids and things and he flew the flights with us, kept us together and we all got to know each other pretty well over the 12 days or so. We all had a good time and afterward we emailed each other to see how our separate journeys turned out after Egypt. We went on to the Sinai, others went on to Turkey. But we made good friends and had a great time and I would recommend General Tours as they handled everything well.
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Safar Travel
Category:
Travel Agents
20 Park Plz
Boston,
Massachusetts 02116
(617) 338-4644
This was an excellent tour, with many interesting side trips. The group itself was a nice blend -...
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This was an excellent tour, with many interesting side trips. The group itself was a nice blend - from teens to seventy-somethings (we brought our 2 teenagers and they were very happy to be among the dozen teens in our group - a rarity, according to our tour guide). The sight-seeing was intense, we were up at 6 or 6:30 every morning and out of the hotel by 8am.
As noted in "Cons", be aware that the optional excursions are pricey, the food not very good, and the tour guide, I'm sure gets a commission. For instance: in Venice the optional dinner would have cost our family of 4 more than 200 euros (for a meal, which, in the words of a fellow traveler, "was so bad, it was comical"). We decided to dine on our own at the top-notch Ristorante da Raffaele, paid less money and had an excellent meal canal-side with gondolier entertainment. Another example was the Gondola Serenade. For the 4 of us, the cost was 152 euros. Had we hired a gondola independently, the cost would have been 80 euros (granted, that does not include the serenade, but our group had 5 gondolas and only one had the musicians). I was definitely put out by the tour guides' hard sell tactics of the optional excursions - she told us that outside of the group we risked poor quality, frozen foods, we might get sick from the foods we were served and we would probably be cheated - PUH-LEAZE!! I am also pretty sure that Globus gets a little something from their "recommended" shops (leather, jewelry and glass).
Ok, that said...there were many pros to this trip. The Roman Highlights optional tour was definitely a "must". Again, the dinner was not great, but our local guide was awesome, adding interest and humor to our history lesson. The tour of the Verrazzano Castle was both interesting and a blast (wine tasting really "lubed up" the group. Sadly, due to unexpectedly heavy traffic, we only had 1 hour in Pisa (not even enough time for an official tour). The long bus rides were broken up by visits to charming medieval-style villages (San Gimingnano and Orvieto were my favorites). Assisi was a one night stay that I wished was longer - the terrace on the San Francesco hotel was a beautiful place to share a "digestivo" and watch the sunset.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the most amazing bus driver, Rocco...props, Rocco! This man maneuvered a huge tour bus through the city and mountains like it was a "smart car".
This was an amazing tour, and I would choose Safar Travel again (keeping in mind that optional excursions are truly "optional". We met many wonderful families as we shared the exploration of the Italian history and culture.
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Seaport Hotel
Category:
Hotels
1 Seaport Ln
Boston,
Massachusetts 02210
(617) 385-4000
Great hotel
This is a beautiful hotel located in the Seaport District. We had to take a cab or...
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Great hotel
This is a beautiful hotel located in the Seaport District. We had to take a cab or walk quite a distance to reach most of the tourist areas of Boston but there are some fantastic seafood restaurants next to the hotel that we would not have experienced otherwise. The hotel itself is just grand and the rooms are modern and luxurious. We enjoyed the gym as well as the pretty grounds. A bit pricey but worth experiencing. The staff were absolute five star, very professional and eager to please.
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Jewel of Newbury
Category:
Restaurants
254 Newbury St
Boston,
Massachusetts 02116
(617) 536-5523
We love to dine in Boston, especially at Jewel of Newbury on Newbury Street. Enjoy a glass of...
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We love to dine in Boston, especially at Jewel of Newbury on Newbury Street. Enjoy a glass of California 2002 cabernet sauvignon and fine north african cuisine, the food is delicious. Mouldi, the owner, treated us to a special private tour of his 5 star boutique hotel with 18th and 19th century antiques, just upstairs from the restaurant. You can tour it online here. http://www.jewelboston.com/gallery.html
However, the experience simply isn't the same as in person, it put me in awe. If you're ever in Boston, you should consider either dining or resting your head at this very fine establishment. The food, the wine, the ambiance - tres chic!
EXQUISITE!
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Travelx America
Category:
Travel Agents
28 Logan Airport
Boston,
Massachusetts 02128
(617) 567-1087
Pros
Very thorough, easy booking, no hassles, stress free, often pampered, great staff &...
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Pros
Very thorough, easy booking, no hassles, stress free, often pampered, great staff & naturalists
Cons
Trips are expensive (but worth it)
The Bottom Line
Traveling and touring with Travelx America was an amazing experience, and I would do it again in a minute. I highly recommend!!
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Pros: Great hotels, great sightseeing, great food, great guides, great shows. In short, a great...
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Pros: Great hotels, great sightseeing, great food, great guides, great shows. In short, a great tour!
Cons: Can't think of any, except perhaps that the trip was too short.
Our trip left NY on March 22, 2006 and ended on April 3, 2006. Everything noted in the itinerary was followed and more. The five-star hotels were magnificent, the sightseeing was terrific, the food was excellent, the guides were knowledgeable and professional, the river boat ride which included excursions was delightful, the shows were spectacular. In other words, my husband (who always finds something to complain about) was absolutely bowled over. When we got home, he said: find out where else they go and let's go with them again. That's the greatest compliment to a deserving tour company. Needless to say, I agree with him and would recommend them to everyone. We have traveled extensively during our 35 year marriage, to Europe, to Africa and they were all good with some things that would go wrong, or be unacceptable. There is ABSOLUTELY nothing that went wrong here. Not even for an instant. Wish all tour companies were as satisfactory!
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Pros
Fantastic tour, professional staff, tons of wildlife and beautiful scenery.
Cons
Can't...
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Pros
Fantastic tour, professional staff, tons of wildlife and beautiful scenery.
Cons
Can't think of much. While it was a little pricey, it was worth every penny.
The Bottom Line
An extensive tour at a great price with professional staff and fantastic sights. You can't go wrong with this one.
Full Review
My wife and I traveled to Alaska via the the company over the summer solstice so that he could run a marathon in Anchorage to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. Since we made the trek all the way out to the fairly remote 49th state, we decided to add on an extra seven days to our trip and turn it into our summer vacation.
While planning the trip, we booked just one organized tour, with Kenai Fjords Tours, an Alaska Heritage Tours company.
Kenai Fjords Tours is based out of Seward and the ships depart from the small boat harbor in Seward. However, they also have a booking office in Anchorage, Alaska on 4th Avenue.
There are many tour options available through Kenai Fjords Tours, some of which include overnight stays at their private lodges on Alaska's Kenai peninsula. Also offered are "customizable" options to tours, including flightseeing, sea kayaking, guided hiking tours and other activities.
Kenai Fjords Tours also offers several day cruise options that travel through Kenai Fjords National Park to varying locations. These cruises range in length from 3 hours for the short Resurrection Bay cruise to the extensive 9.5 hour Northwestern Fjord Full Day cruise.
My husband and I opted for the 6 hour National Park cruise, leaving from Seward at 3PM and returning at 9PM, still in full daylight since the sun didn't set until around midnight during our vacation. Like all of the day cruises, this one promised views of several glaciers and whatever wildlife we could find out on the water. The late departure time gave us the full morning to explore other activities around Seward so we hiked at Exit Glacier and visited Mitch Seavey's kennels for the "Ididaride" sled dog ride before the tour.
Checking in for our cruise was simple. At 2:30PM we showed up at their offices at the Small Boat Harbor where we were given boarding passes for the the Kenai Fjords Coastal Explorer ship. There are several similar ships in the Kenai Fjords Tours fleet. The Coastal Explorer is actually the one pictured with this review. We walked down to the docks and got in line to board. Be sure to show up for the cruise about a half hour early. Boarding begins 10 minutes prior to departure and the lines form pretty quickly.
The ship was very comfortable and easily fit around 150 passengers. There were viewing areas on two decks and indoor areas with tables and booth seating on both decks as well. Multiple toilets (or "heads") were located on the ship and these areas were wheelchair-accessible. A full galley served complimentary coffee and other reasonably priced beverages and snacks. The six hour cruise also included a "salmon bake" dinner which was served from the galley.
The ship got underway right at 3PM and headed straight out Resurrection Bay toward the fjords. Our captain was an elderly man with a smooth radio announcer voice that came over the loudspeakers several times during the tour to point out wildlife, scenery, and historic facts about the areas we visited.
We made a very brief stop to Fox Island to drop off a couple of crew members and some supplies. Our captain pointed out some bald eagles soaring overhead and told us the history of fox island and how it was used to breed foxes, since they wouldn't swim off the island.
After leaving Fox Island we headed past Pilot Rock and Aialik Cape. Our captain took us to a relatively secluded cove where we saw hundreds of birds, including puffins, flying and flapping around. He also took us around to a rocky ledge where we saw more than thirty sea lions sunning themselves and swimming.
During our cruise we stumbled upon a diverse array of wildlife; first the sea lions and puffins (both horned and tufted), and then bald eagles, sea gulls and cormorants. We saw both humpack whales and orcas breaching the surface in several places. And at two points our ship was chased by playful dall porpoises jumping through the wake.
We saw several glaciers on our cruise including Bear Glacier and Holgate Glacier. All of the glaciers extended from the enormous Harding ice field. At Holgate, our captain stopped the engines so we could hear the thunderous cracking sounds in the glacier's interior. We spent about fifteen minutes at Holgate with the engines silent, listening to the glacier and watching it calve into the bay.
Just before we got to Holgate, the galley crew served up the salmon bake dinner. I had heard jokes about the "overcooked salmon dinners" on the various cruises, so I was surprised by how tender and fresh the salmon was. It was served with a small salad, rice, corn on the cob and rolls. We purchased a couple of Alaskan Ambers before dinner to drink with our meal (the galley has to close down drink service while they serve the meal). After leaving the Holgate Glacier dessert was served. I don't know what it was called exactly but it was a homemade caramel, chocolate, pecan praline style dessert. Delicious! Seconds were offered on both the main meal and the dessert for anyone who wanted them. I was full but my husband (who made the rather flimsy excuse that he was still in carb-loading mode after his run) headed up for a second dessert pretty quickly!
We cruised back to Seward stopping each time the Captain found more wildlife to point out. I went toward the front of the ship to take photos of a pair of whales and ended up hanging out on deck with the Captain and four or five other passengers on the way back into port. He talked to us as we all kept our eyes out for more animals. One of my fellow passengers was on the cruise from Anchorage with his parents who were visiting Alaska. He said that he had done this cruise about five times with visiting relatives and friends and that this was the best one by far for wildlife viewing.
We arrived awhile before full-on sunset in Seward, pulling into the harbor to see a few otters reclining in the waters near the pier. It was an excellent end to a wonderful cruise and a very long day in Seward.
Summary
I would highly recommend this cruise to anyone visiting Anchorage or Seward. It was an incredible experience. Be forewarned, you should wear warm clothes unless you want to spend the entire cruise inside.
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