SunStream Travel Blog

Welcome! As employees of SunStream and residents of Southwest Florida, we thought this blog would be an excellent opportunity to share what we love about living here with our guests. Enjoy!

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Archive for June, 2009

Bellasera Hotel: “Home Sweet Home” Italian-Style

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For information, contact:
Treva J. Marshall, TJM Communications, Inc.
(407) 977-5004; treva@tjmcommunications.com

Dipika Joshi, TJM Communications, Inc.
(407) 977-5004; dipika@tjmcommunications.com

Carolyn Masten
SunStream Hotels & Resorts
(239) 765-4111; CarolynM@SunStream.com

BELLASERA HOTEL:
“Home Sweet Home” Italian-Style

NAPLES, FL – At Bellasera Hotel, guests bask in all the comforts of home and all the exotic elegance of an Italian villa. It’s only fitting for Naples, Florida, a genteel beach town acclaimed for its first-class shopping, dining, golf, arts and water sports.

Bellasera transplants the spirit and style of Tuscany to Naples’ fashionable and lively Fifth Avenue South district. The hotel’s name means “beautiful evening” in Italian, but beauty stretches daylong, property-wide at Bellasera. The intimate Four-Diamond property romances couples the minute they enter the polished wood lobby with its sweeping staircase and rich Tuscan inspiration, immediately giving guests a sense of arrival to a place beyond precious.

Sunflower yellows and earthy rust-reds color its three-story buildings in shades of Tuscany. Expressive arches and balconies open onto a lush courtyard where stone fountains and rock cascades gurgle around the ornately tiled swimming pool and whirlpool. Umbrella-topped tables, webbed chaises, and private sultan cabanas surround the deck, where food and beverage service is available upon request.

Stately royal palm trees and vine-swathed pergolas shade Zizi restaurant’s al fresco tables. Meals served on the terrace poolside or inside the sleek ristorante are robust with pure and sunny Mediterranean flavors. Room service is also available. For happy hour and after dinner, couples cozy up in the convivial lounge. On Thursday evenings, live jazz and soft vocals soundtrack a bella sera.

Visitors rave about the AAA Four-Diamond resort’s better-than-home comfort, appointments and amenities they find in Bellasera’s 100 studio and one- to three-bedroom suites with screened porches and balconies which overlook the flowery courtyard – a picture-perfect wedding setting.

Whirlpool tubs in the studios feature plantation shutters that open onto the master bedroom so guests can watch TV from their bubble bath. The studios also come with an under-counter refrigerator and coffeemaker. Alluring Mediterranean style holds through the living areas: rich woods, plush furnishings and earth-toned tiling.

Cable TVs with DVDs, free high-speed Internet access, a washer-dryer, bathrobes, and a king-sized bed in the master suite ensure the final measure of convenience and pampering. Free wireless “hot spots” throughout the resort, a state-of-the-art fitness center and a complimentary shuttle to Naples platinum-white beach – minutes away and recently named “America’s Best All-Around Beach” by The Travel Channel – complete this picture of fantasy fulfillment.

Guests can easily stroll to famed Fifth Avenue South and its fashionable sidewalk cafes, clubs, boutiques, art galleries, and theater.

The flexibility of Bellasera’s design makes it a popular choice for wedding parties. Its 4,000 square feet of exquisite function space seats up to 200 in a classic Italian setting, ensuring an event graced with elegance and style.

Bellasera Hotel, one in SunStream Hotels & Resorts collection of distinctive properties in Southwest Florida, is located at 221 Ninth Street South in Naples. For reservations or more information on vacationing Italian-style without leaving American soil, call 888-612-1115 or 239-649-7333. Or visit BellaseraNaples.com.

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At The Bellasera Hotel, It’s Easy Being Green

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Florida Green Lodging Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For information, contact:
Carolyn Masten
SunStream Hotels & Resorts
(239) 765-4111
CarolynM@SunStream.com
SunStream.com

AT THE BELLASERA HOTEL, IT’S EASY BEING GREEN
Naples’ Four-Diamond hotel the first “condominium” property
to be recognized with environmental honor in Collier County

NAPLES, FL – In March 2008, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) welcomed the Bellasera Hotel to the Florida Green Lodging Program. Bellasera was the first condominium resort recognized with this environmental honor and to be designated in Collier County.

“Bellasera is proud to be designated a member of the Florida Green Lodging Program,” said General Manager Steve McIntire.  “Even more meaningful is the fact that this effort was completely driven by our hotel’s staff members, who conscientiously took it upon themselves to put together this program of improved waste reduction, energy efficiency and clean air quality.  Not only does our management team appreciate their efforts, but I know that our guests will, as well, as they’ll be able to adopt the same green practices here at the resort that many of them are already utilizing at home.”

The Florida Green Lodging Program provides voluntary guidelines for lodging properties to help conserve natural resources and prevent air pollution. At Bellasera, “green practices” involve a number of recycling and improved energy efficiency, water conservation and air quality programs. For instance, hotel guests and staff have the opportunity to recycle not only glass, plastic, cans and paper, but also batteries, cell phones, print toners, ink cartridges, florescent bulbs, appliances and computer equipment. The hotel also participates in FPL’s innovative “Sunshine Energy” environmental program to produce clean electricity generation. In addition, the property has improved its water conservation measures through low flow plumbing fixtures; it cleans its air handler units frequently and utilizes energy-efficient programmable thermostats and air filters; and purchases green cleaning products and laundry detergents.

“The Bellasera had already implemented many of the best management practices we were looking for,” said local DEP Green Lodging Coordinator Laura Comer. “They have now expanded their recycling services and actively involved their suppliers, services providers, and guests which exponentially increases their positive impact on the environment and the local community.”

Bellasera has now joined the growing list of Florida Green Lodges that benefit from vacationers and meeting planners seeking environmentally conscious lodging establishments. To show support for the program, Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed an executive order mandating all state agencies and departments to hold meetings and conferences solely at designated Green Lodging facilities. With Bellasera’s designation, the Florida Green Lodging Program currently has over 419 designated properties statewide with an additional 390 applicants awaiting certification.

The only four-diamond luxury hotel in the area to feature condominium suites with full home amenities, Bellasera offers 100 designer-decorated studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom suites. Bellasera also features a heated outdoor and spa, fitness center, room service, concierge service, luxury poolside cabanas and Zizi, an exquisite Mediterranean restaurant and lounge offering al fresco dining under the stars.

Bellasera Hotel, one in SunStream Hotels & Resorts collection of distinctive properties in Southwest Florida, is located at 221 Ninth Street South in Naples, Florida. For reservations and information, call 888-612-1115 or visit BellaseraNaples.com

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The 4th of July!

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Fireworks cluster

It’s hard to believe that the 4th of July is next weekend! Whether you’re a visitor or resident, Fort Myers Beach and Naples are great places to be to celebrate this amazing holiday and both have wonderful fireworks displays.

Fort Myers Beach

Fort Myers Beach will host a spectacular fireworks show on Saturday, July 4, from Lynn Hall Memorial Park by the pier at the north end of the Island. Head down to the Times Square area for restaurants, music and activity or grab a chair and lounge in the sand. The show will start about 15 minutes after sunset.

Naples

The City of Naples will celebrate the Fourth of July with a stunning display of fireworks beginning at 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 4, at the Naples pier. The fireworks will be visible from there or any Naples beach.

For added excitement bring along your radio and listen to WAVV 101.1 FM. They will be playing patriotic music to coincide with the show!

In case of severe weather the fireworks display will take place the following night, July 5.

Weekly Photo Contest Winner – June 23rd

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

CONGRATULATIONS to Catherine!
You’re this week’s photo contest winner and have won the Brand New SunStream Beach Survival Kit!

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“We have been staying at Pointe Estero for the last twenty + years. We had not visited since 2003, and this photo is from our first night of our first vacation back to Ft. Myers since then. Sunsets are unforgettable on Estero Island, such as this one! We are all set to return this July for another great family vacation!”

Thank you to everyone who submitted their Southwest Florida vacation photos and participated in our weekly photo contest. If your photo wasn’t selected this week, don’t fret! All contest entries are still eligible to win.

Pics From Taste of the Beach

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

What’s the best way to celebrate the first day of summer and Father’s Day? How about the 14th Annual Taste of Fort Myers Beach? Yesterday, the best of our beach area restaurants provided samples of their specialties, from Maryland-style crab cakes to secret-recipe ribs and banana-rum bread pudding – plus other treats from land and sea. And I even spotted a celebrity. See if you can find him too.