MIM79

Hi-

I'm a 28 year old from NYC, and I'm taking 4-5 days vacation with my mom in late March.

The only small detail: we don't know where we're going yet!

We're looking for somewhere warm, pretty, relaxing, and preferably on the East Coast (we love California, but we'd need to be out there at least a week to make the trip worth it). I don't know much about Florida, but my first thought would be to go there....

One thought is Boca Raton--I heard the Boca Raton Resort & Club is gorgeous, but it's super expensive. Our budget for hotels would be between $200-$300 range....

Any suggestions/ideas as to where to go/where to stay would be much appreciated! We play tennis, wouldn't be playing golf, and aren't the biggest 'spa' people, though I'm sure we would do stuff like that if it were available...

Thanks so much!

TrvlMaven

What about Charleson, Kiawah Island, Savannah, or Jekyll Island? If you NEED tennis--the islands could accommodate--if you just need the get away--CHS or SAV would suffice--culture, food, shopping, possible spa experience.

LoveItaly

Hello MIM, I visited Charleston for the first time early April 2005 thanks to a Fodorite who became a dear friend. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed Charleston and while there I kept thinking how it was the perfect destination for women taking a trip together. If you use the Search Box here you should be able to pull up GoTravel's long report on Charleston. She lives near there and spent a weekend playing "tourist" and her report is awesome regarding details.
It certainly added a lot to our visit to Charleston. And going by the weather two years ago in early April I would think late March would be wonderful.

egret

Charleston would be a wonderful destination. Also, the Georgia/Florida Coasts of Jekyll Island, St.Simons, Amelia.

jallard

The Ritz on Amelia Island is very nice. The island has many nice restaurants and shops.

E_M

Barbados!

suze

I'd look at packages for an island destination in the Caribbean somewhere.

mclaurie

MIM, it really depends on how warm you want the weather to be. If you want to be able to go swimming and sit on the beach, I think for late March that probably means south Florida and places south of there (ie Caribbean), but check wunderground.com which has a trip planner on the bottom right hand side of the page that will give you historic temps for most anywhere.

I have family in Boca Raton so go often. The BR Resort & Club IS lovely but there are plenty of other hotels/apartments to stay, but I don't know which have good tennis. If you really want to try the Boca club, maybe phone them and see if they have any specials/deals. There are 3 options for rooms, the beach club (on the ocean but not as close to tennis), the main building and cottages.

There are a lot of nice resorts with tennis in Ft. Lauderdale, Miami and on the west coast in Naples.

If it hadn't been for the fiasco the last few weeks, I would have suggested looking on the Jetblue.com website since they fly to Bermuda, Cancun, Fla. etc.

You might want to check luxurylink.com and see if there are any 4-5 day tennis packages that you could buy.

CaliTraveler

Thank you all so much for the suggestions!! You guys are awesome

I'm going to do some research this weekend based on the advice you're giving me -- I'll be back w/ more questions once I've fine tuned what I'm really looking for (this is sort of a spur-of-the-moment idea my mom and I had).

BTW we like to play tennis, but it's not a prerequisite for staying somewhere -- we're more for the shopping and relaxing

jallard

Atlantis on Paradise Island is also very fun. There is a comfort suites there and you still get use of all the facilities at the resort.

Sunshinesue

Remember, late March is still spring break time in Florida so if you go there stick with locations less likely to be overrun with partying students. Personally, I would opt for Charleston.

bkluvsNola

Have you thought about New Orleans? New Orleans is absolutely beautiful in late March - the weather should be fantastic.

Postal

I know you said you didn't have to base your location on tennis, but I think you'd love the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort (or is it Tennis & Beach Resort?) on Longboat Key, FL, just west of Sarasota.

JerseySue

I vote for Bermuda - I'd feel safe there with my daughter and she's your age !

rubysun

I think it's a great idea planning your vacation like this, mim79! I'm not sure how the insects in Florida are in March, but Colorado's my fav for getting away from them.
Destinations West http://mtnlodging.com/
has a lot of great information on more than just skiing! Grand Lake is nice and close to the hot sulfur springs and Rocky Mountain National Park as well!

GL,

-rs

caloricoverload

ruby, I thought I'd add the URL to the website for the Grand County Tourism Board for having such an informative site as well. I reckon they've got it right: "try something new. experience Grand County"

http://www.grand-county.com/

mel