Maximizing Moments is a periodic newsletter that is designed to help make your precious travel time more memorable – in many ways. Enjoy!
In This Issue:
Spring Break Packing Tips & Style Inspiration
9 Perks You Can Only Get with a Brownell Travel Advisor
5 Ways I Was Blown Away on My Windstar Caribbean Cruise
My colleagues at Brownell Travel are always coming up with time- and season-appropriate content for their blog, and this one comes just in time for those Spring getaways.
Spring break is just around the corner. But before you can set off on your trip, there is one step left: packing. When it comes down to it, figuring out what you need without trying to fit your entire wardrobe in a bag can be down right stressful. We turned to Style Coach Megan LaRussa Chenoweth for Spring Break packing tips and style inspiration.
As a Style Coach, I work with my busy clients to help them streamline their wardrobes and their lives, especially when they travel. Here are 5 of my favorite packing tips to ensure packing becomes less stressful and more successful:
Tip #1:
Pack great fitting and quality basics that can be mixed and matched with ease. All white tees and dark wash jeans are not created equal, select the best quality fabrics and cuts that your budget allows.
Tip #2:
Bring items that can be layered easily. A cashmere scarf can double as a blanket on the plane, or even a wrap out to dinner.
Tip #3:
Pack one great, versatile pair of evening heels or wedges that can take your look from day to night.
Tip #4:
While neutrals are wonderful when packing and allow for a variety of outfits, don’t forget to add in some color to the mix. When in doubt go with a shade of red, as red can act as a neutral.
Tip #5:
Never forget to pack a clutch! This is the easiest way to up-level your evening look wherever your travels may take you.
For more tips on how to pack like a pro and how to look chic once you arrive at your destination, check out this ‘Style Secrets with Megan‘ video!
Shop the look!
1. Dress | 2. Sandals | 3. Bag | 4. Hat | 5. Top | 6. Pants
For ideas about where to go on your Caribbean vacation, see 5 Ways I Was Blown Away on My Windstar Caribbean Cruise, below.
Shop the look!
1. Shorts | 2. Sunnies | 3. Bathing suit | 4. Dress | 5. Sandals
For tips on packing for your Spring Ski Trip, see my blog here: http://www.smithluxurytravel.
Shop the look!
1. Jeans | 2. Sweater | 3. Booties | 4. Leggings | 5. Pullover | 6. Hat | 7. Boots
Shop the look!
1. Jumpsuit | 2. Heels | 3. Bracelet | 4. Travel Pack | 5. Purse | 6. Jacket | 7. Shoes
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If you want to take your travel experience to the next level, the answer is simple: plan your trip with a Brownell Travel Advisor, such as Smith Luxury Travel. While booking a trip yourself seems freeing and exciting, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. There are nearly 400 MILLION results when you google “hotel in Paris.” Who has time to sift through the results, find properties within your budget, figure out which ones are in the prime location, and then check for availability? Add researching restaurants, scheduling guides, and arranging transfers, and you might as well make planning travel your full time job (PS – you can! Click here to learn more!).
So now that we’ve convinced you why you should use a travel advisor, here are a few perks that come with your wise decision. As the oldest travel agency in North America (129 years and counting!), Brownell has extensive connections and travel partners around the world. Also, Brownell is a member of Virtuoso as well as a preferred partner of multiple leading hotel brands. That means as a client, you are privy to insider access and exclusive benefits and amenities not available any other way. Here are 9 perks you can only get with a Brownell travel advisor.
1. Insider Access
No one likes lines and crowds — just spend 10 minutes in the Louvre trying to get glimpse of the Mona Lisa in the middle of the summer. A Brownell advisor can arrange for exclusive experiences that allow you to skip the lines and not waste valuable time.
Complimentary Coffee with a View in Turks & Caicos
2. Complimentary Breakfast
If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you especially don’t want skip it when you’re traveling. The combination of jet lag and hanger (hunger & anger = hanger) can be brutal and send your trip on a nose dive. When you book with Brownell, you get complimentary breakfast at more than 1000 hotels and resorts around the world. Hanger: avoided.
3. Hotel or Spa Credit
Another exclusive perk at our partner hotels is a $100 hotel or spa credit. Who would say “no thanks” to $100? That’s right…no one.
4. Upgrades
In the words of Beyonce, “Let me upgrade you.” We secure upgrades at hotels around the world, many at time of booking. You’ll get a nicer room for the same price — oh you fancy, huh? This is the type of treatment you deserve when you are a client of Smith Luxury Travel, an Independent Affiliate of Brownell Travel: "I am so happy to inform you that a great upgrade to one Prestige Suite with river view has been extended (a 4 category upgrade)."
5. Special Occasions Made More Special
Sure you can tell the receptionist it’s your honeymoon or tomorrow is your birthday at check-in. You might even get a special perk or two. But wouldn’t it be better to be get a warm welcome noting your special occasion, a room upgrade, a special amenity (hello Champagne!), and more to mark the occasion — just by showing up? Your Advisor will work closely with our personal contact to ensure that your special trip is even better than you dreamed.
Toast your birthday with complimentary Champagne and dessert in an up- up- up-graded room (Photo from a Brownell Traveler at The Peninsula Chicago.)
6. Free experiences
Many of our hotel partners offer complimentary experiences to our clients, like a martini class, museum tickets, bicycle tour, or picnic in a park. Just a little something to make a fabulous trip even better!
7. VIP Status
You won’t be “reservation #321898” when you #TravelwithBrownell. We make sure our partners know who you are and are aware of your unique preferences. You’ll feel like a VIP — just don’t blame us when your friends and family don’t roll out the red carpet when you get home.
8. Authentic Experiences
Would you rather see a destination as tourist or experience it like a local? If you prefer the former, keep reading. Our on-the-ground partners aren’t just familiar with a destination. They live, eat, and breathe it. They know the markets where the locals go and can guide you through it. They can arrange for you to visit a local home or learn a craft from an artisan.
9. Peace of Mind
We’ve all read the travel horror stories. Someone getting booked in a creepy hotel, being turned away at security because your passport expires in two months, costly trip disruptions beyond the traveler’s control, and so on. There’s no need to worry your vacation will be a newspaper headline when you book with Brownell. You advisor knows that your hotel is safe and clean. Your tour guide has been vetted and verified by our trusted partner. We encourage you to get trip insurance so you’ll be covered if anything happens. And if anything does go bump, your advisor is your advocate and is only a call away to get the issue sorted out quickly and efficiently.
Windstar Cruises
5 Ways I Was Blown Away On My Windstar Cruise
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