Discount Hotels In Carolina Beach|"Playland Motel In Rockaway Beach"

Source             :   travel.nytimes.com
Category         :  Discount Hotels In Carolina Beach
By                   :   CHERYL LU-LIEN TAN
Posted By       :   Hotels Carolina Beach NC

Discount Hotels In Carolina Beach

Playland Motel is emblematic of the changing face of Rockaway Beach after Hurricane Sandy. As the community has rebuilt itself, new establishments have popped up, including this hotel that is more hipster Brooklyn than old-school beach. Named for the Playland amusement park that was once the neighborhood landmark, this brainchild of four entrepreneurs who run nightclubs and restaurants in Williamsburg opened in July in a two-story 19th-century building refurbished with reclaimed barn wood. Behind the building, a pebbled “beach” has colorful deck chairs, and a stage for concerts. Like many impossibly cool establishments, its entrance was difficult to find. My husband and I walked past the building several times before the nice lady at the Chinese takeout next door guided us down an alley toward a set of stairs leading to a room where a fittingly stylish (and blasé) receptionist wedged amid cleaning supplies checked us in.A block from the Atlantic, the hotel is an easy trip by subway, ferry or car from Manhattan. (The train ride takes about an hour.) It’s surrounded by bodegas and surfer haunts like Rockaway Taco.Each of the 12 rooms was designed by a Brooklyn artist. Our corner room was airy and pleasing to the eye. The hotel’s quixotic Web site explained that this room’s décor “investigates the problem of simplicity, celebrating the human error.” Though we weren’t quite sure what this meant, we did appreciate the pale wood detailing on the white walls punctuated with little cactus pots. The queen bed came with a trundle bed. The lack of a closet was bothersome, as were details like the thin, exposed foam “cushion” on the sole chair. The noisy air-conditioner would have bothered us had it not been drowned out by pounding music from the hotel’s restaurant below that lasted past 4 a.m.

The Web site neglected to mention the communal bathrooms: four toilets at one end of the floor, four showers at the other. (And there were no bathrobes.) The stalls were largely clean and equipped with scented lotions and soaps from Goldies, a local company. The shower was a problem: mine, though just cleaned, had stains on the floor. And besides two towel hooks, there was no logical surface on which to place clothing. When I placed mine atop the trash can, the lid caved in.At check-in, we were informed that the hotel’s restaurant, the Playland Diner, served breakfast from 9 a.m. on weekends. So we were surprised to find the metal grates still down just before 10 a.m. The manager casually said she’d decided to change the start time that day, shrugging when we asked for an exact time. “Eleven?” she volunteered. The diner opened at 11:30. The brunch menu had eggs, pancakes, sliders and more for $7 to $12. Our fried chicken and waffles were delicious, but the haphazard service resurfaced. As we waited for our check, a waitress shuffled across the largely empty room to ask, “Has anyone taken your order yet?”

Source:travel.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/travel/hotel-review-playland-motel-in-rockaway-beach-ny.html?_r=0#p[AcwAww],h[PMiMha,1,2,6,EotTna,6]

Discount Hotels in Carolina beach|"Hotel Developer Submits Drawings To Carolina Beach Planning Department"

Source: http://islandgazette.net
Category: Discount Hotels in Carolina beach
By: WILLARD KILLOUGH III
Posted By: Hotels Carolina Beach NC

carolina beach

 Developers submitted updated architectural drawings to the Town of Carolina Beach last week for a proposed Hampton Inn and Suites on the northern end of the downtown Boardwalk on the oceanfront at the intersection of Harper Avenue and Carolina Beach Avenue North.Last month Blanchard & Calhoun Commercial, a real estate development and commercial brokerage firm in Augusta, Georgia, sent a letter to the Town saying they are ready to move forward and outlined aspects of the project including a proposal to lease town parking spaces and make other improvements in the area.

John Lee of Blanchard & Calhoun Commercial wrote to Assistant Town Manager Ed Parvin on June 4th that Vic Mills - Chief Executive Officer - had a productive conversation with Mayor Bob Lewis on Friday, May 24th. Lee explained, "Following up on that conversation, we have continued to have our architect and civil engineers work on our final site and building plans, which incorporates the general understanding of both parties. Hopefully, this understanding will be confirmed at the upcoming City Council meeting."
Lee explained, "The site is very similar to the previous version, but more efficient and simplified. Circulation is greatly improved. We have “squared” up the site on the beach front to include the piece the city will deed to us." He explained, "Parking – we have 69 hotel parking spaces under the hotel on the ground and 48 spaces on the city lot across the street.

This lot will be dedicated parking for the hotel guest and will have gates with key card access."
Lee said they reduced the number of stories from 10 to 8 and guest room count from 106 to 100. He explained, " We were also able to enlarge the deck area and “squared-off” the pool. We think this will be a great wedding destination."Lee said a previous issue with First Bank regarding a lien on the portion of Carolina Beach Avenue North that was closed for the previous developer has been resolved. The Town agreed to close a portion of that road to accommodate the project which owned land on either side of the road.  
Lee inquired about the process to begin site plan and permitting approval and expressed a desire to hold a ground breaking ceremony soon.Parvin explained June 4th the developer must submit an application and fee for a Conditional Use Permit, provide a traffic impact analysis, and an economic impact study. Parvin said the process for deeding any property to the developer depends on the type of ownership. Also, a parking agreement will have to be approved by the Council to lease spaces in the Town's public parking lot and the Town will require a road closure agreement. Also, they must submit plans for other improvements to the surrounding boardwalk right-of-ways.

Parvin explained, "Please note that once your application has been submitted to staff our Town Council can no longer communicate with anyone (i.e. you, staff, community members) as the quasi judicial process will have started."In 2007 a previous development company proposed a Hilton Garden Inn on the same property. That project called for 191 rooms in an 11-story building with a 5,632 square foot conference facility and a 200 seat Sundeck Pavilion restaurant. Last year the new developer indicated to the Planning Department the number of rooms would decrease from 191 to between 90 and 130 rooms and 11 floors or less.Mayor Bob Lewis explained last month he estimates the hotel will bring $30,000 a year in property taxes, over $100,000 in room occupancy tax revenues to fund beach nourishment projects and tourism promotion and create additional jobs. Also, he estimates an additional $70,000 a year in water and sewer revenues. He explained, "This type of development was part of the reason the town built the new sewer lift station in the Central Business District last year."

He explained the project could generate 40 full time job opportunities for residents and, "Support additional hiring opportunities and additional increases in revenue for our business community."
Lewis explained, "The Hotel is proposing to lease a small group of parking spaces annually from the town to fulfill their franchise requirements. The developer is also looking to participate in the revitalization of the old wooden boardwalk along its ocean frontage."Lewis explained, "These new revenue sources can provide our town with the ability to pay for or offset the cost of town services without the need for property tax increases."He explained, "Since this project will be coming to council for a Conditional Use Permit all of council will have to evaluate the plan and the developers proposed conditions prior to this project moving forward.  Council can also require certain conditions in order to approve the CUP application and as in every process you the public will get your chance to voice your opinions. Council in our deliberation will work hard to create a win-win opportunity for our residents and business owners." Lewis said, "Our choices as a town council is to work for the betterment of the community by investing time to work through the challenges and develop a positive solution for our community or as some residents not allow any development.  I understand that there are a few town residents who do not want any more economic development in Carolina Beach and really like the look of the empty lots and buildings in our business district."He explained, "I for one am tired of driving by the numerous empty lots in the Central Business District every day. I take pride in my community and I love Carolina Beach and it is tough for me to see all the improvements we have made to the town and specifically the Central Business District and look at empty lots and empty buildings. Based on my 40 years of corporate management experience I see the new oceanfront hotel as a cornerstone for future economic growth for our town."

Discount Hotels In Carolina Beach | "A landscape like no other"

Source     :  http://www.thestar.com
Category   : Affordable Hotels In Carolina Beach
By             : Courtyard Hotel
Posted By  : Hotels Carolina Beach NC


As a result, Bell spent the last half of his life at the estate he built on the shores of the Bras d’Or Lakes.
The livable beauty and draw of Nova Scotia is two-fold. The people-friendly scale of the province and its diversity. Most places in the world have one type of geography or geology, while this speck on the map of North America has some of the greatest diversity on the continent.

Discount Hotels In Carolina Beach

Many places are the same for hours and hours and hundreds and thousands of kilometers. Whereas Nova Scotia changes within a 30-to-60 minutes’ drive. A tri-lingual province (French, English and Gaelic) Nova Scotia is a compact mixture of ocean, farmland, highlands, wetlands and marsh.

Three hundred million years ago it was tropical jungle, swamp, desert, sea floor, home to volcanoes and passed over by a glacier. The result is a wealth of fossils, minerals and land formations.
The entry point to the province from the New Brunswick border to Truro contains some of the world’s richest fossil collections like those at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Joggins. In Parrsboro, the Fundy Geological Museum has a collection of North America’s oldest and smallest dinosaurs.

A short drive away on the Northumberland shore is Pugwash, which contains its own surprise. This village of 784 people is home to the Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs, which won the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize. It’s one of the many small-town surprises found in the province.
In the region from Pictou to Cape Breton, the landscape is so reminiscent of Scotland that Scottish settlers gave it the name Nova (New) Scotia (Scotland).

The Annapolis Valley, which has traditionally been one of Canada’s three main fruit growing areas, along with Niagara and the Okanagan Valley in B.C., has evolved into one of the continent’s new wine regions with a dozen wineries surrounding Wolfville. A 20-minute drive away is a working fishing port, Hall’s Harbour, where visitors can dine on seafood landed mere metres from the restaurant.
Wherever you are, whatever your interest the province’s overriding feature is the water. Nowhere in Nova Scotia are you more than 56 kilometres from the sea, whether it’s the Atlantic Ocean, the Bay of Fundy, Minas Basin, Northumberland Strait or Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The sea has influenced all development, life and recreation here. Communities were built along the coast because boats were the main method of transportation. The French built a great fortress at Louisbourg to give them access to the rich fishing grounds and defend their colony at Quebec from the British Colonies. The British, fearing the might of Louisbourg, engaged in a type of early arms build up and founded Halifax to defend its colonies against the French.

Communities such as Lunenburg and Yarmouth saw great fortunes made from the sea (fishing, shipping, privateering and a little rum running) and as such have the greatest collection of historic heritage buildings. The former capital, Annapolis Royal, is another cluster of ornate, ancient architecture, as well as possessing some of Canada’s bloodiest history.

That should help silence back-seat pouting voices from announcing, “I’m bored.”
Today the sea still feeds the province’s economic engine. But it’s also harnessed for fun. In addition to angling in legendary salmon rivers, like the Margaree, there is deep sea fishing, surfing, whale watching, sea kayaking, swimming (the Northumberland Strait has the warmest waters north of the Carolinas), tubing and tidal bore rafting, as well as walking—and running – on the ocean floor when the Bay of Fundy tides are at their lowest.

Discount Hotels In Carolina Beach | "Paralympics 2012 dates and data"

Source         : http://blog.nh-hotels.com
Category      : Discount Hotels In Carolina Beach
By                :Beach Hotel
Posted By  : Hotels Carolina Beach NC


“The practice of sport is a human right”
“Any form of discrimination [...] is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement”
“To enable Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and inspire and excite the world”

Discount Hotels In Carolina Beach

These quotes show clearly that International Paralympic Committee and movement were born with the spirit of highlighting athlete’s achievements and not their disabilities.
Paralympics history started when a Jewish doctor flied from Hitler to the English shores in 1939. The prominent neurologist Dr. Gutmman obtained from the UK government a grant to continue his research in spinal injury, concluding that sports were the best way to recover patients’ strengh and self-esteem.
At the hospital of Stoke Mandeville he began a competition among British soldiers with injured spine cords from the WWII the day the year 1948 was opening a stronger Olympic London to an after-war world. Four years later, IWE -International Wheelchair Games- obtained the I with the participation of Dutch veterans and the recognition from the International Olympic Committee.
Rome 60 open the Paralympic Games to everybody -not just for veterans of war- but still only for those in wheelchairs. From Toronto 76 on, every disability became admissible booming the number of games and contestants.
One of the greatest milestones was Seoul 88, when the South-Koreans decided to host the Paralympics right after the Olympics and in the same venues, granting a spirit of equality and awareness that lead the International Paralympic Committee to formalize it in 2001.

Queen Street, Glasgow, July 2012. Olympic and Paralympic logo
Starting this 29th of August and celebrating human ability till September 9th Paralympic Games 2012 London will amaze the world even more than Olympics did. This Wednesday 29th at 20:30 pm GTM, like every Olympiad, the best sports people from all over the world gather to tell human body to run its fastest, jump its highest and resist its longest, reaching heights that seem to have no ceiling at all.
Everyday, millions of disabled people remind their bodies to forget what their missing and improve the performance of what they have, succeeding in life and inspiring everybody to dream higher and do better.
Paralympics 2012 will see 1,100 athletes trying to beat both Herculean goals at the same time. Not only do they push their body’s limits harder than anyone but they understand there are no limits at all: several disabled athletes have competed and coped in the Olympics.
Sports are divided according to the category of the athletes’ disabilities -ranging from amputee to cerebral palsy- since not every sport is suitable for any kind . Once categorized, the level of impairment groups the final teams and contestants.
The level of media coverage and audience interested in Paralympics has been rising since the massive broadcast and webcast from Sydney 2000. Paralympic swimming and wheelchair basketball are the most wanted ones -Thursday 30th are yours- but why not find about boccia or 5-a-side football in Paralympics 2012?