NOVEMBER with the girls

The Hilton Papagayo Resort Costa Rica is located in a private bay at the Gulf of Papagayo, Guanacaste. The resort is approximately 20 minutes from Liberia International Airport and 30 minutes by plane from San Jose. The resort offers a wide array of leisure activities. The resort features a secluded beach, never-ending unspoiled gardens, spectacular pools, and incredible spa treatments at the full-service spa. In addition, one can enjoy a wide variety of dining options. The main restaurant, La Cosecha, offers a wide selection of local and continental dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, buffet style. The El Dorado features creative Costa Rican cuisine in an upscale ambience, and Grill del Fuego offers a variety of delicious pasta dishes, as well as grilled specialties a la carte. The El Ritual Bar is the place to enjoy drinks and tropical cocktails. There is the Snack Bar conveniently located next to the main pool. The resort has 202 rooms and 71 bungalows with two rooms (one with a king-size bed and the other with two full-size beds). All rooms feature air-conditioning, telephones, bathtubs or showers, hairdryers, flat-screen TVs, safes, coffeemakers, and mini-fridges. In addition, each bungalow has a private terrace or balcony offering a magnificent view of the Gulf of Papagayo or the tropical gardens. br For stays from December 1 onwards, following significant investment to upgrade all the resort facilities including a new spa, food, and beverage outlets and complete room renovations, the resort will be offering the traditional options associated with a full service Hilton property.

Walk in the clouds and volunteer at a nature school in Costa Rica’s tropical rainforests.

From scarlet macaws to leatherback turtles, Costa Rica’s unique biodiversity is a world all its own.

Portland, “The City of Roses,” is the largest city in Oregon and the second largest city in the Pacific Northwest. It is one of the most beautiful urban areas in the world, with an exciting blend of historic and modern architecture. The scenery can’t be beat, with majestic views of Mount Hood and the Willamette River, stately Douglas Fir trees, roses everywhere and stunning seasonal colors. It’s also one of the greenest cities around, in terms of sustainable buildings and practices. Combine these elements with great art, waterfront festivals and a diverse population, and you have one very exciting city to visit.

Portland lies about 70 miles from the Pacific Coast on the northern border of Oregon, straddling the Willamette River just south of its confluence with the Columbia River at Vancouver, Washington. Mount Hood is about 50 miles to the east, and many recreation options are available in the surrounding wilderness.

Portland mixes big-city dynamics with small-town friendliness. Although Portland is now experiencing rapid growth, similar to Seattle, it has been able to retain its unique character. Art, culture, nature, music and beer (it’s the brewpub capital of the world, with at least 70 breweries in the surrounding city area)—all figure strongly into Portland’s eclectic and exciting personality.