Jun
6

A Green Approach to Vacation

Living Green
The Sun News by Jennifer Sellers
For Weekly Surge

It’s that time of year to start thinking about summer vacation. While your mind may be on vacation, that doesn’t mean your green behavior should be packed away until you return. Why not take a green approach to travel?

Hotels

Most hotels, especially the large chains, offer a so-called “eco” service. This simple service includes some easy green choices, such as hanging up your wet towels if you don’t want them changed out, which essentially saves water, energy, etc. Some hotels even have a “No, Thank You” door hanger for maid service, which saves the maids some time in their schedule, green for efficiency reasons.

The hospitality industry has been going green for the sake of guests, including the green certification of hotels through associations. For example, the South Carolina Green Hospitality Alliance (www.GreenHospitalityAlliance.com) has certified several in the Myrtle Beach area including the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort, the Embassy Suites at Kingston Plantation, and the Wyndham Ocean Boulevard Resort. To become a certified green property, the business must fill out an application about its practices such as environmentally preferred purchasing, waste reduction and recycling, energy and water efficiency, air quality, catering and green cleaning. The certification works like a point scale, so some businesses may turn out to be very green and others may be lighter green. Overall, at least they are doing something to be greener. For more about green hotels, visit www.EnvironmentallyFriendlyHotels.com or www.greenhotels.com
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Apr
10

Enter to win a Royal Treatment Vacation for your favorite Mom

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – April 10, 2012 – Kingston Resorts, an oceanfront resort in Myrtle Beach, wants to give a lucky Mom The Royal Treatment for Mother’s Day.  Nominations are currently being accepted, and a winner will be selected before Mother’s Day. The deadline is Thursday, May 10th, 2012 at midnight.

Anyone can enter the promotion on the resort’s Facebook page (facebook.com/KingstonResorts) or on the giveaway page link from the website at kingstonplantation.com. A winner will be selected from nominations that ask why your Mom deserves the prize. The winner will receive:

  • A three-day, two-night stay for up to four in a two-bedroom oceanview condo at Kingston Plantation
  • A one-hour massage at The Royale Day Spa
  • Bath & Body Works® welcome basket upon arrival
  • Complimentary breakfast buffet each morning for up to 4 guests
  • Dinner for four at Vintage Twelve located in the Embassy Suites

Kingston Resorts includes Kingston Plantation and the adjacent Kingston Shores, which are owned by FelCor Lodging Trust, Inc.  These properties include two full-service oceanfront hotels including the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort and Embassy Suites Myrtle Beach. A variety of luxury Myrtle Beach condominiums, townhomes and vacation villas, located along the famous Grand Strand, are also available for guests to enjoy.  Guests at both properties can enjoy access to recreational facilities including a newly renovated 50,000 square-foot Sport & Health Club with indoor and outdoor pools, lit tennis courts, pro shop and state-of-the-art fitness equipment, Splash!, an oceanfront water park and lazy river and a host of seasonal activities for adults and children.  For more information, call 800-876-0010 or visit www.kingstonplantation.com.

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Apr
9

Caitlin Brady joins Kingston Plantation as Chef of Vintage Twelve

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – April 9, 2012 – Caitlin Brady has joined Kingston Plantation as the chef for its upscale restaurant, Vintage Twelve. The restaurant is the newest addition to the Embassy Suites Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort and is currently under construction and scheduled to open later this month.

Vintage Twelve is part of the major renovation to the lobby and common areas that are underway at the Myrtle Beach oceanfront resort. The 44-seat restaurant will serve dinner complemented by scenic views along the Atlantic Ocean.

Brady brings considerable talent to the restaurant. She worked closely with Executive Chef Frank Lee at the Old Village Post House in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina where she was the sous chef. She was also the sous chef under Lee at High Hammock on Pawleys Island.  Under his tutelage, Brady has refined the Southern-style cuisine typical of the finer chefs in Charleston.  Brady received an associate degree in Culinary Arts in 2008 from Horry-Georgetown Technical College.

In the new position at Vintage Twelve, Brady will be responsible for hiring, training, ordering, operations and menu development. “We are planning to capitalize on the abundance of fresh local produce and seafood,” says Brady. “It’s a great opportunity to walk into a brand new kitchen and design it from scratch. We are able to refine the open kitchen concept so that it works efficiently with the menu.”

In addition to an open and contemporary design, Vintage Twelve’s kitchen will revolve around a Wood Stone oven.  Brady states that 60 percent of the menu will be cooked using the oven that will have temperatures of 700 to 800 degrees. “The layout of the kitchen is remarkable in the amount of work space we have, and everything is brand new,” added Brady.

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Mar
5

New Strand Offerings Aim to Tempt Tourists

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – (March 5, 2012)
Greenville News by Dawn Bryant

New Strand offerings aim to tempt tourists By Dawn Bryant The Sun News Some beach tourism businesses that are starting to open for the season are showing off more than just a fresh coat of paint.

Several Myrtle Beach hotels, restaurants and attractions have invested big bucks to overhaul their properties, to be poised for a resurgence there.

Businesses typically do construction work during the quieter winter months, with most of them wrapping up as the first round of spring tourists trickles in. Some pulled out more than paint brushes this year.

“There’s a significant uptick in the reinvestment in downtown,” said Dave Sebok, executive director of Myrtle Beach’s Downtown Redevelopment Corp.

Ripley’s has spent about $500,000 upgrading its attractions along Ocean Boulevard, with about half of that going into the Moving Theater, which takes customers on a virtual ride in a seat that moves timed with the images on the screen.

Ripley’s went digital, added surround sound and a screen that is 16 feet tall and 35 feet wide and more special effects, including falling snow and smells of burnt tires and pine trees.

The theater re-opened Friday, and changes to the outside of the building — say goodbye to the T-Rex and hello to an animated dragon — should be ready in the next month.
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Mar
4

Season of Change

Myrtle Beach area attractions, hotels adding new offerings for season

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – (March 4, 2012)
The Sun News by Dawn Bryant

Some tourism businesses that are starting to open for the season are showing off more than just a fresh coat of paint this year.

Several hotels, restaurants and attractions have invested big bucks to not only spruce up, but overhaul their properties to modernize, be poised for a hoped-for rebound in the economy or to be ready for a resurgence in their area of the Grand Strand, most notably downtown Myrtle Beach. Businesses typically do construction work during the quieter winter months, with most of them wrapping up this month as the first round of spring tourists trickle in. Some pulled out more than the usual paint brushes this year.

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Feb
14

Kevin W. Luque of Kingston Resorts Named Best Seafood Chef in South Carolina

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – (February 14, 2012) – Kevin W. Luque, executive sous chef at Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort and Embassy Suites Myrtle Beach at Kingston Resorts, was named the best seafood chef in South Carolina. The competition and awards are part of an annual program by the Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Supply Show of the Southeast.

Luque competed against 19 other chefs in the seafood category to win the top prize. His winning dish was pan seared mahi mahi over corn maque choux with a spicy tomato sauce accompanied by a fennel, onion and blood orange salad. Luque won a $1,000 cash prize as well as airfare and accommodations to compete in the Great American Seafood Challenge in New Orleans in August.

In the South Carolina competition, more than 74 chefs competed in the three categories that included seafood, cold dishes and hot dishes.

“We are thrilled to have the top seafood chef in South Carolina at our resort and part of our team,” said Bob Barenberg, complex manager, Kingston Plantation.

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