Learning vacations - Travel Views - Brief Article

Travel America, May-June, 2002 by Alice Ross

Vacationers usually come home with plenty to show off--great tans, photos, souvenirs--but more and more are returning with something else: newfound knowledge. As travelers seek to combine fun and relaxation with an educational experience, resorts, hotels, and inns are responding by offering programs on countless subjects.

It's possible to improve a skill, learn a hobby, even explore a career change, such as innkeeping. At Elizabeth Pointe Lodge (904-277-4851), which sits on the Atlantic near quiet beaches on Florida's Amelia Island, David and Susan Caples offer an in-depth look into all aspects of the inn business. Three-day seminars and a B&B Bootcamp in the beautiful 1890s-style hostelry provide hands-on working experience in situations an innkeeper might encounter. If you prefer the West Coast, explore the world of innkeeping at California's Groveland Hotel (209-962-4000, ext. 301). Its Innkeeper's Inn-Stitute presents two-and-a-half day seminars, covering financial and staff management, and every other area of innkeeping.

The Captain Freeman Inn (800-843-4664) in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, holds innkeeping seminars as well as cooking school weekends. Cooking classes are popular everywhere, with food lovers heating up kitchens all across the country. The Blair House (877-549-5450), a lovely eight-room inn in Texas Hill Country, always wins rave reviews whenever chef Matthew Ship-man presides over three-day cooking classes. Each focuses on a specific topic such as seafood or spring cuisine.

A former church in Niantic, Connecticut, now houses a charming B&B, Fourteen Lincoln Street (860-739-6327), where owner-chef Cheryl Jean offers occasional weekend culinary retreats, tempting students with such delights as a Mexican weekend or Baker's weekend. At CasaLana (877-968-2665) in California's Napa Valley, owner Lana Richardson conducts Gourmet Weekend Retreats and enriching five-day Culinary Learning Vacations that often include excursions to specialty food markets or a winemaker.

Many large hotels and resorts also provide programs. The Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort has a Native American Learning Center (480-991-3388) where Hopi Indian interpreters offer the opportunity to experience the Hopi culture. Programs explore the people, food, and environment of the Sonoran Southwest through cultural presentations, activities, and demonstrations such as beadworking and flute-carving. The Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort (800-835-7377) in Orlando has a British Horse Society-approved equestrian center that offers a range of training options for riders at all levels.

The Phoenician (800-888-8234) in Scottsdale offers tennis and golf programs, including one designed exclusively for women. Added to the golf instruction and course play with golf pros is a personalized program with the resort's fitness experts and a choice of spa treatments. Golfers at every skill level rave about Florida's exquisite Amelia Island Plantation (800-874-6878). Personal instruction at its golf school focuses on a participant's long-term development and improvement.

Marriott's Grande Vista Resort in Orlando, Seaview Resort in New Jersey, and Shadow Ridge in Palm Desert, California, all offer the perfect getaway for golf enthusiasts (888-GO-FALDO). Each has a Faldo Golf Institute designed to help golf students of every age and ability, providing top instruction in beautiful settings.

Those looking for a new hobby or hoping to enhance an existing one have an abundance of choices. At Horse Plains Photo Adventures and Bed and Breakfast (406-826-3221) in Plains, Montana, owner Orvall Keuster takes guests on tours to photograph wildlife and nature. His wife, Brenda, a professional landscaper, offers gardening sessions. Nimble fingers produce works of beauty at quilting weekends at Heart of The Village Inn (877-808-1834) in Shelburne, Vermont. During the small workshops at the casually elegant New England inn, Vermont quilt artists offer expert instruction.

Artists can improve their skills at the Greeneville Arms 1889 Inn (888-665-0044) in Greeneville, New York. The inn--the former home of William Vanderbilt--presents workshops in painting and drawing with both indoor and outdoor classes in the beautiful Catskill Mountains and Hudson River setting.

Whatever your interest, wherever your destination, long after the tans and photos have faded the satisfaction of a learning vacation will remain.