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The St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point, California is once again the recipient of a major industry award, as it was recently named to the 2010 Condé Nast Traveler Gold List as one of the world's best and most desirable places to stay. Located along the Pacific Ocean, this Tuscan-style resort is the epitome of service, elegance, and luxury. It boasts everything you need to have a completely restorative experience, including a private beach club, three swimming pools, the Monarch Beach Golf Links, and the Sandcastle Kids Club for younger visitors. Alfresco dining takes on new meaning at the resort's six ocean-view restaurants. Enjoy some light American fare and a fruity beverage by the pool at the Pool Bar & Grill, or dress up in something stylish and visit the renowned Stonehill Tavern, where chef Michael Mina creates a one-of-a-kind dining experience with inventive small-plate trios that feature three different preparations of the same ingredients. There are few places more pleasant than the restaurant's outdoor terrace, where dinner and cocktails come with unparalleled views of the sun setting over the ocean. Visit the hotel's exclusive offers page and see this award-winning destination for yourself.

Calling all fans of Aloft Hotels! We want you and your band to enter "Project Aloft Star," the first ever musical discovery contest from a hotel brand, for a chance to rock out at the next Live in the Vineyard concert in November, a 3-day music and wine festival held in Napa Valley, CA. The winner will play alongside LITV alumni artists such as Jason Mraz, VV Brown, Colbie Caillat, and Lilly Allen, in addition to embarking on an Aloft music tour, in various cities around the country.

Just go to our Facebook page and upload a video of your acoustic performance on the "Rock Out and Win" tab. Aloft Facebook fans, LITV artists and Aloft guests will all vote to determine who will win "Project Aloft Star," and it could be you! The contest goes hand-in-hand with Aloft's music programming, which always showcases the newest up-and-coming artists. So what are you waiting for? Get with your band, play us some music, and you could be the next Aloft Star!

If you're not a musician, but love live music, help make music history by checking out and voting on your favorite video submissions. Enter, view & vote at facebook.com/alofthotels, RockOut&Win.

Westin has long been committed to promoting wellness on the road with innovative environments and amenities that help travelers feel their best. Now it's easier than ever to take home some of Westin's wellness-focused products with the opening of the Westin Wellness Store on Amazon.com. It's the first hotel-branded storefront on Amazon.com, and it boasts a carefully-curated collection of wellness focused products, including merchandise from like-minded brands such as Gaiam, Kate's Paperie, Tea Forté and Riedel. The digital storefront also has some of Westin's most beloved products, like the iconic Westin Heavenly Bed (pictured), Heavenly Bath collection, and white tea scented candles and diffusers. To celebrate this historic launch, Westin is offering a $100 Amazon gift card to guests who register and stay twice at a Westin hotel in the U.S. or Canada by May 13, 2010. SPG members need simply to register by April 30, 2010, and stay by May 13, 2010, arriving Sunday to Thursday, to qualify for this offer. For more information or to register, visit here and take that unique Westin experience home with you.

From Twitter to Facebook and apps to blogs, it's now easier than ever to stay in touch with Starwood Preferred Guest®. Now with the launch of spg.com/stayconnected, SPG® members have a one-stop shop for an exciting batch of social networking channels that allow you to stay as connected as you want, on your terms.

While you may already be familiar with our app for the iPhone® or accessing our site from your mobile device, now you can follow SPG on Twitter. Follow @spginsider and be the first to hear about program updates, concert ticket giveaways and more, or take it one step further by tweeting your own travel tips. SPG Insider is a brand new "Travel Tips Mash-Up" that combines the functionality of Twitter with Google Maps. As you tweet about that great steak you just had, that fabulous little boutique you just discovered, or that perfect café where you just sipped a latte, SPG Insider will track your longitude and latitude coordinates and upload your tip to a global attraction map. Just remember to start your tweet with "#SPG" and the relevant category code listed on the site, so travelers all over the world can find those hidden gems near their destination with a simple search. And since you're probably taking a lot of photos during your travels, here's a new way to share them. First, become a fan of Starwood Preferred Guest on Facebook, then, log-in and check out the SPG TripShare app. You can add your own photos or browse the galleries to get ideas for your next vacation. And let's not forget about the frequent traveler community on FlyerTalk. Join in on the conversation and delve into SPG topics like where the best upgrades are or whether you should book the Sheraton Waikiki or The Royal Hawaiian. Last but not least, our team over here at theLobby.com continues to post a wealth of travel articles about one-of-a-kind attractions, culinary delights and fabulous cultural events in destinations all over the world. So go to spg.com/stayconnected right now, and take your pick of all the wonderful ways you can stay connected with SPG. The best thing about it is that you can connect they way you prefer. When you want, where you want. Always on your terms.

Seattle is an environmentally conscious city, and nowhere is this more true than at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel, which was recently honored with the 2009 Good Earthkeeping Stars of the Industry Award by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA). The award recognizes the hotel's 16-year commitment to sustainability and conservation, highlighting everything from its adoption of a recycling program in 1993 to its comprehensive 2008 Green Strategy, which focused on infrastructure enhancements, associate awareness, and guest involvement. To celebrate the award, the Sheraton Seattle is offering guests a special perk for helping keep Seattle green. With You Tidy, We Treat, if you choose to decline housekeeping service for the following day, you'll receive a $5 gift card that you may use in any restaurant, lounge, or room service purchase in the hotel. Start your day out with a coffee at the In Short Order cafe, grab lunch at the Daily Grill restaurant, or toast the day's end with a microbrew in the Daily Grill lounge. Or, if you prefer, you may exchange unused gift cards at the front desk for 500 Starwood Preferred Guest Bonus Points. Either way, it makes visiting Seattle that much more pleasurable. Click here for more information or to make a reservation.

In 1999, Westin introduced the Westin Heavenly Bed, an extraordinary sleep experience with a perfect pillow-top mattress and 10 layers of pure comfort on top. This renewed focus on blissful sleep resonated with travelers, and in the ten years since its introduction more than 75 million people have enjoyed the comfort and luxury of the Westin Heavenly Bed at Westin hotels and resorts around the world. To celebrate the milestone, Westin At Home is offering 25% off everything in the store, so it's a great time to bring some Heavenly into your own home. With dozens of items for the bed, bath, and spa, you're bound to find just the thing to make life a little more luxurious. From a custom-designed dual shower head, a Heavenly Bath Robe or a white tea oil diffuser, Westin at Home can deliver the pampering you've come to appreciate at Westin properties when you're no longer on the road. Even the famous bed itself is on sale, so you can indulge in the sleep experience that changed everything, with two feather and down pillows, two hypoallergenic pillows, an overstuffed duvet cover, a down blanket, and much more. A good night's sleep can make everything better, so visit Westin At Home today for a Heavenly experience.

Last fall, Starwood Preferred Guest unveiled SPG Flights, a fantastic online service that allows you to easily redeem those hard-earned Starpoints for a flight to the destination of your choice, with a few clicks of a mouse. With hundreds of airlines to choose from and no blackout dates, SPG Flights makes booking a trip as simple as search, redeem, fly. Sounds pretty seamless, right? Well, since SPG Flights launched last September, Starwood Preferred Guest has been working to make an already great service even better with more choices. Now you can search for one-way or multi-city flights in addition to round trips, choose your preferred time for departures and arrivals and search your favorite airlines for a particular flight. Plus, SPG has added six additional languages (French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, and Italian), as well as the option to purchase flight insurance. And remember, SPG Flights is the only hotel loyalty program that allows members to redeem award points for air travel without blackout dates or restrictions. So if you've been saving up those Starpoints for a trip to Buenos Aires or Paris, now's the time to book! Anyone up for a late-summer getaway? The world is calling loud and clear.

Be a rock star with your favorite Jonas Brothers fan when you score VIP tickets to the band's sold-out tour. Starwood Preferred Guest has been named "Proud Sponsor" of the Jonas Brothers 2009 summer concert tour. To celebrate, Starwood Preferred Guest® (SPG) is rewarding members with an opportunity to bid Starpoints through SPG Moments on VIP packages including premium tickets to see the band perform live and attend select pre-show sound check parties in U.S. markets on the Jonas Brothers World Tour 2009. This is the first of several premium live music experiences SPG is making available to members as a result of the announced alliance. Bid now!

Jaime Gottlieb is Manager of Online Communications for the Luxury Brands Group and the lobby.com's expert on all things W.

Who wants to rock out with Gavin DeGraw? As the next set to hit the W Wonderlust Live stage, critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw (you know him from his hit track I Don't Want to Be) will perform at W Atlanta - Midtown on May 6, 8pm. DeGraw, who will be the fifth superstar to rock with Wonderlust Live, reached platinum with his first studio album, Chariot with award nominations, numerous hit singles, and the theme song of hit TV show, One Tree Hill. Gavin returns to the stage with his newest album, FREE - a raw, organic collection of songs that showcases Gavin's earthy charm and ever-evolving songwriting talent.

Where can you get tickets? The performance is closed to the public but two special W Wonderlust Live Packages, which must be booked with a MasterCard card, are available for both local music fans and out-of-towners looking for the ultimate concert experience. The limited-edition All Access Package starts at $399 and includes two VIP tickets to the performance, a meet-and-greet with Gavin DeGraw, an exclusive W Hotels/Sony Music All Access VIP Gift Bag, two cool cocktails, a 3PM late checkout, and a Fantastic Suite. The Insider Package includes two tickets to the performance, two cool cocktails, a 3PM late checkout, and a Spectacular Room, for only $249. To book either package, visit here.