Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha, 9, are due to start a four-day private visit in Spain Wednesday (sister Malia is at camp and dad is staying home). The word in Spain is that they're staying with friends at the posh Hotel Villa Padierna, which is a Ritz-Carlton property on the outskirts of the flashy beach resort of Marbella. Ritz policy is not to identify guests, so no confirmation (or denial) from Ritz headquarters.
Marbella has been built up quite a bit, though it is more elegant than other downright tacky resort areas on the Costa del Sol (think wall-to-wall concrete condos). Another nice play to stay in Marbella that has hosted VIPs and royalty is the beachfront Marbella Club Hotel, where I have vacationed and which exemplifies understated elegance.
From Marbella it's easy to tour Spain's scenic hilltop "white villages" (pretty white stucco houses). Marbella visitors party in a vast and rowdy restaurant/bar complex called Puerto Banus, which doesn't get hopping till midnight and is where the international yachting set gets three sheets to the wind. Doubtful that the First Lady and daughter will linger late there.
Next up for the First Family is an Aug. 14-15 stay on Florida's Gulf Coast. The president has drawn criticism from some quarters for vacationing elsewhere while this popular tourist region suffers from the oil spill. His stay in a so-far-unannounced Gulf locale or locales is welcomed by the U.S. Travel Association.
Roger Dow, Travel Association president and CEO, issued the following statement: "On behalf of the 400,000 workers in the travel and tourism industry along the Gulf Coast, I applaud and thank President Obama for recognizing the important signal this announcement sends to those considering a vacation in the Gulf region this summer. Actions like this will send a clear message that large areas of the Gulf shoreline remain clean and open for business."
Then the Obamas are due to return to the chic Northeast vacation spot they loved last year: Martha's Vineyard. They're scheduled to be on the tony island Aug. 19-29, and smart money says they ll likely rent the same house they did last year, since it has every amenity and more importantly, is in a protected location that can be secured more easily than most MV digs.
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