A Feast of Saint Valentine with the Perfect Getaway at The Daniel and Coast Bar + Bistro

They say Valentine’s Day is for lovers. At The Daniel we agree, but we also say Valentine’s Day is for anyone staying at our hotel or visiting Coast Bar + Bistro on Feb. 13 or Feb. 14. We have a number of specials lined up to make that day or overnight with your spouse, partner or significant other one to remember.

If you are looking to make a night of it for Valentine’s Day, you can’t go wrong with The Daniel’s Ultimate Valentine’s Day Package.

Whoever your Valentine is, he or a she, they will be thrilled to experience this romantic evening on our property, which includes a fireside dinner, champagne and a room for the night.

Pick the room of your choice for a one-night, double occupancy stay. Arrive to find a bottle of chilled champagne in your room to kick-start your Valentine’s Day festivities. The Valentine floral arrangement should also help to set the mood.

Emerge from your love nest to feast in style at Coast Bar+ Bistro for our special Prix Fixe Valentine’s Day Menu. While the food will certainly fuel your romance, our chef will also prepare you a Valentine’s special amenity from the kitchen — our own little aphrodisiac concoction to add to your room.

And don’t forget, The Daniel’s other amenities are also on offer during your stay as well, including Continental Breakfast, our 24-hour fitness center, 24-hour business center, and the one not to be missed is the reservation-only hot tub and sauna. Ever popular, it is sure to be a big hit on the most romantic of days.

With rates ranging from $313-$343 for the Ultimate Valentine’s Day Package, available on Feb. 13 or Feb. 14, you can’t go wrong and that special someone in your life will run out of ways to thank you!

If you wish to forgo the overnight package, our Prix Fixe Valentine’s Day Menu and a dinner at Coast Bar + Bistro on its own is a great way to set up a cozy night for two.

Need further incentive? Just check out this mouthwatering lineup of culinary treats:

Course One

Mixed green salad with goat cheese, toasted almonds and raspberry champagne vinaigrette or Fire and Ice Oysters (one oyster raw with Tabasco mignonette, one fried oyster with chive sour cream) or Roasted tomato fennel bisque.

Course Two

Pan seared duck breast with fig demi glace, mushroom risotto and grilled asparagus or Petit filet mignon with pan seared potato cake and broccolini or Bloody Mary Cioppino (Spicy Bloody Mary broth with mussels, littleneck clams, shrimp and scallops served with crostini).

Course Three

Red velvet cake or Bailey’s chocolate mousse or Chocolate truffle sampler of hazelnut, sea salt and caramel, and blueberry.

At just $42, Coast Bar + Bistro’s prix fixe menu makes it possible for you to celebrate Valentine’s Day in style without breaking the bank. Your significant other will no doubt swoon.

So no matter if you plan to turn your Valentine’s Day celebration into an overnight stay out or are just looking for that perfect romantic dinner evening, The Daniel and Coast Bar + Bistro have just the option for you. St. Valentine would approve!

Clean the World: One Hotel at a Time

At The Daniel, we care first and foremost about our guests and providing a curated hospitality experience that is second to none. However, we are also dedicated to sustainability and the world we live in. We do not toss around words like green, eco-friendly and sustainability lightly, nor do we half-heartedly attempt to make a difference in the world today — case in point, our partnership with Clean the World. 

Clean the World is a nonprofit organization that is committed to reducing the waste created by discarded soap and shampoo products, as well as helping to prevent the millions of deaths caused by hygiene-related illnesses around the world.

The organization does this by collecting, recycling and distributing discarded soaps, shampoos, conditioners, lotions and gels from hotels. The guest room hygiene items are recycled by Clean the World’s recycling operations centers in Orlando, Las Vegas and Toronto, and distributed, for humanitarian purposes, to children and families in communities around the globe.

Clean the World partners with some of the world’s largest nonprofit organizations and NGO’s, including World Vision, World Food Program and Harvest Time International, as well as numerous U.S. partners to help distribute soap and shampoo.

As simple as it might sound, soap saves lives and The Daniel is proud to be part of Clean the World’s Bed and Breakfast Partners and help the organization save lives around the globe.

Medical research has shown that hand washing with soap significantly reduces the impact of two fatal diseases: acute respiratory infection and diarrheal disease. These are the top two killers of children less than 5-years-old. By distributing recycled soap to those who need it the most Clean the World’s efforts can have a massive impact in the global hygiene revolution.

We also love that Clean the World has a tremendous track record of success.

Started in 2009, Clean the World has collected and distributed more than 18 million bars of soap to more than 65 countries worldwide including Zimbabwe, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Swaziland, Mali, Mongolia, Uganda, Honduras and Romania. The organization has operations in 50 states across the United States and 10 provinces in Canada. Its main recycling operations center in Orlando has the capacity to produce over 80,000 bars a day.

Clean the World’s recycled soap has been tested by TriTech Laboratories, a Florida state-certified testing facility, and given a 100 percent clean bill of health. TriTech infects soap to run through the standard Clean the World recycling process and checks to see what happens. The tests have found that all pathogens are successfully removed by the organization’s recycling process.

Clean the World has also become a natural disaster first responder — in January 2010, as part of our Haiti Earthquake relief efforts, it collected and distributed over 150 tons of hygiene products, medical supplies, water and other essentials to Haiti.

The green and eco-friendly benefits of working with Clean the World are also substantial. Since it was founded, the organization has eliminated more than 1.4 million pounds of hotel waste from polluting local landfills.

At The Daniel, partnering with Clean the World will help produce an estimated 250 pounds of recycle bars of soap annually, which equates to about 1,400 recycled soap bars distributed to children and families in need. The efforts will produce an estimated 200 pounds of recycled bottled amenities, which equals about 1,400 recycle bottled amenities distributed to children and families and need.

Annually, about 275 people are provided with soap from materials that are recycled from The Daniel.

Clean the World estimates that since the organization began its efforts more than 17 million children have died of diseases preventable with proper hygiene. With 18 million bars of soap distributed over that same time, it is clear that the organization’s mission to wipeout hygiene-related fatalities is an achievable goal — as a doubling of its efforts over the same time period moving forward could do it.

While The Daniel is just one of Clean the World’s 1,600 hospitality partners through North America — including giants such as The Walt Disney World Resorts, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, IHG, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Best Western International, Joie de Vivre Hotels, Hilton and Hyatt — we are glad to play our part in the massive impact this effort is having.

We also want our guests to know that when they visit The Daniel they are also part of this effort to impact the health and well-being of so many around the globe. We know many of our guest do their part at home to contribute to the sustainability of our planet and improve the health of all in it, but when they stay with us they are continuing to do their part even when they are on the road!

The Guest Pantry offers the Comfort and Convenience of Home Anytime Day or Night

At The Daniel, we recognize that our guests are often on the go and can’t spend every night enjoying the wonderful food and great times at the Coast Bar + Bistro; we knew there was a great need for some late night options to soothe the hunger craving or thirst for a drink.

Our Guest Pantry is open 24-hours and has all the road-weary traveler might need before settling in to a comfortable night’s sleep — from hot pockets to microwave macaroni and cheese to traditional snacks (including gluten free options). In an effort to provide our guests with a more local experience, we also have local Maine items, including chocolate, maple syrup, jellies and jams.

The Guest Pantry has already been a big hit with our guests who welcome some comfort available in the hotel after the Coast Bar + Bistro closes at 10 p.m..

Adding the Guest Pantry was a move we saw as an additional way to cater to our guests’ wants and needs. We found room in the lobby to craft this addition to make The Daniel a place that can cover all of its guests’ needs no matter what time of the day or night.

Industry wide, select service and extended stay brands have been some of the first to adopt hotel pantries.

For example, Marriott has developed its pantry concept and dubbed it “The Market.” Hilton has crafted two versions it uses in some of its properties, the “Suite Shop” and the “Pantry Pavilion.”

Those hotel giants say that their pantry concepts have scored big with guests who cite the quality and convenience of items.

Near The Daniel, in the Brunswick region, only the Fairfield Inn & Suites Brunswick Freeport has some kind of hotel pantry option. In this case, Marriott’s “The Market” concept. Aside from that, few of Brunswick’s dozen or so other hotels have any similar offerings.

For the hotels that have them, the pantry has become a way to embrace a movement away from outdated concepts of limited room service and also fit the mold of evolving hotel lobbies. Leaving behind the standard concept of a check-in desk with table, flowers and uncomfortable chairs, many of today’s hotel lobbies have turned into fully functioning, business friendly social spots — the lobby at The Daniel certainly has.

In this environment, the decrepit and dusty lobby gift shop — with candy bars, dusty snow globes and cheap souvenir items — has no place.

However, a clean and modern hotel pantry giving guests the appreciated and valued convenience of a late night meal, headache relief or a favorite snack is a perfect fit.

So come on by and visit our Guest Pantry — any time of day or night you are guaranteed to find just what you need!

Taking the Clock Radio to a Whole New Level with the Sangean WR-22

Just about every day you can check out a story or blog post on the newest in hotel technology trends. Many of these — property management systems, hotel management software, booking engines and the like — have significant back-end impact on guests. At The Daniel, we are as tech savvy as any and use technology to make our hotel better and run more efficiently. But we also love to use new technology that is just flat out cool and can add to look and feel of the guest experience and make any stay even better.

One such cool technology is the Sangean WR-22WL Bluetooth/USB Table-Top Digital Tuning Receiver that we have in our guest rooms.

This is not your father’s clock radio!

The latest evolution of a product that changed the perception of home audio, the Sangean WR-22 has been praised for its detailed sound and for exceptional quality for a system of its size, just a mere 9.4 inches wide by 7.7 inches deep by 4.4 inches high.

What all our guests expect in a bedside clock/radio is handled with ease by the Sangean WR-22, but the device is so much more.

The Bluetooth-enable Sangean WR-22 allows users to listen to their favorite music wirelessly and simply from smartphones, iPods, tablets and PCs. No cables, no confusion and no frustration.

There is also a 3.5mm auxiliary input for other portable music players if desired, as well as a USB port for playing MP3/WMA files from a USB drive.

No matter how or where you store your music, the Sangean WR-22 can handle it and pump it back out through its tech-marvel, 3-inch 7W full range speaker that contains an enlarged magnet. It also has a ported bass tube specifically designed for dynamic bass compensation for richer bass and loudness compensation that gives better bass response characteristics, and helps the device deliver sound beyond its size. Music-heads will also love the rotary bass, treble and balance controls that can be used to further adjust the sound to specific liking.

To top it all off, the Sangean WR-22 is a sleek and modern upgrade on the traditional hotel bedside companion, with its smooth dark walnut finish, an extra-large, backlit custom LDC display with an adjustable dimmer, and an advanced AM/FM-Radio Data System tuner that displays information such as song titles and artists.

Additional features include snooze, adjustable tuning step, dual alarm timer by radio, buzzer or media so you can wake up to your favorite tunes.

Oh yeah, if you like, the Sangean WR-22 even has a fully functioning remote control, so all that cool technology can be harnessed from anywhere in the room.

Sangean Electronics has been pumping out products in the consumer electronics industry for almost 40 years, so it is no surprise that its Sangean WR-22 has received rave reviews from most major consumer products media outlets. The company is particularly known for its specialty receivers and the Sangean WR-22 is as special as they come.

Sangean’s advanced technology is why so many major brands rely on the company to produce their electronics for them and the reason why its own branded products are so well received.

Also, it is no surprise that users of the Sangean WR-22 say they love the system’s Bluetooth functionality, its ability to work easily with iPhone and iTunes, as well as the great sound from a small device.

At The Daniel we want to ensure that every guest experience is like no other and when it comes to in-room clock and music needs, the Sangean WR-22 was the only choice.

Pets are Welcome: Travel Tips for Your Furry Friends

There’s a great scene in the excellent debut of FX’s original series “Fargo.” Billy Bob Thornton’s character Lorne Malvo tries to check into a local motel in the show’s fictional setting of Bemidji, Minn., and is amused by the run down property’s Pet Policy — pets are allowed but it is $10 dollars more for a dog or a cat. 

"What if I got a fish? Or what if I kept spiders or mice? What if I had bacteria?” Lorne asks, not sure that the motel’s Pet Policy of $10 more should be standard; it should depend on the animal.

While Lorne’s confusion on what constitutes a pet and the motel’s lack of established policy, and what actually constitutes a pet for that matter, is a bit silly. A good word to the wise — amateur entomologists should keep their bugs at home!

All kidding aside, it does illustrate a good example for hotel-bound pet enthusiasts — if you are traveling with a furry friend make sure to do your homework and figure out what options hotels have for you. Pet policies vary widely from dogs only, with no special pet services, to allowing a variety of animals complete with available pet beds, food bowls and even treats from the kitchen.

The Daniel has a Pet Policy and it lets you know exact guidelines for bringing a pet.

Here is what we say at The Daniel: 

We love animals! But, despite our unconditional love for pets, we are aware that many of our guests don’t share our love. Therefore, we do have a limited policy regarding your furry family members.

Pets are limited to dogs and cats. No other animals of any kind are permissible. We do have designated rooms that allow for pets, so you must inform us at the time of booking, as these rooms are subject to availability.

We require guests to sign a damage/pet waiver and make a $100 deposit, which will be returned after checkout if no damage occurs.

As the comfort and safety of our guests is of the utmost importance, pets must not bark or be aggressive; they must be trained and housebroken. Pets are not allowed in the spa, fitness or dining areas. Owners must not leave their pet unattended or leave the premises without their pet, unless prior approval has been made. Any pet or owners violating this policy will be asked to leave the hotel.

An AAA study found that 51 percent of American travelers would bring pets along on every vacation if they could, illustrating the demand for pet-friendly hotels.

The perhaps obvious number one concern for those wishing to travel with pets is actually finding pet-friendly accommodations. According to AAA, some of the things that matter the most include: finding places that accept pets (95 percent), learning about pet policies such as size limits and fees (49 percent) and getting details about available pet services (22 percent).

“Traveling with Your Pet: The AAA PetBook” offers some other useful tips.

It is great when hotels, such as The Daniel, have such a clear Pet Policy, but not all do and sometimes it can be difficult to find out.

Increasingly, pet lovers are turning to pet-friendly websites and social media to find pet-friendly hotels, even more so than traditional visitors bureaus, newspaper travel sections, magazines and guidebooks.

Pet Hotels of America is one of the best websites to check out. The site hawks 25,000 pet-friendly hotels in the United States through a specific search engine and pet travel guides for popular U.S. travel destinations.

If anything, websites such as Pet Hotels of America can be a real help in highlighting what travelers need to consider when bringing along a pet.

The Daniel offers up a few more local travel tips to keep your pets happy:

• Nearby grassy areas
•  Neighborhood dog parks or pet friendly parks
•  Groomers or pet day care
• Local veterinarian

So, load up man’s best friend and head on out. With a little prep it can be a pet-friendly travel world out there. As far as bacteria goes, though, Fargo’s Lorne Malvo is probably out of luck.