Manhattan hotel offers pillow menu for guests
If you have trouble sleeping at a hotel, the folks at the Benjamin Hotel in Manhattan think they have just what you need.
The 209-room hotel offers a pillow menu with 12 different options, including a hypoallergenic and water-filled pillow. It also has “white noise” machines that play soothing sounds, or the spa can send a masseuse to your room.
But the Benjamin has taken its sleep program one step further by introducing a “work-down call,” the opposite of a wake-up call. You can arrange to have a sleep concierge call at a designated time to remind you to get ready for bed.
“We advise our guests to shut down all electronic devices and just unwind about an hour before you go to bed; that way you are guaranteed to get some rest,” said Anya Orlanska, head of the hotel’s sleep concierge team. “If you don’t get the proper amount of sleep, you are not going to be able to function.”
Rates range from about $350 to $1,400 a night for the VIP suite.
— Hugo Martin
Los Angeles Times
Hints from Heloise:
Readers suggest ideas for attaching metal loop
Dear Readers: After running a hint about using a carabiner (a metal loop with a spring gate), many of you wrote with favorite uses:
• Sally, via email: “My husband and I each have one attached to a water bottle, to clip onto belts or my purse when hiking or shopping.”
• Sue in Arkansas: “When traveling overseas, or when walking around anywhere in large crowds where pickpockets might prowl, I attach a carabiner to one of the metal rings on my purse and then also through the hole in the zipper pull.”
• Terry via email: “I use them for key chains. They are easy to get the keys on and off of, and can be clipped to either a purse strap or belt loop for easy access.”
• Cindy in California wrote: “Attach a dog leash to an ‘eye hook’ provided outside at a coffee shop, grocery store, etc.”
• Karen in Arkansas: “I use a carabiner on my purse and attach it to the shopping cart so it cannot be grabbed out quickly.” (Heloise here: This does work to secure your purse, but please be aware that a thief could reach inside and still grab your wallet!)
• A reader via email: “I use a carabiner to attach my locker key to the strap of my bathing suit.”
— King Features Syndicate
March is a peak season for deals on store goods
A good practice when managing your family budget is to buy the right items at the right time of year:
March is National Frozen Food Month, so many stores will offer discounts on frozen foods. Look for coupons in your Sunday newspaper and in the grocery store. Fruits and vegetables can be frozen indefinitely, according to FoodSafety.gov, however it is recommended to use them within a year for food quality.
In the produce aisle, mangos are on sale, and March is peak strawberry season in Florida, so they are a cheap pick. Asparagus and artichokes are good buys.
Summer vacation is still months away and the holidays are over, which together mean luggage sales. Get a gift for those spring college or high school graduates, or consider replacing yours.
Winter clothes fill the clearance racks. Buy now for next year.
— Tara McAlister
The Charlotte Observer