Girl With a Purpose (GWAP)

Luxury Vacation Rentals: Spend Your Next Vacation in Luxury!

Caribbean Sea
Originally uploaded by kudumomo

Dreaming of how you'll spend your next vacation?

...Are you counting down the days for your upcoming vacation, on your calendar?

Well, why not give yourself a treat?

Instead of staying in a cramped hotel room...why not vacation in luxury, for the same amount of money you'd spend on a hotel and for a longer time period?

All it requires is a little more forward planning...but you'll be very satisfied with the results.

MasterpieceRentals.com is a site that allows you to book luxury vacation rentals, directly from vacation rental owners, thus allowing you to save on your next vacation rental.

Luxury vacation rentals include villas, condos, castles, mansions, cabins, cottages, chalets, town-homes and houses that can be rented for either short or longer-stay time periods (e.g. 1 week - 1 month).

(Flickr photo entitled, "4 bedroom villa - Kokokan" by ALWH).

The listings on this site are so extensive, that you can choose properties with up to eight (8) or more bedrooms that are located:

1) In most continents in the world

2) Near the beach, lake, ski resorts, mountain-ranges or the golf course.

So, no matter the activities you plan to indulge in during your vacation... you can find a luxury vacation rental that puts you right in the middle of the action!

E.g. if your kids want to visit Disney World whilst the family is vacationing in Florida...there are Florida luxury rentals that are located in the Orlando area, right next to Disney World.

If you want to bring your pet along...not to worry, there are pet-friendly vacation rentals that will welcome your furry family member.

Want to get married and honeymoon in the Caribbean?...there are hundreds of luxurious Caribbean properties to choose from.

The great things about using luxury vacation rentals are that:

1) You can have your keys delivered to you at least three (3) weeks before your scheduled arrival date...so there is no waiting at a front desk in order to check in

2) You'll have your privacy

3) You'll have lots of room, so you can sleep in another room if it makes you more comfortable

4) You're not forced to socialize with people you don't want to

5) You can use the property's appliances and amenities, without having to pay extra for each

6) The amenities that come with your property - e.g. the kitchen, pool, the jacuzzi and game room...are simply luxurious...and guess what? ...in most cases you'll get a full refrigerator. :)

(Flickr photo entitled, "kitchenette in one of the villas", by cgsketch).

The major difference between MasterpieceRentals.com and other vacation rental sites, is that you make arrangements with the owner of the luxury vacation rental or his/her booking agent.

So, there are certain things that you should do to ensure that your vacation goes smoothly:

1) Ensure that you read and follow the instructions on MasterpieceRentals.com, carefully

2) Book early (e.g. 3 - 6 months in advance)...this increases the likelihood that you'll get the property of your choice.

3) Make sure that you get everything in writing before you make any payments. Most owners will ask you to pay a deposit of 10-50% of the total costs, at least eight (8) weeks before the slated start of your vacation.

4) Always ask for references - from people who've vacationed at the property you're interested in and/or from janitorial agencies they have partnered with.

5) Ensure that you know who's responsible for cleaning the rooms you occupy - a janitorial agency or you.

Doing the above will ensure that you'll have lasting memories of your dream vacation spent in luxury!

It's our hope that your luxury vacation rental will leave you breathless and will be a major talking point for you and your family, for many months and years to come!

Gillian

Jamaica's New Government: Post Election Results and Nation Awaits Naming of New Cabinet

Jamaica's 8th Prime Minister, the Honorable Orette Bruce Golding, was sworn in at 4:20 p.m. yesterday.

He pledged allegiance to Jamaica and planned to stamp-out corruption by having bi-partisan participation (both government and opposition members) on important committees that would ensure the proper accountability of the collection and spending of tax payers' money.

He also promised to enforce the laws and to modify the Constitution of Jamaica, to better ensure the protection of the human rights of Jamaicans.

The nation now awaits his naming of the members of Cabinet and the rest of the Parliament. This should occur tomorrow.

The members of Cabinet should be sworn in at 11:00 a.m on Friday, September 14, 2007.

(Please see Girl With a Purpose Blog's suggested Cabinet members, in our previous post, "Jamaica's New Government: Swearing In and Proposed New Cabinet".)

The results of the Magisterial recount that occurred in South East St.Mary is now known: the JLP's Mr. Tarn Peralto keeps his seat. He won by 37 votes, over the PNP's Mr. Harry Douglas.

The seat count in Jamaica's 60-member Parliament, remains at:

1) The JLP: 33 seats

2) The PNP: 27 seats

The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) is seeking advice from the Solicitor General, re whether or not it should count the ballots in the 2 ballot boxes for South East St. Mary,that were found on Monday, September 10, 2007, locked, but not counted in the preliminary and final counts by the EOJ.

The Resident Magistrate refused to include the suspect boxes in the Magisterial recount on the grounds that the responsibility for their inclusion, actually belonged to the EOJ.

Gillian

Sources Include:

1) Power 106 News at 5:00 p.m. September 12, 2007

2) Television Jamaica's 7:00 p.m. Nightly News, September 11,2007

3) Article, "Bruce takes charge - Golding sworn in as Jamaica's eight Prime Minister",by Edmond Campbell, News Coordinator, Jamaica Gleaner, September 12, 2007

Jamaica's New Government:Swearing In and Proposed New Cabinet

 

Yes friends, Jamaica's Prime-Minister Designate, Bruce Golding is to be sworn in as Prime Minister, tomorrow, September 11, 2007.

We should know by next week what his Cabinet (the highest decision-making body in Parliament) and rest of Members of Parliament look like.

My suggestions for the Cabinet, are as follows:

1. Prime Minister and Minister of Defense - Mr. Bruce Golding
2. Minister of National Security - Mr. Derrick Smith
3. Minister of Finance & Development - Mr. Audley Shaw
4. Minister of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade  - Mr. Christopher Tufton
5. Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade - Mr. Karl Samuda
6. Minister of  Industry, Science, & Technology (With Energy) - Ms. Shirley Williams
7. Minister of Labour & Social Security - Mr. Ruddy Spencer
8. Minister of Health - Dr. Kenneth Baugh
9. Minister of Information - Mr. Dwight Nelson
10. Minister of Justice - Mr. Delroy Chuck
11. Minister of Education - Mr. Andrew Holness
12. Minister of Tourism, Entertainment & Culture - Mrs. Shahine Robinson
13. Minister of Agriculture - Mr. Andrew Gallimore
14. Minister of Transportation, Works and Disaster Preparedness - Mr. Pearnel Charles
15. Speaker of the House - Ms. Dorothy Lightbourne

Other Suggested Members of Parliament:

1. Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security - Mr. Trevor MacMillan
2. Minister of Housing and Inner City Renewal - Mr. Mike Henry
3. Minister of State in the Ministry  of Housing and Inner City Renewal - Dr. Horace Chang
4. Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Science, & Technology (With Energy) - Mr. Clive Mullings
5. Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture - Mr. Anthony Johnson
6. Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Development - Mr. James Robertson

This above persons are named, in order to balance youth, experience and managerial competence in the above ministries.

Do you agree or disagree with any of the above selections?

And if you disagree, who would you select to head the various Ministries?...please leave your comments below. :)

Sources Include:

1) Television Jamaica's 7:00 p.m. Nightly News September 7, 2007.

2) Nationwide Radio, September 7,2007

Jamaican Elections-3 Days After: JLP Officially Declared Winners!

The final ballot recount from the Electoral Office of Jamaica is in!

These are:

The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP): 33 seats

The People's National Party (PNP) 27 seats

Seats gained since yesterday, September 5, 2007:

1) The JLP's Mr. Barrington Gray won the West Trelawny seat. While the seat was lost by the PNP's Dr. D.K. Duncan, by only 9 votes!!

2) South St. James was won by the PNP's Mr. Derrick Kellier. The seat was lost by the JLP's Mr. Noel Donaldson.

Congratulations, again to the JLP!!!

We at Girl With a Purpose Blog understand that Prime Minister- Designate Bruce Golding, should be sworn in by next week.

We will continue to keep you updated re the exact date and the structure of his new Cabinet (the highest decision-making body in Parliament.).

A few PNP and JLP candidates will be requesting Magisterial recounts of the seats that were lost by less than 200 votes. By law, this request should be submitted within four (4) days of the official announcement of the election results, which was today, September 6, 2007.

We will also keep you updated re the results of these requests.

Gillian

Sources Include:

1) Nationwide Radio, September 6, 2007

2)Power 106 News at 5:00 p.m., September 6, 2007

Jamaican Elections-2 Days After: Seat Count Increases for JLP!

The latest seat count in the Jamaican elections ballot recount is, the JLP 33 seats : the PNP 27 seats.

This increases the JLP's seat count by one.

The seat was won by the JLP's Mr. Tarn Peralto of South East St. Mary.

The PNP candidate who lost the seat is Mr. Harry Douglas, former Minister of State in the Ministry of Local Government and the Environment.

The final count will be announced tomorrow, by the Electoral Office of Jamaica.

Sources Include:

1) Nationwide Radio, September 5, 2007

2) Television Jamaica Nightly News at 7:00 p.m., September 5, 2007