The Postcard Inn is a hip and lively budget hangout for surfers with style.

St. Pete beach: even the name smacks of a chilled-out biblical dude. At the Postcard Inn in Florida, near Tampa, the vibe is budget boho, 196 rooms in a revamped Travelodge with a huge pool at a price that allows you to fill your suitcase with new bathing suits, or save up for a new surfboard.

Decor is retro surfer, with wave-themed murals and photographs by local artists. Splashes of blue and green hues are provided by cushions and chairs in retro 1950s turquoise. Doors are also painted in the same vibrant seaside shade. Not only was the building itself upcycled (the original plan was to demolish the old motel and build a new one), reducing waste and removing the need for new building materials, it is also furnished with many vintage finds.

These surfers aren’t hippy layabouts: guest rooms have flat-screen TVs and free WIFI, as well as reconditioned surf gear.

For the full beach vibe, get a poolside cabana or beach bungalow, complete with a hammock in a private mini-yard. Be dazzled by on-trend canary-yellow loungers around the Junior Olympic-sized pool surrounded by palm trees.

Food has an accent on fun rather than haute cuisine with a BBQ and burger restaurant serving seafood as well as meatier dishes (the baby back ribs come highly recommended by the New York Times; the inn’s founder was New York restaurateur Stephen Hanson); and an all-day beachfront snack shack for a hot-breakfast carb dose after your early morning surf session. Quench your sea-salt-thirst with a Cold Ass beer or Frozen Tampa Tea (bourbon, peach tea and lemon). The dress code, obviously, is informal: flip flops, beach cover-ups and a skimpy pair of cut-offs.

Rates from $79 excluding tax, but including a 24-hour gym, to keep those surf muscles toned up night and day.

Photos: Postcard Inn, Hotel Chatter, the Coolist

Places & Spaces is a travel guide that will inspire you to carve out a vacation on your calendar. All of the gorgeous locations and accommodations in our guide share our concern for the environment. From tent glamping to lavish built environments, fair warning, you’ll feel compelled to pack your suitcase.

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The surf’s up as June gloom melts into July fry in Laguna Beach – the wet and rocky Orange County artist colony and funky-swank seaside town. Natural food stands hearkening the 70s granola-happy daze, surf shops and funky mid-fashion boutiques still abound here, setting it apart from the polished corporate chains of neighboring Newport Beach and the vintage frozen banana stands of Balboa Island.

Here are a few tips for a tide and true Laguna getaway:

Where to stay: A good choice is the Pacific Edge Hotel because of the diverse lodging opportunities, from one-bedroom ocean view apartments with full kitchens to beachfront kings with connecting rooms for family and friends. “The people who have been coming here for 30 years always book the junior suites,” shares Carlos, the front desk clerk, who accommodates guests with requests throughout their stays from sending a toaster or microwave to the room or additional yellow Adirondack chairs for the expansive decks.

The food at the property’s Beach House restaurant is very good although a bit pricey, yet upon check-in you’ll receive an Edge Card for discounts at the restaurant as well as local businesses partnering with the hotel. You also get complimentary access to the Laguna Health Club and are invited to join a Code Pink Bootcamp for early morning workouts on the beach. You can score rooms for as low as $169 a night with these perks, and save money by eating many of your meals on your deck. I highly recommend heading to the nearby Orange Inn for morning coffee, muffins and egg sandwiches and to The Stand where people line up for the best smoothies around. Pacific Edge is dog friendly, but the beach is only open to Fido before 8am and after 6pm.

Fun out of the sun: July 5 marks the opening of the Laguna Art Festival’s famed Pageant of the Masters, and the Sawdust Art Festival features booths displaying the crafts, gems and hemp fashions of local artisans. You can walk from the hotel to just about everywhere in good shoes, and there is a free bus service from North to South Laguna. Not to be missed: The new ENC (Environmental Nature Center) a living classroom in Newport offering hands-on interpretive nature program built around the ecology and history of California and its biodiversity. Locals, like Kristen and Tony Petros helped raise money for magnificent LEED platinum modern structure (a former trailer) and park-like grounds now visited by local schools and tourists alike to get closer to butterflies, reptiles, gurgling streams and even a life-size replica of a Coast Live oak tree.

Fun in the Sun: In terms of bumming it, you can buy a good boogie board for $40 (fins are useful too), take a surf lesson (the hotel offers packages) or simply beach yourself on a white chaise under an umbrella and listen to the surf pound while you finish that summer read. Dunk in the pool or hot tub or treat yourself to a healthy pedicure at Queen Nails (OPI Mod About You is the flavor of the month here) or shop second hand at Trash Pretty down the road. You will find life truly is a beach, at least till you are back to work in the fog on Monday.

Image: Kevin Zollman

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1. Weathered Wood Floor Lamp ($249 – pictured above)
   Bring a bit of the outdoors in with this floor lamp made of hand-picked, sun-dried driftwood.
2. Recycled French Bottle Lamp ($429)
   Available in several different hues, this cool, curvy lamp adds warmth and an alluring shape to your space.
3. Infinity Energy Star Fluorescent Bamboo Accent Table Lamp ($298)
   Shoji glass and simple, Asian-inspired shapes give this accent lamp its stylish appeal.
4. Cancan Floor Lamp (listed for $330 on Neena’s Lighting)
   We love the sleek shapes and whimsical patterns of Light’s Up lamps. This one has a few different options for shades.
5. Ruby Lamp from Babette Holland Design (listed for $390 on multiple sites)
   Babette Holland’s lamps have a distinctively polished, yet organic quality that we love. She also also uses recycled materials as much as possible.

The post Exquisite Lamps Your Living Room (and Wallet) Will Thank You For appeared first on EcoSalon.

Bungle in the jungle during the rain season and save on a Costa Rican getaway. Rates drop dramatically since many travelers are skittish about venturing anywhere near Nicaragua this time of year. Risky, perhaps, but for those who seek showers (thunder makes my hubby’s heart pound) then try the Corcovado Adventures Tent Camp resort in the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica.

A ten minute boat ride southwest of Drake Bay on the western side and conveniently located near the Corcovado National Park and Biological Reserve, the natural setting of tropical beaches and wilderness has been called “one of the most biologically intense places on Earth.” Commune with the white face congo and spider monkeys on the beaches and enjoy sitings of the Blue Morpho Butterflies along with 350 species of birds.

The full-sized tents are shielded from the elements by a large tarp and furnished with wood-frame beds and feature a front deck with chairs providing a vantage spot for Pacific Ocean views. The meals are Tico and International cuisine and available activities include horseback riding, scuba diving, whale watching, surfing, snorkeling, hiking and kayaking. A six-night package is $765 ($70 saved per person) and covers the taxi and boat ride from Drake Bay or Palmar airport, three full meals per day, a tour of the park with a guide, lunch, a boat ride and a tour of Cano Island with a guide. Rates by the night are around $80 per person, if you prefer that route. This is my kind of camping, since I don’t love sleeping on the ground, even with the best air mattress.

For even more luxurious lodgings in a tent (above), check out the Rafiki safari Lodge, which was started by the Boshoff family in 1999 in hopes of using tourism to build a wildlife refuge to help tapirs and other species. It is nestled in the 822 acres of pristine jungle along the Savegre River, 30km south of Quepos and Manuel Antonio. Enjoy white water rafting and exploring waterfalls. Several multi-day packages are available from $480 to $780 per person during the dry season (now through Dec. 15).

Looking for a great green getaway offering an affordable way to commune with nature? Look no further. This is the first installment in a series by EcoSalon’s Senior Editor, Luanne Bradley.

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