One of my highlights of 2010 was diving with sharks in the Bahamas during a stay at the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort, which offers an adventure package through the legendary Stuart Cove's dive shop that puts you in the water with the toothy swimmers. Read on for hotels where adventure is just a step away:

• Stay at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort in Panama and experience tours to a monkey preserve and cultural interactions with the local Embera tribe. There's a zipline tour nearby, too.
• Hot air balloon rides over the Namib Desert are part of the fun when you stay at luxury lodges in Botswana and Namibia.
• Go snorkeling just outside your villa at the Avalon Reef Club in Isla Mujeres, Mexico.
• And you never know what savanna denizen you'll find grazing beneath your balcony at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge in Orlando.

Check out more at Adventure Travel on About.com.

^{Image courtesy Terry Ward}

Your travel inspiration for this week:

• Enjoy Champagne Days & Naughty Nights, a Sweet Escape, or the Do Not Disturb Package at Hotel Giraffe
• Yes, there will be Soup For You! at the Buckingham Hotel
• Pop Art in the City Package at Apple Core Hotels
• Mad Men Package at Hotel Elysée

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^{Image courtesy The Hotel @ Times Square}

One of my favorite stays of 2010 was at The Manorhaus in Wales, I loved the fact that each room was like a mini-gallery, inspired by the works of a different Welsh artist. There's just something about authentic artwork on display at a hotel that adds to the sense of place. For more artsy hotel stays, set your sights here:

• Las Vegas City Center is loaded with public art installations and sculptures. And the centerpiece hotel, the ARIA Resort and Casino, hosts its own public collection (you'll already get your first glimpse of the creative works on display at check in).
• In Wellington, the capitol of New Zealand, the walls of the Museum Hotel are covered with original Kiwi artworks, many of which are for sale.
• Robert Redford's Sundance Resort in Utah is as artsy as it gets, with western-inspired paintings and photos on display and art classes held on site.
• The Grammercy Park Hotel in Manhattan has a jaw-dropping collection with works by Keith Haring, Picasso and Warhol. Wow.
• The 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville, KY incorporates art everywhere--from the official exhibition spaces to the restrooms.

^{Image courtesy ARIA}

Here's a novel New Year's resolution: get more exercise. Yep, it's the same one I make every year. But in 2011 I'm determined to make wellness a priority even when I'm on the road checking out new hotels. If you, too, like hotels that make fitness fun, here are a few that immediately come to mind:

• Get South Beach-style toned at the fab fitness center at the EPIC Hotel in Miami.
• Stay cool with a watery workout with aerobics in the pool at the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino (then settle in for a beach chair massage).
• At the Milliken Creek Inn in Napa Valley, riverside yoga classes help center your soul.

Here's to the New Year--and resolutions that stick!