February 28, 2011
Festiva Resorts complaints resolved by new web presence
The latest Festiva Adventure Club complaints resolution effort (www.festivacomplaints.com) has helped to open new lines of communication between the company and its guests. The site is set up to handle issues at a corporate level, as well as individual Festiva resorts complaints.
Festiva Hospitality Group and Festiva Adventure Club recently launched a new web presence, Festiva Complaints Resolution Center, aimed at resolving online Festiva Resorts complaints and providing information to owners and guests trying to resolve their various Festiva complaints. Festiva has experienced an immediate positive reaction from its resort guests who have used the new service
“Since the launch of the Festiva Resorts Complaints Resolution site we have seen an overall decrease of complaints submitted to third-party websites as our customers are finding that when they contact us directly, their issues are resolved much faster and more effectively than when they submit their complaints to a third-party site that offers no resolution,” says Sara Little, Festiva’s Director of Corporate Communications.
One of the most significant accomplishments of the new site is the facilitated direction of complaints to the proper departments within the company for quicker resolution and away from false “Festiva scam” websites which were set up in the past to masquerade as the company’s complaints department.
Little explains, “We realized several years ago that in order to keep up with the fast-paced and ever-changing world of the internet, and specifically social media, we need to actively participate in the online conversations that are already taking place within our industry. We have since taken several steps to utilize various forms of technology to improve customer service and communication with our owners and guests, and festivacomplaints.com is the latest tool we are using to reach out to our web-savvy customers.”
Festiva Hospitality Group and Festiva Adventure Club’s family of resorts include a wide range of properties across the U.S. and Caribbean, including a fleet of luxury yachts. Festiva resorts include such premium properties as the Church Street Inn, the Atrium Resort, and Ellington at Wachesaw Plantation East.
Visit Festiva Complaints Resolution Center at http://www.festivacomplaints.com.
February 3, 2011
A Month of Mardi Gras in New Orleans
French for “Fat Tuesday,” Mardi Gras is the day before Lenten season, the last chance to indulge and celebrate everything delicious and opulent in life before restraining for 40 days. As we all know no other city is more synonymous with Mardi Gras than the Big Easy, New Orleans, LA. Embracing the tradition for centuries the city celebrates for an entire month leading up to Mardi Gras, providing ample opportunities to partake in the parades, balls and parties while avoiding the hassle of the main events’ large crowds.
Neighboring New Orleans to the West and straddling two sides of the Mississippi is Jefferson Parish, home to the popular Family Gras. Being held
on the neutral grounds of Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Metairie from Feb. 25 – 27, the three-day festival will feature more than 20 bands, 14 food and beverage vendors and Jester’s Kids Tent for the children. Attendees will also be able to enjoy seven traditional Mardi Gras parades as a variety of krewes route their march of celebration past the festival grounds. As always costumes are encouraged with Fright Night on Friday, Carnival Saturday with purple, green and gold, and Sports Sunday, where you’re encouraged to wear your favorite team colors.
To learn more on the history and lure of Mardi Gras be sure to check out the Mardi Gras Museum and Blaine 
Kern’s Mardi Gras World. Located about 15 minutes from downtown in Kenner the Mardi Gras Museum proudly displays over 150 years of Carnival history from costumes and masks to historic photos and floats. Just a short walk down the banks of the Mississippi from the French Quarter is the number one float maker in the world, Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World. Since 1947 Blaine Kern’s artists have created the majority of the floats used during Mardi Gras and have designed the themes for each unique parade. Guests can tour the fantasy-filled warehouse and walk amongst endless rows of floats from the past and present. No trip to New Orleans is considered complete without a trip to the birthplace of the parades, Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World.
Once you’ve seen the magic and splendor of the floats there is only one thing left to do to complete the
pre-Mardi Gras experience. With 46 parades taking place prior to Mardi Gras there is ample opportunity to experience these unique events. A variety of social clubs known as krewes adorn themselves with elaborate costumes before jumping aboard extravagant floats and heading down predetermined routes. As the parade proceeds the jubilant sound of the band echoes through the streets while krewe members pepper the crown with beads, doubloons and more.
With an entire month of activities in celebration of Mardi Gras, Carnival season offers plenty to keep the mind and body stimulated all the way up until Fat Tuesday. For more information on Mardi Gras and a full listing of the parades and routes visit the official Mardi Gras website at www.mardigrasneworleans.com. For accommodations be sure to check out Festiva Hospitality Group’s Frenchmen Orleans. Offering spacious condominiums in the hip Faubourg Marigny district, the Frenchmen Orleans is conveniently located to all of the Mardi Gras festivities.
