I mentioned this before, but it bears repeating, especially as we are down to the last 3 days of the promotion. The 3rd Annual Puerto Rico Tip-Off Prize Giveaway is down to its final weekend, and you have to register before November 9 for a chance to win a 6 day, 5 night vacation for two people at the Conrad Condado Plaza from November 18 through November 23.

The prize package includes:

1. Roundtrip airfare for two to Puerto Rico
2. Tickets for all 6 sessions of the college basketball games that will be featured on the island (a total of 12 games)
3. A room at the Conrad Condado Plaza
4. Five days' car rental with Hertz
5. A day trip to El Yunque National Rainforest

So get your registration in now! Winners will be selected on November 9.

You can't spell wow without W. And my first glimpse at the spanking new luxury hotel on Vieques Island produced a wow. If the W, slated to open in early 2010, lives up to this standard shown in this preview of one of their guestrooms, you can bet the hotel is going to do wonders for the island's already bustling tourist industry; quite simply, there's nothing like it currently in Vieques.

The first W Retreat and Spa in North America, the hotel will have 157 rooms, a restaurant by superstar chef Alain Ducasse, and top class spa and gym facilities. Will it crack my top 5 places to stay on Vieques? Time will tell, but it sure looks promising.

November is packed, and that too with events, festivals and activities to suit just about any type of tourist. Are you the active type? You can try kiteboarding for free this month. Have an ear for a wide range of music? There are no less than three major artists coming to San Juan, ranging from Kenny G to AC/DC. How about sports? You can watch college basketball or sailfishing tournaments.

And that's not even covering the biggest reason to love November in Puerto Rico: Thanksgiving. Check out the full list of events and activities.

From scary fires, we gratefully move on to a much more entertaining type of fright: Halloween. I covered the upcoming horrorfest, which is looking like a blast this weekend, but what's Halloween without a party? And this year, the host is the Caribe Hilton and Heineken, which is throwing its eigth annual Monster's Ball in the main hotel's ballroom.

A lineup of DJs, infernal decor, and a horrifically good time await at you this Saturday night. Tickets cost $20 and are available from Ticket Pop. And if that's not enough ghoulish fun for you, check out the Yellow Halloween party at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium in the Hato Rey suburb of San Juan.