Archive for the 'Hotels' Category
Two California luxury hotels added to AAA’s 2010 Five Diamond Award list
November 6, 2009 2:45pm
Open less than a year, the Resort at Pelican Hill in Orange County like all hotels, has struggled against the tides of a beleaguered economy. But that doesn’t mean it can’t take a great compliment. The luxury coastal property is one of two California resorts that have danced into the exclusive ranks of AAA’s just-released Five Diamond Award list for 2010. [Corrected at 5:45 p.m. Nov. 6: An earlier version of this post said the Resort at Pelican Hill is south of Laguna Beach. It is north of Laguna Beach.]
California, with 20 five-diamond hotels, also added the opulent Grand del Mar in San Diego to its coffers.
The new Golden State additions join the company of some real longtimers, like the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, which has populated the list for 24 consecutive years, and the Peninsula Beverly Hills, with 17 consecutive years under its belt.
New York City in winter: Hotel bargains, post-holiday ice rink and freebies
November 6, 2009 5:58am
Cold it may be come December and January, but in New York City this winter, you might find comfort in the plentiful hotel deals on offer. And as always, attractions in the Big Apple can be found for cheap, or free, for the resourceful traveler.
Hotels
At the Pod Hotel, on East 51st Street at 3rd Avenue, the cheapest accommodation is a single pod room. You may have to share a bathroom with strangers, but you get stylish digs with a twin bed, workspace, WiFi, iPod docking station and LCD TV. I found one of these in January for just $79 per night (pre-tax). If your party consists of more than you, a bunk-bed pod room (pictured above) can be had for $89 — also a shared-bath situation. Double and queen rooms, with private bath, are $119 and $139, respectively.
The W New York, in Midtown, is having a sale, though you have to book this one by Nov. 10: Read the rest of this entry »
San Diego Omni Hotel’s $99 ‘Stuff Your Stocking’ deal
November 5, 2009 5:56am
You don’t need to prove that you’ve been good all year to get this gift from Santa. The Omni San Diego, connected to San Diego’s Petco Park, has a “Stuff Your Stocking” special worth taking advantage of well before Christmas. Guestrooms are on sale starting at $99 per night starting Thanksgiving week and lasting through the New Year’s holiday. Baseball season may be over, but there’s plenty of holiday shopping to be had in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.
Deal: Use the promo code “STOCKING” to get a guestroom for $99 per night, pre-tax, based on availability. But the best part of the deal is that guests will receive a letter upon their departure that enables them to purchase another night at the hotel for $99 in 2010.
Tested: I searched for available dates on the Omni San Diego website and found several, including Nov. 28 (the Saturday after Thanksgiving), Dec. 18-21 and Dec. 24 - 27. The deal was not, however, available for the New Year’s holiday, Dec. 30 - Jan. 1. When I looked for rates outside of the deal, I found a low of $84 on a current 72-hour sale and a rate of $118 for a 21-day advance purchase for rooms Dec. 24 -27. However, the best available rate was listed as $139, pre-tax. I think all these rates are worth jumping on because I’ve been watching this hotel and often see prices of more than $200 and sometimes $300 per night. Granted, that might have been during baseball season.
Priceline.com’s Hotel Negotiator app for the iPhone & iPod Touch
November 4, 2009 4:54pm
Just what you’ve always wanted — William Shatner in your pocket. Priceline launched an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch last week and it has already made it to the No. 3 spot for travel apps on the iTunes store. Priceline’s “Hotel Negotiator” is a handy, free app that starts off with a Negotiator karate chop followed by a menu page, where you can shake your iPhone or iPod Touch to find recent “Name Your Own Price” hotel deals that were booked in your area and then book a deal yourself. You can also select a city from its top 50 destinations. Click “Browse” at the bottom of the screen to get hotel recommendations, see reviews, prices and book a hotel without using the “Name Your Own Price” feature.
When I tried the app under the “Name Your Own Price” feature (versus Browse), the Hotel Negotiator showed me a deal for $100 at a three-and-a-half star hotel in San Diego’s North County Coastal area. I liked that they map out exactly where the hotel would be located since part of the compromise with using Priceline’s “Name Your Own Price” deal is that you don’t find out which hotel you’ll be staying at until they’ve booked it on your credit card.
It’s particularly helpful that they tell you how much of a percentage savings you’re getting on normal rates. I also found it helpful that you can see a list of nearby deal scores because if you’re familiar with that area, you can consider driving a little bit farther to get a better deal. For example, a three-star hotel for $85 was found in North County Coastal between Oceanside and Encinitas with a savings of 39%. But I found that someone scored a $60 price for a three-and-a-half star hotel in the Del Mar - Solana Beach - Rancho Santa Fe area for a savings of 60%. That’s only a 10-30 minute driving difference.
A nifty hotel deal for 50-and-over crowd in Central California
November 4, 2009 5:57am
OK, so you’re still 12 years away from drawing Social Security and 15 years from getting Medicare. Aren’t there any perks for turning 50? Well yes, and we’re not talking about getting an invite in the mail to join AARP or receiving snarky birthday cards with over-the-hill jokes. The over-50 set can score reduced room rates and more this winter at five inns in San Luis Obispo County in Central California.
Deal: If you or someone in your party is 50 or older, you’re eligible for the “Nifty Fifty” special at five inns run by Boutique Hotel Collection: Apple Farm Inn in San Luis Obispo, the Cliffs Resort in Pismo Beach, Inn at Morro Bay in Morro Bay, Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort in Avila Beach and SeaVenture Resort in Pismo Beach.
The details of the deal differ from inn to inn. But generally, you’ll get discounts on your room, food and items from the gift shop. Room rates vary by location, and not all rooms may be included in the deal, which is subject to availability and other restrictions.
Oyster Hotel Reviews does L.A.: See thousands of photos and insider reports from L.A.’s best hotels
November 3, 2009 3:53pm
The still-new Oyster Hotel Reviews that launched earlier this year has opened up a new category of Los Angeles hotels on their website. It’s a feather in their cap that Oyster reviews hotels without taking comps or incentives, but it’s their bounty of gorgeous hotel photos and insider content that keeps me coming back to their site. As you can imagine, I was happy when they added Los Angeles to their Caribbean-heavy lineup.
Here’s a website where travelers can get an inside peek at some of Los Angeles’ most-talked-about hotels before they slap down their credit card. Users are able to search hotels by category, price, rating and special amenities like “swim up bar at pool ” or “pets allowed.” Oyster roundup lists provide a great way to ogle the insides of a hotel and get a full review, whether you’re shopping for a room right now, or daydreaming for next year.
The luxe Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Terranea Resort and Shutters on the Beach are on the list of Best Luxury Hotels in Los Angeles, and the Chateau Marmont, Hollywood Roosevelt and the Beverly Hilton are three L.A. hotels that made the short list of hotels from Hotels with Hollywood History in Los Angeles. (Apparently, Oyster has a loose definition of Los Angeles since some hotels have addresses in Greater L.A. like Santa Monica and Beverly Hills.)
Don’t worry, not all hotels in the L.A. section have big price tags. There are also Best Value Hotels and Kid-Friendly Hotels.
Ireland: Flights, car and 6-night castle stay for $948
November 3, 2009 5:57am
For a special short getaway to Ireland this winter, recruit your favorite three friends or family members. Based on four people sharing a three-bedroom villa, a fly-stay-drive package offered by Sceptre Tours can be had for as little as $948 per person, including taxes, from Los Angeles. Your castle awaiting on the Emerald Isle is Adare Manor Villas, ranked the third-best resort in Europe in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2009 Readers’ Choice Awards.
Deal: The package for you and your three companions includes round-trip airfare to Shannon, Ireland; six nights of accommodations in the village of Adare in County Limerick; a car rental; entrance to the Belleek Pottery Visitor Centre, along with a tour and museum admission; and a coupon booklet for the region.
Your group will share a three-bedroom unit at the Adare Manor Villas. If you can get yourself past the golf course, shopping and other activities on the 864-acre grounds, you might consider day trips to Limerick, Killarney, Bunratty, the Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry scenic route, among other destinations. Read the rest of this entry »
40% off Marriott and Renaissance leisure rates in Caribbean, Mexico & Costa Rica Resorts
November 2, 2009 10:55am
If you are a hotel chain snob, you’re going to want to put aside your inclinations and have a second look at this amazing deal. Marriott and Renaissance are offering 12 of their properties in the Caribbean, Mexico and Costa Rica at 40% off during high season this winter. So what? This hotel offer includes the JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa (pictured) a winner of the AAA Five Diamond Hotel Award for 2009. If you go to the Paradise by Marriott website, you can’t miss the sale. It has a great name that I wish other hotel and resort providers would adopt—”Life begins at 40%.”
Deal: Use promo code LLF to get 40% off leisure rates starting at:
JW Marriott Cancun Resort and Spa - $209 (usually starts at $349 without the deal)
CasaMagna Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa - $149 (usually starts at $249 without the deal)
CasaMagna Marriott Cancun Resort - $131 (usually starts at $219 without the deal)
Participating properties: St. Kitts Marriott, Frenchman’s Reef Marriott, Grand Cayman Marriott, Aruba Renaissance, Aruba Marriott, Curacao Marriott, Curacao Renaissance, San Juan Marriott, JW Marriott Cancun, Casa Magna Cancun Marriott, Puerto Vallarta Casa Magna Marriott and Los Suenos Marriott.
Thanksgiving travel: Cheapest dates and destinations
November 1, 2009 1:44pm
Those who have ever stepped foot in an airport the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving know that flights departing during that very popular time don’t usually come cheap. In fact, by being a little flexible with your dates for Thanksgiving-week travel, you can save as much as $180 in airfare, according to Travelocity folk who researched flight bookings from Nov. 22 to Dec. 1.
It’s no surprise that the most expensive flight itineraries include departures on Sunday, Nov. 22, or on Wednesday, Nov. 25. The priciest return dates, because of holiday surcharges enacted by airlines, are Sunday, Nov. 29, and Monday, Nov. 30, according to Travelocity’s report.
The cheapest days to depart are Nov. 23 and 26. The least expensive day to return, if you can swing it, is Tuesday, Dec. 1. See the Travelocity chart for a comparison of average fares.
What about hotels? The same report cites a decrease in accommodations costs this year, with hotel rates 16% lower than they were last year. Read the rest of this entry »
For a sane holiday, consider Hotels.com’s Thanksgiving sale
October 31, 2009 6:51pm
If bunking up with Cousin Lenny sounds like the worst way to spend your Thanksgiving holiday away, why not treat yourself to your own peaceful quarters this year? Booking a room close to (but not with) the family doesn’t have to break the bank, thanks in part to promotions like Hotels.com’s Thanksgiving sale. Through it, you can find a range of properties for up to 30% off in 100 cities.
One of those is Denver, where 30%-off rooms at the Burnsley All-Suite Hotel are attainable. In Orlando, Fla. — where, it must be said, accommodations bargains are never rare — you can get a room for $41 per night, pretax, at the Seralago Hotel, a few miles from Disney World. Up in New York, stay for 20% off at the Time Hotel, close to Broadway shows; rates here around Thanksgiving start at $183 per night (the usual average is $229).
But there are lots of options closer to home too, for instance:
Palm Springs
I stopped into Riviera Resort & Spa’s reservation system for a stay Wednesday through Friday of that week, and got a total of about $600, after taxes and fees, for the two nights. The total price I found via Hotels.com was $478. Read the rest of this entry »
