Jul 15, 2008
Hospitality clubs continue to expand in size and importance. Ever heard of Guestroom Network?
With gas prices going through the roof, it behooves us all to consider reducing the cost of our lodgings when we travel. A great many avid travelers find that membership in a "hospitality club", enjoying the spare room or cot that members offer to one another, is not simply a means for saving money but actually enhances the trip by introducing you to local residents. And no such organization -- until now -- has been more successful in offering free hospitality throughout the U.S. than the Evergreen Club. It attributes much of its success to its policy of not offering completely free hospitality, but charging a nominal fee of $15 a night for the use of a member's spare room or cot. This, apparently, makes members more serious about honoring reservations (and also serving a tasty breakfast to their guests).
I said that Evergreen has been successful "until now." Recently, it has been reported to me that Evergreen's organizers include on their application form a place where prospective members can opt out of hosting someone because they are gay. I find that disturbing. If you don't want to meet someone based on their totally private sexual preference, what are you doing in the Evergreen Club to begin with? Evergreen, after all, is about meeting people.
So some Americans will begin looking for an alternative to Evergreen, and they may find it in Guestroom Network (www.guestroomnetwork.com). It works in the traditional manner of hospitality organizations, except that its fee for an overnight stay is only $4.
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I said that Evergreen has been successful "until now." Recently, it has been reported to me that Evergreen's organizers include on their application form a place where prospective members can opt out of hosting someone because they are gay. I find that disturbing. If you don't want to meet someone based on their totally private sexual preference, what are you doing in the Evergreen Club to begin with? Evergreen, after all, is about meeting people.
So some Americans will begin looking for an alternative to Evergreen, and they may find it in Guestroom Network (www.guestroomnetwork.com). It works in the traditional manner of hospitality organizations, except that its fee for an overnight stay is only $4.
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Labels: accommodations, websites
Jul 14, 2008
You may want to know about an under-visited section of San Francisco which remains cheap
Let's deal today with a highly practical problem -- finding an affordable room in a city to which all of us eventually go. In the wildly-popular town of San Francisco, a large number of business travelers and convention attendees support a market where a hotel night costs at least $200 or $250 -- and often goes for more.
But that's only if you demand to stay around the Union Square or Financial districts. There's another area ignored by the mainstream, where nearly a dozen decent lodgings charge $80 to $100 a night for plain-but-comfortable motel-style rooms and amenities.
The neighborhood is Cow Hollow, a mostly residential district just south of the Marina district, a few blocks south of San Francisco Bay and east of the beautiful parkland of The Presidio. From Cow Hollow's stretch of '50s-style motels along Lombard Street, you can walk to Fisherman's Wharf in about 25 minutes, or you can take one of many city buses that deliver you anywhere else in town. The Bay, and a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, is about 10 minutes' walk north through the Marina district, and trendy avenues for restaurants and boutiques are located just a few blocks away to both the north and the south.
But the best feature of these properties, beside their low price, is the fact that nearly every property has its own parking lot with free space for guests. In downtown San Francisco, more expensive hotels may charge $20 to $30 a day for a place to park your car, and everywhere in town, street parking is difficult to come by. For the many visitors to the city who also plan to drive out of town to the wine country of Sonoma and Napa counties, having a free place to stash their car is a gift that's difficult to pass up.
Among the excellent prospects in the Cow Hollow area are La Luna Inn (2599 Lombard St.; tel. 415/346-4664; www.lalunainn.com), Chelsea Motor Inn (2095 Lombard St.; tel. 415/563-5600; www.chelseamotorinn.com); Coventry Motor Inn (1901 Lombard St; tel. 415/567-1200; www.coventrymotorinn.com); Lombard Motor Inn (1475 Lombard St; tel. 415/441-6000; www.lombardmotorinn.com); Buena Vista Motor Inn (1599 Lombard St.; tel. 800/835-4980; www.buenavistamotorinn.com); and Town House Motel (1650 Lombard St.; tel. 800/255-1516; www.sftownhousemotel.com).
The Hotel del Sol (3100 Webster St.; tel. 415/921-5520; www.thehoteldelsol.com) is slightly more expensive than the others but benefits from a more bohemian attitude and a location off busy Lombard Street.
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Labels: accommodations, san francisco
Jul 7, 2008
Large numbers of U.S. travelers are renting apartments for their stays in major European capitals
Eight different Internet services are currently advertising the availability of short-term (like a week) apartment rentals in Rome, Italy. If you ever needed proof of the explosion in European apartment rentals, you have it here.
Note that far more than eight such Rome-renting companies are found on the Internet; these are simply the ones that advertise. The rents (usually about $150 a night for an apartment housing up to four persons) are somewhat higher than those of the many non-advertising websites simply found by using a search engine.
Eight, ad-placing, rental websites for Rome, Italy, are:
Apartment-renting, in any event, is the way smart travelers are responding to the weakness of the dollar.
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Note that far more than eight such Rome-renting companies are found on the Internet; these are simply the ones that advertise. The rents (usually about $150 a night for an apartment housing up to four persons) are somewhat higher than those of the many non-advertising websites simply found by using a search engine.
Eight, ad-placing, rental websites for Rome, Italy, are:
- RomePower.com (www.romepower.com)
- Under the Roman Sun (www.undertheromansun.com)
- Rental in Rome (www.rentalinrome.com)
- SleepingItaly (www.sleepingitaly.com)
- Romerenting.com (www.romerenting.com)
- BestRentRome.com (www.bestrentrome.com)
- The Smart Cactus.com (www.thesmartcactus.com)
Apartment-renting, in any event, is the way smart travelers are responding to the weakness of the dollar.
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Labels: accommodations, rome, western europe
Jul 3, 2008
How bad is business in Las Vegas? Try $20 for a double room at a decent (though off-Strip) hotel
Our friends at LasVegasAdvisor (www.lasvegasadvisor.com) have just advised that room rates in Sin City are currently at "their lowest points since 2003." They go on to say:
Now, not every weekday in July is that cheap (though many are). And there are extra charges, like a $4.95 "amenities fee". But scattered throughout the summer are Sunday-through-Thursday-night dates when accommodations in Las Vegas are almost absurdly low for rooms of such quality. (Weekends are always higher). And the price of an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner at Palace Station can occasionally drop during the same period to $6.99.
If you can only resist gambling, you'll live well in Las Vegas for some of the cheapest charges in America.
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In an extensive survey of 84 casino-hotels ... [we] found that more than half (47) had available rates of $50 or less in July. And it's not only the lower-tier hotels... Our survey found prices below $90 at Luxor, MGM Grand, Flamingo, Hard Rock, Mirage, Palms, Planet Hollywood, and Paris. Meanwhile, a less comprehensive rate check of comparable accommodations in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Orlando yielded only one hotel with a sub-$50 rate.You'll confirm that news by going to the website for Palace Station (www.palacestation.com), a big, off-Strip hotel. the box at the top of its main page carries rotating ads. Choose #3 and you should see "Internet Only Special -- $15 off regular room rates." Click that box, and then go to July 8 (7/8), where you'll find a room rate for that day of $19.99!
Now, not every weekday in July is that cheap (though many are). And there are extra charges, like a $4.95 "amenities fee". But scattered throughout the summer are Sunday-through-Thursday-night dates when accommodations in Las Vegas are almost absurdly low for rooms of such quality. (Weekends are always higher). And the price of an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner at Palace Station can occasionally drop during the same period to $6.99.
If you can only resist gambling, you'll live well in Las Vegas for some of the cheapest charges in America.
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Labels: accommodations, deals, las vegas
Jun 30, 2008
A skilled observer has provided me with capsule summaries of the current state of travel to Orlando, London, and San Francisco
Jason Cochran, author of countless articles and books on Orlando, London, and San Francisco, appeared on my Travel Show (www.wor710.com) this past weekend and summed up, in 90 seconds per city, the current state of travel to those popular destinations. I thought you'd like to learn his views.
To Orlando, a slump -- a big slump in tourist numbers -- is expected in September and October, immediately after Labor Day. There will be countless "deals" (best accessed on Priceline and Hotwire), especially for the economy hotels in the town of Kissimmee, that community immediately adjacent to Disney World (and sometimes closer to the theme parks than other hotel-heavy areas of Orlando). Rooms will be widely available for $35 and $40 a night at Kissimmee properties, as compared to the $100-and-up that you'd pay for even a "value" hotel on Disney's grounds.
London: Travelers concerned about the high cost of visiting London should bear in mind that most of the city's top attractions -- the National Gallery, the Tate, the British Museum, and the British Library, among others -- are now totally free of admission charges, helping to offset the high cost of London accommodations. The smart traveler will book B&B accommodations (widely available for £80 ($160) per double room) or Britain's new Travelodge (www.travelodge.com) or Premier Inn (www.premierinn.com) economy motels (about £85 per room). Even smarter travelers will seek out rooms in the homes of private families renting, generally, for £60 ($120) and £70 ($140) a night per room, or rooms for considerably less (£15 and £20, $30 and $40 per person) at the many hostels of London. One meal a day should be of inexpensive sandwiches sold at outlets all over the city, or inexpensive meals selling for £5 and £6 ($10 and $12) per person at the stalls found in the many outdoor markets of London.
San Francisco: Is about to get walloped. Despite optimistic predictions of Mayor Gavin Newsom several months ago that San Francisco would withstand an economic slowdown, numerous financial and other firms have already closed and many others are presently closing in the downtown district, and hotel rates in particular are broadly "negotiable" starting in the autumn months. In San Francisco, timing is everything: conventions sometimes fill the city and push up hotel rates, and the smart visitor should always consult the city's convention calendar (to be found at www.sfcvb.org/convention) to avoid those dates when the city is full. At all other times, they will encounter ever-lower hotel prices. In choosing your property, keep in mind that the difference between a two-star and three-star hotel is often the absence of an on-site restaurant at the former; in all other respects, the quality of rooms is usually identical, and the smart tourist will seek out the two-star hotels. In a city of so many superb restaurants, who needs a restaurant in the lobby of your hotel?
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To Orlando, a slump -- a big slump in tourist numbers -- is expected in September and October, immediately after Labor Day. There will be countless "deals" (best accessed on Priceline and Hotwire), especially for the economy hotels in the town of Kissimmee, that community immediately adjacent to Disney World (and sometimes closer to the theme parks than other hotel-heavy areas of Orlando). Rooms will be widely available for $35 and $40 a night at Kissimmee properties, as compared to the $100-and-up that you'd pay for even a "value" hotel on Disney's grounds.
London: Travelers concerned about the high cost of visiting London should bear in mind that most of the city's top attractions -- the National Gallery, the Tate, the British Museum, and the British Library, among others -- are now totally free of admission charges, helping to offset the high cost of London accommodations. The smart traveler will book B&B accommodations (widely available for £80 ($160) per double room) or Britain's new Travelodge (www.travelodge.com) or Premier Inn (www.premierinn.com) economy motels (about £85 per room). Even smarter travelers will seek out rooms in the homes of private families renting, generally, for £60 ($120) and £70 ($140) a night per room, or rooms for considerably less (£15 and £20, $30 and $40 per person) at the many hostels of London. One meal a day should be of inexpensive sandwiches sold at outlets all over the city, or inexpensive meals selling for £5 and £6 ($10 and $12) per person at the stalls found in the many outdoor markets of London.
San Francisco: Is about to get walloped. Despite optimistic predictions of Mayor Gavin Newsom several months ago that San Francisco would withstand an economic slowdown, numerous financial and other firms have already closed and many others are presently closing in the downtown district, and hotel rates in particular are broadly "negotiable" starting in the autumn months. In San Francisco, timing is everything: conventions sometimes fill the city and push up hotel rates, and the smart visitor should always consult the city's convention calendar (to be found at www.sfcvb.org/convention) to avoid those dates when the city is full. At all other times, they will encounter ever-lower hotel prices. In choosing your property, keep in mind that the difference between a two-star and three-star hotel is often the absence of an on-site restaurant at the former; in all other respects, the quality of rooms is usually identical, and the smart tourist will seek out the two-star hotels. In a city of so many superb restaurants, who needs a restaurant in the lobby of your hotel?
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Labels: accommodations, london, orlando, san francisco
Jun 23, 2008
Add Europeanhostels.com to the list of websites directing you to the fastest-growing type of accommodation in travel
I recently posted a list of the multiple websites that direct you to the increasing number of so-called private hostels all over the world. These are not the non-profit, often-government-supported dorms belonging to Hostelling International (the long-established youth hostel organization that now takes guests of any age). Rather, a private hostel is a commercial, profit-seeking operation on the part of various entrepreneurs who primarily buy up former unsuccessful hotels and convert them into hostels by greatly expanding the number of beds they offer (turning doubles into quads, replacing beds with bunks, and so on). In these days of a weak dollar and stratospheric room rates at standard European hotels, the new "hostels” are a haven for cost-conscious people. They continue to charge the kind of rates that Americans used to pay, and they are multiplying in quantity.
I have now been advised by the founders of EuroCheapo (www.eurocheapo.com) that they have created a new website called EuropeanHostels (www.europeanhotels.com). Whereas EuroCheapo describes budget-priced hotels and guesthouses, EuropeanHostels will be more tightly focused on true hostels -- i.e., those in which most accommodations are dorm-like in nature, and where the nightly rate is sensationally low. (But there is an overlap between the two sites; many of the "hostels” also offer single and double rooms, and all of them accept people of all ages).
It's an interesting new website with a great many photographs and other aids that you may find helpful. Here's the pitch I received:
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I have now been advised by the founders of EuroCheapo (www.eurocheapo.com) that they have created a new website called EuropeanHostels (www.europeanhotels.com). Whereas EuroCheapo describes budget-priced hotels and guesthouses, EuropeanHostels will be more tightly focused on true hostels -- i.e., those in which most accommodations are dorm-like in nature, and where the nightly rate is sensationally low. (But there is an overlap between the two sites; many of the "hostels” also offer single and double rooms, and all of them accept people of all ages).
It's an interesting new website with a great many photographs and other aids that you may find helpful. Here's the pitch I received:
The site, which we initially created as a youth hostel directory in 1999, has been overhauled to include Editor's Picks and in-house hostel reviews, hostel photos, user reviews and travel forums.The website's new search tools include sorting and filtering by Editor's Pick, Price, Distance to city center and Highest Rating, and it also displays hostels with Google maps.
The main feature we think will be most beneficial for budget travelers is our new hostel search engine. EuropeanHostels's customized search capability brings in much of the functionality found on travel search sites but has been overlooked within the hostel category.
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Labels: accommodations, websites
Jun 18, 2008
There's now an aggregator for finding inexpensive hotel rooms anywhere in the world, and its results seem phenomenal
The Australians have done it. They've created a website called Hotels Combined (www.hotelscombined.com) that searches every other hotel search engine and every other hotel chain, in popular cities throughout the U.S. and abroad, and then impartially sorts the results by price and reveals them to you. And although it also tells you whether the hotel in question has vacancies for the dates in which you're interested, it does not then proceed to book the room for you. Instead -- and I like this feature -- it advises you to go directly to the hotel they name and request a reservation. You also pay the hotel directly and do not incur a penny's expense for using Hotels Combined.
I have recently found some of the best hotel deals imaginable through the use of Hotels Combined. Example: I recently requested a room in New York for a two-night stay starting June 26. Would you believe that Hotels Combined proceeded to name New York hotels where I could get a room (in properties ranging from cheap hostels to decent tourist class establishments) for $29, $30, $31, $32, $34, $70, $87, $92, $97, $99, $102, $118, and so on -- in what has to be one of the most expensive hotel cities on earth? The Australian service not only surveys hotels directly -- including numerous properties that aren't handled by any of the established hotel search engines -- but also surveys such hotel-finding websites as www.venere.com, www.hotelbook.com, www.laterooms.com, www.hotelclub.com, www.lastminute.com, www.orbitz.com, www.expedia.com, www.travelocity.com, www.booking.com, www.asiarooms.com, and others. (I assume, but haven't yet found, that it also surveys www.hotels.com and www.quikbook.com).
For the life of me, I can't find any catch to this service, any overlooked condition, any reason not to use it exclusively for hotel searches (since it surveys every other hotel-finding website, in the same way that an airfare aggregator surveys every other source of airfares, there's no need to go anywhere else).
Have I overlooked anything? If any of the readers of this blog have also used Hotels Combined, could they report on their experiences?
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I have recently found some of the best hotel deals imaginable through the use of Hotels Combined. Example: I recently requested a room in New York for a two-night stay starting June 26. Would you believe that Hotels Combined proceeded to name New York hotels where I could get a room (in properties ranging from cheap hostels to decent tourist class establishments) for $29, $30, $31, $32, $34, $70, $87, $92, $97, $99, $102, $118, and so on -- in what has to be one of the most expensive hotel cities on earth? The Australian service not only surveys hotels directly -- including numerous properties that aren't handled by any of the established hotel search engines -- but also surveys such hotel-finding websites as www.venere.com, www.hotelbook.com, www.laterooms.com, www.hotelclub.com, www.lastminute.com, www.orbitz.com, www.expedia.com, www.travelocity.com, www.booking.com, www.asiarooms.com, and others. (I assume, but haven't yet found, that it also surveys www.hotels.com and www.quikbook.com).
For the life of me, I can't find any catch to this service, any overlooked condition, any reason not to use it exclusively for hotel searches (since it surveys every other hotel-finding website, in the same way that an airfare aggregator surveys every other source of airfares, there's no need to go anywhere else).
Have I overlooked anything? If any of the readers of this blog have also used Hotels Combined, could they report on their experiences?
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Labels: accommodations, websites
Jun 16, 2008
The eruption of low-cost, private hostels all over the world is among the biggest developments in budget travel
Their founders are among the most active entrepreneurs in travel today. They find a building -- any building -- where they're able to install dorm-like rooms with bunk beds, from four to eight beds per room. Their facilities include multiple bathrooms for communal use, a bar or lounge, an office. And with such small, improvised lodging establishments, they're able to charge from $20 to $35 per person per night -- and thus defeat the high cost of travel.
The eruption of hostels -- hostels by the scores -- all over the world, is probably the single biggest news in the world of low-cost travel. They accommodate travelers of all ages, and have greatly expanded the capacity of what used to be an "official" international hostel movement.
Most of them belong to chains (for marketing purposes). Hostel Management (www.hostelmanagement.com), a new website dealing with the phenomenon, tracks the current state of expansion, hosts a message board for hostel operators, and provides listings for hostels by city, country, and name. The most heavily-used websites for finding hostels are Hostelworld (www.hostelworld.com), Hostels.com (www.hostels.com), HostelBookers (www.hostelbookers.com), hostelmania (www.hostelmania.com), Hostels247.com (www.hostels247.com), HostelsClub.com (www.hostelsclub.com), GOMIO.COM (www.gomio.com), and VIP Backpackers (www.vipbackpackers.com).
You can also go to Google, inserting such terms as "New York hostels" or "Sydney hostels." Next time you take a trip to anywhere in America or abroad, consider the use of a hostel.
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The eruption of hostels -- hostels by the scores -- all over the world, is probably the single biggest news in the world of low-cost travel. They accommodate travelers of all ages, and have greatly expanded the capacity of what used to be an "official" international hostel movement.
Most of them belong to chains (for marketing purposes). Hostel Management (www.hostelmanagement.com), a new website dealing with the phenomenon, tracks the current state of expansion, hosts a message board for hostel operators, and provides listings for hostels by city, country, and name. The most heavily-used websites for finding hostels are Hostelworld (www.hostelworld.com), Hostels.com (www.hostels.com), HostelBookers (www.hostelbookers.com), hostelmania (www.hostelmania.com), Hostels247.com (www.hostels247.com), HostelsClub.com (www.hostelsclub.com), GOMIO.COM (www.gomio.com), and VIP Backpackers (www.vipbackpackers.com).
You can also go to Google, inserting such terms as "New York hostels" or "Sydney hostels." Next time you take a trip to anywhere in America or abroad, consider the use of a hostel.
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Labels: accommodations, hostels
Jun 12, 2008
A website called Seniors Home Exchange serves a different set of travel needs
When I first heard about Seniors Home Exchange (www.seniorshomeexchange.com), I was frankly puzzled. What could such a site accomplish that wasn't better done by larger and longer-established home exchange websites for persons of any age?
The language and organization of Seniors Home Exchange made the explanation obvious -- but one that doesn't normally occur to most of us. Since many (if not most) seniors over the age of 50 are retired, they are able to take longer vacations than younger persons tethered to a job and restricted to short, two-week vacations. They are able to get away for one month, six weeks, two months, even three months at a time. And the home exchanges featured in Seniors Home Exchange are therefore mainly those longer intervals so suited to the life of a person in retirement. The exchange is often for several weeks and considerably longer than usual. Moreover, many seniors over 50 go on several trips a year and need to make a more constant use of the service than a younger person would.
This explained the fairly stiff $79 charge for a three-year membership (currently reduced to $59 for such a three-year period, through a special sale). Apparently, so many people have been willing to pay that charge to keep the site going, that it has now been in existence since 2001 and currently lists over 30,000 home exchange opportunities. It not only offers home or apartment exchanges (you stay in theirs' while they stay in yours'), but also hospitality offers whereby you stay as a free-of-charge guest in the home of a member while they remain in residence.
I have now received multiple recommendations for Seniors Home Exchange from readers of this blog, and its bona fides seems more than established. If you're over 50, or know someone who is, you might want to take a look.
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The language and organization of Seniors Home Exchange made the explanation obvious -- but one that doesn't normally occur to most of us. Since many (if not most) seniors over the age of 50 are retired, they are able to take longer vacations than younger persons tethered to a job and restricted to short, two-week vacations. They are able to get away for one month, six weeks, two months, even three months at a time. And the home exchanges featured in Seniors Home Exchange are therefore mainly those longer intervals so suited to the life of a person in retirement. The exchange is often for several weeks and considerably longer than usual. Moreover, many seniors over 50 go on several trips a year and need to make a more constant use of the service than a younger person would.
This explained the fairly stiff $79 charge for a three-year membership (currently reduced to $59 for such a three-year period, through a special sale). Apparently, so many people have been willing to pay that charge to keep the site going, that it has now been in existence since 2001 and currently lists over 30,000 home exchange opportunities. It not only offers home or apartment exchanges (you stay in theirs' while they stay in yours'), but also hospitality offers whereby you stay as a free-of-charge guest in the home of a member while they remain in residence.
I have now received multiple recommendations for Seniors Home Exchange from readers of this blog, and its bona fides seems more than established. If you're over 50, or know someone who is, you might want to take a look.
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Labels: accommodations, retired, websites
Jun 10, 2008
The ultra-cheap chain of brand-new Travelodge Hotels is found not simply in Britain but in Ireland and Spain
A bargain that can make all the difference on your next trip to Britain is the Travelodge chain (www.travelodge.co.uk) of 300 brand-new properties scattered about London and through the rest of the British Isles (including Ireland and Northern Ireland), and charging an average of £60 a night per room (with July/August sales cutting that price in half). £60 feels like $60 to the British, though the current poor exchange rate converts the amount to about $120 for the American visitor. Still, it's an awesomely low price to pay in England for a new room with private bath. Some fifty new Travelodge hotels per year are currently being built, and the recent acquisition of the chain by a rich Dubai investment firm will probably speed up and increase the number of new builds.
I neglected to mention in my recent discussion of Travelodge that the chain is also found in Spain, particularly around Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, where a typical high-season room price is €55 to €59, or about $86.35 to $92.63, an even better price for lodgings in these popular cities. Currently, you go to the same website as for the British properties, but simply insert the name of the Spanish city in which you're interested.
Because this is a highly efficient organization that can confirm bookings through the web, you'd be well advised to seek advance reservations at Travelodge on your next trip to Britain, Ireland or Spain. And though the chain hasn't yet gained too much of a presence elsewhere on the continent, there is the start of a Europe-wide expansion that is currently reflected in five or six Travelodges in the port cities along the English Channel in France. Travelodge is a big budget development, growing more significant with every month, and the name is one to which cost-conscious travelers will pay more and more attention in the years ahead.
(Britain's Travelodge has no connection or association with America's Travelodge chain).
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I neglected to mention in my recent discussion of Travelodge that the chain is also found in Spain, particularly around Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, where a typical high-season room price is €55 to €59, or about $86.35 to $92.63, an even better price for lodgings in these popular cities. Currently, you go to the same website as for the British properties, but simply insert the name of the Spanish city in which you're interested.
Because this is a highly efficient organization that can confirm bookings through the web, you'd be well advised to seek advance reservations at Travelodge on your next trip to Britain, Ireland or Spain. And though the chain hasn't yet gained too much of a presence elsewhere on the continent, there is the start of a Europe-wide expansion that is currently reflected in five or six Travelodges in the port cities along the English Channel in France. Travelodge is a big budget development, growing more significant with every month, and the name is one to which cost-conscious travelers will pay more and more attention in the years ahead.
(Britain's Travelodge has no connection or association with America's Travelodge chain).
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Labels: accommodations, england, great britain, spain
Jun 6, 2008
If you'll be traveling to Great Britain this summer, you'll want to look for "saver rooms" at Travelodge hotels -- they're something else!
Travelodges in England are different from Travelodges in the U.S., and operated by an entirely different firm. Though the Travelodge chain of the U.S. is quite reasonably priced, it doesn't hold a candle to the ultra-cheap Travelodge chain of Great Britain. To our English cousins, Travelodge is like a stripped-down, lower-cost version of our own Motel 6 chain -- the cheapest of the cheap, and sometimes almost absurdly cheap. And yet most of them are rather modern motels with very decent amenities, but with prices that make you think you're in the Dominican Republic and not Great Britain. A look at its website (www.travelodge.co.uk) is instructive.
Every June at this time, Travelodge launches a summer sale in which some rooms are sold (for stays in July and August, primarily) for as little as £19 (around $38) -- far below what even the cheapest Motel 6 currently charges. The £19 rooms are sold to persons who book 21 days in advance; while other rooms are sold to people booking 7 days in advance for a still-remarkable £29-to-£59 per room.
Last summer, my daughter Pauline, her husband Lonnie, and their two children traveled by car through Scotland, having first made reservations at Travelodge hotels at the £19 rate. When she learned this morning that the same remarkable sale had been announced for summer 2008, she sent me the following short note about her experience with Travelodge in Great Britain:
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Every June at this time, Travelodge launches a summer sale in which some rooms are sold (for stays in July and August, primarily) for as little as £19 (around $38) -- far below what even the cheapest Motel 6 currently charges. The £19 rooms are sold to persons who book 21 days in advance; while other rooms are sold to people booking 7 days in advance for a still-remarkable £29-to-£59 per room.
Last summer, my daughter Pauline, her husband Lonnie, and their two children traveled by car through Scotland, having first made reservations at Travelodge hotels at the £19 rate. When she learned this morning that the same remarkable sale had been announced for summer 2008, she sent me the following short note about her experience with Travelodge in Great Britain:
We took advantage of this very same sale last year, and got one of the £19 rooms in Scotland. The hotel was on a highway, behind a chain breakfast place and gas station, but was just a quick jog into town. And our rooms was quite nice. The furniture had an Ikea look to it, and many rooms (including ours) were with couches that could fold out into two single beds (they're more like a trundle bed). So that's what we did with our daughters. When we checked into a slightly pricier Travelodge in Edinburgh during the Festival (it was one of the best deals in town), one of my daughters, who had just stayed at a very basic, shared-bath B&B in London with us, looked around our motel-like room and exclaimed: "Now this is luxurious! Why couldn't we have stayed in a hotel like this in London!"If you're headed to Great Britain this summer, book your lodgings at Travelodges.
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Labels: accommodations, great britain, scotland
Jun 4, 2008
The writers of those sad regrets about the "end of inexpensive international vacations" are overlooking several methods of self-help
My mail is filled with messages bemoaning "the end of the era of inexpensive international travel." They cite the decline of the dollar, the skyrocketing price of oil. One particularly elegant, elegiac message (from reader Ted Marcus) reads:
But the era of low-cost international travel wasn't based on standard lodgings and meals. When I published my first guidebooks, I didn't write about hotels. My advice was to stay in guesthouses, B&Bs, pensiones, monasteries and convents, canal house hotels, private homes, hostels, student hotels, guest-accepting farms, and houseboats. And I still recommend that kind of lodging, not simply to save money but to experience a better form of international life, to interact with actual foreign residents, and also to meet a more interesting, less pretentious, fellow traveler at the lodgings you chose.
Last week, I spoke by phone with friend and travel writer Reid Bramblett, who was calling in from Verona, Italy. On his stay in Europe up to that moment, he had stayed in a monastery in the centrally located Trastevere section of Rome for €40 (slightly more than $60) a night. At the time of the call, he was in an "agriturism" lodging near Verona, for under $100 a night. Elsewhere, he had paid $70 (for a single room) in numerous other modest lodgings in non-hotels (namely, pensiones and guesthouses) in other cities.
The tourist, and the tourist couple, who make the firm decision to seek out those alternative lodgings are able to continue exploring western Europe at reasonable cost.
Now obviously, it will be a different kind of vacation. It will require a mental adjustment for those who have usually chosen standard hotels for their lodgings. But the Americans who make that leap are invariably delighted with the transformation of the travel experience that results.
And those adventuresome sorts include people of all ages and income classes. They find that by seeking out the "other" life of Europe, they improve their travels and yet spend less.
Recently, one of the websites devoted to hostel accommodations in Europe published statistics about the increasing use of hostels by middle-aged and even elderly people. The latter have discovered that these former "youth centers" are now fully open and welcoming to people of all ages, and that a growing percentage of them have private rooms available for occupancy by one and two persons.
If you are at all concerned about the high cost of a standard European vacation, then make the decision (and convince your spouse or companion) to use monastery lodgings in Italian cities, the canal house hotels of Holland, the guest-accepting private homes of Britain and Ireland, the gites of France, the hostels of Switzerland and Germany, the hostales of Spain. You'll be glad you did.
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The all too brief age of inexpensive, casual travel Mr. Frommer helped to usher in with Europe on $5 a Day may be now at an end. It certainly wasn't sustainable, and we may regrettably have entered a new era in which most of us will regard international travel as a rare and extremely precious privilege to be anticipated and savored only a few times in a lifetime, if that.I vehemently disagree. The persons who have concluded that international vacations are no longer affordable are referring mainly to the use of standard hotels and restaurants.
But the era of low-cost international travel wasn't based on standard lodgings and meals. When I published my first guidebooks, I didn't write about hotels. My advice was to stay in guesthouses, B&Bs, pensiones, monasteries and convents, canal house hotels, private homes, hostels, student hotels, guest-accepting farms, and houseboats. And I still recommend that kind of lodging, not simply to save money but to experience a better form of international life, to interact with actual foreign residents, and also to meet a more interesting, less pretentious, fellow traveler at the lodgings you chose.
Last week, I spoke by phone with friend and travel writer Reid Bramblett, who was calling in from Verona, Italy. On his stay in Europe up to that moment, he had stayed in a monastery in the centrally located Trastevere section of Rome for €40 (slightly more than $60) a night. At the time of the call, he was in an "agriturism" lodging near Verona, for under $100 a night. Elsewhere, he had paid $70 (for a single room) in numerous other modest lodgings in non-hotels (namely, pensiones and guesthouses) in other cities.
The tourist, and the tourist couple, who make the firm decision to seek out those alternative lodgings are able to continue exploring western Europe at reasonable cost.
Now obviously, it will be a different kind of vacation. It will require a mental adjustment for those who have usually chosen standard hotels for their lodgings. But the Americans who make that leap are invariably delighted with the transformation of the travel experience that results.
And those adventuresome sorts include people of all ages and income classes. They find that by seeking out the "other" life of Europe, they improve their travels and yet spend less.
Recently, one of the websites devoted to hostel accommodations in Europe published statistics about the increasing use of hostels by middle-aged and even elderly people. The latter have discovered that these former "youth centers" are now fully open and welcoming to people of all ages, and that a growing percentage of them have private rooms available for occupancy by one and two persons.
If you are at all concerned about the high cost of a standard European vacation, then make the decision (and convince your spouse or companion) to use monastery lodgings in Italian cities, the canal house hotels of Holland, the guest-accepting private homes of Britain and Ireland, the gites of France, the hostels of Switzerland and Germany, the hostales of Spain. You'll be glad you did.
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Labels: accommodations, budget travel, western europe
May 30, 2008
It's clear to me that the local firms described in guidebooks are your best source for vacation homes and apartments
Periodically on this blog, I've listed the companies that arrange rentals of apartment and homes all over the world: Homeaway (biggest of the lot), VRBO (oldest), EVRentals.com (richest), Rentalo.com (aggressive), Craigslist (cheapest), Kijiji.com (coming up fast), and the like. To that list you might add Zonder (www.zonder.com), with an impressive website containing multiple photos of the homes they offer for rental. Zonder also claims its services are superior because they deal only with homes rented by local management firms that can fix things on the spot if furnishings or fixtures break down.
Having said that, it's obvious that these big worldwide companies can't be familiar with all the properties they represent. When they proclaim, as some do, to offer more than 60,000 properties, it's obviously impossible for them to have looked at the homes or apartments they make available.
Clearly, the best-informed of the rental agents are the ones that limit their services to a single destination, like Orlando, or London, or Vegas, and are located in that destination. These are the hometown firms with names of which you've never heard, but with impressive knowledge of the conditions and neighborhoods in their community.
And where do you find these firms? Apart from hunting them up on the web, using Google and then inserting the name of the city or area in which you'll be vacationing, your better course is to use a guidebook that contains names of the top rental agencies in that city or area. And so help me, I'm being entirely objective when I suggest that the new series of Pauline Frommer Guides, on sale in all major bookstores, performs that function extremely well. Pauline realized that the skyrocketing cost of hotel rooms would compel many travelers to substitute homes or apartments for hotels. And therefore, in the lodgings sections of her guidebooks, she has made it a point to describe the work of local rental agencies whose premises she has visited and whose owners she has interviewed.
Those discussions of rental homes and rental apartments usually lead off the lodgings discussion in her books. And from the responses of large numbers of readers, that assistance is now recognized as among the most valuable features of her books.
There are Pauline Frommer Guides to: New York City, Las Vegas, London, Paris, Italy, Costa Rica, Alaska, Orlando, Washington, D.C., Cancún & the Yucatán, and Hawaii, with books on Spain and San Francisco about to join the list (see a complete list in the Frommers.com bookstore). As a vacationer, I would always prefer the services of the locally based rental companies found in each book to the large worldwide websites listing tens of thousands of properties that no one has ever inspected. Call me biased, if you must, but that's how I feel.
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Having said that, it's obvious that these big worldwide companies can't be familiar with all the properties they represent. When they proclaim, as some do, to offer more than 60,000 properties, it's obviously impossible for them to have looked at the homes or apartments they make available.
Clearly, the best-informed of the rental agents are the ones that limit their services to a single destination, like Orlando, or London, or Vegas, and are located in that destination. These are the hometown firms with names of which you've never heard, but with impressive knowledge of the conditions and neighborhoods in their community.
And where do you find these firms? Apart from hunting them up on the web, using Google and then inserting the name of the city or area in which you'll be vacationing, your better course is to use a guidebook that contains names of the top rental agencies in that city or area. And so help me, I'm being entirely objective when I suggest that the new series of Pauline Frommer Guides, on sale in all major bookstores, performs that function extremely well. Pauline realized that the skyrocketing cost of hotel rooms would compel many travelers to substitute homes or apartments for hotels. And therefore, in the lodgings sections of her guidebooks, she has made it a point to describe the work of local rental agencies whose premises she has visited and whose owners she has interviewed.
Those discussions of rental homes and rental apartments usually lead off the lodgings discussion in her books. And from the responses of large numbers of readers, that assistance is now recognized as among the most valuable features of her books.
There are Pauline Frommer Guides to: New York City, Las Vegas, London, Paris, Italy, Costa Rica, Alaska, Orlando, Washington, D.C., Cancún & the Yucatán, and Hawaii, with books on Spain and San Francisco about to join the list (see a complete list in the Frommers.com bookstore). As a vacationer, I would always prefer the services of the locally based rental companies found in each book to the large worldwide websites listing tens of thousands of properties that no one has ever inspected. Call me biased, if you must, but that's how I feel.
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Labels: accommodations, websites
May 13, 2008
Rentalo.com has now entered the hotly-contested Orlando market, poking fun at the high cost of hotels and praising vacation homes instead
Things are heating up in the vacation-home-vs.-hotel controversy for Orlando, Florida (Disney World and friends), with newcomer Rentalo.com (www.retalo.com) issuing a press release in which it first tells about $385 hotel rooms and then describes more spacious vacation homes for as little as $99 a night. Here's the opening part of their unusually combative salvo:
Disney World's Grand Floridian resort costs $385 per night, plus 12% tax, and even their "value" resorts are $82 per night. Granted, they allow the whole family to cram into one room, but why would anyone want to do that?Write and read comments about this post.
On the Rentalo website, families can find a three-bedroom condo for $99, a five-bedroom house for $125 per night. And a house with a kitchen means savings on meals, as well. In addition, Rentalo's SmartSearch feature means travelers can easily find a property that suits their needs. Some of the houses available this summer include:
Villa Magic Orlando for $120 per night
This four-bedroom, three-bath house in Eastern Kissimmee is in a gated community, just off the main highway to Disney World. It has a screened-in pool, air conditioning, smoke detectors throughout, a fire extinguisher and emergency lighting, as well as a fully-equipped laundry room and kitchen. It is large enough that two families can share it. From June 1 to August 31, the house costs $120 per night, with a four-night minimum.
Windsor Hills Apartment for $99 a night
One bedroom has a king-size bed, the other has two full-size beds and there's a sleeper sofa in the living room of this ground floor apartment in the Windsor Hills Resort. It's only two miles from Disney World and is a short walk or drive to shops, restaurants and a supermarket. Windsor Hills has 24-hour security, a clubhouse, community pool with a water slide, kids' playground, tennis and an internet café. The apartment features a screened lanai. It costs $99 per night, plus tax, from May 23 to September 1, with a seven-night minimum.
Labels: accommodations, orlando
If you're a fan of casino-resorts and leisure destinations -- then TravelWorm is for you
TravelWorm has been around for more than 15 years, seeking out the most simple-minded of travel bargains: hotel discounts, in sun belt cities of the resort variety. Its current offer of $34 a night per room at the Sahara Hotel in Vegas is about $3 less than any other offer I've been able to find on the internet. Its $37 per room offer at Vegas' Stratosphere Hotel is $1 and $2 less than most others. If you're planning a trip to any of the resort cities listed above, you'd do well to go to www.travelworm.com, which also lists various meal discounts and other bonuses (free spa visits, for instance) at the hotels whose bargains they tout.
All in all, it's a pretty impressive website that has obviously grown unusually popular and mighty, enabling its managers to pressure big reductions from the hotels they feature. I believe you can book directly on the web, but you can also phone TravelWorm at tel. 888/700-8342.
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All in all, it's a pretty impressive website that has obviously grown unusually popular and mighty, enabling its managers to pressure big reductions from the hotels they feature. I believe you can book directly on the web, but you can also phone TravelWorm at tel. 888/700-8342.
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Labels: accommodations, las vegas, websites
May 7, 2008
There's an inexpensive hostel in Manhattan with beds available in both dorms and private rooms
Because it's not nearly as well-known as it eventually will be, and doesn't enjoy the marketing advantages of hostels belonging to the worldwide Hostelling International (to which it doesn't belong), the Central Park Hostel (19 W 103rd St; tel. 212/678-0491; www.centralparkhostel.com) is a top bet for your next New York stay. The location is just alongside Central Park, on a fine residential street near the area of Columbia University, and thus near to all sorts of inexpensive eateries, bookstores and other interesting shops. There's a subway stop less than a block away.
It calls itself a "luxury hostel," which simply means its rates are higher than those of the nearby and much larger (and, according to some, better) New York International Hostel. But by the sky-high standards of today's Manhattan, it's still quite a deal to obtain dorm beds here for from $28 to $45 depending on season, or private rooms with shared bathrooms for $89 to $135 depending on season, per room, as you can at the Central Park Hostel (note: credit cards aren't accepted).
An alternative to the Central Park Hostel, much preferred by my daughter Pauline, is Jazz on the Park, which Pauline recommends in the new, revised edition of her Pauline Frommer's New York City guidebook (which has not yet hit the bookstores). She has given me permission to reprint what she says about Jazz on the Park, which is the following:
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It calls itself a "luxury hostel," which simply means its rates are higher than those of the nearby and much larger (and, according to some, better) New York International Hostel. But by the sky-high standards of today's Manhattan, it's still quite a deal to obtain dorm beds here for from $28 to $45 depending on season, or private rooms with shared bathrooms for $89 to $135 depending on season, per room, as you can at the Central Park Hostel (note: credit cards aren't accepted).
An alternative to the Central Park Hostel, much preferred by my daughter Pauline, is Jazz on the Park, which Pauline recommends in the new, revised edition of her Pauline Frommer's New York City guidebook (which has not yet hit the bookstores). She has given me permission to reprint what she says about Jazz on the Park, which is the following:
Jazz on the Park (W 106th St. btwn Manhattan Ave. and
Central Park West; tel. 212/932-1600; www.jazzonthepark.com) is the hipster's hostel, with house music blaring in the art-filled lobby, weekly barbecues in summer ($5), movie and poker nights when the weather's colder, photos of great jazz musicians in the hallways, and a color scheme in the rooms that is taken straight out of the Wizard of Oz. Dorm rooms come with two, three, four, five, or six bunk beds, and the numbers on the beds aren't as prominent as they should be (which can lead to some awkward situations come bedtime). Another problem here are the mattresses, which are so thin in many cases that you can feel every ridge and spring; they do vary by bed, so test-drive a couple when you check in. Those reserving private rooms (with shared bathroom only) may go 1 block uptown to the hostel's second building, again a mural-laden, vibrantly colorful place that is generally clean. The cheapest dorm beds are the 10- or 12-bedders for $30 a night, six- to eight-bed rooms for $32, four-bed rooms for $34 (in Jan and Feb, these prices drop by $10). If you're traveling with a friend, it might make the most sense to share a private room at $65 to $90 a night for two twin beds (without private facilities). Rates cover a bagel and a cup of tea or coffee in the morning.
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Labels: accommodations, new york city
May 1, 2008
From May through November, villas in the Caribbean rent for so very little as to enable large families to enjoy the lowest-cost vacation imaginable
I've referred to the international real estate agent called Rentalo.com too often in recent posts, and this will be the last time for a long while. But currently, it is listing the availability for rent of large Caribbean villas at prices so low that they open up fascinating vacation opportunities for large families or small groups. I have printed below the verbatim descriptions by Rentalo.com of several available rentals, and ask you to note that some of these are beachside villas or swimming-pool-equipped villas, and one comes with a cook/housekeeper -- all for as little as $770 a week:
Villa del Sol, Dominican Republic: $770 per weekWrite and read comments about this post.
A gorgeous villa in Cofresi, which has the best beach on the North Coast, is just 13 miles from the Puerto Plata airport. Included in the rental are the services of a cook/maid/housekeeper, who will prepare meals and teach the kids some Spanish. The house has four bedrooms, three baths and sleeps eight. The beautiful rooftop galleria is the center of life from breakfast to drinks at sunset time. And the picture-book beach, 100 yards away, is a palm-lined, horseshoe-shaped cove that's almost a mile long. The amazing price, from May 1 to August 31, is only $770 a week for four people, plus $15 per person per night for additional people, plus 13% tax.
Chez Nous Villa, Jamaica: $900 per week
This cozy villa is located in Montego Bay's Ironshore villa community, conveniently near the airport, beaches, golf courses, restaurants and nightlife. Included in the rental is an attentive staff of two who ensure guests' comfort. The master bedroom has a.king-sized bed and private bath; the other bedrooms each have twin-sized beds and share a bath. All are fully air-conditioned. A beautiful swimming pool is surrounded by a garden full of fruit trees and tropical flowers. Hiking, golf, tennis, fishing and horseback riding are just some of the nearby activities. The price for six people is $900 a week from May to November.
Hacienda Margarita, Puerto Rico: $1,200 per week
With four bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths, this luxurious Puerto Rico vacation rental sleeps 10, welcomes children and is perfect for a big family. Located in a gated and secure community with beautiful homes, a swimming pool and tennis courts, it is near the spectacular palm-lined Luquillo Beach and has a fabulous view of the Caribbean Sea and the famous El Yunque Rain Forest. It is also close to golf courses and shopping and close enough to go sightseeing for the day in Old San Juan. From July 1 to November 30, the weekly rent is $1,200.
Labels: accommodations, caribbean, deals
Apr 22, 2008
In the travel trade press this week, three interesting items having a bearing on your own vacation plans
There's a considerable industry of magazines and newspapers published solely for travel professionals, which often contain news that isn't passed on to just-plain-travelers. Here are three items of which you may not have heard:
First, interviewed in the trade press, the president of Club Med, worldwide, has announced that the Club Med resorts are on their way to becoming "upscale" resorts with a heavy emphasis on families, family facilities, and couples (and less, apparently, for singles). He (Club Med's new leader) is Henri Giscard d'Estaing, son of a former president of France, and obviously brought up in a setting of great wealth (which is perhaps why the word "upscale" drips from his lips). While some of the Club Meds may still for a time be operated for swinging youngsters, their days are apparently numbered, if I read Giscard d'Estaing's remarks correctly. The Club Meds, which used to be promoted as "antidotes to civilization," are rapidly being made over into sophisticated, worldly resorts. As someone who used to value the insouciant atmosphere of Club Meds, the lack of a dress code, the pure democracy, the unpretentious high-jinx and games, I regard these new policies as a disaster. And I predict that in a few years, when the new "upscale" policies have failed miserably, Club Med will return to its former state of being, probably under a new Club Med president
The competing political parties of Kenya have entered into a "Grand Coalition," according to the country's Ministry of Tourism, and all tourists can now safely return. At a ceremony attended by Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the U.N., everyone announced their determination to achieve peace and stability, and their agreement to assign specific cabinet posts in equal measure to the two parties ("the Grand Coalition"). The few elements that have continued to riot and parade have been asked to cease their protests. As I have pointed out before, if the truce does hold, Kenya's games parks will be offering spectacular low rates in order to re-start the flow of safaris. You are again advised to check with Adventure Center, Lion World Travel, or 2Afrika for their announcements of cut-rate trips to Kenya
A bit of good news: the Department of Transportation has just doubled the penalty that airlines must pay to overbooked passengers who have been denied boarding. Henceforth, such unlucky souls will receive twice the airfare they earlier paid, up to a maximum of $800, in addition to being later transported for free to their destinations. However, if the passengers can be flown to that destination within two hours of the earlier-anticipated arrival time, the maximum penalty is reduced to $400.
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First, interviewed in the trade press, the president of Club Med, worldwide, has announced that the Club Med resorts are on their way to becoming "upscale" resorts with a heavy emphasis on families, family facilities, and couples (and less, apparently, for singles). He (Club Med's new leader) is Henri Giscard d'Estaing, son of a former president of France, and obviously brought up in a setting of great wealth (which is perhaps why the word "upscale" drips from his lips). While some of the Club Meds may still for a time be operated for swinging youngsters, their days are apparently numbered, if I read Giscard d'Estaing's remarks correctly. The Club Meds, which used to be promoted as "antidotes to civilization," are rapidly being made over into sophisticated, worldly resorts. As someone who used to value the insouciant atmosphere of Club Meds, the lack of a dress code, the pure democracy, the unpretentious high-jinx and games, I regard these new policies as a disaster. And I predict that in a few years, when the new "upscale" policies have failed miserably, Club Med will return to its former state of being, probably under a new Club Med president
The competing political parties of Kenya have entered into a "Grand Coalition," according to the country's Ministry of Tourism, and all tourists can now safely return. At a ceremony attended by Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the U.N., everyone announced their determination to achieve peace and stability, and their agreement to assign specific cabinet posts in equal measure to the two parties ("the Grand Coalition"). The few elements that have continued to riot and parade have been asked to cease their protests. As I have pointed out before, if the truce does hold, Kenya's games parks will be offering spectacular low rates in order to re-start the flow of safaris. You are again advised to check with Adventure Center, Lion World Travel, or 2Afrika for their announcements of cut-rate trips to Kenya
A bit of good news: the Department of Transportation has just doubled the penalty that airlines must pay to overbooked passengers who have been denied boarding. Henceforth, such unlucky souls will receive twice the airfare they earlier paid, up to a maximum of $800, in addition to being later transported for free to their destinations. However, if the passengers can be flown to that destination within two hours of the earlier-anticipated arrival time, the maximum penalty is reduced to $400.
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Labels: accommodations, airlines, kenya, safari
Apr 21, 2008
A website called Rentalo.com is currently listing one-bedroom apartments in Paris, capable of housing up to six persons, for $134 a night
Evidence continues to accumulate that the most cost-effective means of visiting London, Paris or Rome is to schedule at least a one-week visit there and to stay in an apartment, not a hotel. An example is the current offer by Rentalo.com (one of the several major worldwide apartment rental firms) of one-bedroom apartments in the center of Paris for as little as $134 and $135 a night.
In a 17th century building on the Rue Jean Jacques Rousseau, two blocks from the Louvre and the Seine, a one-bedroom apartment with kitchen and living room features cable TV capable of receiving CNN, and high-speed Internet, for $135 a night (plus a small cleaning fee, if you desire to have a maid come in). Why so cheap? The apartment is in a five flight walk-up, and therefore only for vigorous people, who will be thrilled once upstairs to look out "sur les toits de Paris" ("over the rooftops of Paris"). Your landlord will usually require at least a one-week stay, but has been known to rent in slow periods for as few as four nights.
Elsewhere in Paris, a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment sleeps six (vai a king bed in the bedroom and two double sofa beds in the living room) on a quiet street near the Place de la Republique, a three-minute walk from a metro (subway) and a supermarket. The kitchen here includes a washing machine, dishwasher, iron, microwave, coffeemaker and toaster. And the price is $134 a night, with a three-night minimum.
It can't be sufficiently stressed that the rental of apartments in major European cities is an effective way to cut the cost of your European vacation. In addition to using Rentalo.com for finding these apartments, you can also go to Homeaway.com, to VRBO.com (now owned by Homeaway), to EVRentals.com, Zonder.com, and numerous local rental firms found by accessing information on the city in which they are found.
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In a 17th century building on the Rue Jean Jacques Rousseau, two blocks from the Louvre and the Seine, a one-bedroom apartment with kitchen and living room features cable TV capable of receiving CNN, and high-speed Internet, for $135 a night (plus a small cleaning fee, if you desire to have a maid come in). Why so cheap? The apartment is in a five flight walk-up, and therefore only for vigorous people, who will be thrilled once upstairs to look out "sur les toits de Paris" ("over the rooftops of Paris"). Your landlord will usually require at least a one-week stay, but has been known to rent in slow periods for as few as four nights.
Elsewhere in Paris, a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment sleeps six (vai a king bed in the bedroom and two double sofa beds in the living room) on a quiet street near the Place de la Republique, a three-minute walk from a metro (subway) and a supermarket. The kitchen here includes a washing machine, dishwasher, iron, microwave, coffeemaker and toaster. And the price is $134 a night, with a three-night minimum.
It can't be sufficiently stressed that the rental of apartments in major European cities is an effective way to cut the cost of your European vacation. In addition to using Rentalo.com for finding these apartments, you can also go to Homeaway.com, to VRBO.com (now owned by Homeaway), to EVRentals.com, Zonder.com, and numerous local rental firms found by accessing information on the city in which they are found.
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Labels: accommodations, apartment rental, europe, london, paris, rome, websites
Apr 18, 2008
At last! A Chinese website enabling you to obtain low-cost air tickets to and within China -- directly from the Chinese
For several years now, Ctrip.com has been China's leading source of travel news, accessed by a multitude of Chinese readers. But although it maintained a barely-working version in English, it was the Chinese-language website on which most attention was lavished. Lots o' luck.
Ctrip.com has now given its English website a big facelift and a crystal-clear address, www.english.ctrip.com. And it has also created a phone number (011-86-21-34064888, ext. 6) for inquiries or to make a booking (you'll hear a Chinese-language announcement until you press extension 6 at the end of the Chinese statement). Starting now, you won't find cheaper tickets to China, or within China, than on Ctrip's English-language site.
Prices are set forth in Chinese Yuan (CNY), which you convert into dollars by dividing by 7. Thus, 2,100 Yuan equals $300. Here are some examples of they're presently offering (all round-trips):
You can also e-mail Ctrip at e_service@ctrip.com. And you can book beach vacations in China (you've been dying to do so) at sharply-discounted rates. See you on the sands at Qingdao!
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Ctrip.com has now given its English website a big facelift and a crystal-clear address, www.english.ctrip.com. And it has also created a phone number (011-86-21-34064888, ext. 6) for inquiries or to make a booking (you'll hear a Chinese-language announcement until you press extension 6 at the end of the Chinese statement). Starting now, you won't find cheaper tickets to China, or within China, than on Ctrip's English-language site.
Prices are set forth in Chinese Yuan (CNY), which you convert into dollars by dividing by 7. Thus, 2,100 Yuan equals $300. Here are some examples of they're presently offering (all round-trips):
- Vancouver and Shanghai on Air Canada: 3,670 Yuan ($524)
- Chicago and Shanghai on American Airlines: 3,150 Yuan ($450)
- London and Shanghai on China Eastern Airlines: 4,080 Yuan ($582)
- Saigon and Guangzhou on Vietnam Airlines: 1,610 Yuan ($230)
- Shanghai and Xian on China Eastern Airlines: 1,000 Yuan ($142)
You can also e-mail Ctrip at e_service@ctrip.com. And you can book beach vacations in China (you've been dying to do so) at sharply-discounted rates. See you on the sands at Qingdao!
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Labels: accommodations, airfare, budget travel, china, websites
Apr 16, 2008
You might consider using the Australian search engine for hotels, Wotif.com, for last-minute bookings to any of 30 or 40 countries
I've been receiving numerous favorable comments on a search engine maintained for last-minute hotel bookings (always within 28 days) by those enterprising Australians. It's called Wotif.com, and although it's mainly used by Australians and New Zealanders, it accepts searches and bookings from anyone, for travel to almost everywhere. It's best, obviously, for hotels in scores of Australian cities; it's worst for hotels in New York City; it's excellent for hotels in London and the U.K. And it has become a mighty presence in travel, with several offices around the world.
The company's website, www.wotif.com, stresses the last-minute nature of Wotif's best prices. Book within a couple of weeks, it claims, and you'll score big. Whatever, you might check the rates you've gotten from U.S. search engines with what the Aussies are offering.
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The company's website, www.wotif.com, stresses the last-minute nature of Wotif's best prices. Book within a couple of weeks, it claims, and you'll score big. Whatever, you might check the rates you've gotten from U.S. search engines with what the Aussies are offering.
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Labels: accommodations, websites
Apr 11, 2008
Has anyone used Helpx.net, or known anyone who has? And how did they do?
In a recent issue, Time magazine described the various hospitality clubs that this blog, and Frommers.com, have been mentioning for years. But among the familiar names -- like www.usservas.org or www.couchsurfers.com -- they listed one of which I had not earlier heard, a club called Helpx.net, which arranges free room-and-board for you in exchange for four or five hours a day of your labor, usually at a farm or a backpackers' hostel.
Have any of our readers used or heard about Helpx.net? I'd be grateful if they'd respond about their experiences, as this is an intriguing service that many of our readers might want to consider.
Write and read comments about this post.
Have any of our readers used or heard about Helpx.net? I'd be grateful if they'd respond about their experiences, as this is an intriguing service that many of our readers might want to consider.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: accommodations, websites
Mar 31, 2008
European farmhouses are a last alternative to those overpriced hotels
You can stay at a working European farm for far less than the cost of a hotel. It's called Agritourism, and it's a booming part of the European scene that is, sadly, seldom used by Americans. For as little as $30 to $70, two persons can get a comfortably rustic room in the farmhouse itself or in a converted outbuilding. Breakfast -- of the heartiest, freshest farmers' variety -- is almost always included, and you can often get inexpensive, rib-sticking dinners as well.
Some agritourisms invite guests to try their hand at agriculture -- a highlight of my (then five-year-old) granddaughter Veronica's farm-stay trip to Ireland a few years ago was getting to gather the eggs from the chicken coop each morning.
While there are only a few central sources of agriturismi, the website of the European Federation for Farm and Village Tourism (www.eurogites.com) links to about 20 official agritourism organizations around Europe, and the independent website BeyondHotels.Net (www.beyondhotels.net) has a section on agritourism with more than 50 links to resources in various European countries. Among these are: www.bienvenue-a-la-ferme.com (France); www.irishfarmholidays.com (Ireland); www.terranostra.it, www.turismoverde.it, and www.agriturist.it (all Italy); and www.farmstayuk.co.uk (the United Kingdom).
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Some agritourisms invite guests to try their hand at agriculture -- a highlight of my (then five-year-old) granddaughter Veronica's farm-stay trip to Ireland a few years ago was getting to gather the eggs from the chicken coop each morning.
While there are only a few central sources of agriturismi, the website of the European Federation for Farm and Village Tourism (www.eurogites.com) links to about 20 official agritourism organizations around Europe, and the independent website BeyondHotels.Net (www.beyondhotels.net) has a section on agritourism with more than 50 links to resources in various European countries. Among these are: www.bienvenue-a-la-ferme.com (France); www.irishfarmholidays.com (Ireland); www.terranostra.it, www.turismoverde.it, and www.agriturist.it (all Italy); and www.farmstayuk.co.uk (the United Kingdom).
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Labels: accommodations, europe
The convents and monasteries of western Europe supply comfortable and affordable lodgings
How real is the advice of some travel writers to use the convents and monasteries of Europe for your lodgings? Very real, indeed. A great many monastic orders in Europe take vows of hospitality in place of poverty, and accommodate visitors for a token fee of $10 to $40 a night -- sometimes even for free.
The freebies, of course, are found at only a small number of monasteries, traditionally the more isolated ones in the countryside, where you stay in a monastic cell on a kind of personal religious retreat. At one of these, you are expected to remain in place for at least three days, following the monastery's rules, eating with the monks, and attending mass several times a day.
More to the speed of most tourists are the religious hospices run by convents. These are often set up as guesthouses for pilgrims and, as a result, are concentrated in such pilgrimage locations as Rome, Assisi and Lourdes -- though you can find hospices associated with major churches in most other big cities. Here, the rules tend to be less rigid (at most there might be a curfew), though showing a healthy amount of respect is always wise. Decor is monastically simple: a plain bed, perhaps a desk, and a crucifix on the wall. Rates range from $20 to $40, but can be higher at a few places (better left avoided).
How do you find them? They're occasionally (but only very occasionally) found on the internet. The American church of Santa Susanna in Rome maintains an excellent Italian list at www.santasusanna.org/comingToRome/convents.html. The religious tour operator Zefiro World will reserve a spot at a few dozen other religious guesthouses (www.go-to-italy.com/English/Religious.htm), though these tend to fall toward the pricier end of the scale.
There is also an excellent series of guidebooks by Eileen Barrish that includes the titles: Lodging in Italy's Monasteries, Lodging in Spain's Monasteries, and Lodging in France's Monasteries (they're in most big bookstores, and online). Two similar and helpful books are Bed and Blessings Italy by Anne and June Walsh, and Europe's Monastery and Convent Guesthouses: A Pilgrim's Travel Guide by Kevin J. Wright.
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The freebies, of course, are found at only a small number of monasteries, traditionally the more isolated ones in the countryside, where you stay in a monastic cell on a kind of personal religious retreat. At one of these, you are expected to remain in place for at least three days, following the monastery's rules, eating with the monks, and attending mass several times a day.
More to the speed of most tourists are the religious hospices run by convents. These are often set up as guesthouses for pilgrims and, as a result, are concentrated in such pilgrimage locations as Rome, Assisi and Lourdes -- though you can find hospices associated with major churches in most other big cities. Here, the rules tend to be less rigid (at most there might be a curfew), though showing a healthy amount of respect is always wise. Decor is monastically simple: a plain bed, perhaps a desk, and a crucifix on the wall. Rates range from $20 to $40, but can be higher at a few places (better left avoided).
How do you find them? They're occasionally (but only very occasionally) found on the internet. The American church of Santa Susanna in Rome maintains an excellent Italian list at www.santasusanna.org/comingToRome/convents.html. The religious tour operator Zefiro World will reserve a spot at a few dozen other religious guesthouses (www.go-to-italy.com/English/Religious.htm), though these tend to fall toward the pricier end of the scale.
There is also an excellent series of guidebooks by Eileen Barrish that includes the titles: Lodging in Italy's Monasteries, Lodging in Spain's Monasteries, and Lodging in France's Monasteries (they're in most big bookstores, and online). Two similar and helpful books are Bed and Blessings Italy by Anne and June Walsh, and Europe's Monastery and Convent Guesthouses: A Pilgrim's Travel Guide by Kevin J. Wright.
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Labels: accommodations, monastery
Mar 28, 2008
Free or nominally-priced hospitality services are finally getting the recognition they deserve
This week's issue of Time magazine (March 31, the one with the Dalai Lama on the cover) carries a short article on the emergence of hospitality services around the world, but specifically mentions only two of them: Servas (www.usservas.org) and Couchsurfing.com (www.couchsurfing.com). Which reminds me to draw your attention to a constant increase in the several hospitality websites that we've been careful to describe in this blog. Most recently, I wrote about www.educatorstravel.com, which enables teachers and their families to stay for a total of $40 a night in some 6,000 homes in 50 countries; the charge to join is $46 a year.
Educatorstravel.com has just been joined by a newer organization called teacherstravelweb.com (www.teacherstravelweb.com), whose members live in America, Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, and host each other free-of-charge, without a nightly fee. Membership fee to join: €45.
A broader group supports the hospitality offers of the Evergreen Club (www.evergreenclub.com) for people over the age of 50 who mainly live in the United States (only a few members presently reside overseas). Evergreen has always believed that if a nominal charge is assessed for an overnight stay ($15 for two people per night), the transaction will be conducted in a more professional and reliable manner. You pay $75 a year to join Evergreen, but thereafter, your only cost is $15 a night for hospitality.
At a time when hotel rates are going through the roof both domestically and around the world, free hospitality clubs -- "you stay in my home and I'll later stay in yours' or in the home of another member" -- are enabling many Americans to continue traveling. Though you may not have considered this option in the days when the dollar was king, you might now want to shed your inhibitions and accept these offers of home hospitality. They make sense.
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Educatorstravel.com has just been joined by a newer organization called teacherstravelweb.com (www.teacherstravelweb.com), whose members live in America, Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, and host each other free-of-charge, without a nightly fee. Membership fee to join: €45.
A broader group supports the hospitality offers of the Evergreen Club (www.evergreenclub.com) for people over the age of 50 who mainly live in the United States (only a few members presently reside overseas). Evergreen has always believed that if a nominal charge is assessed for an overnight stay ($15 for two people per night), the transaction will be conducted in a more professional and reliable manner. You pay $75 a year to join Evergreen, but thereafter, your only cost is $15 a night for hospitality.
At a time when hotel rates are going through the roof both domestically and around the world, free hospitality clubs -- "you stay in my home and I'll later stay in yours' or in the home of another member" -- are enabling many Americans to continue traveling. Though you may not have considered this option in the days when the dollar was king, you might now want to shed your inhibitions and accept these offers of home hospitality. They make sense.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: accommodations, websites
Mar 25, 2008
Though it's not for everyone, an inexpensive, self-drive auto tour of Europe, using motels for lodgings, is entirely possible
Some U.S. families regard the self-drive automobile tour, staying in highway motels, as an excellent way to see the country. Surprisingly enough, a great many Europeans feel the same way about their highways and motels. At strategic Autobahn and autostrada exits across Europe are modern roadside motels waiting to welcome them with standardized comforts, few frills, and rock-bottom rates: €29 to €75 for a double room.
I've written before about Travelodge (www.travelodge.co.uk), a British chain of 330 motels where Web sales can bring the price of a double room as low as £19, but that is far from the only motel chain operating in Europe. Travelodge's rival Premiere Inn (www.premierinn.com) boasts 500 hotels in the U.K. and Ireland -- and there are motels beyond the British Isles, from Berlin to Budapest.
Accor, the vast French-owned hotel group, may be more famous for its higher-end hotel brands Novotel and Sofitel (and, in the United States, Red Roof Inn and Motel 6), but at the other end of the lodging spectrum it runs the famously basic Formule 1 (www.hotelformule1.com), a chain of 380 motels in 14 European countries. These utterly bare-bones motels are fully automated (aside from a few hours each morning and evening), the "receptionist" consisting of an ATM-like machine you use to check yourself in.
One step up in the Accor family is Etap (369 motels in 11 countries; www.etaphotel.com), with a live receptionist all day, rooms with a double bed and a lofted bunk for a child, and an included breakfast buffet (breakfast at Formule 1 costs an extra €3.90).
Another French lodging includes the motel-like brands of Campanile (more than 300 properties in nine countries; www.campanile.com) and Kyriad (200 motels, all in France; www.kyriad.com). Europe even boasts familiar roadside signs for such American chains as Holiday Inn Express (www.hiexpress.com) and Days Inn (www.daysinn.com), where rates start around €55 to €75 for roadside properties, rising to €130 to €210 for hotels closer in to city centers.
This brings up an important point. European motels are increasingly no longer limited to highway interchanges, airport approaches, and ring roads. A surprising number of these bland but reliable chains are opening up along the outskirts of, and sometimes even within, the historic city centers of Europe's major cities.
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I've written before about Travelodge (www.travelodge.co.uk), a British chain of 330 motels where Web sales can bring the price of a double room as low as £19, but that is far from the only motel chain operating in Europe. Travelodge's rival Premiere Inn (www.premierinn.com) boasts 500 hotels in the U.K. and Ireland -- and there are motels beyond the British Isles, from Berlin to Budapest.
Accor, the vast French-owned hotel group, may be more famous for its higher-end hotel brands Novotel and Sofitel (and, in the United States, Red Roof Inn and Motel 6), but at the other end of the lodging spectrum it runs the famously basic Formule 1 (www.hotelformule1.com), a chain of 380 motels in 14 European countries. These utterly bare-bones motels are fully automated (aside from a few hours each morning and evening), the "receptionist" consisting of an ATM-like machine you use to check yourself in.
One step up in the Accor family is Etap (369 motels in 11 countries; www.etaphotel.com), with a live receptionist all day, rooms with a double bed and a lofted bunk for a child, and an included breakfast buffet (breakfast at Formule 1 costs an extra €3.90).
Another French lodging includes the motel-like brands of Campanile (more than 300 properties in nine countries; www.campanile.com) and Kyriad (200 motels, all in France; www.kyriad.com). Europe even boasts familiar roadside signs for such American chains as Holiday Inn Express (www.hiexpress.com) and Days Inn (www.daysinn.com), where rates start around €55 to €75 for roadside properties, rising to €130 to €210 for hotels closer in to city centers.
This brings up an important point. European motels are increasingly no longer limited to highway interchanges, airport approaches, and ring roads. A surprising number of these bland but reliable chains are opening up along the outskirts of, and sometimes even within, the historic city centers of Europe's major cities.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: accommodations, budget, europe
Mar 18, 2008
Here's an odd suggestion for your upcoming summer vacation: spend it at Harvard!
Attracted by an advertisement of the Harvard Summer School, in which programs were described as being for "high school and college students, and adults," I phoned Harvard's public relations department and learned, to my surprise, that the entire summer pro