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
Feb 6, 2008
Too many American travelers overlook Edinburgh, unaware that most of its major museums are totally free-of-charge to enter
Just as in London, most of the major museums of Edinburgh charge no admission. You can create a fascinating Edinburgh stay around visits to these amazing attractions, and enjoy the entire experience for a moderate sum.
Free of charge, first, is the National Museum of Scotland, filled with the great achievements of great Scots (like Alexander Graham Bell). You'll also find Dolly here, the world's first cloned sheep. Free of charge, too, is the Museum of Edinburgh, run by the city and located in a prime position on the famous Royal Mile. It tells the complicated tale of the city's story (most of which centers on the Scots' ongoing feud with the English). Free of charge, as well, is the Scottish National Portrait Gallery which displays the face of Sean Connery among its celebrity portraits; the Modern Art Galleries with Warhols, Bacons, Hirsts, and lots of Dada and Surrealism; and the National Gallery of Scotland on busy Princes Street, honoring art from around Europe with an emphasis on Scottish works. Expect high quality works collected by some of Scotland's richest titans of industry, including Rembrandts, Botticellis and Monets. It is conjoined with the Royal Scottish Academy Building (free of charge), which is stocked with much of the same.
And finally, the City Art Center in a towering building overlooking Waverley train station displays some 3,500 works of Scottish art. As the main center for Scotland's visual art treasures, it's always changing the offerings, so you never know what you're going to find there. It charges no admission.
There isn't a cheesy tourist trap in the bunch. Just from that list, it should be evident that in Edinburgh, as in London, you can craft a rich multi-day vacation out of exclusively free things to see and do.
Then, when you've exhausted the list, you can (if you choose) move on to the city's collection of excellent paid historical attractions, such as the Castle, the Queen's official Scottish residence, Holyroodhouse, Britannia, the Queen's famous royal yacht, and Rosslyn Chapel, the romantic and wildly carved sanctuary located in the countryside just south of town. Important sights all, but by no means required for a memorable Edinburgh experience.
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Free of charge, first, is the National Museum of Scotland, filled with the great achievements of great Scots (like Alexander Graham Bell). You'll also find Dolly here, the world's first cloned sheep. Free of charge, too, is the Museum of Edinburgh, run by the city and located in a prime position on the famous Royal Mile. It tells the complicated tale of the city's story (most of which centers on the Scots' ongoing feud with the English). Free of charge, as well, is the Scottish National Portrait Gallery which displays the face of Sean Connery among its celebrity portraits; the Modern Art Galleries with Warhols, Bacons, Hirsts, and lots of Dada and Surrealism; and the National Gallery of Scotland on busy Princes Street, honoring art from around Europe with an emphasis on Scottish works. Expect high quality works collected by some of Scotland's richest titans of industry, including Rembrandts, Botticellis and Monets. It is conjoined with the Royal Scottish Academy Building (free of charge), which is stocked with much of the same.
And finally, the City Art Center in a towering building overlooking Waverley train station displays some 3,500 works of Scottish art. As the main center for Scotland's visual art treasures, it's always changing the offerings, so you never know what you're going to find there. It charges no admission.
There isn't a cheesy tourist trap in the bunch. Just from that list, it should be evident that in Edinburgh, as in London, you can craft a rich multi-day vacation out of exclusively free things to see and do.
Then, when you've exhausted the list, you can (if you choose) move on to the city's collection of excellent paid historical attractions, such as the Castle, the Queen's official Scottish residence, Holyroodhouse, Britannia, the Queen's famous royal yacht, and Rosslyn Chapel, the romantic and wildly carved sanctuary located in the countryside just south of town. Important sights all, but by no means required for a memorable Edinburgh experience.
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Labels: culture, edinburgh, scotland
Aug 7, 2007
Starting in early October, round-trip trans-Atlantic airfares will be offered for as little as $303
It's still too early to discuss all the rock-bottom trans-Atlantic fares that nearly every big airline will be offering as of early October. But already, the Scottish airline FlyGlobeSpan (tel. 718-473-0699 in New York, 617-379-0888 in Boston, 407-965-5499 in Orlando; www.flyglobespan.com) has announced spectacular off-season rates to an ever-growing list of Irish and British cities. Starting late September, FlyGlobeSpan's roundtrip flights from Boston to Glasgow, Scotland, will start at $318, or you can fly round-trip from Boston to Ireland West Airport Knock, gateway to the glories of Western Ireland, from $303. Round-trip fares from New York's JFK to Liverpool, England begin (at that time) at $348, to Ireland at $361. Taxes on most of these routes run just $149.
These are opening salvos in what undoubtedly will be a violent trans-Atlantic fare war this coming autumn and winter. As other airlines announce their bargain rates, FlyGlobeSpan and other carriers (like the new, Canadian-owned Zoom Airways flying for $199 each way from JFK New York to Gatwick, London) will undoubtedly respond with even lower rates. If you can postpone your trip to the autumn months, you'll save a great deal.
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These are opening salvos in what undoubtedly will be a violent trans-Atlantic fare war this coming autumn and winter. As other airlines announce their bargain rates, FlyGlobeSpan and other carriers (like the new, Canadian-owned Zoom Airways flying for $199 each way from JFK New York to Gatwick, London) will undoubtedly respond with even lower rates. If you can postpone your trip to the autumn months, you'll save a great deal.
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Labels: airlines, england, scotland
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
