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Every Night is Ladies' Night With This Club Med Discount

June 23, 2003 -- Is Cancun lacking in women -- or is Club Med trying to reward American women for triumphing over the trials of their lives? That's what we started wondering when we saw the holiday packager's "Ladies Fly Free" deal, which offers free airfare (up to $400) for one-week trips to Club Med's villages in Cancun and the Turks and Caicos islands.

The deal is pretty simple: book a seven-night stay at either village by calling 800/536-3046 before July 22, convince them you're female, and get $400 taken out of your airfare. That means free airfare if your flight to Club Med is under $400, and a discount if the base fare is higher.

The resulting price for a one-week holiday is $910 for trips to Cancun between Sept. 6 and Oct. 25; $980 for trips to Cancun between June 15 and August 30; and $1120 for trips to Turkoise any time before Oct. 25. (Labor Day weekend is blacked out for Cancun, but not for Turkoise.) You've got to stay in a standard double room, either with a friend or a Club Med-selected roommate to get this deal. You also have to book a week in advance, and the airfare is non-refundable.

If you haven't been to Club Med this year, the big news is that North Americans get an "all-inclusive" plan, which means no more bar bracelets: all drinks and snacks are included.

There's no requirement for the ladies involved to bring men along, so bachelorette parties, Sex and the City singles and lesbian couples, bring it on. If gentlemen decide to accompany ladies on this trip, they'll have to pay regular rates (presumably, about $400 more.)

Club Med told us the airfare prices they use are "competitive with retail fares," so we checked out some retail fares to see if they fit under the $400 threshhold. For a theoretical trip out on September 6, we found fares from New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington, and Atlanta to Cancun on Expedia for under $400. But ladies flying from Miami, Dallas, Phoenix, San Francisco and Seattle would all have to pay supplements if Club Med is using the same fares as we found -- from $39 out of Miami to a harsh $163 out of Seattle.

Fares to the Turks and Caicos on Expedia for the same week are much higher. We found fares ranging from a low of $450 from Miami and $480 from New York to $844 from Phoenix and $857 from Seattle. That means a Miamian would pay a $50 supplement, but a Seattleite would be stuck paying $457. It's still a savings, though.

If you're itching to get away from the boys for a week (or to get away with the boys for a week), this is a delightful distaff deal.

Additional details and a few pictures of the property are online here, www.clubmedoffers.com/ladiesfree. As stated earlier, you'll have to call to make reservations.


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