May 6, 2004 -- Deals to Hawaii keep popping up all over offering various and sundry "free" this and "free" that hoping you'll be hooked with that magical word. Others try with $-off promotions. But is anything ever, truly free? Do the discounts equal real savings? As usual, it's a toss up of yes and no.
United Vacations has savings up to $300 if you book by May 31 for its five-night air/hotel packages that feature stays in Starwood hotel properties for departures from June 2 -- December 9. Use the promotional code STAR300 to get $300 off vacations valued at $4,000 or more. On vacations valued at $2,750 to $3,999, you get $200 off; and for vacations valued at $1,500 to $2,749, you get $100 off.
In addition, you can choose the "Sunsational Savings" program as part of your package and get a free night stay, as well as a $75 dining credit or daily buffet breakfast. Sample vacations include roundtrip airfare on United Airlines, five nights of hotel lodging, roundtrip airport/hotel transfers (on Oahu only), a welcome breakfast orientation and fresh flower lei greeting (on Oahu), a guidebook and more.
Sample vacations to Oahu with lodging at the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel begin at $769 from Los Angeles or San Francisco, $949 out of Denver, $1,054 from Chicago or New York City, and $1,114 from Washington, D.C. If you depart between June 2 and August 26, add $130 to the price.
If Kauai is your destination, with lodging at the Sheraton Kauai Resort, expect to pay from $984 out of LA or San Francisco, $1,329 from Washington, D.C., with intermediate prices for the other cities cited earlier. Maui stays at the Sheraton begin at $1,119 out of Los Angeles or San Francisco, $1,464 from Washington, D.C., for example. For the periods June 2 through August 26, add $125 for Kauai or $220 for Maui. Contact United Vacations at www.unitedvacations.com or by phoning 888/328-6877.
Another example of incentive-based pricing is at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott (800/922-5533; www.waikoloabeachmarriott.com), on the Big Island, where you can get a room for just $185, said to be a 43% cut from the published retail rate (aka, the "rack rate"). You get a garden-view room for two in this deal good through June 15. The resort sits on its own 17 acres, on the beach, surrounded by palm trees, flowering gardens and lava fields. Golf, tennis and a spa are just three highlights. If you stay five nights, you also get a free automobile pass to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, good for a carload of passengers for seven days of unlimited entry to the park. The island's number-one attraction, Kilauea volcano has been spouting lava for nearly two decades (130,000 gallons of molten rock per minute).
Free nights, a rental car and nightly cocktails are the lures used by Pleasant Holidays (800/448-3333; www.pleasantholidays.com) in its deal for stays at the Embassy Vacation Resort Kaanapali on Maui. It's good through June 12, and again from August 16 through December 21, with a final booking date of December 4. Six-night, land-only vacations start at $950 per person, said to be a savings of $427 per couple. You get the six nights of lodging, daily rental car, all hotel and car rental taxes, and a fresh flower lei greeting. Also included in the price are a daily full American breakfast and a nightly cocktail reception. Blackout dates are November 18 through November 29.
The same firm has free nights at Maui's Kapalua Bay Hotel, the seventh night being free in packages that start at $1,177 per person (said to be a savings of $665 per couple). In this land-only deal, you get the seven nights, daily rental car, all hotel and car rental taxes, daily breakfast and a fresh flower lei greeting. The deal is valid from now through December 25 and again from January 4 - March 31, 2005.