Spring has sprung, so naturally there are money-saving deals popping up all over the Caribbean. Here's a trio of family-friendly packages that deliver hefty savings for a quick island getaway.
Deal or No Deal? Spring Fling at Puerto Rico's El Conquistador
Looking for a tropical getaway with minimal hassle? Consider Puerto Rico: it's just about as exotic as you can get without needing a passport. Kids can practice their Spanish (English is also spoken), there's no need for currency conversions, and flights from the U.S. mainland are plentiful.
Hilton Hotels' Spring Escape promotion is available from April 12 to June 30 at five participating properties in Puerto Rico, including the flagship El Conquistador Resort (www.elconresort.com/escape/). This mega-property, on 500 acres overlooking the island's east coast, has 23 on-site restaurants and lounges, seven outdoor pools, a water park, casino, spa, kids' camp -- and a 100-acre private island. Close to El Yunque National Forest, the resort is also just 31 miles from San Juan's airport.
The package includes a free night and a few other extras, with nightly rates starting at $199 in April, and $149 in May and June. To find out if it's actually a good deal for families, we did the math on a four-night weekend getaway in early May.
- 4th night free (in early May, a garden-view room is typically $179)
- breakfast daily for two adults and two kids (if worth $15 per person x 4 people x 4 days = $240)
- $25 casino match bet coupon (worth $25)
- 20 percent discount on a spa treatment (worth, for example, $33 on an 80-minute massage)
The regular room rate is the same per night as the package rate, so the offer truly delivers a free night. A family of four booking a four-day stay in May with this package would spend $537 ($179 per night x 4 nights - free night). Purchased without the package, this same stay with room and breakfast would cost $956 ($179 x 4 nights + $240) -- or $419 more than the package total. We're not including the casino coupon or spa discount in the savings calculation, because those elements require you to spend money in order to save.
Deal or no deal? This one delivers an impressive savings of 44 percent on lodging and breakfasts. And if you choose to spend in the casino or spa, you'll save a bit more. The bad news comes in the fine print: There is a daily 14 percent resort fee and 11 percent tax, applicable on the room rate and resort fee.
Deal or No Deal? All-inclusive Sale at Wyndham Sugar Bay, St. Thomas
The Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort & Spa (www.sugarbaywyndham.com), on a hilltop on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, welcomes families with a kids' club (ages 4-12), three freshwater pools, a private beach, loads of water activities, and even daily iguana feedings.
Guests can book a room-only rate or an all-inclusive plan. All-inclusive stays can often make sense for families, because you pay one price up front and then don't need to open your wallet for meals, amenities, and activities. For a limited time, you can get the all-inclusive plan for less when you stay a minimum of three nights between now and August 22. Plus, kids ages 12 and under stay, eat, and play for free.
We price-checked a short getaway for a family of two adults and two elementary school-age kids. The sale price on the all-inclusive rate is $402 a night, or $1,206 for the minimum three-night stay. The package includes:
- a three-night stay in a resort view double room (room-only rate is $200/night x 3 nights = $600)
- three daily meals and beverages for two adults (worth about $90/day x 2 adults x 3 days = $540)
- house wine and alcoholic beverages for two adults (worth, say, $25/day x 2 adults x 3 days = $150)
- kids 12 and under eat free off of the kids' menu (worth about $40/child x 2 kids x 3 days = $240)
- one half-day admission for two kids to kids' camp ($40/child x 2 children = $80)
- kayak or sailboat rental (double kayak, $20/hour x 2 kayaks x 1 hour = $40; sailboat, $30/hour)
- 8 percent room tax (worth $48)
- 10 percent resort fee (regularly $60)
- 15 percent food and beverage gratuity ($149 on a $990 tab)
If a family of four with two young kids were to pay for all of these elements separately, a conservative estimate would come to $1,907. Opting for the promotional all-inclusive rate would save $701 -- which translates to a savings of 37 percent. To look at it from another angle, the promotional all-inclusive rate of $402 per night is 33 percent less than the regular all-inclusive rate of $592 per night.
Deal or no deal? If you have kids 12 and under, this offer delivers substantial savings. If you have teens, however, the savings are considerably less. For each kid over 12, you'll pay $95 per day on top of the base price. A family of four with two teens would pay a total of $1,776 -- which is still a 7 percent savings when compared to booking the components independently.
This offer is good until May 31. As usual, there is some fine print; think blackout dates and a three-day cancellation policy. Book online or call 888/582-9104 and mention promo code PKGFEBAI.
Deal or No Deal? Atlantis: Free Night + Free Companion Airfare, the Bahamas
A handful of hotels in the Bahamas are running specials this spring, including discounted rates, spa credits, personalized butler service, and free nights. Among them is the larger-than-life Atlantis (www.atlantis.com), which is offering a fourth night free. Book a three-night stay by April 30, travel by September 30, and you'll get the fourth night of your stay free.
This mega-resort has 19 restaurants, 11 pools, eight water slides, plus a wide choice of accommodations. With more than 3,300 guestrooms and suites, chances are you'll find something just right for you. Coral Towers, for example, is popular with families, thanks to its central location and relaxed atmosphere.
We test-booked this offer for a four-night stay in late April for a family of two adults and two kids in a Coral Towers Terrace View room, and found different nightly rates during the stay: $439 a night for the first two nights, $369 for the third night, and the fourth night free (normally $369). With this deal, the total for the room (before taxes, fees and gratuities) comes to $1,247, with an average nightly of $312. ormally, you would pay $1,616 for the same stay, with an average nightly rate of $404 -- so getting that free night saves you $369, or about 23 percent of your total lodging bill.
But wait, there's more. If you book a minimum four-night stay by May 10, you can also take advantage of an island-wide promotion offering free companion airfare. It comes in the form of an airfare credit, which means that when you book the package, the base fare for one passenger is deducted from the overall package price. You book the flight as part of your hotel package, so in theory you're limited to whatever air transportation options the particular hotel has. In this case, Atlantis lists 11 different airlines. This offer is limited to one free companion airfare per room.
When we test-booked the air-inclusive package for a family of four traveling from Philadelphia, the lowest round-trip airfare came to $208 per person (taxes and fees not included for all of the rates/fares used in this example). After one companion fare was deducted, the final price came to $2,079 for lodging and airfare. When we searched Kayak (www.kayak.com) for flights on the same itinerary, the lowest airfare we found was $218 per person on US Airways. Booking independently would bring the lodging and airfare total to $2,488. In this example, the Atlantis air-and-hotel package would save $409, or about 16 percent; however, every flight option offered through Atlantis involved overnight layovers. The US Airways flights were much more kid-friendly (as in, departing and arriving within the same day). This, of course, could vary by departure airport.
Deal or no deal? You have to do the math to determine the best deal and also weigh the convenience factor when comparing air routes. Be sure to read the fine print with both the hotel-only and air-inclusive Atlantis offers. Book online or by calling 888/877-7525.
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