July 30, 2003 -- More than leaves will be falling this autumn with two upscale hotel chains reducing rates starting from a lowered $99 per night.
Take a Siesta in a Sonesta
The Sonesta Hotels & Resorts Group runs a seriously superior bunch of hotels (and a Nile Cruise operation, too), so it's a real occasion when they trot out some summer savings that start as low as $99 per night. That's the price you pay per room from now through September 15, 2003, at the Royal Sonesta in New Orleans for a "French Quarter Fling" vacation package, good for Sundays through Thursdays.
In addition, you get a welcome bottle of Champagne and a Coupon Book filled with over $125 in discounts at area attractions and restaurants. You pay just $10 more on Friday and Saturday nights, in fact. Up to two children 17 and under can stay free in the room with their parents, as well. Also in New Orleans, at the Chateau Sonesta Hotel, you can buy a Satchmo Summer Fest package good August 1 and 2, 2003, only. This two-nighter at the hotel is part of a five-day city-wide event honoring Louis Armstrong, combining musical performances with seminars, exhibits, a jazz mass, and more. The Chateau package includes a double room, check-in cocktails for two, and two Saturday Satchmo Fest event tickets. Price is $238 and extra nights just $99, taxes not included. For more information on the Satchmo Fest, go to www.satchmosummerfest.com.
Down in Florida, there's a "Summer Attractions Family" package at the Key Biscayne Sonesta, including a three-day (two-night) stay, four tickets (two for adults, two for kids) to Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, and ditto tickets to the Miami Seaquarium Marine Park, all for $196 per night. (Retail value of the attractions tickets alone is $125.80.)
In nearby Coconut Grove, the Sonesta offers a free Sony MP3 CD Player (retail value $149.99) with a three-night stay. Rates start at $139 per night per room and some restrictions apply.
At the Sonesta Resort in Bermuda, you get a fourth night free from now through the end of the year. Through August, 2003, room rates start at $275 per night. From September 1 through November 15, 2003, rates start from $245, and from November 16 through December 31, 2003, rates start from $150.
To make reservations at any of these spots, or to obtain more information, go to the Sonesta website, www.sonesta.com or phone 800/SONESTA (same as 800/766-3782).
Autumn Prices Fall at Millennium Chain Hotels
Among the twenty hotels in the Millennium chain, autumnal prices will be falling like the leaves from the corporate tree come autumn at 13 properties with rates starting from $99 in cool Minneapolis and cooler Anchorage.
In Alaska, the rate is just $99 per room per night from September 22 through November 30, 2003, $159 the first 21 days of September. In Minnesota's biggest town, $99 will also get you a room through December 31, 2003, with a Freedom package that includes the lodging, free parking, and a $25 credit for food and beverages valid at the hotel restaurant, bar or room service.
$129 is the cost per room at the historic Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles from September 1 through December 30, 2003, with a Club Floor Weekend package, in which you get lodging on the club floor, access to the Club Lounge (with free continental breakfast and evening hors d'oeuvres), access to the health club and indoor pool. This is about a 50% saving off the rack rate, they say.
Two other hotels are sporting a $129 room rate this fall. One is the Millennium in Cincinnati, the other the Knickerbocker in Chicago. At the latter, there's a Manet & The Sea Package, commemorating the Art Institute's exhibition of paintings by Edouard Manet. This includes lodging and two exhibit tickets, and is valid from October 20, 2003 through January 19, 2004.
At the Millennium in St. Louis, there's a package for $139 per room for the first night, with additional nights just $99 per room. This "St. Louis City Tour" package is valid through October 31, 2003 and includes lodging, two passes to the Historical City Tour and breakfast for two.
Similar packages are available from $149 per room at the Millennium in Durham (NC), the Maxwell House in Nashville and the UN Plaza in New York City. Amenities and details may vary, as do validity dates, so be sure to check ahead.
To reserve or for more information, go to www.millenniumhotels.com or phone 866/866-8086.
