Travel deals, tips, insider news and comment by 101 Holidays editors, Mark Hodson and David Wickers
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Holiday details: stay 3 nights at the 16th century Star Castle Hotel on the Isles of Scilly. Quite literally star-shaped, the hotel has magnificent views in every direction and an award winning restaurant where dinner can be enjoyed by the warmth of an open fire.
Price: from £374 per person for 3 nights half-board, saving £75, including return helicopter flights from Penzance.
Dates: valid until April 12, 2010
Book with: Star Castle Hotel
By 101shortbreaks newsdesk
The Isles of Scilly are one of this year’s hottest destinations.
And one of our favourite boltholes, the Star Castle Hotel on St Mary’s, is offering 3 nights half-board for £439 pp, a saving of £40 pp.
There’s no need to worry about a rough crossing either - the price also includes return helicopter transfers from Penzance.
The offer applies for stays between March 27 and April 30, perfect for some island-hopping, bird-watching, hiking or strolling along the beach in the spring sunshine - or hunker down in this luxurious 16th century gem with its roaring fires, romantic rooms and fabulous food.
By 101 Holidays newsdesk
Reef & Rainforest Tours is offering a £100 discount for every female that books one of their holidays in Costa Rica up to the end of March.
Hmmm, we thought. Isn’t that offer a bit … sexist?
Reef & Rainforest Tour say it’s their way of celebrating the election of Costa Rica’s first female president, Laura Chinchilla. Ms Chinchilla not only won the election, but won decisively in all seven of Costa Rica’s provinces with 47% of the vote.
The company is a specialist in Costa Rica. For example, its 13-night Remarkable Diversity tour takes in volcanoes, wetlands, forests, thermal mud pools, canopy adventures and Pacific beaches. It costs from £3,195 pp (less £100 for the ladies) and it includes all flights, 4 nights’ full-board accommodation, 9 nights B&B accommodation and guided tours in the Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge, the Rincon de la Vieja National Park and a canopy walk.
By 101 Holidays newsdesk
Meeting Mickey just got cheaper, whether you want to hop across the channel or head for some sunshine over the Atlantic.
Leisure Direction is offering savings of 30% and free child holidays at Disneyland Paris on departures up to April 1.
Prices for 2 adults and 2 children under 12 years are from £284 for 2 nights at the Davy Crockett Ranch, a saving of £122. 3 nights at the Newport Bay Club costs from £508, a saving of £218. Accommodation with breakfast and tickets for Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park for each day booked are included.
There’s not much small print - you just need to book a minimum of 2 nights before March 29 for travel before April 1. Leisure Direction can also make your travel arrangements.
Jetsave is offering free 14 day Kids Ultimate Tickets worth over £270 at Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando. The pass gives unlimited entry to all 4 Disney Parks - Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom - as well as Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, Disney’s Oak Trail golf course and the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex.
The catch is that you need to book a 14 night holiday in one of the Walt Disney World hotels, and the offer is only applicable for travel between April 1 and June 30 (book by March 31). One free pass for children aged 3 to 9 years for each adult pass purchased.
By 101 Holidays newsdesk
We’ve found some enticing winter sun deals to escape the grim weather in the UK.
Bailey Robinson is offering 7 nights at the Hyatt Regency Sharm El Sheikh from £780 pp half-board, a saving of £333 pp on departures up to February 18. Set in 86 acres on Na’ama Bay, this 5 * resort is only 10 minutes from Sharm El Sheikh airport. Facilities include a choice of 5 restaurants, pools galore, a spa, fitness centre, tennis courts, children’s club and 3 beaches.
Save £700 pp with Tropical Sky at the luxurious Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resort in the Maldives. Departing February 21, 7 nights in a deluxe water villa costs from £1,829 pp including all meals, flights and speedboat transfers. The choice of watersports is outstanding, including the only registered kite-surfing school in the Maldives.
If ‘fly and flop’ isn’t your style, head off on March 5 to America’s southern states to join Jetsave’s Southern Music & Dixieland Tour. Costing £979 pp, a saving of £283 pp, the 12-day tour takes in the birthplace of jazz, New Orleans, as well as the Blues Highway to Memphis, a visit to Elvis Presley’s Gracelands and a tour of Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame. Scheduled flights, hotel accommodation and an expert tour guide are included in the price.
Find more winter holiday destinations.
By Mark Hodson, 101 Holidays editor
One of the best ways to bag a great deal at a luxury hotel is to stay in the first couple of months of opening. Admittedly, there may still be a faint whiff of paint, but the savings available more than offset any minor inconvenience.
Take, for example, the new Constance Ephelia Resort in the Seychelles. It will open next month, set on two gorgeous beaches (pictured above) on the northwest coast of the main island, Mahé.
This luxury hotel, set in tropical gardens and overlooking the Port Launay Marine National Park, will offer a range of superb accommodation including beachfront suites and family villas and four swimming pools.
If two people book a week in a junior suite in February or March the first person will pay £2,110, including return flights from Heathrow, private transfers, dinner, breakfast and use of a gym, tennis court, squash court and non-motorised watersports.
But here’s the really good bit. The second person pays just £370, saving a total of £1,700.
The reason this is such good value is that this is a “soft opening”. The junior suites, South Beach restaurants and spa will open from February 1, while the villas, senior suites and North Beach restaurants will open on March 1.
This deal can be booked with Rainbow Tours by February 28, 2010, for travel in February or March.