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Holiday details: A week in Bermuda, staying at the Grotto Bay Resort Hotel, perched on the waters edge in Baileys Bay. Just 5 minutes from the airport, the hotel has 3 beaches, tennis courts and a natural underground pool in the resort’s Cathedral Cave.
Price: from £1,199 pp – saving £732 pp – room only, based on 2 sharing, including return flights from Gatwick and private transfers.
Dates: departs from August 22 to November 15, 2010, Book up until November 8, 2010.
Book with: Prestige Holidays
Is now a good time to visit Madeira - so soon after the devastating flash floods and mudslides that killed at least 42 people?
Media reports suggest that the Portuguese island is still struggling to return to normality. This BBC video shows the extent of the damage just 20 minutes outside the capital, Funchal.
But travel companies that know the island well say the main tourist areas have not been badly affected - and that local people are desperate for visitors to return.
John Dixon, Managing Director of Prestige Holidays, which has been operating in Madeira for more than 20 years, said today: “The island is quickly returning to normality. Most hotels are unaffected, flights are operating, main roads are open and the phone network and internet are fine. The clear-up operation has been extensive and almost every area that a tourist would want to visit is open for business.”
Dixon said his clients were not evacuated following the storms, and those with existing bookings are arriving safely. “We had 24 clients on the island and all of them were safe,” he said. “None of the hotels that we use were affected.”
Dixon urges British tourists not to abandon Madeira. “I appreciate that it’s a sensitive time to travel and that some clients have concerns about islanders who may be in mourning. However, the message is loud and clear from the islanders and tourism authorities. They need and welcome UK visitors.
“The worse thing for Madeira would be if people were to stop or postpone travelling to the island. Go to the island - you will have a great time, a warm welcome and you will be helping the islanders out.”
What do you think? Would you travel to Madeira now to support the island, or do you consider it insensitive? Please leave a comment below.
From the 101 Holidays newsdesk
If your idea of the perfect Christmas and New Year is to escape from the relatives and head off to somewhere interesting, singles specialist Solo’s Holidays has introduced some festive breaks that won’t break the bank.
There’s a 4-night stay from December 23 in a family-run hotel in Shap Fells, close to Penrith, for £599 half board with wine, including a Christmas Day lunch, guided walks and a boat trip on Ullswater. Or 3 nights from December 29 in buzzing Bristol costs £399 half-board with wine.
Further afield, Solos is offering 4 nights on Lake Garda from December 23 for £575 half-board (£699 departing December 29).
Alternatively, jet off to Australia on Christmas Eve for 3 nights in Cairns (including a cruise and snorkelling expedition on the Great Barrier Reef), 4 nights in Sydney including dinner in a harbourside restaurant for New Year’s Eve and 3 nights in Melbourne. The cost is £3,999 including flights, B&B accommodation in 3 and 4* hotels, 2 dinners and excursions.
Other Christmas breaks from Solo’s include Barcelona, Sorrento, Morocco and Malaysia plus Krakow, Istanbul, Antigua and Rio for New Year. All Solo’s holidays are based on single occupancy with small groups of single travellers accompanied by an experienced group leader.
If you can’t wait until Christmas, Prestige Holidays is offering “no single supplements” in a twin room at the 5* de luxe Botanico Hotel in Tenerife, departing between November 1 and December 8. Representing a saving of £329, the cost for 7 nights B&B, including flights and private transfers, is now from £1,299.
From 101 Holidays newsdesk
Thomson Tailormade is offering a week at the 3* plus Grand Pineapple Beach Resort in Antigua from £699 pp all-inclusive, a saving of £573. The price includes return flights from London Gatwick with Virgin Atlantic departing December 5, transfers and all-inclusive accommodation and non-motorised watersports.
A week’s rental with SunIsle Holidays in the Liminaki Apartments on Zante’s north-east coast departing throughout October (including half-term) now costs from £381 for up to 3 people sharing. Flights are available from a choice of UK airports and cost from £121 pp.
Prestige Holidays is offering 4 nights at the Puente Romano hotel for departures up to the end of November, saving £110 pp. For example, 4 nights departing October 4 now costs from £504 pp with return flights from Gatwick, private taxi transfers and B&B accommodation.
Anatolian Sky Holidays is offering £79 off a week’s holiday at the 4* Rhapsody Hotel in Kalkan, departing Gatwick on October 26. One week B&B now costs from £449 pp.
Classic Cottages has cut the cost of a week’s rental of La Miette, a 1st-floor apartment sleeping 3 in the Port Pendennis private gated estate in Falmouth. One week from October 3 now costs £86 pp.
Book a Qantas Walkabout fare to Australia or New Zealand, and Qantas Holidays will throw in a free night’s stopover accommodation in Singapore, Hong Kong or Bangkok for travel up to March 30 2010. Return fares cost from £935 pp.
Departing October 20, Hayes & Jarvis is offering 35% off a week’s full board at the 3* Biyadhoo resort. The package costs £699 pp including return Emirates flights from London Heathrow and speedboat transfers.
Kirker Holidays is offering 5 nights for the price of 4 at the 4* deluxe Grand Hotel Majestic on the shores of Lake Maggiore. Prices from £749 pp including flights (regional departures) to Milan, private car transfers to/from the hotel or car hire and B&B accommodation.
By 101 Holidays newsdesk
Still not booked your summer holiday? Don’t fret, we’ve uncovered some amazing deals in August, including 2 weeks for the price of 1 in Turkey, and an unusual 3-day sale of holidays at some of the finest hotels in Bermuda.
Anatolian Sky is offering 2 weeks for the price of 1, departing August 24 to the 4* Ottoman Residence in Turkey’s charming resort of Akyaka. 14 nights on a B&B basis now costs from £579 pp including flights from Gatwick and transfers. The hotel is set on the Azmak River, a 10-minute walk from the sandy beach of Akyaka.
Prestige Holidays is holding a rare 3-day sale on holidays to Bermuda with savings of at least £500 pp at hotels including Cambridge Beaches, Coco Reef Resort, the Fairmont Southampton, The Reefs and Elbow Beach. Bookings must be made between August 2 and 5 for departures between August 21 and March 31 2010. A week at Grotto Bay departing August 21, for example, now costs £934 pp on a B&B basis, a saving of £628 pp; a week departing in November now costs from £764 pp.
Cox & Kings has cut £200 off the cost of its Highlights of China tours departing up to November 15. The 7-night escorted group tour, which takes in Beijing, the Great Wall of China, Xian, the Terracotta Warriors and Shanghai, now costs from £1,195 pp (book by August 31).
Vintage Travel is offering £200 off a week’s rental of Casa Camboa in Galicia, departing August 14 or 21. Sleeping 10 with 5 bedrooms and bathrooms, this country house has a private pool and is close to the village of Vilacoba. It’s also a 30-minute drive from some of Spain’s finest sandy beaches on this unspoiled northwest coast. Flights and car hire extra (fly to Santiago or A Coruna or take the ferry to Santander or Bilbao).
By 101 Holidays newsdesk
Classic Cottages has availability for a week’s stay from July 25 at Leys Cottage in north Somerset. The rental cost has been reduced by 25% to £775 for up to 6 people. Part of an old farm, complete with Gloucester Old Spot pigs, it’s bang in the middle of Exmoor National Park and close to Dunster Castle and Dunster’s lovely sandy beach. Find more UK holiday ideas.
Kirker Holidays is offering 7 nights for the price of 5 at the 5* Elounda Gulf Villas & Suites on Crete. A week now costs from £1,390 pp (saving £436 pp) including flights from Gatwick or Manchester, private transfers and accommodation with breakfast. Choose from luxurious 1- and 2-bedroom suites or a villa with private pool, some with views over the Gulf of Mirabello.
Generally a little cooler than the Med in August, Madeira is still under 4 hours’ flight away. Prestige Holidays is offering a saving of £218 pp on a week at the luxurious Choupana Hills departing August 17; pay £1,069 pp on a B&B basis including flights from Gatwick and private transfers. It’s a far cry from Madeira’s blue rinse reputation with contemporary Thai-style rooms, a great spa and stunning views of Funchal.
Real Holidays has an exclusive offer of 25% off stays at La Casa in Collina, a 7-room boutique hotel in the heart of Italy’s Marche region. 3 nights half-board now costs £490 pp, excluding flights (Ancona and Pescara airports are both 90 minutes’ drive away). The infinity pool has stunning views over the rolling Marche hills, there’s a great restaurant (the owners are former restaurateurs) and the rooms are stylish and contemporary.
It may seem a bit premature to be thinking about autumn but the New England Fall season is something really special. Jetsave is offering a 10-day “Colours of the Fall” escorted tour of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and New Hampshire from September 18 for just £929 pp, a saving of £275 pp. As well as leaf-peeping, highlights include a day in Boston, a visit to Martha’s Vineyard and Plymouth Rock and a trip on one of the world’s steepest rail tracks aboard the Mount Washington Cog Railway.
Closer to home, autumn in the Isles of Scilly generally means sunshine, balmy water and warm temperatures. Prestige Holidays is offering 3 nights at Tresco’s Flying Boat Club from £315 pp based on 6 sharing a luxurious 3-bedroom beachfront house. Based on stays in October and November, the price includes return helicopter flights from Penzance, transfers on Tresco and self-catering accommodation. Guests have access to the Flying Boat Club’s restaurant, gardens, indoor pool, tennis courts as well as free entry to the Abbey Gardens and free golf on the 9-hole St Mary’s course.
Each week at 101 Holidays we interview one of the people behind the UK’s finest travel companies. This week we turn the spotlight on John Dixon, chairman and managing director of the independent luxury tour operator, Prestige Holidays.
John began his career on the high street and by the age of 25 was managing a large travel agency in London’s West End. From there he moved to Cadogan Holidays where he rose to deputy MD. In 1989, John left Cadogan with two colleagues to found Prestige Holidays. He lives in Hampshire with his wife Cheri.
• Where are you planning to go on holiday this year, and why?
I am off to Canada with my wife and some very dear friends this summer. We will be staying in our friend’s beautiful log cabin that is lost in the woods on an obscure lake in the wilds of Nova Scotia. It’s the perfect place to relax, unwind and enjoy the peace. It’s also a great place to go walking and see the wildlife. We will start the holiday with a few days in Montreal and on the banks of the St Lawrence River.
• What is your favourite bolt hole in the UK, and why?
Lainston House near Winchester because it’s a gracious, very relaxing hotel in beautiful countryside with a fine restaurant and it’s just 45 minutes from home – what more could you ask for?
• If you could spend a long weekend in any city abroad, which would you pick, and why?
New York as it’s one of the most exciting cities I have ever been to. It offers something for everybody from shopping, to fabulous restaurants, great theatre, music and of course museums; my favourite is the Museum of Modern Art.
• Please tell us three items that are always found in your luggage.
One or two paperbacks, an iPod (I am a classical music lover), and photographs of my wife, son and dog
• What one thing would most improve people’s overall holiday experience?
The willingness to open up and interact with the local community. I always find it fascinating to learn how other people think and live.
• What has been your worst holiday experience?
A trip to Malta years ago staying in a five-star hotel before the season began. The weather was unusually bad; I travelled with my wife and son, who was five at the time, and my mother-in-law. We all went down with flu-like symptoms and had an utterly miserable time.
• Tell us your favourite hotel: in the UK; in mainland Europe; in the rest of the world.
The Stafford Hotel in the UK, as it offers the feel of a luxurious country house in central London. The hotel has a great history and offers excellent service.
In Europe, Casa Dell Arte (pictured above, left) is a gorgeous boutique hotel near Bodrum. This features in our new Turkey programme and I chose it for its location, sheer luxury and superb staff.
In Bermuda, the luxurious cottage colony, Cambridge Beaches (pictured above, right) , is set on a 30-acre peninsula offering stunning ocean views, 5 great beaches and 3 fabulous restaurants - the perfect romantic getaway.
• What is the most exciting project your company is working on right now?
A new long-haul destination, which must remain confidential, in a very large country that offers every conceivable kind of holiday imaginable – watch this space!
• Thank you, John.
Please visit the Prestige Holidays website.
From the 101 Holidays newsdesk
Vintage Travel is offering a week’s villa rental from July 11 for up to 8 people for £1,495, a saving of £900. Couyoula is a beautifully restored 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom stone farmhouse with a large pool, table tennis and floodlit boules pitch, all set in 3 acres of grounds close to the village of Puylagarde in Tarn-et-Garonne, south west France. Flights (closest airports Rodez or Toulouse) are not included.
Save £203 pp on a week at the Aphrodite Hills Resort, close to Paphos in Cyprus. Departing July 1 with Prestige Holidays, a week now costs from £869 pp including return flights from Gatwick, private transfers and accommodation on a B&B basis. More like a small village than a hotel, Aphrodite Hills boasts its own golf course, tennis academy, spa and huge choice of restaurants with rooms, suites and villas.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the Thai tourism authorities are keen to promote the great value for money offered in Thailand; we’ve had a look at what’s on offer and have tracked down a week for under £500 with Hayes & Jarvis. Book by June 30 for 8 nights from October 19 at the 3.5* Centara Karon Resort on Phuket for £499 pp, a saving of £175 pp. The price includes 8 nights’ accommodation on a B&B basis, flights with Singapore Airlines and transfers.
Closer to home, Red Funnel has some amazing fares on their midweek car ferry services from Southampton to the Isle of Wight this summer. Travel on a Wednesday, for example, and a car with up to 6 passengers will cost no more than £32 return.
Painstakingly restored this year by Long Travel’s owners, Ray and Annie Long, 2 new characterful trulli in Puglia are now available this summer. Sleeping 2, Trullo Zingara (picture top left & centre) and Trullo Mandorla, (pictured top right) both have spectacular views from their elevated positions and are located close to the charming town of Cisternino. One week costs from £410 pp (Trullo Zingara) and £224 pp (Trullo Mandorla), including car hire but excluding flights.
