Travel deals, tips, insider news and comment by 101 Holidays editors, Mark Hodson and David Wickers
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Holiday details: Beaches, elephant trekking and a river canoe trip in Thailand. Three nights full-board in tented accommodation at Elephant Hills in Khao Sok National Park, combined with four nights B&B at the 5-star The Sarojin in Khao Lak.
Price: a 9-day tour costs from £989 pp, saving £920 pp. Includes private transfers, guides, activities and flights with Thai Airways.
Dates: book by March 15 for travel between May 1 and June 30.
Book with: Tropical Locations at W&O Travel.
By 101 Holidays newsdesk
A holiday in an over-water villa with facilities that include an Underground Chocolate Cave, a funky wine cellar and award-winning spa sounds intriguing; when the cost is slashed by £940 pp, it definitely gets our attention.
Tropical Locations at W&O Travel is offering 7 nights at the Soneva Gili by Six Senses from £1,965 pp. A great spot for a “no shoes, no news” escape, Soneva Gili is one of the Maldives’ more intimate resorts and yet it’s set on one of the region’s largest lagoons with a choice of two restaurants.
The price includes room-only accommodation in an over-water villa, flights and a 20-minute speedboat transfer from Male. Book by February 28 for travel between May 12 and July 15.
Fancy getting away for Valentine’s Day? We’ve selected some of the most romantic breaks both in the UK and abroad. Here’s our pick of the best.
Chic love nest: as well as great beaches, cosy pubs and its own Tate gallery, St Ives is home to the ultra-chic Sail Lofts apartments: 4 nights in Driftwood from February 12 costs £194 pp including a welcome hamper. Extra touches: pre-book a local chef to whip up dinner in the privacy of your apartment (from £30 pp).
Cosy cottage: romantic Stove Cottage has all the requisite ingredients for a cosy weekend in the country, not least a sumptuous four poster bed, log burner and sexy panelled bathroom with roll top bath. It’s within easy driving distance of Suffolk’s glorious heritage coast, and costs £240 for 2 nights from February 12 with CV Travel.
Urban chic in the country: with its “groovy grand” interiors and romantic grounds, a night with dinner and breakfast costs £385 per couple at The Grove, Hertfordshire. Add on a 2-hour treatment for 2 with lunch in the Sequoia Spa (£400) or a 2-ball round of golf with lunch (£230). Extra touches: hand-made chocolates and a copy of ‘Love Letters of Great Men’.
Gourmet indulgence: head for The Hambrough, a 7-room seafront boutique hotel in Ventor, Isle of Wight. Departing February 13, champagne breakfast, dinner in the Michelin-starred restaurant and a bottle of champagne costs £230 pp including Wightlink ferry crossings. Extra touches: Chef’s pulling out all the stops with his 6-course Valentine’s tasting dinner - oysters, langoustines, roast duck, wild strawberry mousse.
More gourmet indulgence: overlooking stunning St Ouen’s Bay on Jersey, The Atlantic Hotel has 2 nights B&B for £260 pp from February 12 including a 3-course dinner and 5-course gourmet Valentine’s dinner in the Michelin-starred Ocean Restaurant. Fly or take the ferry. Extra touches: a half bottle of Taittinger, handmade chocolates and car hire.
Chocks away: take the helicopter from Penzance to the Isles of Scilly for 3 nights at the über-romantic 16th century Star Castle Hotel (Great Britain’s Island Hotel of the Year 2008/2009 in the Cesar Awards). £349 pp half-board including helicopter transfers (10% off the usual rates).
Sheer indulgence: wave goodbye to Luton as your own private jet whisks you off for lunch in the Michelin-starred Château Les Crayères, Reims in the heart of France’s Champagne region. Not cheap but jaw-droppingly romantic at £3,400 each with private jet experts, Jeffersons. Extra touches: private tasting at a prestigious Champagne house.
Roman Romance: The so-called ‘city of light’ has all the ingredients for the perfect romantic break. 3 nights of amore in the 4-star deluxe Hotel d’Inghilterra with Kirker Holidays costs from £710 pp including flights and private transfers. Extra touches: 3 nights for the price of 2 - you’re saving £175 each.
Natural wonder: cruise through the Lofoten Islands and cross the Arctic Circle as you look out for the Northern Lights on Hurtigruten’s special Valentine’s sailing. Departing February 11, 4 nights full-board costs £845 pp including flights from Heathrow.
Dubai Desert - escape the city’s big lights and head for the newly-opened Banyan Tree Al Wadi. Four nights departing throughout February costs from £1,050 pp (saving £450 pp) in a Deluxe Pool Villa, including flights, taxi transfers and accommodation with breakfast. Extra touches: a falconry centre on site.
Fine dining in Tenerife - Sovereign Holidays is offering 5 nights from February 11 for £989 pp at the 5-star Hotel El Mirador, overlooking Tenerife’s Playa del Duque beach. Extra touches: free upgrade to half board.
From the 101 Holidays newsdesk
Tropical Locations has slashed £1,150pp off the cost of a week’s stay in the new InOcean Villas at the Angsana Velavaru in the Maldives. For stays between May 1 and September 30, 7 nights cost from £2,010 full-board, including flights from Gatwick and sea-plane transfers.
New for 2010, each two-storey InOcean Villa has a private infinity pool and is located right on the lagoon, a short boat ride from the main island of Velavaru in the South Nilandhe Atoll.
Hotel facilities include a choice of restaurants, the luxurious Angsana Spa, cookery school and wide range of watersports.
Contact Tropical Locations at W&O Travel for more details; the offer must be booked by January 26.
The following holiday offers are selected exclusively from 101 Holidays members.
Departing on November 10, Hayes & Jarvis is offering one-week in Bali for only £549 pp, a saving of £160pp. Stay in the 3* Bumas Bumas Hotel in the heart of Sanur. As well as B&B accommodation and transfers, the price also includes Malaysia Airlines flights from London Heathrow.
Throughout November, the historic Star Castle Hotel in the Isles of Scilly is offering a 3 night stay from £299 pp, a reduction of £60pp. The price is based on two sharing a garden room on dinner, bed and breakfast basis and includes flights by helicopter from Penzance.
Book by November 15 for travel up to December 22 2010 for free accommodation and meals for children under 7 years, free meals for adults and free entry to both Disney parks at Disneyland Paris. Leisure Direction is offering 2 nights from £175 per adult, staying at the Santa Fe Hotel.
Hurtigruten is offering savings of up to £3,645 pp on its Antarctic Discovery cruises departing on selected dates in November, December and January. This 9 day tour offers an introduction to the world’s most beguiling continent. Now priced from £1,699 pp for an outside cabin, all meals, domestic charter flights between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia, transfers and lectures are included in the price. International flight packages are extra and cost from £1275pp.
Save £390 pp on a week’s stay in the Maldives departing between November 1 and December 2 with Tropical Locations. 7 nights at the luxurious Angsana Velavaru now costs from £1,499 pp on a B&B basis, including scheduled flights and seaplane transfers. Book by November 2.
One of the UK’s leading wine estates, Three Choirs Vineyards, is offering savings of 20% off all weekend breaks and wine-tasting packages throughout November.
Tropical Sky is offering a week’s B&B at the Kantary Bay Hotel in Phuket, Thailand from £649 pp, a saving of more than £150. Valid for selected departures until the end of March 2010, the price includes flights from London Heathrow (via Bangkok) with Qatar Airways and Bangkok Airways and transfers.
By 101 Holidays newsdesk
Tropical Locations has 8 nights at the Oberoi Mauritius (pictured above) for £1,469 per person (saving £720) based on 2 sharing a Luxury Pavilion on B&B basis, including flights from London Heathrow and private transfers. Valid for travel until 30th September 2009.
Kirker Holidays has 3 nights for the price of 2 at the 5-star L’Heure Bleue (pictured above), a luxurious and elegant riad at the heart of the medina in the unspoilt seaside town of Essaouira. Prices from £698 pp – a saving of £141 pp - including return flights to Marrakech (regional departures), private car transfers , 3 nights’ B&B and a complimentary hammam treatment.
Classic Cottages has 30% savings on Woodlands Manor (pictured above, sleeps 12), near Bude in Cornwall, boasting a VisitBritain Quality Assurance Standard 5-star rating and set within its own grounds. Guests have use of a heated indoor pool and a games room, and the local The Bush Inn dates back to 950AD - it was once a popular haunt for smugglers. Arriving Saturday 12 September, a week now costs from £75 pp (£893 total).
Departing on 23rd September, Hayes & Jarvis is offering a 14-night holiday to Thailand at only £549 per person – a saving of 37% (£325pp). Within easy reach of both Cha-am and Hua Hin, the 3*+ Holiday Inn Resort Regent Beach Cha-am (pictured above) is set within tropical gardens along a 4-mile stretch of beach. The deal includes 14 nights on a room only basis and return Qatar Airways flights from London Heathrow.
By 101 Holidays newsdesk
10 nights from August 25 in the Sol Pins apartments in Tamariu now costs just £594 for up to 5 people (apartment rental cost only, flights to Girona and car hire extra), saving 40% on the original price. Details from PCI Holidays.
A week from August 22 at Butterfly Farmhouse near Ilfracombe costs £1,625 - saving £500 - for up to 12 people. Contact Classic Cottages.
3 nights B&B in Prague’s 5* Hotel Aria with flights, private transfers and a private 2-hour walking tour from £658 pp - saving £154 - for departures up to August 31. Details from Kirker Holidays.
A week for 2 from August 22 in Ca Na Xidoia, a stone-fronted cottage with private pool near Old Alcudia, now costs £1,150 (villa rental cost only, flights and car hire extra), saving £200. Details from Vintage Travel.
A week from September 10 at the 3* Mermaid Hotel on Sri Lanka’s Kalutara beach now costs just £499 pp all-inclusive (including Emirates flights). Details from Hayes & Jarvis.
On selected departure dates in September, a week at the St Lucian by Rex Resorts, bang on Reduit Beach, costs from £799 pp all inclusive including a free room upgrade (saving £200 pp) or a week at the Sandals Halcyon Beach costs from £1,399 pp all-inclusive (saving £400 pp). Details from Tropical Sky.
7 nights at the Shangri-La Rasa Sayang on Batu Feringgi Beach, now costs from £1,055, B&B, a saving of £420. Departures between now and November 30. Details from Tropical Locations.
Departing from Manchester on September 5, a week self-catering in a villa in the Riverside Holiday Village costs from £466 pp, saving £178 pp. Details from Anatolian Sky.
By 101 Holidays newsdesk
Head for Thailand in September and save £785 pp on an 8-night luxury Thailand and Jungle Safari with Tropical Locations. The price, from £1,119 pp, includes 6 nights on the beach staying at the 5* Sarojin in Khao Lak on a B&B basis, 2 nights full-board at the Elephant Hills tented camp, an elephant-back safari, scheduled flights and private transfers. Book by September 7 for departures throughout September. For more details, visit Tropical Locations.
In the UK, Classic Cottages is offering 20% off stays at The Old Coach House in Dorset’s stunning Piddle Valley. Sleeping 4, a week from August 14 now costs £677, a saving of £169. Set in the village of Ansty Cross, this stylish hideaway is in easy striking distance of spectacular Lulworth Cove, the market town of Dorchester and one of the region’s finest foodie pubs, The European (as testified by 101 Holidays Director, Catherine Leech, who lives locally). More details from Classic Cottages.
Kirker Holidays is offering 5 nights for the price of 4 at La Perouse hotel in Nice from £760 pp for departures up to August 31. Soak up the poolside views of the Baie des Anges or explore Nice’s charming old town and flower market. The price includes return scheduled flights, private transfers and accommodation on a B&B basis. Kirker’s handy guide notes will give you some cracking restaurant recommendations too. More details from Kirker Holidays.
Save £150 pp on a week’s stay at the Grand Hotel Anthelia in Tenerife. Departing September 1, a week with Prestige Holidays now costs from £854 pp on a B&B basis, including flights and private transfers. Set on the waterfront in Costa Adeje, this 5* resort has a spa, 7 pools, 5 restaurants, a children’s club, tennis courts and reduced green fees at a choice of local golf courses. More details from Prestige Holidays.
Hurtigruten is offering free flights, 2 free excursions and no single supplement on bookings made by August 31 for their Classic Round Voyage departing on selected dates from October to December. Departures include Christmas and the New Year and there’s a great chance of seeing the Northern Lights. This 11-night cruise now costs from £957 per person full-board including free flights from a range of UK airports. More information from Hurtigruten.
Hayes & Jarvis is offering a week at the 3.5* Veranda Paul & Virginie hotel on Mauritius for £699 pp from September 1, a saving of £275 pp. The price includes half-board accommodation, flights with Emirates Airlines and transfers. More details from Hayes & Jarvis.