Hotel Deals and Vacation Discounts

September 1: LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort, a luxury beachfront, boutique resort at Naples on the Gulf Coast of Florida, is offering rates from $329 per night with its ‘Fall For You Package’. The package includes a resort credit, deluxe accommodations and complimentary resort fee and valet parking when booked through December 30 and stays are taken from October 1 to December 30. The Fall For You Package offers a $50 resort credit for a one-night stay; a $100 resort credit for a two- or three-night stay; a $200 resort credit for a stay of four nights or longer; deluxe room accommodations; complimentary valet parking (a $23 value); and complimentary resort fee a ($17 value). For more information on LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort, call (800) 237-6883 or visit www.laplayaresort.com. The resort credit is applicable toward incidentals only and may not be applied toward the package rate, nor combined with other packages, discounts or offers. To obtain the package, use the promotional code FALL when booking.

August 26: InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is reimbursing airline checked-baggage fees for U.S. residents booking weekend stays at any of IHG’s 4,500 IHG hotels worldwide for stays between by December 30, 2010. Travellers can participate each and every weekend they stay with an IHG hotel during the “Check It Free” promotion period, when they pay for their hotel stays using a Visa Card. The average fee for the first checked bag on a round-trip U.S. domestic flight is $50 and in a recent Consumer Reports magazine survey on travel gripes, luggage charges came out on top. U.S. residents can submit for reimbursement of baggage fees and receive up to $850 in IHG Visa Prepaid Cards for qualifying visits during the promotional period by following three steps: 1. Book a two-night weekend stay at any InterContinental, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites or Candlewood Suites property; 2. Stay between September 1 and December 30, 2010 and pay using a valid Visa credit card; and 3. Download a rebate form at www.ihg.com/freebag and submit it with copies of the hotel receipt (see full terms and conditions for third-party bookings via Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia and Booking.com) and baggage fee receipt for the same trip, postmarked by January 31, 2011.

August 19: Marriott Rewards’ MegaBonus promotion is back, allowing members of the Marriott Rewards loyalty program to earn one free night every second paid stay, up to two free nights, using their Visa card. Members must register by October 31 and stay between September 15 and January 15, 2011. For more information or to register, visit www.MarriottRewards.com/MegaBonus or call 888-MARRIOTT (888-627-7468). Stays may be made at more than 3,200 hotels including JW Marriott, Autograph Collection, Renaissance Hotels, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, SpringHill Suites by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott, TownePlace Suites by Marriott and Marriott Vacation Club.

August 10: Hotel operators on the unspoiled island of Kosrae in Micronesia are offering special promotions to visitors. During September and October, for $449 per person, double occupancy, Kosrae Nautilus Resort is offering seven nights in an air-conditioned room with ocean views; a guided three-hour trek to the Menke Valley to explore recently uncovered ancient ruins; an outrigger canoe tour through the Utwe-Walung Biosphere Reserve; unlimited use of kayaks to explore the reef flats and mangrove channels; airport transfers and a Kosrae Nautilus t-shirt. Email doug@kosraenautilus.com, or visit www.kosraenautilus.com. Kosrae Village Resort’s Diver’s Delight package costs less than $1,000 per person, and is available through 2010. The package includes six nights, seven days lodging, five days two-tank diving (including Nitrox) in one of nature’s last remaining pristine coral reefs. Training is available for divers not yet Nitrox-certified so that they can use light mixes. Add a third Nitrox dive any day for only $29.00. Choose from three different room types. The package prices: standard room $936, deluxe room $968, suite $999 per person, double occupancy. Email katrina@kosraevillage.com, or visit www.kosraevillage.com. The Pacific Treelodge Resort is offering free kayak use to visitors who book a four-night stay. In addition, visitors who book a seven-night stay between December 23, 2010 and January 10, 2011 will receive 20 per cent off the regular room rate of any available room. Email pacifictreelodge@mail.fm or visit www.divekosrae.com. A 42-square-mile island that is popular with eco-tourists, Kosrae is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia and is located between Guam and Hawaii. Kosrae’s reefs are considered to be among the most pristine remaining in the world. Kosrae is served by the Continental Island Hopper via Hawaii and Guam. For more information, visit the Kosrae Visitors Bureau at www.kosrae.com.

August 5: As part of the “Be Rewarded” program sponsored by the Beaches of South Walton, guests booking and staying three nights or more at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort on Florida’s Emerald Coast by September 30 will receive special savings and can choose either a $250 gift card for future Southwest Airlines travel or purchases at Silver Sands Factory Stores, the largest designer outlet center in the U.S. Sandestin offers internet hot rates, package deals and discounts. To book a “Be Rewarded” stay at Sandestin, call (800) 622-1038 or visit www.sandestin.com and use code BSW250. Gift cards will be distributed at the Beaches of South Walton Visitor Information Center to guests with a printed and dated deposit receipt, the paid receipt from their three-night stay, which includes promotional code (BSW250) and valid driver’s license. Some restrictions apply.

August 4: MasterCard Worldwide and Starwood Hotels & Resorts have launched a new promotional program that rewards MasterCard cardholders with exclusive benefits when booking hotel stays at more than 60 Starwood hotels across 12 countries in Mexico, Central and South America through September 30, for stays through December 15, 2010. As part of the 2010 promotion, MasterCard cardholders receive a 20 per cent discount on the best available rate when booking their stays with their MasterCard cards. They can also choose two of three exclusive benefits during their stays. The three choices of exclusive benefits are: kids eat free; two signature cocktails per person per stay; or a welcome amenity sent to their rooms, such as wine and cheese or champagne and fruits. This special offer applies at 60 of Starwood’s seven brands of hotels, across Latin America: St. Regis; Luxury Collection; W; Le Méridien; Sheraton; Westin; and Four Points by Sheraton. Visit www.starwoodhotels.com/lacmastercard2010 for reservations and details related to exclusive benefits.

July 28: Real Resorts has introduced a new ‘Single with Kids’ program. Single guests at the family-friendly, all-inclusive Gran Caribe Cancun and Gran Porto Real Playa del Carmen can now pay a single-guest suite rate and bring along one child, 12 and under, for free. Additional children (up to four children) can share the guest suite with an adult at a special rate of only $59 USD per child per day. Single occupancy rates start at $149 per night, all-inclusive, at the Gran Caribe Real in Cancun for an ocean-view suite (valid through December 23) and $159 per night at the Gran Porto Real in Playa del Carmen, for an oceanfront suite (valid through October 31). The new Single with Kids program also includes resort extras such as complimentary kids’ membership in the Oki Kids Club, special discounted rates of $10 per hour for private babysitting service, and family activities such as a special opportunity to dine with other single parents and kids. The new Single with Kids program complements the Resorts’ existing ‘Kids Stay Free’ program, which offers all-inclusive family vacation packages in its Family Suites, Gran Master and Presidential Suites. Family-friendly rates are available that welcome up to three children (depending on suite category) 12 and under for free, when sharing a suite with two paying adults, and teens ages 13 to 17 receive a 40 per cent discount when sharing a room with two paying adults. For more information about the Gran Caribe Real in Cancun and Gran Porto Real Playa del Carmen, contact a local travel agent or Real Resorts at 800-760-0944, or online at www.RealResorts.com.