|
Autumn breaks  MALCOLM
ROGERS looks at the deals available in Britain and overseas.
Autumn deals in Britain:
n The Town House Company has special family rates at its four and five-star
Edinburgh hotels. Rooms for two adults and two children under eight cost
from £180 a night with breakfast. Attractions include the Castle,
concerts and cuisine. Tel 0131-274 7400/3.
n The Four Seasons Hotel on the banks of Loch Earn, Perthshire, has a
five-night waterfalls, woodlands and wildlife break starting this week
on November 4 for £397, including dinner, B&B and a series of
guided country walks, ending with a stroll to the Famous Grouse Distillery.
Tel 07764 685333.
n Travel’s Barton Hall centre near Torquay for two adults and two
children, aged from
6-18, is £590, with full board and all pursuits and organised activities.
Tel 0870 0507507.
n A two-night break in November at Dormy House, the Pride of Britain
hotel on a hillside above Broadway in the Cotswolds costs £190 with
dinner, B&B and room upgrade when available. Tel 0800 0893929.
Short haul autumn deals:
n A week’s half-board at a four-star hotel on Lanzarote is on offer
for £379 with Expedia.co.uk next week. The deal includes a flight
from Birmingham on November 8 and is based at the H10 Timanfaya Palace.
Tel 08712 260808.
n Four nights in beautiful old Budapest from £134 are available
with Cities Direct, with Monday flights in November from the East Midlands.
The deal includes B&B at the three-star Mercure Metropol hotel, on
the Pest side of the Danube and close to the city’s coffee shops,
spas, stores and historic buildings. Tel 01242 536900.
n Hotel L’Aitone, 2,700ft (850m) up in Evisa, western Corsica,
is marking the autumn chestnut festival with dishes including wild boar
and trout cooked with chestnuts. Rooms from £35 a night; half-board
from £76 with directCorsica.com They’ll also help with flights.
Tel 07777 953225.
Long haul deals:
n A trip to the new Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, Las Vegas and
its movie memorabilia is on offer with United Vacations. Prices start
from £525 for four nights between November
2-22, with flights from Heathrow. Tel 0844 4992229.
n Visit Singapore and the beaches of Bali on an 11-night trip available
throughout November with Premier Holidays. Fly from Heathrow for four
nights in the city’s Albert Court Hotel and a week at the Griya
Santrian. Costs from £799 Tel 0844 497542.
n Travel hint: The first two weeks in December is the cheapest time for
all sun destinations — from the Canaries to the Caribbean. Cheap
Holidays are offering seven nights, between December 1-15 at a four-star
hotel in Ocho Rios from Gatwick Airport for £789 per person, based
on two sharing, flights included.
www.cheapholidaydeals.co.uk
n Direct Flights are offering seven nights in Halcyon Cove, Antigua,
Antigua from December 2- 9 for £605 per person, based on two sharing,
flights from Gatwick included.
www.directline-holidays.
co.uk
n Direct Flights are also offering seven nights at the three-star Lanzarote
Paradise Club, Costa Teguise, Arrecife, Lanzarote (self-catering) for
£169, based on two sharing, flights from Gatwick included.
Five nights on the Amalfi Coast in Italy at the five-star Furore Inn
Resort from e300, including two complimentary dinners www.travelintelligence.net
Stay includes — five-night stay in a deluxe double-room (possibility
of free upgrade according to availability) welcome dinner for two at The
Fishing Vixen Restaurant (tasting menu to savour the tradition of the
Amalfi Coast); farewell dinner for two at The Italian Touch Restaurante,
plus one complimentary moonlit massage.
Valid until November 18, 2007
Double deluxe rooms include one queen or two twin beds, en suite bathroom,
jacuzzi tub, sea view from the terrace, air conditioning, satellite TV,
phone, minibar.
n Basata Eco Lodge at Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt has no electricity or running
water. You have to get into the spirit and use the communal showers. The
lodge’s bamboo construction, mats and cushions make this a break
to remember. There’s no diving in the pristine sea here —
to protect the delicate corals — but the snorkelling is the best
you’ll find anywhere. Huts from e12pp, chalet e55 (sleeps three).
www.basata.com
n Cape Verde is a gem of 10 diverse, volcanic islands scattered in the
Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa, some six hours from London.
The area is still relatively undeveloped (and unspoilt) but the stunning
beaches, romantic Portugal-meets-Africa architecture and, of course, glorious
sunshine guarantee the perfect autumn break. Seven nights’ B&B
at a four-star hotel with The Cape Verde Experience 0845 3302071 www.capeverdeexperience.com
costs from £775pp including flights.
n Gambia guarantees endless African sun. To make the most of it, you
can stay in a beach hut and at £12 a night, you can afford to make
it an extended stay. The 15 thatched circular huts, simply decorated,
will also provide dinner for another three quid.
This place has tons of eco-credibility, employing local people, planting
trees and using sustainable water sources and solar power too. Crucially,
a small bar overlooks the Atlantic, where you can contemplate your carbon
footprint.
At the other end of the scale you could stay at the Chimp Rehabilitation
Project in a safari tent overlooking Africa’s most successful chimp
project. It’s set in a magnificent, remote forested island setting
in River Gambia National Park. From £100 through Responsible Travel
01273 600030 www.responsibletravel.com
n Despite its Polish name, the Gutowski Hotel, funnily enough, is a small
boutique hotel of 25 rooms in the middle of the old part of Siracusa,
Sicily. The interiors of the old buildings (once occupied by fishermen)
are simple and contemporary and the food first rate. All the main historical
sites of the centre are within easy walking distance the Temple of Apollo,
the Fountain of Arethusa, the Roman Ampitheatre etc.
Doubles from e100 tel 0039 0931 465861 www.guthotel.it
n Autumn can be one of the best times to surf Guincho Beach in Portugal,
when the winds are cool but the water’s still warm. Lessons at the
Moana Surf School cost e20 each, or e75 for four, and the school will
arrange a stay at the local campsite, walking distance from the beach.
Also available are boarding, dinghy sailing, or mountain biking around
the Sintra mountain trails
www.moanasurfschool.com |
