Three Hotel Bargains In Crete For Less Than $100 Per Night

Crete has it all: frozen-in-time mountain villages, unspoiled beaches, medieval churches and monasteries, the atmospheric Venetian port cities of Rethymno and Chania, and an abundance of hiking, rock climbing and other outdoor activities. The north coast of the island is also chock-a-block with hideous resorts filled with sun-starved package tourists from Northern Europe.

But it’s easy to avoid the tackiest places and, perhaps best of all, Crete is still very affordable, even in the cusp of the high season in late June. I stayed in four hotels, all priced at less than $100 per night for a family of four and can highly recommend these three establishments as great bargains.

Palazzo DucaChania

We were staying on the outskirts of town in The Halepa Hotel, which we found to be adequate but overpriced, when we stumbled across this brand new, eight-room, family-run hotel, right smack in the middle of Chania’s unforgettable old town, just a half block from the waterfront. The Duca had just opened a couple weeks before and the large, light-filled rooms were cheaper and far nicer than the Halepa, so we decided to switch hotels and were glad that we did.Most budget and mid-range Greek hotels are pretty light on amenities – scratchy towels, razor thin mattresses and archaic plumbing are often the order of the day, but this place comes as a terrific surprise in the mid-range price category. We paid 75for a big, beautiful room (see photo above and video below) with a terrace and small kitchen. The Duca has super comfortable memory foam mattresses, plus very high quality sheets, pillows and towels, all very rare at this price point in Greece.

Plakias ResortsPlakias

If you’re looking for a relaxed little beach town, free of big, tacky resorts with a huge, lovely sandy beach, look no further than pretty little Plakias, which is popular with families and naturists, rather than party people. Plakias Resorts offers inexpensive but very high-end, new vacation apartments right across the street from a beautiful clothing-optional beach.
We had a modern, very comfortable one-bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and three terraces, two with stunning sea views, for just 70per night. My kids loved the kids pool and there’s a beachfront taverna around the corner with very good grilled octopus. The only downer about this place is the dour manager who always seems to be in a bad mood. But it’s well worth enduring her moodiness for this terrific bargain.

Afroditi HotelRethymno

On a three month trip around Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Greece, this was the cheapest place we stayed at just 40per night but I don’t think we received a warmer welcome anywhere. Yiannis picked us up at the bus station, plied us with free wine, a plate of fruit, gifts for our kids and a ride back to a car rental establishment upon departure.

We had a very nice loft with a kitchen that was fully stocked, a washing machine and a shady courtyard terrace. The bed was a bit Greek for my tastes, as in hard and uncomfortable, but at this price, I was complaining. I couldn’t figure out where Yiannis’ profit margin was but loved the bargain.

Summer hotel bargains from AccorHotels

Travelers looking to save some cash this summer travel season may want to check out the major sale going on at AccorHotels.com at the moment. The site is offering up to 50% off nearly 1000 hotels in popular destinations across Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim. The online only bargains are good for travel between July 8th and September 4th of this year, and extend across the Pullman, MGallery, Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure and Adagio line of hotels.

Using the online search tool, I picked a few random destinations and found some excellent deals on hotels in a variety of places across the globe. The tool allows you to select your country and city of choice, and then presents you with a multitude of options on where you can stay. Those that are offering the discount were always at the top of the list in the searches I ran, making it even easier to find the best deals for your summer getaway.

The sale actually began on Friday, but only runs through June 22nd, so hurry and book your accommodations quickly. At these prices, many of these hotels are sure to fill-up fast.

Hilton January: buy now save all year

The end of the holiday season doesn’t mean all the discounts are gone. So, while the big box retailers begin to reset their prices to “normal,” Hilton is extending Christmas cheer through the end of January. The hotel chain is offering cuts of up to 33 percent on weekend rates in the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. The brands included are Hilton, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites (keep in mind that not all properties are participating, though).

As long as you book by the end of the month, you can secure the discounted pricing for any Friday, Saturday or Sunday stay throughout the rest of the year. So, instead of scrambling at the last minute for Valentine’s Day, birthday or anniversary presents, get it all out of the way now. This could really take the headache out of gift-giving this year.

[Photo by Sue E via Flickr]

New Radisson Blu opens with low rate in Dubrovnik, Croatia

With 408 guest spaces, more than 100,000 square feet of spa facilities and stunning views of the Adriatic Sea, the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Dubrovnik has become the largest and most exciting resort on the Dalmatian Coast. To celebrate its arrival, guests can stay for a starting price of €150 a night, including high-speed internet access and breakfast every day.

The Radisson Blu has 201 guestrooms with Adriatic views. Also, it has 207 apartments (with one, two and three bedrooms) with private kitchenettes. Thirteen restaurant and bar dining options ensure that guests won’t get board, even if they take nice, long breaks from the real world. International cuisine is offered at Origano, and guests can sample authentic Croatian fine dining at Tartufo.

“We are delighted to welcome such a fantastic hotel to our family,” said Kurt Ritter, President and CEO of Rezidor, which owns the Radisson Blu in Dubrovnik. “Our stylish resort portfolio is constantly growing – the current pipeline comprises more than 35 hotels in operation and under development across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.”

Hey, Ritter: we’re delighted, too! This new property sounds like a necessary stop for anyone with an eye on the Adriatic.

Consumer Reports Magazine Says to Call Hotel Directly

In an article on how to find the best hotel deals, Dan Serra who writes about money management for The Gazette in Colorado Springs cites a Consumer Reports finding. According to the magazine, you might have better luck with striking a bargain if you call the hotel directly. Better yet, show up without a reservation. Without a reservation you often have better bargaining power. These are general recommendations. There are exceptions for hotel bargain hunting. Here are some other tips from this Consumer Reports guide:

1. Join a loyalty program. This helps you earn free nights and discounts. My tip: If you recently stayed at one of the hotels in a chain and want to stay in another one use your earlier stay as a bargaining chip. I did this last summer with La Quinta Inn. We stayed in two different ones in the Denver area two weeks apart. We used the bargain we got with the first stay to get the second stay’s deal.

2. If you are flexible with dates you can get a better rate. My finding: Last week we almost stayed at a Marriot Courtyard in the Washington, D.C. area. Because we were going to stay over on a Friday night the price dropped considerably, even for the Thursday night rate.

3. Book early, but check in right before your stay. This way you may get a discount since the hotel wants to lock in your business, but the price might drop later. This reminds me that I need to book a hotel for our August trip to Montana. The night before our flight back to Columbus we need to stay in Bellingham, Washington. Our flight is too early in the morning to stay with our friends who live in Seattle.

4. Ask for lowest rate when you call. My experience: When I recently made hotel reservations in Owenboro, Kentucky for my cousin’s wedding in August, I checked the on-line price and also asked when I called. The AAA rate is better than the deal the hotel gave for wedding guests.

* Odd Zen writes under his photo on the Flickr site gives this bit of sage wisdom when finding a vacancy: Often the best hotel when road fatique hits is the first one you see. I bet in that case, money isn’t really an issue.