New York City’s Jane hotel, from $69 through March

by Amy Chen on

Shoebox-size hotel rooms in New York City are notoriously overpriced, especially since you’re usually too busy running around the city to spend enough time in them.

The Jane hotel could be the antidote — now through March, the starting price has dropped down to $69 for a single room (compared to $99). A room with bunk beds now starts at $79. Note: these 50-square-foot rooms have communal bathrooms and are extremely narrow — the wall-size mirror can only do so much to conjure airiness. The rooms, which were modeled after train and yacht cabins, do at least come with built-in drawers underneath the twin beds and overhead luggage racks so you’re not tripping over your stuff.

If you’re claustrophobic, though, you may be happier booking one of the 250-square-foot Captain’s Cabins for $179 (normally $250-$300), which have private bathrooms.

For once, these prices match the size of the rooms. Besides, The Jane’s location in the West Village really makes it hard to justify spending too much time in the tiny rooms anyway.

Stranded in Washington, DC? Get to The Jefferson

by Annie Scott on

The Jefferson Hotel Washington, DC is offering some special deals for snowed-in travelers, so send this to your needy friends.

The Winter Storm Special is taking place tonight and tomorrow night (February 9 & 10), and it features Deluxe rooms which usually go for $380 for just $195. This is a great opportunity to make lemonade out of your lemons and stay in a luxury Relais & Châteaux member hotel on the cheap.

While the snow has shut down the operations of the hotel’s main restaurant, Plume, the bar, Quill, is open. They serve comfort food like macaroni and cheese, tasty salads and burgers, and fancy cocktails with herb-infused liquors in an elaborate setting wallpapered with 18th century maps. Nice!

To book this emergency special, call The Jefferson directly at (202) 448-2300.

Free King Tut passes in San Francisco

by Amy Chen on

On Feb. 21 and 22, the de Young Museum is giving away free passes to the King Tut exhibit in San Francisco.

Tickets to “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs” are normally pretty pricey. For a family of two adults and two kids between the ages of 6 and 17, you’re looking at shelling out $98 on admission passes alone if you visit on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday (kids under 5 are free).

Details: Tickets will only be handed out on site on either of those days. Sponsored by Target, the giveaway is limited to four tickets per adult. Tickets will be time-stamped in batches of 30-minute windows, though you can linger as long as you’d like once you’re in. The box office opens at 8:30 a.m. each day with the first entry at 9 a.m. and the last entry at 4 p.m.

While you’re waiting for your timed entry, there will be plenty of free entertainment: fortune tellers, belly dancers, tarot card readers, and even a DJ spinning contemporary Egyptian music. Kids can also learn how to “engrave” hieroglyphics into copper foil. If the complimentary tickets run out, the rest of the permanent collections at the de Young will be free that weekend.

Tip: Strollers, diaper bags, and backpacks must be checked before entering the special exhibition galleries.

The exhibit, which opened in June 2009 at the de Young, closes on March 28.

If you haven’t seen the exhibit, here are some highlights, courtesy of FAMSF.

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Get $100 in Birthday Bucks from Joie de Vivre

by Amy Chen on

Joie de Vivre, a chain of 35 boutique hotels in California, is making it a little easier to justify planning a birthday getaway this year. The Birthday Bucks deal knocks $100 off a two-night stay on or within seven days of your birthday. At the Galleria Park Hotel in San Francisco, for example, weekend rates start at $109. With this b-day discount, it’s almost like getting the second night free.

The credit, which is taken off your total bill when you check out, can also be used to offset room service, dinner at the hotel restaurant, or spa treatments. To sweeten the deal, the hotel staff may also surprise you with a gift, such as a cupcake, dinner appetizer, or glass of wine. Even kids under 18, if accompanied by a parent, can redeem the $100 Birthday Bucks.

But there’s a catch: the discount is per room per stay, not per birthday per stay. So twins who share a room would have to content themselves with one $100 discount, unless of course they booked separate rooms.

Details: Book by Jan. 31, 2011 with the promo code BUCKS. Travel between Feb. 1, 2010 and Jan. 31, 2011. For a list of the 35 properties, check out jdvhotels.com.

Looks like it’s never too early to start dropping hints about your birthday.

Ski deals on Super Bowl Sunday: lift tickets from $19

by Amy Chen on

If cheering for the New Orleans Saints or Indianapolis Colts on Super Bowl Sunday just doesn’t do it for you, how do $19 lift tickets sound?

Super Bowl Sunday is one of the best days to score ski deals, according to Liftopia.com. The online ski discounter has rounded up 44 deals for Super Bowl XLIV, including the $19 special from Canaan Valley Resort in West Virginia. Considering a full-day pass on a Sunday normally costs at least $49 for adults, that’s more than 60 percent off at this resort.

With most of the nation huddled in front of a TV on Feb. 7, you’ll also encounter shorter lines at resorts such as Lake Tahoe’s Bear Valley ($35, or 41 percent off), Colorado’s Crested Butte ($44, or 49 percent off), Utah’s Snowbird ($57, or 21 percent off), or Idaho’s Sun Valley ($55, or 33 percent off).

This year, the game doesn’t kick off until 6 p.m. EST, so it’s possible to ski or snowboard first and then catch the game. With these discounts, Super Bowl Sunday is shaping up to be more than an excuse for chips and chicken wings (though I’m going to guess that those will taste even better after wiping out on the slopes).How it Works: Weekend ski passes tend to be more expensive than weekday rates, but these Liftopia rates were created especially for Super Bowl Sunday. Tickets must be purchased in advance (the cutoff is 11:59 p.m. Saturday Feb. 6). Resorts can limit the quantities, and the deals may sell out. In order to get the lowest prices from participating resorts, Liftopia doesn’t allow changes, refunds, cancellations, or exchanges. “This is much like buying a discount airline ticket,” Liftopia co-founder Evan Reece tells me via e-mail. “You get a better price by agreeing to not be able to cancel or change your flight. As with a Priceline or Hotwire, customers get a deal by trading flexibility for savings.”

Bargain hunters are taking note: last year, Liftopia had 186 percent more ticket redemptions on Super Bowl Sunday than the Sunday before the big game, according to Reece.