Let’s Make a Deal: Another place to win a trip

by Jamie Rhein on

In recent years, winning a Showcase Showdown on the Price is Right, and the once in awhile trip that appears on the Wheel of Fortune’s roulette wheel have been the two main ways to snag a travel experience on someone else’s dime. There is another option where trips are handed out almost like candy at a small town parade. The daily game show Let’s Make a Deal has been resurrected on CBS.

The new Let’s Make A Deal has not changed much since the show last aired in 1977. Filmed at the Tropicana Las Vegas, the new version began airing in October with host Wayne Brady fitting into Monty Hall’s role as if it was made for him.

Brady moves through the audience of people dressed up in funky, oddball costumes picking out contestants based on who catches his eye. Whether its the box on the display floor, a box on a table or curtains 1, 2 or 3, the chances that a trip is one of the wins is quite high. Trips to Prague, Hawaii, and Japan have been some of the offerings I’ve seen each time I caught the show.

To be a contestant, head to the show’s website. If you dress up in the most unusual clever way, your options of being picked are higher. One woman was dressed as a tree with a woodpecker attached. When you pulled on the string, the woodpecker pecked.

If you do go, put a wide assortment of things in a handbag to bring with you. You could win $100 if you have the item Brady calls for. Think of the obvious like a pen to the unusual like an egg timer.

To be in the audience, click here for the link to Let’s Make a Deal, On Camera Audience, and then click on the date that you would like to attend.

Good luck. Hope you win that trip. I’ve had three friends who have been on game shows. It is possible. One of them won $10,000 on the Price is Right.

Document your vacation with RockResorts “Three for Free” promotion

by Katie Hammel on

With the slumping economy and decline in hotel occupancy rates, lots of hotels and resorts are offering deals that allow you stay for free after you pay for a certain number of nights. But not many resorts are throwing in a free “adventure cam” to use during your stay.

RockResorts, which operates properties in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and St. Lucia, is offering a “Three for Free” promotion that goes above and beyond the standard package deal. The minimum stay at each resort varies (ranging from 3-6 nights) and dates of validity vary through April depending on which of the 12 resorts you choose, but at each one you’ll receive: one free night’s stay, a $50 gift card or resort credit, and a free Adventure Eye Video Systems action/ helmet camcorder to make a movie off all the fun you have during your stay.

As an added bonus, those who actually use the camera to record themselves out and about on the property can enter their movie into a contest to win free Epic Passes for the 2010-2011 season. The passes allow unlimited skiing at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado.

To take advantage of the promotion, rooms must be booked by January 31.

[via La Times]

Hyatt’s 24-hour sale today: 40% off

by Alison Brick on

A holiday gift is landing on your doorstep — but you’ll only get the chance to unwrap it today.

Until 11:59 p.m. tonight, you can get 40% off a stay at a Hyatt Hotel. It’s only available for hotels in North America, but that includes Lake Tahoe, Maui, and Curacao (opening in March). You have a wide window of opportunity for your stay — it can be between now and May 31, 2010.

Get an extra perk — a wine/fruit welcome — when you mention code 24TWT during your reservation.

Seven days in China for under $900, flight included

by Annie Scott on

I am delighted to tell you about a deal I may snap up myself: China Spree‘s 7 Day China Express — Beijing Free-style Travel (2010) will take you to Beijing from San Francisco and put you up at a four star hotel for $588 ($988 from New York). They’re even throwing in free breakfasts.

The hotel is The Beijing Huabin, which is located just a ten minute walk from Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, opposite the National Grand Theater, and also near the Wangfujing shopping area. Your stay will be five nights (the sixth is lost in travel) in a room with all the usual accoutrement including an LCD TV and broadband internet. There are tours available to the Summer Palace, the Great Wall of China and the Temple of Heaven at an additional cost, or you can make your way there yourself and explore on your own with the help of a guidebook (or even just the internet). If there’s somewhere else you’d like to visit, China Spree can help you make arrangements.

The catch? Departure taxes and fuel surcharges ($299 from SFO, $307 from JFK), and the low, low prices only apply to trips in December and January — after that, they climb, but you can still find a pretty great deal.

So, from SFO in January, you can go to China for seven days for $887. Not. Bad. Visit the website or call 866-652-5656 to book.

Turkey in 2010 – Tours for first-timers

by Annie Scott on

Turkey is a gorgeous destination for travelers of all ages and incomes. If the fabulous weather doesn’t sell you, the history will — it was once the seat of the Byzantine, Roman and Ottoman Empires. The trouble is, there’s so much to do in Turkey, it’s hard to know how exactly to plan a trip, especially on your first visit. Fortunately, there’s this thing called a guided tour (wink wink). Here are three great Turkey tours for 2010:

European Tours — Classical Turkey
This tour includes major sites in Istanbul, Ankara, and the ancient city of Ephesus’ Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, as well as Cappadocia’s Kaymakli Undergound City. This is perfect for people who are into history and architecture, and who like to stay in four and five star hotels. Ten days, $945 per person for double occupancy, airfare not included.

Key Tours — Deluxe Glories of Turkey
This 15-day, budget-friendly tour covers sites in Istanbul, Canakkale, Kusadasi, Pamukkale, Antalya, Konya, Cappadocia, Ankara, Gallipoli and the Dardenelles. Thirteen breakfasts and 11 dinners are included, as are the various transfer and admission fees, all for around $100 per day. Fifteen days, $1,499 per person for double occupancy, airfare from New York included.

Turkey at Its Best — Private Tour of Western Turkey in Winter
(no link, call 949-719-2800)
This ultra-luxe package features sites in Istanbul, Gallipoli, Troy, Pergamon, Ephesus, Pamukkale and Antalya, and visits to Aphrodisias, Hierapolis and the Aegean coast. Private vehicles, English-speaking guides, transfers, taxes, service and entrance fees are all included, as well as three dinners and all accommodations (four and five star hotels). This trip is only available through March 2010. Ten days, $2,985 per person for double occupancy, airfare not included.

Hope that helps! Safe travels, and here are some links to more great Turkey content on Gadling: