A Dozen Ways to Save in New England

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Looking to make your travel bucks go a bit further this summer? Well, there are a dozen ways you can do it in New England. Twelve properties in the New England Inns & Resorts Association are kicking in extra nights, meal vouchers upgrades and comp’ed rounds of golf to get you under their roofs for a while. Here are three to whet your appetite

1. Free Golf at Crowne Plaza Cromwell
Head up to Cromwell, Connecticut and a two-night stay at the Crowne Plaza will get you a free 18-hole round of golf at Lyman Orchards Golf Course. Rates start at $131 a night, and you have to book at least seven days in advance.

2. Free night mid-week at The Wildflower Inn
From September 6, 2010 through October 29, 2010, you get a free fourth night when you book three at The Wildflower Inn in Lyndonville, Vermont. Take in the foliage, and breathe in air that’s just starting to become crisp – while sipping hot cider and nibbling on Vermont Cabot cheese. Rates start at $390 per couple for four nights (mid-week only).

3. Free for kids at Lake Morey Resort
Visit Lake Morey in Fairley, Vermont, and children under 12 can stay free (in a room with an adult), eat free and take full advantage of the supervised children’s program. It’s only available mid-week, now through August 22, 2010.

Hotel room upgrades on the cheap with “Nor1” online service

by Scott Carmichael on

During one of my summer Mattress Runs, the hotel booking process offered something any frequent guest loves to see – the option to request a paid upgrade. Since I had never seen this offered at this particular chain, I decided to dig a little deeper into the feature. As it turns out, there is a third party company behind the service called Nor1.

Nor1 lets hotels generate extra revenue by upselling unused rooms to existing guest reservations – the process is extremely simple and takes place during the reservation. For a fee starting under $10, hotels can “upsell” guests a larger room, suite, balcony or other upgrade. In my case, I was offered an upgrade from a standard room to an executive king room for just $9 – well within the amount I’d be willing to pay.

Since the hotel assigns upgrades themselves, you don’t know whether you actually get the upgrade until you arrive, but you also won’t be charged unless you are actually upgraded.

Sadly, as with many technologies, this service looked better online than it did in reality. Upon arrival at my Hyatt, nobody had any idea what I was talking about, and claimed they had never heard of the service. I’ll put it down to “growing pains”, and hope that Nor1 starts offering these paid upgrade options at more hotel chains (along with some training for the front desk staff).

According to their site, Nor1 currently offers upgrades with Kimpton, Country Inns and Suites, Hilton and several other hotel chains. Their technology isn’t even limited to hotels – the system is able to do upsells on rental cars, airlines and cruise lines.

Gucci sues over branded hotel in Dubai

by Melanie Nayer on

Things are getting catty on the catwalk. Elisabetta Gucci’s plans to open a global chain of hotels under the Gucci name may be blocked by the luxury fashion company. Seems Gucci – the goods – doesn’t want any affiliation with Gucci – the hotel.

“Gucci wants to make clear that it has no relationship to Elisabetta Gucci Hotels and that it is not involved in any project whatsoever with Elisabetta Gucci Hotels,” the company said in the e-mail, obtained by Bloomberg news. “If necessary, Gucci will take any needful step to protect its rights.”

Elisabetta Gucci, daughter of late fashion mogul Paolo Gucci, plans to open an 87-suite property in Dubai’s Media World district by the end of 2010, as Gadling previously reported. The Dubai hotel will be first of 40 planned Branded EG Hotels by Elisabetta Gucci.

The EG Hotels by Elisabetta Gucci is set to open only a few months after the famed opening of the Armani Group’s Armani Hotel Dubai in Burj Khalifa. According to Bloomberg, EB Hotels is counting on drastically lower hotel rates than those charged at Armani Hotel, in an effort to increase travelers. Daily rates at the Elisabetta Gucci’s hotel would start at 1,500 dirhams ($408) compared with 4,000 dirhams per night at Armani.

[via BusinessWeek.com]

Escape the heat at Wentworth by the Sea

by Tom Johansmeyer on

On an oppressive day like today (which for me is any day over 80 degrees), New Hampshire starts to sound incredibly attractive. It’s a bit cooler than New York – to the point where you can actually feel it. Throw in an upscale dining experience, and that’s all the reason you need for a weekend getaway!

Head up to the Wentworth by the Sea in New Hampshire to escape the baking heat of the city, and while you’re at it, munch on the creations of Daniel Dumont, the Wentworth Dining Room’s Executive Chef. With the hotel’s “Coastal Dining Package,” you’ll pick up dinner for two in Dumont’s domain, complimentary turndown service and late checkout. If there’s an upgrade available, it’s yours. The rate’s $349 a night, and you’ll need online promo code D18 to book it.

Live free or die? Well, live free or melt, perhaps. Get up to New Hampshire to give those sweat glands a break.

How to deal with touts – International travel tip

by Gadling Staff on

Touts, hawkers and scam artists are a persistent nuisance in countries from Morocco to Vietnam, yet many a novice (and seasoned!) traveler believes that to remain open to local cultures, they must be polite and friendly to a pushy people who just want money.

In my experience, the best bet is to completely ignore anyone trying to sell you something if you did not start the business transaction yourself. Do not make eye contact or even say “no thank you.” If you do business in common markets, the things you want to buy will initiate plenty of genuine, local contact as it is.

[Photo: Flickr | mckaysavage]