Hot Deals | weekly travel bargains

The deal: The newest airline in Sir Richard Branson’s global Virgin empire is called V Australia, an affiliate of Virgin Blue Airlines, which operates domestic flights in that country. V Australia will fly international routes, starting with non-stop Los Angeles-Sydney flights this winter. The airline will operate Boeing 777s on the route, and will add LAX-Brisbane service in March 2009. While they last, V Australia has set aside 1,776 seats between Los Angeles and Sydney at just $999 roundtrip, for travel from March 1-April 7 and April 29-May 31, 2009. And that includes taxes.

The dollars: from $999.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: If New York City or Washington D.C. is on your itinerary this summer, here’s a new special from Starwood Hotels. The company is offering a third night free for stays through September 28 at its five W Hotels in Manhattan and at The St. Regis Washington D.C., as long as you arrive from Thursday through Sunday. Rates at the Ws in Manhattan start at $269 a night, so with the free third night, your average nightly cost could be as low as $179. Rates at The St. Regis begin at $325, making your average cost over three nights as little as $217 per night.

The dollars: from $179.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: If your summer travel plans include a road trip up or down the east coast, here’s a chance to experience one of the country’s top hotels for a reduced rate. The Jefferson in Richmond, Va., just five minutes from Interstate 95, holds the prestigious AAA Five Diamond and Mobil Five Star ratings. And for stays through September 3, it’s offering a one-night special rate of $195, including self-parking. The rate is not available on consecutive nights, but can be used on both legs of your trip if you’re driving up and down I-95. The Jefferson, which opened in 1895, is a member of Preferred Hotels and Historic Hotels of America.

The dollars: $195.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: From July 21 through September 7, Radisson Edwardian Hotels is offering guaranteed rates in U.S. dollars at its nine properties in London and one in Manchester, England. Not only are they available every night of the week, but there’s no minimum stay requirement—and these rates include full breakfast for two, plus the U.K.’s pricey (17.5 percent) value-added tax. In London, the special dollar rates start at $230 a night, double, at the Vanderbilt; $250 at the Kenilworth or the Grafton. (The special rate is just $198 at the group’s London Heathrow airport hotel.)

The dollars: from $230.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: In winter, guests at the historic Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix—a member of Hilton Hotels’ prestigious Waldorf-Astoria Collection— can expect to pay around $500 a night or more. But at Phoenix-area resorts, luxury comes cheap in the summer. The Arizona Biltmore has special summer rates through mid-September starting at just $129 a night for a room only. For an even better deal, the hotel has nightly prices starting at $149 that include a $50 daily food and beverage credit. You have to eat, so with the credit, your actual room cost could be as little as $99—about what you’d pay for a motel.

The dollars: from $129.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: The luxury hotel group Orient-Express has three properties in Peru, and it has reduced “Late Summer Promotion” rates during August at all of them. In Lima, the group’s Miraflores Park Hotel has starting rates of $209 a night from August 8-31, more than 50 percent off its rack rates, which begin at $435. In Cuzco, rates start at $330 a night August 20-31 at the Hotel Monasterio (vs. rack rates from $495)—or $360 a night for an “oxygen enriched room” to help you cope with the 11,600-foot altitude. The group’s exclusive Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge, right up by the famous ruins, has a starting rate of $700 a night from August 27 to September 2 only, vs. a rack rate starting at $795.

The dollars: from $209.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: United Vacations, the tour affiliate of United Airlines, said it has secured reduced rates for travel to China in the post-Olympics period, from late August through the fall. Act fast—the booking and purchase deadline for these specials is July 25. A package to Beijing from the west coast starts at $1,029 per person, double, including roundtrip air on United, five hotel nights, fuel surcharges, and a full-day city tour with lunch. Government taxes are extra. Comparable packages available include Shanghai from $1,069, Hong Kong from $1,269, and a combination of Beijing and Shanghai from $1,159.

The dollars: from $1,029.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: The Barbados Tourism Authority is luring visitors for the slow autumn season with a new “Fall Best of Barbados” promotion. It’s good for stays from September 1 through December 20, if you book your trip by August 1. The incentives include a credit of $200 per person toward your air fare (or $300 if your stay is during September); one free hotel night for two people who stay seven nights total at participating hotels; free full breakfast each day for two; a $25 dinner voucher; free rental car day with two or more paid days; and a second admission at half off for various local attractions.

The dollars: vary by hotel selection and dates.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: Elite Island Resorts, which operates all-inclusive properties around the Caribbean, has come out with a special pricing promotion for stays through December 21, with savings up to 50 percent off its usual seasonal rates. The group’s “$299 Island Sale” set a nightly rate of $299, double, with a three-night minimum stay, at six hotels: Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort and the Village Inn & Spa on St. Lucia; Palm Island in the Grenadines; The Verandah Resort & Spa and St. James’s Club & Villas on Antigua; and Long Bay Beach Resort & Villas on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. The rate includes accommodations, meals, all beverages, land and water sports, taxes, and service charges.

The dollars: $299.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: Here’s a chance to explore ports all over South America on a major cruise line for as little as $61-$71 per person, per night. Royal Caribbean is currently showing fares that start as low as $799 per person, double, for a 13-night South America cruise departing Buenos Aires December 7 and finishing in Sao Paulo, Brazil. A $999 fare will be charged for a 14-night sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale November 9 that goes through the Panama Canal and down the west coast of South America, ending in Valparaiso, Chile. Those rates are for interior staterooms; ocean-view cabins begin at $999 and $1,099 respectively. Both cruises are on the line’s Radiance of the Seas.

The dollars: from $799.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: The way air fares and fuel surcharges are going, the cost of getting to your cruise next year could be prohibitive. But Voyages of Discovery, a line that operates the 650-passenger mv Discovery on unique itineraries from Northern Europe to North Africa, is offering U.S. customers free air, or low air add-ons of $199 roundtrip, from several North American gateways if they book a summer 2009 voyage by August 15, 2008. Cruise prices vary by itinerary; e.g., from $3,950 per person for a 15-night voyage from Egypt to Spain October 30; or from $4,650 for a 17-night trip to the North Cape, Arctic Circle, and Russia. The line also offers special rates for single travelers.

The dollars: Varies by cruise.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: Viking River Cruises, one of the world’s largest passenger shipping companies specializing in inland waterways, has an early-booking special worth $1,000 per couple in savings on any of the 2009 voyages in its extensive catalogue. The early-booking savings of $500 per person requires you to make reservations and pay in full for your 2009 cruise by July 31, 2008. The company’s cruises cover 19 itineraries in Europe, Russia, China, and the Ukraine, varying in length from eight to 22 days. Several of its vessels are being upgraded for 2009, and one new ship is being added, the Viking Legend. The company will also introduce free wireless Internet access on all its European cruises.

The dollars: vary by cruise itinerary and departure date.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here