Hot Deals | weekly travel bargains

The deal: Air France has a sale for late summer/early fall transatlantic trips on its web site, but you have to act fast: These early-bird fares require purchase no later than July 7. They’re good for departures from the U.S. from September 1 through October 29. Sample roundtrip fares include: New York to Frankfurt, $480; Philadelphia to Barcelona, $552; New York to Paris, $682; Philadelphia to Athens, $682; and Houston to Paris, $756. Best fares are for midweek travel; there’s a $30 weekend surcharge each way. Fares do not include government and airport taxes and fees of about $140.

The dollars: From $480 roundtrip.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: The Best Western hotel group in Britain is marking its 30th anniversary with an amazing rate of just 30 pounds per night (about $60 U.S.) at some 90 member hotels in England, Scotland, Wales, and the Channel Islands, including a few in London. The special applies for stays from July 21 to September 7, but you must book by July 6. A minimum stay of two nights is required at each property.

The dollars: Doubles from $60 a night.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: Starwood Hotels—whose brands include Luxury Collection, St. Regis, Westin, and Sheratonhas on sale in Italy through October, but you must book and prepay by July 31. Starwood’s “Italian Summer Vacation” promotion is a 20 percent discount off the best available rate at 19 hotels across Italy—Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan, Sardinia and Asolo, including top hotels like The Grand in Florence, Villa Cipriani in Asolo, and the Danieli and Gritti Palace in Venice. It also includes a 20 percent discount on food and beverage purchases.

The dollars: Varies by hotel and dates.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: Stay in a newly renovated property in the heart of the city for as little as $109 a night. Hilton’s Doubletree Hotels recently took over operation of this property, now called the Doubletree Hotel Chicago Magnificent Mile; it’s on East Ohio, two blocks from Michigan Avenue and a short walk to Navy Pier. Summer rates here average $179 a night, but the hotel has a “Double, Triple or Quadruple Your Fun” promotion available for purchase through September 1, with price breaks for multiple-night stays. Two-night stays begin at $139 a night, three nights at $119 and four nights at $109.

The dollars: Doubles from $109.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: Rates start at $425 a night at Orient-Express Hotels’ luxurious Keswick Hall, a former mansion now serving as a small hotel, with a spa, and an 18-hole Arnold Palmer golf course in the countryside near Charlottesville, Virginia. But with the hotel’s “Ultimate Breaks” rates, you can stay for as little as $195 a night from Sunday through Thursday. Junior suites available through the same promotion are going for $405, vs. a rack rate of $600-$650. The hotel is a quick drive to Thomas Jefferson’s home at Monticello.

The dollars: Doubles from $195.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: Save 25 percent in Lausanne with the new Discovery Package at the Beau-Rivage Palace, one of the country’s top hotels and a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. The package—available all year—is priced from 580 Swiss francs (about $554) a night per double, and includes garden-view accommodations; full buffet breakfast in the hotel’s Salon Grammont or via room service; dinner in the hotel’s one-Michelin-star restaurant La Rotonde; a tasting of Swiss wines; and use of the fitness center and tennis courts.

The dollars: Doubles from $554.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: Tour wholesaler Gate 1 Travel has a four-night or six-day air/hotel package to Istanbul that starts at $1,289 per person, double through August. But if you wait until September or October, the price drops as low as $749 per person. That covers roundtrip flights from New York (other cities are available for a surcharge); airline fuel surcharges; four nights at a centrally located four-star hotel; and daily breakfast. Hotel upgrades are available. The package is priced from $749 for the September 11 and all October departures, and from $829 to $959 for other September departures.

The dollars: From $749 per person based on double.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: British Airways has a sale on air/hotel packages for departures from the U.S. between September 4 and October 19, with return travel completed by October 22. The booking deadline is August 7. Prices start at $835 per person, double, from New York for roundtrip air and three hotel nights, or $1,027 for six nights. Comparable rates are $855/$1,047 from Boston, $955/$1,147 from Chicago. It’s also available from BA’s other U.S. gateways. These packages can only be booked by phone.

The dollars: From $835.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: The TradeWinds Island Grand Resort in Florida’s St. Pete Beach—on the Gulf Coast half an hour from Tampa—has a midweek (Sunday-Thursday) three-night family package that’s already a good deal: its components are valued at $860 but the starting price is $598, or $199 a night, through August 28. Here’s the kicker: At check-out, they’ll deduct an amount equal to that day’s price of a barrel of crude. If it stays at $130 or so, that brings you nightly cost down as low as $156. The package includes accommodations, an all-day water slide pass for each kid, 20 percent dining discounts, daily resort fee, use of a beach cabana, tennis courts, the fitness center, mini-golf, Internet access, and parts of the supervised children’s program. Telephone bookings only.

The dollars: Varies with the price of oil.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: LAN Peru, part of that continent’s network of LAN airlines, just started a new late-night Miami-Lima non-stop flight, and it’s offering a low-priced package priced from $499 per person for travel August 16-December 9 (or $599 now through August 15), it includes roundtrip air from Miami, three nights in a Lima hotel, daily breakfast, airport transfers, and hotel tax and service charges. Hotel upgrades, alternate departure cities, and trip extensions are all available at a higher cost.

The dollars: Doubles from $499.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: A luxury destination spa tucked away in the northeastern corner of Pennsylvania just 90 miles from Manhattan, The Lodge at Woodloch is set on 75 lakeside acres with all the amenities. During July and August, the property offers a 30 percent discount off standard prices for its Complete Spa Plan package if you stay three nights from Sunday through Thursday. That brings the starting nightly rate down to $403 per person, double. A two-night stay earns a 20 percent discount. Or if you stay Friday and Saturday nights, the second person gets 40 percent off weekend rates. The Complete Spa Plan includes all meals, use of all facilities and classes, plus a daily spa treatment allowance of $115 per person.

The dollars: Doubles from $403.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here

The deal: Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas will set sail from Boston on October 4 for a seven-night cruise along the coasts of New England and Canada, and is offering the cruise at reduced rates. Interior cabins start at $749 per person, double, and ocean-view accommodations begin at $849. The ship will call at Portland and Bar Harbor, Maine; St. John, New Brunswick; and Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada before returning to Boston.

The dollars: From $749 per person based on double occupancy.

For booking information, terms and conditions, click here