Jetsettersblog

Rome’s beloved Hotel Hassler Roma, perched atop the Spanish Steps, is offering a “Summer Early Bird” promotion, with rates reduced by approximately 35% when booked by May 15, 2009. Continental breakfast and service charges are included and a 2-night minimum stay required. Reservations must be made by May 15, 2009 and the promotion is valid from July 19 – September 10, 2009.

www.hotelhassler.com

Ever dreamed of traveling on the legendary Venice Simplon-Orient-Express? This year, a special 3-night package rate of US$2,990 per person includes the one-night journey from London or Paris to Venice (or v.v.) and 2 nights at Venice’s renowned Hotel Cipriani – and all transfers in Venice too.

This extraordinary price is less than the regular train-only price between London-Venice of US$3,120 per person! Stay on for 2 nights in London or Paris for US$500 per person for two at either The Ritz in London or the San Regis in Paris. http://www.orient-express.com/web/taif/taif_special_offers.jsp

At Zurich’s legendary Hotel Baur au Lac, a luxury stay by the lake this summer will also be a great value! From July 11 to August 16, 2009, guests at the Baur au Lac can enjoy three nights for the price of two when they book one of the hotel’s junior suites (CHF 2,100 or approx. US$1,842).

Other four- and seven-night packages are also available at great savings. All packages include complimentary minibar and wireless Internet and admission to the hotel’s rooftop fitness club with a lake view.

For more information, please visit: www.bauraulac.ch

Ashford Castle, located in Ireland’s beautiful west country, will celebrate its 70th birthday on May 22nd with packages, menus and amenities throughout 2009.

Kicking off the festivities is a new Ashford 70 package that includes a complimentary third night when guests book two nights for €770 (approximately US$975) through December 22, 2009.

Breakfast for two each morning and an upgrade to a Deluxe room are also included. PLUS, guests born in 1939 (when Ashford Castle opened), or two guests with a combined age of 70 or couples celebrating a 70th wedding anniversary will receive a welcome bottle of champagne to toast the special occasion.

A favorable dollar exchange rate makes 2009 an auspicious start to Ashford Castle’s next seven decades. www.ashford.ie

The Merrion, Dublin’s most luxurious hotel, is offering guests 3 nights for the price of 2.

The special includes complimentary car parking, access to the hotel’s Tethra Spa and all taxes and service charges. Prices start at €520 (approx. US$692) per couple per stay, and the offer is available throughout 2009.

Additionally, the Merrion’s Cellar Restaurant is currently offering a special two-course lunch with a glass of wine for €20 (approx. US$27) and three-course dinner for €29.95 (approx. US$40).

www.merrionhotel.com

South Africa has long been among the world’s top travel destinations and now, thanks to the exchange rate with the US dollar, trips to South Africa are 30% less than last year.

And now, if travelers book a safari last minute with &Beyond (formerly CC Africa), they will receive even bigger discounts. Every unforgettable &Beyond safari includes accommodations in a private, luxury suite, three meals daily plus endless snacking, house beverages, morning and evening game drives, laundry services, nature and bush walks, and emergency medical evacuation insurance.

The latest special deals can be found at www.safariasap.com

Austrian Airlines, which operates the only nonstop flights to Vienna from New York and Washington, is offering an amazing 3-night City Steal to Vienna.

The package includes roundtrip airfare from New York’s JFK or Washington’s Dulles airports, 3 nights at the centrally located Hotel Savoy Garni and daily breakfast: US$1,089 (Apr 1-May 31, 2009 and Aug 31-Oct 25, 2009); US$1,369 (Jun 1-Aug 30) per person. www.austrianair-vacations.com

British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) website, www.bsac.com, designed by creative digital experts Nemisys, is looking for divers to supply them with up to date unbiased reports on dive experiences around the world to create a comprehensive database of independent reviews. Their interactive search tool (http://www.bsac.com/findit) provides information about dive locations around the world while the trip report section allows divers to supply a ‘warts and all’ account of their experiences.

Neat icons are placed on Google Maps, offering dive information ranging from personal reports on best dives around the world, to where to find a great white shark in April. This user-friendly tool is the biggest dive location and trip report information resource on the web, for members and non-members alike.

BSAC Director Andy Moll believes the new bsac.com site now offers the club, its members and other divers an invaluable resource:

“BSAC’s aim is to get people diving. It trains more than 5,000 people a year to five internationally-recognised diver grades.

“We provide a wide range of services and instruction, with 23 different skill development and specialist interest courses,” he said.

BSAC trains, protects and represents 38,000 active scuba divers and snorkellers. It is the UK National Governing Body and official voice of scuba and snorkelling, working with organisations like the Health and Safety Executive, the RNLI, Marine Coastguard Association (MCA), Marine Conservation Society, HM Treasury’s Receiver of Wrecks, DEFRA and diving organisations.

BSAC is the world’s largest diving club and has 1,100 sociable, family-based local branches and more than 325 diving centres spread across the country and worldwide.

From beginner to expert, BSAC provides extensive diver training and the resources and back-up divers need to keep skills sharp and to help them enjoy diving safely. It welcomes membership of divers trained by all other agencies.

Air France has introduced a new, private cabin on its long-haul flights, located between the Business and Economy cabins, called Premium Voyageur, beginning in fall of 2009.

This cabin will be gradually phased in on Air France’s entire international long-haul network on flights operated by Boeing 777s, Airbus A340s and A330s. Starting on April 1, 2009, Air France customers will be able to book and purchase their seats in the Premium Voyageur Class cabin. The first available destinations will be New York-JFK, Tokyo and Osaka.

Air France is offering a range of fares that are highly affordable and competitive and particularly well adapted to the needs of small- and medium-sized businesses.

A sample roundtrip fare for the New York to Paris route starts at $1,431, including all taxes and fees. It offers 40 percent additional space; on average 22 Premium Voyageur seats will be available versus what would have been 40 seats previously in the Economy Class cabin. It has a new seat specially designed for Air France and equipped with a fixed shell which guarantees passengers’ space and privacy.

The seat is 18.9 inches wide, with a 123-degree seat back recline, and thanks to the fixed-shell, it is not intrusive for passengers sitting just behind. Wide leather arm rests (3.9 inch) enable passengers to rest their elbows without bothering their neighbors.

In celebration of its opening in fall 2009, The Palmyra, A Solís Resort & Spa, located in the enclave of Rose Hall in Montego Bay, Jamaica, is offering guests complimentary suite upgrades with its introductory promotion “How Suite it is … Reserve a Room, Stay in a Suite.”

Guests who book now through Aug. 31 are guaranteed a two-level upgrade at the standard guestroom rate. Guests who book a standard guestroom will be automatically upgraded to a one-bedroom suite, and guests who book a one-bedroom suite will be upgraded to a two-bedroom.

Rates start from $239.

The offer is valid for stays beginning Sept. 1 to Dec. 19, and is subject to availability and may not be used in conjunction with any other offers.

The promotion is not valid for previously booked rooms or for upgrades to the Executive Penthouses or Villas. This offer is not valid during selected holidays or blackout dates.

The Solís brand was developed by Horst Schulze to satisfy the needs of today’s sophisticated travelers.

The Palmyra, A Solís Resort & Spa, will be the brand’s premier Caribbean resort property.

Set on 16 oceanfront acres on the grounds of a former Jamaican plantation within historic Rose Hall, the resort offers 299 guestrooms plus one-, two- three- and four-bedroom suites, penthouses and private villas that feature between 645 to 2,600 square feet of living space with large private terraces. The Palmyra, A Solís Resort & Spa is a member of “The Leading Hotels of the World.”

For more information, call 800-591-0473 or visit www.solisthepalmyra.com