Who wouldn't want a great hotel deal in this neighborhood?

Is it just me, or are there others who never, ever, ever want to stay in a $19 hotel room?

I’m much happier with deals like these that have come across my desk at about the same time, any of which will provide something far more memorable than the savings one forgets with the turning of the calendar.

In New York, families reign at the Sofitel where rates begin at a mere $259 a night (a bargain in Manhattan) and where children get a second room for 50 percent off (even better). Breakfast is included, just the thing to get you out the door to family favorites like Rockefeller Center, the New York Public Library, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Times Square, all very walkable from your West 44th Street location. You just know that next year, it will cost twice as much. More info: Sofitel New York.

In South Florida, if you hurry, you can play golf for free at the Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort and Club. Here’s why you want to: They’ve just spent $150 million to upgrade the place, re-doing two 18-hole championship golf courses as part of the facelift (under the watchful eye of Raymond Floyd). It’s all right on the beach, with multiple pools and restaurants. From as little as $199 per night, but only if you hurry. The deal expires September 30, 2009. More info: Fairmont Turnberry Isle.

In Beverly Hills: Sure, with starting rates at $575, the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Rodeo Drive is a splurge. But hey, it’s not $800 right now, and the third night is free making the effective three-night rate just $384. In Beverly Hills circles, that’s lunch money; yet the prestige remains as high as ever. And why wouldn’t it? The next-door neighbors have names like Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo, Judith Ripka, Georg Jensen, Christian Dior, Harry Winston, and the rest of the gang. Whatever’s on sale in such designer stores isn’t likely to be advertised, so it’s good strategy to shop in person.

By the way, the ten-day forecast for Beverly Hills is “sunny and warm.” So is the ten-week forecast. More info: Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire.

These deals are just the tip of the iceberg. And the moral of this column is, while $19 hotel rooms are something to be avoided at all costs, they are a barometer of excellent values at the higher reaches of the travel ladder. Take advantage of these times or, in the words of a prominent travel executive who is better served if we don’t mention his name, “Don’t let a perfectly good recession go to waste.”

– Peg Prideaux, CTC
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France's high-speed train, Thalys, boards passengers in The Hague, Netherlands.

Those in Europe who are responsible for high-speed rail service are thinking about business travel needs, but leisure travelers can also benefit from ever-improving European rail service.

Why Travel by Rail?
One big advantage of rail is that itʼs a less stressful way to travel, partly because it is more comfortable, and partly because the rail station experience is so much more tolerable than a typical airport. Also, with far fewer weather delays, one can generally count on on-time departures and arrivals. And finally, for journeys of two to four hours, the door-to-door time for passengers is usually shorter via rail than via air.

Existing High-Speed Lines
Many European high-speed routes are already in existence, with more coming as the European Union continues to integrate its infrastructure. Present high-speed routes ‒ weʼre talking about trains that travel at 300 km per hour or faster (thatʼs 185 mph or more) ‒ can add to your travel ease and help you avoid air or roadway congestion.

High-speed train travel already operates between these pairs of cities: London to Paris or Brussels (Eurostar), Paris to Lyon or Marseille, Brussels to Cologne, Madrid to Barcelona, Madrid to Seville or Malaga, Milan to Bologna, Naples to Rome, Rome to Florence, and St. Petersburg to Moscow.

In addition, other cities are connected by routes that are mostly (if not 100 percent) conducted over high-speed rails, such as Hanover to Berlin, Frankfurt to Cologne, and Paris to Geneva.

Future High-Speed Lines
These routes are in process:

• Service between Paris and Amsterdam, beginning mid-December 2009, will save over an hour over present train travel.
• In the UK, plans are afoot to add high-speed rail between London and Glasgow, cutting present travel time roughly in half.
• France, which is a leader in high-speed rail, will add new lines from Paris to Brittany, and Paris to Lyons.
• In Scandinavia, there are plans for a high-speed connection between Helsinki and St. Petersburg.

An EU priority for high speed rail is to expand the number of cross-border routes, in anticipation of which the EU is funding infrastructure development of the numerous tunnels and bridges required to realize this goal.

Bottom line, once youʼve flown transatlantic, rail travel is a fast, comfortable and civilized means of making your way around Europe. And it just keeps getting better.

‒ Peg Prideaux, CTC
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The troubled Maui Prince Hotel occupies a verdant location with adjacent golf course.

The Maui Prince Hotel is the latest to fall (perhaps) victim to the economy. Although the hotel went into foreclosure a week ago, its banker (Wells Fargo) had hoped the operators would keep it open. After all, the all-ocean-view resort that sits at the foot of Haleakala had just undergone a big renovation to attract quality guests.

But the management has told its nearly 400 employees that the resort, including its golf course, will close on September 16, just two weeks from now.

The bank has petitioned for a new company to take over the operate the resort. If you have reservations past the closure date and are concerned, you can contact the hotel; but whatever you’re told will likely change back and forth over the coming days.

Don’t let this news put a damper on your plans if you’d like to plan a Maui visit for the coming winter. There are still abundant options. Consider the Four Seasons at Wailea (adults only, by the way), which opened a new $9 million salt water pool this summer … another over-the-top feature to draw visitors from the competition.

That level of luxury is one way to escape the constraints of America’s new every-day austerity.

– Peg Prideaux, CTC
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Four Seasons, a healthy competitor, proffers this brochure-style shot of the new Serenity Pool at their Maui resort.

Mentioned in this post:
Maui Prince Hotel
Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea

The President and Mrs. Obama are taking their kids to the beach this summer for a little family bonding time. The beach in question? Marthaʼs Vineyard.

Some have raised their eyebrows because itʼs a pricey choice. Then again, where does a family go when Dad is the Leader of the Free World who must travel with a huge security entourage, receive classified satellite communications, and make sure the nearest neighbors can pass an FBI background check? What vacation rental provides a private entrance sufficiently distant from prying paparazzi to allow (say) a high-profile ambassador, a cabinet secretary, or a relative to drop by for lemonade and a confidential chat?

Martha's Vineyard

People in power need to rest and recharge, but their vacations can cost so much that reporters sometimes distort this as some kind of illicit luxury. If youʼre a person of power, then you know what it is to look for a getaway that includes a guard shack, surveillance systems, and a helicopter pad. They’re necessities. Indeed, this is why so many people who are blessed with privilege, find theyʼre better off buying a second home than looking for a vacation rental. (The Adirondack chairs and tennis courts ‒ those are afterthoughts.)

Itʼs a Kid Thing

This is the First Familyʼs first summer under the public microscope, and the most important thing for the Obama family is to give the girls a summer vacation. They deserve the freedom to splash in the ocean, play on the sand, collect shells, run on the grass, show off for their parents, tease the dog, ride bikes, dash through the sprinklers, and maybe get Mom or Dad to barbecue hamburgers for dinner. After all, this is what Americans do when schoolʼs out. For Sasha and Melia, itʼs a kid thing, not a political thing. At Marthaʼs Vineyard*, these simple joys abound. (And possibly a sailing lesson as well.)

Bush, LBJ, Reagan, Nixon, FDR …

Other Presidents have also faced the vacation dilemma, of course. President Bushʼs family, which has substantial financial assets, owns a ranch ‒ a retreat large enough to accommodate aircraft landing, the needs of the Secret Service, and even to host visiting heads of state. The ease of this solution allowed the Bushes to get away with some frequency. But President Bush was not the first to use a ranch as a solution ‒ Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan both did the same.

President Nixon bought a modest home in Floridaʼs Key Biscayne; but what began in modesty turned into a full-blown construction project for the government, which had to buy up and remodel a group of adjacent houses and add a helipad to accommodate the security mandates of a presidential domicile.

Franklin Roosevelt, a president with private wealth, was able to build a home in Georgia at what was previously a hot springs resort. He acquired the property before taking office, and used it to gain some relief from his polio during his time as president. In an era that didn’t have a 24/7 news cycle, FDR was able to preside over the nation during the Depression and World War II, for three-plus terms, without the nation realizing the extent of his suffering, in part because his vacation retreat helped him deal with it.

And what about an expensive Marthaʼs Vineyard rental? I say let the the Presidentʼs ‒ any president’s ‒ vacation be a vacation, and save the politics for his time on the job, not off.

*By the way, Passport Newsletter has visited Marthaʼs Vineyard a couple of times in the past two years. Please click the link if youʼd like to read about the lodgings and restaurants we reviewed.

– Peg Prideaux, CTC
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As we move forward, our blog fires up again, aiming to provide helpful and occasionally obscure information that can improve your travels or inform your view as you plan for future trips.

Weʼre always happy to hear from you if you agree, or disagree, with anything we post here. You have an open invitation to add to the topics at hand with your own advice and opinions.

Please bookmark our blog and visit again soon.

– Peg Prideaux, CTC
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