Could you suggest a nice hotel in Paris? My husband and I received a gift of a weekend and have never visited Paris or Europe. We would prefer a hotel with a restaurant. – BMK, Belfast.
The three-star Mercure Arc de Triomphe Etoile will put you close to the major sights of the city. You will be able to walk to the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tour and the Champs-Élysées. The restaurant is open 24 hours. Rates are from €130-€150 per night. See mercure.com. The four-star Crowne Plaza Paris République has a restaurant that serves typical French cuisine and has a lovely garden for sitting in; rates from €145 per night. See crowneplaza.com. A boat trip on the Seine is a great way to see Paris.
We would love to visit Lapland with our children to see Santa. Is it cheaper to do it independently, booking flights and accommodation, or better to go through a travel agent, and if so ,which package or agent would you recommend. – VM, Dublin.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/XL3OY73EO6RZXMKPARBZWMPQG4.jpg)
There are at least four companies doing trips to Lapland this December from Dublin, Cork and Belfast. The one-day trip,or the one overnight stay are probably the best value as it would be expensive to get to Rovaniemi with scheduled airlines. The journey would be at least two flights and you would be arriving in Rovaniemi in late afternoon and would have to stay two nights to enjoy the experience. Fares are from €270-€378 per person and hotels would be at least €250 per night. There would be additional costs for transfers, renting thermal suits and visits to Santapark.
The Lapland packages from Ireland will be on direct flights, they will also include thermal clothes, some meals, a visit to Santa and his elves, sleigh rides and presents. It would also be fun to travel with a group. If you book through one of these companies or through a travel agent, you can also pay the bill in stages. Prices for a one-day trip will be in the region of €679 for adults and €559 for children and overnight trips will cost from €799 for adults and €699 for children. The companies doing Santa trips are visitsanta.ie, sunway.ie, santa-holidays.ie and falconholidays.ie.
My best friend and I recently lost our jobs. We have three months gardening leave and would like to blow some cash on a spa break, preferably in Dublin. – AMTC, Cork.
Starting at the top, you could certainly have a luxurious spa break in the Shelbourne and be close to Grafton Street for some retail therapy. The spa at the Shelbourne uses Pevonia, Elemis and Panpuri products. There is also a swimming pool and gym. A day in the spa with treatments will cost from €270. An overnight with spa treatments and use of the facilities will cost from €469pps. See theshelbourne.ie, tel: 01-663 4500.
If you were prepared to travel outside the city, the Powerscourt Hotel in Enniskerry is an ideal spa destination. A spa overnight break with dinner, bed and breakfast and ESpa treatments will cost from €410pps. See powerscourthotel.com, tel: 01-274 8888. Ask about special offers, from time to time the price comes down.
Other hotels in Dublin city centre with spa facilities include the Merrion, the Fitzwilliam, the Maldron, Cardiff Lane, the Intercontinental and the Camden Court (though the pool and steam room is being serviced until May 8th).
Send your queries to jscales@irishtimes.com