From a London weekend to Orlando theme parks,
JOAN SCALEShas the week's best offers
DEAL OF THE WEEK
Weekend break in London: €110 per room per night
The Royal Lancaster Hotel, overlooking Hyde Park and only minutes from Marble Arch and Oxford Street, is a perfect location for a weekend break in London. The four-star hotel is offering rooms for £100 (€110) per night, including a £100 voucher to spend on food and beverages in the hotel. The Royal Lancaster has two restaurants: Nipa, serving Thai cuisine, and the Island, serving modern European food. The deal is available on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights until April 26th. 00-44-20-72626737, www.royallancaster.com.
HOME DEALS
Spring in your step: from €199
For spring walking in the Nire Valley, around Ballymacarbery in Co Waterford, there is perhaps no more welcoming a place to stay than Hanora’s Cottage. Two nights’ bed and breakfast, with dinner each day and a packed lunch, costs €199pps midweek and €250pps at the weekend. Hanora’s Cottage is now also doing small civil weddings. 052-6136134, www.hanorascottage.com.
Castlemartyr: €195 per night
Castlemartyr Resort, in Co Cork, which reopens on April 3rd under the Dromoland brand, will be a welcome return to the five-star market. Opening rates are €195 per night, including breakfast for two; two-night stays, including dinner one night, will cost from €260pps. 021-4644050, www.castlemartyrresort.ie.
Kenmare: three nights for €365
The Park Hotel Kenmare, which reopens on April 10th, is welcoming guests back with three nights for the price of two. The cost, from €365pps, includes breakfast and dinner one night. 064- 6641200, www.parkkenmare.com.
Spread your wings: €219pps
Join ornithologist Gordon D’Arcy in the Burren next weekend for a birdwatching trip and see our winter visitors before they leave. Staying at Gregans Castle Hotel, the two-night package includes dinner one night, packed lunch and a full day’s birdwatching excursion for €219pps. Stay one night with dinner from €139.50pps. Another birdwatching event will take place on May 9th. 065-7077005, www.gregans.ie.
Fishy business: from €275pps
Go fishing in the salmon capital of Ireland and try your hand in the Moy. Downhill House Hotel, in Ballina, has two-day breaks with dinner one evening and a day fishing the river from €275pps. 096-21033, www.downhillhotel.ie.
Book a table at a foodie festival
It’s time to book accommodation for Waterford Festival of Food, from April 17th to 19th. Highlights include an artisan food and craft fair, visits to producers, cookery demonstrations and children’s entertainment. 058-21104, www.waterford festivaloffood.ie.
OVERSEAS DEALS
Park Flexiticket: free airboat ride
Book tickets for Orlando theme parks with Attraction Tickets Direct and it will throw in an airboat ride per person. The aptly-named Orlando Flexticket, which gives access to six parks, including Universal Studios, SeaWorld and Aquatica, costs €169 for adults and €154 for children for 14 days. The Disney Ultimate Ticket includes unlimited entry to the Disney Parks for 14 days and a round of golf; it costs €267 per adult and €227 per child. 1800-927467, www.attractionticketsdirect.ie.
Orlando family fun: from €1,850
Family holidays in May for a week to Orlando with Sunway will cost from €1,850 for two adults and two children staying in a hotel, from €2,005 to stay in a suite hotel and from €2,375 for stays in a three-bedroom house with pool. 01-2886828, www.sunway.ie.
Dubrovnik at Easter: €229
Spend Easter in Dubrovnik with a direct flight from Dublin on April 9th, returning a week later. Seats cost from €229. A week’s package, staying at the five-star Dubrovnik Palace Hotel, costs from €749pps, or from €679 at the three-star Grand Hotel Park. Self-catering accommodation is also available from €475pps, based on four sharing. 01-8780800, www.croatia.ie.
Two nights in Havana: €755
One of the visa requirements for independent travellers visiting Cuba is to have booked two nights’ accommodation. Cubatravel has come up with some good deals to Havana to get you on your way. Fly with Air France from Shannon or Dublin via Paris, with two nights’ hotel accommodation in Havana, for €755pps; single supplement of €25 per night. 01-2412340.
Algarve villa for a week: €746
Take advantage of cheap flights to Faro with Aer Lingus and Ryanair in May and you could be staying in the lap of luxury in your own villa with pool. Selfcatering.ie has a week at Villa Vivienda Silva in Gale, near Albufiera, for €746, one of a selection of properties. www.selfcatering.ie.
Gran Canaria: from €229pps
Falcon Holidays is celebrating St Patrick’s Day with a sale from now until March 23rd that features discounts on more than 40 of its most popular venues, including eight with kids’ clubs. Prices start at €229pps per week for a holiday in Gran Canaria. 1850-453545, www.falconholidays.ie.
Please bear in mind that deals are subject to availability