Travel News Roundup

It’s that time again for the quirky, interesting, useful (or not so) travel news!

Disney Deal
If you fancy heading off to Orlando for a trip to Disney World you can now stay twice as long for free!!  FloridaTix has extended its 14 days for the price of 7 ticket offer until the end of September 2011.  It’s was a long long time ago that I visited but I’d definitely go back and this is a great money saving deal. More info on http://www.floridatix.co.uk/14for7-ultimate-ticket.aspx

www.floridatix.co.uk

The Ultimate Relaxing Holiday
The 5* Aldemar Royal Mare hotel group, on the Greek isle of Crete, is offering visitors complimentary Yoga classes during their stay at any of their four hotels on the island.  More info on www.aldemarhotels.com

www.aldemarhotels.com

Stag Alert
Apparently Europe is still the top spot for stag party destinations.  According to stagweekendblog, popular with the rowdy crowd are Krakow, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Ibiza and Dublin.  Research by UK based Tour Company Chillisauce also claims that Amsterdam has one of the highest Fit Blond Per Capita (FBPC) indexes in the known world. Hmmm

Image from Google.com

 Summer Stinkers
According to washing detergent, Boost Stain Remover, in a survey of UK adults, 14% admitted to wearing their pants up to three times before washing them! (who are these people?!).  It seems people are sacrificing their personal hygiene in order to fit everything in their 55x40x20 cabin luggage!


French Cookery

Former Masterchef finalist, Jim Fisher, has set up his own cookery school in the beautiful Dordogne.  Having worked with the likes of Rick Stein, Tony Tobin and Alistair Little, Jim has developed a new series of cookery courses based around famous ‘Last Suppers’.  You can tackle the 10-courses of the ‘Titanics Final Banquet’, Elvis Presley’s Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich or Will and Kate’s Royal Wedding Canapes.  Sounds delicious and all set in the idyillic Dordogne.  More info here www.cookinfrance.com

www.cookinfrance.com

Travel News Roundup

I thought I'd start this little segment to bring you all the weird, wonderful, useful and not always so useful news from the travel and leisure world. So here's my first news roundup edition:

Free drink, or Not Free Drink
Budget airlines offer some great deals but increasingly all the little things that we were once used to being included are being knocked off the main price and charged as extras.  So does it actually really work out as a great deal in the end? Food and drink are one of the things that we've come to expect to be charged for on short haul flights but what about mid or long haul flights? Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) have created a useful table so you can check before you go, or even book, what food and drink is available on which airlines. The table can be found at www.aph.com/airlinemeals

Mmmm airplane food

“Hell is other people’s children on holiday”
This is the consensus of one in three UK adults who were surveyed by Thomson Holidays.  Over-tired youngsters, noisy and unruly kids in the restaurant or room next door or being splashed by excited kids in the pool all seem to be major gripes for adults on holiday,  but it seems it’s not just other peoples kids that mar our annual breaks.  The survey found that 40% of parents admitted their own kids affected their holiday enjoyment while 4% said their holidays were ruined by their own kids!  Thomson did the research to launch ‘Couples’ their new child-free holiday experiences.  My advice – don’t buy your child a ‘joker soaker’ (water gun) for the pool - you and everyone around you will get wet! 


This photo of Hotel Orquidea is courtesy of TripAdvisor


Celeb Spotting or Best Tee Off
HotelClub have announced the winners of their 5^th Hotel awards.  With awards for hotels in London, Greater England, Scotland and Ireland here are my favourites from each area:

Best Place for Celeb Spotting – The Langham, London
Best Place for London Dry Gin – Egerton House Hotel, London
Best for “Weekend with the Girls/Guys” Getaway – The Light Boutique ApartHotel, Manchester
Best Tee Off and 19^th Hotel – Celtic Manor, Newport
Best Place to Enjoy a Guinness – Arlington Hotel O’Connell Bridge, Dublin


This photo of The Light Boutique ApartHotel is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Deals, Deals, Deals
Fancy a Nile Cruise visiting the Valley of the Kings, Colossi of Memnon and the Temple of Luxor along the way? (I'm nodding my head) With the some of the most amazing ancient archeological monuments and sites from over 6,000 years ago, Egypt really is the world’s largest open air museum.  Discover Egypt is offering 50% off its Nile Cruise between 4^th July and October 2012 - there is more info on www.discoveregypt.co.uk

http://famouswonders.com/luxor-temple/

Travel Gadgets
Micro Luggage – a neat carry-on sized Samsonite suitcase that converts into a scooter – genius! The nippy lean-and-steer scooter can be used to get to and from work or the train station and when you’re done you can fold it all up in the 26 litre capacity sturdy suitcase and still have room for all your work or travel essentials.

The Samonite Scooter