August 2012 /by/ Vakanz.club - travel deals since 2012

Discount code from budgetplaces.com on all bookings

Friday, August 31, 2012

A 5% discount code is available at budgetplaces.com for all reservations made until mid-day Saturday, 1 September, Central European Time.

Simply go to their website, select for the preferred hotel and in the payment window simply type in the code MYBREAKS12 in the field "Do you have a promotion code?" (see print screen below):

That should be a good deal for the budget conscious travelers, in addition to the good deals already available on budgetplaces.com.

What is European Plan (EP) for hotel accommodation

Thursday, August 30, 2012

You may have already encountered the case when, trying to make a hotel reservation, the description of a hotel room shows "European Plan (EP)".

Well, European Plan is referring to the meals included in the room rate and means that NO MEALS are included (not even breakfast).

Basically, European Plan means no plan at all. It's kind if ironic that it's called lilke that, but it is one of those marketing gimmicks (just as the notion of a 3-door car, when in fact it is a 2-door car, as nobody will use the trunk as a door, or, who knows :).

Expedia.com says that:

- European Plan means room only;
- Continental Plan equals continental breakfast (without any cooked food);
- American Plan (or all-inclusive) containts three meals a day, but without drinks (full board / full pension system from Europe);
- Modified American Plan is breakfast plus lunch, or breakfast plus dinner (the half-board, half-pension known in Europe).

Up to 25% discount on selected hotel rooms from Eurostars Hotels in Lucca, Barcelona, Valencia, Vienna

Monday, August 27, 2012

The Eurostars Hotels, the top end hotel chain with more than 60 hotels worldwide, has a 25% discount for stays anytime until the end of the year, if booked by Wednesday, 29 August.

The following hotels are on offer (and we made a quick test of the veracity of the offer for 2 nights over the week-end 7-9 September, for a double room, breakfast included):

-Eurostars Toscana Lucca, Italy****, for a total price of 153 euro. The same room is at 180 euro from Onhotels.com and 204 euro on Booking.com - that means at least 15% savings;

-Eurostars Embassy Hotel Vienna, Austria****, for a total price of 224 euro. The same room is at 268 euro on Booking.com - that means around 17% savings;

-Eurostars Gran Valencia, Spain****, for a total price of 128 euro. The same room is at 144 euro on EasyToBook.com and on Booking.com - that means around 10% savings;

-Eurostars Regina Sevilla, Spain***, for a total price of 160 euro. The same room is at 182 euro on Opodo.co.uk and on Booking.com and - that means aroung 15% savings;

- Eurostars Monumental Barcelona, Spain****, for a total price of 305 euro. The same room is at 378 euro from Booking.com and at from Expedia.co.uk; - that means about 20% savings;

If you need any help in finding hotels in any of these locations, or any other, leave a comment and we'll be glad to help you.

Best hotel deals for Oktoberfest 2012 in Munich

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Update: we also made a search for the 2013 Oktoberfest -> here.

The Oktoberfest 2012 in Munich will be held this year between 22 September and 7 October 2012.

More details about the event can be found on its official website: http://www.oktoberfest.de/en.

If you were wondering where to sleep in Munich, Germany, during Oktoberfest, we made an extensive for three category of hotels:

- budget accommodation, where the price is the most important criterion (still, good customer reviews are an important criterion in making a choice);

- medium range hotel, breakfast included, for the best price / quality ratio;

- top end hotels, where the level of service is important, but is reflected in the money one should be expected to pay.

The search was made for 3 nights, from 29 September to 2 October, for 2 people sleeping in a twin room.

Budget accommodation in Munich, Germany, for Oktoberfest 2012

- Movenpick Hotel Munich Airport, for a total of 410 euro (324 British Pounds) from Lastminute.com and HotelClub.com and HotelPlanner.com (standard double room);

- Holiday Inn Express Munich Airport, for a total of 453 euro for a standard double with breakfast included, from their official website InterContinental Hotels Group (the same price is shown by Booking.com);

- NH Munich Airport, for a total of 467 euro from their official website NH-hotels.com. The same price is shown by AlphaRooms.com and by Booking.com. One would not expect NH Hotels to be classified as a budget option, but under the circumstances of the Oktoberfest, it looks like one of the cheapest deals outthere;

Best quality / price ratio in Munich, Germany, for Oktoberfest 2012

- Express by Holiday Inn Munchen Messe, for a total of 565 euro of from AlphaRooms.com and from Lastminute.com for a standard double room (18 sqm, free breakfast);

- Central Hotel - Apart Munchen, for a total of 567 euro from Booking.com for a deluxe double room (28 sqm including a kitchenette and with free wireless internet and free breakfast);

Top end hotels during Oktoberfest 2012 in Munich, Germany

- Kempinski Airport Munich, for a total of 574 euro from Hotels4U.com.

- Sheraton Munchen Arabellapark Hotel, for a total of 737 euro from Onhotels.com for a superior room, breakfast included (the same is at 753 euro from QuickRooms.com);

- Innside by Melia Munchen Parkstadt Schwabing, for a total of 773 euro from Opodo.co.uk, for a studio, free breakfast and free internet.

- Westin Grand Arabellapark, for a total of 869 euro from QuickRooms.com, for a twin room, breakfast included.

Trip report - 8 night journey in Germany for less than 300 euro

Friday, August 24, 2012

We just came back from a week trip to Saxony and wanted to share the great hotel deals that we bought for 3 and 4 star hotels in Germany:

- Holiday Inn Express Frankfurt Airport***, 1 night (12-13 August 2012) for 43 euro (a double room, breakfast included, free parking) from lastminute.com

- Advena Parkhotel Leipzig West***, 3 nights (13-16 August 2012) for 98 euro (a double room, breakfast included, free wireless internet, free parking) from booking.com

- Gold Inn Dresdner Heide****, 4 nights (16-20 August 2012) for 158 euro (a double room, breakfast included, free wireless internet, free parking) from otel.com

That's a total of 299 euro for 8 nights at 3 and 4 star hotels in Germany (an average of 37,50 euro per double per night, breakfast included).

The secret for getting the best hotel deals is to start your search early (at least one month before your planned travel dates) and spend some time checking the majority of the online travel agencies - OTAs (as you can see, we finally bought from 3 different OTAs).

If you need any help in finding a hotel deal, just leave a comment with the details of your trip (dates, location, type of room) and we will try to help you.

Limited 50% off selected hotels in France from Accorhotels.com

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Accorhotels.com has a limited sale on some of its hotels in France.

Book until August 28 for stays between August 24 and September 9 and take advantage of this offer.

We verified this promotion for several hotels, for 2 nights over the week-end 24-26 August:

- Novotel Toulouse Centre Compans Caffarelli - total of 107 euro from Accorhotels.com

The same hotel during the same period is sold at 188 euro on Ebookers.com and Expedia.co.uk and Booking.com.

- Mercure Bordeaux Le Lac - total of 103 euro from Accorhotels.com:

The same hotel during the same period is sold at 184 euro on Booking.com and Easytobook.com and hotel.info.

- Mercure Paris Opera Cusset - total of 165 euro from Accorhotels.com:

The same hotel during the same period is sold at 280 euro on Booking.com and Cheapostay.com.

Hotel deal for a summer week-end in Amsterdam

Saturday, August 18, 2012

We just found an incredible deal for 2 nights, double room with breakfast included for the week-end 24-26 August:

- 166 euro total price (83 euro per night) at luxurious Crowne Plaza Schiphol Airport. The deal is offered by Onhotels.com. It is a unique opportunity to stay at this top rated hotel, which usually costs at least twice as much.

Take advantage of this bargain hotel room while it lasts.

Booking.com Secret Deals - how to register to join the offers

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

We come back with more precise guidance on how to register to the Booking.com Secret Deals / Flash Deals. You basically have 2 options: registration to the Booking.com newsletter, or to "Like" their Facebook page.

Here are the simple steps for each of the options:

Email registration

- go to this --> page

-at the bottom of that page, you will see the button for e-mail subscription (see print-screen below)

- push the button indicated with the arrow in the print-screen above. A pop window will appear. Use this window to sent yourself an e-mail (write your e-mail in both sections of the form). VERY IMPORTANT: make sure you click to activate to option "Yes, I want to subscribe to the newsletter" - see printr-screen below:

- push the button "Send email. That's it - you will start receiving regular e-mails with the secret deals hotels.

Facebook registration

- go to your Facebook page, search for Booking.com, push the "Like" button. Then go to Booking.com Facebook page and click on the Secret Deals menu. You will have there all the hotels on offer from all countries worldwide:

Twin bed room in Berlin, Mitte district, Germany - suggestions of hotel deals

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

We were searching for the best hotel rates for a twin bed room for a 2 night visit to Berlin (7-9 September 2012, breakfast included). These are the best price/quality hotels in the center of Berlin (Mitte) for the given period:

- Best Western Hotel am Spittelmarkt, at 107 euro per room per night on booking.com

- Arcotel Velvet Berlin, at 115 euro per room per night on booking.com

- Derag Livinghotel Grosser Kurfurst, at 133 euro per room per night on booking.com

Lastminute.com has a range of 4 star hotels centrally located, at less than 100 euro per night, part of their Top Secret offer.

Hotel booking websites

Monday, August 13, 2012

This is the starting point for our hotel searches, as we do not have to open a new window and type in the address of each booking website we want to check (websites are listed in alphabetical order).

Accor Hotels