News from Little Hotels, Edition 17

Welcome again to this latest newsletter from Little Hotels. For a change (not really!), I'll start off with a mention of a few of the new hotels that we have recently added:

Recent New Hotels

One of our most popular destinations for a bit of culture is Seville. To ensure that we always have enough accommodation and can cater for all preferences and budgets, we've introduced Un Patio Al Sur, the sister to hotel to Un Patio En Santa Cruz. Un Patio Al Sur is economically priced but doesn't skimp on the necessaries, and it is very conveniently located within easy distance of the main sites of tourist interest: the Cathedral, the Alcazar, the Bullring, and the pedestrianised shopping streets with their famous tapas bars.

In Morocco, we've introduced some more choice for visitors by adding a couple of hotels in the Atlas mountains. Les Jardins de Skoura and Dar Ouassaggou both cater for visitors who want to venture off the beaten track and experience the mountains of Africa. Dar Ouassaggou especially, offers the "real deal", where the owner himself is an experienced mountain guide. Les Jardins de Skoura is equally a base for exploring, but also a nice place to relax in the gardens that surround the hotel.

Ibiza is sucha staggeringly beautiful island and we felt we didn't have enough hotels there. Now we've added two more, Can Arabi and Can Jaume. They are both agroturismo hotels that were once typical little Ibizan farms, and which retain all the character of their origins in a luxurious and modern context. Very peaceful, but if the bright lights beckon, Ibiza Town is close by for a night out.

Far to the west of Andalucia is the province of Huelva, where we find Posada Finca La Fronda, a lovely little rural hotel set among cork oak forests. Visitors find a warm welcome there from the Anglo-Spanish owners.

What Makes a "Little Hotel"?

We started this business because we like small hotels with personality; that is, personality in the place and personality in the people who run it. We dislike the large soulless places that abound in so many locations. Although 30 rooms is around our maximum size, we're prepared to make occasional exceptions because the important criterion is, "Would we want to stay here?" And what is it that makes us want to stay somewhere? Well like anyone, we enjoy a few decadent luxuries on occasion, but they're not essential because we also enjoy the purity and simplicity that are the hallmarks of some of our hotels. We also like being welcomed by hotel-owners who are friendly, charming, and enthusiastic about the their hotel and their area. The point that we cannot compromise on is cleanliness.

Google Maps

We've been using Google Maps in a small way for quite some time but a couple of months ago we decided to adopt the system wholeheartedly. Near the top of each hotel page you will find a link to a map showing the location of that hotel within it's surroundings, with all the usual Google facilities to zoom in and out, pan to and fro and change between map view and a satellite image. If you're still weighing up which hotel to choose, there is a link on each regional page to a similar map which covers the full area of the region.

The maps are in use on all our websites except Little Hotels of Morocco. Map-making in Morocco seems to be a fairly imprecise science and so far we have found it impossible to reliably show the locations of hotels in this way.

75% Off!

A lady phoned up a few weeks ago. She had seen a hotel on Little Hotels of Spain and also on another website. The other one claimed they were giving "75% off" whereas we simply listed the price. The prices were the same. She decided to book with us and got a genuine 10% early booking discount off the published price. Sometimes the advertised discounts are about as real as the DFS sale ending this weekend!

Now For Some Real Offers

Despite the gloom and doom in some sectors of the media, there is no fire sale of hotel rooms, at least not in our part of the market. However, as is always the case, we do have a few special offers to make a holiday booked through Little Hotels even better value:
Cases Noves, Costa Blanca. Early  booking discounts for stays right through until the end of June. A great example of a simple village hotel run by two of the nicest people I have ever met.
Hotel Alahuar, Alicante. Great discounts for over-55s. This is an ideal place for a walking holiday.
Ca'l Lloro, Mallorca. 7 nights for the price of 6 in May and June.
Can Serola, Cataluña. 5 nights for the price of 4, right through the year, except July and most of August.
La Serena, Altea. Singles Special. From Sunday through to Friday, 3 nights accommodation with breakfast and a light dinner, € 85 per night + 7% VAT. 10% discount after the third night.
Hotel Biniarroca, Menorca. 10% discount in a Classic Double Room for all stays from 3 April to 22 May. It's a great place to relax.
Albero Lodge, Estepona. Really good offers extending right through to the end of June. This is the hotel that recently featured in the lead article in the Guardian Travel supplement.
El Patio de Tita, Lanzarote. Special summer deal for May, June, July, September and October.
Finca de Las Salinas, Lanzarote. 10% discount from 17 May to 30 June.
Can Furios, Mallorca. Low season prices throughout the summer high season. Now that really is a great deal in an incredibly beautiful little hotel.
La Almunia del Valle, Granada. Mid-season prices throughout August.
Posada Aire de Ruesga, Cantabria. 10% discount on 5 night stays during spring and early summer. A fantastic opportunity to visit the mountains of the lovely coastline.

Car Hire in Morocco

Until now we have not been able to provide you with car hire in Morocco because our usual partner does not operate there. Now though we have a new car hire partner exclusively for Morocco, so you can get car hire from one of the biggest hire companies in the business at prices much less than on their own website.

Changes to Our Email Addresses

In order to tidy up our e-mail addresses we are making a few small changes.
spain@littlehotels.co.uk is the address for everything to do with bookings and enquiries in Spain, the Balearics and the Canaries.
morocco@littlehotels.co.uk is the address for bookings and enquiries in Morocco.
office@littlehotels.co.uk is the address for everything to do with admin, accounts, the webpage design, etc.
feedback@littlehotels.co.uk is the address to send feedback about a hotel or villa that you have visited.
Don't worry. If you sent something to the "wrong" address, it won't be lost, but it may take us just a little bit longer to deal with it.

Our Last Newsletter: An Apology

When we sent out our last newsletter, the links weren't working on some (approx 1000) of the messages sent out. If you were one of those who received the malfunctioning version, please accept our apologies. Also thanks to Jaqui who pointed it out, so we were able to correct the problem before the majority were sent. Remember, you can always see a web version of the current newsletter and past ones by going to our Newsletter Archive.

Finally, remember that you don't just book your hotel through Little Hotels. Our websites will also take you to car hire, travel insurance, ferries, UK airport hotels, airport parking and even some flights.

Happy holidays!

Paul & Margaret Melhuish

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