News from Little Hotels, Edition 21

Welcome to the Spring Edition of our newsletter. After a cold winter in the UK and a wet one in Spain, it will be great to get back into the nicer weather again. This year once again we can see the close correlation between the weather at home and the rate of bookings: as we shivered through the winter, many of you were active making your holiday plans for the spring and summer. Now, as we enjoy an unusually dry and sunny April (in England, at least) you have obviously been distracted and bookings have dipped. Don't leave it too long though if you haven't booked already, because just as the early bird gets the worm, the early booker gets the best choice of hotels and rooms.

"The Volcano"

We can't avoid mention of this recent hot potato. Inevitably Little Hotels travellers were caught up in the disruption that ensued when the unpronounceable Icelandic volcano pumped its ash out into the upper atmosphere. Just as the airlines have been legally obliged to carry a lot of the costs of the cancelled flights, we had a busy time sorting out cancellations and re-arrangements but all our hotels were very understanding and I don't think any of them made a charge for last minute cancellations. This all seems to be in stark contrast to the statements coming out of the insurance industry, who appear to be trying hard to avoid paying out. We have always advised our clients to have travel insurance, but this comes into question if the insurance is not going to pay when the customer needs it.

We haven't yet heard much from any of our travellers who were stranded abroad by the cancellations. They may still be making their way home as this is written or busy sorting out more pressing issues. We can only hope that the inconvenience wasn't too much and that they found a way to enjoy their extended holiday.

Was it all necessary? Therein lies a very big question. The CAA say it was necessary and it took the time it did before they had carried out sufficient investigation to be able to relax the blanket no-fly policy. Others may feel that this was a case of the "nanny-state" over-reacting to a perceived risk that could have been better managed on a more selective basis. Most people will have an opinion, but unfortunately we don't have the information or knowledge to draw a definitive conclusion.

Recent New Hotels

As usual, here is a summary of a few of the new hotels we have been adding to our websites recently. It's not easy for a hotel to be included on Little Hotels and we can't even offer a tickbox list of things to do to achieve it. Of course a hotel has to be Posada del Marques'little' but more important than that it has to be a place that we ourselves would want to stay in. Now we have fairly eclectic tastes, so we can enjoy simplicity or luxury, modernity or history and tranquility or activity, but each hotel must fulfil its role really, really well and must be an excellent example of its style.

One hotel that we have known for a long time is the Posada del Marques, and we're really glad to have been able to add it to Little Hotels of the Balearics. It's a beautiful country mansion enfolded in the wooded slopes of the Tramuntana mountains, with stupendous views down the valley, and all the way to Palma. Positioned there, it offers guests the choice of the mountains, the coast or the city.

Then for an alternative take on Mallorca, there is another historic house down in the south east corner of the island. This is Hotel Sa Galera, a delightful boutique hotel created by the restoration of a grand old house that has been in the same family since 1850. The location is close to many wonderful beaches, especially Cala Mondragó and S'Amarador, and the marinas at Cala d'Or and Porto Petro.

Back on the mainland, it seems a pity that most people see no more of Málaga than the airport. It's a city that justifies spending a bit of time there, so to encourage visitors we've added Casa de las Mercedes. This townhouse hotel has a baroque design with lots of painted faux columns and ornamentation typical of the period. Most notable are the high wooden ceilings which are nearly all original.

Little Hotels of France is very new and is expanding as rapidly as we can do it. One of the recent additions is Les Roches in the famous wine region of Burgundy. The house was originally built by a Parisian judge for his mistress, and it shows: Austrian, Swiss and German architectural styles mix together in a riot of design.

Close to Le Mans, Chateau de Vaulogé is the very essence of a French chateau, complete with a moat. But while the fabric of the house is very formal, the style is very informal; a beguiling combination. Each evening, guests can eat with the family, 'table d'hôtes'-style.

Our latest addition in the Canaries is not even a hotel, but a little fisherman's cottage on Lanzarote right beside the water in Arrieta. Pretty, quaint, clean and comfortable, this is a really attractive place for a family self-catering holiday. All of our Canary hotel and villa locations are well away from the mass tourism areas. In this case, the cottage is in the centre of a little fishing village, right beside the slipway where you can see the local fishermen launching and hauling out their colourful traditional boats.

When Is a Discount Not a Discount?

So often we see these so-called offers advertised on the internet: '50% off', '75% discount', and so on. Frankly, that's not possible unless the price has been artificially inflated in the first place. We have done quite a few comparisons over the years when we have seen someone advertising one of these 'deals' for a hotel we also list. In every case, the "discounted price" has been the same as our normal price. We leave it to you to decide who you should trust.

Fires in Southern Spain Last Year

It was very upsetting to us when we heard about the fire that ravaged the countryside around Cabrera last year. We were confident that things would bounce back though. Now we have heard from people living there that the recovery has been even better than expected: the mountains are green, the wildlife is back, and it's hard to tell that there ever was a fire at all.

Follow Us On Twitter

Each time we update our News and Special Offers page, we now put a tweet on Twitter. So follow us on Twitter and you can easily keep up with all the latest at Little Hotels.

Special Offers and Packages

As usual we have all sorts of genuine special offers and packages available. Here are a few of the things available:

On Ibiza, Ca n'Escandell offers a 10% discount for stays during April and May.

Also on Ibiza, Es Cucons has an early season offer for 7 nights stays up to 20 May. This includes a 'Welcome' dinner, relaxing massage and use of the spa withing the package.

There are various ways to save while staying at Can Serola during 2010. There is 4 nights for the price of 3, extra nights at 50% discount and a Romantic Weekend with dinner and a bottle of Cava. Check their page for more details.

To celebrate the opening of a new Spa Centre in the village of Agua Amarga, Cortijo Los Malenos is offering all their guests staying a minimum of two nights during May and June a free visit to the spa. A great way to relax after a hard day on the beach (!).

Car lovers have an opportunity to drive a Ferrari 430GT or Lamborghini Gallardo around the world famous racetrack at Le Mans or over picturesque country roads. Chateau de La Barre has this very special package for you.

No, this isn't one of those non-offers I mentioned above, but we really have 40% off the standard tariff for stays at Riad El Mansour in Marrakech during summer 2010.

Also in Marrakech, Riad Chi-Chi is offering Moroccan cookery courses overseen by their resident chef Khadija. When the class is over, enjoy dining on your own culinary masterpiece in the peaceful courtyard or up on the roof terrace.

Something Out-of-the-Ordinary

This is our most recent addition to Little Hotels of Morocco. Sawadi was a farm, and remains a farm, but part of it has been adapted to become a quite unique little guest house. All the guest rooms are in newly-built kasbahs; newly-built but totally traditional in their design and use of materials. The result is modern comforts in a building which is a real Moroccan kasbah and not some Disney-esque reproduction. Only a small part of the farm has been used for the hotel, the remainder continues in agriculture, providing most of the ingredients for the hotel restaurant. To further the eco-credentials, there is little mechanisation on the farm, benefitting the guests with a tranquil environment and benefitting the local community with jobs. We are impressed.

Happy holidays!

Paul & Margaret Melhuish

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