Ref: P433 - Chalet in Northern Alps France

Ref: P433 - Chalet in Northern Alps France

Luxurious Holiday Inns
Dec 12, 06 1:59 am
By Sophia Banay, Forbes.com
Hoping for a white Christmas this year? What about a green one?
That's what holiday guests at the K Club , a golf club and spa resort in County Kildare, Ireland, are paying for. Thanks to Ireland's mild winters, snow is rare, and the K Club's two golf courses--Palmer, where the Ryder Cup took place this fall, and Smurfit, where the Smurfit European Open is held annually--are pretty much guaranteed to remain lush all winter. This year, the K Club is offering a three-night Christmas package, which includes Christmas Eve wine-tasting, caroling and a buffet dinner, Christmas Day dinner or lunch--and a daily round of golf.
If a green Christmas doesn't do it for you, maybe a black Christmas will--black-diamond, that is. At the Four Seasons Resort, Whistler, in Canada, guests visiting over the holidays can take advantage of a wide range of seasonal festivities, including making s'mores over an open fire, schmoozing with fellow guests at the General Manager's holiday reception, and attending a kids' Charlie & The Chocolate Factory dinner buffet on New Year's Eve. Then, there's the skiing. The Whistler-Blackcomb resort area gets 30 feet of snow a year and has 8,000 powder-packed acres. What better stocking-stuffer than two round-trip plane tickets and a Whistler ski pass?
Even if they aren't golf buffs or super skiers, Americans are increasingly asking Santa to send them somewhere new for Christmas--and they are willing to pay for it, as well. According to Smith Travel Research, a Hendersonville, Tenn.-based lodging information provider, the average daily rate at luxury hotels in the U.S. in 2005 for the week of Dec. 25 through Dec. 31 was $345, a 50% holiday premium over a comparable week at the height of the summer travel season, July 24 to July 30, when the rate was just $230.
What’s more, hotels the world over are decking the halls in anticipation of that year-end revenue.
"This is a time of year when families travel together--[especially] families with the means to seek the finest experiences--and celebrate," says Ciro Tacinelli, director of marketing at the Four Seasons Resort, Whistler. "We design our Festive Week to appeal to all ages, couples as well as families, and members of different religions."