Hotels and Lodging

From a trip to Wales and southwest England that my husband, Jim, and I took, here are some recommendations of low-cost lodgings.

My wife and I took the eight-day tour “Munich, Salzburg & Vienna” with Globus (Littleton, CO; 866/755-8581), Sept. 4-11, 2011. The land price was $1,549 per person.

It was described as a “leisurely paced tour.” Perhaps the designation came from the fact that we stayed two nights each in Munich and Salzburg and three nights in Vienna rather than one night in each location. However, with my weak legs and the amount of walking we did, in particular at Neuschwanstein Castle and in Salzburg and Vienna, I felt that it wasn’t leisurely.

by Hugh Clark; Tampa, Florida

I took a fascinating trip to Macedonia and Kosovo, March 10-20, 2011. These countries were the two components of the former Yugoslavia that I had never visited, and I explored them with Dzengis Patel, an outstanding guide and driver.

Dzengis works for DEA Tours (Kej Marshal Tito 40, Ohrid, Macedonia; phone/fax 00 389 [0] 46 26 52 51), which I found by sending letters of inquiry to travel companies that “do” Macedonia; Ohrid Travel in the UK responded and recommended DEA.

REPORT ON BANGKOK…

Unique Home Stays (Lantern Cottage, Trebudannon, Newquay, Cornwall, TR8 4LP, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 1637 881942) manages B&B rentals plus rentals of private homes — self-catering houses, manor houses, castles, etc. — in 11 countries (mostly in Europe plus Morocco, South Africa and Canada).

Prices range from £40 to £50 ($52-$65) per person per night at a luxury B&B in Suffolk, England (two nights minimum), to €50,000 for a week in a villa at Lake Como, Italy (with manager, waiters, chef and maid).

Every year in Jukkasjärvi, near Kiruna in northern Sweden’s Lapland, a hotel sculpted out of snow and ice is built in stages, with all rooms of the art project completed by late December. The current ICE­HOTEL (phone +46 0 980 66 800) opened on Dec. 3 and should close April 14, 2012.

Room rates are SEK1,250-2,900 (near $182-$423) and, for a deluxe ice suite, SEK7,000 ($1,022).

I took the 11-day land tour of Panama, “From the Pacific to the Caribbean,” in March ’11 with Explore! Worldwide (based in the UK, with an office in Oakland, CA; 800/715-1746). It was a good experience. The land cost was $1,670 plus a single supplement of $505. There were nine participants: four from the UK, two Canadians and three Americans. With a good background in the history and natural history of Panama, our local guide, Kenny Weeks, was excellent and accommodated our special interests as well.