Le Meridien Hotels has slashed up to 50 per cent off rates worldwide this summer, offering bargains at hotels and resorts on five continents between July 1 and August 31.
Included in the Le Meridien Passport programme are 37 hotels in Europe as well as 14 in Britain and six in the United States. Asia, too, figures heavily, with 25 Le Meridien hotels offering discount rates - plus a further 16 properties operated by Nikko Hotels International - while travellers have a choice of five hotels in the principal Moroccan cities, and resorts in the Seychelles and Malawi. 'As well as offering attractive prices, Le Meridien Passport is a valuable tool for the travel trade since it helps them to guarantee availability at popular destinations during the peak season,' said Russel Sharpe, Le Meridien's regional senior vice president, sales & marketing in Dubai. 'We have consistently found that London, Dubai and Thailand are the most popular summer vacation spots for consumers in the region, and this programme is designed to combine the quality of Le Meridien products with value-for-money rates.' In London, accommodation is available from $129 a night, rising to $289 for Le Meridien Grosvenor House and Le Meridien Piccadilly, while rooms cost $123 in Manchester or $106 in Leeds. In continental Europe, two hotels in Paris are priced at $141 per night, while accommodation on the Riviera is from $154; room rates in Germany start from $76, while in Italy, deluxe hotels such as Le Royal Meridien Eden in Rome are priced at $406 per room and Le Meridien Forte Village in Sardinia is offering rooms at $393. Bargains are also on offer at other popular summer destinations in Cyprus, Poland, Hungary, Monte Carlo, Malta, Portugal and Spain, as well as Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New Orleans and New York in the US. Heading east, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia are featured in Le Meridien Passport as well as Nikko properties in the Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam and China - plus six hotels in India, and two in Australia. Following the success last year of its Ahlan programme, Le Mendien Hotels is relaunching the scheme in time for the peak summer months. Featured in the programme is the provision of Arabic-speaking staff at reception and on the switchboard, as well as for room service duties. Other value-added services include Arabic newspapers from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait; in-room Arabic satellite television plus foreign exchange facilities for all GCC currencies.