C HING oTREi IDEAS Know When To Save Money (NAPSA)—When it comes to traveling, timing may be everything. Travel agents say when you go to a destination can influence the price of your trip as much as the destination itself. Manyairlines and destinations offer special discounted packages based solely on when youarrive or fly and how long youstay. For example, a group of 74 hotels in Mexico City—ranging from budget options to five-star properties—offer special weekend rates. Visitors who stay Friday, Saturday or Sunday nights can often pay as little as 1,200 pesos (approximately $105) per night at some of the top hotels in the city (Marquis Reforma, J.W. Marriott and Royal Pedregal). At the luxurious Fiesta Americana Reforma, rates drop as low as $75 on the weekend. At the Ritz Centro Histrico and Casa Blanea hotels, travelers can find weekend rooms for $38—as compared to a weekday rate of $88— and other hotels such as the Imperial Reforma offer rooms for approximately $48 a night. The newly renovated Melia Mexico Reforma offers a similar weekend package. The hotel has weekend rooms for $100 a night (as compared to $225). The rate ineludes a buffet breakfast. Photo: Dave Houser Catedral Metropolitana, on the Zocalo in Mexico City, is the largest colonial cathedral in the Americas. Guests can also receive discounted rates at the five-star Four Seasons Hotel in Mexico City. The hotel has a four day package that includes a stay in the Executive Suite, VIP transfer to and from the airport, a welcome gift, a bottle of champagne, a half hour aroma therapy massage, a cultural excursion, and dinnerat the hotel’s El Restaurante. Special packages are also offered for mature travelers. The Presidente Inter-Continental Hotel, for example, offers travelers age 55 and older special rates through the 55 for $55 program. In all cases, tax is additional. For more information, visit www.hotelesenmexico.com.mx.
