by Aaron Butzen

Package vacation deals are such impossibly enticing prospects. The opportunity to book everything at once, make one payment and walk away with a complete vacation set-up is too much for many wild-eyed, time-starved citizens to resist. Of course, many of these poor chaps also believe that they are saving money along with their time. This, of course, is often too good to be true.

Whether or not the jaws of the package deal trap have ever scarred your ankles, it’s time to face the truth: bundled vacation packages often cost MORE money, while limiting your travel options. To prove this thesis, I visited PleasantHolidays.com, which, according to their website, is “one of the largest privately-owned travel companies in the U.S.” Pleasant Holidays and its brands claim to “offer a wide variety of travel products from first class to luxury vacation packages at affordable prices.” Affordable for some, maybe. Not, however, as affordable as doing it yourself.

If, like me, a long Midwestern winter has you pining for beaches and saltwater, a jaunt down to Mexico’s Cabo San Lucas would be just the thing to shake off the snow for good. For a one-week, mid-May Cabo vacation for two, one of Pleasant Holidays’ most affordable packages will set you back $4,465.00. This price includes airfare, seven all-inclusive nights at Dreams Los Cabos (a luxury five-star golf resort & spa) and a Hertz economy rental for the week.

Not a bad deal, but it would cost you $666.12 more than assembling your own package online using individual comparison and booking sites. I found the same flight the package offered on Mexicana Airlines for $969.64 on CheapTickets.com. The same all-inclusive hotel room (encompassing gourmet meals, premium brand drinks, 24-hour room service, use of all resort amenities, nightly entertainment, taxes and gratuities) on Travelocity.com was $2,635.64, or $376.52/night. At the airport, ACE Rent a Car will set you up with an economy vehicle for only $193.60/week, which brings the vacation total to $3798.88, almost seven hundred dollars less than the package deal. The moral of the story is this: eschew the package deals, and, as the Who say, you won’t get fooled again.

Breakdown of Cabo San Lucas Vacation for Two, May 16 – 23, 2008

• PleasantHolidays.com price: $4465.00
• Self-made package price: $3798.88 = $666.12 less than package deal
  • Airfare for two: $969.64 on CheapTickets.com ($484.82/person)
  • Hotel: $2,635.64 on Travelocity.com ($376.52/night)
  • Car: $193.60 on AceRentACar.com (found through Kayak.com)

On the small island of Koh Lanta, off the Southwest coast of mainland Thailand, Langham Place Eco Resort offers a five-star resort experience at prices that will make you wonder if you’re looking at a typo. Accommodations range from oceanview hotel rooms to freestanding villas with private pools, and the list of amenities includes six restaurants, a fitness facility, numerous pools and the ubiquitous world-class spa. As an added bonus, their eco-friendly practices and commitment to working towards improving, rather than overrunning, the surrounding community set a good example of how the hospitality industry can make a good-faith effort to minimize its footprint in developing tourist areas.

The “Place Me” package currently featured on their site gets you three nights for two at this posh palacial paradise, with daily breakfast and a sit down dinner included, for just a hundred bucks a night—about what you’d drop for the privilege of resting your head for an evening at the Holiday Inn in Hudson, OH (just 13 miles from Akron!) last we checked. Add on a few Baht, and they’ll throw in a 60-minute couples massage to relax your muscles after a long day of scuba diving, sailing or mountain biking through the surround.

If you’d like to get deals like this delivered to straight to your inbox every Thursday, be sure to sign up for our weekly Luxury Travel Alert, where we pull together our favorite 10 deals of the week for your viewing pleasure.

by Christopher TroutChecking In: London’s Luton Airport.Checking Out: London Heathrow.Late last week, police arrested British super model, and female counter part to Bruce Banner, Naomi Campbell after she allegedly spit in a police officer’s face. What, you might ask, could drive such a beautiful lady to do such a nasty thing? Well, it depends on the day, but this time around it was a baggage mix up at Heathrow’s brand new addition, British Airway’s Terminal 5. While she may have been the only one hocking luggies that day, Campbell’s woes are not unique. In one week, British Airways was responsible for some 28,000 [lost pieces of luggage and close to 250 canceled flights.All of this reeks of high drama, but the real problems vexing Heathrow run much deeper. The building of Terminal 5 cost £4.3 billion, and some say that further renovations—including a third runway and a 6th terminal—could bring the total price tag to £13 billion. Add to that the countless legal battles underway, the cost of cancellations due to 99% runway capacity and outstanding debts in the millions, and it seems there’s little hope for this little giant. If Britain’s Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, decides to move forward with the proposed renovations, construction and remodeling will render entire segments of the airport unusable. In the end, even if all moves smoothly during the reconstruction process, Heathrow’s fundamental setbacks will remain intact. The airport is surrounded on all sides by residential neighborhoods leaving little room for outward growth.While Brown and BAA, the company that owns Heathrow, continue to sort out the details of a possible expansion, London’s alternate airports will continue to fly under the radar. London Luton, which catered to just under 10 million passengers in 2007, is only 25 minutes from the city and accessible by rail and road. It serves international as well as domestic flights, with 85% of traffic coming from abroad. Nearly all of its business comes from scheduled service. It has only one runway, but accommodates less than a quarter of the passengers that Heathrow does.For travelers in the know, Luton has become a haven from Heathrow headaches. The airport has seen a 400% increase in passengers in the past 10 years, and at least one airline has noticed an ascent in bookings there since Terminal 5’s unveiling. The truth is, there’s little reason for passengers, airlines or the British government to continue sinking money into a lost cause. It’s time to start look toward competing airports for the answers to Heathrow’s woes.Luton might lack the name recognition, but at this point, what’s in a name?

by Nick Gill

Spending the day tasting or indulging in a meal at French Laundry can only dazzle your senses so far. You’ll need a place to rest your Chardonnay weary head when the sun goes down. Here are our picks to help complete your Napa experience no matter what your needs.

Money is No Object: Calistoga Ranch 

Starting Rate: Doubles from $550.
Luxury. Complete retreat. Wild and raw, yet completely refined. These are just some of the ways to describe Calistoga Ranch, prime stomping grounds for the most elite of Napa visitors. The 157-acre property near the town of Calistoga, north of St. Helena, is known for its oak trees and rolling hills, but also for its posh amenities for the sophisticated adventurer, like a yoga deck, spa, bocce ball courts, a wine cave and hiking trails. The rooms, or rather free standing 600-2,400 square foot cedar lodges, are gentrified by private outdoor shower gardens and outdoor fireplaces. If this description doesn’t convince you, just look at the “best of” lists of of nearly every luxury travel magazine there is for the past 4 years .

Smart Luxury: El Dorado Hotel
Starting Rate: $155 per night.
One of the more drastic renovations in Napa’s recent memory, this historic 1843 building on Sonoma plaza, one time home of Don Salvador Vallejo the last Mexican commander of Sonoma, has been turned into a contemporary boutique hotel that’s as green as the area’s vineyards. The rooms and standalone bungalows have been dramatically remodeled, with bold colors, flat screen TVs and four poster beds. And the extend of their recycling program is exhausting to think about. The El Dorado converts fryer oil to biodiesel fuel, the furnishings and floors are created from recycled or natural products and produce is locally grown from the area’s organic farms. Plus, the oft-raved about El Dorado Kitchen is just downstairs, beside the pool and garden.

Family Pick: Silverado Resort
Starting Rate: $288 per night.
A historic mansion set on 1,200 acres in the midst of wine country doesn’t sound like an ideal family getaway, but surprisingly, Silverado Resort is quite the family friendly retreat. While mom grabs that Hawaiian Lomi Lomi massage, Dad is playing a round at the Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed course. Or perhaps they are both off at a tasting, while the kids explore the ten swimming pools—including a kids pool—that are scattered about the sprawling property. Parents will drool—not literally we hope—over the 340 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets, and kids will appreciate the in-room movies. Other family style touches? Suites can sleep a family of 4 to 6 people, cribs and rollaway beds are complimentary and restaurants and room service have children’s menus or will make any kid-friendly dish on request.