Archive for November, 2009

For most people, Christmas markets are not about shopping but moreso about taking a break and rekindling that “Christmassy feeling” you got as a child.  The ingredients to this feeling are staying in a cosy hotel, mulled wine, tasty food, snow covered streets, Christmas trees, fairy lights, carol singers, log cabin stalls selling quirky local arts and crafts.

There is an abundance of advertorials in the papers, travel supplements and online which makes it hard to decide which city is really best to visit for the Christmas markets. We are amazed to find how some travel writers are failing to check out the frequency of flights from Ireland before they publish their Christmas market reviews on a particular city. For example, many travel writers are pushing the Estonian capital Tallinn as a new hotspot but do they know that there are currently no direct flights from Ireland to Tallinn?

Prague Christmas Markets

To help you decide what city suits you best, we have broken down the top 5 European Christmas Markets based on a number of factors but most importantly based on accessiblity. All cities listed below are accessible by frequent direct flights from Ireland.The below chart also provides a rough guide summarizing the best cities for Christmas markets.

We are asked on a daily basis what is the cheapest and best way to get from Stansted Airport to (central) London? So, we thought we would post this for those people visiting London for first time via Stansted Airport.

Most people flying into Stansted Airport from Ireland will most likely be flying with Ryanair as Aerlingus only fly to either Heathrow or Gatwick. The most efficient way to get into London from Stansted is via the Stansted Express. Stansted Express trains operate every 15 mins between 5.30am and 11.45pm. The journey time from Stansted Airport to Liverpool Street Station takes approx 46 mins.
So where do you buy your ticket? Here are a number of options…

Option 1: Buy your Stansted Express ticket online. Strange as this may be…ticket prices on the Stansted Express website are more expensive than the price you pay at their ticket desk or on board?
Ryanair passengers (using 6 digit flight reservation number) can purchase discounted Stansted Express tickets via their website.  A single journey ticket via Ryanair website costs £18.00 £15.00 saving you £3.00 (16%). A return ticket costs £26.50 £21.50 saving you £5.30 (20%)! Note that you only need the ticket confirmation number contained in the booking confirmation email along with any credit/or debit card when collecting your ticket  from any of the ticket machines at Stansted Airport, Liverpool Street Station and Tottenham Hale Station.

Stansted Express Tickets

Option 2: Buy your Stansted Express ticket in flight. Ryanair cabin crew sell discounted Stansted Express tickets on board all Stansted bound flights. Same prices as above. Tip…you can pay in Euro and save more money by requesting to collect your change in Sterling (depending on cabin crew’s mood!)

Option 3: Buy your Stansted Express ticket at the airport ticket desk or on board the train. A single fare purchased either at the ticket desk or on the train works out £1.00 cheaper at £17.00 vs £18.00 online. This option is probably best for those who are not travelling with Ryanair.

Note: Children under 5 years of age travel free!

Last minute availability for Paris hotels for the World Cup Qualifier between France and Ireland on November 18th 2009.

Getting to Stade de France is straight forward enough. It is located close to the district of St Denis which is approx 9km north of Paris. You can take the Metro line 13 to St Denis Porte de Paris (slower option) or  take the RER (quicker option) B or D line from either Gare du Nord or Chatelet les Halles stations. Journey to Stade de France should take less than 20 mins. Get off at either Stade de France St Denis or La Plaine Stade de France. Be sure to travel 90 mins before kick off. Alternatively, get in early and have a few pre match drinks in the various bars right by the Basilique St Denis stop which is one metro stop after the Stade de France.
Free Paris Metro and RER Map>>

France v Ireland

LAST MINUTE DEALS ON HOTELS IN PARIS!

2 * Kyriad Hotel Paris €75 per night (hot buffet breakfast included)

2 * Eurohotel Sovereign St Denis €47 per night (cold buffet breakfast included)

3 * Magellan Hotel €93 per night (cold buffet breakfast included)

3* Best Western Acadia Opera €109 per night (cold buffet breakfast included)

4* Royal Elysees €112 per night  (cold buffet breakfast included)

4* Park Lane Hotel Champs Elysees €155 per night (room only)

more hotel deals at www.parishotels.ie

London tops the CityHotels.ie poll on best city for nightlife and entertainment with New York City and Barcelona a distant second and third respectively. Thanks to all that contributed to the poll!

Poll results for city with best nightlife as voted for by Irish:

1. London    58%            London Hotels from €39 per night
2. New York 23%          New York Hotels from €119 per night
3. Barcelona 13%          Barcelona Hotels from €44 per night
4. Others 6%

The route to a good night out

For those of you who haven’t heard of us already, CityHotels.ie is a brand new Irish owned hotel reservations company. We are based in Dublin and we offer discount rates on tens of thousands of quality hotels worldwide.

After some good quality research and feedback from customers, the team here at CityHotels.ie are only too aware of the valuable time people can spend searching and trawling google to book a hotel securely with a reputable and trustworthy Irish company that won’t surprise you with hidden charges and booking fees.  We recognise that customers want hassle free instant access to a choice of nice clean hotels, well connected with public transport, close to the  major attractions and landmarks and most importantly good value for money.

So, with all that in mind and to help you find that perfect hotel and avoid all the messing about, the team at CityHotels.ie have created Ireland’s largest online travel network of individual city hotel reservation websites.

It’s quite simple really! Once you have a city in mind all you do is type the name of that city in the internet address bar and add hotels.ie after it! e.g. parishotels.ie  manchesterhotels.ie ….How simple is that!

For your convenience, our design team has ensured that all of the 60+ dedicated city hotel reservation websites are layed out in the exact same way.  That way you can find the perfect hotel a lot quicker.
Have a look for yourself…

Berlin Hotels – berlinhotels.ie
Amsterdam Hotels – amsterdamhotels.ie
Boston Hotels – bostonhotels.ie
Manchester Hotels - manchesterhotels.ie
Las Vegas Hotels – lasvegashotels.ie
Barcelona Hotels – barcelonahotels.ie
and so on…

Here is a snapshot of the CityHotels.ie network of dedicated destination hotel reservation websites….there are over 60 sites here covering the most popular cities in Europe, North America, UK and Ireland.

Remember if you are looking for hotels in a  city that does not have a dedicated website on the CityHotels.ie network e.g. Bangkok, Sydney, Bilbao  you can access them all on CityHotels.ie

Thats all folks!

The CityHotels.ie Team