Plenty of Hotels Offering Senior Discounts

The hotel industry continues to court the mature traveler with special rates and packages.

For starters, the elegant Four Seasons Hotel, a lavish Newport Beach property not yet 2 years old, is offering a 35% discount to mature travelers from age 55, which brings its basic room rate down to $120 single or double. The offer is good through the end of 1989. For information or reservations, call toll-free (800) 332-3442.

Another entry on the South Coast is the Little Inn on the Bay, by the water in Newport Beach Harbor. It is offering Senior Saver rates until May 15 for guests over 55.

All 30 guest rooms at the inn have been fully restored to resemble New England inns from the 1800s. Guests receive a complimentary breakfast of fresh fruit and pastries with coffee or tea, wine and cheese during the cocktail hour, and a bay cruise of Newport Harbor. A complimentary snack of milk and cookies is served at bedtime.

Many Rooms Reduced

For mature travelers, deluxe queen rooms are reduced 20% to $71 for one or two persons, while channel and bay suites are marked down 25% to $96 and $112, respectively. For information or brochures, call toll-free (800) 438-4466, or write to Little Inn on the Bay, 617 Lido Park Drive, Newport Beach 92663.

Midway between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, the 46-room Sun Time Inn in the southern Utah city of St. George is offering mature travelers a 25% discount Sunday through Thursday, from now to June 1. After that the reduced rate will apply seven nights a week. With the discount, the price will average $30 a night, single or double.

No smoking is permitted in the clean and airy guest rooms. The inn has a swimming pool, and some rooms have kitchenettes. Two nearby restaurants offer senior discounts.

St. George is the gateway to Zion and Bryce national parks and Cedar Breaks National Monument, and leads to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It is also near Utah’s Brian Head ski resort.

For more information or reservations, call toll-free (800) 237-6253, or write to Sun Time Inn, 420 E. St. George Blvd., St. George, Utah 84770.

Restored Village

In New England the Mystic Hilton in Mystic, Conn., is offering a modestly priced package for mature travelers interested in visiting Mystic Seaport, a full-size waterfront village re-created in the style of life typical of the mid-19th Century.

The village has a collection of more than 300 historic vessels and 17 acres of homes, buildings, exhibit galleries, a working shipyard and other indoor and outdoor exhibits.

The Hilton’s Seniors Package, available for those 65 and over, is $104.65 per couple and includes one night’s lodging, a deluxe dinner for two with a bottle of wine, tickets to the Mystic Marinelife Aquarium, discount shopping at various Mystic Seaport merchants and all taxes and gratuities.

Extra nights on this package are $32.65 per couple, with a maximum stay of two additional nights. Arrival must be Sunday through Thursday. For more information, call toll-free (800) 826-8699 or write to Mystic Hilton, Coogan Boulevard, Mystic, Conn. 06355.

Mexico Travel Advisors is again offering the Golden Pass program, which provides visits to three of Mexico’s most popular destinations--Mexico City, Taxco and Acapulco, as well as a spa resort in Tehuacan. Room rates are from $16.63 to $20 per person a night, including two meals daily. Prices are based on stays of two or four weeks, which may be divided among any of the four destinations.

A 16-day/15-night package is priced at $299 per person, or 31 days/30 nights for $499. Both packages include two meals daily, plus food and room taxes. Rates are valid through April 30, but are expected to be extended through the summer months.

In each city, guests are housed at the Hoteles Dubin properties. It has two hotels in Mexico City close to the city center and shopping areas, two in the quaint silver-mining town of Taxco, one in Acapulco overlooking the bay and a colonial-style resort in Tehuacan with pool and golf coures.

MTA also can arrange air transportation, transportation between the selected cities and transfers between airports and hotels.

A “Fiestas in Mexico” brochure gives details on the Golden Pass program. Free copies are available from your travel agent, or contact MTA, 1717 N. Highland Ave., Suite 519, Los Angeles 90028, (800) 682-8687.

The Stouffer Hotel & Resort chain has begun a “Great Years” rate plan for its 25 non-resort properties in the United States. Persons age 60 and over pay a maximum of $59 a day. Sites include Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Cleveland, Houston and Denver.

A free brochure listing all of the Stouffer properties, with a description of each, plus maps and other pertinent information, is available. See your travel agent or call toll-free (800) HOTELS-1. Or write to Stouffer Hotels, 29800 Bainbridge Road, Solon, Ohio 44139.