Santa Barbara has touched off a promotion...

Santa Barbara has touched off a promotion plan called “Free Nights in Paradise.” Forty hotels/motels/B&Bs; are offering free nights for guests who sign up for a number of nights at regular rates. Bids vary. Several hotels are giving one free night for one paid night (Sunday through Thursday). Others discount one night for three paid nights. To assist travelers, the Santa Barbara Conference & Visitors Bureau has installed a toll-free line for callers requesting information on the participating properties. Telephone (800) 827-3777.

Railroad Inn

A turn-of-the-century railroad station has been converted into a B&B; in Northern California’s Valley of the Moon. Once served passengers on Southern Pacific Railroad’s run between Santa Rosa and Sonoma. Earlier, the Melitta Station Inn operated as a stagecoach stop. Six rooms (five with private baths). Rates: $75/$90. Antiques, country collectibles. Breakfast prepared beside a wood-burning stove. Guests visit wineries, the town of Sonoma, Jack London State Park. Activities: biking, fishing, riding at Annadel State Park and Spring Lake.

Melitta Station Inn, 5850 Melitta Road, Santa Rosa, Calif. 95409. Telephone (707) 538-7712.

Cut-Rate London

Hometours International has increased its listings of bed and breakfast accommodations in the British Isles. Guaranteed reservations for 700 B&Bs.; Hometours also represents more than 3,000 home rentals in England, Scotland, Wales, as well as 500 London apartments.

Hometours International, 1170 Broadway, New York 10001. Telephone toll-free (800) 367-4668.

Meanwhile, fall/winter rates at 50 other London hotels are being reduced ($32/$50 per person per night). The $32 rate applies to a select number of hotels whenever guests reserve for a minimum of three nights. The $50 tab is for a minimum of two nights, double occupancy. Hotels are centrally located. Underground and bus service nearby. Rates will be in effect Nov. 1 through March 21. Details from British Travel Associates, P.O. Box 299, Elkton, Va. 22827, toll-free (800) 327-6097.

Note: Ask for a copy of BTA’s 1990 Country Holidays catalogue. Rentals range from an 18th century cottage for four in Cornwall to apartments in an Edwardian manor in Scotland. Rates start at about $350 a week. A 10% discount is offered to travelers booking 1990 accommodations before the end of the year. Telephone toll-free (800) 327-6097.

For other apartment/home rentals, contact In The English Manner, P.O. Box 936, Alamo, Calif. 94507. Telephone (415) 935-7065 (inside California) or (800) 422-0799 (outside the state). Seven Nights in Portugal

Portugal’s Algarve has magnificent beaches, hotels/villas perched on bluffs overlooking the ocean, excellent golf courses, colorful fishing villages. This is Portugal’s Riviera. This winter, the Hotel Algarve at Praia da Rocha is introducing a seven-night package ($263 U.S. per person) that includes four days of golf, free tennis, a daily buffet breakfast, taxes and service. And a guaranteed sea view. The hotel (about a mile from the fishing port of Portimao) features a couple of swimming pools, a sauna, health center, a disco, air conditioning, 24-hour room service. Add $110 for the single supplement, $161 for MAP (breakfast/dinner). Offer is good Nov. 1 to March 31.

Contact your travel agent or SRS Hotels, 1129 S. Semoran Blvd., Winter Park, Fla. 92792. Telephone toll-free (800) 223-5652.

Dry Village

In the Caribbean, Club Med St. Lucia will be dry Feb. 3-10 as Sober Vacations International sponsors a week of relaxation for recovering alcoholics. Daily AA meetings, scuba diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, tennis, a circus workshop. A mini-club will operate for youngsters. Golf, riding, deep sea fishing extra. Cost from Los Angeles ($1,500) includes round-trip air fare, accommodations, all meals, activities, entertainment.

Details from Sober Vacations International, 2365 Westwood Blvd., Suite 21, Los Angeles 90064, or call (213) 470-0706. (SVI is planning an Alaska cruise next summer, ski trips to Lake Tahoe/Colorado this winter and a two-week Europe tour next September.)

Discount Cruise Guide

Alaska is preparing for a record number of cruise passengers next summer. Sailings from Seattle/Vancouver. For the lowdown on discounts, a new guide is being mailed free. Names major cruise lines sailing to Alaska. Features departures with guaranteed discounts. Compares fares, ports of call, scenic highlights. (Best savings are for trips booked before Feb. 1.)

Write for a copy of Alaska Discount Cruise Guide, c/o Cruise Advisors Inc., 2442 N.W. Market St., Suite 367, Seattle, Wash. 98107.

Free Maps

Remember when your service station operator gave away free road maps? That was years ago. Now they’re available from an international lodging chain. One side of the map features the United States, the other spotlights individual cities: Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Dallas, Phoenix, New Orleans, etc. Driving time is given for various destinations (Albuquerque to Washington, D.C.).

Send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Rodeway PR, P.O. Box 52005, Phoenix, Ariz. 85072. Note: Rodeway Inns International is offering rooms for up to four members of a family for the single-occupancy rate on a space-available/advance-reservations basis).

Affordable Holland

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is continuing its “Holland-on-the-Double” and “Europe-on-the-Double” vacation packages through March 31, 1990. The Holland offer features round-trip air fares from New York, accommodations for two nights in Amsterdam, breakfasts, airport transfers for $469. A full week in Amsterdam figures out to $699. The airline’s “Europe-on-the-Double” consists of three nights in Amsterdam plus three nights in London, Paris, Vienna or Rome. The Amsterdam/London, Amsterdam/Paris packages start at $699 from New York.

See your travel agent or call KLM toll-free at (800) 777-1668.

Reader Recommendations

Oregon--Milton Weiner, Santa Fe Springs: High praise for personalized Tours & Travel, P.O. Box 17513, Portland, Ore. 97217. “Both lodging and camping tours available. We chose the three-day Oregon Highlights trip taking in the Columbia Gorge, Mt. Hood, Timberline Lodge, Bend and Newport. The tour certainly lived up to its name--’personalized.”’

Alaska--Virginia Hutcheson, Manhattan Beach: Enjoyed a tour led by Harry Ellis, Adventures Outdoors, 5354 Ruby Place N.E., Bainbridge Island, Wash. 98110.

Canada--Lillian and Ernie Herzberg: “Hibernia Bed & Breakfast, Victoria, British Columbia. Three guest rooms, shared baths. Very clean. Double, $40 U.S. Near Butchart Gardens, beaches. A wonderful experience.”

England--Norman Ross, Pilot Mountain, N.C.: High praise for The Old Rectory, Church Street, Willersey, Near Broadway, Worcester WR127PM, England. “A bed and breakfast and a real bargain at 17/37 per person.”

New Zealand--Tom Miller, Huntington Beach: “Sherry and Norton Telfer operate a 6,000-acre sheep and cattle ranch on a high bluff on the southwest corner of North Island, New Zealand. Trout streams across the road. Indoor pool, spa, sauna. Great home-cooked meals. About $47 U.S. for room and meals. Write Private Bag, Mokau, North Island, New Zealand.”

We regret that only a select few recommendations can be used. They must be brief (typewritten or printed). Only one recommendation per reader, please. Note: Recommendations will not be used unless prices and addresses are included.