Seeking Privacy in Hawaii Paradise

A brochure titled “Privacy in Paradise” is available from Creative Leisure International. Features 52 apartments/resorts on Maui, Molokai, Kauai, Oahu and the Big Island. Everything from beach-front condos to three-bedroom homes. A seven-night package figures out to $494 per person, based on two vacationers traveling together. Includes the round-trip flight from LAX, taxes, a lei greeting, limousine service from the airport and return. Creative Leisure offers a money-back service warranty. (On request the company will prepare customized vacation plans for travelers.)

“Privacy in Paradise” is a 50-page listing of accommodations and rates, with descriptions of amenities available at each property. Call your travel agent or write to Creative Leisure, 951 Transport Way, Petaluma, Calif. 94952. Telephone (707) 778-1800.

Skier Hot Line: A new hot line for skiers is providing reports on more than 150 resorts across the nation. Information on weather/road conditions, day/night skiing, snow depths. Callers learn whether trams and gondolas are operating. (The weather report is updated hourly.)

Here’s how it works: Press 1-900-WEATHER plus the area code for the city nearest the resort you intend to visit. Skiers calling Denver, for example, would be given ski conditions for Arapaho Basin, Breckenridge, Keystone, Winter Park, Loveland, Eldora Mountain, SilverCreek, Steamboat. The service is operated by American Express. Callers pay 75 cents per minute.

Christmas in Arizona: America’s most unusual Christmas tree is a blinking attraction in Chandler, Ariz. Composed of a thousand tumbleweeds, the unusual “tree “ is the state’s answer to an old-fashioned fir. The citizens of Chandler sprayed the tumbleweeds with 25 gallons of paint, showered the pile with 50 pounds of silver glitter and strung together 1,500 lights. Of an evening, it flashes like a beacon in the clear Arizona atmosphere.

Meanwhile, the Sheraton San Marcos Resort has put together a Tumbleweed Holiday that’s pegged at $79 a night (single or double occupancy), including film with which to photograph the tree. For reservations, dial (602) 963-6655.

Currency Guide: The big money changer, Ruesch International, has published a new currency guide for Europe, Australia/New Zealand. Besides listing currency values, the guide also contains information on tips in various European countries.

Services offered by Ruesch International include the sale of foreign currencies, foreign bank drafts and traveler’s checks, plus conversion of value-added tax refund checks into U.S. dollars. Other details by telephoning (213) 277-7800, or by writing to Ruesch International, 1925 Century Park East, Suite 240, Los Angeles 92267.

Transit Guide: If you’re planning a trip to the Bay Area, a new transit guide is available by calling (415) 464-7738. Price: $3.95 plus tax. The pocket-size booklet was published by the Metropolitan Transit Commission of Oakland. Covers all Bay Area public transit agencies: BART, CalTrain, Golden Gate Transit, AC Transit, San Francisco Muni, Santa Clara County Transit, SamTrans. There are also maps of San Francisco, San Jose, Berkeley, Oakland. The guide tells about airport bus/limousine, taxi services/fares. Pinpoints dozens of destinations.

Santa Barbara: The new discount offer involving 40 participating Santa Barbara hotels is drawing big crowds. During the holiday season the hotels will feature, as a bonus, dozens of discount coupons for shoppers, diners. By participating, guests receive one free night when booking a number of specified evenings at regular rates. For details, call the Santa Barbara Conference & Visitors Bureau toll-free at (800) 827-3777.

Romantic B&B;: A new B&B; in Telluride, Colo., is gaining acclaim. Rises behind the ski lift. Proprietor Gary Eschman writes: “Our guests have threatened not to tell anyone about us as they want to keep our place for themselves. We feel differently--the more the merrier.” Eschman’s inn features period furnishings, brass beds, a Jacuzzi, cable TV, VCRs, buffet breakfasts, apres-ski snacks with wine/beer, soft drinks. A total of 16 guest rooms, plus a library/lounge stocked with books/games. Stunning views of the San Juan Mountains.

The San Sophia, 330 W. Pacific Ave., Telluride, Colo. 81435. Telephone toll-free (800) 537-4781. Winter rates: $110/$195 double occupancy.

At the same time, skiers can book accommodations at private homes in Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs, Telluride, Summit County and Beaver Creek by dialing toll-free (800) 748-2666. Rates start at $75 double occupancy. For a brochure, write to Bed & Breakfast Vail, P.O. Box 491, Vail, Colo. 81658.

Passports: Sakai Holly, who heads the U.S. Passport Agency at 11000 Wilshire Blvd., 13th Floor, West Los Angeles, is urging travelers to apply for passports now in order to steer clear of long lines following the holidays. She urges applicants to avoid the noon and late-afternoon rush periods, or else to apply at county courthouses and post offices. Hours at the passport agency are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. For recorded instructions, call (213) 209-7070. Cost for a passport is $42 for adults, $27 for persons 18 and younger. Take proof of citizenship, a driver’s license, birth certificate, two passport photos measuring two inches square. For other details, call (213) 209-7075.

A Small Hotel: On Nov. 12 in Travel Tips we described the small Fielding Hotel in London’s Covent Garden area as “not luxurious, but reasonable” and with rooms that are “modest.” Several readers insist the more accurate description would be “seedy.” This wasn’t the case several years ago when we surveyed London’s little hotels for our readers. Mike Manfro of Banning wasn’t disappointed. He describes guest rooms as “small but comfortable” and adds that the baths have only recently been refurbished. Still, because our readers have been mostly negative, we are striking The Fielding from our list of recommended hotels. Here’s what LeAnne E. Maillian of Beverly Hills said of the Fielding: “It’s not a hotel, it’s an embarrassment.” And Jack Toomey of Granada Hills complained that “although there were no blatant inaccuracies in your description of the Fielding . . . the scene was grim.”

Bye-bye Fielding.

Reader Recommendations

Hawaii--Mary Lee Gaylor, Culver City: “Recently stayed at Lampy’s Bed & Breakfast, 6078 Kolopua St., Kapaa, Kauai, Hawaii 96746. As a former resident of Hawaii, to me this is what Hawaii is all about. Nestled behind Sleeping Giant Mountain, with fresh fruit right off the trees. You can prepare your meals in a fully equipped kitchen. Cost is $55 nightly for one or two persons. As an experienced traveler who has been all over the world, I highly recommend Lampy’s.”

The Netherlands--Donald Selten, Los Angeles: “The most remarkable restaurant I have encountered in many years of travel to Europe, and I feel fairly qualified as I have been in the restaurant and food business for well over 35 years. It’s De Wenteltraf, Vijzelstraat 43-45, Amsterdam. A set menu for less than $10 U.S.”

England--Ruth Shayne, Los Angeles: Praises Knightsbridge Service Flats, 45 Ennismore Gardens, Knightsbridge, London SW7 1AQ, England. A block of 12 studio flats within walking distance of Knightsbridge and Harrods, and two minutes from Hyde Park. Rates between 320 and 340 per week.

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.