The Homestead (operated by the same family...

The Homestead (operated by the same family for 100 years) in Hot Springs, Va., is a legend among resort owners. In observance of the anniversary, guests are receiving a free night for every three nights booked at regular rates. The resort rises on 15,000 acres. Three 18-hole championship golf courses, 19 tennis courts, two swimming pools, a spa, hiking paths, skeet/trapshooting ranges, carriage rides. More than 100 miles of riding trails with views of the Allegheny Mountains. (This is the 30th consecutive year that The Homestead has received Mobil’s five-star award.)

The Homestead, Hot Springs, Va. 24445, (800) 336-5771. Rates: $120/$145 per person, including breakfast/dinner.

Home/Garden Tour: Mix the mint juleps, hitch up the horse carriage. Southern hospitality will be coming alive during the 56th Homes and Gardens Tour starting April 4 in Savannah, Ga. The five-day tour spotlights one of the nation’s largest historic districts. Eighteenth-century row houses. Iron balconied mansions. Moss-draped townhouses, Victorians, Greek Revival mansions. Locals will be whipping up a shrimp boil with sausage, corn on the cob. The chef at Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House in Savannah’s historic district promises “the best fried chicken in the world.” Elizabeth’s on 37th (famous throughout Georgia) will prepare quail, mustard-peppercorn ham, cream cake during garden tour days. At Savannah’s Old City Market in the historic district, beer/wine will be served with roast pig, Brunswick stew. Box lunches will be sold at St. John’s Episcopal Church. Lunches/dinners: $6/$25. Walking tours: $15. Lodging provided at a dozen small inns.

--Ballastone Inn, 14 E. Oglethorpe Ave., Savannah, Ga. 31401, (800) 822-4553. Rates: $95/$175.

--East Bay Inn, 225 E. Bay St., (800) 634-5488. Rates: $96/$135.

--Eliza Thompson House, 5 W. Jones St., (800) 348-9378. Rates: $88/$108.

--The Gastonian, 220 E. Gaston St., (912) 232-2869. Rates: $98/$225.

--Magnolia Place Inn, 503 Whitaker St., (800) 238-7674. Rates: $85/$165.

--Olde Harbour Inn, 508 E. Factors Walk, (800) 553-6533. Rates: $95/$135.

--Planters Inn, 29 Abercorn St., (800) 554-1187. Rates: $82/$97.

--Presidents’ Quarters, 225 E. President St., (800) 233-1776. Rates: $97/$157.

--River Street Inn, 115 E. River St., (800) 253-4229. Rates: $89/$129.

Travelers can book these inns at no cost through Alan Fort of R.S.V.P. Savannah Bed & Breakfast Reservation Services at (800) 729-7787. In addition, Fort lists dozens of homes with garden-level suites, prepares itineraries for travelers visiting Georgia, southern South Carolina, northern Florida.

Spring Pilgrimage: Other travelers are being lured South this month as the 60th-annual Natchez Spring Festival takes bloom in Mississippi. Greeting guests at the doors to dozens of antebellum homes are ladies gussied up like Scarlet O’Hara, gentlemen acting out the role of Rhett Butler. As the pre-Civil War South comes alive again, thousands are crowding magnolia-lined streets for this granddaddy of antebellum home observances. Tours mornings/afternoons through April 7. As the oldest settlement along the Mississippi, Natchez is showing off 30 pre-Civil War mansions. Performances four nights a week depicting scenes of the pre-Civil War South. Overnight accommodations in antebellum mansions. Southern cooking. Candles. Period music. The South’s show of shows.

Call Natchez Pilgrimage Tours at (800) 647-6742.

The Budget Trail: Here’s good news for Francophiles. Hometours International is booking hotels in France for as little as $60 a night, single/double. (Payment based on prepaid vouchers.) A total of 240 small, family-owned properties throughout France. Savings in Britain as well, with 8%/10% reductions for B&Bs; throughout ’91 (must be paid by April 30). Hometours represents 300 B&Bs; in England, Scotland, Wales. Reservations guaranteed.

Other Hometours services: farmhouses, villas, budget hotels in Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Israel. In Italy, Hometours will put you up in a castle apartment for $350 a week. Villas in Tuscany, $1,200/$1,900 a week. An apartment on the Amalfi Drive, $560 a week.

Hometours International, 1170 Broadway, New York 10001-7507, (800) 367-4668.

Idaho Retreat: A couple from Playa del Rey (Bonnie and Jim Warwick) grew weary of traffic/smog, moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, opened a B&B.; Recently, they received an award for excellence from the town’s chamber of commerce. An accompanying report says: “Even the most fastidious housekeeper would be hard-pressed to find a trace of dust in this beautiful old inn.” The Warwick is a restored 1900s home. Only steps from Coeur d’Alene Lake. Country/French Victorian charm. A library with books/magazines. Guest robes, a happy hour by the fire (or on the porch during summer). Rooms are named for Bonnie and Jim’s grandmothers, Emma and Edy. One with a sleigh bed, another with bay window, lace curtains, a king-size 100-year-old pewter bed. Continental or full breakfast (your choice).

The Warwick Inn, 303 Military Drive, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 83814, (208) 765-6565. Rates: $55/$85.

Costa Rica: A note from Sheldon Mars of the California Map Center in Santa Monica: “Your Feb. 24 column told about a reader needing books on Costa Rica. California Map Center has 10 different book titles on Costa Rica and many different maps. Our travel-book section has about 3,000 titles. In addition, we have a hiking, biking and adventure section of about 3,000 titles. Our specialty is our extensive selection of maps. We also have a big selection of travel accessories. We love browsers.”

California Map Center, 3211 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica 90405, (213) 829-6277.

On Track: Few know trains like Marvin L. Saltzman of Malibu, who’s been riding the rails since 1923 (first trip as a year-old infant). Saltzman just published the 21st edition of his “Eurail Guide Annual,” co-authored with daughter Kathryn Turpin. The 816-page paperback describes rail trips in 112 countries, tells arrival/departure times for 735 European one-day excursions. Saltzman goes into such subjects as on-board dining/sleeping, and has indexed activities/sightseeing at more than 2,000 destinations in the back of the book. This is the guide used by the travel experts. Others have tried but none has succeeded in producing a better book on trains. From Austria to Zimbabwe, Saltzman/Turpin cover the world’s great railroads.

Available at bookstores ($14.95) or write to Eurail Guide Annual, 27540 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu 90265 and include $2 for postage.

Reader Recommendations

California--Val Schafer, Rolling Hills Estates: “The Blue Goose Inn, Catalina Island, is the coziest and cleanest beach cottage anywhere. One block from the beach. Sleeps six. Rates: $950 weekly. Telephone (213) 501-0039.”

Aruba--Gloria Culpepper, Long Beach: “Hotel Central, Elleboogstraat 23. Small but very clean. Rates: $45.”

Argentina--Alejandra and Andres Raab, Huntington Park: “Hotel El Mirador, 5172 La Falda, Cordova. A beautiful view, nice park. Rates as low as $20 per person with two meals.”

Ireland--William Power, Seal Beach: “Cecilia Lodge B&B;, off Main Road between Bunratty Castle and Durty Nelly’s, County Clare. Six bedrooms with private bath. Twenty minutes from Shannon Airport. Operated by joy-filled sisters. About $15 per person, including breakfast.”

England--Robert B. Mathieson, Mission Viejo: “A bed and breakfast in James Herriot country at Thornborough House Farm, Thirsk, Yorkshire. Rates: $20 per night.”