Howard’s House in the River Nadder Valley...

Howard’s House in the River Nadder Valley (80 miles west of London) is one of those old English hotels Americans dream about. Originally a Tudor farmhouse. Dates from 1623. Only nine guest rooms, each with private bath. A drawing room with oak beams, a fireplace. Like living in a country house. Howard’s serves game in season, fish from the nearby Dorset Coast. Other items: roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and caramelized shallots, roast saddle of hare with pickled red cabbage, chestnuts and red wine sauce. Desserts range from hazelnut meringue with a dark chocolate parfait and coffee sauce to steamed apple and blackberry pudding with Calvados cream. Guests of Howard’s House hike wooded slopes behind the village of Teffont Evias, drink up at the local pub and explore the neighboring valleys of Test and Wylye, all of this 10 miles west of Salisbury. Little has changed in the village in 400 years. Teffont Evias draws those tourists wishing to unite the spirit with centuries already spent. The market village of Wilton isn’t far. And it’s a pleasant drive to Stonehenge and the National Trust Gardens at Stourhead. Proprietors Jonathan Ford and Paul Firmin also operate the popular Garden Room Restaurant in nearby Tisbury.

Howard’s House Hotel, Teffont Evias, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Rates with breakfast from about $95 single, $145 double. Dinners: about $45 per guest.

Discount Fare: Fay Ashton of La Jolla asks about “discount fares that can be arranged in the San Diego area.” Call Mark or Julie Goldman at Fare Advantage: (619) 487-1875. The Goldmans say they can save you up to 70% on airline tickets. Example: Recently, a passenger bought a round-trip ticket, San Diego-Pittsburgh (departure the following day) for $304.41, as opposed to the $378 fare at the time. There’s a hitch, of course. Fare Advantage is a club that costs $129.95 to join. Still, the Goldmans insist that you can save the price of membership on just one trip. Anywhere from 10% to 70% off both domestic/international flights. Applies to first-class, unrestricted coach, business class--”Even supersaver fares,” says Julie Goldman. Other discounts on car rentals, hotels, cruises, tours.

Fare Advantage, 11956 Bernardo Plaza Drive, Suite 313, San Diego 92128, (619) 487-1875.

Christmas in New York: If you’re in New York during the holidays, sign up for Gray Line’s winter tour of Manhattan. Passengers see Yule trees atop skyscrapers, buildings wrapped as Christmas packages, a 2 1/2-story-high “snowflake” consisting of 2,700 lights. Store windows come alive with electronically animated fairy-tale scenes. Visits to Manhattan’s famous toy store, F.A.O. Schwarz, with its stuffed animals and a huge clock tower featuring hundreds of animated dogs, mice and other storybook characters. Trump Tower is decked out with poinsettias, lighted trees. The tour swings past St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Rockefeller Center, where 28,000 lights glow from a 70-foot Norway spruce while skaters glide across the famous Rockefeller Center rink. Gray Line presses into Central Park, where other trees sparkle at Tavern on the Green, and to the Plaza Hotel, where a 32-foot menorah heralds the observance of Hanukkah.

Your travel agent or Gray Line of New York, 254 West 54th St., New York 10019, (212) 397-2600.

Hawaii Hideaway: A note from Donna Fairfield of Ventura: “Read your article about ‘my’ island, Lanai. I have a beautiful 3,500-square-foot cedar home on Lanai. The obscurity and undeveloped nature of the island was the original attraction. We recently completed a six-month renovation project, upgrading the property inside and out. Our home offers a pleasurable alternative to Lanai’s new hotels. Accommodates 10 guests, so it’s good for families. There’s no butler, but the sound of the wind blowing through the Norfolk pines more than makes up for the necessity of fetching your own coffee in the morning.” Fairfield calls her home The Captain’s Retreat. One of only a handful of privately owned properties remaining on the island. Two stories. A large living room/dining room. Fireplace, TV, stereo. Three bedrooms, two baths, an outdoor shower, gas barbecue.

Contact Fairfield’s island agent, Phyllis Cole, P.O. Box 563, Lanai City, Hawaii 96763. Rates: $275 per day, $1,650 per week, $5,500 a month.

Old San Juan: Next Sunday marks the opening of the first new hotel in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 30 years. It’s called Casa San Jose. Occupies a 300-year-old mansion in the heart of the old city. Only 10 rooms. A mix of antique/country-style furnishings.

Afternoon tea, cocktails served in the second-floor salon. Balconies surround a four-story atrium with a fountain at the base. Casa San Jose faces narrow, cobblestone streets, ancient homes. Walk out the door and the calendar spins back centuries. Nearby are Playa de Armas, shops, museums, art galleries. Proprietor Jag Mehta, a familiar figure in San Juan for 30 years, was formerly with the Caribe Hilton and the Radisson Normandie.

Casa San Jose, 159 San Jose St., Old San Juan, Puerto Rico 00901, (809) 723-1212. Rates: $150 single/$170 double. Suites from $225. Prices include an American breakfast, cocktails each evening.

Saddling Up: Wolfgang Hallauer is back in the saddle again, booking rides to destinations from Argentina to Algeria, Australia/New Zealand, Mexico, Jamaica, Belize, Chile, Italy, Egypt, Kenya. These are one- and two-week rides. Luggage follows by van. Nights are spent in small hotels, inns, farmhouses, camps, desert oases. “Well away from civilization,” says Hallauer. Riders saddle up for four to six hours daily, covering about 150 miles per week. Hallauer also arranges for riders to remain in one location, riding during the day, returning each evening. No packing/unpacking. Experienced guides accompany each trip. Hallauer, who checks out each ride personally, is available to discuss the various destinations listed for the winter months.

Wolfgang Hallauer, FITS Equestrian, 2011 Alamo Pintado Road, Solvang, Calif. 93463, (800) 666-3487. Rates: $750/$1,000 per week.

Potpourri: Copies of a new B&B; guide to 100 Pacific Northwest inns are available from the Washington State Bed & Breakfast Guild, 2442 N.W. Market St., Seattle, Wash. 98107 . . . Visitors spending five nights at the St. James Court Hotel in London ($175 per person per night) are offered round-trip air transportation on Virgin Atlantic from Los Angeles. Dates from Dec. 18 to Jan. 1 are sold out. The offer lasts until March 31. Contact Cortell Classic Holidays, 41 E. 42nd St., New York 10017, (800) 992-2471 . . . For a new edition of the 64-page Redwood Empire Guide (details on inns, resorts, wineries, spas, sightseeing), mail $2 to the Redwood Empire Assn., 785 Market St., San Francisco 94103 . . . Air Canada’s offer of a free $399 round-trip flight to Toronto for passengers flying with a paying passenger will remain in effect until Jan. 15. Call (800) 776-3000 . . . A ski/room package ($65 per person per night) is being offered by the Lake Arrowhead Hilton: (800) 800-6792.

Reader Recommendations

California--Phyllis and Rick Balzer, Laguna Niguel: “The Kendall House, 534 Spring St., Nevada City 95959. A new B&B.; Breakfasts were fantastic. Rates: $105/$160.”

Washington--Juel M. Janis, Los Angeles: “The old Consulate Inn, 313 Walker St., Port Townsend 98368. A three-course breakfast served in a lovely Victorian dining room. Rates: $95/$140.”

New Mexico--Lynn and Tino Mingori, Los Angeles: “Double A Grill, 332 Paseo Del Pueblo Sur, Taos 87571, (505) 758-1319. An old gas station remodeled to be a wonderful restaurant. Food is truly excellent and prices reasonable.”

England--Marilyn Karsten, Desert Hot Springs: “Ribston House, Little Witley, Worcester WR6 6LS, England. About $90 for two nights, dinners included.”

Scotland--Mark and Jane Edwards, Glendale: “Kingsknowes Hotel, Selkirk Road, Galashiels TD1 3HY, Scotland. Warm, friendly. A family-owned baronial mansion on the bank of the River Tweed in the heart of the border country beneath rolling hills, pastures, forests. Rates: $53/$63 per person, full breakfast.”