Deal of the Week

The 374-room Doubletree Hotel Monterey is offering a Winter Room Special with midweek (Sunday-Thursday) rates of $64 per night and weekend (Friday-Saturday) rates of $84 per night, based on double occupancy and availability. New Year’s Eve is sold out, as are some other scattered dates. Rooms ordinarily start at $145 for a double. The special, which is good until Jan. 31, does not include taxes or parking. (Self-parking is available at $8 a day.) Children under 18 stay free in their parents’ rooms. The hotel is within walking distance of Fisherman’s Wharf and downtown. For information and reservations contact the hotel, 2 Portola Plaza, Monterey; tel. (408) 649-4511.

Free for the Asking

All arts and all Britain, the 1995 Festival of Arts and Culture is being billed as Britain’s biggest-ever cultural bash. The yearlong extravaganza of performing and visual arts will have more than 500 separate festivals of music, drama, dance, literature and film, plus special anniversary celebrations and exhibits--among them the bicentenary of John Keats’ birth, the National Trust’s and BBC’s 100th anniversaries, and the bicentenary of Josiah Wedgwood’s death. Culture vultures, start circling. For a brochure with events and ticket information, call (800) 462-2748.

This Week’s Holidays

Banking and government offices will be closed or services curtailed in the following countries and their dependencies this week because of national and religious holidays:

Wednesday: Malawi

Friday: Canada, Guatemala, Japan

Saturday: Andorra, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde Is., the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Macau, Mexico, Monaco, Norway, Panama, Portugal, San Marino, Slovak Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, Vatican City, Zaire

Source: J.P. Morgan