PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
Prior says many of his clients are eager to return to their favourite European capitals this year, but classic destinations such as Milan and Paris are showing no signs of lowering their rates come autumn. In fact, many will only get more expensive once the autumnal weather moves in, according to Luca Finardi, Mandarin Oriental’s Italy area manager and general manager of the brand’s Milan hotel.
“May, June, September, and October have become our high season for leisure travellers,” as extreme midsummer temps increasingly ward off people during July and August, Finardi says.
For a mix of culture, cuisine, and luxury, Jayway’s Neville suggests looking farther east to central Europe’s capitals, where excellent travel experiences can be had year-round. “Prague, Vienna (Austria), Budapest (Hungary) – all of these cities are just as cosmopolitan, but they haven’t been high on the list for Americans this year,” he says, adding that the Ukraine invasion may be at the root of many travellers’ trepidation, though these destinations lie hundreds of miles from the unrest.
As a result, Neville is seeing “crazy good” rates for five-star hotels and international flights. Round-trip fares from New York to Prague in late September can currently be booked for as low as US$700 (RM3,149) on United Airlines and Lufthansa, and nightly rates at the Four Seasons Hotel Prague start at 540 (RM2,424) – roughly half the cost for the same dates at the Four Seasons Hotel
Madrid, and one-fifth the cost of a room at the Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris.
*Flights to Prague from KL between October and November average around RM4,700.