United adds an option for priority perks
Do you dread long airport lines? United Airlines is the latest carrier to offer a fast pass for a fee. Its new Premier Access program includes priority check-in at the ticket counter, a special security lane and priority boarding. Prices start at $9 per flight.
Travelers can purchase Premier Access during booking, anytime before the flight or, if still available, at airport kiosks during check-in.
US Airways last year began selling Preferred Access, which includes the same perks. Prices vary by airport. At Phoenix Sky Harbor International, the fee is $21 one way for non-stop flights and $26 for flights with connections.
These perks traditionally have been reserved for frequent fliers and first- or business-class passengers. Many of those travelers aren’t happy they now have company in the priority lanes.
Details: united.com, click on Products & Services.
La Costa resort deal ends today
La Costa Resort & Spa, a luxury property in Carlsbad, Calif., north of San Diego, last week launched a five-day sale with enticing prices for a spring-break or summer getaway. Rooms must be booked by today.
The La Costa Experience package starts at $199 and includes one night in a renovated room, breakfast for two, a $45-per-adult spa credit and a $90-per-adult golf credit.
The Family Experience package starts at $299 and includes one night in a renovated room, $90 per adult in dining credits, $45 per adult in spa credits and a s’mores kit.
The offer is good for travel through the end of the year. Last week, I found widespread availability for weekday stays at the $199 rate during the spring and summer. Weekend rates start at $229 a night. All packages exclude taxes and La Costa’s nightly $26 resort fee.
La Costa, known for its spa, golf and gorgeous grounds, is not on the beach. The closest beach is about 5 miles away.
Details: 800-854-5000, lacosta.com/5-day-sale.
Arizona hotel earns five stars
Canyon Suites at the Phoenician has earned a coveted five stars from Forbes Travel Guide, the first Arizona hotel to do so since 2002. The 60room luxury boutique hotel, where rates start at $609 a night for a weekend in late March, opened on the grounds of the the Phoenician in 2007 as part of the hotel-within-a-hotel trend.
Canyon Suites is in exclusive company, with just 76 hotels worldwide earning five stars. The Phoenician lost its fifth star in 2003, and Arizona has been without a five-star hotel since then.
Forbes describes a five-star hotel as an exceptional property that provides “a memorable experience through virtually flawless service and the finest of amenities.”
Arizona had six four-star hotels, double the number of a year ago. Newcomers include Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort in Paradise Valley; Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain in Marana, near Tucson; and Casino del Sol near Tucson. They join returning four-star winners the Phoenician, Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North and the Ritz-Carlton Phoenix.
The state had its best showing in the hotel and resort spa category: nine earned four stars, up from six. Newcomers, all around Tucson, are: Spa at Omni Tucson National, Hiapsi Spa at Casino del Sol and the Spa at Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain.
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