Evelyn Kanter Eco Report

Hotels offer family travel deals for summer

Plan your summer family vacation now with two great getaway discounts and deals from top hotel chains Omni and Hilton –

Omni Hotels & Resorts is offering the fourth night free, free breakfast for kids age 12 and under, and a kid-size backpack filled with toys and games.  The   “Fun-4-Summer” offer also includes a destination guide specific to the location you are visiting, with ideas for attractions and activities that will keep you the kids busy and happy.  That’s important on a family vacation, because if the kids are happy, so are we parents and grandparents.  

Kids also get their very own backpack, packed with such goodies as   a flashlight, disc launcher, a plant-able bookmark and a re-usable canteen.  In Texas, California and Boston, Omni offers specially decorated rooms for kids, with colorful kids bedding, beanbag chairs, an art table, board games, books and more.

Omni’s  “Fun-4-Summer” package is available May 29 through Sept. 9, 2010, at all Omni Hotels & Resorts. Rates range from $139 to $259.  

The promotion from Hilton Worldwide is called “The Great Getaway,” and offers discounts of up to 30 percent off hotel rooms for stays  between May 28 and Sept. 6, 2010.  The  discounted rates include free breakfast daily, and applies to Hilton brands including Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, and Homewood Suites.  That adds up to more than 2,800 hotels and resorts in some 80 countries. 

You must make your reservation by July 15, 2010 and pay for your reservation in full in advance.  Of course, you’ll earn frequent guest points if you are a Hilton Honors member.  If you aren’t, join up.

Here are some family-friendly Hilton ideas –