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I wanted to gatekeep this cheap holiday home š
We're chatting White Lotus vibe hotels from Ā£61 a night, luxury group stays from Ā£25pp and the best things to do in Lisbon whatever your budget may be š
Chelsea Dickenson
February 20, 2025
Your must read travel round upš©±
Happy Thursday everyone!
February is racing past and I am gathering myself before I embark on my next trip - itās somewhere Iāve never been before thatās known for its winter sunā¦ šŖšø
And I honestly donāt know whatās happened this year, because one of my goals for 2025 was to travel lessā¦ I KNOW YOU DONāT BELIEVE ME š but I really thought this was going to be the year of slowing down, and working at home a bit moreā¦ And yet somehow Iāve already ticked off Paris, Barcelona, Zakopane, Copenhagen, Bucharest and Winchester (yes it counts).
So yes, feeling super lucky to be busy but also quite looking forward to the fact Iāve tacked on 3 days of no filming on my next jaunt. BRING ON THE MARGARITAS LADS! š¹
Ooh also, if you havenāt caught it yet, weāre now on episode 5 of our new podcast, Passports Please! And this week weāre chatting about what James is like on a stag do and why you shouldnāt share a canoe with your other half.
Right, hereās whatās coming up in this weekās newsletter for you:
Things to do in Lisbon for every budget šļø
11 ways to save money on your Lisbon trip š
How to save 35% on The Hoxton, Mama Shelter and 25hours hotels
How to find the cheapest night at a hotel š§³
White Lotus Season 3 Hotel dupes šæ
And a viral vacay with a bargainous group stay I didnāt wanna share š
Spotlight on Lisbon š
Some of you may have spotted that we have a city guides section on our website, where we share some recommendations for our fave places to visit. Well, one of our next focuses is getting this updated with itineraries, activities for every budget and top ways to save money!
The first to get this new treatment is Lisbon, which is one of my favourite European city break destinations.
 The best things to do in Lisbon for every budget Whether youāre on a solo treat holiday, anniversary getaway or cheap trip with friends, hereās a load of things to do for a range of budgets - including free activities too! |  11 ways to save money on your Lisbon trip Our hope with this is that it saves everyone who reads it a few bob - so you can treat yourself to another activity, or keep it in your pocket for your next trip! |
Viral Vacayš²
Where we track down the accommodation thatās gone viral, find out how much it actually costs and if needs be, suggest a cheaper alternative šµļøāāļø
 | What is it? An amazing architectural villa in Portugal, with a private chef, just five minutesā drive from the beach How viral? This video tour has over 2 million views on Instagram. How much? You might be surprised! You can rent this villa on Vrbo for Ā£8265 for a week in March. It sounds like a lot, but as it sleeps 20, it could cost you just Ā£59pp a night, which is pretty good for such a nice place. Youāve just gotta find 19 matesā¦ (Just me whoād struggle? š) Cheaper alternative? An impressive design-led villa in Croatiaās Istria region, just 6 minutesā drive from the beach, costs from Ā£358 per night and sleeps 9, so you could each pay as little as Ā£40pp per night. |
Cheaper still? Okay so this is the one I didnāt wanna share. Donāt judge me. I was trying to find a place to stay near Porthdinllaen which is a beach with the best vibes in North Wales. And I came across gorgeous holiday home on the LlÅ·n Peninsula in Wales that sleeps 10 and even accepts pets. And with an incredible master suite and sea views, I wasnāt expecting the price when I popped in a week stay in Septemberā¦ Just Ā£25pp per night. All I can say is Iāve sat on this for a couple of weeks and still havenāt booked it (maybe itās the finding friends issue š) and so itās time to release this one to you guys in the hope someone else can make use of it!!! |    |
Seen a viral video you want me to do this for? Reply with it to this email! š§
Dreamy Hotel Staysš¹
Thereās nothing better in life than a luxury hotel on a lemonade budget. And with the new season of The White Lotus, I started dreaming of a beachy Thailand escape - but without the huge price tag.
Plus, Iām resharing my guide to bagging a free hotel room upgrade. This is one of the things I get asked for the most! I actually used this on my last Thai holiday, so it felt like the right time to give it another share.
 Get White Lotus vibes for less I couldnāt resist having a closer look at the location for season 3 of The White Lotus and seeing how much it costs, and what cheaper alternatives I could find instead. |  Free hotel upgrade template for your next holiday And if you are booking the cheapest room in the gaff, why not try and get an upgrade!! This template has worked for loads of you already. |
My deal of the week
Todayās deal is the main reason Iāve been able to stay in some very lush hotels of recent š
Itās all to do with a hotel membership programme that I shared as part of my Black Friday round up in November 2024, and that Iāve been testing out independently ever since.
And so when they emailed last week to ask if I would write about their new 35% off sale and post about it on here I said YES, THIS IS PERFECT TIMING.
So here we go and a big thanks to Dis-loyalty for being our first sponsored Weekly Deals feature š
Whatās the sale?
In the Spring Stays Sale, Dis-loyalty members can book stays for 35% off at 35+ hotels across March, April and May. Terms and conditions apply!
When does it end?
The Spring Stays Sale is running from Wednesday 19 February to Monday 31 March 2025.
What hotels are included?
Thereās 37 hotels included and weāve listed them all, plus the dates this discount is available on here.
One that caught my eye was the SLS Playa Mujeres in Mexico which is all inclusive!
Whatās Dis-loyalty?
Dis-loyalty is a travel and food membership programme for hotel brands including The Hoxton, Mondrian, Mama Shelter, SLS, Hyde and 25hours hotels.
Its members get the following perks:
50% off just-opened hotels in their first three months of opening
20% off your first stay in any of their hotels
10% off return stays
10% off food and drink in any of their restaurants, bars and coffee shops
365 free barista-made drinks, one for every day of the year
How much is membership?
Membership is Ā£12 a month, but if you opt to pay in full for a year and use the code DISCHE25 (yes thatās a code for just us!) youāll get 25% off the price.
Is it worth it?
As I said, Iāve been independently reviewing this membership over the last few months and for my first hotel booking alone, I saved Ā£238 for a 2 night stay - so I made back my membership costs straightaway.
Since then, Iāve booked 7 nights in total and the total money saved has been Ā£921 š
You can read more about those savings here, but in general I think if you were going to book one of these hotels anyway, itās a total no brainer.
I also love to hear what new hotels are coming up as I know Iāll be able to bag a 50% off those stays as part of the perks - Iām really excited about the Hoxton Edinburgh coming later this year!
Look mum, Iām on the telly!
Are you sick of me yet?! Iāve been on the telly twice this week already! The second edition of my new travel feature, Hundred Quid Holidays, aired on This Morning on Monday which was a 24h trip to Bucharest and insta-famous Therme BucureČti spa.
You can watch it in full on itvx - Iām on 54 mins 12 seconds into the episode!
I also reported live from The Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show in Birmingham yesterday, which my second time presenting live for This Morning. I always have such a great time doing live telly - I love the chaos what can I say - and they even got me reverse parking a campervan this time. AFTER NOT DRIVING FOR YEARS š
You can watch my segment on itvx - Iām parking at 3 mins 5 seconds into the episode, and running around the show at 54 mins 5 seconds.
What the teamās been loving this week!
When weāve not been working really hard - ahem - hereās some of the things that weāve been enjoying over on socials.
Anna: I got FOMO watching this video where a group of people watching the sunset in Florence ends with dancingā¦ FLIGHT TO ITALY PLEASE!
Katie: I came across this sweet account of an airbnb stay in Kyoto. Letās just say Mr Hideshi and Mrs Kumiko are absolute hosting goals!
Chelsea: Iām on such a North Wales HYPE atm (deffo not biased) but this video of Issy catching the rolling clouds on top of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) have got me planning a hiking trip - AND I DONāT EVEN HIKE.
Joe: If you missed any of Chelseaās Ā£200 ski challenge, hereās 5 year-old Emi channelling Chelsea to perfection.
And thatās a wrap!
Thatās all for this week ā thanks if you made it this far and why not let me know you did so by answering the poll below ā¬ļø
If you have a mate or family member who you think would love this newsletter too, theyāll just need to sign up here.
Which destination would you like to see us write more articles on next?!Tap to answer! |
Speak to you soon!
Chelsea x
Another clue for where we are heading to next week for those of you who made it to the end!! Hit reply and let me know if you know where it is!
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