Tips & Trips

By ANTHONY GRANT | July 15, 2005

NEVADA GOLF

The MonteLago Village Resort in Lake Las Vegas encompasses two top golf courses: Reflection Bay (a Jack Nicklaus signature course) and the Falls. As part of the Stay & Play Golf Package, guests are entitled to unlimited play at either course and deluxe accommodations in a studio condominium. The price is $137 a person, based on double occupancy, and is valid until September 5.

For reservations, call 866-399-2753 or visit www.montelagovillage.com.

TURIN HOTEL

Leave it to Renzo Piano, the architect who chose to build Paris's Pompidou Center from the inside out, to take an 800,000-square-foot former Fiat factory and turn a chunk of it into a 142-room designer hotel. The new Le Meridien Art + Tech Hotel incorporates a stunning grand hall that reaches from the ground floor to the building's glass ceiling. Five levels are connected by open stairways at either end of the space, with glass elevators whisking guests from the marble lobby to meeting areas, guest levels, and the hotel's 70-seat Art + Cafe restaurant. There's also a one-kilometer jogging track on top of the former car factory for hotel guests' use. Deluxe rooms start at approximately $240 a night.

For more information, call 800-543-4300 or visit www.lemeridien.com.

IRISH INN

St. Clerans Manor House, built in 1784 and set on 45 acres of rolling green hills near Galway on Ireland's west coast, was restored to its former splendor by none other than Merv Griffin, its present owner. The country house has 12 spacious bedrooms and a restaurant offering Irish cuisine with a French twist. Guest activities include fishing, horseback riding, and walking along the property's meandering trails. The manor's driver can collect guests at the airports in Shannon or Galway. Summer rates start at approximately $420 a night and include a full Irish breakfast.

Reservations are required; call 011-353-91-846-555 or visit www.stclerans.com.

PARIS SPA

The posh Pershing Hall Hotel, in the Second Empire edifice named for the American general who made it headquarters for the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, is home to the Talika Spa, known far and wide for its soothing eye area and eyebrow beautifying treatments. This month the spa inaugurates a new package incorporating a 30-minute "Sparkling Eyes Treatment" and a 40-minute deep tissue "apres-shopping" massage - a good way to recover from jet lag and the big Paris summer sales ($119). From July 25 to 30, the hotel is offering a standard room (single or double occupancy) with upgrade upon availability, continental breakfast, and a complimentary cocktail in the Pershing Lounge for $375 a night (rooms alone normally start at $468 a night).

Call 011-331-5836-5803 for the spa or 011-331-5836-5800 for the hotel, or visit www.pershinghall.com.