If you enjoy snow country, here’s a...

If you enjoy snow country, here’s a nice deal for families/groups. For $45 per person (60 guests), Mike and Laurie Fitzpatrick provide shelter for an entire weekend at their Heidelberg Inn at Sun Valley. Includes dinner (along with gratuities) at an Italian restaurant (an open wine/beer bar.) They’ll make the same deal for one night at $25 per guest. Says Fitzpatrick: “We can put together a package for weddings, family reunions or just big parties.” Several rooms have kitchenettes. Some feature fireplaces. Contact the Fitzpatricks c/o the Heidelberg Inn, P.O. Box 304, Sun Valley, Ida. 83303 or telephone (208) 726-5361.

Japan Discount

An across-the-board 50% discount is being offered by the Westin Kyoto Takara-ga-ike Prince Hotel in Japan’s classic city of Kyoto. Singles start at about $88, doubles go for around $94. Not exactly one of those charming little Japanese inns but comfortable. (This is a 322-room hotel with seven restaurants!) The room discount continues till March 31. Book through your travel agent. Meanwhile, in Tokyo a single room at the 128-room Hotel Kayu Kaikan will cost you about $60 a night, doubles for under $110. And in this city that’s cheap. The Kayu Kaikan is managed by the same people who operate the slick Hotel Okura. Unlike a good many other small Tokyo hotels, the Kayu Kaikan offers the frills of a couple of restaurants (one Western-style, the other Japanese-style). Tea served in the lobby each afternoon, nightcaps in the bar. This is no tacky neighborhood (Japan’s emperor lives just down the street). For reservations call toll-free (800) 252-0211 in California or (800) 421-0000 nationwide.

Colorado Inns

You can check into a B&B; at a Colorado ski resort for as little as $29 a night single, $34 double. Others $60/$120. Properties listed by Kathy Fagan of Bed & Breakfast Vail Valley who’s spread her wings. Now operates in Steamboat Springs, Aspen, Keystone, Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin as well as Vail Valley/Beaver Creek. Humble homes to luxury suites. For general information write to Fagan c/o Bed & Breakfast Vail Valley, P.O. Box 491, Vail, Colo. 81658 or telephone (303) 949-1212. For $2 Fagan will mail you a 17-page brochure describing each property.

Traveler’s Christmas Gift

If you’re looking for an unusual Christmas gift for a traveler, drop a card to Warren of California, 416 W. San Ysidro Blvd., Suite K23, San Diego 92073. Ask for their catalogue of travel security wallets. Both men’s and women’s lines. Manufacturer guarantees “years of wear.” The best seller is a clip-style wallet. Fastens over the waistband of slacks, skirts, shorts. Hangs inside the garment. Various styles, sizes.

Insurance for Travelers

Travelers Assistance International specializes in help for travelers. TAI is a subsidiary of Europ Assistance, world’s oldest, largest. Provides on-spot medical, financial aid. Last year TAI replied to more than 2 million appeals for help, provided 3,500 medical evacuations. Besides medical benefits, TAI puts up bail for travelers who get themselves into trouble with the law. Worldwide representatives. Service offered 24 hours a day. For details contact Travel Assistance International, 1333 F St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004 or call toll-free (800) 821-2828.

Road Atlas

Rand McNally’s ’87 Road Atlas contains more than 21,000 revisions. Up-to-the-minute changes listed for nation’s highways, roads, landmarks. Besides road/highway details, Rand McNally offers excellent tour/recreation information. Tells which states have seat belt laws. Information on automobile liability insurance. This handy item: phone numbers for all 50 state tourism offices and the District of Columbia. A bargain at $5.95, particularly since the atlas offers discount coupons for hotels/motels, sightseeing admissions.

Villas in Tuscany

What the heck, we can dream can’t we? The Countess Simonetta Brandolini d’Adda deals in country villas, palazzi and in-town apartments in Italy (Tuscany and Veneto) that rent for $1,500 to $30,000 a month. “Usually servants are included,” the countess tells us. (At those prices, we’d hope so--and why not a Rolls or a Bentley to boot?) These are classy digs. Antiques, affrescoes, priceless tapestries, sculptures, swimming pools. Even riding stables and tennis in some cases. Guests are welcomed at each villa personally by the countess. Meals prepared by a resident cook. Drivers available. In addition, the countess makes this offer: Groups of six are met by a hostess in New York. They fly first-class to Italy, are picked up by limousine for the drive to Positano and a villa on the Amalfi Drive. A second week is spent in a Tuscan villa. After this it’s off to Venice for another seven days in a palazzo. Countess Simonetta was born in Augusta, Ga., the daughter of an American Army officer and an Italian mother. Calls her operation “The Best in Tuscany.” For those who can afford to do more than dream, drop the countess a note at Via Ugo Foscolo 72, I 50124, Florence, Italy.

Suzanne T. Pidduck also deals in rentals in Italy: Veneto and Sicily as well as Tuscany and Umbria. For other details contact Pidduck, 172 Calle Corva, Camarillo, Calif. 93010. (Sells a 200-page catalogue describing the various properties.)

Reader Recommendations

California--Katherine Yamada, Glendale: Palm House B&B;, 1216 Palm Ave., San Mateo. “Private home of Marian and Alan Brooks who make guests feel at home. Large bedroom, updated private bath and sun room. Freshly baked breads and fresh fruits for breakfast served in dining room of their two-story 1907 bungalow. $50 for two.”

California--Loran List, Laguna Beach: “Wonderful discovery in Pacific Grove on Monterey Peninsula. Just renovated 1904 Queen Anne-Victorian with 10 rooms (two of which are suites), each with bath. My charming room was called the Penthouse. Rate was $43 plus $2.50 for a delicious breakfast of homemade everything. Other rooms run $50 and $60, suites are $80 and $90. It’s the first inn I’ve found that has complete handicap facilities. Write to Pacific Grove Inn, 581 Pine Ave., Pacific Grove, Calif. 93950.”

Bermuda--David A. Millhauser, Glendale: Recommends Astwood Cove, 49 South Road, Warwick 7-06, Bermuda, phone (809) 296-0984 or Knightsbridge Reservations Service, phone (800) 225-2230. “Overlooks the beach, furnished studio and suite apartments, all with kitchen and phone. Pool, vegetable garden, banana, papaya, citrus trees on premises. Rates $46 to $66 per room in winter, $76 to $90 per night in summer.”

England--Doreen and Donald Gurland, Los Angeles: “The Cavalier Collyweston, Collyweston, Lincolnshire, England, phone (07) 808-3288 is a traditional country inn. Hosts make you comfortable in renovated rooms with private bath at 32 double. The full breakfast is outstanding. Inn also offers a complete dinner menu.”

England--Janet M. Dyer, LaVerne: “Stayed with a charming couple in Marston Moreteyne, 50 miles north of London. They provide B&B;, gourmet dinner, London airport pickup and return, fully guided tours. Seven days with three tour days 217.50 per person. Contact Janet Dyer, 290 Summit Road, LaVerne, Calif. 91750 for brochure.”