Travel digest with Barry Coughlan

Emirates has introduced a wide range of business and economy class Autumn fare specials, one of them particularly suited for rugby fans keen to experience the Dubai Rugby Sevens that runs between December 1 and 3.

Emirates has special fares to Dubai from Dublin starting at €449 and for those wishing to go further afield has starting fares to Bangkok from €670. Capetown is on offer from €649 (€2,547 business), and there are many other deals for travel between December 1 and 5, from January 15 to April 5 and April 10 to June 19 next year.

Details on www.emirates.ie

* The Conrad Dublin has just been re-launched after a €13m transformation that had the nearby Iveagh Gardens as one of the main sources of inspiration from the design team.

The renovation programme features a new design for all 192 guest bedrooms and suites, a full makeover of the Presidential Suite, the opening of a new, all-day, brasserie geared for informal dining, together with a new ground floor lounge and bar.

Visit www.conraddublin.com or call 01 6028900.

* GTI has launched 2017 Cooking Holidays to Italy with specials to Umbria and Tuscany.

The inclusive deals are available to singles or group holidays and particularly suitable for couples or family. A four-day special to Trevi in Umbria with March 26 and May 4 departures is selling from €699 and a similar length stay in Tuscany with an April 8 departure costs from €749.

Check out www.gti-ireland.com

* American Holidays offers a post-Christmas three-night shopping trip out of Dublin to New York staying at the Edison Hotel from €619 per person.

For those wishing a later break (February) there’s a four-night stay in the Marriott Courtyard in Philadelphia priced from €859, while four nights in Washington in the same month (Normandy Hotel) comes in a bit cheaper from €779.

Call 01 6733804 or visit www.americanholidays.com

* The passing of well-known hotelier Dick Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald’s Woodlands House Hotel and Spa in Adare, County Limerick, has not been forgotten following the recent unveiling of a new-look bar and specially commissioned brewed stout in his memory.

The creation of Dick’s Bar, which can hold up to 200 people, forms part of a wider ongoing €2m refurbishment project which saw the 89-bedroom hotel attain four-star status in June 2015.

Details on www.woodlands-hotel.ie