(MONEY Magazine) – METROPOLITAN VIEWS Le Meridien's smartly located downtown hotels, cleared of business travelers on weekends, are offering half or more off normal rates until February. A weekend stay in New York City, just a few blocks from Central Park, is $220 to $270 a night, compared with the regular rate of $540. On Chicago's famed Magnificent Mile, a room is $213 a night, down from $446. The rate in Toronto is $162, or 50% off. You also get a choice of half-price spa services, breakfast in bed or dinner for two. You must reserve and pay with an AmEx card. Visit www.lemeridien.com or call 877-427-1143.

COLLECTOR COMPANION Before bidding on those Coca-Cola matchbooks or Charles Lindbergh candy tins on eBay, turn to Kovels' Antiques & Collectibles Price List 2001. For 34 years, Ralph and Terry Kovel have been authorities in the field, scouring fairs, auctions and shops across the country for prices on everything from fishing lures to Dorchester pottery. The updated guide moves easily from general categories, such as paintings, to the most specific, like Flash Gordon memorabilia. Most of the 50,000 antiques listed cost less than $10,000. The guide is $15.95 at www.kovels.com.

SUMMER RESPITE Take advantage of off-season prices at the popular Whistler ski resort to enjoy fishing, golf, white-water rafting and horseback riding in the Canadian Rockies. Through Sept. 2, Mountain Vacations (800-754-3704) of Salt Lake City is offering seven-night stays at the Holiday Inn resort in Whistler for $299 per adult--and kids stay for free. Rent a car at Vancouver airport (weekly rates start at $245) or take a bus from the Vancouver airport to Whistler for $70 a person. Once at Whistler, you get around on the free town shuttle.

CORE STRENGTH Gymnastic balls--inflatable spheres used for abdominal and lower body exercises--are versatile, low-tech pieces of equipment used to intensify sit-ups and strengthen your back. "You can work just about every single body group with the ball while keeping your spine stress-free," says Alyma Dorsey, a personal trainer at New York's trendy Crunch gyms. Sissel's ABS Swiss Balls, available at www.sissel-online.com, cost $26 to $36, pump included.

SCOTLAND EXPRESS Traveling by train may be the best way to take in the sights of Scotland, especially if you can't get the hang of driving on the left side of the road. Book Rail Europe's Freedom of Scotland Travelpass by Aug. 31 and get 25% off standard-class trips. Visit Edinburgh or explore the Highlands over four days for just $101. The pass will even get you onto some ferries to islands off the coast. There are no blackout dates, and the discount also applies to eight- or 12-day packages. Tickets are valid for six months from the purchase date. Children under five travel free, and kids ages five to 15 travel for half the adult fare. Call 888-382-7245.

PRICE ALERT

Make the tech industry's pain your gain: Go to www.overstock.com and take a look at the impressive closeout prices available on a wide range of desktop and notebook computers, as well as peripherals. We found a Gateway 750MHz Pentium III desktop (sans monitor) with 128MB of RAM for only $499 and a Dell Latitude 400MHz Pentium II notebook for $899. Many of the items are marked as factory reconditioned, which means they were used and returned. But the manufacturers make sure they meet factory specs and all computers come with a limited 90-day warranty. That should suffice, since most defects show up within 60 days. Supplies are very limited, so when the computers are gone, the deals are too.

Reported by Andrea Bennett, Brian L. Clark, Katherine Z. Josephs, Sridhar Pappu, Stephanie D. Smith and Cybele Weisser