The Luxury Hotels Specials

There comes a time in every backpackers’ journey when we need a little luxury. A little reminder of la dolce vita. For me and fellow ‘packer, Stephanie, the time was this weekend.

Don’t get me wrong, I love being on the road, sleeping in hostel bunk beds, wearing t-shits with holes in them and living off free breakfast croissants. But on my final weekend in Treviso it was 5-star service we were after. Our sights were set on the most luxurious hotel in Venice, San Clemente Palace, a converted monastery on a private island which boasts a modest 800 Euro/night price tag and can only be reached by the hotel’s personal water taxi.

Unfortunately our desire to be pampered didn’t really jive with the collective 20 Euro we had in our wallets so any chance of living the high life would require creativity, charm and maybe a few white lies.

Which takes me to midday Saturday–Piazza San Marco, Venice. Our plan was clear: Find the dock where San Clemente’s guests board their exclusive water taxi and hop on. Once we arrive at the private island, follow signs to the pool. Change into bathing suits in the cabana and assume tanning position in pool-side lounge chairs. Our mantra was simple, “If you believe it, they will too.”

pictutes and source here

The town of St. Moritz, located in Switzerland’s Engadine Valley, is famous as a winter resort. It’s not just on account of the reference in the James Bond movie Goldfinger; the 1928 and 1948 Winter Olympics were held here. But when I visited St. Moritz, it was early September and the weather was still warm and summery. The town gets 300 days of sunshine a year (and it was sunny throughout my five days there), the valley was lushly green, and the lake was filled with sailboats. I know that winter is its most celebrated season, but I’d recommend visiting in summer, when the range of activities (golf, tennis, mountain biking) is wider. St. Mortiz is also a great starting point for day trips. From it, I took a train to Thusis, where I hiked through the Alps and saw Viamala, the place where Caesar made his historic crossing through the mountains. Closer to St. Moritz is the Valley of Fex, another great hiking spot (if you visit on a rare rainy day, you could visit the Nietzsche-Haus, where the German philosopher spent his summers, in Fex’s tiny town of Sils).

Because I was attending a conference in St. Moritz, I spent far too much time indoors. The conference meetings and events were spread among three hotels — the Kulm, the Kempinski, and Badrutt’s Palace — and all of them came through with celiac-safe meals for me. However, these are all top-notch luxury hotels with long practice in catering to their guests’ requests, and I had had advance discussions with them via phone and e-mail to ensure that they would be able to provide gluten-free meals.

One spot in St. Moritz that particularly impressed me was a place that didn’t have advance warning about my dining restrictions. The Hotel Misani is a three-star hotel that is a youthful, less-expensive alternative to the long-established local hotels. Its rooms are decorated in a mix of Asian, Indian, and Middle Eastern styles, and each one is unique. The Misani’s main dining room is decked out in rustic local style with wooden panels on the ceiling and the walls, typical of the Engadine houses that date back a century. I had an excellent gluten-free dinner here, served by the Misani’s friendly staff. It was a nice reminder that luxury exists at all price points in St. Moritz.

Badrutt’s Palace [tel] +41 (0) 81 837 11 00 [email] reservations@badruttspalace.com [web] www.badruttspalace.com

Hotel Misani [tel] +41 (0) 81 839 89 89 [email] info@hotelmisani.ch [web] www.hotelmisani.ch

Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains [tel] +41 (0) [web] www.kempinski-stmoritz.com

Kulm Hotel [tel] +41 (0) 81 836 80 00 [email] info@kulmhotel-stmoritz.ch [web] www.kulmhotel-stmoritz.ch

Respect to Hilary Davidson

A look at what the different resorts of Tenerife, Canary Islands have to offer. Tenerife has many varied resorts for everyone seeking the quiet, tranquil typically Canarian holiday to those looking for nightlife.

Costa Adeje; Costa Adeje is the recently developed upmarket area of South Tenerife,incorporating Fanabe, Playa del Duque to La Caleta. Costa Adeje is a quieter resort, chosen by many 5 star hotels as the area to invest, such as the Bahia del Duque and the new Sheraton hotel. It boasts amongst the best beaches in Tenerife, including the exclusive Playa Del Duque beach. The new Costa Adeje Golf is only approx. 3km away. There is fantastic shopping, including a new Cartier boutique, as far as many upmarket restaurants and bars. Nearest: Airport Tenerife South TFS (Tenerife South) 25 Km.

Torviscas; Torviscas is a popular suburb of Playa de Las Americas. It features the Aguapark, the local markets held twice weekly and the marina Puerto Colon. Puerto Colon offers whale and dolphin watching trips, scuba diving and deep sea fishing. Torviscas is the link Fanabe to Las Americas. Torviscas is being regenerated with the development of the new Siam Park,scheduled to open 17th December 2006. Belonging to the Loro Parque,already Tenerifes biggest tourist attraction in the North, the Siam Park is costing 50 to 70 million euros and is currently being built on 180,000 square metres.New attractions will include a water park with the only giant wave machine in Europe, a huge roller coaster and the facilities to swim with the sharks. Nearest: Airport Tenerife South TFS 18 km (Tenerife South)

Playa de Las Americas; Playa de Las Americas is the largest resort in South Tenerife. It was purpose built as a holiday destination, in the 1960’s and has many varied bars, restaurants, beaches and nightlife. Playa de Las Americas has recently been reinvested in with the Las Americas Golf Course and development of Parque Santiago IV and V new shopping centres, offering many restaurants, bars and shops. Nearest: Airport Tenerife South TFS 14 km(Tenerife South)

Los Cristianos; Los Cristianos has developed into a popular tourist resort from a small Canarian fishing village, centred around it’s harbour. The artficial beaches of Playa de Los Cristianos and Playa de Las Vistas, with their imported sand offer sunbathing and a variety of watersports. The pedestrianised old town has retained much of it’s original Canarian charm,with a wide selection of traditional restaurants, as well as many bars and shops. The ferry leaves Los Cristianos port daily to La Gomera. A promenade provides a walkway linking Las Americas to Los Cristianos. Nearest: Airport Tenerife South TFS 12 km(Tenerife South)

Costa del Silencio; Costa del Silencio literally means “The Silent Coast”.This provides an insight into one of the quieter resorts of South Tenerife. Silencio neighbours Las Galletas, with it’s quaint traditional beaches and marina. The marina and beaches are currently receiving millions of euros from the Arona Council spent on redeveloping the whole area. Costa del Silencio is ideal for those looking for a quieter pace of live but still want to enjoy the many attractions Tenerife has to offer. It is also a short drive from the lively resorts of Los Cristianos and Playa de las Americas. Nearest: Airport Tenerife South TFS 14 km(Tenerife South)

Amarilla Golf; Amarilla Golf is an 18-hole PGA championship course,bordering the Atlantic Ocean, affording fantastic views. A new multi million euro marina is being developed here, along with infrastructure and roads that will link Amarilla Golf to Golf del Sur.Amarilla doesn’t only offer golf, it also has a horse riding centre, a tennis court and a club-house with restaurant.Nearest: Airport Tenerife South TFS 10 km

Golf del Sur; Golf del Sur is a 27 hole PGA golf course, which also has a driving range and crazy golf and is situated only a few metres from the sea. Property here is ideally located for golfers, couples and families, a few minutes walk from the beach, shops, many bars and restaurants on Golf del Sur. Nearest: Airport Tenerife South TFS 8 km(Tenerife South)

Tony Riley has 15 years experience in the Tenerife property market as Managing Director of .

source

A TOP CHEF who swapped his high-flying London career for his dream Dorset hotel London was invited to Buckingham Palace by the Queen.

Jamie Jones, who runs the Yalbury Cottage in Lower Bockhampton, was personally invited to the British Hospitality Industry celebrations in honour of Britain’s culinary achievements.

He said: “I have seen so many wonderful things but meeting the Queen was just out of this world.

“I got to meet her and shake her hand and told her and the Duke of Kent about giving up the corporate life and moving to our own place in Dorset.

“I had to keep pinching myself to see if it was real.”

Mr Jones, 40, and his wife Ariane mingled with hundreds of chefs and hoteliers including Gordon Ramsay, The Roux brothers, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his old boss Michele Bourdin.

advertisement

After training for years in London Mr Jones went on to train in Paris before working for the Four Seasons Hotels London for 13 years where he ended up an executive chef. The award-winning chef then travelled around the world opening up hotels for the Four Seasons Group from Cairo to Hong Kong and Budapest.

The 300-year-old Yalbury Cottage, which has eight bedrooms and a spacious garden, has been reviewed as the perfect weekend retreat.

It was also named Rural Idyll of the Year in the Good Hotel Guide, which is an independent review of 800 hotels in Great Britain.

He said: “It was always my dream to be an executive chef in London and then own my own place by the time I was 40, and we couldn’t be happier than in our own place.”

The £110 a night cottage already has a reputation in the food industry for its fresh food made from all-local ingredients.

Mr Jones said: “The average Sunday lunch in the UK travels 24,000 miles before it ends up on a plate, with oil from Italy, meat from New Zealand and so on.

“At Yalbury Cottage we promise to bring this to you from all the fine local produce within less than 100 miles.”

As well as working full time and looking after his two children Mr Jones also hosts a recipe show on BBC Solent.

source 

Best place to eat:Cannes is blessed with sunny, Mediterranean weather, and most restaurants cater for outside lounging under awnings.

Menus range from 20 euros (R242) at small establishments such as La Cave, which specialises in Provençal cuisine.

Best place to sleep:There are three old-world glamour, Hollywood A-list hotels on La Croisette — Hotel Martinez, the Carlton and the Majestic.

If budget is an issue, however, rent a self-catering spot on Rue d’Antibes.

Best place to see and be seen:The La Croisette is Cannes’s answer to Miami’s Ocean Drive and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. It is home to show-offs who parade the latest supercars, and high-end shoppers who spoil themselves at Salvatore Ferragamo, Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent.

If you’re on a budget, try the more densely populated Rue d’Antibes for shops such Zara, San Marina and French Arno.

Best way to get around:Nothing beats walking, but to for the experience, why not hop onto one of the cruise ships docked at the harbour for a quick trip on the Mediterranean. Then there’s the cable car that will take you around the city, or you can splash out and hire a zippy Ferrari or a Bentley.

Best-kept secret: Gambetta and Forville, the Provençal food and flower markets, offer the freshest produce, while the Place duSuquet market offers some amazing views of the old harbour, Saint Anne’s Chapel, the Castre Museum and the church of Notre-Dame d’Esperance.

source…

Tranquil and scenic, the Volga River links Russia’s two great cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, but since Communist times cruising this great river has been limited to older Soviet ships. A luxurious voyage was simply not possible until the inauguration of the Volga Dream in 2007.

Academic Arrangements Abroad was the first charter client of the Volga Dream, which remains the only five-star riverboat in Russia. The vessel’s hotel operations are managed by a European company, including a massage therapist, hair dresser, doctor and even a French pastry chef. From barbecues on deck to six-course gala dinners, meals are a delight (and include complimentary beer and wine).

Guests traveling with Academic Arrangements Abroad, a primary charterer of the Volga Dream, also enjoy private onboard classical concerts as well as enrichment lectures about Russian art, politics and culture by experts from the sponsoring institution. Lecturers on upcoming programs include Harvard Professor Marshall Goldman, a specialist on Soviet economics, and William Crow, Associate Museum Educator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Exclusive itineraries, which leverage intimate knowledge of Russia to minimize time spent driving or waiting in lines, include seven nights aboard the Volga Dream, with shore excursions to the less-visited Valaam, a holy site in Russian Orthodoxy, as well as more traditional sites such as the Golden Ring city of Yaroslavl and the small island of Kizhy, with the beautiful wooden Church of the Transfiguration. During a three-night stay in Moscow, featuring a before-hours visit to the Kremlin and a performance by the legendary Bolshoi company, accommodations are arranged at the downtown Marriott Aurora in order to avoid numerous bus trips between the river terminal and city. During three nights in St. Petersburg, staying the Grand Hotel Europa, highlights include a specially arranged visit to the Hermitage and a performance at the famed Mariinsky Theater.

Upcoming sailings:

June 8 to 22, 2008 - St. Petersburg to Moscow

July 12 to 26, 2008 - St. Petersburg to Moscow

July 28 to August 11, 2008 - St. Petersburg to Moscow

June 11 to 25, 2009 - St. Petersburg to Moscow

June 18 to July 2, 2009 - Moscow to St. Petersburg

source

rangelina’s London Dinner Date

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie enjoyed a dinner date night in London on Saturday (November 10).

The cute couple were spotted leaving their room at the Claridge’s Hotel, heading to Japanese Restaurant Roka - which is known for its “dishes such as tempura, sashimi, maki, kushiage, and robata niku.”

The Mr and Mrs Smith co-stars are currently in London for the UK premiere of Angelina’s new flick, Beowulf, on Sunday night.

According to press, “Angelina will join co-stars Ray Winstone and Sir Anthony Hopkins in London’s Leicester Square.”

sourse

Christine Brewer, of Lebanon, has become the English Idol among classical music fans.

Earlier this month, the world-renowned soprano was honored with the British Broadcasting Corp. Listeners’ Award given by the Royal Philharmonic Society.

In London to do two recordings, Brewer was on hand to accept her silver lyre-shaped statue during ceremonies at the Dorchester Hotel in London. Ceremony highlights were broadcast the following night on BBC Radio.

Listeners of BBC Radio 3 voted for the award. They had heard her in a solo recital of Berg, Strauss, Britten and Daugherty from the Wigmore Hall; in Poulenc’s “Stabat Mater” from the Edinburgh Festival; and, most notably, as “an unforgettable” Brunnhilde in the Proms performance of Wagner’s “Gotterdammerung,” according to the Royal Philharmonic Society.

The society called Brewer “a singer with a radiant voice and a wonderfully warm stage personality.” BBC Music Magazine recently named the 1976 McKendree University graduate one of the top 20 sopranos of the recorded era.

This is the sixth year that the station has collaborated with the society to give classical music audiences the opportunity to recognize artists for outstanding performances. Brewer was among musicians, composers, writers, broadcasters and inspirational arts organizations from the United King

here…

Mom-to-be Angelina Jolie is all smiles at the Grand Hotel Du Cap-Ferrat in Cannes, France on Thursday.

Life & Style reports that Brad and Angie will spend at least $20 million in France on security, medical costs and shelter for their growing brood (twins).

“Brad and Angelina love all their children and will do everything to protect them and keep them healthy,” an insider says. “Money is no object when it comes to the kids.”

The couple is also rumored to fly her ob-gyn, Dr. Jason Rothbart, to France at a cost of about $98,000. (They flew him out to Namibia to help with Shiloh.)

from here…

Either Celine Dion always  wanted a girl (wasn’t there a picture circulating around the Internet once with her son on the beach wearing a bathing suit that looked like it could pass for a girl’s two-piece?) or she’s hoping her son will become the next Fabio? Celine’s son, Rene-Charles, recently seen holding on tight to his momma’s hand as they left the Four Seasons George V hotel in Paris, France, looks like he could be doing Pantene commercials.

here…