A Luxury Travel Blog

Consult this book before planning your next trip and avoid extremes of weather that might ruin your holiday.  This invaluable book features weather profiles for over 205 countries, from Australia to Zambia, as well as month-by-month guides to rainfall, comfort and sunshine levels, and also advice on what to pack and when to go.

Looking for quality in Montevideo?  Then look no further than the Radisson Montevideo Victoria Plaza Hotel. As well as being home to Montevideo’s only luxury spa, the hotel offers the kind of warm hospitality, inviting atmosphere and topnotch services sure to please business and leisure travelers alike. It is also conveniently situated in the heart of Montevideo’s financial and commercial district.

The latest addition to the Liverpool restaurant scene appears to be getting rave reviews. Located in a a 200-year-old Polish Catholic church on Seel Street, some are going so far as to describe it as one of the most spectacular bar and restaurant venues in Europe. It also seems to be one of the places to be seen; soon-to-wed former Atomic Kitten Natasha Hamilton and her fiancé Fran Cosgrave were recently spotted there.

It has emerged today that Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Colony Capital will pay $3.9 billion to buy Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. in order to expand upon an international luxury chain. Last year, Colony Capital bought the hotel business of Raffles Holdings for $859 million, gaining several historic hotels in Asia including Singapore’s landmark Raffles Hotel, Cambodia’s Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor in Siem Reap, and the Swissotel brand. Alwaleed’s hotel-related investments already include the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the George V Hotel and Movenpick Hotels & Resorts.

Spice up your Friday night and discover the special tastes of Hungarian paprika cuisine and the great diversity of Hungarian wines at the Apicius Restaurant in Budapest’s Corinthia Aquincum Hotel. Sample from the different appetizers and main courses prepared from all kinds of Hungarian paprika, be it small or big, sweet or hot, red, yellow or green. This paprika buffet dinner, including the matching wine selection, costs 5,500 HUF per person.

Echia Club - the Grand Hotel Vesuvio’s fitness and relaxation centre - has become an essential and exclusive aspect to the hotel. With its charming and comfortable rooms, its peaceful and magical ambiance where marble, multicolored crystal, precious wood, light, water, rock and soft lines mix and melt together. Facilities provided by the club include cardiofitness machines, personal training (keep fit, flex appeal, gentle work-out, low impact aerobics, total body conditioning, step, walking and jogging), hydromassage, sauna, turkish bath, aromatherapy, tanning shower and massages.

At Le Meridien Penina Golf & Resort you can currently play one round of golf per day for free in one of their property golf courses (Penina Championship, Resort or Academy). This offer is valid until 3rd March 2006. Set in its own picturesque 360-acre estate, the resort’s three golf courses were all designed by Sir Henry Cotton. There are also six floodlit tennis courts, the Penguin Village children’s club and evening entertainment.

According to the latest issue of Child magazine, the top 5 American art museums for children are as follows:

• Art Institute of Chicago, IL
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY
• Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, OH
• De Young Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA
• Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA

Not everyone’s idea of luxury is gold taps and pink Cristal Champagne. Many instead head for the simple rustic charm of the Aeolian Islands, off the north coast of Sicily. The seven volcanic islands are all spectacular, but the one to head for is Panarea, which has no cars and is home to the stylish Raya Hotel. Created in the 1960s by two travellers, Paolo Tilche and Myriam Beltrami, the hotel received a Marco Polo Award in 2004. It has 30 rooms which are built in a traditional village style and individually decorated. Many guests return year after year.

From April to October 2006, you can enjoy an ocean view pool suite at Trisara - an exclusive resort in Phuket - for $445 a night (subject to 18.7% service charge and government tax). The offer includes full American breakfast, a 90-minute Thai or oil massage, limousine transfer to and from Phuket airport, and priority upgrade to the next best room category, if available.

Pop star Enrique Iglesias has been enjoying a break with tennis player and Russian girlfriend Anna Kournikova in St Barts. The glamorous couple flew in to the Caribbean for some quality time after the death of the singer’s grandfather. Anna later jetted on to a modelling assigment in the Cayman Islands.  It seems St Barts is becoming increasingly popular with celebrities and is earnings itself a reputation as ‘the Cannes of the Caribbean’.

Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, operated by Inkaterra, a leading organization in environmental and cultural conservation achieved through sustainable tourism, is a rustic boutique hotel in the heart of the Machu Picchu’s Historic Sanctuary. The 83 guest houses that make up the hotel are nestled in one or two-storey whitewash cottages reached by attractive stone pathways. The bar, boutique and reception building are each decorated with Andean artifacts and fabrics.

Just when you thought Christmas was over, Red Carnation Hotels are extending the season of goodwill with fantastic London air and hotel breaks from major US gateways, at exceptional value prices. Whether you want to make the most of the famous January sales shopping, catch up on the latest shows, or simply relax in front of a log fire in luxurious surroundings, this is the perfect way to get 2006 off to a flying start. Prices start from $620 per person for 3 nights in London, including air.

Only three hours drive from Johannesburg and little more than an hour from Sun City or a 30-minute flight from Lanseria, the luxurious Ka’Ingo Private Reserve lies in the malaria free Waterberg region of the Limpopo Province.  Recent news here is that they have completed their Big 5 repositioning with the introduction of a herd of elephant this week. This comes just two months after the successful release of the first lions onto the 8,700 hectare reserve.

The Getty Villa Malibu opens today. Originally the home of the Getty Museum, the villa has been extensively renovated. It will now serve as an educational center and museum dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria. Admission is free (but parking is $7). Advance, timed tickets can be obtained in advance.

Small Luxury Hotels of the World will be holding a series of showcases in key cities across Europe in the coming weeks to launch its 2006 directory.  A total of nine showcases will be held over a four-week period, with representatives from a selection of SLH’s worldwide properties visiting the cities of London, Brussels, Paris, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Zurich, Milan and Amsterdam.