A Luxury Travel Blog

Whistler’s extremely popular Dine & Unwind program, presented by Visa, returns this May through to the end of June, offering more delectable deals at a wide range of restaurants and spas. Some of the restaurants participating in the Dine & Unwind program include, Araxi, Bavaria Restaurant, Cinnamon Bear Bar & Grille, Crêpe Montagne, The Den at Nicklaus North, Fifty-Two 80 Bistro, Hy’s Steakhouse, La Rua Restaurante, Milestone’s Whistler, The Mountain Club, Quattro at Whistler, Ric’s Grill, Rimrock Café, Tandoori Grill, The Wine Room, and Zen Sushi just to name a few.

Suite name: De Luxe Lake Tower “Honey Room”
Hotel: L’Albereta, Erbusco, Italy
Size of accommodation: 30 sq m
Cost per night: 390-500 Euros
What makes it special? It has an opening roof and a view over the lake from the bed.

The room is in Torre del Lago, a new building which was erected in 2002 within the park itself in order to capture the best possible views afforded by the local scenery. Facing the Lago di Iseo and the Vigna Leone, the building is designed to guarantee absolute privacy for visitors to Henri Chenot’s Espace Vitalité and to bring about a profound sense of calm, with its large, bright spaces that help to envelop the visitor in reassuring and protective surroundings. Even the décor is in tune with the architectural philosophy. The furnishings are suffused with peaceful colours and soft tones, and the forms and shapes are kept to a minimum to allow the large windows to admit more light. The parquet flooring alternates with large flagstones of Italian and Irish marble – the latter, with its delicate, relaxing emerald tones, is the same that is used in Buckingham Palace. Even the bathrooms are true oases of wellbeing, with large windows, generous Jacuzzi tubs and multifunction showers equipped with Turkish bath and waterfall shower.

The garden at the Torre is really an open-air lounge complete with grand sofas with canopies, and it is next to the Fitness House and the swimming pool at the spa. This layout is ideal for guests who come here for the revitalising treatments at Henri Chenot’s Espace Vitalité, which occupies the first two floors of the Torre.

There’s a fascinating article from ABC News entitled ‘Millionaires with a Mission’. It’s all about how one of the most remote parts of the world, in southern Chile, has been bought by an American millionnaire who wants to preserve it. The 800,000-acre Pumalin Park is as remote as it comes, and it would take you approximately two days to get there from the US.  Click here to read the article.

A weekly pick of luxury travel links for your perusal…

• Hadleigh boutique accommodation in Christchurch, NZ
• Hotels of distinction from Welsh Rarebits
• Learn to cook at the Villa San Michele, Italy
• Private luxury from Fiji’s The Wakaya Club

Go for a spin on the Flowrider, test your toughness in their full-size boxing ring or splash around with the kids over at the H2O Zone aquapark. Like its sister ship, Freedom of the Seas, Liberty offers a huge array of activities and amenities – and then some! Find out about their new Vitality Program, their Crown & Anchor Society Youth Program and the adventurous offerings of Explorer Weddings – all debuting on Liberty of the Seas!

Silversea, a name synonymous with luxury, announced today that it is teaming up with such high-end brands as Men’s Vogue, Ferragamo, Travel + Leisure and Bon Appétit to offer guests aboard its World Cruise 2008 – an enticing enrichment program specially designed for those who want to live life to the fullest. For this very special voyage, they have pulled out all the stops, lining up an impressive roster of celebrity speakers and exclusive events.

The luxurious properties across the Stein Hotels And Resorts stable are offering a complimentary breakfast laid on every morning during the duration of your stay this Spring. And not only this, you will also receive a fabulous 20% discount off the published rate across all room categories.

GW Travel are officially launching a brand new, $25 million 21-car fully en suite train at Leningradsky Station, Moscow. The launch of The Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express will take place tomorrow in the presence of HRH Prince Michael of Kent. It has been built in collaboration with the Russian-based company, Zircon Limited, and will bring new levels of comfort and service to GW Travel’s Trans-Siberian and Silk Road tours.

Summer’s nearly here, and for a limited time, Paradise Point Resort & Spa in San Diego, CA is offering cool rates on its hottest season, beginning at $249 per night for Lanai guestroom, subject to availability, if booked by 15th May 2007 (and your trip must be completed by 15th June 2007). The resort features comfortable, California beach bungalow-style guest rooms amidst lush, tropical gardens and meandering lagoons.

I’m looking forward to a trip to Tenerife next month and will be posting details about where I’ve stayed when I return. I’ve visited the island a couple of times previously, but not for more than a decade now. The Canaries offer an ideal year-round climate with average daytime temperatures in the 20s and 30s from January through to December. As one of the most popular Canary Islands, there are also plenty of hotels in Tenerife that cater for the luxury traveller.

Madinat Jumeirah has launched Magnolia – Dubai’s first ever, fine-dining restaurant specialising in vegetarian cuisine. Officially opening its doors this month, Magnolia restaurant is dedicated to using organic, vegetarian ingredients to offer a unique and healthy dining alternative. The menu features an eclectic selection of dishes from starters through to desserts and incorporates fresh produce and herbs picked daily from Magnolia’s own vegetable garden.

Suite name: L’Ile aux Oiseaux
Hotel: Les Sources de Caudalie, Bordeaux, France
Size of accommodation: 645 sq ft for the room and 322 sq ft for the terrace
Cost per night: 550-600 euros
What makes it special? This superb suite is reserved for nature lovers. Located on the “Bird Island”, this charming “hut” is built on piles, and has its own pontoon – and an inimitable atmosphere.

Les Sources de Caudalie located among vineyards and forests on the ancient estate of Château Smith Haut Lafitte, offer you a warm welcome. Here, they feature not only their winegrowing tradition and the wonderful French lifestyle, but also innovative cosmetic treatments. At the first Vinotherapy Spa in the world, they combine spring water, drawn from 540 metres under their vineyards, with pure vine and grape extracts. Exclusive essential oils developed by Caudalie contribute to the benefits of our relaxing and anti-aging treatments.

When you stay here, you leave time and the modern age behind. The Table du Lavoir restaurant specializes in traditional local cuisine, while the Grand’Vigne restaurant offers a choice of gourmet and low-cal dishes, so that guests can select and combine flavors to suit their palates.

Bimini Bay Resort and the Bahamian Culinary Team are to join forces at the First Annual Bimini Bay Resort Food Festival, taking place on 28th April 2007, at 6pm. The festival will offer guests an assortment of activities and mouth-watering Bahamian food in a laid-back bayfront setting and will feature seven interactive cooking stations with cracked conch, grouper, conch fritters, jerk fish and more. Tickets are priced at $20 for adults and $10 for children.

A weekly pick of luxury travel links for your perusal…

• Elegant luxury from Vancouver’s Wedgewood Hotel
• Taste the Med with GourMed
• The Luggage Club - changing the way people travel
• Dine at Osteria dell’Acquasanta in Genoa

Discover a once in a lifetime adventure with the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort’s “Swim with the Dolphins Experience,” an exhilarating Florida resort package. This unforgettable package encompasses one-night deluxe accommodations at the Orlando resort complete with a complimentary upgrade to a pool-view room, buffet breakfast in Solaris Restaurant and one-day all-inclusive admission to Discovery Cove for two. Guests also receive a pass for seven consecutive days for unlimited admission to SeaWorld® Orlando or Busch Gardens® Tampa Bay. The one-night package starts at just $714 per room, for two and is valid from now until the end of 2007.

Thanks to modern technology, golfers can now take a ‘helicopter tour’ of The Sagamore’s historic and award-winning championship New York golf course without leaving their desk. The tour, available on The Sagamore website, provides a hole-by-hole overview of the famed Donald Ross course, with detailed audio descriptions of each hole’s design and challenges.