A Luxury Travel Blog

Enjoy a relaxing day at Agave The Arizona Spa at The Westin Kierland Resort and Spa in Scottsdale Arizona.

Taymouth Castle, which was once a holiday haunt of Queen Victoria as well as having featured in the film Mrs. Brown, was to the centrepiece of a £75 million hotel and resort, with aspirations to be on a par with Gleneagles.  Once developed, Four Seasons were going to take over the running of the enterprise but they backed out two years ago and financial difficulties have meant that the project is now at a standstill.  Taymouth Group has confirmed that work has stopped, but added that negotiations to take things forward are underway.

Looking for the best in trendy hotels?  Look no further… Tripadvisor claim to have found them in their ‘top 10 hot hotels’ list.  Here it is:

1. Sanderson Hotel London, England 
2. Front Hotel, Denmark 
3. Rocco Forte Villa Kennedy, Germany  
4. Britania Hotel, Portgual 
5. Dream Bangkok, Thailand 
6. DO & CO Hotel, Austria 
7. Hotel Yasmin, Czech Republic 
8. duoMo hotel, Italy 
9. Aimia Hotel, Spain
10. The Glasshouse, Scotland

Of course, this is highly subjective, but it does strike me as a little strange that only one is outside of Europe.

Devoted exclusively to women, Arlington’s The Greenhouse has been a leader in luxury spa life, luscious cuisine, inventive health programmes and expert staff dedicated to unparalleled and personalised attention. From 22nd to 25th May 2008, The Greenhouse invites you to enjoy $500 off your stay.  Contact them for details.

When I visited East Africa on honeymoon a few years ago, I recall reading an article in the UK press about how the London jetset where heading there just for weekend safaris.  It seemed inconceivable to me that people would sneak out of the office a little early on Friday and return a late on Monday morning having just been watching lions, wildebeest and the like on the Serengeti plains that weekend, but apparently it was happening.  Now I read that travellers are even venturing all the way to Rio for just the weekend. Dehouche claim that’s what their clients are asking for and they’re fulfilling that demand with their Blow the Bonus itineraries that can cost around £25,000, not including flights.  I can’t imagine this kind of extravagance goes down too well with the environmentally-minded among us. If money was no object, would you go somewhere as far afield as Rio, just for the weekend?

The Times of Oman has published an interview with Jumeirah’s senior vice president, Marco Nijhof.  In it he claims that Jumeirah, which currently has just 10 hotels in operation, will have 60 properties by 2012. Some of these will still only be in developmental stages, but it nevertheless demonstrates that Jumeirah have a very rapid expansion plan for the next few years ahead.

Roman Abramovich, Chelsea FC owner and the world’s 15th richest man, has been quietly buying up apartments in a Georgian mansion in Kensington, West London. As of today, the Russian oil tycoon will own the entire building and will begin work on turning it into a £150 million palatial home - a sum that is almost double the current record (£80m) for a house in the UK. As well as having 8 bedrooms, there will be a pool, cinema, sauna, huge garage and even a block of apartments for the staff. John Simpson & Partners - known for work at Buckingham Palace and Prince Charles’ Poundbury village in Dorset - have been given the responsibility of overseeing the conversion.

I received a card in the post from DeVere Venues today, pushing an offer for stays throughout May, from just £29 per room per night.  There are 25 hotels listed on the card. Fantastic, I thought - I’ll go and book one.  I went on to the website and, lo and behold, it returned a rate of £104 (room only) for my chosen night.  OK… I’ll pick a day when I know this hotel (Daresbury Park) is quiet (Sunday).  (I have previously stayed there on two occasions taking advantage of Sunday promotions.)  That revised search produced a rate of £84, still far removed from the “from just £29″ promotion.  So… I decided to telephone and find out which hotels were available at this rate.  Debbie, the lady I spoke to on reservations, couldn’t tell me.  She said she had the same search facility as me available to her, and that she’d simply have to enter every hotel for every date in order to find out. As the conversation went on, however, I was told that in fact only three hotels had the £29 rate (Staverton Park, Harben and Uplands), yet again she couldn’t tell me for which dates.  For me, a promotion like this has the opposite effect to that which I assume is intended.  I find it misleading to get a list of 25 hotels with a “from £29 per room, per night” promotion that only applies to three of them. What do you think?

Known for making the epic journey from Darwin through to Adelaide, legendary Australian train The Ghan is introducing a ‘platinum’ service in September that aims to be exceptional in luxurious standards. Passengers will be able to rest their heads on deluxe pillows from a menu, stretch out in cabins with fresh flowers that are twice the size of Gold class, witness magnificent views of the Aussie landscape through panoramic windows, access 24-hour room service and will even find complimentary pyjamas in their cabins. Bottled water will be available as well as wonderful cuisine and 4-course meals, and guests will feel that they have all the luxury of a modern boutique hotel on the train.

The Platinum service launches on 10th September 2008.

Sample travel packages in Platinum service with tailor-made luxury holiday company Bridge & Wickers are from £1,910 per person sharing for a two-night journey including meals and scheduled sight-seeing.

Andrea Wren is a freelance journalist and owner of Luxury Worldwide Tours.

A wonderful video from Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces.

A former Radisson hotel has been added to the Joie de Vivre Hospitality chain.  Silicon Valley’s Domain Hotel is great for business travellers since it occupies a prime Sunnyvale location close to most Silicon Valley corporate headquarters.  Following its transformation, the hotel now has 124 rooms and 12 suites, with two themes - Tranquility and Awakening. The Tranquility rooms are done in blue hues with a lavender scent whilst the Awakening rooms have a green colour scheme with natural accents including sprigs of lemongrass. All rooms feature everything a business traveller should want, including flat-panel HD televisions that double as 32-inch computer monitors, complimentary wired and wireless hi-speed Internet access and streamlined workspaces. Rates start at $119.

Introducing the newest beauty destination in Las Vegas: Color, A Salon by Michael Boychuck. Boychuck has been entrusted with the locks of everyone from Paris Hilton to Kirsten Dunst. Drape yourself in luxurious experiences from head to toe with their exclusive two-night salon package.  With prices starting from $150 per night plus tax, you’ll get to enjoy classic accommodation and a $50 salon credit.

There’s a thought-provoking article over at livemint.com which quite rightly suggests that those paying that little bit more ought to get that little bit extra, but that sometimes this isn’t the case.  Should guests staying in five-star hotels be entitled to free WiFi internet access?  Should a free Coke be out of the question for a passenger flying first class?  My own personal view is that certain perks ought to be included, but what’s your take on the issue?

Book the Summer at the Pines package at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort & Spa to receive a $50 resort credit for family activities and dining, two opulent Lost Pines beach towels, two “Old Buck’s Place” water bottles for bottomless non-alcoholic beverages and 20% savings on spa and golf green services.

North Yorkshire will be home to a £100 million hotel by 2011 according to plans presented by The Skelwith Group.  The Flaxby Country Club will be the largest five-star hotel in the North of England.  It is located between Knaresborough and York, and rooms and suites will be sold individually to investors. Prices for a standard hotel room will start at about £90,000, or investors can pay £250,000 for each of five presidential-style suites, complete with individual cinema and private dining areas.

First it was MAXjet.  Now it’s the turn of EOS. Having launched their service back in 2005, the airline is planning to operate its final flights London’s Stansted Airport and New York’s Kennedy Airport today. The current economic climate was cited as a reason for the bankruptcy by CEO Jack Williams. A statement on the airline’s website reads:

The relationship we have is very special. You have shown a true appreciation for the commitment and service that defines Eos Class and it has always been our pleasure to deliver Eos Class service to you. The sense of camaraderie and level of engagement we’ve developed together transcends the traditional airline space.

Our unique relationship makes it all the more difficult to share with you the news that Eos has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York.