A Luxury Travel Blog

Hong Kong has not only been voted Favourite Island but also overall won the Bronze Medal in the Best of the Best Top 100 Travel experiences at the Readers’ Travel Awards from Condé Nast Traveller magazine that were unveiled in London on Wednesday 1st September 2010.

Hong Kong beat all the other islands including Sicily and the Maldives by scoring 94.77 out of a maximum of 100 on eight criteria, including range of accommodation (86.29) and variety of attractions (87.08), moving from number 15 in 2009 into the top three.

To add to the glory, Hong Kong was also voted into the Top 10 in the Best Overseas City category.

Hong Kong airline, Cathay Pacific, was named Favourite Business Airline and numerous Hong Kong hotels scored very highly in the Favourite Overseas Business Hotel category including: The Peninsula Hong Kong (1st) and The Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong (3rd).

In the first ever Lonely Planet Awards to be announced this month, avid worldwide travellers voted swimming in the azure waters off Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia as the ‘Greatest Outdoor Experience’.

High on the list for snorkelers and scuba divers, Lizard Island’s crystal clear waters, fringing reefs and shallow coral gardens captivate visitors with an exceptional array of technicolour marine life rarely experienced elsewhere in the world.

Surrounded by 24 exquisite beaches, Lizard Island is one of Australia’s most iconic Great Barrier Reef resorts. Boasting unrivalled dive sites such as the world famous ‘Code Hole’ where divers can come face to face with curious potato cod, giant clown fish, sea turtles, stingrays and ‘friendly’ sharks, it also has outstanding snorkelling just off its beaches including the magnificent 100 year old clam gardens that are home to myriad fish and other small sea creatures.

An award winning all-inclusive resort, Lizard Island has just 40 beautifully appointed suites. Complementing its very special location, the property offers the best of understated luxury with five-star gourmet dining on fresh Australian produce and a wine cellar to match including unlimited French champagne, indigenous inspired spa treatments at the Azure Spa and a wealth of water sports and activities. The resort also organises visits to the Lizard Island Research Station to give guests a better understanding of the precious underwater world that surrounds them.

What would be your greatest outdoor experience?  Please post a comment to let us know.

The 2010 Conde’ Nast Traveller Readers’ Awards were presented at a scintillating evening on Wednesday 1st September 2010 at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in Albemarle Street.  It was a good night for Italy with Venice and Sicily in particular picking up “Favourite Overseas City” and runner up prize for “Favourite Island” respectively.

Great success also for the Italian hotel industry as the Hotel Spendido in Portofino picked up the award for “Favourite Overseas Leisure Hotel in Europe, Asia Minor and Russian Federation”, followed in second place by the Hotel Cipriani in Venice.

Todd Harris is Senior Vice President for Hospitality and Member Services at Exclusive Resorts, a luxury destination club offering members hundreds of vacation residences around the world. He supervises all aspects of the member experience. Previously Todd spent 14 years with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, serving as General Manager of some of their most acclaimed hotels, including The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch in Beaver Creek, Colorado and international properties in Singapore, Japan and South Korea.

What is it that you do exactly?

I oversee the overall service experience at Exclusive Resorts, to ensure that our members have a first-class vacation every time they travel with us.  This includes responsibility for the travel planning services our members receive from their dedicated Member Services Managers, as well as the in-residence experience they enjoy when they are staying with us in our homes.  I spend my day speaking to members, reviewing their feedback, and supporting hundreds of service staff (housekeeping, concierge, and property maintenance) across nearly 40 destinations in the U.S., Caribbean, Europe, Mexico and elsewhere.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

I love my relationships and connections with my staff.  As you can imagine, with on-site service personnel supporting nearly 400 club residences as well as our Denver-based Member Services Managers, we have quite a team.  I’ve really enjoyed building our service model, finding enthusiastic and expert service professionals to add as we expand, and working with all of them to identify new ways to not only continue enhancing our the services we offer, but also to surprise and delight our members on their vacations.

What would you say are the 3 best places you’ve ever stayed?

To me, the best travel experiences are often to celebrate important family occasions.

1.   Peninsula Papagayo, Costa Rica – In addition to my role with Exclusive Resorts, I’m also a member of the club.  About two years ago, my wife and I were fortunate to share a memorable wedding with a small group of close friends and family at the Exclusive Resorts “enclave” in Peninsula Papagayo.  The homes were stunning, the wildlife and landscape fascinating, and working with our onsite concierge team in Costa Rica on all the details made everything simple, so we were really able to relax and enjoy that special weekend.

2.   Hawaii’s Big Island –We took my wife’s family to Kohala Coast on the Big Island to celebrate her mom’s 60th birthday recently. None of my wife’s family had ever traveled to Hawaii before, and I was happy to be able to help organize a trip that brought everyone together for a family reunion in a destination that was new to them and has long been a favorite of mine.

3.   Sea Island, Georgia – My wife and I invited all eight members of my immediate family for a fantastic family reunion in Sea Island, Georgia. The Cloister at Sea Island is truly an exceptional resort property, with a terrific array of activities, five miles of private beach, and the amazing 65,000 square foot Cloister Spa.

What’s been your most memorable dining experience to date?

I think the most memorable dining experience I’ve had was probably when I was living in Japan. As an expatriate hotel manager for a five star hotel brand, I was fortunate to be able to travel around Japan and experience many unique aspects of their culture. I specifically remember one dinner in Fukuoka where I couldn’t communicate with the local staff so I asked for the “set menu”. One dish included them pulling a live squid out of a tank in the middle of the restaurant and clipping off its tentacles and serving them directly onto my plate. I had the hardest time picking them up with my chop sticks as they were still squirming and jumping all over my plate.  I loved trying the local cuisine while living abroad, and this particular meal has definitely remained vivid in my memory.

Have you rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous, either through your work or your travels?

Andre Agassi and his wife Steffi Graf are members of Exclusive Resorts, and I have had the opportunity to spend some time with them at a couple of club destinations where they were conducting tennis clinics for their foundation.

What currently ranks highest on your travel wish list?

This one is easy because we’ve been planning a trip for our members here at Exclusive Resorts, as part of our unique Once in Lifetime program, that is at the top of my personal list:  a South African experience, combining a stay in Cape Town, South Africa with a luxurious safari experience in Kruger National Park. To go on a world-class safari (complete with luxury accommodations and private guides) and enjoying the local beaches and wineries of Cape Town sound like a perfect balance of adventure and relaxation.  Experiencing the many different aspects of South Africa on a trip like that is something I would love to do someday.

Thank you for taking part in our interview, Todd.  I can appreciate how a plateful of squirming tentacles must have stuck in the memory!

Cambodia has long been a destination known for its rich cultural heritage and extraordinary history. However, most visitors to the country are unaware of the beautiful coastal region of Sihanoukville & Ream that lies just 220 km from Phnom Penh. One of the most unspoiled coastlines anywhere in South East Asia, Sihanoukville & Ream is an up and coming destination for those who are looking for the next big thing.

The coastline of Sihanoukville & Ream boasts a wide range of impressive beaches, each distinct and unrivalled in comparison to the beaches of popular tourist destinations like Thailand and Bali. Located on the beautiful coastline of Sihanoukville, Sokha Beach and Independence Beach are blissfully peaceful, with stretches of soft white sand just waiting for visitors to mark their footprints. Further East, discover Occheuteal Beach, backed by a row of casuarina trees. Stretching for 4 km, visitors can make the most of the water sports available here such as banana boating and jet skiing. Ream lies 18 km East of Sihanoukville, a charming fishing village with beautiful, long beaches that border Ream National Park, a stunning 150 sq km of primary forest and 60 sq km of marine habitat.

The area is also famous for its crystal clear waters and abundant marine life. An extraordinary diving destination, Song Saa Island is paving the way for eco-friendly tourism in the country and encouraging marine wildlife protection in the region through a dedicated marine biology team who founded the first private marine protected area in the country. Opening there in 2011 will be Song Saa Island Resort, an ultra-luxurious and intimate collection of villas aimed to cater to the area’s growing beach tourism.

Visiting New York during the US Open? Swing by The Fitz Bar & Restaurant at the Fitzpatrick Manhattan or The Wheeltapper Pub at The Fitzpatrick Grand Central to catch up on every backhand, ace and volley. Throughout the tournament, each of these unique spots will be serving up food, fun and specialty cocktails, including:

The John Isner – A cocktail to be savored over a (very) long match. Vodka, coconut liqueur, banana liqueur, raspberry liqueur, pineapple juice shaken and served in a chilled martini glass.

The Martini Navratilova – A classic with a spin. Gin and dry vermouth shaken over ice and served with 3 blue cheese-stuffed olives.

The Fitz Bar & Restaurant, located on Lexington between 56th and 57th Streets, is a chic, relaxed spot where you can enjoy all the Grand Slam action either at the bar or in The Library. The Wheeltapper Pub, located on 44th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues, offers two indoor bars and a spectacular 2,200-square-foot outdoor Patio- perfect for watching Murray’s strategic strokes, Nadal’s acrobatics and Venus Williams’ power shots.

You have to be fairly quick off the mark if you want to book a place at the renowned Sydney Seafood School (SSS) at the Sydney Fish Market. Most of the September classes are already fully booked. So get your skates on and book your plaice soon (sorry!) if you want to book for an October class.

The Sydney Fish Market (SFM) is one of the most prestigious and largest of its kind in the Southern hemisphere and the variety of fish available here is rivalled only by Japan. The Sydney Seafood School, which dates back to 1989, is reputed to be Australia’s top cooking school. The history of the school is quite fascinating, much of the innovation being inspired by the need to educate customers about what to do with all the unusual varieties – many of which their earlier customers had never even heard of before.

By the way, it’s not just fish on offer at the SFM. There’s also a bottle shop, a fruit and veg market and a deli.

Classes on offer this October include: sushi, tapas, BBQ dishes as well as a variety of cuisines such as Spanish, Thai and Moroccan. It’s an inspiring menu of classes, I’m sure you’ll agree. The classes range in price from A$85 – A$155 and include a meal (which you’ve just learned how to cook) and complimentary wine tasting. The classes are in three parts, starting with a demonstration, then a hands-on cooking session, then you can enjoy your meal.

Sydney Seafood School: October 2010 classes

Air travel needn’t be boring any longer! Changi Airport is now home to Singapore’s tallest slide. The 12-metre tall slide can be found at Terminal 3 and riders can look forward to a top speed of 6 metres per second!

Enjoy rare vintages and top scoring wines guided by the winemakers themselves. Taking place for the first time this year, the Aruba Wine Extravaganza (2nd-4th September 2010) will bring together about 50 different South American wineries. The event, held at the Radisson Aruba Resort Casino and Spa, will include a series of wine tastings under the stars, special lunches and a sparkling wine reception in the ball room foyer, followed by a gala dinner and award presentation.

A Luxury Travel Blog has teamed up with the publishers Thames & Hudson to offer you a great chance to win one of 5 copies of the fabulous book ‘Dive in Style’ by Tim Simmond. I have a copy of this beautiful book myself and it contains over 700 fabulous illustrations of where you can “chill, snorkel and dive”… a must for anyone who has a passion for the most luxurious diving spots around the world!

To be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is comment on the posts within this blog. The five readers with the most approved comments during the remainder of August and September 2010 will each receive a free copy of the book. (Naturally, comments need to be of a certain quality, otherwise they won’t be approved.) So… what are you waiting for? Have a browse of the blog – there’s literally thouands of blog entries which you can discuss – and comment away!

Julian was appointed Managing Director of bmibaby on 1st April 2010. He previously held the position of commercial director for two years, responsible for marketing, revenue management, public relations, network planning, e-commerce and customer services. Prior to this Julian spent two years working for IATA in Montreal where he was responsible for marketing and business development opportunities within the airline sector. His initial entry into the airline industry however was with Jet2.com, where he was involved in the business planning and launch of the airline. After a term as business development manager for Jet2.com, he moved to MyTravelLite as Head of Marketing and Development, though soon took over as Managing Director of the airline. Prior to entering the airline industry, Julian had ten years of management experience within the entertainment industry, working with both Virgin and Blockbuster.

What is it that you do exactly?

Working at bmibaby there is no such thing as a typical day! We work in such a fast paced environment my day can vary hugely. I am responsible for the oversight of the airline’s ongoing business, from day to day management, through to longer term strategic planning. My team look after the commercial side, which encompasses sales and marketing, network (where we fly and when), pricing, customer service, and e-commerce. Others areas include operations (the day to day delivery of the flights), engineering (making sure the aircraft are safe and fit to fly), cabin services (offering the in-flight service we pride ourselves on), and ground services (the airport activities we undertake).

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

My background is more commercial, but I really enjoy the actual flying and travelling aspects of the job. I try to fly as often as possible to interact with the crew and customers and this keeps it real for me in seeing the business come to life. I also enjoy the challenge of keeping the business prominent in the eyes of the consumer, and so enjoy interacting with media and doing promotional activity.

What would you say are the 3 best places you’ve ever stayed?

Fiji: I did some consulting work for an airline there for a few months, and grew to love the place and the atmosphere. Relaxing in a hammock on the beach, watching the sunset while reading a book after a hard day in the office can’t be beaten!

Montreal: I lived there for two years, and came to know the place as home. The city is one of the friendliest and most exciting cities I’ve ever known, and was such a great mix of North America meets Continental Europe.

Las Vegas: The fountains of Bellagio are one of my favourite places on this planet! You can lose yourself in the grandeur of the place, and provided you take it all with a healthy pinch of salt (and are sensible with the chips!), you can have the most amazing time!

What’s been your most memorable dining experience to date?

A Beef Teriyaki dinner in the Bahamas, when a group of us sat around the chef’s hot plate and ate from the edges as he prepared the food. I’ve always tried to find Teriyaki that tasted that good since, but am still looking!

Have you rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous, either through your work or your travels?

In my time as a cinema manager I met a few celebrities. On one occasion I had to ask Stephen Gately what his name was (I knew he was in a boy band, but that was all I knew!). I also had to escort U2’s ‘The Edge’ out the back door once as word had got around he was there, and so he needed to escape! My most memorable encounter though was escorting Pierce Brosnan around the cinema during a premiere – I had given the staff explicit instructions not to trouble him, but then went and did it myself by asking him if he’d have his photograph taken with my girlfriend (I got good brownie points for that though!)

What currently ranks highest on your travel wish list?

I want to do a long overland expedition one day – taking a few months to travel from a to b. I’d like to overland it to the Far East from Europe or from North to South America perhaps. I will one day!

Many thanks, Julian, and good luck with your new role at bmibaby.

With the increasing dilution of the term ‘luxury travel’, a group of like-minded luxury companies, encompassing art, architecture, air charter, and travel have come together to organise a truly luxury fair in Singapore.

Attendees are by invitation only, and consist of past clients, whom have been identified to be true connoisseurs of all things luxe. Developing synergies through complementary services, they aim to create an event that satisfies a select group of people – people who have moved beyond ego validation and a life defined by appearance, position and status, deferring instead to a life that is an intriguing mix of serene convenience and fulfilling adventure. These people often indulge in private eccentricities and are answerable to no one.

The event is titled “Discovery of the Senses”, with emphasis on the sixth sense – imagination. It is organised as a sit-down dinner at the Four Seasons Singapore, and features the culinary cuisine of Emmanuel Stroobant of St Pierre.

Companies who are co-hosting the event include: Collectors Contemporary (Art), Richard Ho Architects (Architecture), Silversea (Luxury Cruises), Air Chartering (Chapman Freeborn), Relais & Chateaux (Hotels and Gastronomy), Aracari (Peri Destination Experts), Wild China (China Destination Experts), and Quotient TravelPlanner (Customised Travel Planning).

This is actually a viral video from Levi’s rather than another story of some guy walking right across the USA. That said, it makes entertaining and uses frame-by-frame video footage of an actor and model by the name of the Michael Johnson as he passes various landmarks. Apparently it uses some 2,770 still photos that were taken on a 14-day trip across the country.

The Swiss are very enterprising when it comes to penalties for speeding.  Not only do they take into account the amount by which you are exceeding the speed limit, but the fine is also determined by your own personal income.  Spare a thought, therefore, for the wealthy Swedish man who was recently clocked doing close to 300 kilometeres per hour(!) in his £140,000 Mercedes.  He now faces a fine of €650,000.  Yep, you read that right – €650,000.

Greeted with refreshing fruit juice on our arrival at reception at the Sheraton La Caleta Resort & Spa, we made our way to the Club Level 5th floor where we had a family room for the duration of our stay.  This is a relatively new hotel having officially opened in April 2005; it has 284 rooms of which 20 are suites (2 with outdoor Jacuzzis).

Our room was wonderfully spacious, spotless as you would expect, and with a great sea view. Although we didn’t take advantage of the various perks, occupants of Club Level rooms have access to the Club Lounge with meeting rooms and internet access, as well as having access to breakfast down by the poolside.

The hotel has three main pools – two that are heated, upper pools and a lower saltwater pool.  In fact, there’s a fourth, small pool for children at the hotel’s small kids club, too.  The kids club is admirably looked after by a lovely lady named Inma who entertains the children well whilst they are in her care.

Restaurants at the hotel are also plentiful with a buffet held every evening, as well as a Spanish restaurant (where you can enjoy private dining for up to 22 people) and a Japanese restaurant.  There’s also a good children’s menu at the hotel, refreshingly offering dishes that extend beyond the usual chicken nuggets (grilled salmon steaks, pasta carbonara, fish special of the day, roast chicken supreme, etc.)

I enjoyed a tour of the Caroli spa and health club at the hotel with the spa manager, Isaac Raymond, who explained what the 1,800m² spa had to offer. It included aromatic showers with essential oils, chromatherapy, two outside areas where the sound of water helps you to relax, Roman plunge pools (one hot, one cold), treatment rooms, steam room, a 34°C thalasso pool, an igloo that maintains a constant temperature of 5°C and, of course, a gym.

Other facilities at the hotel include internet access which is available in-room for a relatively modest fee or for free, courtesy of the Sheraton Link near reception. There is also a hair and beauty salon on site and, at the time of our visit, there was an offer for a pedicure and manicure for a very reasonable €47.25 including taxes.

The hotel also has a large ballroom that can be used for conferences, corporate press releases, weddings and parties – so big that the automobile manufacturers Toyota, who have a presence on the island, are able to drive vehicles into and out of the room when they make press announcements and release new models.

The crew of Clash of the Titans stayed at the hotel last year and now, one year on, some of those involved were back to promote a raffle that will allow one lucky winner to stay at the hotel and explore some of the movie locations.  Judging by our visit here, they are sure to enjoy it.

My thanks go to Tenerife Tourism Corporation for their assitance with the visit.

Siam Park is Tenerife’s latest attraction.  From the same people behind the highly successful Loro Parque on the north of the island, it is a spectacular waterpark that was opened in September 2008 and that can be found on the south of the island, just outside Costa Adeje.  Siam Park has a large artifical beach with the biggest artifical waves in the world, and rides for all young and old alike, making it suitable for families and friends with any age children in tow.

After a quick tour of the resort which enabled us to get our bearings and to get some sense of scale of the place (it’s big!), we sorted outselves out with a locker and started off with the relatively tame but relaxing Mai Thai River ride where we drifted along the ‘river’ in inflatables, meandering past rapids and waterfalls before taking a tunnel beneath an aquarium and admiring the fish (most notably, sharks!) above.

Next up was ‘The Lost City’ – a huge hit with the little ones who don’t reach the height requirements for some of the park’s rides or who are simply too scared by some of them.  There is loads for them to enjoy here, be it squirting passers-by with water guns, exploring the labyrinth of bridges and nets, tipping buckets of water on people, going down the numerous slides or bracing themselves for the periodic deluge from an enormous ‘bucket’ of water from above (pictured).

One of the favourite rides for visitors to Siam Park is The Dragon where a speedy raft of a group of four shoots down a tube and is propelled high up before spinning around a cone, by a roaring dragon.  And if that doesn’t spin you enough, The Giant guarantees an anticlockwise spinning splash before racing down from the starting point, the head of the giant.  Plus there’s the Jungle Snakes, a series of twisting slides, each slightly different.

But perhaps the highlight is the Tower of Power.  People that brave it slide solo down an almost 90-degree chute with a 28-metre drop in around just 4 seconds.  Oh, and just in case that alone doesn’t sound extreme enough, you also whizz through a shark-infested pool when you get to the bottom – but don’t worry, that bit isn’t quite as dramatic as it might sound as you’re encased in a tube so they can’t get you.

I was in two minds about this one but our two boys wanted to see Daddy do it so I didn’t see chickening out as an option.  I climbed the steps to the top; as it turned out, later in the day seemed to be a good time to do the ride, as the queue had dissipated.  Only a few people stood before me, covered head to toe in tattoos and yet cowering at the prospect of going on the ride… this did not bode well!  Thankfully, I didn’t have too long to dwell on that thought and, before I knew it, it was my turn.  And what an experience it was!  I can’t claim to have seen the sharks as I ‘whooshed’ through – everything was a bit of a blur!!!

I leave you with some video footage of the Tower of Power and other rides at Siam Park so you can get more of a sense of how much this great attraction has to offer.

My thanks go to Tenerife Tourism Corporation for their assistance with the visit.