A Luxury Travel Blog

Europe’s first theme park devoted entirely to the understanding and discovery of plant life, will open in April 2010. After 10 years in the making, this extraordinary project has been implemented by the Maine-et-Loire Departmental Council under the guidance of Christophe Béchu.

Perfectly located near Angers in the Anjou district of the Pays de la Loire, France’s leading horticultural region, Terra Botanica, aims to be both fun and educational, offering the visitor an exciting adventure into the world of plants.

At a cost of 83 million euros, it has been designed to respect the environment, whilst inviting visitors to discover the world of plants through highly original interactive activities. Spread across 11 acres of gardens, aquatic spaces, glass houses and buildings, the park will be interspersed with 40 attractions, nature trails and entertainment for all the family.

Charity Buzz, an online auction site with luxury and celebrity experiences has a large number of travel package auctions for every type of traveller with destinations all over the world. Not only will winners get an experience of a lifetime, but they will also help a good cause like Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research and the Center for Hearing and Communication.

Listed below are some of their best auctions currently live:

• A one week all-inclusive stay at the Four Seasons oceanfront villa in Hawaii
• Stay in a five-bedroom mansion in Aspen during the Food & Wine Classic with an exclusive private wine tasting
• Receive the royal treatment, including a private shopper and black-tie dinner, on a VIP escape to Paris, Versailles & Champagne

Jeni Matthews created Red Balloon Travel and Consulting with the goal in mind to provide spectacularly unique French holidays.   After graduating from Northwestern University in Communications and International Studies, she headed straight to France, and has been living in the little known Rhone-Alpes region ever since.  She uses her first-hand knowledge and close business relationships to provide her clients with a very intimate and unforgettable experience.   Tourists from around the world flock to the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Pope’s Palace in Avignon.  However,  very few people know about the delectable truffles of the Drome that are shrouded in mystery, or the rich tannins that characterize the red wines from the exclusive Cornas appellation.

What is it that you do exactly?

I organize custom holidays for people who are interested in a completely original French experience.  Basically,  I design a client-specific itinerary that includes restaurants, hotels, excursions, transportation, and whatever else is needed to provide the ultimate vacation.   I first speak at length with the client in order to understand what are, for him, the most important aspects of the trip.  Equipped with this information, I contact each service provider to lay out a program that will both include all the clients’ wishes and add a few pleasant surprises.  I have personal relationships with each business with which I work, thus enabling me to offer unique experiences that usually surpass the highest of expectations. Once everything is organized, I personally greet the client to make sure he has arrived safely and has settled in to his new surroundings.  I am on call for the entire trip, should any questions arise or last minute changes be necessary, which provides a little extra reassurance to the client. 

When I am not working on specific programs, I devote my time to discovering new people and places to add to my portfolio.  I’m always on the lookout for something new and original.  This often involves my spotting an interesting building or sign, which leads to further investigation, which in turn develops into the discovery of a fantastic restaurant, or hotel, adventure that simply must be shared with others (although not too many, of course).  It is very important to me that I have personally experienced each service I offer, so that I know my clients will enjoy only welcome surprises.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

What I enjoy is twofold.  I love being able to impart my knowledge to other people.  It’s such an incredible feeling when a client is enthralled by his meal in a tiny, off-the-map bistro where I have been dining for years.  But I also love when I make a new discovery to add to my portfolio.  It’s as if I have happened upon a marvelous secret that is only begging to be shared.

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

Kauai – the island is absolutely beautiful, with its hidden waterfalls, enormous beaches shaded by cliffs, and the amazing snorkeling!

Stockholm – the city is so alive, and the people incredibly hospitable.  We had a fabulous dining experience at “Grill” right in the city centre.

Maison de la Pra – this B&B in Valence, France is a remodeled 15th Century private mansion.  The owner has done everything himself, from the cast-iron light fixtures, to the dining room table, to the impressive wine-tasting cellar.  Henri-Jean is so enthusiastic about his creation and his city, it’s impossible not to enjoy it!

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

A recent lunch I had in Saou, France was remarkable in every sense of the word.  The setting was breathtaking, with the Pre-Alpes mountains as a backdrop and the main square of the tiny village as the restaurant terrace.  The service was exceptional, as the owner took care of us and made sure everything was to our liking.  The food was divine; I had a ingenious dessert of aubergine sliced paper-thin served over an avocado and hazelnut purée. Finally, the company was fabulous, which is always primordial.

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

One of the essential elements of Red Balloon Travel is that very few people know of the places I send my clients.  While Brad and Angelina are not far away in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, my clients often feel it is much more interesting to partake in something a little more personal and exclusive, far from the flashbulbs and glory.

What currently ranks highest on your travel wishlist?

I would love to visit Peru.  I love France, but it is my home now, so it’s always interesting to see other countries.

Thank you, Jeni. If you don’t mind, I might just have to ‘pick your brains’ a little before I next visit France.

The Evian Royal Palace hotel – which I reviewed on this blog back in 2006 – is enjoying its centenary celebrations and now has more cause to celebrate because it has gained a 5th star. Book a stay at the hotel for any dates in July 2009 and you can enjoy a 100 € per room and per day credit.  The same offer extends into August at the resort’s sister hotel, the Hotel Ermitage.

To commemorate World Environmental Day, on 5th June 2009, Luxury Properties Europe – a specialist in both sales and long and short-term rentals – is launching environmental guidelines to stimulate their worldwide clientele’s awareness. In each and every one of their properties located in France, Italy, Switzerland or Greece, there is an Environmental Guide with 8 daily tips for eco-friendly home improvements.

Alain Ducasse has opened a new cookery school this month… where  you are the chef.  The Ecole de Cuisine in Paris is about learning, sharing and getting to know the universe of tastes of Alain Ducasse. Everything is mixed in a unique atmosphere in a school created by Pierre–Yves Rochon. Cooking, pastry-making and wine-tasting courses take place in four kitchens – Cèpe, Truffe, Olive and Piment - all equipped by Perene and with advanced Miele facilities. Ducasse has entrusted the keys of his school to Hotel Le Parc Paris executive chef, Romain Corbière.

Luxury operator Sanctuary Retreats has added a luxury villa in St Tropez to its portfolio in time for the Cannes Film Festival, which this year takes place between 13th and 24th May 2009. Sanctuary Retreats has further announced that it still has availability at three of its properties in and around Cannes during the festival.

‘Villa 7’ is a stylish villa designed in the neo-Provencal style. It has stunning views of the bay, the Alps and the village of St Tropez. The property has three ensuite bedrooms and sleeps up to six people. What’s more, ‘Villa 7’ also has a wine cellar, an outside dining terrace and a 17m heated pool set amongst the garden’s palm trees. Cannes is a short boat trip away from St. Tropez.

Chateau des Vigiers Golf & Country Club has a reputation for excellence and the French resort has never been so accessible with the launch of an exciting new offer for 2009. Golfers are being given the opportunity to enjoy a four-night stay in the luxury resort, which is situated in the Dordogne region in the south-west of France, for as little as 405 euros.

The promotion runs until the end of the year and means anyone booking for three nights at Chateau des Vigiers in one of their ’Classic’ or ‘Tradition’ rooms can get an extra night free.  In addition, guests can enjoy four days’ unlimited golf on any of Chateau des Vigiers’ three nine-hole loop golf courses designed by Donald Steel, three three-course dinners in their exclusive restaurants and full access to the spa facilities.

Basking stylishly within the grounds of a beautiful old farm, the ultra contemporary Jiva Hill Park Hotel, near Crozet, France enjoys 35 hectares of its own natural parkland with stunning vistas of both the Jura Mountains and Mont Blanc range. The hotel has taken full advantage of this space, equipping itself with a wide variety of facilities to suit all interests – especially the sporty types!

One of the most incredible features on offer is the EUROLAC water sports centre. This breathtaking 650 metre man-made lake has been created and designed especially for water sports fanatics. Try your hand at wakeboarding, water-skiing (slalom and jumps!), mono-skiing and even barefoot skiing! All equipment can be provided by the hotel, and instructors are on hand at all times.

For those who love to keep fit, not only is there a state-of-the-art fitness suite and large heated swimming pool indoors, the outdoor vicinity offers a 2.5km jogging circuit, a fitness trail, golf practice course, tennis courts and in the winter, skiers can take advantage of the nearby Jura mountains. Bikes are also available to hire and use in and around the grounds for those after more leisurely exercise!

To help encourage guests to keep fit, Jiva Hill Park Hotel is currently offering a two night sports package for just 571€ for two people. It includes two nights accommodation in a Deluxe room on a B&B basis, 1 hour private tennis coaching, 1 hour private golf coaching, and 1 ski pass per person (until 30th March 2009) or bike rental (remainder of the year).

And if just reading this is a little too exhausting – fear not – the choice to laze around at leisure is also available, whether it’s chilling out by the pool, indulging in spa treatments or relaxing in the beautiful sauna and hammam – the choice is yours!

Catherine Leech has worked in luxury travel for more than 25 years. She started in PR before becoming European Director of the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, then Managing Director of luxury tour operator, Caribtours. After the tsunami of 2004 she moved to Sri Lanka where she worked for two years, mostly as a volunteer, to develop sustainable tourism projects in affected communities. Catherine is now director of a new travel website, 101 Holidays.

What is it that you do exactly?

No two days are ever the same. In the last few months, I have been focused on bringing 101 Holidays to life. We launched it in January after an intense period of planning, designing, testing and liaising with the two editors (travel writers David Wickers and Mark Hodson).

I am based in a chocolate-box village in south-west Dorset where I take daily walks on the hills with the next door pub’s springer. I make occasional trips into London for meetings, client briefings, etc. In the past month, I’ve written an outline proposal for an emerging new destination, completed a client benchmark survey for a PR agency, moderated a weekend conference of independent travel agents in Warwick and organised a client event for an alliance of luxury tour operators called Seven Wonders.

London is 2hrs 40mins away by train. There was a time when I would have viewed that as too far but after the six-hour car journeys to get to each of my project sites in Sri Lanka, the train ride goes by in a flash and I keep in constant touch with my iPhone.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

I relish being involved in the industry I know and love but, especially, I value the variety and being relatively removed from the day to day office run, staffing issues, office politics, etc. In fact, I think it is my distance from the daily drag which allows me to cut through some of the BS and see solutions, come up with ideas and work with people to find new ways of moving forward. I also love not having to doll up in heels and make-up every day.

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

My “life-changing place” was Huzur Vadisi in Turkey, on a week’s yoga retreat where I bared my soul amongst 22 strangers and changed my life (resigned from my job and moved to Sri Lanka).

For romantic bliss, it is definitely the Koyao Island Resort close to Phuket where I had a week with the dishiest of boyfriends – yoga on the beach at sunrise, breakfast, dive, Jenga, lunch, swim, massage, backgammon, dinner, backgammon etc.

For ultimate luxury, it was joining my gay best friends’ honeymoon at the Plaza Athenee, just weeks after returning from Sri Lanka. The sheer hedonism was dizzying but such a treat and a delicious reminder that you can take the girl out of the luxury tour operator but…

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

It was my 46th birthday in Sri Lanka. I asked my new-found friends to join me at my favourite spot, Beach Wadiya, just outside the centre of Colombo. It will never win awards for interior design (it’s a shack on a beach across a railway track) but I loved the warm sea breeze, toes in the sand, haphazard but charming service, devilled prawns dripping from sticky fingers, baked crab backs, grilled fish and an ice-cold beer or two – all for about £6. Of the 14 people around the table, I counted 10 nationalities, seven religions and not one over-inflated ego.

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

I don’t suppose I can count the evening I leg-wrestled with Oliver Reed in the Malta Hilton? I’m not a great celebrity spotter but I did share a lift at the Waldorf Astoria with Tom Berenger and dived with Jean-Michel Cousteau for a week in the Cayman Islands.

What currently ranks highest on your travel wishlist?

The Isles of Scilly, snorkelling with whale sharks on Ningaloo Reef and a return to Sri Lanka to see how the various communities I worked amongst are getting along.

Thank you, Catherine. I’ll be watching 101 Holidays with interest to see how it progresses.

A new hotel brand – Franklyn Hotels and Resorts – has been launched. Formerly Stein Hotels and Resorts, Franklyn will build upon Stein’s fundamental strengths, but will seek a wider geographic platform with a portfolio that focuses on iconic, emblematic properties situated in areas of great natural or urban interest. So far they have city properties in Amsterdam, London and Monaco, and resort properties in Malaga, Mallorca and the French Riviera.

To celebrate the new launch they are offering some extra warmth this winter: enjoy complimentary breakfast and a special winter treat for all guests staying at a Franklyn hotel with a free room upgrade.

The Regent Berlin’s Fischer’s Fritz Restaurant has been awarded two Michelin stars for the second year running. Led by Chef de Cuisine Christian Lohse, one of Germany’s most prestigious chefs, Fischer’s Fritz is a haute seafood restaurant featuring French culinary influences and fresh, locally sourced produce. And Lohse is no strange to top-rated Michelin restaurants having previously worked at Charles Barrier in Tours, the three-star Guy Savoy in Paris, the three-star L’Esperance in Vezelay, and The Dorchester in London (where he was personal chef to the Sultan of Brunei).

A visionary look at the futuristic Centre Pompidou in Paris courtesy of a fieldtrip conducted by the Manchester School of Architecture.

Perhaps the best way to see the city of light is to drift past the Seine’s gems (including the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Louvre), while enjoying French classic dishes and stellar seasonal wines. Sound like fun?  Then take a look at the Bateaux-Mouches offering dinner cruises starting from $130.

A weekly pick of luxury travel links for your perusal…

• Take a flight of fancy with Eastern Safaris
• The rustic-chic yoga resort of Amansala
• The finest chateau hotel in France?  Check out Bagnols!
• Find more… in Singapore

As anyone who’s been to Paris’ La Louvre will testify, you could easily spend a whole day there.  So why not call on the services of a guide to help you through the maze?  Paris Muse offers such a service, with tours led by native English-speaking art historians.  You can choose from tours aimed at first-timers, youngsters and even Da Vinci Code fans.  Tour prices start from $130.