A Luxury Travel Blog

If you like your food then why not visit Cologne and experience a delicious culinary journey through Asia at the Excelsior Hotel Ernst’s award winning Taku restaurant. Taku, Cologne’s most famous Asian restaurant was recently awarded the Busche Gala ‘Foreign Restaurant of the Year 2010’. Head Chef Nicolas von Auersperg will take you on a culinary journey through Asia tasting delicacies from Japan, China, Thailand and Vietnam.

Taku, the house of hospitality is known for its fine Asian cuisine and timeless elegance. The restaurant located in the 5* Excelsior Hotel Ernst in the centre of the city is proud to serve some of finest Asian cuisine in Cologne from traditional Thai curries to some of the best Sushi in Germany.

Taku can be booked for private kitchen parties where you can become acquainted with the Asian cuisine. The celebration begins with Taku’s signature champagne cocktail ‘Taku’s Rose’ followed by an array of Asian specialties. You then get the chance to take part in helping the chefs at various cooking stations around the restaurant. What better way to truly experience the Orient.

As one of the most exciting cities in Europe, Berlin has a lot of variety and luxury to offer any traveller. Most European or intercontinential visitors will find that Germany’s capital is very decently priced in comparison to many other cosmopolitan cities. Therefore, anyone can experience real luxury in the sultry evenings of Berlin, sipping sekt from sparkling snifters.

If you feel like you want a real taste of the Berlin posh lifestyle, wander into the infamous Kaufhaus des Westens, where you not only can savour a nice glass of Riesling and shop for fabulous dresses, but where you ought to give the oyster bar a try. Take a break from the hustle and bustle in the middle of hoity toity shoppers on a supreme spree and slurp on the sea’s own aphrodisiac.

At the end of a long day of roaming through the streets of Berlin’s varied districts, you can choose to go for a posh dinner in Mitte at the popular Asian tapas restaurant Transit or pop into the famous and colourful Monsieur Vuong for a fresh Vietnamese dish. If you are looking for a restaurant with an extensive German menu, you should try the cosy Oranium on the lively Oranienburgerstraße. Or take the U-Bahn up to the family-friendly Prenzlauer Berg for a nibble at the atmospheric Spanish Tres Tapas restaurant, sashay into Sasaya for an  authentic sushi meal or cosy up in the classical German restaurant Oderquelle.

If you like a bit more modern and hipster neighbourhoods, you should eat some real rugged Russian food at Datscha in Friedrichshain, try some sushi at Le Coq d’Or on the Boxhagener Straße or pop into Green Rice in Kreuzberg for a scrumptious quick bite of noodles. Do not forget to hit the nightlife after your filled tummy has calmed down. Parade through Potsdamer Platz for a posh evening (Adagio, 40seconds) or hop along Oranienstraße for an spicy dance and twirl (Cake, SO36).

Roos Brekelmans is the author of Good Food In Berlin.

Guests taking advantage of Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts Finest Clubs Package can now gain admission to top clubs. The first hotels in the international hotel chain to offer this exclusive package are Swissôtel Berlin, Swissôtel The Bosphorus in Istanbul and Swissôtel Grand Shanghai; other hotels are to follow shortly. The package was created especially for guests who enjoy clubbing and who seek entertainment in the pulsing great cities of the world.

The World’s Finest Clubs confers the World’s Finest Clubs Award on the world’s most exclusive clubs and includes them in the Finest Clubs Network. The clubs are distinguished by their unique architecture and stunning interiors, great atmosphere, exclusive admission criteria, and high VIP and entertainment standards for a discerning clientele.

Along with admission to a select club and a welcome drink, the package includes breakfast at all hours of the day or night, champagne or a cocktail at the hotel bar and the Finest Clubs magazine in guest rooms. Table reservations and limousine transfer to and from the club are also available for an additional charge. This offer is available until the end of December 2010.

Great Hotels Organisation is welcoming a number of new members into its alliances (Great Hotels of the World, Special Hotels of the World and Metro Hotels).  Here’s a summary:

Great Hotels of the World

Eurostars Madrid Tower, Madrid, Spain
Located in Madrid’s business district, the five-star Eurostars Madrid Tower offers 475 modern and luxurious rooms and suites, and is the third-highest building in Spain.

Special Hotels of the World

Eurostars Grand Central, Munich, Germany
Located in the heart of Munich, the 229-room Eurostars Grand Central is a spectacular hotel with stunning architecture and interior decoration, perfect for leisure, business and meeting and incentive travel.

Metro Hotels

The Beechwood Inn, Coventry, United Kingdom
Housed in a converted thirteenth-century farmhouse, The Beechwood Inn offers 25 en-suite rooms and offers ideal corporate accommodation in Coventry. Facilities include a restaurant, function facilities and business support services.

Almanar Hotel Apartments, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Situated just five minutes’ drive from Dubai International Airport, this hotel offers 85 tastefully decorated, luxuriously furnished and spacious apartments, a restaurant and café, health and fitness centre and rooftop swimming pool.

Hala Hotel Apartments, Muscat, Oman
Located in the business district of Muscat, just 20 minutes’ drive from the International Airport, Hala Hotel Apartments offers 48 luxurious suites perfect for business travellers. The hotel is a five-minute walk from the beach and also boasts a conference room, ballroom and business centre.

Umi Hotel Brighton, United Kingdom
Located on Brighton’s seafront and close to the city centre, the 77-room Umi Hotel Brighton boasts one of the most enviable positions in the city with excellent facilities and services. Only an hour’s train journey from London, the hotel is perfect for corporate and business travellers.

Umi Hotel London, United Kingdom
Situated close to London’s Hyde Park, the 117-room Umi Hotel London offers facilities for small business meetings, conferences, training courses and intimate dinner parties, as well as large functions and parties.

To witness the next solar eclipse, you have to wait until 11th July 2010. But if you’re in the area of Papenburg, Germany, you can see Celebrity Eclipse right now. The third in Celebrity Cruises’ stylish, $3.7-billion Solstice Class fleet, Celebrity Eclipse showed off her sleek profile Sunday as she emerged for the first time from the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. Celebrity Eclipse will enter service on 26th April 2010 and, following two “short break” cruises, will offer a series of Canary Islands, Scandinavia/Russia and Spanish Mediterranean sailings roundtrip from Southampton, England. The new vessel will present Caribbean cruises roundtrip from Miami beginning in November.

The Leading Hotels of the World annual directory for 2010 was released worldwide this week.  There are 13 new Leading Hotels in the handsome hardcover volume which showcases more than 450 members in over 80 countries across the globe.  They are as follows:

Royal Spa Kitzbühel, Jochberg, Austria
The Augustine, Prague, Czech Republic
Kameha Grand Bonn, Cologne, Bonn, Germany
Verdura Golf & Spa Resort, Sicily, Agrigento, Italy
Hotel Villa Magna, Madrid, Spain
One&Only Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Chateau Star River, Guangzhou, P.R. of China
Zendai Hotel Yin, Shanghai, P.R. of China
Capella Singapore, Sentosa Island, Singapore
Banyan Tree Mayakoba, Riviera Maya, Mexico
Grand Velas All Suites & Spa Resort, Riviera Maya, Mexico
Bristol Buenaventura, Buenaventua, Panama
Tivoli São Paulo Mofarrej, São Paulo, Brazil

Don’t you just hate it when you turn up somewhere, only to find someone else is wearing an identical garment?  I wonder how Rihanna felt when she emerged from the Hotel de Rome in Berlin today and found herself being upstaged by the doorman…

The Mövenpick Hotel Berlin is offering a particularly attractive package to coincide with the start of the 2009 anniversary year. “Berlin Changing Times”: two nights’ accommodation with a lot of extras for EUR 169 per person.  With 2009 marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the whole world is turning to the German capital. Countless venues and events have been organised to illustrate the way in which the capital has changed, with a multitude of attractions to appeal to visitors. The Mövenpick Hotel Berlin is located in the listed building complex of the former Siemenshöfe and features a particularly striking and impressive combination of historical ambience and modern design. It is situated in a prime location between the former East and West on Potsdamer Platz, making it the ideal starting point for a journey through time and the city’s impressive history.

The hotel’s tailor-made package, with all the trimmings: two nights’ accommodation in a spacious double room with generous breakfast buffet included, dinner at the Restaurant Hof zwei, buffet or three-course menu at the chef’s discretion, use of the Hotel’s very own fitness and sauna area, a Berlin City Tour Card (72 hours of free travel on all public transport in Berlin and surroundings, and discounts on admissions to many Berlin highlights). Guests will also receive a Berlin book with information on the historical changes the city has experienced. The offer is available on request and subject to availability, for the period from 2nd October to 30th December 2009.

The results of the World Airport Awards from Skytrax are out. Congratulations go to Incheon International Airport in Seoul which beat last year’s winner (Hong Kong International Airport) into second place.  The top 10 were as follows:

1. Incheon International Airport
2. Hong Kong International Airport
3. Singapore Changi
4. Zürich
5. München
6. Kansai
7. Kuala Lumpur
8. Amsterdam
9. Centrair Nagoya
10. Auckland

What is your favourite airport in the world and why?

At the Propeller Island City Lodge in Berlin, there’s a bed with a difference. Their “flying” bed can be found in one of the hotel’s many themed rooms.  The king size wooden bed is in fact suspended from the roof but a floor with a 15-degree incline helps to complete the illusion, as does other furniture in the room which has been specially adapted to take the slope into account. On the ceiling are painted the words ‘Distorted Room’. Other rooms at the hotel are similarly unusual, with beds ‘under the floorboards’, coffin beds and a bed surrounded by mirrored kaleidoscope walls.

The trend towards luxury train travel appears to be increasing for travellers who enjoy a relaxing time watching the world go by in sumptuous surroundings, whilst also knowing exactly how their budget is being spent (being that many such journeys include most meals and drinks). And travellers should be pleased to know that short European breaks are now an option with the ultra-luxury holiday train The Danube Express.

The launch of the Bohemian Short Break adventure – a 5-day fully escorted trip from Budapest to Brussels – means that those with a penchant for luxury rail travel can enjoy a scenic voyage through the changing landscapes of the heart of Europe. The break begins with two nights in Budapest before joining the Danube Express at Budapest Nyugati station, where passengers will begin with a Champagne reception for the journey through Europe to Brussels, via Vienna, Prague and Carlsbad. Arriving in Brussels at the end of the holiday, guests will say farewell to the Danube Express to board the Eurostar for journey’s end – London St Pancras.

The Danube Express offers the Bohemian Short Break from £1,890 per person, including two nights’ half board hotel accommodation in Budapest, two nights’ full board with wine, beer and soft drinks onboard the Danube Express, outbound BA flight London-Budapest, Eurostar Brussels-London in Leisure Select, transfers, full sightseeing programme and the services of a Tour Manager. The trip departs 2nd September 2009.

Andrea Wren is a freelance journalist and owner of Wren Elite Travel.

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).

Tripadvisor sent me an email yesterday, outlining their top 10 European luxury hotels.  In numerical order, they are as follows:

1. The Ritz-Carlton Berlin, Germany 
2. Mykonos Grand Hotel & Resort, Greece
3. Hotel Le Palais, Czech Republic 
4. The Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel, England 
5. Hotel Prinsenhof, Belgium 
6. Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal, Hungary 
7. Rudding Park Hotel, England 
8. Swissotel Berlin, Germany 
9. Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris, France 
10. Riverside Hotel, Czech Republic

No doubt you’ve been to a hotel that you think ought to be in the list, but isn’t.  Tell us by clicking on the comments link.

Earlier this year I met an accommodation provider whose property had a four-star grading, and probably a good four star at that. When I quizzed him as to whether he would be pursuing a fifth star, he was a little hesitant. He said that he probably wouldn’t, arguing that it would make his business less profitable.  His argument was that guests staying in 5-star accommodation understandably expected the very best.  Modest wear and tear on furnishings wouldn’t be acceptable and so he would have to continually invest and replace and improve anything that wasn’t completely up to scratch.

More recently I read about how some top-rated hotels in France and Germany were looking to shed a star from their ratings in order to improve business.  Hotels in Berlin belive they are losing business from the pharmaceutical industry if they carry the top ratings, whilst 3-star hotels in France have been known to decline an additional star because it takes them into a new tax bracket.  Interesting stuff.

Are you aware of other instances where hotels don’t strive for the highest grading possible?

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.

How important is a really good quality bed to you?  It’s an issue that I’ve paid attention to more and more in recent times (my wife had a slipped disc that required surgery, just over 12 months ago) and so I was interested to hear that the Vi Spring is the bed of choice for the Beckhams. Theirs retails in Harrods for £24,275. And it’s also the bed of choice for many leading hotels around Europe, including the Palais Coburg Residence, Hotel Ravenstein, Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin, Langshott Manor, Villa Trompenberg and The Zetter to name just some.  But it’s by no means the most expensive bed out there.  That dubious honour no doubt goes to the $1.5 million (yes, you read that right) floating bed designed by Janjaap Ruijssenaars.

What’s the best bed you’ve ever slept in?  Or – if you work in the luxury hotel industry – where do you get your beds?