Jetsettersblog

Emerson Resort & Spa, which opened its new inn and spa in Mount Tremper, N.Y., this March, added more than 5,000 square feet of meeting and conference space. The multi-room facility is configured with the latest technology such as AV equipment, LCD projectors and screens, flat screen televisions, DVD players, white boards, post-it flip charts, laser pointer, and wireless headset with sound systems. Emerson Resort & Spa’s six main function rooms offer more than 5,000 square feet of flexible space.

For more information, call 845-688-2451 or visit www.emersonresort.com

Country Walkers’ new eight-day walking tour Bulgaria: Cultural Crossroads Bulgaria: Cultural Crossroads departs Sept. 2, visits Bulgaria’s UNESCO site, the Rila Monastery, going from the capital Sofia to Melnik, the country’s smallest town. The package is priced from $2,598 per person double.

Call 800-464-9255 or visit http://www.countrywalkers.com/

JetDirect Aviation, LLC, a full-service private jet operation, and Sentient Jet, Inc., which provides private jet membership, are merging operations. Specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The combine company is designed to be an to the fractional ownership model. Jet Direct has dealt with the fragmentation of the private jet industry by building a charter and aircraft management company that integrates a portfolio of jet operators.

The Sentient Jet Membership Program was designed to overcome the limitations of jet-specific fractional jet ownership and fractional jet cards to provide the most flexible, convenient and economically attractive guaranteed availability.

For more information, go to www.jetdirect.net or www.sentient.com

Royal Caribbean International has opened bookings for 19 2008-09 itineraries from major Northeast homeports. More than 80 sailings, ranging from five to 15 nights, will sail to New England/Canada, Bermuda, and Eastern Caribbean. The cruises depart from Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, N.J., on Explorer of the Seas and from Baltimore, Norfolk and Boston aboard Grandeur of the Seas and Jewel of the Seas. The Explorer of the Seas will operate eight roundtrip itineraries ranging from five to 12 nights to Bermuda and the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. Travelers also can choose among six nine-night voyages to New England and Canada.

Prices start at $649 per person, double occupancy. Grandeur of the Seas will sail roundtrip from Norfolk’s newly constructed Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center on five-night Bermuda cruises, eight- and nine-night voyages to New England and Canada, and nine-night Eastern Caribbean sailings.

From Baltimore, Grandeur will sail five-night roundtrips to Bermuda and nine-night Eastern Caribbean cruises. Prices start at $649 per person, double occupancy. Jewel of the Seas returns to Boston in 2008 to sail to New England on four seven-night roundtrips beginning on Sept. 20, 2008. In addition, Boston-area travelers also can choose a shortened itinerary on one five-night sailing on Oct. 13.

Istithmar Hotels and easyHotel unveiled plans for a completely new hotel concept in India, which will become one of the largest global markets for easyHotel.com properties. Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, head of easyHotel, speaking at a press conference held jointly with Joe Sita, the chief executive of Istithmar Hotels, which will construct and operate easyHotel.com properties in the Middle East, the Levant, North Africa, India and Pakistan, Stelios gave the first details of the chain’s expansion plans for India.

easyHotel.com is a completely new concept for hotels in the sub-continent. Based on a model already launched in Europe, easyHotel.com provides safe, clean, private rooms, with en suite facilities at the best possible price and at a fraction of the cost of competitors. Istithmar Hotels is investing more than $ 400 million over the next five years, to build 38 easyHotel.com properties in 17 countries, with six properties planned for India alone.

“We are delighted to be working with Stelios to expand the easyHotel.com brand. The man who brought low-cost air travel to millions is now bringing low-cost hotel accommodation to the world,” said Joe Sita, chief executive of Istithmar Hotels. “Last month, we broke ground on the first of our easyHotel.com properties in Dubai, and we are now accelerating our development plans across the region. India will be an important market for easyHotel.com properties, with six hotels currently planned over the next five years.”

“It is clear that India is awash with opportunity and we have big plans for the easyHotel.com brand here,” said Stelios. “It’s great to have the chance to see, on the ground, the scale of the opportunity here. We will expect to confirm timings and sites over the coming months, as we develop our plans.”

Istithmar is the investment company of Dubai World. It has an investment portfolio which includes more than 50 successful companies. It is 100 percent owned by Dubai World, which is in turn wholly owned by the Government of Dubai. easyHotel is one of the 17 easyGroup businesses. The easyGroup is the private investment vehicle of Stelios, the serial entrepreneur.

For more information, visit www.easyHotel.com or www.easy.com  

The City of Paris is continuing its efforts to adapt each neighborhood for the disabled. The number of parking places reserved for people with reduced mobility is on the rise, most pavements now have dropped curbs and ‘talking’ traffic lights have been installed on some roads to tell the visually impaired when it is safe to cross.

The city also is modifying its network to make it accessible to the majority: remote controlled ramps provide wheelchair access to most buses; there are lines of raised warning studs along the edges of metro platforms and audio announcements indicate each stop on some metro lines. The national label “Tourisme & Handicap” was created in 2001 to provide reliable, standard, detailed and objective information on the accessibility of tourist sites and facilities, taking into account the four categories of disability: physical, mental, hearing and visual. Sites are labeled in relation to their accessibility to people suffering from one, two, three or four types of disability.

The label with its blue, yellow and white logo is also intended to develop tourism products that are adapted and integrated into the general range of tourism services, in particular accommodation, restaurants, cultural sites and leisure facilities.

A list of sites with the “Tourisme & Handicap” label can be accessed at http://www.parisinfo.com/

The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Naples is offering several new treatments, including: the Drift Away treatment, a relaxation therapy that promotes sleep at a deep state of sub-consciousness; Body Training Systems (BTS), an organization that offers professionally choreographed fitness classes already in place at 500 fitness centers throughout the country; and the Naples Empowerment Retreat, a customized package, available from June 1 to Sept. 1, 2007.

Included are: a pre-arrival phone consultation with the guest’s own personal retreat consultant. A therapist and fitness trainer will then collaborate to develop a comprehensive three-day program, including two hours of fitness and two hours of spa treatments daily. In addition, the retreat includes daily power walks, meditation, overnight valet, taxes and gratuities. Rates start from $2,392 for the three-night retreat.

The 120-minute Drift Away treatment costs $240 and the (BTS) classes are $15 each.

Visit Florida released a list of what’s new in Florida, including: The Royal Amelia Golf Club (888-213-8045, www.aipfl.com)  the newest addition at Amelia Island Plantation; Tampa’s Asian Gardens (813-935-8552, www.lowryparkzoo.com)  which has undergone extensive renovations; the Key West Express (866-593-3779, www.seakeywestexpress.com)  a jet propelled catamaran launching from the Miami Seaquarium cruises to the Southernmost Point on a three-deck ship with onboard food with full bar service and flat screen TVs throughout; at Ponte Vedra Beach the PGA’s best golfers meet at The Player’s Championship (888-859-8334, www.movingtomay.com) from May 7 to 13; the Florida International Festival (386-257-7790, www.fif-lso.org) featuring the London Symphony Orchestra will be held July 13 to 29 on Daytona Beach; the second-annual Savor Sarasota (www.sarasotafl.org/spirit)  will be held June 1 to 10, showcasing 30 local restaurants.

For the latest on Florida, call 850-488-5607 or visit www.visitflorida.org  

Xanterra South Rim, L.L.C., operator of lodges, restaurants and activities at the South Rim in Grand Canyon National Park, joined Arizona Performance Track. The program is a voluntary partnership between the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), businesses and other regulated entities that recognizes and rewards environmental leadership for going above and beyond the minimum requirements of the law.

According to ADEQ, Xanterra South Rim was selected to join Arizona Performance Track for reducing water usage, solid waste sent to landfill and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as increasing the amount of recycled content in products it uses and sells.

Xanterra has also committed to a 50 percent waste diversion from landfills and zero hazardous waste generation by 2015 and to a preferred “green” vendor program. The Arizona Performance Track is modeled after a national EPA program that recognizes “Performance Track Corporate Leaders.” Benefits of participating in the Arizona Performance Track include reduced inspection frequency, flexibility of permit conditions and consolidation of reporting requirements. Additionally, Xanterra South Rim’s affiliate, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, was selected by the Environmental Protection Agency as the “2006 Performance Track Corporate Leader.”

Xanterra was the only company to receive the recognition this year. 

Call 888-297-2757 or visit www.grandcanyonlodges.com  

The Le Reve Theater at Wynn Las Vegas has been completely remodeled with a new, warmer color scheme, new seats and a VIP Indulgence Package, complete with Champagne bottle service and behind-the-scenes video monitors. The new theater, which reopens on April 5, began its redesign minutes after the last show on March 5 and took over 200 workers and 30 days to complete. Designed by Mark Fisher and Roger Thomas, the extensive project included repainting the theater, recovering the walls, installing entirely new custom-made seating and flooring and creating the exclusive Champagne Circle area.

The theater went from 2087 seats to 1606, providing additional room for guests. For those craving the ultimate in luxury, the new VIP Indulgence Package offers an evening of extravagance with complimentary Perrier-Jouet champagne bottle service; chocolate covered strawberries; generously-scaled lounge seating with plenty of leg room; and video monitors providing up-close imagery and behind-the-scenes glimpses during the show. Package holders will also receive a “Privileged Access” pass for dining and entertainment on the day of the performance. 

The VIP Indulgence Package is generously priced $159 per person and is limited to less than 100 seats per show. Otherwise, tickets start at $99.

For more information, call 702-770-WYNN or visit www.wynnlasvegas.com