Jetsettersblog

The Capella Hotels and Resorts collection is set to unveil its very first property on May 28 — Schloss Velden, a Capella Hotel — in the scenic, lakeside village of Velden, Austria. Schloss Velden is reaching the luxury travel sector.

At Schloss Velden, Capella will honor the grand European hotel tradition — combining the best in service, luxury and setting — while reinterpreting this tradition to match the needs and desires of today’s guests.

Originally constructed in 1607 as a private castle, the property later became one of Europe’s grandest hotels, serving in uninterrupted style for more than a century until 1991. The historic chateau itself is comprised of 39 guestrooms, a fine dining room, the Schloss Bar, a wine and champagne cellar, and private “living room” for guests with stunning lakefront views. A contemporary Jabonegg & Pálffy-designed addition houses 66 rooms and 45 private residences.

The striking modern structure with wraparound glass views of the mountain and lake is also home to a 30,000-square foot spa and wellness center called Auriga, exclusive to Capella Hotels and Resorts. Call 011-43-4274-52000 5031 or visit www.schlossveldencapella.com

Ho Tram-Osaka Resort in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, Vietnam, has contracted with the Life Resorts Management Company. Starting July 15, Life Resorts will take over management of the one-year-old, 38-room boutique resort, located on a white-sand beach in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

“This is where the resort scene started in Vietnam in the late 19th Century,” said Chris Duffy, general director of the Life Resorts Management Co. “And yet for various reasons, other regions have eclipsed this area as a vacation destination – where the foreign market is concerned at any rate. We think we can help change that by putting Ho Tram Osaka on the radar screens of international tour operators and by redeveloping service standards with an international feel.” Life Resorts recently signed a similar agreement with the Blue Ocean Resort in Phan Thiet.

That resort is undergoing renovations and will relaunch later this year. The Life Resorts plans to exercise a lighter hand on the infrastructure at Ho Tram. The resort is located two hours by car from Ho Chi Minh City. Life Resorts currently manages two other properties in Vietnam: the 63-room Life Wellness Resort Quy Nhon and the 94-room Life Heritage Resort Hoi An.

Call 848-844-3605 or visit www.life-resorts.com

The Ilima, a condo-style hotel located in the heart of Waikiki, will offer travel agencies 15 percent commission beginning June 1 and continuing indefinitely.

The 15 percent commission is applicable to all new direct bookings as of June 1, including bookings of discounted rates and packages. To qualify for the new commission, agents must book directly with the hotel by calling 800-801-9366.

The 17-story, 98-unit Ilima is known for its friendly staff, personal service, and spacious “condominium-size” rooms with full kitchens. Offering a more economical and intimate alternative to Waikiki’s megaresorts, the Ilima is popular with families and other travelers who appreciate the ambiance of a smaller boutique hotel.

The hotel is located on a quiet side street near the Ala Wai Canal, away from the crowds yet central to all the attractions of Waikiki, including famed Waikiki Beach — just two blocks away. The Ilima’s units consist of 530-square-foot studios, 650-square-foot one-bedroom units, 770-square-foot two-bedroom units, and one of the few three-bedroom penthouse suites available in Waikiki.

Deluxe Studios are furnished with a California king and a double bed, and all Deluxe units (Deluxe studios and one-bedrooms) offer unlimited free high-speed internet access to guests. All rooms are now equipped with a new keycard lock system.

For more information or bookings, call t800-801-9366 or visit www.ilima.com  

The Wuksachi Lodge in Sequoia National Park is introducing a new way for families to explore the park this summer — the Wuksachi Nature Adventure.

Valid through October, the adventure game is designed to give families a memorable Big Trees experience. The adventure includes for each team a souvenir backpack filled with bottled water, trail mix, High Sierra Field Guide, logbooks to record “nature points,” and a Wuksachi Bearpaw prize for children 4 years of age or older; the use of a GPS unit and digital camera for the day; and a Wuksachi Medallion awarded to the team member with the highest score.

The one-day game is packaged with accommodations at Wuksachi Lodge and is priced at $299 including one night in a deluxe room or $ 499 for two nights; rates cover one or two adults and up to three children in the same room, sharing the adventure materials and tools. The adventure involves locating, photographing and logging different features in the Park, using a “nature points” system. The game’s objective is simple: collect as many “nature points” as possible. 

Call 866-786-3199 or visit http://www.visitsequoia.com/

Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafik reported that Egypt’s airports will expand their terminals and three private airline companies are addressing domestic-air congestion in Egypt. Among the developments are the following:

Express Air, with a fleet of six aircraft each with a capacity of 76 passengers, will begin operating in Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, Luxor and Aswan, with the first operating flight in Sharm El Sheikh on June 1. Smart Air will begin operation next week with a fleet of three aircraft, each with a capacity of 10 passengers, targeted to business travelers.

These developments will augment the capacity of Air Cairo, a charter company that is already operating with a fleet of four Airbus planes.

Shafik also noted that Egypt’s Open Skies Policy has been adopted in all Egyptian airports including Cairo airport whenever aircraft are carrying tourist groups. Growth in air travel has led to expansion in three passenger terminals in Egypt, including Cairo Airport. A third passenger terminal will be operational in a few weeks. Sharm El Sheikh Airport will open on May 23.

Plans are being finalized for building a second passenger terminal at Hurghada before the end of 2007. The Egyptian Tourism Authority has an ambitious strategic program which aims to double visitor numbers, from 8 million in 2004 to 16 million in 2014.

For more information, visit www.egypt.travel

Mario Salinas, Minister of Tourism for Nicaragua, officially launched “The Coffee Route” to develop and to strengthen the economy of the Northern region of Nicaragua. “The Coffee Route” will benefit the region through being able to offer visits to coffee plantations and also ethnic, ecological, adventure, educative and cultural tourism.

The project will receive $1 million to be provided to small and medium companies to improve the quality of their existing services, and to promote the formation of new competitive companies. This will be supported by tourism training and technical qualifications to be provided to the five municipalities of the northern part of Nicaragua, including Jinotega, Matagalpa, Esteli, Nueva Segovia and Madriz. The project will be carried out over a period of four years, starting in 2007.

For more information, call 888-SEE-NICA or visit www.visit-nicaragua.com

Crystal Cruises’ 2008 Worldwide Cruise Atlas is now available to travel agents. The 162-page guide showcases the line’s 61 itineraries that visit 167 ports. The guide is divided into three sections — “The Crystal Experience,” “Destinations 2008″ and “Cruise Information.”

The atlas opens with a color-coded cruise calendar. Utilizing both bulleted and narrative style, “The Crystal Experience” section showcases Crystal’s service, space, quality and choices. The atlas provides day-by-day itineraries on its return to cruising Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, an expanded North Cape cruise and a new Bermuda and Caribbean cruise from New York to Miami.

For the first time in almost a decade, Crystal will offer an overseas Christmas/New Year option featuring a voyage around South America, Cape Horn and Antarctica. Highlighted are maiden calls to ports such as Agios Nikolaos, Crete; Cartagena, Spain; Corner Brook, Newfoundland; Doha, Qatar; La Caruña, Spain; Marmagao, India; Olden, Norway; Puerto Chiapas, Mexico; Ronne, Denmark; Sarande, Albania; and Valencia, Spain.

A section on Crystal Adventures Extended Land Programs outlines optional packages to places such as Tibet, Bhutan and Xian, Prague and Budapest, Vienna and Salzburg, the Galapagos or Iguazú Falls. Newly added to the roster of pre- and post-cruise hotel options are the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong and Singapore, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai, the Hotel Hassler in Rome and the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles.

In 2008, the 940-guest, 50,000-ton Crystal Symphony and the 1,080-guest, 68,000-ton Crystal Serenity will cruise through the Caribbean, South America, Antarctica, Middle East, Mediterranean, Canary Islands, Black Sea, Panama Canal, Mexican Riviera, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, South Pacific, British Isles, Baltic Sea, Arctic Circle and New England/Canada.

A weekend of celebration kicked off on May 10, when Sol Kerzner welcomed over 1500 celebrities to experience his $1 billion collection of experiences on Paradise Island, The Bahamas – including the 63-acre waterscape Aquaventure, the new luxury resort The Cove Atlantis and Dolphin Cay – home to the 16 displaced Katrina Dolphins.

Guests like John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Lindsay Lohan, Liv Tyler, Whitney Houston, Rob Lowe, Claire Danes, Michelle Rodriguez, Michael Jordan and Kanye West all stayed in the suites at The Cove on Paradise Island, The Bahamas.

The weekend kicked off with an intimate evening at The Cove’s signature restaurant, Mesa Grill to celebrate the 57th birthday of Stevie Wonder. Celebrity party planner Colin Cowie welcomed guests to a party that surrounded the 900 gallon zero entry pool that sits in the foreground of the Power Tower. Almost 25,000 flowers, 10,000 pieces of sushi, 11,000 shrimp, 2,000 pounds of lobster, 3,000 oysters, 10,000 shots of tequila and 27,000 pieces of silverware were displayed on walking buffets.

As the sun set, Janet Jackson’s grand entrance was welcomed with a series of spark showers and a giant marquee that was set ablaze reading “Janet”. She and her 12 dancers took to a stage that extended across the waters of the largest zero-entry pool at Aquaventure. To accompany this celebration, Grucci designed an eight-minute production to light up the Power Tower and The Cove with a spectacle of lights. On May 12, Colin Cowie transported all of the weekend’s VIP guests to a 70′s disco party featuring live performances from Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Earth, Wind & Fire, and The Village People. The new 50,000-square-foot Imperial Ballroom was draped in over 8,000 yards of fabric, eyelash bars by Sephora, 10 pounds of glitter and 595 disco balls.

For more information, call 877-COVE-VIP, or visit http://www.thecoveatlantis.com/

The Kinloch Club unveiled its Jack Nicklaus signature golf course in Taupo, New Zealand on March 16. A three-hour drive from Auckland, the 18-hole signature course features beautiful drives of its own – plus long fairways and elevated tees – after a four-year development across 650 acres.

Making use of the site’s natural features including its volcanic landscape, the course is one of the few in the world built on pumice-rich soil. Golfers should prepare for shape-shifting contours and lies, undulating terrain and rugged bunkering, reminiscent of Scotland, the birthplace of the game. The newest course from Team Nicklaus joins only 24 other Jack Nicklaus Signature golf courses around the world.

Visit www.kinloch-golf.com

Not only is the name of the thermal spa and resort on Margit Island in Budapest new, the hotel has also added a range of new health and wellness facilities. The salt grotto offers treatments employing stone salt and sea salt from the Dead Sea, as well as therapies for all respiratory ailments. The Emporium Wellness & Beauty Program features Clarins products.

Visit www.danubiusgroup.com