Jetsettersblog

Los Altos Beach Resort & Spa, the latest luxury boutique resort on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, will officially open in Manuel Antonio in October 2009.

The new condo-hotel property, which is part of the Grace’s Distinctive Properties Ltd. collection, is one of the first luxury resorts in Manuel Antonio to open its doors.

Los Altos is comprised of 16 suites, eight superior suites and four superior penthouse suites with ocean views.

The one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom suites are encompassed within the 21-acre property and are outfitted with all the comforts of home featuring large grand salons, gourmet kitchens and elegant furnishings defined by a modern Balinese design. Los Altos is a family oriented resort, with horseback riding, nature walks, wildlife viewing, sport fishing, rafting, kayaking, surfing, and canopy tours. Guests staying at Los Altos Beach Resort & Spa can enjoy amenities such as on-site dining, spa, gymnasium, conference center, swimming pool and direct beach access. Complimentary local airport and park transfers are provided, as well as requests for off-site dining and activities.

The knowledgeable guest service staff is available to ensure all requests are met with a level of service that goes “above and beyond.” Introductory rates at Los Altos Beach Resort & Spa start at $490 per night.

For reservations or more information, call 888-982-5867 or visit www.losaltoscr.com

ANNE SEMONIN LAUNCHES ITS FIRST HOTEL SPA IN CROATIA AT THE RADISSON BLU RESORT & SPA DUBROVNIK SUN GARDENS

French ‘Haute Couture’ niche spa and beauty brand Anne Sémonin is delighted to announce the addition of the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Dubrovnik Sun Gardens to its portfolio, the brand’s first hotel spa in Croatia. The Anne Sémonin Spa at the Radisson Blu, a new hotel that opens today, is one of the largest and most luxurious spas on the beautiful Dalmatian Coast.

The Radisson Blu Resort & Spa is located in a stunning position overlooking the Adriatic Sea. Just steps away from pristine beaches and within walking distance of tranquil countryside, the resort is only 20 minutes from the centre of Dubrovnik’s historic Old Town.

Anne Sémonin has created bespoke treatments for the spa, taking the signature “customisation” concept to new heights – each treatment, be it a facial, massage or body treatment, can be fully customised according to the clients exact skin type and requirements. Expert Anne Sémonin spa therapist training and the creation of highly targeted spa packages and results-driven treatments ensure an exceptional luxury spa experience.

The Spa opens with nine beautiful multi-function Spa Treatment Rooms, including an Oriental Therapy Room and three superb Couples Suites, one with private sun terrace, two with waterbeds, private Jacuzzi bath and relaxation area.

State of the art heat and water facilities include a Hydrotherapy Pool, Hammam, Salt Sauna, Coal Sauna, Lifestyle Showers, Cold Plunge Pools, Aromasteam and Tepidarium. Treatments have been designed to combine the results-driven effects of the Anne Sémonin products teamed with a therapeutic, holistic approach to the client experience.

The Spa Boutique will provide the full range of Anne Sémonin products allowing the guests to continue their personalised prescription blends at home.

EXCLUSIVE ANNE SÉMONIN TREATMENTS FOR THE RADISSON BLU RESORT & SPA DUBROVNIK SUN GARDENS

Thalassotherapy Thermal Stone Experience – 2 hours 30min

A truly indulgent experience to stimulate the body and bring about a deep sense of tranquillity! Commencing with an invigorating Sea Salt exfoliation and followed by the Anne Sémonin Ocean Oil thalassotherapy bath containing Blue Chamomile and Marine Criste, and an Active Ice Eye brightening massage.

The experience concludes with a warmed aromatic oil and thermal stone massage paying special attention to the abdominals, back, neck and shoulders to aid a sense of deep relaxation and restore mind and body balance.

Black Sand Scrub & Ocean Massage Ritual – 1 hour 30min

This ultimate exfoliating experience with Black Sand from Tahiti and aromatic oils actively sweeps away dead surface skin cells, leaving skin wonderfully soft, silky, detoxified and youthfully radiant. The delicate fragrance of exotic verbena promotes a holistic sense of wellbeing and relaxation. The body is then softly manipulated using a variety of advanced massage and movement techniques prescribed for your specific needs to bring about a deep sense of restoration. Re-awaken your senses!

100% Active Ice Therapy Facial – 60 min

Experience the effects of youth and radiance with this wonderful anti-ageing facial and firming eye treatment. Your skin is quenched with the power of Evening Primrose Oil, Red Micro Algae and Wild Indigo. Experience the renowned effects of Anne Sémonin’s ‘Express Radiance Ice Cubes’ – designed to melt away fine lines, firm and refresh. The results, a more plumped, radiant and hydrated skin.

Other features of the Anne Sémonin Spa include an indoor swimming pool, Fitness Suite with personal Kinesis, Wellness Suite with power plate, Vitality Bar, Sun Terraces and a Tranquility Room.

WWW.ANNESEMONIN.COM

ClassicalConnect.com presents five modern classical composers via its free virtual concert hall.

CHICAGO, IL – Classical Connect (http://www.classicalconnect.com)  the leading free virtual concert hall, proudly presents the piano music of five talented contemporary classical composers, George Flynn, Gary Noland, Heinz Chur, Leanna Primiani, and Joseph Hallman.

This selection presents a diverse approach of modern classical composers toward piano music. Compositions vary from cerebral to playful, from minimalist to romantic.

The selection consists of American Nocturne I, from Pieces of Night, written by George Flynn in 1989, performed by the composer; Gary Noland’s playful Bead-Eyed Bellygods, from the 24 Postludes for piano (2003), also played by the composer himself; Heinz Chur’s Sonata no. 6 (1984), played by Noriko Kitano; Leanna Primiani’s Variations for Piano Solo (2004) with Yevgeniy Milyavskiy playing the piece; and Joseph Hallman’s Untitled for piano (2003), played by Cicilia Yuhda.

In addition to this music, Classical Connect features a large selection of piano composition by other modern composers.

Classical Connect is continually expanding its features and adding new artists, composers, and performances. Classical Connect allows performers and composers to upload full performances and helps them expand their fan base by letting all classical music fans listen completely free on the site.

The service also provides a way for fans to comment and connect with the performers as well as discuss the music.

Stay up-to-date with all the latest news at Classical Connect and via social networks like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

About Classical Connect www.classicalconnect.com
Classical Connect was founded in 2008 and is aimed at both professional classical musicians and classical music lovers alike.

By allowing artists to freely upload full-length performances, the services helps the artists promote themselves. By allowing classical music lovers to listen to full-length performances, the service hopes to help them find new favorites they might have otherwise never discovered.

For further information please contact us at 312-223-8451

SATA, the Azorean air transportation group, has launched Amadeus’ new Altea Automated Customer Contact solution that enables airlines to notify travelers of changes to their journey via mobile phone text messaging.

The group’s airlines, SATA Air Acores and SATA Internacional, are the first in the world to offer their passengers this service using Altea Automated Customer Contact. The new solution was developed in close partnership with Grupo SATA.

For more information, visit www.sata.pt

Sofitel Luxury Hotels chose the symbolic date of July 14 — Bastille Day in France — to launch its new So Spa by Sofitel concept in London and Marseille.

To encourage conviviality and exchange, Sofitel has created a spa concept rooted in open spaces. Therapy at So Spa by Sofitel is presented in a way similar to the menu of a French gourmet restaurant, another area of Sofitel-style excellence.

Les Entrées (Starters), lasting 30 minutes, are designed for busy urbanites looking for rest and relaxation after a busy day.

Les Plats Principaux (Main Courses) and Les Desserts last an hour and feature body massages, facials, hot-stone massages and other delights. So Spay Sofitel has also designed its own range of therapy products. So Exhilarating and So Rejuvenating are exclusive treatments enhanced by Sofitel music played on So Spa pods.

The massage tables have also been specially designed for So Spa. They boast a version of the celebrated Sofitel MyBed, featured in all Sofitel Luxury Hotel, which have been converted for spa therapy for optimal comfort and perfect relaxation.

In creating So Spa at Sofitel London St. James, the brand is placing its central London hotel squarely inside the British capital’s spa world.

This first So Spa by Sofitel has teamed up with two beauty experts and ambassadors of French cosmetology, Carita and Cinq Mondes. It will also be the very first opening for Cinq Mondes in the U.K. Set inside the former head office of Cox’s & King’s bank, a historic building in the district of St. James.

The spa menu also features a few exclusive therapies such as Petit Déjeuner Bonne Tenue for business travelers with little time to spare. So Spa will ensure that their suits are pressed and shoes polished, while they make good use of the sports room and steam bath. Martinis & Manucures, Pintes & Pédicures and Scrunch (a scrub version of the brunch) are other amusing variations on the traditional spa theme. |

Meeting up and creating ties are two philosophies placed at the heart of the So Spa experience. In true British style, patrons can meet at the spa’s Tea Bar to enjoy a cup of tea along with a French macaroon, while indulging in a manicure or pedicure.

Also, London’s first spa majordomos welcome visitors as they arrive, supervise the initial consultation and propose customized service by coordinating all details.

In addition to the five therapy booths, including a twin model, So Spa features a traditional Turkish steam bath, Dornbracht RainSky showers for aromatherapy and a private relaxation pool (Astorina).

Last but not least, guests at the Sofitel London St James can also enjoy the new So Fit fitness center –1,075 square feet offering the very finest equipment and most notably the AlphaSphere by Sha.

This is a multi-dimensional experience space that consists of a play on sound, light, warmth and movements, combining a unique quality of in-depth relaxation with vivifying and energizing effects.

A second So Spa by Sofitel will be unveiled at the Sofitel Marseille Vieux Port. At the very heart of the old fortifications of Marseille, the finest address in France’s city of the south, will open its own 6,460-square-foot So Spa dedicated to wellness and beauty.

In addition to the So Fit fitness center, enhanced by a relaxation pool, relaxation beach, sauna and steam bath, the So Well area will feature a “duo” therapy suite with sea view, three private therapy rooms and a private sundeck with the old port providing the panorama.

Aside from signature therapies, the Carita brand will administer its unique know-how by way of original therapies combined with products including: the customizable renewal facial care, adjusted to each skin’s own needs; replenishing cool care; soothing pampering care; delicious nourishing care; or matifying balancing care.

Sofitel Luxury Hotels will continue to roll-out the So Spa concept worldwide with a number of openings scheduled for the months and years ahead in Rabat (Morocco), Vienna, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, Mauritius and Bangkok.

Alaska Mountain Guides, Costa del Mar, and the “Blue Highway” Film Premiere

During the summer of 2008, AMG worked with Costa del Mar on a kayaking trip in the Inside passage with a goal to paddle the proposed route of the Juneau access road. A documentary film crew accompanied the group on the expedition. The movie “Blue Highway: Alaska’s Lynn Canal and the Juneau Road” documents the trip, the Alaskan wilderness, and issues associated with the proposed road.

Watch the movie, set to premiere at locations around the country, and learn more about the controversial road project that threatens the natural beauty and ecosystem of the Lynn Canal.

Click here:
http://www.alaskamountainguides.com/press.html

We offer sea kayaking trips varying from 1-day to 24-days in length throughout the summer.

These trips explore the inside passage, the Lynn Canal, and Glacier Bay National Park.

Learn more about:

Sea kayaking the Lynn Canal

Glacier Bay National Park
Call us today for more information on our sea kayaking programs in Alaska.
Alaska Mountain Guides
1-800-766-3396
info@alaskamountainguides.com

Sharing the arts and culture of Japan has always been a passion for Steve Beimel, founder of Esprit Travel & Tours, and now he’s created another avenue through his informative and entertaining blog Japan Living Arts.

The arts and artisans of Japan have remained an elusive mystery for most westerners for centuries. While we can admire the product of their talents, experiencing a deeper understanding of the well-spring of their creativity requires introductions, time, patience and translators.

Steve Beimel founded Esprit Travel & Tours’ unique approach to exploring Japanese culture more than 15 years ago.

Since then, he has introduced travelers to hundreds of artisans throughout Japan as a integral part of Esprit’s tours.

“It is very moving to witness and experience the focus, care and integrity of those who create or practice the Japanese crafts and arts.”

He now brings these introductions directly to us through his blog.

Steve lives with his wife Ritsuko in the northern hills of Kyoto and continues to explore Japan’s arts scene and shares what he finds through his blog.

The blog focuses on Beimel’s encounters with the living arts and creative people– craftsmen, chefs, artists, musicians, monks– of his adopted country.

Regular posts include ceramics, textiles, art, architecture, cuisine, sake, street fashion and much more.

It is his diary of life in a “renaissance city”– his “Kyoto Diary.”

In the past year, he’s met remarkable people, drank matcha from raku teabowls and photographed the latest cutting-edge architecture in Tokyo and Osaka.

He’s explored small, undiscovered towns and found hidden gems throughout the country he loves. He shares his findings in his blog with an enthusiasm and sensitivity born of years of respect for the Japanese culture and it’s people.

Please visit Steve’s blog at www.japanlivingarts.com and start to explore the exciting cultural mystery of Japan.

Over the years, Steve has worked with a wide range of masters of traditional culture including art, crafts, architecture, gardens, music, theater, cuisine and religion. “The most fulfilling part of my Japan-related life is working with so many amazing and talented men and women. It has been a great privilege for me to introduce our tour participants to these people, in a true spirit of cultural exchange.”

About Esprit Travel & Tours

Esprit Travel & Tours, whose Tour Planner Nancy Craft has been named one of the “Greatest Travel Specialists on Earth” by Conde Nast Traveler for the past 6 years, was founded in 1974.

It is one of the oldest established companies offering tours to Japan. With its deep expertise in the art, culture, cuisine and traditions of Japan, and its passion for offering each traveler an intimate and deeply personal experience of this fabled country, Esprit is the tour operator of choice for those seeking an enriching journey.

Esprit offers travelers a personally meaningful cultural immersion by introducing travelers to local people, walking and using public transportation, eating local delicacies, staying at ryokans and traditional inns, and most of all, helping travelers to be honored guests, rather than tourists. Esprit offers individual travel planning for the discerning traveler looking for guidance on getting off the beaten path and into the heart of Japan.

Australia’s Tourism New South Wales (NSW) is the exclusive launch partner of the Life Points Facebook application, giving travelers a forum to share experiences in Sydney, Australia.

The application — www.getlifepoints.com — challenges users to record past experiences while reading of new experiences.

Users can browse the Life Points database to find a “Life Experience” and then add it to either their “Life Goals” list by clicking “Want To” or to their “Life Points” scoreboard by clicking “Done It.”

Whether climbing to the summit of the Sydney Harbor Bridge or camping out on Cockatoo Island, every new experience earns users Life Points that are added to the counter on their profile page.

Life Points users can also challenge each other to see who has the most achievements while learning more about what Sydney has to offer.

Featured experiences and goals are scored on a scale of 1 to 100, as voted by the Life Points community.

In addition, users can connect with friends who share similar goals as well as get advice from those who have already collected Life Points for a particular experience.

The user-friendly application allows members to update their profile and personalize their experiences for their friends to view.

NSW Minister for Tourism Jodi McKay said Life Points encourages friendly competition and community interaction where users who are passionate about Sydney can connect and in turn be inspired to expand their “To Do” list.

“This is an innovative way to connect with this audience and highlight all the fantastic life experiences Sydney and NSW have to offer,” McKay said.

The application is currently live online at www.getlifepoints.com  and is supported by a campaign site on www.Sydney.com
(www.sydney.com/youth)  as well as by social networking sites including www.youtube.com/seesydney  and www.myspace.com/mysydney.

Youth travel represents more than 37 percent of New South Wales’ total international visitor arrivals, 60 percent of international visitor nights, and 53 percent of total international tourism expenditure in Australia. Facebook is the most used social network by worldwide monthly activity, with more than 60 million active users in the United States — many in the 18- to 30-year-old target demographic of Life Points.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/seesydney or www.getlifepoints.com

Vietnam’s Blue Ocean Resort, managed by Life Resorts, is now offering treatments are now available at the just-opened Blue Ocean Spa, an indoor facility.

“If there’s anything we’ve learned from our years of catering to spa customers, it’s their immense variety of tastes and preferences,” said Alistair Cooray, Blue Ocean Resort’s general manager.

“To some, the sound of waves and the sensation of gentle breezes is the ultimate in being soothed. Others would rather be segregated from anything having to do with the outside world, even nature.

For these guests, we opened Blue Ocean Spa.”

Laid out in a square, with four corridors surrounding a central lounge and reception area, the spa’s configuration optimizes privacy within a fairly compact overall “footprint.”

Three treatment rooms serve individual guests, two serve couples, a sixth room is dedicated to manicures and pedicures, and the seventh room is for foot massage.

Other trademark Life Resort design elements — small reflecting pools and a color palette of warm earth tones like brown, orange, and grey — contribute to the serene ambience.

Treatments include Asian foot reflexology, a massage that will invigorate your entire body, from the ground up;

Swedish and aromatherapy massages, using the purest natural ingredients;

a “Connectivity” massage focusing on the neck and shoulder area to relax and rejuvenate this locus of tension;

and an overall muscle de-stressor deep-tissue massage to dissolve the anxieties of the workaday world.

A steam bath or sauna completes the treatment.

Life Resorts owns and operates two resorts in Vietnam and manages a third.

On Vietnam’s central coast, the 94-room Life Heritage Resort Hoi An sits on the Thu Bon River. On the south-central coast, the 63-room Life Wellness Resort Quy Nhon is dedicated to the tenets of wellness, from yoga, tai chi and Pilates to an ample range of spa treatments and anti-stress and detox programs.

Four hours from Ho Ch Minh City, Life manages the 84-room Blue Ocean Resort.

For more information, call 011 848 3 844-3605,

email sales@life-resorts.com

or visit www.life-resorts.com

Langham Hotels International (LHI) is set to open a new boutique resort, Langham Place Samui at Koh Samui’s Lamai Beach, in November following the signing of its latest management contract with Gurich Company Limited.

The resort has a prime beachside location and offers a modern village of 77 stunning villas and suites, with many featuring personal plunge pools and views over the Gulf of Thailand.

The resort also presents two piers overlooking the sea, and a secluded ocean pool for guests to enjoy.

The resort suites are clustered around communal pools which can be reserved exclusively for group stays. Meanwhile, Chuan Spa will be introduced to Samui bringing a signature range of pampering spa treatments based on the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) while introducing new Thai Traditional Medicine-based treatments for the first time.

The hotel is close to several recreational and cultural facilities including Lamai temple and the island’s yacht club.

For more information, visit www.langhamhotels.com  or www.eatonhotels.com