Jetsettersblog

Stay in the 20th Century Homes of Dylan Thomas or a
19th Century Slate-Cutting Mill or an 18th Century Country House

New York — There is nothing cookie-cutter about Wales, nor about its accommodation. And now Wales is giving travelers something to tweet about with a bevy of newly available accommodation including Number Five, the childhood home of Dylan Thomas; and Seaview, Dylan and Caitlin Thomas’ seaside home in Laugharne.

Other tweet-worthy accommodation includes Snowdonia’s Graig Wen and two affordable luxury escapes – The Grove and Ramsey House, both in Pembrokeshire on the south west coast of Wales and both positively glowing after extreme makeovers.

Poetic Properties

Dylan Thomas fans who want to step back in time and soak in the very atmosphere that inspired the late poet can stay at Number Five, the home where Dylan was born in the front bedroom in 1914 and lived until 1937.

This time-travel accommodation stays true to 1914 and even gives guests a newspaper on the day of their arrival, with the news of the day 95 years ago.

Over two thirds of Thomas’ published output was written in this home; “A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” was written about 5 Cwmdonkin Drive.

Number Five sleeps six guests and can be used as self-catering accommodation from £1,500 for a week for six people. Individual guests can book bed & breakfast at £125 per night. Two-hour tours of the home are also available and cost £12. www.5cwmdonkindrive.com

Dylan and Caitlin Thomas’ seaside home in Laugharne, where they lived from 1938-1940, opened April 2009 as a restaurant with four luxury five-star rooms. Fittingly called the Seaview, this is the home where Dylan and Caitlin were said to be happiest, raising their family and entertaining guests such as Arthur Miller, T.S. Elliot and the painter Augustus Brown. Prices begin at £65 bed and breakfast. For further information about this poetic gem of a property, visit www.seaview-laugharne.co.uk

Tweet-Worthy Accommodation

Three other tweet-worthy accommodation include…

Snowdonia’s five-room Graig Wen, a refurbished Victorian slate cutting mill with furniture custom made by local crafts makers, modern design classics and traditional Welsh materials. While the décor is fab – eye-catching album covers of Welsh-language pop from the 60’s and 70’s add a colorful twist to the more traditional interiors, the views over the Mawddach Estuary and mountains steal the show: Rates begin at £55 per night single occupancy, £70 per night double occupancy bed and breakfast. Deals and discounts can be found at www.graigwen.co.uk 

The Grove, a stunning, yet relaxed 18th century Georgian country house retreat has recently opened on a 10-acre estate nestled in the Pembrokeshire hillside.

This affordable, luxury escape, well located near the market town of Narbeth, just 15 minutes from the seaside resort town of Tenby, has all the trimmings to make life wonderful – fireplaces in the bedroom, deep cast iron baths and under-floor heating.

The Grove has four stone cottages overlooking the Preseli Mountains, each with oak beams, an oak kitchen, a small wood-burning stove, local artwork and French doors opening onto a private terrace.

Starting in July, The Grove will offer 12 guest rooms (it currently offers five) and four cottages. Rates as low as £80 per night can be found online under the section “offers” at www.thegrove-narberth.co.uk

Ramsey House, a five-star boutique, luxury bed and breakfast in St. David’s, Britain’s smallest city named after the patron Saint of Wales, also recently opened after a lavish refurbishment. The guest rooms are stylishly decorated with Designer’s Guild and Zoffany wall coverings, fabrics, leather tub chairs and solid oak furniture.

Guests can choose a room with a view of the sea, the countryside or St. David’s Cathedral, or choose to be surrounded by a private garden.

Rates begin at £90 per night, double occupancy, bed and breakfast.

More information can be found at www.ramseyhouse.co.uk

Other great resources for uncommonly wonderful accommodation include the Welsh Rarebits Collection (www.rarebits.co.uk) and Great Little Places(www.little-places.co.uk)

To learn more about visiting Wales, visit www.travelwales.org

New Luxury Lifestyle Hotel Brand Launches and Redefines the Design Hotel

The Rezidor Hotel Group, the Brussels-based hospitality management company, is pleased to announce that the first property developed in collaboration with the renowned Italian luxury fashion dynasty, Missoni, opens today in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Hotel Missoni Edinburgh combines the unique style of the iconic Italian fashion and interiors house with the expertise of The Rezidor Hotel Group, to offer a new luxury lifestyle brand that redefines the world of design and lifestyle hotels.

Spearheaded by Hotel Missoni Creative Director, Rosita Missoni, and Rezidor Executive Vice-President of Brands, Gordon McKinnon, the partnership creates a distinctive blend of fashion, function, form and service that adds up to a new genre of genuinely luxurious, yet accessible hotels.

Kurt Ritter, Rezidor CEO, believes Hotel Missoni is “a totally new breed of hotel. I’ve seen so many of these hotels with grey, black and brown and minimalist design—this is distinctive and colorful. As soon as you walk through the doors you know it’s Missoni.”

With a prime location on the corner of George IV Bridge and the Royal Mile and steps from Edinburgh Castle, Hotel Missoni is situated in the heart of Edinburgh. Positioned between the city’s famous Old and New Towns, Hotel Missoni is conveniently within close proximity of many of Edinburgh’s historic attractions, shopping and restaurants.

Hotel Missoni Brings Modern Accommodations to Historic Royal Mile

Hotel Missoni Edinburgh offers 136 rooms and suites, some of which offer views over the city landmarks and the famous Royal Mile. The hotel’s seven suites range in size from 474 square feet to the 721-square-foot Suite d’Argento.

Combining form and function, accommodations include linens from Missoni Home, bathrobes and slippers created exclusively by Missoni for the hotel, 26-inch LCD televisions, and toiletries created for Hotel Missoni and scented with a Missoni fragrance. Each guest room also has an in-suite bathroom featuring a luxurious rain shower with a bench seat.

Rates start at £210 (approx. $335) per night, inclusive of complimentary breakfast, high-speed wireless internet, over 100 films on demand, a “healthy” minibar, two items of laundry and specially commissioned Missoni toiletries.

Décor Features Signature Missoni Zigzag Print and Missonis’ Favorite Furnishings

Designed by Creative Director Rosita Missoni (one of the original founders of Missoni), the interiors of Hotel Missoni are bold and dramatic. The overall color scheme is a simple, stylish black and white with brilliant flashes of color interspersed. Rosita combined unmistakable Missoni prints with the work of designers that she personally admires such as Marcel Wandes, Eero Saarinen and Arne Jacobson.

Arranged over the six floors of the property are iconic pieces of design, some of which Rosita has in her own home, such as Hans J Wegner’s Wishbone Chair.

Each Hotel Missoni is reflective of its location. As a tribute to the Scottish heritage, Rosita has included pieces by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, including his famous Ladderback Chair.

The lobby of Hotel Missoni Edinburgh also includes two large mosaic urns, which will become a Hotel Missoni trademark. Every Hotel Missoni will feature these over-sized urns decorated in the color scheme of the individual property.

Cucina and Bar Missoni Invite Guests to Experience Passeggiata and Missoni Family Recipes

As the kitchen lies at the heart of an Italian family, so will Hotel Missoni’s restaurant, Cucina Missoni, lie at the heart of the property.

Open all day from breakfast until late, Cucina offers a menu of fresh, seasonal and authentic Italian dishes such as Barolo & Castelmagno cheese risotto, sea bass baked with a salt crust, and roast rabbit served with polenta and radicchio.

The dishes are complimented by china and glassware from Missoni Home. Located on the first floor of the hotel, Cucina can seat up to 100 guests.

Inspired by the Italian tradition of passeggiata, Bar Missoni will be one of the places in Edinburgh to see and be seen. Positioned in the lobby of the hotel on the ground floor, Bar Missoni can accommodate 50 guests and serves classic drinks, non-alcoholic beverages and cocktails created especially for Bar Missoni.

Stylish Meetings and Events

There are three private rooms available for meetings or events, each stylishly designed in keeping with the Missoni interiors. The three rooms vary in size from 301 square feet to 807 square feet and the largest room can be divided into two adjoining spaces. A fourth space (1,076 square feet) is available for use as a breakout area.

Hotel Missoni is a natural step for Creative Director Rosita Missoni. Her unique flair and creativity have made the Missoni brand an iconic name, not only in the fashion business, but also in the home interiors world, through the Missoni Home collection. Hotel Missoni embraces the traditional Italian family values of warmth and hospitality. This emphasis on service, style and great food will ensure a hotel experience that is tailored to the needs of the modern traveler while giving guests a true taste of the Missoni lifestyle.

The debut of Hotel Missoni Edinburgh will be followed by a resort property in Kuwait, opening fall 2009. The Edinburgh and Kuwait properties will become the first city-center and resort hotels within the Hotel Missoni portfolio, which will see 30 hotels open or under development within 10 years. Through the worldwide license agreement with Missoni, Rezidor’s strategy is to grow the Hotel Missoni brand globally.

The initial development focus will be on Europe and the Middle East, but will quickly expand to North America, South America and Asia.

For more information on Hotel Missoni, visit www.HotelMissoni.com

When the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge opens in Spring 2010 it will be one of the largest purpose-built hotels to open in London for decades.

The hotel will have 1,021 guest rooms and a pillarless Grand Ballroom large enough to house an Olympic-sized swimming pool. There will be 422 superior rooms, 545 studio rooms and 54 suites and penthouses.

The hotel will provide extensive new meeting space in London, with 35 flexible meeting rooms.

The ballroom will be able to hold up to 1,400 guests theatre-style and there will be a business centre and lounges, a fitness centre with swimming pool, a full service gym and an extensive spa.

The hotel is in walking distance of Waterloo Station, the South Bank and the Royal Festival Hall, National Theatre and Tate Modern.

The new building replaces the former concrete and glass County Hall annexe that was once voted the ugliest building in the capital.

Park Plaza Westminster Bridge

200 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7UT

Tel: +44 844 415 6790

Website: www.parkplazawestminsterbridge.com

To coincide with Homecoming Year in Scotland, the Fairmont St Andrews resort hotel is offering guests an opportunity to explore their Scottish roots with Brian Thomson, the leading Scottish authority on ancestral searches.

The standard Ancestry at Fairmont St Andrews package includes a ‘family tree search taster’ and a copy of photographer Andy Hall’s book of images A Sense of Belonging to Scotland. Guests who wish to delve deeper can request a private meeting at the hotel with Dr Thomson, who will discuss their family history and advise them on a tailor-made search for their ancestors.

Prices start at US$256 per room per night and the package is available until the end of the year.

The recently renovated 209-bedroom hotel is in a 210-hectare (520-acre) estate on the Fife coast of Scotland. It overlooks the St Andrews links where golf has been played since around 1400AD.

Fairmont St Andrews

St Andrews, Scotland KY16 8PN

Tel: +44 1334 837000

Website: www.fairmont.com/stAndrews

Bronllys Castle in mid-Wales has reopened to the public after four months of essential conservation maintenance.

Bronllys Castle is a late-11th or early-12-century motte with a 24-metre (80ft) tower. A motte was a type of fortification that used an artificial mound to support a defensible structure on its summit.

The 16-week conservation project included a range of access improvements, new robust metal access stairs to the tower and improvements to the main entrance. The work is part of the ongoing commitment of Cadw, the Welsh Assembly’s historic environment service, to improve access to and around its sites.

Some internal works to the tower were postponed until late spring to cause minimum disruption to the colony of bats hibernating over the winter in the cellar.
Mial Watkins, Principal Architect with Cadw, says: ‘Due to the amount of conservation work and the need to provide robust low-maintenance access steps at Bronllys Castle it was necessary to close the monument for a considerable amount of time. During this period we have also undertaken selective tree felling to allow views to and from the castle. We hope visitors will appreciate the improvements made on site which now open up the castle like never before.’

Bronllys Castle, Talgarth, Powys

Website: www.cadw.wales.gov.uk

The 4-star London Bridge Hotel has now been fully renovated. The hotel rooms were traditionally styled and have been given an urban and contemporary redesign by interior designer Ann Jordan.

Her design for the hotel’s Londinium restaurant was inspired by a view of London through the eyes of Peter Ackroyd in his book London – The Biography.

The corridor fire doors are covered in artwork by batik artist Annie Phillips.

The hotel has 138 rooms and suites and three two-bedroom apartments fully equipped with kitchen and living/dining room.

Six bedrooms have been adapted for disabled guests. There are four non-smoking floors and the hotel offers free wireless internet.

Five meeting and private rooms can accommodate up to 80 people.

Daily delegate rates start at £85 per person.

The hotel is near the City area, the food-lovers Borough Market and the South Bank on the Thames.

The historic area has been used as a film location for Bridget Jones’s Diary, Entrapment and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

London Bridge Hotel opened in 1998 and was previously a wartime telephone exchange.

Prices from £99 a night (Friday–Sunday) including English breakfast.

London Bridge Hotel, 8–18 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9SG
Tel: +44 20 7855 2200

Website: www.londonbridgehotel.com

Britain’s leading guided walking tours specialist operator, Ramblers Countrywide Holidays is offering a 5 night holiday in Bowness on Windermere in the Lake District – one of the UK’s most stunning destinations.

A walkers paradise, this holiday embraces, the fell country around England’s largest lake, the woodlands of Claife Heights, the seclusion of Little Langdale and Elterwater and the tranquillity of Blelham Tarn and Tarn Hows.

Also featured, are visits to the beautiful Lakeland villages of Coniston and Hawkshead, Orrest Head (which so inspired Alfred Wainwright, arguably the greatest Lakeland walker of them all).

And to cap it all, accommodation for this holiday is at the famous Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel, Bowness on Windermere set in six glorious acres of private gardens with spectacular views over the lake and fells. Orginally built in 1893 and later owned by Beatrix Potter, this is the perfect base for leisurely forays around the sundry hills.

Lake steamer piers are just 20 minutes on foot from the hotel which adds new dimensions to this wide ranging walking holiday.

Prices from – £499 (6 days) includes half-board accommodation at The Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel and the services of a tour leader.

www.RamblersCountrywide.co.uk Tel: 01707 386800

Fresh Breeze – Discover Germany’s Coasts and Islands

Welcome to our May Press Newsletter: Fresh Breeze – Discover Germany’s Coasts and Islands. For daily updates on deals, events and fun information please follow us at www.twitter.com/germanytourism.

Healthy, Idyllic and Green – Germany’s Northern Frisian Islands

In the heart of the unique national park Wattenmeer (mudflats) the Northern Frisian Islands off Germany’s North Sea Coast. Truly islands of calm the islands offer something for everyone, from secluded silence to high-end spas. Easily reachable by ship or by train the islands barely have car traffic.

The most common mode of transportation is bicycle or walking. Developed with signposted trails it is easy to find your way around and discover the great nature and wildlife from bird colonies to seals on the banks of the ocean. Enjoy the fresh and healthy air, free of pollution, which makes the islands the perfect spot for people with allergies or respiratory diseases. The size and character of the North Frisian Islands is very different.

Sylt as the largest and most developed island boasts great hotels, restaurants from high end to regional and affordable, spas and golf courses without losing its idyllic charm.

The smaller islands offer small hotels or apartments and if you like a very exclusive stay, you can overnight on one of the small Halligs, tiny islands, with sometimes only one house on them, which get marooned during high tide. www.cometogermany.com

Theme: Strong Winds, Great Waves – Water Sports at the German Coasts and Islands

Surfing, sail boarding and kite surfing – in Germany you can catch a good wave. Germany’s North and Baltic Sea coasts and islands offer excellent surfing and kite conditions for beginners and pros.

Combined with beautiful beaches, happening waterfront towns or quiet villages, hotels and easy transportation Germany’s coasts are worth a visit for individual water sport enthusiasts, families and groups.

Wild breakers, heavy swells and strong currents can challenge your surfing talent on Norderney, the second largest of the seven East Frisian Islands off the North Sea coast close to the Netherlands.

Beginners acquire a taste for the sport in the bay at the marina. For those who want somewhat more of a thrill, kite surfers are lifted up and carried through the air by the fierce gusts of wind which characterize this top spot. The island is mainly car free.

You can reach every spot easily by bus or bike. www.norderney.de

Sylt, the largest of the North Frisian Islands, has ideal conditions for aquatic athletes. Beginners dare their first attempts in the calm wadden sea on the east coast while real pros let themselves be whipped across the waves by the harsh wind on the west coast.

Every year world-class surfers also rise to this challenge at the Surf World Cup.

The Kitesurf Trophy off the coast of Westerland, Sylt’s largest city, offers genuine high-altitude flights. http://en.sylt.de

Just a little south of Sylt, but on the German mainland, St. Peter Ording, has become a Mecca for kite surfers on the North Sea coast of the state of Schleswig-Holstein.

Since 2006 the German Championships as well as the World Cup in kite surfing have been taking place there. Daring freestylers and top live musical acts provide for first class entertainment at the sporty beach parties. With its stiff breeze and the legendary beach life this location offers the best conditions for this terrific trendsetting sport. www.st.peter-ording-nordsee.de

Fehmarn, an island off the Baltic Sea Coast near Luebeck is known to surfers as the “Hawaii” of the Baltic Sea because some of the best spots in the entire country are located here. Up to 20 spots offer appropriate conditions for every wind direction and every level of skill.

Altenteil, for example, is ideal for jumping and surfing as the waves can reach heights of more than 8 feet. Fehmarn is connected to the German coast with a bridge and easily reachable. In 2018 it will also be connected with a 13 mile long bridge to Denmark. www.cometogermany.com

Ruegen, off the Baltic Sea coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in Germany’s east, is the largest German island and the possibilities for surfers and kite surfers are fantastic.

One of the best German surf spots can be found near Suhrendorf, between the island of Ummanz situated in the west and Hiddensee – another ideal territory for pros.

With nearly 400 miles of coast line everybody can find his favorite spot. Also an incredible natural resort, the islands offers both, tourist comfort and secluded quiet. www.ruegen.de

Urban Beaches in Maritime Hamburg

Sandy beaches, cocktails in an urban setting – it is a very recent trend in Germany. In no other city could it be more suitable, than in Hamburg especially with the interesting panorama of one of Europe’s largest ports. Germany’s second largest city, in the north on the River Elbe, not far from the North Sea boasts urban lifestyle, great museums, and shopping arcades. In the summer there is a great Mediterranean vibe right in the middle of the city; the days are long and warm and the people stay out until late at night in this city famous for its clubs, bars and now, urban beaches.

Hamburg boasts several smaller beach bars and five large sand beaches where DJs and live bands offer entertainment until midnight.

The most famous is the original “Strandpauli”- named for the famous and hip district it is situated in. Right in the old harbor area near the Landungsbruecken and below the Reeperbahn, this beach bar has the perfect location in the heart of Hamburg. Come here by subway or more refreshing by watertaxi. www.hamburg-tourism.de

From the Landungsbruecken you can venture out to discover the harbor area, the Speicherstadt and the new built Hafen City (harbor city) by boat. Embark one of the many small tour boats that take you on a one hour trip through small channels and past the giant container ships in the docks. www.hamburg-tourism.de Or take a water taxi to visit the BallinStadt emigration museum. Hundreds of thousands left from here in the past centuries to come to America. Discover how they lived in the original barracks and trace your family history back to Germany. www.ballinstadt.de

In addition to the artificial beaches, tons of sand are moved in the summer to Hamburg’s waterfront areas near the natural Elbe beach in the district of Altona and at the River Alster.

Bars are set up, cocktails mixed and music played every evening. Hamburg’s inhabitants meet here after work or on the weekend to enjoy the sun or sunsets and watch the passing giant container ships or the small sailing boats.

LD Lines’ new fast ferry service between Dover and Boulogne started.

New fast catamaran Norman Arrow will operate four return sailings a day with a crossing time of one hour.

Fares start at £27.50 one way for a car and four passengers, based on a five-day return, with foot passenger fares starting at £9 each way and £18 for day returns.

The new fast ferry will increase frequency on the route from the current two operated by a conventional ferry to six return sailings a day.

The fast craft can carry 1,200 passengers, 417 cars or combination of up to 30 freight vehicles and 195 cars, and will operate at speeds of up to 40 knots.

Norman Arrowis claimed to be the largest ever fast ferry to operate on the cross channel routes between England and France.

It is the world’s largest diesel-powered catamaran and the first-ever freight carrying, high speed vessel to operate across the Dover Straits.

Vist the continent by Ferry!!

James Pribram, local surfers and Surfrider help lift surfing ban

Foundation’s Lake Michigan Chapter Co-Chair Vince Deur in celebrating their victory yesterday as The Chicago Parks District officially announced that surfing is no longer illegal. For decades, Chicago has banned all flotation devices from their beaches since a deadly tragedy occurred with three girls on an inflatable raft.

The CPD agreed to open two city public beaches for the Summer, Montrose & 57th St, and in the Fall two other beaches will be added for off-season surfing: Rainbow & Osterman In early summer of 2008, Pribram, Deur, Surfer & Attorney Todd Haugh and local Kitesurfer Mike Urban had a surf summit with officials at the Chicago Parks District to make their case for surfing in Chicago and tried to reverse a city-wide ban on floatation devices, a law that ultimately put Chicago surfer Jack Flynn behind bars overnight when he attempted surfing a cold and stormy December day.

To further protest the law, Pribram joined local surfers David Vanderveen, Jack Flynn, Vince Deur, Jim Hoop and Ryan Gerard last month for a “paddle out” in front of Chicago’s legendary ‘Miracle Mile’. After almost two hours of stand-up paddling, Chicago police boats arrived, but the surfers were long gone.

“While our little stand up paddle-out was just a small step owards taking a stand for change, I look forward to sharing the importance of keeping surfing clean, legal and a choice for all local surfers and future surfers,” said Pribram. Deur added, ”

We are very pleased with the decision of the Parks istrict to allow surfing in the city of Chicago…it’s a great opportunity to prove ourselves to the CPD and the community that we are respectful stewards of the beaches…”

James Pribram is best known for his philanthropic and environmental endeavors through his Eco-Warrior project. Through the project, Pribram works with developers and government officials to solve a variety of environmental problems that endanger the ocean.

www.surfrider.org