Jetsettersblog

Dive specialist operator Dive Quest is running a girls-only diving holiday to the Cayman Islands from 1st to 8th May 2010 to encourage ladies of any age and experience to learn to dive, explore the underwater world or find a new ‘buddy’ without the worry of travelling without a partner. So forget single supplements, make new friends and take advantage of onsite yoga, massage, spa and general girly fun.

From £1224 (learn to dive) www.divequest.co.uk  or call 01254 826322.

Ponta Dos Ganchos Exclusive Resort, located on the Emerald Coast of Brazil is celebrating placement on a list of the “World’s Most Sexiest Beaches” by Conde Nast Traveller US.

The award-winning resort is now placed alongside other leading beaches around the world, found in Malibu, Croatia, Australia, Goa, Caribbean, Mexico and Cuba to name a few.

“Ponta Dos Ganchos is going through such an amazing year!” comments Nicolas Peluffo, General Director of Ponta Dos Ganchos.

“We can only accredit this to our hard-working staff, who provide such a relaxed and comfortable resort for people to escape to.

This award is proof of our devotion to providing such a retreat in which our privileged guests can succumb to the breathtaking natural beauty of the surrounding coastline.”

Having achieved the accolade of “Most Excellent Romantic Hideaway” at the Conde Nast Johansens Awards for Excellence in January 2009, Ponta Dos Ganchos is delighted with yet another prestigious award.

A True Romantic Escape with All of the Beauty – and None of the Crowds

KOSRAE, Micronesia—There is nothing like a tropical island vacation to ignite the spark of romance – except when you discover that the “secluded” beaches are full of other vacationers also hoping to catch a glimpse of the sunset.

That won’t happen to guests at Kosrae Village Ecolodge and Dive Resort, located on the small island of Kosrae. Guests to the island will discover a remote, mountainous, tropical island with a diverse culture unlike the more popular tourist destinations. For example, Sunday is still a day of rest on Kosrae, so few stores are open and it is a great day to read, relax or visit the forests and waterfalls.

The cottages at Kosrae Village are built in the traditional style, including thatched roofs and raised flooring, but also contain modern amenities, including ceiling fans, hot and cold running water and in-room refrigerator and coffee pots. Six night/seven day packages that include accommodations, daily breakfasts, kayaking mangrove channels, snorkeling or scuba diving the pristine reefs and island exploration including trips to archeological ruins for around $1000 per person (based on double occupancy.)

For more information, visit www.kosraevillage.com   Read the Jetsetters Magazine feature about Kosrae Diving.

www.kosraevillage.com

Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, S.A.B. de C.V., known as OMA, and NH Hoteles of Spain unveiled their innovative new hotel offering to the passengers and users of the Mexico City International Airport with the opening of the NH Mexico City Airport Terminal 2 Hotel.

The five-star, 287-room hotel was designed and furnished to NH’s standards of style and quality.

The hotel is located inside AICM’s Terminal 2, which serves more than 9 million passengers per year.

The hotel features a business center, gym, spa, swimming pool, lobby bar, laundry service, car rental, handicapped-accessible facilities, seven meeting rooms with a capacity for 500 persons, and a restaurant that brings together the latest European trends with the best of Mexican cuisine. For more information, visit www.oma.aero

Berkshire East Canopy Tours launched its third and longest zip line course, featuring two lines X1-2300 and X2-2600, spanning the valley between the Berkshire East Ski Area in Charlemont and a mountainside in the neighboring town of Hawley.

The new Valley Jumping Tour consists of seven separate zip lines, including five from the existing Mountaintop Tour, plus two new “extreme” lines, X1 and X2, where riders will travel nearly half a mile in each direction and can reach speeds exceeding 50 mph. At its highest point riders will be over 186 feet above the valley floor.

Berkshire East Canopy Tours opened for zip line tours in June with two offerings: the Base Area Course, at the bottom of the ski slopes, which consists of two dual zip lines 350 and 570 feet long and serves as a good introduction to zipping.

The Mountaintop Course, for the more adventurous, includes a chairlift ride to the top of the mountain and seven zip lines ranging from 250 to 800 feet in length. This zip tour features spectacular views of the ski trails and the Deerfield River Valley below and ends with a relaxing chairlift return to the base area. All three courses are designed and built by Experienced Base Learning, Inc. (EBL) of Rockford, Ill., and all BECT guides are EBL trained and certified. “These two new lines put Berkshire East Canopy Tours in a class by themselves,”

EBL founder Steven Gustafson said of the new course. “BECT will be the premier canopy tour destination in New England.” All three canopy tours run daily. Reservations are highly recommended.

To book a tour or for more information, call 413-339-6617 or visit www.berkshirezip.com

Sanctuary Swala Camp, part of the Sanctuary Retreats collection, is now fully open following a $1.5 million rebuild.

Developed with eco-friendly standards, the camp is located in the secluded Tarangire National Park in an acacia forest at the edge of a rolling savannah – famous for some of the largest herds of elephants in Africa.

Each of the 12 canvas pavilions at Sanctuary Swala has a spacious open plan with a large living area, king bed and en- suite bathroom with both indoor and outdoor showers.

Floor-to-ceiling canvas windows lead onto large private lounge decks that overlook the main watering hole which regularly draws lions, leopards and resident bull elephants.

An infinity swimming pool has been added and the new main dining and lounge areas feature contemporary African design under traditional thatched roof structures.

The extensive decked area provides the perfect setting for leisurely sundowners and elegant al fresco dining while enjoying outstanding views over the waterhole and valley beyond. The lodge will soon offer walking safaris. In celebration of the opening of the camp, 2009 rates will be held for 2010.

For more information, visit www.sanctuarylodges.com

Ramada Worldwide announced that the 140-room Ramada Chisinau City Center property in the Republic of Moldova will be the country’s first internationally branded hotel.

Formerly the Hotel Codru, the seven-story, four-star hotel is owned by U.S.-based Investment Development Group, a privately held investment firm specializing in commercial and residential real estate in Eastern Europe.

The property will undergo a multi-million dollar renovation before re-opening as a Ramada hotel in the third quarter of 2010.

Situated in the administrative region of the city near embassies and parliamentary houses, the hotel will include two full-service restaurants, state-of-the-art business and fitness centers, sauna and multiple banquet and meeting spaces. Guestrooms will have an upscale, modern-design and offer a host of amenities including flat-screen, high-definition televisions and high-speed wireless Internet access.

The Virginia Tourism Corporation’s new group tour website and 2010 Virginia Group Tour Itinerary Planner are now available for group tour planners looking to create memorable trips.

Themes including student tours, girlfriend getaways, heritage trails, grandparent/grandkid tours, scenic byways, and Virginia’s small town “Main Street” experiences enable planners to find information on specific group’s interests.

To order a free itinerary planner, visit www.virginia.org/groups 

The new group site includes information on CVBs and group-friendly accommodations, restaurants and tours. Sample single and multi-day themed itineraries and local contact information are included to guide planners through Virginia’s multiple group tour options. Each of Virginia’s nine distinct tourism regions receives a special section of the Virginia Group Tour Itinerary Planner.

Included is information on all DMOs in each region along with airports, diesel fuel and bus services and guide services.

Those who plan student travel will find the best in Standards of Learning-based programming at attractions throughout the state. A special section of the Virginia Group Travel Planner highlights Virginia’s wineries as tour stops. More than 140 wineries now dot the Virginia landscape and the Virginia Group Travel Planner identifies more than 80 that are good for groups.

New additions and updates to lodging and attractions are also featured on www.virginia.org/groups

Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica constructed a Canopy Tree House 90 feet above the rainforest floor which provides a new perspective to the 29,000-acre private reserve.

The Canopy Tree House is outfitted with two single beds, wash basin, limited electricity and a portable toilet. Its walls are created out of wood and removable mesh screens to provide natural light and 360-degree vistas of the surrounding flora and fauna.

During the day, orchids, hummingbirds, toucans, monkeys and other wildlife are an arm’s length away, while at dusk, nocturnal species come to life for evening excursions and stargazing along Inkaterra’s hanging 1,130-foot-long Canopy Walkway.

Guests staying in the Canopy Tree house can rely on a dedicated Canopy Butler to arrange and oversee all excursions and special requests.

The butler is at-hand on a nearby tower and is reachable by walkie-talkie. A stay in the Canopy Tree House includes lodge transfers; sundowners with chilled sparkling wine or Pisco Sours; a Canopy Bar stocked with water, soft drinks and beer; light dinner and breakfast; a private bilingual interpreter/guide; and binoculars and flashlights for excursions along the Canopy Walkway and the recently added Anaconda Walk.

If sleeping in the middle of the nocturnal action becomes too much to handle, guests can descend to pre-arranged ground-level accommodations. Rates start at $300 per person per night (double occupancy), and are applied as a supplement to the regular program rates. Inkaterra is a Peruvian organization with more than 30 years of experience in sustainable tourism initiatives.

For more information, visit www.inkaterra.com

Coral Lodge 15.41, a luxury lodge in Mozambique, will open Nov. 1. The lodge, located at a beach location near the UNESCO World Heritage site, Ilha de Mozambique, launched a promotional campaign into the North American market. The new property, ideal for a post-safari beach getaway, is modern with a distinctly African flavor, and offers guests the latest in luxury and comfort while maintaining an authentic feel of Mozambican pureness.

The resort’s design, by Dutch designer Edward van Vliet, incorporates the colors of its environment using wood and brightly colored natural textures to make the resort blend in with its surroundings. The property’s 10 villas are set on top of the dunes, where they have views and the breeze from the Indian Ocean.

The villas have sitting areas, a bedroom, a bathroom and a terrace. All villas offer views over the Indian Ocean and Ilha de Moçambique.

Coral Lodge 15.41 is built on a privately-owned reserve called Varanda, a peninsula jutting into the ocean on one side and a large lagoon on the other.

Through the lagoon the tides offer life to the mangrove forest behind massive sand dunes. The area is visited by east African birds and is habited by bush babies (small nocturnal primates), monkeys, snakes, mongoose and other small mamals. Guests can explore Varanda by canoe or on foot.

Guests can visit the UNESCO World Heritage site Ilha de Mozambique. This former Portuguese trading-post on the route to India is remarkable in its architectural unity, due to the consistent use, since the 16th century, of the same building techniques, building materials (stone or macuti) and decorative principles.

For more information, contact Mallory Corbett, the North American representative, at Mallory@fazendinportfolio.com  or visit www.corallodge1541.com