Jetsettersblog

KOSRAE, Micronesia;– It’s the reef and the abundance of sea life that brings divers to Kosrae, Micronesia.

But there’s more to the magical Lelu Harbor than fish.

For divers who have a dash of archeologist in them and yearn for a touch of history – visiting Kosrae is a must.

Currently, there are three planes and one whaling boat that have been discovered by divers:

two PBMs, an Albatross and a whaling boat however a 1973 newspaper article refers to four plane crashes in the harbor … the next dive might be the one to discover that plane. Kosrae Village EcoLodge and Dive Resort can make all the arrangements to dive in Kosrae. 

www.kosraevillage.com  Read the Jetsetters Magazine feature about Kosrae Diving.

The Leela Palace Kempinski Bangalore was recognized as “India’s Leading Business Hotel” at the World Travel Awards (WTA) in London on Nov. 8.

This is the third consecutive year that The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts’ flagship property has received the award. Located in the “Silicon Valley” of India,

The Leela’s flagship property is set amidst nine acres of lush tropical gardens. Drawing inspiration from the architectural style of the Royal Palace of Mysore and the palaces of the Vijayanagara empire, the award-winning Leela Palace Kempinski Bangalore has 357 rooms and suites.

The property boasts the largest rooms in the city, with the average room measuring 575 square feet and Royal Club Suites measuring over 1,000 square feet.

The palace hotel has four restaurants, Asia’s premier urban spa, a fitness center and a swimming pool.

With a total 16,360 square feet of meeting space, The Leela is popular with the many IT, software, aerospace and telecommunications companies that are based in Bangalore.

For more information, visit www.theleela.com

The new Thalys high-speed train routes connect the cities of Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Cologne, Liège and Aachen, expanding European train travel into the New Year with significantly faster point-to-point service.

Thalys offers travelers the opportunity to connect to as many as 17 cities with over 80 roundtrips per day.

For example, travel from Amsterdam to Brussels in under two hours, or Antwerp to Amsterdam in 72 minutes.

Train travelers can use the Wi-Fi access or mingle with fellow travelers in the restaurant and bar cars.

If clients book by Dec. 13 on Rail Europe will waive the 15 day advance purchase requirement.

To book any of Rail Europe’s rail passes and point-to-point tickets on trains throughout Europe, log on to Rail Europe’s website below.

Florida’s Gulf Islands transformed into Anna Maria Island & Longboat Key, Florida’s Gulf Islands, and began welcoming visitors to experience their island culture through a new channel — www.annamariaisland-longboatkey.com

Serving as the new face of the destination, the website provides easier navigation and more accessible planning tools, including special vacation packages, hot deals, a downloadable visitor’s guide and an accommodations search.

The new site and branding effort by the Bradenton Area Convention & Visitors Bureau places more emphasis on its island communities of Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key, which is intended to enhance geographical awareness among visitors, as well as improve the destination’s performance among search engines and optimize site traffic.

At the www.AnnaMariaIsland-LongboatKey.com  website, visitors can click on the latest events, view experiential videos for each area within the destination, along with new images from the interactive photo gallery, and much more.

For more information, call 941-729-9177 or visit www.AnnaMariaIsland-LongboatKey.com

Jamaica received the “Golf Destination of the Year for the Caribbean and Latin America” voted by the more than 300 members of the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO).

Elizabeth Fox, regional director of the Jamaica Tourist Board, London was on hand to accept the coveted award on Thursday, Nov. 19, during the 2009 International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) in Malaga, Spain. Each year, the IGTM annual conference brings together international golf tour operators and the meetings industry with leading hotels, resorts and golf courses of the world to conduct business and grow the industry.

This leading trade show highlights and honors top golf travel suppliers, destinations and services.

With 12 courses island-wide that range dramatically in scenery, Jamaica has become a magnet for players from around the globe.

The courses are diverse, ranging from championship to laid-back country-club atmospheres, each with its own characteristics and designs to accommodate any golfer’s desire and level.

There are a range of options, whether it’s the Robert Trent Jones-designed Half Moon course, the Cinnamon Hill Golf Club by Von Hagge, Smelek and Baril or the SuperClubs Golf Club, an 18-hole course designed by Canadian Robert Motte, celebrated for its challenging layout with multiple blind holes and a relaxing club house.

Jamaica’s championship courses have been on show to the world having been host to a number of international tournaments including

Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf, Mazda Champions (LPGA Tour), The Jamaica Classic (LPGA Tour) and Johnnie Walker World Cup of Golf (PGA Tour). Soon the island will again play host to the Fourth Annual Jamaica Invitational Pro-Am “Annie’s Revenge,” presented by the Jamaica Tourist Board and Nike Golf, Dec. 2 to 6, featuring Pro-Am teams from the United States, Canada, Europe and the Caribbean competing on two of Jamaica’s best courses, Cinnamon Hill and White Witch.

For more information, call 800-JAMAICA or visit www.visitjamaica.com

A drink to feel good about:

London hotels launch signature cocktail collection to support Britain’s heroes

From a cocktail served in a musical jewellery box, to one with a male and female version and another which must be served on a blue leather coaster with a pure silver stirrer …

A collection of brand new, never-before-sampled cocktails has today been unveiled, courtesy of some of London’s most historic hotels.

The new cocktail collection has been launched to raise funds for Britain’s injured servicemen and their families: 100% of profits from the sale of the cocktails will go towards The Household Cavalry’s Charitable Fund and Help For Heroes.

At the heart of the collection is The Cavalry Cocktail, from one of London’s most historic and notable five star hotels, The Royal Horseguards in Whitehall, which has dedicated their cocktail to neighbouring regiment The Household Cavalry.

The Cavalry Cocktail – “Shame on him who drinks evil” – has been created in honour of The Household Cavalry, formed of The Life Guards and The Blues & Royals regiments, the eldest and most senior in the British Army.

“Shame on him who drinks evil” references the original motto of the Life Guards, “Shame on him who thinks evil”.

Award-winning mixologist Andy Pearson (BBC Something for the Weekend) created the cocktail collection.

Made with a unique blend of Ruby port, Courvoisier Cognac, Grand Marnier and Red burgundy, the cocktail is stirred with a silver stirrer and served on an Oxford Blue leather coaster – the official colours of the regiment.

Andy said, “I purposefully designed the Cavalry Cocktail to have an incredibly masculine military look and feel, aimed very much at the more discerning drinker.

The Oxford Blue coaster and silver stirrer are a nod towards the British establishment and reflect the Royal Horseguards location at the heart of London’s military and political community. Essentially, this is a very British cocktail for one of London’s finest hotels”.

The other cocktails in the collection include:

The Tower: Priced at £11.84. Tower Bridge originally cost £1,184,000 to build (1886-1894) and is served to the guest in a musical jewellery box referencing The Tower hotel’s location next to the Tower of London – home of the Crown Jewels. Like it’s namesake hotel, the cocktail is designed to stimulate all fives senses; sight and sound – the musical jewellery box, taste – the flavour, touch – canapé side serve, smell – nutmeg aroma. Beefeater is the base spirit, synonymous with the Tower of London.

The Punto Central: Priced at £9. This romantic cocktail comes in two varieties: one male, one female… but both drinks share three common tastes – apple, ginger and raspberry.

Whilst the male version is mixed with Cutty Sark Blended Scotch and served in a very masculine martini glass, the female version is vodka-based with Chambord raspberry liqueur and served with a floating frozen raspberry. The name reflects the Charing Cross hotel’s position at the most central point of London, whilst the Spanish translation is in honour of The Eleanor Cross outside the hotel.

The Park Lane: Priced at £10. A very feminine cocktail with confidence and elegance. The name references The Cumberland hotel’s location at the top of Park Lane.

Like the hotel’s post-modern lobby, the Park Lane is design focussed with strong colours; Bombay Sapphire is a key ingredient, served in a champagne flute.

The cocktails will be available at their individual hotels from 1st November 2009.

Further details and recipes of the four cocktails can be found at
www.guoman.com

What could make your wedding more memorable than hiring your own boutique hotel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea?

Ionian Weddings offers couples the opportunity to hire luxurious boutique hotels in the Greek islands on an exclusive basis so they can enjoy the ultimate in privacy and pampering for their wedding day.

A two night stay on an exclusive basis in a boutique hotel in Santorini costs less than £10,000 including breakfast and spa treatments for 60 guests – the same as the basic one day hire of many upmarket venues in the UK.

“Many couples are amazed to discover that a luxury wedding in Greece costs significantly less than a wedding in the UK. This means that couples can afford more extravagant weddings that might be impossible to consider back home” says Jane Stuart-Palikira, Managing Director at Ionian Wedding.

For example, in Santorini, one of the most exclusive islands in Greece, a wedding ceremony and reception at a 5 star hotel overlooking the Caldera costs from £9000 for 60 guests.

This includes hire of the venue for the day, a gourmet 4 course meal with wine and champagne, flowers, photographer, videographer, organization of the ceremony and reception, all local paperwork and a personal wedding planner.

If you then include the hire of the hotel on exclusive basis for 2 nights, the total cost of the wedding is less than £19,000 – less than the average cost of a UK wedding which would not include any accommodation for the guests*.

“When we told our guests we were marrying in Santorini, they were so excited” said Victoria Nichol who recently celebrated her nuptials with Ionian Weddings on the island. “Many of them came out for the weekend and just had to pay for their flights as we had provided the accommodation for them, others made a week’s holiday out of it.

The best thing about it all was that we got to spend a weekend with all our friends and family close by us and could party until the sun rose. If we’d married back home we would only have seen them for a day and would never have been able to hire a whole hotel. And of course the weather was much better!”

*average cost of a UK wedding is £20,000 according to a recent You and Your Wedding survey.

Opening December 2009, Coral Lodge 15.41 is a unique barefoot beach retreat situated on a peninsula within the wild and rugged untouched Varanda nature reserve in Northern Mozambique.

La Varanda, the area surrounding the lodge, is a privately owned nature reserve full of untouched beaches, dunes and mangroves.

It lies only a short distance from the historical UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ilha de Moçambique (Mozambique Island), the former capital of the country. Since the end of the civil war in 1992, tourism has fast become one of the country’s key resources but the area around Coral Lodge 15.41 is still largely untouched and the rugged unspoiled terrain and friendliness of the locals are a true testament to this.

This unique boutique beach retreat, comprising of only ten villas, has been designed by the renowned Dutch designer Edward Van Vliet who has tastefully combined the latest in luxury and comfort with the authentic feel of Mozambican style and pureness.

He has skillfully incorporated the colours of the surroundings by using a mix of wood and textures to ensure the lodge sympathetically blends in with its surroundings.

To further enhance the area’s natural setting the villas have been built on top of the dunes to give incredible sea views and a continuous breeze from the cerulean ocean.

For complete privacy and relaxation the minimalist villas include various sitting areas, a spacious bedroom, separate bathroom with huge bath and shower and large veranda with comfy chairs and daybed for lazy afternoons.

Each villa boasts its own outdoor shower, perfect after a cooling dip in the sea.

Coral Lodge 15.41 is also the first hotel in the world to have the award-winning Evening Breeze canopy beds in each bedroom.

A revolution in eco technology, they negate the need for energy-guzzling air-conditioners yet still allow full climate control with a fully integrated cooling system. Combine this with hardness-adjustable mattresses and Egyptian cotton bed linen and guests are assured a luxurious sleeping experience on warm balmy evenings.

Cuisine is a highlight at Coral Lodge 15.41 with outdoor and indoor dining taking place at ‘The Reef’, an open wooden thatched structure peacefully situated at the tip of the peninsula allowing guests to combine stunning sunsets with enticing Mozambican flavours. Using only local ingredients with a key focus on fresh fish and shellfish, the experienced chefs prepare everything daily.

The delicious Portuguese style pastries will delight at breakfast and the gastronomical skills displayed through the variation of the daily dinner menu will no doubt impress.

Every dish is infused with the original flavours of Mozambique mixed with Portuguese and Middle Eastern influences and is always complemented by a variety of first class wines from South Africa and Portugal.

For those not only passionate about the consumption but also the creation of the dishes there is the opportunity for guests to join the head chef on her daily visit to the market and then return to the lodge to learn how to cook popular Mozambican dishes.

A shared infinity pool is ideally positioned where the laguna and ocean meet. After a morning swim guests can watch the tide feeding the mangroves and listen to the birds waking the other wildlife.

In the afternoon, they can dive in to cool down from the various activities on offer or simply relax by the pool with a bestseller and enjoy a refreshing drink and delicious traditional snack. A private dinner can also be arranged by the infinity pool, ideal for a romantic celebration or proposal under the stars.

Due to its unique location the choice of activities at Coral Lodge 15.41 are diverse and endless… Step onboard the lodge’s traditional dhow and learn to sail. Alternatively let the experts take you to the best snorkeling and world class diving spots followed by a visit to an uninhabited island to enjoy a delicious picnic lunch.

During high tide grab one of the canoes and explore the mangroves where you can see native birds, mangrove crabs and other indigenous animals.

Enthusiasts can indulge in a fishing dhow excursion before enjoying their fresh catch prepared for dinner that evening. During August and September whales are spotted from the beach as they migrate passed Coral Lodge 15.41 and with the available boat excursions guests are brought up close and personal with these fascinating sea mammals.

The lodge’s position lends itself perfectly for the cultural exploration of Ilha de Moçambique, the former capital of Mozambique built by the Portuguese.

From the lodge guests look out onto San Sebastião Fort (1558 AD) at the north point of the island.

This fort and many other colonial buildings are remnants of a bygone era that still preserve history. Guests can explore this fascinating city at their own pace or let a local guide tell them about its controversial history.

Coral Lodge 15.41 is the perfect hideaway to enjoy everything this untouched area of Mozambique has to offer. Villa’s start at $295 per person per night including all meals, house wines, beer and soft drinks, all non-motorized activities (fishing, sunset dhow cruise, windsurfing, snorkeling equipment and canoeing).

The Lovat, Loch Ness has bowled over the Good Hotel Guide, featuring as one of the ‘Twenty Best British Hotel Discoveries’ in the latest edition of the reputable Guide.

The Lovat, an independent 28 bedroom hotel with an exceptional location in Fort Augustus over-looking Loch Ness, was refurbished in 2007, has adopted a strong eco-conscious policy and has the knack of extending guests the small gestures which make all the difference.

Editor of the Good Hotel Guide, Desmond Balmer, has spent the last 12 months scouring the country looking for great places to stay, and this year’s Top 20 Discoveries details a mix of hotels, inns, restaurants-with-rooms and B&Bs which combine a series of factors to “create a happy experience” for guests, including food, breakfast, style, rules, “little things” and location.

The Lovat has a definitive character and class of its own, offering a high standard of comfort in traditional Victorian surroundings complemented by natural décor and modern bedrooms equipped with the latest technology.

A winning team of devoted and passionate staff ensure that guests ranging from honeymooners, children, walkers and cyclists, business travellers and even dogs, have everything they need to make their Highland visit one to be repeated.

The management operates the hotel and 2AA rosette restaurant with an underlying respect for the environment and surrounding region, as evidenced by a seasonal and locally sourced menu, eco-conscious appliances and design, and ambitious initiatives to reduce the overall environmental impact.

The Lovat has already won several awards including a VIBES award for Environmental Management and an Envirowise Award for Resource Efficiency, and is currently shortlisted for four Highlands and Islands Tourism Awards and a Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Award.

The family friendly, Buenaventura Grand Hotel & Spa in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico is offering young spa enthusiasts a private sanctuary with the introduction of their Kids Spa at the tranquil, open-air spa Shakti.

Now kids can relax and rejuvenate just like their parents with specially designed, fun, kid-themed pampering spa treatments for kids, ages five to thirteen.

A fun and whimsical menu of 15 to 35 minute manicures, pedicures, massages, scrubs, facials and therapeutic body treatments are available.

Popular treatments include the little princess massage, fruit massage complete with chocolate, mango, pineapple and coconut essences, vanilla rainbow body treatment with a vanilla exfoliation, vanilla moisturizer and colorful marshmallows, a strawberry facial or delicious lemon ice cream pedicure.

Each treatment is topped off with a milk shake of choice for every young spa enthusiast to enjoy.

A parent or adult guardian must accompany kids during spa treatments.

Buenaventura Grand Hotel & Spa provides plenty of fun-filled activities for families and kids to enjoy.

The Buenaventura Kids Club ensures non-stop fun with a refreshed activities program. On the beach kids play soccer, baseball and build sandcastle creations. The pool offers water polo, swimming lessons and volleyball as well as a children’s pool for a splashing good time. In the shade, the Kids Club is the place for crafts, video games, board games, toys and music.

For more information or reservations at Buenaventura Grand Hotel & Spa, call 1-888-859-9439 or email ventas@hotelesbuenaventura.com.mx  or visit www.hotelbuenaventura.com.mx

About Buenaventura Grand Hotel & Spa

Located in the heart of Puerto Vallarta, embraced by the Bay of Banderas and kissed by a serpentine stretch of gold-sand beach, Buenaventura Grand Hotel & Spa offers guests – singles, couples and families alike – a host of exciting activities and a charming ambiance of pure Mexican delight.

Awarded the AAA Three Diamond status in 2008. Housing 236 newly remodeled spacious rooms and suites with panoramic ocean views, upgraded furniture and amenities as well as a wealth of fine dining options to whet any palate, the hotel attracts all travelers seeking a vibrant and unforgettable vacation.

For spa enthusiasts looking to immerse themselves in harmony, an idyllic sanctuary providing an array of invigorating and therapeutic treatments is found at the Shakti Spa. For more information visit www.hotelbuenaventura.com.mx