Jetsettersblog

Visitors know it, local residents know it and now its official; Cornwall is the Best UK Holiday Destination having been bestowed the coveted title at the British Travel Awards.

Open to all destinations across the country and won by public votes, the category represents the views of the consumer making it a true indicator of popularity.

Over 20% of the category’s votes were cast in Cornwall’s favour pushing it ahead of the Lake District, last years winner, and into the enviable number one position to reclaim the title having held it in 2006.

The British Travel Awards boast over seventy categories spanning every type of holiday experience from transport to customer service making them the largest awards programme in the UK. They are widely referred to as the “Oscars” of the travel industry and are the most recognisable and sought-after accolades in the sector.

The grand Awards Gala was held at Battersea Evolution, one of London’s most exciting event venues, and Steve Kessell of VisitCornwall, the official tourist board for the county, was there to collect the trophy: “Being awarded the title of Best UK Holiday Destination is a fantastic honour for Cornwall. Not only does it recognise the hard work of the industry but it also shines the national spotlight on Cornwall. The fact that it is based on public opinion makes it even more significant as it comes from those people that count, those that vote with their feet!

“The Award also comes at a really exciting time for us as it coincides with the launch of the new and improved VisitCornwall website, www.visitcornwall.com . The combination of a respected award and fantastic new website is a huge boost to our armour for promoting the county to the world.”

For further information about the British Travel Awards and a full list of winners visit www.britishtravelawards.com

‘No news and no shoes’ is the motto in the Maldives, especially when staying at Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resort or Vilu Reef Beach & Spa Resort, and those choosing to visit for their holiday will delight in the sheer ease of life.

Whether for winter sun, Christmas, a honeymoon or a break away with the whole family, the Maldives has something special for everyone.

Catch It And Cook It Excursion At Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resort

Recently launched and unique to Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resort, the ‘Catch It And Cook It’ excursion is just another reason to visit the Maldives in 2010.

Perfect for those seeking an authentic Maldivian experience, guests spend an afternoon on a boat fishing and learning how to scale, gut and cut the fish.

On arrival at Olhuveli’s very own sandbank island, they get a real flavour for Maldivian cuisine with a cooking demonstration followed by a traditional Maldivian barbeque so they can dine on their afternoon’s work.

The ‘Catch It And Cook It’ excursion can be booked in resort from US$69 per adult and US$35 per child under 12 years.

Thomas Cook (0844 412 5970 / www.thomascook.com  ) is offering seven nights at the luxurious Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resort from just £1,029 per person (a saving of £300 per person compared with the brochure price).

Departing 6 December, the price includes return flights from London Gatwick with Monarch Airlines, accommodation in a deluxe room on a half-board basis, taxes, transfers and surcharges. Prices based on two sharing.

New Kids Programme at Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resort

With a brand new kids programme and fantastic watersports centre, Olhuveli is a great choice for active families.

Children are well catered for by the Kids Garden team and kept busy with lots of educational, fun and adventurous activities. Just launched, this free programme is available from 10am to 5pm daily for children aged three to 11 years.

Other fun-filled activities include wake-boarding, knee-boarding, fun tubes, banana rides, live magic shows, discos and Olhuveli’s famous weekly crab races.

Tropical Sky (www.tropicalsky.co.uk  / 0870 907 9600) is offering seven nights on a half-board basis at Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resort from £1,250 per adult and £900 per child, based on three sharing a deluxe room.

Valid for selected departures in early December, the price includes flights from London Heathrow with Emirates, resort transfers, taxes and surcharges.

Winter Sun Savings & Christmas Bargains

Both resorts are currently offering all-inclusive stays for the price of half-board when staying in a water villa. This fantastic offer is valid until 26 December and includes Christmas. Bookings can be made direct with the hotel or through a tour operator, such as:

Trailfinders (0845 050 5871 / www.trailfinders.com ) is offering seven nights at Vilu Reef Beach & Spa Resort from £2,129 per person.

Available for selected departures in November and early December, the price includes return flights from London Heathrow, accommodation in a Jacuzzi Water Villa, a complimentary upgrade from half-board to an all-inclusive basis (saving over £400 per person), taxes, resort transfers and surcharges.

For the first time in its history, the Innsbruck Tourist Board has launched a definitive Religious Travel portfolio for the City and its 25 Holiday villages.

Along with thematic tours and excursion, one aspect is the church service. For any religious travel group staying in Innsbruck or its 25 holiday villages, the Innsbruck Tourist Board will arrange a church to open its doors for a private service for that Group, free of charge.

Innsbruck Tourist Board launches its brand new Religious Travel Products.

For the first time in its history, the Innsbruck Tourist Board has launched a definitive Religious Travel portfolio for the City and its 25 Holiday villages. Along with thematic tours and excursion, one aspect is the church service.

For any religious travel group staying in Innsbruck or its 25 holiday villages, the Innsbruck Tourist Board will arrange a church to open its doors for a private service for that Group, free of charge.

“We are very proud to be able to launch this new and innovative product on the eve of the World Travel Market 2009t and the World Religious Travel Expo in Reno Nevada,” said Nicholas Boekdrukker, Marketing Manager at the Innsbruck Tourist Board.

“We are constantly faced with the challenge of providing a memorable experience for the tourists that visit our city every year.

We believe that we have now developed a product that will give joy and pleasure to many religious tourists from around the world.”

The oldest church in Innsbruck is the Basilika Wilten which dates to at least 565 AD, where it was mentioned in a dispatch by a travelling Bishop.

Innsbruck and its holiday Villages have 50 churches dating from that era to the present day. The average age of the churches is 200 years old.

The churches themselves are a testament to the important role religion has played over the centuries in Innsbruck’s development and the development of the Austrian Empire from the dark days of early medieval Europe to the end of the 19th Century, when the Holy Roman Empire ceased to exist.

“My favourite churches are the Basilika Wilten and the Imperial Church in the Old Town,” Said Mr Boekdrukker.

“The Imperial tomb in the church has been recognized by UNESCO as one of the most important Imperial Tombs in the world, and I want to share this rich cultural and religious past that we have with religious groups, irrespective of their Faith, from around the world.”

“To that end we have developed a series of guided tours in the city as well as into the surrounding areas, to enable visitors to explore and share this wonderful heritage, “he added. “And if the group stays overnight in Innsbruck or its Holiday villages, then we will arrange for the group to have the exclusive use of the church for a private service, free of charge. I believe that it will appeal to the huge number of American religious groups that travel the world, to be able to celebrate their own faith in a church that is four or five hundred years old.”

The program is available to all religious travel groups. For further information and a brochure send an email with your contact details to religioustravel@innsbruck.info

This month saw the official launch of Roomspace Españas fantastic new apartments in the centre of Madrid “ Apartamentos Sandoval ” . These apartments offer clients chic, contemporary apartments in a location 20 minutes drive from the airport with good metro connections to other areas of the city.
Set in an historic building which has been sympathetically restored these 14 one bedroom apartments offer a mixture of old and new features designed to offer the comforts of home that one would expect from Serviced Accommodation.

For more information and to book, please contact the following:
res@apartment.co.uk call +44-(0)20-89441444

For more information please visit our website www.apartmentservice.com/search/Spain/Madrid/property5617

Winter is a time when we can easily become jaded and faded, when the stresses of the festive season sometimes trouble our bodies and minds.

Escape to Guernsey this winter, a mere 45 minute flight from London and other UK airports (10 in total) and experience Guernsey’s love affair with Mother Nature.

Consider these four very different walks guaranteed to shift all manner of cobwebs:

Walk 1 – The rural interior

Amble through the quiet, picturesque lanes of inland St Peter’s and St Andrew’s (the only parish in Guernsey that doesn’t touch the sea), through woodlands and patchwork fields.

The interior of Guernsey is a delight with priority given to walkers, cyclists and horse-riders on the pretty Ruettes Tranquilles where cars are restricted to 15 mph – it feels like a completely different world.

Walk 2 – Coastal footpath

Stroll along the north and west coastal paths of the island for fabulous views of sweeping sandy bays and wide pearly sand beaches. A gentle, easy walk with plenty of drama without the physical effort required of the steeper cliff paths of the south.

Walk 3 – Lihou Island

Walk across the sea! Lihou Island – the Channel Island’s most westerly point – is separated from Guernsey at high tide (just a 2 hour window when the tide is right).

A cobbled causeway literally appears before your eyes, like Guernsey’s very own Yellow Brick Road. Explore the ruins of a priory established by 12th century Benedictine monks or don some binoculars; the island is an important RAMSAR conservation area with abundant bird and marine life.

Walk 4 – Cliff path walk

The cliff paths of the south coast offer more of a challenge for walkers.

With panoramic views of the cliffs over to the neighbouring islands of Herm, Sark, Brecquou and Jethou, this is the landscape that so inspired Renoir and where he found his ‘shimmering light’ and painted 15 canvasses of Moulin Huet bay.

Whichever walk you choose there is always a country pub offering hearty local dishes, such as the bean jar, or a traditional tea room serving the fruit loaf gâche (in winter, best served toasted so that the delicious Guernsey butter simply oozes from it).

 VisitGuernsey, 01481 723552, www.visitguernsey.com

FORTE DEI MARMI: Where the Tuscan Coast is paved with gold!

Bridgewater’s Idyllic Italy has rented a villa in the affluent beach resort of Forte dei Marmi for £100,000 – the chic resort on Tuscany’s golden coast where holiday rentals can fetch in excess of £20,000 per week.

Forte dei Marmi is no stranger to lavish price tags. Mineral water can be served in a hand crafted bottle encrusted with Swarovski crystals. 5* hotel rooms available from 700 euros per night and real estate prices sell at around 14,000 euros per square metre.

“ Owners don’t even flinch when they offer you their property for €100,000 for the month of August.

Moreover there are clients out there who are willing to pay. The price may seem seems extravagant but for those who know and love Forte dei Marmi, it’s location which matters.

Proximity of a property to the sea and town centre have a great influence on the rental price!” Said Bridgewater’s Managing Director Christine Pearson

Forte dei Marmi is one of Italy’s first bathing resorts which began at the turn of the century and became popular with Italian royalty, noblemen, diplomats, business-men and artists who built their villas in the shade of Forte’s vast pine woods.

Today, the area remains a favourite with wealthy Tuscans and Milanese as well as some of the worlds most celebrated stars.
Christine Pearson, Bridgewater’s Managing Director says; “ Forget Monaco and LA, the international jet Set are heading to the Tuscany’s golden beaches”

Flavio Briatore owns Forte’s Twiga beach & night club Geri Haliwell has been spotted in the Capannina di Franceschi (Italy’s first night club which became legendary in the 1970s). Andrea Bocelli, Roberto Cavalli, Naiomi Campbell, Roman Abromavich and Robert di Nero, Francesco Cocco and Ronaldo are just a few of the stars who have recently frequented this glamorous corner of Tuscany where designer boutiques – Prada, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Salvatore Ferragamo and Roberto Cavalli sit next to pavement cafes and world class restaurants.

“I prefer to stay in Marina di Pietrasanta which is only 1 mile from Forte and has been our specialist area since 1973.

We offer a selection of villas and apartments under our direct management with rentals from only £600 per week for a 4 person property. Staying in Pietrasanta means you can have the best of both worlds: Access to the glamour that Forte dei Marmi has to offer at a fraction of the price” Christine Pearson, MD. Bridgewater’s Idyllic Italy

Pietrasanta is an historic town with Roman origins, situated between the green hills of the Apuan mountains and the mediterranean sea, next to Forte dei Marmi.

Chosen by Sir Paul Smith as his peferred destination for a short break, Pietrasanta is overflowing with authentic restaurants serving food to satisfy the most discerning foodie. Artists set up their easels in the narrow streets. Café life spills out on to a beautiful old town square ,dominated by the stunning cathedral – a fabulous backdrop to the enormous sculptures exhibited here before being exported throughout the world.

ZURICH,– Guests can now book and manage reservations worldwide for any Swissôtel Hotel via mobile phones as the company’s mobile Web site was launched today.

The Swissôtel mobile site is automatically redirected on any Web-enabled mobile device from Swissôtel’s homepage, www.swissotel.com

Swissôtel’s mobile site features the following and more capabilities, available to all guests:
• Find and book a hotel by location
• View and book Swissôtel promotions
• View or cancel a reservation
• Contact directory
• English and German support

“We are very excited to introduce our guests to the mobile version of our website. Increased accessibility will allow us to reach a broader client base and will grant our guests the convenience of accessing the website anywhere, both at home and on the road, which has become essential in today’s increasingly mobile lifestyle” said Barbara Pezzi, Director of Webmarketing & Ecommerce.

The Swissôtel mobile site is powered by Usablenet, a mobile partner for leading brands including American Airlines, Amtrak, Sears, Nissan and Pfizer.

Usablenet’s fully managed service leverages the features and functionality of a company’s existing Web site and extends it to all mobile devices worldwide in less than six weeks, requiring no client IT or Web design resources.

“Swissôtel is a strong luxury brand that turned to mobile as a way to extend their exceptional customer service efforts,” said Nick Taylor, President of Usablenet. “Usablenet lets brands like Swissôtel easily create fully functional mobile sites that finally enable their customers to stay connected anytime, anywhere from their mobile device.”

About Usablenet

Usablenet’s unique mobile Web platform provides leading brands with a new channel to extend marketing, commerce and client service efforts to their customers. It offers companies a fully managed service called Usablenet Mobile that translates all existing Web site functionality to a full-featured mobile interface. The solution requires no IT or Web resources on the client side, works on all Web-enabled mobile devices worldwide and can be implemented in six weeks. Usablenet customers include American Airlines, Amtrak, Limited Brands, Nissan and Pfizer. Founded in 2000, Usablenet is a private company headquartered in New York City with offices in Italy. For more information, visit www.usablenet.com

Lonely Planet is among the first travel guide publishers to have products available for Amazon’s (AMZN) Kindle e-reader as it ships internationally this week.

“Lonely Planet is excited to make over 600 travel guides available by book or chapter from Australia to Zanzibar to Kindle customers around the world,” said Lonely Planet CEO Matt Goldberg.

“Our goal is to be an indispensable source of information to travellers wherever they are and consumers can now pack as many Lonely Planet guides as they want into Kindle’s 10.2 ounces and download new guides wirelessly while travelling around the world.”

Already the world’s number one guidebook publisher, Lonely Planet is also continuing to accelerate its digital business across online, wireless and emerging platforms. Hatching a killer app – work with us Lonely Planet is opening its doors to developers by hosting its first Hack Day in Australia 7-8 November 2009.

Media and developers are invited to join the teams responsible for the development of lonelyplanet.com, the Lonely Planet mobile apps and the new Lonely Planet Open Social Platform at the Lonely Planet headquarters in Footscray, Melbourne, to spend 48 hours generating new technologies with prizes up for grabs.

“Fresh on the heels of a massively successful mobile hack day in London (http://overtheair.org ), and our own internal hack day we’re opening our doors for developers to joins us playing with our new API, our new Open Social platform and our rather funky content, images and maps.

This is a first for Australia and for Lonely Planet,” said Matthew Cashmore, Lonely Planet’s Innovations Ecosystems Manager.

Early days with Google Wave

Trippy, Lonely Planet’s experimental collaborative trip planning gadget was featured as part of the Google Wave beta launched recently. Google Wave was made available to around 100,000 beta testers who have found planning a trip with friends and family easy and interactive.

Trippy loads a map of a location that contains Lonely Planet recommendations and reviews. Using a simple drag-and-drop interface, users can easily select points of interest and assign dates and times to them to quickly create rich itineraries for their upcoming trips.

“Google Wave enables a new form of communication where participants can have interactive discussions in real time.

The Trippy gadget turns trip planning into a collaborative activity, enabling a group of users to create itineraries together in real time,” said Chris Boden, Lonely Planet’s Director of Mobile & Innovation.

Cool new augmented reality city guides for Android users in the US

Imagine taking in the sites of a city using recommendations from Lonely Planet that appear as virtual sticky notes through the video viewer on your phone. Sounds sci-fi, but it’s real. Lonely Planet is the first travel publisher in the world to make new ‘augmented reality’ products available for Google Android handsets launching a series of Compass Guide applications to highlight points of interest in cities.

Augmented reality’ is new technology that melds real-life views with overlaid digital information as tags delivering a sensory experience that feels real.

The handset’s GPS capability determines the exact location a person is standing, while an internal compass determines the direction the user is looking.

“Augmented reality provides consumers with an exciting new way to view and interact with location-based travel information and we are thrilled to be first to market with a collection of augmented reality city guides for travellers in the US to explore using their Android handsets,” said Chris Boden, Lonely Planet’s Director of Mobile & Innovation.

Compass Guides are currently only available in the US and are sold via download from the Android Market for US$4.99.

The current city list includes:

Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco.

Lonely Planet worked with Austrian developer Mobilizy to make points of interest in city guides compatible with augmented reality technology. www.mobilizy.com

Tune it in.

Paint, draw, be inspired

Earlier this year, Arajilla Retreat on Lord Howe Island introduced its series of inspirational weekends for art lovers; combining the exceptional beauty of Lord Howe with the opportunity to paint with Archibald prize-winning artists.

The first of Arajilla’s four day retreats was held over the October Long Weekend. Guests were treated to an all inclusive, luxurious program along with daily painting and drawing workshops conducted by Archibald prize-winner Gary Shead (1993) and fellow acclaimed artist Adam Rish.

“Lord Howe is awesome! The workshops were very casual and carefree and we were encouraged to experiment and work on different aspects of art. Of course with Mount Gower as a back-drop we all felt very inspired and I’m still working on my oil painting ….

The owners of Arajilla Bill & Jane, were the perfect hosts and joined us for lunches at the studio where we all mingled and got to know each other.

Unfortunately it all had to end but I feel that I’ve gained so much from the experience not only art wise but through friendships as well.” – Participant Rita Sheather

Considered Australia’s most beautiful islands, Lord Howe offers true artistic inspiration. The opportunity to paint with some of Australia’s most talented artists is complimented by the luxury and warm hospitality provided by the staff at Arajilla Retreat.

Internationally acclaimed artists Gary Shead and Adam Rish will return in March 2010 to undertake a second Artist Retreat. Finally, guests will have the pleasure of painting alongside this year’s Archibald Prize-winner, Guy Maestri in June 2010.

The retreats are limited to a maximum of 10 participants only and are held from Friday to Monday. Guests will rediscover their artistic passion, finding inspiration everywhere they look within the majestic setting of Arajilla Retreat and Lord Howe Island.

Artist Leaders Dates

19 – 22 March ’10 Garry Shead & Adam Rish
04 – 07 June ’10 Guy Maestri

The Arajilla Artist Workshop programme is an all inclusive tariff at luxurious Arajilla Reteat, including all meals, airport transfers, and even light picnic lunches whilst away sketching or painting.

We also provide much of the equipment participants need to fully enjoy your Lord Howe Island experience – backpacks, easels, canvas and paper, bicycles, snorkelling and light fishing gear, beach towels, DVDs and much more.

Tariffs:

4 day / 3 night package from $1,905 per person double occupancy
Artists Retreats Twin Share Per Person Sole Use
19 – 22 March ’10 $1,905 $3,120
04 – 07 June ’10 $1,905 $3,120

Arajilla Artists Retreat Inclusions:

• 3 nights accommodation for two in a Kentia or Banyan Suite
• selected pre-dinner drinks
• all meals – gourmet breakfast, light lunch, three course dinner with menu changing daily, plus tea and coffee
• two full days of art workshops with your selected artist
• easels, stretched canvas and artist paper provided *
• special art book gift selected by the lead artists
• bicycles and return airport transfers on the Island
• price start from $1,905 per person twin share. There is a single room supplement.
* Participants need to bring pencils, crayons, paints and brushes.

For more information, visit www.arajillaartistsretreats.com.au

Bookings can be made by:
telephone via freecall 1800 063 928
email reservations@arajilla.com.au
website www.arajilla.com.au

Pune,– ibis, the international economy hotel brand of Accor and the worldwide reference in the economy hotel sector, opened its doors in Pune today.

Strategically situated five minutes away from Pune International Airport and on the prominent Nagar Road artery, the ibis Pune will be welcoming guests from later today.

ibis Pune has 175 comfortable, well-designed and fully equipped guest rooms with en suite modular bathrooms, a contemporary fit-out including flat screen TV, Wi-Fi and broadband internet access to suit the needs of both business and leisure travellers. Responsive to the needs of travelers, Ibis Pune will provide round-the-clock reception, value accommodation and food & beverage services to visitors to Pune.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Maverik Mukherjee, General Manager, ibis Pune said “With the opening of ibis Pune, we hope to set new standards of hospitality for economy hotels in the city. The hotel will provide quality, international, economy accommodation to guests with the reassurance of one of the worlds largest and most respected economy hotel brands. We are confident that the hotel will be well received by both international and domestic guests where there has been demand for affordably priced accommodation for sometime.”

The hotels restaurant “Spice it” is a mutli cuisine contemporary environment serving both a la carte and buffet from interactive cooking stations.

An outdoor alfresco area alongside “Spice it” enables guests to enjoy Pune’s pleasant weather. The Hub, the hotels bar with its energetic ambience, refreshing beverages and free Wi-Fi will serve as a gathering place throughout the day and night.

ibis Pune also has two meeting spaces augmented by the latest technology, with natural light and providing views of Pune and surroundings.

The ibis hotel brand stands for quality, simplicity and value and the hotel is being positioned as the best value international hotel in Pune, for those consumers willing to trade luxuries but not comfort.

Clients can expect high quality service from attentive and well-trained staff at ibis Pune.

The hotel is committed to the ’15 minute satisfaction contract’, an illustration of the brands commitment to quality.

Opening Offer:

Ibis Pune has released a promotional rate of Rs. 3899/- +taxes for single and double occupancy.