Jetsettersblog

A new fine dining experience awaits guests at The Westin St. John Resort & Villas with the opening of Cruz Bay Prime. Located in an open-air setting above the Main Lobby, Cruz Bay Prime serves a menu of steak and seafood.

The menu at Cruz Bay Prime and Westin St. John’s additional dining outlets is overseen by the resort’s new executive chef William Ryan. Cruz Bay Prime is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The restaurant’s bar and lounge is open from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Reservations are highly recommended and can be made by calling 340-693-8000, ext. 1799.

The Westin St. John Resort & Villas is set on a crescent-shaped beach on Great Cruz Bay and is surrounded by 47 tropical acres.

The resort offers 174 guest rooms with two Westin Workout rooms, three one-bedroom suites and five townhouses housed in low-lying structures.

One hundred and forty-six fully equipped vacation villas, many with private waterfall pools, are also available for rent.

There are four dining and entertainment venues, 24-hour room service and seasonal entertainment.

The quarter-acre, fresh-water swimming pool with a pool bar, Jacuzzi and a decorative waterfall is the largest in the USVI.

For more information, call 888-627-7206 or visit www.westinresortstjohn.com

Taj Hotels’ Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur was awarded the Editor’s Choice — Hotel of The Year 2009 Gallivanter’s Award for Excellence in the 19th annual awards issue.

Editor and publisher Lyn Middlehurst and managing director David Maslin described the palace as having the “wow factor in spades.”

The Indo-Saracenic architecture and setting, luxurious accommodation, excellent service, culinary offerings and chemical free spa option at Jiva Grande were cited as the key criteria for winning the award.

Taj has renovated the interiors, retaining the original grandeur while injecting 21st century standards of luxury and service.

The palace features 64 rooms and suites, with the recently renovated Maharani and Maharaja Suites offering private couple spa treatment suites.

The 2009 Gallivanter’s Awards for Excellence were announced in the January 2010 issue, which includes an annual reader poll compiled from subscribers in 42 countries.

For more information, visit www.gallivantersguide.com  or www.tajhotels.com

On Jan. 7, 2010, the Jekyll Island Authority celebrated the opening of the Hampton Inn and Suites, the first new hotel to open on Georgia’s Jekyll Island since 1974.

The 138-room, beachfront property is jointly owned by Jekyll Ocean Oaks, LLC, an affiliate of the ownership group of the Jekyll Island Club Hotel. New Castle Hotels & Resorts, a leading hotel development and ownership company and third-party manager, will operate the hotel.

The new facility will offer 138 guest rooms, 88 of which are suites with balconies. Amenities include a lobby bar, beach access, revitalized nature trails, an expansive pool deck, a kid’s pool, and a large hot tub.

The hotel, which utilizes solar panels for water heating, will be a member of the Green Hotel Association, a group of environmentally friendly properties whose managers are eager to institute programs that reduce solid waste and save water and energy.

The opening of the Hampton Inn & Suites is the first of several projects intended to bring about the revitalization of Jekyll Island.

The Jekyll Island Authority officially broke ground on the beach village project on Dec. 7 with a ceremony attended by Gov. Sonny Perdue, state dignitaries and hundreds of guests.

Construction is now underway on the new 20-acre Great Dunes Park, which along with a new 78,000-square-foot convention center will be a key component of the new beach village.

The facility will be integrated into its natural beachfront location in a manner that minimizes impact on the environment while creating a wonderful and unique guest experience.

Also included in the plans are improvements to the island’s entry corridor.

Improvements will take advantage of existing live oaks to enhance the intimate character of the Jekyll Island entry experience. Designs for a new gas station and convenience store are nearing completion, and soon site preparation and construction will begin on the first of several projects that will return modern facilities to the island.

For reservations or more information, visit www.jekyllislandhamptoninn.com

Kids and adults of all ages can cool off under the Riviera Maya sun at Sandos Caracol Eco Resort & Spa at the resort’s new Aqua Park, which features a variety of water play areas including 17 water slides.

Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., families can kick back and relax poolside at the Aqua Park while children enjoy splash-filled fun under lifeguard supervision.

The Aqua Park features a pool bar as well as the convenience of showers and bathrooms.

All children must be accompanied by an adult.

All guests of Sandos Caracol Eco Resort & Spa and the Sandos Select Club area are permitted to use the facility as part of an all-inclusive vacation.

A variety of water play areas include “raining” palm trees, a large water bucket area and water spouts throughout the park.

As a daily activity, all children that are enrolled in the complimentary Kids Club will enjoy a trip to the Aqua Park under the supervision of the Sandos Animation staff. Children ages 2 to 12 can make new friends at the Kids Club through additional age-specific activities including dance lessons, sandcastle building,

Olympic games, competitions on the beach, water polo, water balloons, face painting, arts and crafts, sack races, movies, table tennis, bingo, football, a mini disco, fashion parade, piñata party games, board games, kayaking trips, water aerobics, archery, croquet, basketball and water volleyball.

Supervised Kids Club activities are available from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (for children ages 2 to 12) and teen activities from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. (for young adults ages 13 to 17).

Vacationing families are afforded increased savings as one child under the age of 12 stays, eats and plays free, and a second and third child (under the age of 12) receives a 50 percent discount for kids staying in the same accommodations as paying parents/adults.

For reservations or more information, call 866-941-0851 or visit www.SandosHotels.com

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., in a franchise agreement with Libertador Hotels, Resorts & Spas, announced the opening of Hotel Paracas, a Luxury Collection Resort, marking the debut of the first of three Luxury Collection hotels opening in Peru over the next two years.

Located on Peru’s southern Pacific coast and surrounded by the Paracas National Reserve and the Ballestas Islands, Hotel Paracas features 120 guest rooms with private terraces, a 5,000 square foot spa, two outdoor pools, more than 5,000 square feet of event space and two signature restaurants and lounges.

The Luxury Collection and Libertador also will soon unveil Tambo del Inka, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa in the sacred valley of Urubamba, followed by the 2011 opening of Palacio del Inka, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Cusco, the capital of the ancient Incan Empire.

Each property will integrate local customs, culture and natural influences to offer global travelers unique experiences in one of Latin America’s most culturally diverse destinations.

“The Luxury Collection brand has important penetration in South America and allows us to keep the identity of places we have and cherish,” says Jorge Melero, Libertador’s CEO.

“Our strategic plan for the next five years extends beyond Peru’s borders, and we look forward to future collaborations with Starwood.”

A three-hour drive south of Lima, Hotel Paracas is located near one of the world’s largest wildlife reserves.

Guests can use a private 52-foot luxury yacht offering excursions to the Ballestas Islands and the Paracas Nature Reserve, a 900,000-acre marine park along Peru’s southern Pacific coast.

Guests also are invited to explore the region’s Nazca Lines, one of ancient Peru’s most impressive petroglyphs in the desert, which can be best experienced using the hotel’s private airplane.

Designed by architect Bernardo Fort-Brescia with interiors by Caparra Entelman & Associates, Hotel Paracas is inspired by the region’s ecological wonders, Pacific setting and diverse heritage. Combining rich imported fabrics with indigenous textiles and ceramics to reflect Peru’s heritage, the interiors feature subtle yet striking bamboo and rattan accents to complement the seaside surroundings and offer a soothing yet luxurious environment.

Guestrooms feature private terraces with views of the Pacific, 400-thread Peruvian cotton sheets and locally sourced wood furniture.

Abstract designs on fabrics and floor coverings reflect the geometric patterns found on ancient Paracas textiles created by the Pre-Incan ancient Paracas people, who are celebrated for their advanced textile manufacturing skills.

Guests can choose from three types of rooms, including bungalows, villas, and chalets. All rooms offer state-of-the-art modern technology, including 37-inch LCD TVs, Wi-Fi and iPod docking stations.

Hotel Paracas features authentic Peruvian cuisine as well as Mediterranean fare. Signature dishes include the Costa Sur, grilled sole and garlic sautéed prawns served with loche pumpkin honey, orange purée and asparagus, as well as the more traditional Peruvian Cebiches and Tiraditos, thin slices of fish marinated in lemon or chili rocoto cream; desserts include Tocinillo del Cielo, coconut crème caramel served in traditional Peruvian colonial style and Grapes Evolution, a Pisco-scented Madeleine cake with flambé grapes and borgoña grape sorbet.

The hotel’s bar, lounge and both swimming pools face directly onto the Pacific Ocean. The main pool area also includes private day beds and serves light fare and international cocktails with a special Pisco (Peruvian brandy) menu featuring various twists on Peru’s national signature, the Pisco Sour.

The property also offers more than 5,000 square feet of event space with state of the art technology and access to its 24-hour business center. Guests can unwind at the hotel’s spa, featuring a variety of indigenous treatments, sauna, steam room and fitness center.

Libertador is Peru’s largest hotel owner and operator and in collaboration with Starwood will debut the first Westin in South America with the opening of Libertador Westin Lima by the end of 2010.

The Luxury Collection is a group of 75 hotels and resorts offering unique, authentic experiences in more than 30 countries.

‘Tween Waters Inn on Captiva Island, Fla., unveiled The Spa at ‘Tween Waters Inn.

The Spa offers a salon with manicure, pedicure and hairstyling, four treatment rooms including a couple’s room and dry sauna, and couple’s Sundance Spa with Ozone Generator, where no chemicals are used.

Within The Spa, and overlooking the spectacular view of the property and tennis courts, the fitness center includes 900 square feet of aerobic and strength training equipment and is open to all guests.

With natural bamboo embossed flooring and vaulted cypress ceilings, the facility at ‘Tween Waters Inn offers 4,000-plus square feet of the most luxurious amenities on Captiva.

Four specially crafted jetted pedicure stations fill the salon, while nail and hair stations have an air and water solutions bio hygienic ventilation system.

The Spa offers all handmade and individually packaged Farmhouse Fresh nail products, reviewed and endorsed by Oprah, as well as OPI and CND nail lacquers.

Hair styling products include humidity resistant formulas and Vivitone Italian-made coloring products, Views from the deck overlook the pool, while wall-to-wall windows adorn the couple’s treatment rooms.

Future plans include a coffee and juice bar on the deck overlooking the pool.

Beyond massage, facial, nail and hair treatments, every guest of The Spa is greeted with a smile and enjoys plush signature robes, Zendals sandals, shower facilities, and light snacks.

The staff includes a variety of licensed and well-trained individuals continuously attending classes to stay up to date with latest trends and techniques. Packages are available for couples or wedding parties.

To book an appointment, call 800-223-5865 (ext. 390) or email TheSpa@Tween-Waters.com 

For more information or reservations, call 800-223-5865 or visit www.tween-waters.com

Golf and travel industry experts from Hong Kong to Malaga to London to Kuala Lumpur have singled out Thailand as Asia’s premier golf and holiday destination, several of them citing “Golf in a Kingdom: The Thai Travel Experience,” as a promotional driver behind the country’s continued primacy for golf holiday-makers originating from North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Thailand was named “Golf Destination of the Year” for Asia & Australasia by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO), at November’s International Golf Travel Market conference and trade show in Malaga, Spain.

The IAGTO Awards, sponsored in association with Virgin Atlantic, are the official awards for the golf tourism industry. IAGTO is the global trade organization for the golf tourism industry, comprising more than 1,300 companies in 77 countries, including more than 330 specialist golf tour operators in 50 countries.

Meanwhile, Thailand and its 260 courses earned the coveted Golfer Choice Award as the ‘Choice Vacation Destination’ for 2009, repeating the honor it earned in 2008. The Golfer Choice Awards are jointly organized by the Hong Kong Golf Association, the Europe-Asia PGA, and Golf Vacations, the Hong Kong-based golf publication.

Not all the plaudits have come from the golf niche.

In its “Best In Travel 2010” guide, published in October, London-based Lonely Planet named Thailand the No. 2 “Best-Value Destination” in the world, calling it a “perennially good value,” along with being “one of the cheapest long-haul holidays for European holidaymakers.

The poll’s No. 1 “Best-Value Destination” was Iceland, while London finished at No. 3.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Hong Kong office — TAT Hong Kong – has, over the course of 10 years, worked in close cooperation with strategic tourism partners in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong to form and administer the ‘Thailand Golf Escape’ program.

“Golf in a Kingdom,” a consortium of Thailand’s top courses and hotels (www.golfinakingdom.com) launched in July 2009, has since generated hundreds of international media placements in European and North American golf and travel publications/websites.

It also organized and executed an ambitious North American media FAM in November 2009, with assistance from TAT.

Several Thai golf clubs, all of them “Golf in a Kingdom” member courses, also secured top honors in three major categories when the worldwide golf industry gathered the week of Oct. 26 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the Asia-Pacific Golf Summit — a week-long education and strategy conference hosted by Asian Golf Monthly, the region’s top golf publication.

Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player headlined the conference and awards banquet, where Thai courses were thrice honored: Best New Course in Asia-Pacific: Banyan Golf Club, Hua Hin; Best Maintained Course in Asia-Pacific: Siam Country Club (Plantation Course), Pattaya; and Best Clubhouse in Asia-Pacific: Thai Country Club, Bangkok.

“We think it’s instructive to look at the totality of what’s happening regarding Thailand, its golf product, and how they’re both perceived and promoted,” said Mark Siegel, managing director of Bangkok-based Golf Asian Co. Ltd., Indochina’s top golf tour operator and a “Golf in Kingdom” member.

“Thailand has always delivered value for money, but this message is clearly reaching a larger, broader audience.”

Distance has long been the issue for would-be Thai holiday-makers from North America and, to a lesser degree, Europe. However, in this economy, Siegel said, value has clearly outweighed distance and convenience. He points to Golfasian’s 23 percent increase in turnover for the 12-month period ending November 2009, compared to the previous 12-month period. Siegel cited further evidence of this shift: “Golf in a Kingdom” member Siam Country Club, in coastal Pattaya, reported a record 44,000 rounds on its Plantation course for the 12-month period ending Nov. 1, 2009. The difference has been the increased long-haul business, Siegel said.

For more information, visit www.golfinakingdom.com

As Hanoi celebrates its 1,000th anniversary, the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi is introducing a spa.

Four months after its soft debut, Le Spa du Metropole has fully opened to hotel guests, to locals and expatriate residents alike, and to other travelers.

Like the hotel itself, Le Spa trades on the hotel’s stature as one of the venerable grand dames of Asian hospitality.

Its seven treatment rooms evoke the spirits of such former guests as Charlie Chaplin, Graham Greene and Somerset Maugham. With floors of dark hardwood, gilt-framed mirrors, paneled doors and double-slipper tubs, Le Spa is a vibrant echo of the hotel’s charm.

Housed in a wing of the old hotel that abuts the interior courtyard, Le Spa is comprised of two treatment rooms, two themed spa suites for couples and three themed individual suites: the Vietnam Suite, the Retro Suite and Thailand Suite.

A separate treatment room is dedicated to foot reflexology. Beyond the treatment rooms, the spa’s wet areas feature a Hammam, a Middle Eastern sauna/cold water treatment that was first popularized during the Victorian era, and a Finnish sauna that heats up to 80 C. The spa’s menu opens with a suite of wet bath treatments and segues to a la carte spa journeys.

Opened in 1901, Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi reigns as the Grande Dame of Vietnamese hospitality and one of Southeast Asia’s most iconic hotels. In 2009, the hotel became the first in the Sofitel portfolio to acquire Accor’s Legend brand distinction.

The 364-room hotel was completely renovated in June 2009.

Its historic Metropole Wing features suites named for Chaplin, Maugham and Greene, each of whom stopped at the Metropole during his time in colonial Indochina.

The hotel’s restaurants include Spices Garden (Vietnamese), Le Beaulieu (French) and Angelina (Italian). Le Spa du Metropole opened in late 2009.

For more information, call 011 84.43 826 6919, email sparec@sofitelhanoi.vnn.vn  or visit www.sofitelhanoi.vnn.vn

Travelers booking a vacation suite at a Divi Resorts property in St. Maarten and Barbados through the property’s website can stock their room refrigerator at the same time.

The resort has started an online grocery service that delivers the order just before guests arrive.

The service, handy for families and for guests on the go, first launched at Divi Little Bay Beach Resort, followed by a Jan. 1 debut at the company’s two Barbados properties: Divi Southwinds and Divi Heritage Beach.

The service is readily accessible on the home page of each of the Divi resorts.

The grocery service offers a selection of food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus snacks, beverages, and sun protection supplies.

Divi has made it easy to satisfy kids’ eating habits while away from home, stocking their favorite cereals, sandwich meats and condiments, as well as a variety of juices and pizza.

Adults can advance order an in-room bar set-up, complete with Bloody Mary, Piña Colada, and Sweet & Sour mixes, a selection of recognized brand name liquor, beer, as well as fine wine.

The grocery store is located on premises at the Divi Little Bay Beach Resort (www.divilittlebay.com ) and at the Divi Southwinds (www.divisouthwinds.com ), for convenient restocking during a guest’s stay.

The grocery at the Divi Southwinds serves the Divi Heritage Beach resort (www.diviheritage.com ), a 22-villa property for adults in the St. James Beach area of the island.

The fully furnished kitchens that are a feature of the suites at Divi Little Bay Beach Resort and Divi Southwinds have made these resorts a popular for families and group travelers.

Now, with a fully-stocked refrigerator, the vacation truly starts the moment guests walk through the door.

For more information, call 800-367-3484, or visit www.diviresorts.com

The Stratosphere Las Vegas Hotel & Casino plans to debut SkyJump Las Vegas, a controlled freefall where riders will plummet 855 feet at up to 40 miles per hour, in April.

SkyJump Las Vegas is designed to offer a way to experience thrills similar to skydiving and base jumping.

Riders will be given a short safety lesson and then be suited up in Stratosphere’s custom jump suits.

Each rider will then be connected to a patented, high-speed “descender” machine and led to the edge of a small platform where he or she will leap out and descend 100-plus stories.

Guide wires will keep riders from straying off course. Just prior to reaching the ground, the machine will slow the rider down, bringing him or her to a controlled and safe landing.

For more information, call 800-998-6937 or visit www.stratospherehotel.com