Jetsettersblog

Hike Barbados is offering the natural beauty of Barbados by hiking through the very middle of its cane fields, gullies, tropical forests and coastal communities.

Hikes are scheduled weekly and depart each Sunday morning and afternoon from different locations on the island, lasting three hours in duration.

Morning hikes, departing at 6 a.m., vary in intensity based on hikers’ experience levels and taste, starting with the two-mile “Grin and Bear,” the six-mile “Stop and Stare” and nine-mile “Medium” and “Fast Medium” treks.

Afternoon hikes start at 3:30 p.m. and Moonlight Hikes begin at 5:30 p.m. and both follow the “Stop and Stare” route. Hike Barbados is a free activity, but gladly accepts donations to help the Barbados National Trust preserve the built and natural environment.

For more information, visit www.hikebarbados.com

This past November, Barbados opened the Crickets Legends of Barbados Museum. Located on Fontabelle at Herbert House, site of the current Cricket Legends of Barbados store, the museum features historic West Indian cricket memorabilia. With interactive information kiosks aimed primarily at the youth, the museum highlights the talents of the West Indian cricket greats.

For more information, call 246-435-6650 or visit

www.cricketlegendsofbarbados.com

Hilton Worldwide has announced the signing of a franchise license agreement with Akti Helona S.A. to operate a Doubletree by Hilton Resort on the island of Kos in Greece.

Scheduled to open in May 2010, the Doubletree by Hilton Resort, Kos-Helona will be Hilton Worldwide’s second property in Greece and the country’s first Doubletree by Hilton, marking further growth of this upscale, full-service brand across Europe.

Hilton Worldwide currently operates one hotel in Greece, the Hilton Athens in the capital’s city center. Doubletree by Hilton Resort, Kos-Helona is on the southeastern coast line of Kos Island.

The hotel, which originally opened as an independent hotel in June 2009, will offer 238 rooms including 15 suites and three villas, two restaurants and bars, a spa and fitness area, a private beach as well as 800 square meters of meeting space, including a room able to accommodate up to 700 people.

Doubletree by Hilton is an upscale full-service brand that has seen remarkable growth since its first introduction in Europe in spring 2008.

Ten properties are now open across Europe in the U.K., Italy and Slovakia, with development projects confirmed in Russia and Romania.

Auto Europe has launched a full-service car rental reservation mobile website.

Travelers can reserve car rental services, look up their current reservations or jump over to their main website for additional services on a web-enabled phone or PC.

With one click, car rental services can be arranged at over 4,000 locations worldwide including airport, hotel and downtown locations.

Simply select your rental country, pick up city, dates of travel, transmission and car category and from there, choose the car rental that best suits your needs.

If you already have a reservation but need to change or review your services, visit Reservation Look Up on the mobile site and enter your voucher number, and driver’s first and last name.

There is also a full FAQ section and information to contact Auto Europe if you have any questions about your reservation or using the site.

For additional services, select Full Site.

For more information,

visit www.autoeurope.com/mobile

Hotel del Faro, within the exclusive Pugnochiuso Resort, is celebrating the successful launch of its new Luxury Suites, Junior Suites and Superior Rooms which will be available for the 2010 season.

The stylish new rooms are all elegantly furnished and have breath taking sea views from panoramic balconies. The additional facilities for the new rooms include a home sound stereo and cinema system as well as a Jacuzzi.

For the months of July and August a Butler service will be available thus ensuring that guests can really relax and enjoy the luxurious and peaceful surroundings. Dinner is also included in the A la Carte “Belvedere Restaurant”, and beach service on Pugnochiuso Beach.

Special promotional packages are available for Hotel del Faro for 2010 including either car hire from Bari Airport, individual tennis lessons, a Candle light dinner and champagne on arrival or relaxation massages.

Sunball International Tennis School will manage the five floodlit clay tennis courts at the resort this season offering both indivisual and group lessons as well as weekly guest tournaments.

Sunball is the largest european tennis school with bi lingual professional coaching staff ideal for guests of all abilities

We are also pleased to announce the Pugnochiuso Football School for 2010 which will be operated by the GSA Club on behalf of Pugnochiuso

They offer excellent activities for beginners and for children from 4 years of age.

Prices start from 140 euros per night per person half board in standard accommodation and from 170 euros in Superior accommodation

Early booking discounts available for all reservations made before 30 April 2010.

Reservations – 39 0426 332600 / booking@marcegaglia.com

The only way is up at the moment for Keycamp. Not only is the innovative outdoor holiday company building more of its magical tree houses, it’s also about to launch a new generation ‘Loft’ mobile home.

Offering a sleek, modern interior that sleeps up to eight, the real talking point of ‘The Loft’ is a raised area, which becomes the perfect break out zone for children, with plenty of space to play, chill out or even sleep.

The double-height living area provides spacious open plan living and offers a fully fitted kitchen, three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Home comforts, such as an iPod docking station with CD player, dishwasher, microwave and hairdryer are also included, while to make the most of the outdoor space, French windows open onto a large decked area.

With so much space, ‘The Loft’ offers the ideal excuse to invite the grandparents along too – with the kids getting the fun of sleeping on the play deck, while grandma and grandpa take one of the bedrooms. And because of Keycamp’s ‘Grandparents go Free’ offer, as long as they stay in the same accommodation, there’s no extra charge – apart from insurance or any additional travel costs incurred.

Seven nights from 26 August for a family of up to eight staying in ‘The Loft’ at La Croix du Vieux Pont at Berny Riviere, near Paris, will cost £899, accommodation only.

Ferry crossings, rail travel or fly-drive packages are available at a supplement.

Located just ninety minutes from Disneyland® Resort Paris, this popular parc, which offers a host of activities and facilities such as canoeing, cycling, archery, pedalos and karting, is the stuff children’s dreams are made of, especially when combined with the fun of ‘The Loft’ accommodation.

To keep up with the demand, Keycamp is also adding more of its Tree Houses for 2010. Located in the tree canopy, around 4 – 5 metres from the ground, these beautiful Tree Houses offer the ultimate adventure accommodation for families and a romantic escape for couples; and boast one or two bedrooms and a large decked area in which to dine, relax and enjoy the sunsets. A Frontier Tent, fully equipped with all self-catering equipment, is also provided.

To make the stay even more special, Keycamp is also now able to deliver pre-bookable breakfasts to the Tree Houses at its La Forêt parc in the Southern Vendée and Le Val de Bonnal in the Jura, where families can hoist up their goodies to the dining area with the aid of a special pulley system.

A seven night stay from 15 May in a Tree House at La Forêt in St Julien-de-Landes for a family of two adults and up to four children will cost £290, including return Dover-Calais ferry crossings. Breakfast is available at a supplement of £8 per person.

For further information, or to book, call 0844 406 0319

or visit www.keycamp.co.uk

Snibston and Charnwood Museum on longlist for prestigious Guardian Family-Friendly Museum Award 2009

Two Leicestershire museums have been included in the 20-strong longlist for the prestigious Guardian Family-Friendly Museum Award 2009. Snibston in Coalville and Charnwood Museum in Loughborough, both run by Leicestershire County Council with Charnwood Museum managed in partnership with Charnwood Borough Council, have been selected for their ‘pioneering work with families’. These are the only two museums to have been chosen in the East Midlands region.

This achievement is the result of a focused campaign of activity, led by Leicester Shire Promotions, with support from Leicestershire County Council and the National Space Centre, to encourage visitors to five museums in the city and county to nominate their favourite by filling in specially-designed scrapbooks.

Set up by The Guardian newspaper in conjunction with the charity ‘Kids in Museums’, the Guardian Family-Friendly Award aims to recognise museums in the UK that have shown a particularly welcoming attitude towards all members of the family market – from parents and teenagers to grandparents and toddlers.

The 20 that have been selected will now go before a panel of distinguished judges, chaired by Jenny Abramsky, Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund.

This panel will draw up a shortlist that will be road tested anonymously by families, who will pick the national winner.

Councillor Ernie White, Cabinet Lead Member for Museums at Leicestershire County Council, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for Charnwood Museum and Snibston.

We are proud of the recognition they have received for their contributions in ensuring their museums are child-friendly in every way. Being the only two to be chosen in the East Midlands, it is very well deserved.”

Charnwood Museum is run as a partnership between Leicestershire County Council and Charnwood Borough Council. Councillor Peter Lewis, Cabinet Lead Member for Culture and Leisure at Charnwood Borough Council said: “Charnwood Museum is an attraction our Borough is very proud of and this has been reflected in the nomination.

The museum has attracted over 500,000 visitors since opening in April 1999 and, with its varied hands-on displays, it provides a lively and engaging way to make real our local history.

” I’m delighted to hear families agree that this wonderful attraction deserves national recognition.”

The awards scheme was founded after one of The Guardian’s journalists, Dea Birkett, was asked to leave a very famous London-based gallery because her then two-year-old son excitedly shouted ‘monster’ at a piece of Aztec art – behaviour which the museum deemed as unacceptable. After Dea wrote about her and her family’s untimely removal from the museum, the newspaper was inundated with letters from hundreds of readers who had similar experiences.

Commenting on the longlisting of the Leicestershire museums, Dea Birkett said:

“Leicestershire museums took the challenge of the Award and rose to it, using the opportunity to ask visitors what they enjoyed most in their museums. Snibston and Charnwood shone through, as visitors commented on their friendliness and facilities.

“These museums not only provided fabulous hands-on activities, but good loos and a place to sit down. They recognised that the whole experience, not just the exhibits, is important to visitors.”

Martin Peters, Chief Executive of Leicester Shire Promotions, added: “To make the Top 20 list of national family-friendly museums is a magnificent achievement for both Snibston and Charnwood.

“The longlisting exercise was a thorough one and we’re confident that the visitor feedback generated by our recent campaign had a significant influence on the judges.

“We wish the museums the best of luck for the shortlisting process and hope to be celebrating a Leicestershire win soon.”

For more details on the awards, please visit

www.kidsinmuseums.org.uk/the-guardian-award

Craggan Outdoors, an outdoor activity centre with an enviable Speyside & Cairngorms National Park location in the Scottish Highlands, has achieved top level recognition in its first year of new ownership.

The centre, which offers easy access to a wide range of fun & challenging activities for people of all ages and abilities, has become Scotland’s top-rated ‘thing to do’ on the worldwide travel & tourism review website, TripAdvisor, where it is also the UK’s top-rated outdoor activity centre.

Ratings on TripAdvisor are derived purely through reviews placed on the site by people that have experienced any given attraction. The site currently boasts over 30 million reviews. Craggan Outdoors has received nothing but 5-star reviews during 2009, & as a result sits proudly at number 1 in a list of over 1,200 visitor attractions across Scotland.

The business is also firmly established in the top-10 for the UK as a whole, from over 7,000 attractions, & enjoys the status of being the UK’s top-rated outdoor activity centre.

As further testament to the exceptionally high quality of experiences that visitors have enjoyed at the centre during 2009, Craggan Outdoors was the only outdoor centre to make the three-business shortlist for the ‘Best Visitor Experience’ category of the prestigious Highlands & Islands Tourism Awards.

Owner Keith Ballam commented: “My wife Jill & I took over Craggan Outdoors in October 2008, & whilst we & our team have worked incredibly hard to take the business forward in our first year, it really is beyond our expectations to have achieved such ratings & recognition in just 12 months.”

He continued: “In terms of revenue Craggan Outdoors has grown almost 50% in our first year with the business, & so what is particularly pleasing is that we have been able to achieve this hand-in-hand with the development & delivery of a top-quality visitor experience, particularly given the number of activities that we offer, & the breadth of our customer base.”

Craggan Outdoors offers one of the widest ranges of activities in the area, & serves client groups ranging from friends & families, schools, colleges & universities, charities, Scouts, Guides, Boys’ Brigade & other youth & community groups, stag & hen parties, as well as corporate team-building & events.

Ballam concluded: “Our challenge now is to maintain our high standards into a 2010 season when we expect to continue the rapid development & growth of the business.”

About Craggan Outdoors

Originally established in 2003, the business was taken over by Keith & Jill Ballam in October 2008

The centre is located 1 mile south of Grantown-on-Spey on the main A95 Grantown-Aviemore road, enjoying access to the world-famous River Spey & views to the Cairngorms & Cromdale Hills

Activities on offer include archery, clay pigeon, climbing & abseiling, golf, gorge walking, high ropes, kayaking, massage, mountain biking, paintball, pony trekking, quad treks, River Spey canoe trips, white water rafting, yoga and a zip wire
The business also offers 33-bed bunkhouse accommodation & the licensed Clubhouse Cafe

Originally from Hertfordshire, Keith & Jill had been in Sussex for 12 years prior to the move to the Highlands. Keith had built a successful career in the travel & leisure industry, his last position having been as a commercial partnerships director for a global specialist travel company

The Relais & Châteaux Hotel Castel Fragsburg celebrates their much anticipated first Michelin Star, just published in the 2010 Michelin Guide.

Since his arrival in 2007, Chef Luis Haller has dazzled diners with his culinary virtuoso performances ‐ resulting in a marked increase of gastronomic visitors to the Smallest Luxury Hotel in the Dolomites.

The 32 year old Luis Haller is of local origin, therefore his thorough knowledge of the region is quintessential for sourcing produce from neighbouring farms, mostly of organic cultivation.

Shortly after taking the helm of the Castel Fragsburg Kitchens he also established an all important herb and kitchen garden, enveloped by the vineyards surrounding the hotel.

Chef Haller’s style is individual, contemporary and eclectic, the presentation is stunning simplicity with a fine sense for shape and detail.

Two of his signature dishes are ‘Gooseliver with Semi Bitter Chocolate and Pear Jelly’ and ‘Spicy Chocolate with a Spuma of Coco and Sorbet’.

The Michelin Star is the latest and most coveted recognition following numerous accolades in national and international press and gastronomic guides for Chef Haller and his dynamic young brigade.

Owner Alexander Ortner is absolutely delighted and sees ‘The Star’ as an endorsement for his vision for the Castel Fragsburg, which is to bring his unique hotel jewel to the attention of a wider international audience.

The Castel is perched against the south facing Dolomites ‐ high above Meran in South Tyrol (Alto Adige) ‐ and offers one of the most spectacular panoramas imaginable.

All 24 luxurious rooms and suites have balconies or terraces, the dramatic views can also be enjoyed from the large pool area as well as the Spa and from the various dining salons or the fabulous al fresco dining terraces.

The Hotel Castel Fragsburg is a member of Relais & Châteaux since 2007, it re opens for the new season in March 2010.

5 nights sharing a double room with mountain view, one gourmet 5 course dinner and fully comprehensive car hire starts at £ 790 per person.

Snoangel is the site for anyone interested in what the mountains have to offer, whether you’re a fair weather skier, preferring apres ski to a day on the slopes, or a seasoned pro.

Previously www.girlpowder.co.uk , we have relaunched this season with a slicker, more user friendly site.

We aim to provide a user friendly, regularly updated, site that you’ll come back to again and again for ideas, information and expert, unrivaled editorial on all aspects of winter sports.

The idea of this site is to celebrate fun and a passion for skiing and snowboarding, which will inspire people of all capabilities to be the best they can be.

We hope readers will feel engaged and empowered to achieve anything you want in the sport at any level.

Whether it is perfecting your parallel turn or just finding the right resort for you and your friends this season.

Aside from access to information on women only training camps and holidays worldwide, each month we will aim to deliver the inside track on the subjects that matter most to women, alongside reader resort reviews, tried and tested reports of the latest gear, health and fitness tips, slope fashion and the best of après ski.