Jetsettersblog

Following more than six months of planning and construction, the Royal Trading Company has opened at the Royal Lahaina Resort.

The general store, designed to resemble a classic Hawaiian plantation home, offers everyday sundries, locally made gifts and food, apparel, books, the Keiki Corner for kids, and an extensive wine collection.

The store is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and also offers a Kamaaina Club Card for local residents and will soon offer a Gourmet Food & Wine Club.

Gourmet, grab-and-go foods are made fresh daily by Bernardo Salazar, the resort’s chef. Numerous Hawaii-made products are featured throughout the store, as well, including items from Maui Brewing Company, Alii Kula Lavender, Pua & Ocean Vodka, Maui Rums, and Kahala by Tori Richard apparel.

For more information, call 800-222-5642 or visit www.royallahaina.com

Virgin Limited is introducing the Necker Nymph, a DeepFlight three-person aero submarine. Likened to an underwater aircraft, this open cockpit winged sub is the first of its kind to hit the market.

Designed and built by Graham Hawkes of Hawkes Ocean Technologies, Necker Nymph represents a new class of high-performance, positively buoyant vehicles that safely extend the overall capabilities of scuba, while offering the unique experience of underwater flight.

Unlike all conventional subs which use ballast to sink in the water, Necker Nymph uses downward ‘lift’ on the wings to fly down to depth.

Available either when chartering Necker Belle, the luxury, 105-foot catamaran, or when staying on Necker Island, underwater flight on Necker Nymph allows guests to discover ancient shipwrecks, fly side-by-side with dolphins or view whales.

The open cockpits afford 360-degree viewing for occupants.

Dives can last up to two hours.

Guests follow standard SCUBA procedures and will be trained/accompanied by a certified Necker Nymph pilot.

Importantly, like all DeepFlight subs, Necker Nymph has near-zero environmental impact.

Its positive buoyancy prevents the sub from landing on a reef, and its low light and noise emissions ensure the fragile ocean ecosystems remain undisturbed. When taking Necker Belle for seven nights’ exclusive hire, the sub is available at a weekly rate of $25,000.

For bookings, call 011-44 (0)208-600-0430 or visit www.virginlimitededition.com

The Landings St. Lucia, A RockResort, unveiled a new fine-dining restaurant, The Palms, which provides another culinary option for guests of the beachside all-suite resort.

In addition to The Palms, guests can dine at The Beach Club restaurant and bar, which has undergone a transformation. Located in the grand entrance pavilion as an extension of the open-air Viscount Lounge,

The Palms menu features sustainable cuisine with Caribbean flavor, offering the latest seasonal produce and seafood purchased from local St. Lucian farms.

Open Tuesdays through Saturdays for dinner, guests can watch live performances by a classical pianist during their meal.

Adorning the walls of the restaurant are pieces of original art work by artist Llewellyn Xavier, a St. Lucia native, who produced each piece in the collection using recycled materials.

In addition to the 28-seat open-air dining room, there is a private room available for special events. Executive Chef Richard Tonks’ menu includes potted pork and duck appetizer with pickled vegetables and potato pancakes, and oven-roasted lobster accented with anchovy, garlic and olive butter.

The signature dish is shredded braised lamb shanks wrapped in lettuce girolles, shallots and merlot sauce.

The resort has also restructured The Beach Club, which now offers a more casual setting for guests.

With “no shoes required” as the overall concept, the beachside restaurant serves three meals a day featuring Caribbean fare such as callaloo soup and jerk pork tenderloin. The Beach Club has also introduced a Happy Hour with local beer on tap, a pool table, dartboard, Bocce ball and horseshoes. Live Calypso island-inspired music will be offered on Friday nights.

For more information, call 877-657-ROCK or visit www.rockresorts.com

Mexico City’s newest small luxury hotel, Las Alcobas, has officially opened its doors in the Polanco district.

The 35-room, seven-story property was custom-crafted by interior design duo Yabu Pushelberg to reflect the property’s namesake — “the alcoves” in Spanish. Also included in the hotel are two dining experiences, Barroco and Dulce Patria, headed by Mexico City’s Chef Martha Ortiz (of Águila y Sol fame), and the Aurora Spa at Las Alcobas, offering treatments reflective of Mexico’s ancient healing traditions.

All 35 guestrooms, including the two-bedroom suite and three penthouse suites featuring wraparound terraces, have been constructed from white goose-down bedding; hand-knotted rugs that add to the sense of locale, as does original artwork by contemporary Mexican artists; and all-marble, spa bathrooms with soothing rain showers and whirlpool tubs.

State-of-the-art technology is available in every room — LCD flat-screen televisions, surround-sound CD and DVD home theater systems by Bose, wireless high-speed Internet, and multi-line telephones with voicemail and data line capabilities, along with centralized controls to facilitate guests’ interaction with lights, audio systems and hotel services.

Las Alcobas houses two dining venues are set to open in spring 2010.

For its first guests, Las Alcobas is offering special opening rates from $250 for a standard room, valid through March 2010.

Regular room rates will begin at $405 plus tax for a standard room and range to $2,500 for the penthouse suites.

For reservations or more information, call 52 (55) 3300 3900 or visit www.lasalcobas.com

Nomadic Expeditions, a Mongolia tour operator and expedition outfitter, will join forces with Massachusetts Audubon to create new conservation programs aimed at protecting Mongolia’s vast and fragile ecosystems.

By establishing this alliance, Nomadic Expeditions President Jalsa Urubshurow hopes to pioneer a new concept in environmental conservation — a for-profit company and a non-profit organization working together towards the goal of promoting environmentally sustainable tourism.

This multifaceted program, the brainchild of Urubshurow and Mass Audubon’s Christopher Leahy, will focus on eco-tourism, environmental education, interpretive publications, green building design and earth-friendly operations.

The partnership will combine Nomadic Expeditions’ knowledge of Mongolia with Mass Audubon’s extensive experience creating conservation strategies and programs.

Urubshurow, the founder and CEO of Nomadic Expeditions, is a proponent and leader in the development of sustainable tourism in Mongolia since 1990.

Urubshurow was enlisted by the first prime minister of the newly democratic Mongolia to advise the government in expanding accessibility to Western travelers and to actively promote travel to Mongolia from North America.

In the post-communist period since 1990, Urubshurow has advised Mongolia’s prime ministers and presidents on sustainable eco-tourism, environmental protection issues and business development.

He has twice been named the world’s Top Travel Specialist for Mongolia by Condé Nast Traveler magazine, and was the co-founder and former chairman of the North America Mongolia Business Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding bilateral economic, investment, and trade relations between Mongolia and North America.

As designer and founder of the Three Camel Lodge, an award-winning eco-lodge in the Gobi Desert, Urubshurow has made environmental sustainability a priority of his business operations in Mongolia.

Named one of the world’s Top 50 Ecolodges by National Geographic Adventure and Best Lodge of the Year by the Mongolian Tourism Association, the lodge was built in accordance with environmentally and culturally sustainable development guidelines, and is powered by renewable energy resources, including solar and wind power.

The Three Camel Lodge also forged a first-of-its-kind cooperative agreement with local Mongolian authorities for sustainable development and conservation, and is an active contributor to the local community’s conservation efforts, including planting native trees, sponsoring anti-litter clean-up programs and anti-poaching initiatives, as well as school conservation and cultural programs.

Urubshurow intends the partnership with Mass Audubon to lead the way in solidifying and strengthening an environmental ethic within Mongolia’s for-profit travel operators. “Nomadic Expeditions and Mass Audubon share the same interests and have parallel goals,” said Urubshurow.

“Our aim is to reach beyond tourism to form partnerships with local schools and communities, as well as with other conservation organizations and agencies that work in Mongolia.”

Through Nomadic Expeditions’ new conservation unit, Urubshurow also hopes to magnify awareness of the region’s extraordinary natural beauty and biodiversity, as well as the threats faced by Mongolia’s largely unspoiled ecosystems. By enlisting Mass Audubon to enhance and further define Nomadic Expeditions’ conservation efforts, he wants to expand the Three Camel Lodge’s role as a center for environmental education in the Gobi and throughout Mongolia.

Directing the new conservation unit will be Leahy, the first holder of the Gerard A. Bertrand Chair of Natural History and Field Ornithology at Mass Audubon. Leahy was the organization’s director of conservation for 18 years, and has continued to explore Mongolia’s natural wonders since his first visit there in 1982.

He has led education programs in over 70 countries and was instrumental in developing the organization’s international natural history travel program.

He is the author of “The Birdwatchers Companion to North American Birdlife” and many other works on natural history subjects.

Massachusetts Audubon, which successfully founded a program to protect more than 250,000 acres of bird habitat in Belize, is the largest conservation organization in New England and one of the oldest in the United States.

Leahy will lead a Natural History Exploration in Mongolia with Massachusetts Audubon, operated by Nomadic Expeditions, May 22 to June 7.

The trip will visit Lake Hovsgol, the Mongolian steppe, and the Three Camel Lodge in the Gobi Desert. Nomadic Expeditions, the pioneer of adventures in Mongolia and beyond, offers more than two dozen authentic active adventures and cultural journeys, as well as customized adventures throughout Mongolia, Tibet, Bhutan, Siberia and China, and operates the Three Camel Lodge luxury ger camp in the heart of the Gobi Desert.

For more information on Nomadic Expeditions, call 800-998-6634or visit www.nomadicexpeditions.com

For more information on Massachusetts Audubon, visit www.massaudubon.org

Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort and Spa will open on Feb. 1. Located on the West Coast of Florida and inspired by West Indies style, resort accommodations will consist of 250 deluxe, one- and two-bedroom suites with full kitchens, and resort amenities will include the eco-friendly Sandava Spa, a 24-hour StayFit@Hyatt gym, the Camp Hyatt kids program, indoor and outdoor function space, an eighth floor pool deck with 20 air-conditioned poolside cabanas and a children’s pool, as well as a pool and hot tub on the 16th floor Sky Terrace.

Three dining options are available at the resort including a Hyatt signature restaurant, Shor, an American seafood grill with a dramatic show kitchen. In addition to the opening of this resort, Andaz San Diego also debuted in the property formerly known as the Ivy Hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter of the city. In late spring of this year, Andaz 5th Avenue will open in midtown Manhattan across from the New York Public Library.

The Pierre, the U.S. flagship of Taj Hotels on New York’s Central Park at Fifth Avenue and 61st Street, now offers 189 redesigned residential-style guest rooms, including 49 suites, all featuring the designs by James Park Associates.

The 10 one- and two-bedroom Grand Suites are the hotel’s most premier spaces.

The Grand Suites are designed with custom furnishings, hand-crafted finishes and elegant details, such as rich silk and brocade fabrics, Murano glass chandeliers and hand-knotted carpets, and carefully integrated technology, including Bang & Olufsen audio and high speed internet connection.

Subtle couture touches reflect the Indian heritage of the Taj Hotels.

Striking jewel tones and traditional decorative motifs pay homage to the royal Rajput dynasties that created the authentic palaces in India that now welcome Taj guests.

Contemporary artwork hand-selected by fine arts consultant Mortimer Chatterjee showcases the mastery of noted and emerging Indian artists.

In addition, many of the suites feature hand-colored wood engravings that depict various historic scenes of New York related to the suites’ namesakes.

The new suites include The Tata Suite (Suite 3903), The Rajput Suite (Suite 1616), The Charles Pierre Suite (Suite 2111), The Getty Suite (Suite 1025), The Hutton Suite (Suite 1412), The Escoffier Suite (Suite 2015), The Park Suite (Suite 2804), Suite 1714, Suite 927 and Suite 627.

To reserve a Grand Suite, call 800-743-7734 or visit www.tajhotels.com/pierre

The Pierre New York, A Taj Hotel, New York  –City,NY – Hotel property The Pierre New York, A Taj Hotel, 5 Star, 2 East 61st Street At Fifth Avenue in New York City, NY, United States

Three Michelin-starred Chef Pierre Gagnaire will be taking his global culinary journey to the ANA InterContinental Tokyo. Opening in mid-March 2010,

ANA InterContinental Tokyo will be home to the highest Pierre Gagnaire restaurant in the world. Pierre Gagnaire’s only restaurant in Tokyo will be located on the 36th floor of the ANA InterContinental, which is situated in the Akasaka area.

The restaurant overlooks the heart of Tokyo city — with a view that includes the Tokyo Tower — and the renovated contemporary décor will provide the setting for Gagnaire’s hallmark cuisine.

A new Novotel opened in the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Cathedral Square, and has incorporated the heritage-listed Warner’s Hotel, originally built in 1863, into the complex.

The new 193-room Novotel Christchurch Cathedral Square offers guests a combination of heritage, cutting-edge design, and local art. As part of the development, the Warner’s Hotel was fully restored to its former grandeur, with specialist tradesmen using tools over 100 years old to repair the building’s architraves and re-lay tiles in the foyer.

A new building has been constructed behind the existing hotel, adding 170 rooms to the existing 23 heritage rooms and suites. Guests can choose between rooms that had their origins almost 150 years apart. Conferences will be a key focus of the Novotel, with five meeting rooms and a capacity for up to 200 delegates.

Choice Hotels International announced their global expansion has reached a new milestone with the company’s first entrance into Poland.

With six newly added properties, this move reinforces and further demonstrates Choice Hotels commitment to grow its portfolio throughout the European market.

These newly added hotels are owned and managed by Poland’s leading real estate developer Hotel System, a subsidiary of the Salwator Capital Group.

The company’s focus is to develop product that is comfortable, modern and offers travelers good value. The properties are positioned to deliver and exceed expectations for guests staying at Clarion and Quality brand hotels.

“Our strong international expansion continues to be a key driver of Choice Hotels future growth and the addition of the Polish market strengthens our network of hotels throughout Europe,” said Stephen P. Joyce, president and chief executive officer of Choice Hotels International.

“Choice continues to execute its strategic efforts on worldwide development and has identified Europe as a key market needed to achieve success.”

The flagship property, The Clarion Hotel Grand Baltic Resort & Spa, is located in the town of Dzwirzyno, on the Baltic Sea.

“This resort hotel boasts 133 guest-suites that offer spectacular sea views from their balconies.

In addition, guests staying at this Clarion property will have direct access to the beach and can enjoy a pool, spa facilities, and two gourmet restaurants specializing in international food and wine.

The other five properties are Quality brand hotels located in the key cities of Cracow, Posen, Kattowitz and Breslau. These well-appointed hotels are tailor-made to meet the requirements of business travelers and deliver the attributes of the Quality brand.