Jetsettersblog

Chef Alain Ducasse is opening his first restaurant in the Caribbean, miX on the beach, the signature restaurant at the new W Retreat & Spa, Vieques Island located eight miles off the east coast of Puerto Rico.

The restaurant, which opens March 25, will offer a menu prepared with the finest technique, exploring Latino-Caribbean flavors with an artful French twist.

The miX on the beach menu begins with a selection of appetizers, such as spicy crab salad, taboulé, heart of palm, mango and bell pepper, offering a refreshing start to the meal highlighted by in-season local mangos.

In signature Alain Ducasse style, hints of Mediterranean coastal flavors accent miX on the beach’s menu, in particular, the eggplant, zucchini, tomato, mozzarella terrine gazpacho vinaigrette appetizer. Ingredients from land and sea are showcased in the main courses, from roasted Maine lobster au curry with coconut basmati rice, a twist on a miX classic accentuated by sweet local pineapple, to farm-raised pork en cocotte, creamy grits and corn bread, a regionally inspired dish prepared with pork sourced from Cayey, a mountain town in central Puerto Rico.

For dessert, island fruits and flavors abound, with roasted mango and tropical sorbet offering a sweet ending to the meal, while the baba au rhum, one of Alain Ducasse’s signature desserts, pays homage to the menu’s roots and is prepared with rum from Puerto Rico.

In addition to miX on the beach, Alain Ducasse Entreprise will manage the entire food and beverage program for the W Retreat & Spa, Vieques Island, including all in-room dining, banqueting and weddings service.

For more information, call 787-741-4100 or visit www.WVieques.com/indulge

The new Verdanza Hotel San Juan underwent a rebranding that not only placed new focus on personalized service and attention to detail, but to environmental responsibility.

The property officially opened its doors in December as the only independent full-service hotel in San Juan. While eco-conscious practices such as recycling at hotels are expected, Verdanza has taken extra steps with initiatives such as providing disposable restaurant and picnic lunch to-go containers that are 100 percent biodegradable, made from corn resin.

Nearly all hotel personnel are clothed by a line of uniforms made out of 100 percent recycled polyester produced entirely from post-consumer waste and guests are encouraged to return key cards for reuse.

The Verdanza Hotel kitchen houses a 250-gallon holding tank used for vegetable oil, which is recovered by a local business to be used as bio-diesel fuel.

Thousands of gallons of used fats are prevented from contaminating landfills or polluting Puerto Rico’s waterways.

In addition, two water tanks at the hotel collect rainwater, which is then used to supply the water for Spray Park, a low-cost step toward reducing the impact on local water supplies.

Guests at Verdanza receive a collection of bathroom accessories that are free of sulfates, parabens, phthalates, petrol-derived ingredients and other hazardous materials. The hotel also ensures that none of their products are tested on animals.

In the hotel’s administrative offices, in addition to using 100 percent recycled FSC-certified stock for stationery, everyday multipurpose office paper is produced of eucalyptus fibers from 100 percent renewable forests.

Eucalyptus is a sustainable source because it is extremely fast growing.

Verdanza Hotel plans to be continuously committed to preserving the surrounding area and remaining responsible and accountable for its usage of natural resources.

For more information, visit www.verdanzahotel.com

Clipper Vacations will be operating their annual Tulip Tours on April 9, 10, 16, 17 and 18. Due to the unusually warm winter and spring this year, the tours will be earlier than previously scheduled.

During April, the fields are alive with acres and acres of red, yellow, purple and pink tulips, spectacular from a distance, and up close.

Flower enthusiasts who book this event will travel between Seattle’s Pier 69 and La Conner via deluxe motorcoach.

Fully escorted, everyone will enjoy a 2.5-hour narrated tour of the Tulip Fields with stops at two bulb farms, plenty of free time in La Conner for shopping and/or lunch and still be back to Seattle around dinner time.

On Fridays, travel will be roundtrip via deluxe motor coach. On Saturday and Sunday, travel will be one way via motor coach and one way via Victoria Clipper cruise, docking in downtown LaConner.

All are fully escorted.

Rates start at $41 per adult if booked seven days in advance, and $46 per adult for booking within seven days.

The price for children ages 11 and under is $27.

Clipper has been an official sponsor of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival since 1991.

For more information, call 800-888-2535 or visit www.clippervacations.com

Santa Catalina Island is undergoing a renaissance thanks to an $11 million revitalization that’s adding an array of activities and amenities.

The 71-room Pavilion Hotel (formerly the Pavilion Lodge) is undergoing a complete renovation that will make use of a large garden courtyard area by creating private lanais for many rooms.

The hotel will also offer two luxury suites with ocean views, a landscaped garden sitting area with a fire pit, a wine and cheese bar, an indoor lounge and Internet café, and an open-air, oceanview lounge area near the lobby.

The Descanso Beach Club will undergo a complete transformation with new amenities like private cabana and chaise lounge rentals.

The open-air restaurant will offer daytime and evening dining with fire rings on the beach, as well as two outdoor bars, weekly music on the lawn and an expanded beach area.

The Descanso Beach Club will also serve as the new activity headquarters, where guests can rent kayaks, stand-up paddle boards, and snorkeling and scuba gear, as well as book massage and golf tee times and excursions Discovery Tours.

The Avalon Grille will be a new, American pub-style restaurant with a central bar on the waterfront in the center of town across from the Green Pleasure Pier.

High, open architecture and indoor/outdoor patio seating will blend to create an al fresco atmosphere. The menu will include appetizers and entrées paired with a selection of wines, microbrews and cocktails.

Beginning nearly 600 feet above Avalon, the new Zip Line Eco Tour will span nearly 4,000 feet.

It will consist of five zips across Descanso Canyon, ending at Descanso Beach, with speeds reaching 45 miles per hour and heights of more than 300 feet.

Each zip ends at a specially designed platform with views of the surrounding island interior and ocean.

Platforms will have interpretative signs highlighting the island’s flora and fauna.

The Sea Trek Undersea Adventure and Snuba will require no prior diving experience.

Participants will encounter a variety of sea life, including mackerel, anchovies, sea lions, bat rays, octopi or California lobster hiding among the rocks.

The GPS Ranger Walking Tour through the streets of Avalon provides participants with personal, high-tech guides to experience the sights at their own pace.

The GPS-enabled multimedia units will point out landmarks and historical points of interest using audio, video and photos. The tour will accommodate up to six people per unit, and guests will have ample time to complete the tour.

For more information, call 800-626-1496 or visit www.visitcatalinaisland.com

Alaska Airlines will offer Aircell’s Gogo Inflight Internet service on all Alaska’s aircraft. Alaska and Aircell are currently working to install the Gogo service on a Boeing 737-800 and will begin testing to secure certification from the Federal Aviation Administration. Once Aircell’s equipment has been certified for Alaska’s 737s, the airline will start outfitting its entire fleet, beginning with its 737-800s serving longer routes.

Bloody Mary – Killer Queen.

• New experience featuring one of Britain’s most murderous monarchs – Mary Tudor aka Bloody Mary

• Enter Bloody Mary’s private chapel and witness the fanatically Catholic Queen pass judgement on petrified heretics

• Experience the horrifying sights, screams, smells of the most painful method of execution known to man – being slowly burnt alive

• Celebrating 35 years of scares in 2010, The London Dungeon is an action packed attraction where history’s most horrible bits are brought to life

o Thirteen frightfully fun experiences including Surgery: Blood & Guts (new in 2009), Jack the Ripper and Sweeney Todd
AND two chilling rides:

o Extremis – Drop Ride to Doom; an adrenaline-charged “last drop” in the dark

o Traitor – Boat Ride to Hell; a terrifying trip to Traitors Gate

• Tickets: £22.50 for adults, £16.50 for children family tickets from £55 and birthday packages also available

• Priority entrance bookings available online at www.thedungeons.com  – best price priority entrance guaranteed

• Open 7 days a week – 9:30am – 6:30pm

• Nearest Tube/Rail: London Bridge

• Visit www.thedungeons.com for further information

The London Dungeon – Bloody Mary: Killer Queen featuring one of England’s most feared rulers – Mary Tudor, the deadliest daughter of Henry VIII . This Killer Queen was nicknamed Bloody Mary for ordering around 300 horrifying murders in her brief but brutal five year reign (1553-1558).

Guests are transported back to London in 1556 where the fanatically Catholic Queen is burning Protestants at the stake. Special effects conjure up the sights, screams and overwhelming stench of fiery execution as another helpless “heretic” endures one of the most painful deaths known to man – being slowly burnt alive.

For those who are spared there’s plenty more in store from Britain’s most famous scare attraction at The London Dungeon, celebrating 35 years in the fear business in 2010. With actor-led experiences, chilling special effects and thrilling rides there’s a whole attraction full of history’s horrible bits to discover. From the Victorian stomping ground of Jack the Ripper to Sweeney Todd’s hair-raising barber shop and London’s bloodiest operating theatre there’s plenty of twisted humour, frightening fun, blood gore and much more!

Children? Who mentioned children being here? Frustrated with arriving at your luxurious chalet with your nearest and dearest for some prized adult time to find that you’re sharing with the family from hell?

Travel search engine nowfly.co.uk has picked out chalets that offer weeks throughout the season for adults only.

Yep, no Ben10, no Polly Pockets, no DS and no looping Peppa Pig DVD’s. Blissful. The below are edited versions, but for full details click here:

http://www.nowfly.co.uk/ZipIt/56-top-ski-chalets-for-adults.aspx

Zermatt Loft, Zermatt, Switzerland

On a ‘wow’ scale of one to ten, the Zermatt Loft effortlessly resides in the ten zone.

It combines warmth, style in abundance, a setting that’s hard to beat, and is wrapped up in a construction similar to a Manhattan-style loft.

The chalet comprises a whopping 300m2 and it fuses together glass, steel, concrete and wood that would happily house the biggest of divas.

For flights to Zermatt, fly to Zurich or Geneva:
www.nowfly.co.uk/cheap-flights-to-Zurich.aspx
www.nowfly.co.uk/cheap-flights-to-Geneva.aspx

Abode Chalet, St Martin de Belleville, France

This year the Alpine Club introduced a number of adult only weeks to cater for the growing number of guests who don’t want to share their holiday with families.

Abode is one of their properties that offers its guests accommodation of the highest standard.

Originally a farmer’s house, it was converted into uber-cool chalet, forging a traditional feel with contemporary interiors, designer furniture and all embracing comforts that will guarantee the perfect après-ski wind-down

For flights to Abode Chalet, fly to Chambery, Lyon or Geneva:
www.nowfly.co.uk/cheap-flights-to-Chambery.aspx
 www.nowfly.co.uk/cheap-flights-to-Lyon.aspx 
www.nowfly.co.uk/cheap-flights-to-Geneva.aspx

Chalet Zen, Zermatt, Switzerland

Featured as one of Tatler’s Top 10 Chalets 2005, chalet Zen offers adults only weeks throughout the ski season.

The chalet creates the traditional Swiss feel, with exposed timber beams, antique furniture, welcoming rugs and paintings that really creates a true home from home atmosphere.

Chalet Zen offers four en suite double bedrooms, three of which have balconies facing the mighty Matterhorn.

For flights to Chalet Zen, fly to Zurich or Geneva:
www.nowfly.co.uk/cheap-flights-to-Zurich.aspx
www.nowfly.co.uk/cheap-flights-to-Geneva.aspx

Wedelhuette, Hochzillertal, Austria

Wedelhuette, a brand new luxury chalet and hotel with its own ski lodge opened its doors in December 2009. A truly 5 star luxury experience, the chalet can only be access by gondola or on skis, making this retreat even more exclusive. Wedelhuette has gone to great lengths to create a fantastic Tirolean resort, appealing to both an avid snow-crazed skier but also one who places food and drink high on their list.

For flights to Wedelhuette, fly to Innsbruck:
www.nowfly.co.uk/cheap-flights-to-Innsbruck.aspx

Ski Sales Up By 17% With Pierre & Vacances As Customers Discover Lesser-Known Resorts

The recent cold snap in the UK has lead to a surge in bookings for European ski accommodation specialist Pierre & Vacances, particularly in the lesser-known ski resorts across the Alps and Pyrenees, where sales have increased on average by 17%.

Pierre & Vacances, which offers accommodation in over 40 ski resorts in the Alps and Pyrenees, as well as all over France, has this month seen an increase in bookings for properties in the lesser-known resorts, which offer large ski areas and more affordable ski packs and après ski activity.

Pierre & Vacances properties in resorts such as Les Coches. Valloire and Valmeinier, Avoriaz and Les Carroz have reported increases in bookings at an average of +17% on previous years, indicating that customers may be willing to try slightly less well-known resorts in order to get the best value from their annual trip to the slopes.

Trading over the past two weeks has been particularly strong for Pierre & Vacances with January trading now on a par with last winter. Recent sales have also recorded an increase in holidays booked for later in the season, when rates are lower. British skiers may be hoping for an excellent season, like last year’s, when the snow lasted well into the later months.

Sales for the end of March are already strong, with ski trips booked for the week before Easter (commencing 27th March 2010) being particularly popular. This week is classed as ‘off peak’ in France, but is a school holiday for much of the UK – thus British customers are taking advantage of being able to get a low season price for a holiday in a high season week.

Pierre & Vacances is also putting the recent increase in sales down to its current ‘Beat the Euro’ campaign, which aims to alleviate the poor Euro/Sterling exchange rate by offering at least 15 per cent off all ski accommodation across the Alps and Pyrenees.

This deal is valid on all dates until the end of the season – including school holiday and Easter dates.

Prices for a one-week break in Alpe d’Huez for example start from only £343 (previously £404) for a studio apartment sleeping two people at Pierre & Vacances Résidence Les Bergers in April 2010.

Snow conditions are currently excellent across the Alps with lots of fresh snow and cold temperatures reported, particularly in the Southern Alps in resorts such as Alpe d’Huez and Vars, where snowfall of up to 14cm per day is expected this week.

Nostalgic, the leader in classic car travel, opens its 2010 season with an exclusive road experience from April 23-25 on the shores of Lake Maggiore, Italy.

This is your chance to self-drive some of the finest 1950’s open-top Italian sports cars, paying tribute to the Alfa Romeo Centennial 1910-2010, along with luxury catering and accomodation.

Now in its 8th year, Nostalgic offers you, your friends and customers the finest driving experience in Europe.

More than just a self-drive holiday, Nostalgic provide their guests with a taste of luxury, from five-star hotels, wine tasting and gourmet dinning, to city tours, theatre trips and visits to local perfumeries or vineyards.

A full-service incentive agency who can plan a tailor-made trip to suit any requirements, their extensive knowledge of the area makes booking through local agencies a thing of the past, and that saves you travel, time and money.

Personally hand-picking only the finest hotels and restaurants, during the day guests can enjoy driving through some of Europe’s finest landscapes, while by night they can sample local food and wine.

Organising exclusive, private, corporate and incentive self-drive trips since 2003, Classic Car enthusiasts Walter Laimer and Gert Pichler accompany their guests on selected dream routes, which each participant can drive individually, using specially prepared roadbooks.

The elegant, open-top Italian sports cars are all in first-class condition, the Alfa Romeo fleet includes the Giulietta Spider, Giulia Spider, 2600 Spider, Giulia GTC and the 2000 Spider.

The 25-car fleet can be booked in full at any time of the year.

Choose to speed along the route of the Mille Miglia with the wind in your hair, and tour the winding roads of Tuscany, while living la dolce vita lifestyle.

For a totally different Italian experience, explore the glittering shores of Lake Maggiore, or the rugged hills of Sicily, all at the helm of your Alfa Romeo Spider. Alternatively, if you’re seeking a return to the glamorous days of the 1950s French Riviera then Nostalgic can make your dreams come true, with their brand new Cote d’Azur itinerary.

To book your place at the April 23-25, 2010 season’s opening, please contact Walter Laimer, +44 (0)845 6868020

or +49 89 5454060,

email wl@nostalgic.eu

www.nostalgic.eu

Specialist holiday park operator, South Lakeland Parks, offers buyers an opportunity to purchase luxury holiday homes in the much sought after prime locations of the Lake District, Morecambe Bay and Ribble Valley from as little as £5,995!

Property in most of these areas traditionally comes at a high premium, due to the spectacular and idyllic locations such as aside Lake Windermere or overlooking the waters of the Irish Sea. However, South Lakeland Parks has a range of options for those looking to purchase a second home with prices to suit everyone.

Lodges and caravans are available for purchase from a very modest £9,000 for a caravan at family favourite Regent Park through to £310,000 for a superior, deluxe lodge overlooking Windermere at Fallbarrow or White Cross Bay.

All lodges and caravans are fitted to a high specification with luxurious and modern interiors plus conveniences such as dishwashers and washing machines. Furthermore many of the parks feature club houses with restaurants, bars, swimming pools and play areas for children.

Buyers purchasing before end of February can enjoy a saving of at least £1,500 with South Lakeland Parks’ offer of no site fees until 2011. Other special offers at individual parks include:

 Starter holiday homes at Ocean Edge for just £5,995
 Ex-hire fleet units for sale at Regent for just £10,995
 And a saving of £39,000 off the cost of a luxury lodge at Todber, where lodges now start from only £64,995

For more information and to arrange a park visit call 015395 69834 or visit www.slparks.co.uk