Jetsettersblog

The Fullerton Heritage, Singapore will open Marina Bay’s first waterfront hotel, The Fullerton Bay Hotel on June 1.

Comprising 100 rooms and six individually themed suites, each with marina views, balconies and sundecks, the hotel offers a luxury design element to Singapore’s new district. LCL Architects, the group behind the hotel’s glass facade, is also responsible for the creation of the bedrooms, while the public areas and restaurants are the latest project from designer Andre Fu.

Guests will enter the hotel through a 56-foot-wide lobby at the historic Clifford Pier, an important historic site which saw the arrival of many of Singapore’s early settlers.

This central meeting point is dominated by a 16-foot-wide cylindrical chandelier.

The public areas are steeped in the city’s history with Fu using vintage nautical maps and local artists to create an atmosphere that reflects the cultural melting pot that is Singapore.

Each of the hotel’s six suites, including the 1,636-square-foot Presidential Suite, are individually themed to reflect the wealth of cultures in Singapore’s population, including Chinese, Malay, Indian, Pernakan and Colonial, and are situated on the upper three stories of the hotel, in prime corner positions.

Each will be adorned with bespoke artwork and antiques alongside contemporary pieces that embody the ethnic spirit unique to the suite’s assigned culture.

The hotel’s three restaurants, also designed by Fu, include Clifford, The Landing Point and Lantern.

Lantern is a rooftop bar, surrounding the hotel’s rooftop pool, where guests can take n a 360-degree view of the Marina Bay waterfront and Singapore skyline.

Clifford, which has 33-foot floor-to-ceiling windows with views out to Marina Bay and an 800-bottle wine library, serves modern brassiere fare.

The restaurant has one semi-private dining room for up to 10 guests as well as an al fresco dining balcony for up to 40 guests.

The Landing Point is located alongside the marble promenade, overlooking the waterfront.

Deluxe Rooms start from $800 excluding services and taxes.

For more information, visit www.fullertonbayhotel.com

Best Western International signed on its newest resort in Thailand and in doing so, also added a new destination to its growing portfolio around the Kingdom.

Following a renovation project, the Phanganburi Resort & Spa on Koh Phangan is set to open in November.

The 105-room resort is situated on Haad Rin Beach at the south of Koh (Island) Phangan, close to shopping, entertainment and nightlife enclaves.

The resort has its own beach front, two swimming pools, on-beach restaurant, outdoor pool bar, spa and traditional Thai massage service, tour desk, mini mart, currency exchange service and a function room catering to a range of meetings and events.

All guestrooms and cottages feature a private balcony and are fully equipped with satellite TV, broadband Internet, telephone, in-room safety box, mini bar, refrigerator, individually controlled air conditioning and private bathroom with hot and cold shower.

Bali’s Green School, whose director of admissions is former Absolute Travel (www.absolutetravel.com) salesperson Ben Macrory, provides a holistic and green education to its students, 20 percent of whom are Balinese.

The programs combine eco-learning adventures with Balinese cultural activities and promote a greater awareness of environmental responsibility and global citizenship.

Green Camp runs year-round and includes activities like raft building, organic chocolate-making, traditional Balinese puppetry, kite-making, low ropes courses, and coconut tree-climbing for kids ages 5 to 11. For more mature kids (12 to 17 years old), it’s more active, with mountain biking, whitewater rafting, tubing, rock climbing, night safaris, and archery.

Participation can be for a single days or full weeks (there is an overnight option).

For more information, visit www.greenschool.org

Jetstar plans to operate long haul services from Singapore to Australia, North Asia and/or European destinations from late 2010.

Unveiling the latest stage in its Pan Asian network growth plans, Jetstar will operate two future A330-200 aircraft to its major Asian hub at Singapore Changi Airport.

Jetstar’s existing two-class A330-200 fleet flies long haul services from Australia directly to the Asia Pacific destinations of Bali, Tokyo, Osaka, Honolulu, Bangkok and Phuket.

Jetstar’s partnership in growth with Singapore Changi Airport currently supports over 400 weekly return A320 services to 21 destinations directly beyond Singapore including to Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Australia.

Jetstar presently flies up to 2000 weekly flights to 57 destinations with a fleet of 61 aircraft across the Asia Pacific Region.

Jetstar Chief Executive Officer Bruce Buchanan said the announcement would employ up to 200 new aviation jobs across Jetstar’s growing Pan Asian network including pilots, cabin crew, engineers and airport customer service staff.

Adults-only Secrets Resorts & Spas officially opened the Secrets St. James and Secrets Wild Orchid Montego Bay resorts Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony during the 2010 JAPEX conference in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

The two-resort $180 million project is expected to host more than 52,000 guests by the end of 2010.

For more information, call 866-GO-SECRETS or visit www.secretsresorts.com

Long ago, dahabiehs (traditional lanteen-rigged sailboats) transported people and goods up and down the Nile.

Today, they offer a tranquil cruise experience, distinctly different from larger cruise ships.

Abercrombie & Kent’s newest offering, the Zein Nile Chateau, was designed for serenity, space and elegance. Due to its smaller size and ability to dock anywhere, it is ideal for families and small groups of friends travelling together.

The Zein Nile Chateau is the first dahabieh to be built to international luxury standards, with four spacious cabins and two suites, decorated with motifs inspired by Egyptian history, culture and geography. All cabins feature column-to-column windows and are fully air-conditioned.

The Farouk Suite, located on the upper deck for added privacy, has panoramic windows offering views of the surroundings.

Influences from Egypt’s Royal era can be seen in the furniture and décor, including an original hand-woven rug, a replica of a family letter sent by Egypt’s King Farouk to his mother, the Queen, and family photos.

These small details are what most impressed Egypt’s last King, Ahmed Fuad, son of King Farouk, who was the first guest to enter the suite named after his father.

The Upper Deck Salon and Dining Room features floor-to-ceiling glass doors. There is also a Cigar Lounge and Library. The Sun Deck has an oasis pool, outdoor shower and an open, Arabian-style sky lounge for star gazing under the clear desert skies. The boat is staffed by a small team who look after guests’ every need. Seven-night charters from $29,600 for up to 12 guests.

Tailor Made Private Travel has been an Abercrombie & Kent specialty for nearly 50 years.

A&K’s Egypt specialists will recommend a dahabieh suited to the needs and interests of groups.

Each vessel has comfortable cabins with private, en suite facilities; distinctive dining with exceptional service; and spacious lounges and sundecks for al fresco dining.

With a dahabieh serving as a floating hotel, it is possible to go beyond Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, continuing past some of the most beautiful scenery along the river.

The Temple of Horemheb is cut into the riverside rocks at Gebel Silsila; the pre-Dynastic capital of Upper Egypt, El-Kab, has tombs and temples dedicated to the vulture goddess, Nekhbet.

For more information, call 800-554-7094 or visit www.abercrombiekent.com

Building on a 74 percent increase in escorted tour bookings for groups and individuals traveling to Britain this year, CIE Tours International is increasing and enhancing its program to Britain for 2011, according to Brian W Stack, managing director of CIE Tours International.

In addition, 90 percent of CIE’s scheduled tour prices for 2011 are unchanged from this year.

The expansion includes three new British tours in 2011 — The Olde England Heritage Tour, eight or 10 days from $1,298 land only; Heart of Wales & England Tour, nine days from $1,458 land only; and British Pageantry, 15 days from $2,598 land only.

All of these itineraries are suited for booking groups.

Like the rest of CIE’s escorted programs, the prices on the scheduled tours to Britain are guaranteed, once a deposit is received.

A major selling point in all arrangements is CIE’s policy of “no optional extras” while on tour.

There are no surprises or added expenses.

For more information, call 800-223-6508 or visit

www.cietours.com

This summer you can put your London-bound budget travelers in school dormitory lodging to help them save money.

The London School of Economics & Political Science opens its halls of residence as cheap central London accommodation during the student vacation periods.

With a choice of locations available including Trafalgar Square, Drury lane and the South Bank, LSE provides great value, affordable accommodation ideal for families groups and individuals on a budget.

Rooms start from just £28 ($41) a night this summer.

For more information, visit www.lsevacations.co.uk

Imperial College London, located next to the Royal Albert Hall and museums, makes a good accommodation choice for groups and individuals in South Kensington.

With over 1,000 en suite bedrooms, 100-plus meeting spaces and sports facilities, Imperial can offer a complete accommodation package to suit all budget between July and September for your stay in London.

For more information, call 011-020 7594 9507, email vacenquiries@imperial.ac.uk  or visit

www.imperial.ac.uk/summeraccommodation

Travel Bound has added five new European wine-, beer- and spirits-tasting add-on tours for independent travelers, starting at $17 per person, to its extensive lineup of food and wine/spirits sightseeing activities around the world.

Selling exclusively through travel agents, Travel Bound offers commission, starting at 10 percent, on every tour, transfer and hotel booking.

Agents can create customized F.I.T. packages by assembling hotel, sightseeing activities and private transfers to match specific client interests, timetables and budgets.

The new wine and spirit tours are bookable on Travel Bound’s agent-only web site at www.booktravelbound.com  under “Promotions”:

The new tours include Amsterdam Cocktail & Genever Experience, a three hour visit to Lucas Bols, one of the oldest brands of distilled white spirits and taste Genever, gin’s ancestor and favorite drink of the Dutch from $17 per person; the three-hour Brussels Beer tour features the lore of Belgium’s many different types of beer and tastings at several grand cafes for $71; Dublin’s Old Jameson Distillery tour features the history of Ireland’s best known whiskey and a sample glass from $19; Lyon’s One Day in Beaujolais tour visits the medieval Golden Stones villages and 10 vineyards or “crus,” with tastings along the way from $179; Sorrento’s Vesuvius 4×4 and wine tasting tour explores the summit of the famous volcano in a 4×4 vehicle with wine tasting with light lunch at a vineyard on its slopes from $116.

Among other Travel Bound wine and spirits tours in Europe featured in this special promotion are Chianti-San Gimignano excursion with wine tasting (Siena, Italy); “Highland Experience — Castles, Lochs and Whiskey” (Edinburgh); “Freixenet Cellars and Cava Tasting” (Barcelona); Reims Champagne excursion (Paris); “Beer Walk” (Prague) and “Discover Apulian Wine in an ancient winery” tour (Alberobello, Italy).

The company also offers wine and spirits tours in North America, South America, Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

Wine and spirits tours are just one of many types of special interest tours and activities for independent travelers offered by Travel Bound.

The company also offers shopping tours, cooking lessons, photography tours, adventure tours such as skydiving, theme parks, and historical/cultural tours among more than 4,000 sightseeing tours, 8,000 attractions and 7,000 restaurants/shows throughout the world.

Selling exclusively to travel agents and tour operators since 1982, Travel Bound is a leading wholesale provider of travel products for independent travelers and groups of more than 10, offering more than 31,000 hotels in 120 countries worldwide plus a wide range of sightseeing tours, attractions, excursions, transfers and other travel services.

Travel Bound is a brand of GTA (Gullivers Travel Associates).

For more information, call 800-808-9541 or visit www.booktravelbound.com

The Brazilian carrier TAM Airlines has joined the Star Alliance network. TAM Airlines offers more than 40 destinations in Brazil and 10 airports across South America.

Over the past years, the airline has expanded its intercontinental network to cover a variety of destinations in the USA and Europe, many of these being Star Alliance hubs.

The Star Alliance network now counts 27 member carriers, offering more than 21,050 daily flights to 1,167 destinations in 181 countries. TAM Airlines’ joining completes a process which originally began in 2006 with the first informal negotiations.

For more information, visit www.tamairlines.com.br