Jetsettersblog

The Grenada Board of Tourism has launched a new website at www.grenadagrenadines.com

The multi-lingual website, available in English, French, German, Spanish and Chinese, features new functions including a trip planner, a tour operator locator, and an interactive map and blog.

For more information on Grenada, call 800-927-9554.

The recently unveiled Night on the Town tour from Gray Line New York is offering a “singles” version of the tour, launching on Thursday, June 3.

The offer provides $30 off the regular $89 ticket price and encourages singles across the city to hop on board a Gray Line and potentially find romance on the love bus.

The tour includes a stop at the Top of the Rock Observation Deck; the first and only nightly, fully guided tour of the Highlines; a NYC skyline cruise with a champagne toast;

and a candlelight dinner in Little Italy.

Passengers on board the bus will also experience a revamped version of the “speed date,” where singles will play a “grown up” version of musical chairs in order to meet as many fellow passengers during the tour as possible.

The combination of socializing and sightseeing will be available to singles moving forward.

This singles tour must be booked in advance by June 2 online or any Gray Line New York visitor’s center.

For more information, visit the banner ad at right.

The Acapulco Destination Marketing Office launched a new, digital tool to assist meeting and incentive planners who are considering Acapulco as the destination of choice for their next corporate meeting, convention or incentive trip.

The Acapulco Meetings & Incentive Directory is a complete, up-to-date guide on all of the venues, hotels and services available throughout the destination with regards to planning events such as conventions, conferences, corporate meetings, expositions, incentive travel and other special events.

Recently, Acapulco welcomed the new Diamante Exhibition Center located within the Fairmont Acapulco Princess Resort, a $3 million investment offering 20,000 square feet of exhibition space. Additionally,

Acapulco is home to Mundo Imperial’s Expo Imperial, offering over 730,000 square feet of convention space.

The destination’s longest-standing meeting venue, the Acapulco International Convention Center, will undergo a $40 million renovation and is slated for completion in 2013.

The Acapulco Meetings & Incentive Planner is an eco-friendly tool, distributed solely via the Internet.

To download the complete Meetings & Incentive guide, visit www.visiteacapulco.com

In celebration of San Francisco Pride, the Red and White Fleet has launched a specialty evening bay cruise during the local Pride weekend, June 26 and 27.

The two-and-a-half-hour cruise departs at 8 p.m. and features an appetizer buffet, DJ music and dancing, one complimentary beverage per person, and a cash bar.

Guests will sail along San Francisco’s skyline toward the Bay Bridge, view Alcatraz and Angel islands, pass along the Tiburon and Sausalito waterfronts and watch the sun set over the Pacific behind the Golden Gate Bridge.

The price is $68 per person, with a $5 donation to S.F. Pride from each purchased ticket. To book a San Francisco Pride cruise, call 415-673-2900 or visit www.redandwhite.com .

For more on S.F. Pride festivities, visit www.sfpride.org

Last year, India’s Leela Hotels, Palaces & Resorts opened two new five-star properties in Udaipur and Gurgaon, outside of New Delhi, and will add a new luxury hotel in New Delhi this fall and another in Chennai in 2011. In the next few years, four more luxury hotels in Agra, Hyderabad, Pune and Lake Ashtamudi in Kerala will join the original four properties in Bangalore, Goa, Kovalam (Kerala) and Mumbai.

The group’s most ambitious project to date, The Leela Palace Kempinski New Delhi will debut in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in October. Located in the Diplomatic Enclave and near the Central Business District of Delhi, The Leela will be close to all of the city’s historic monuments as well as its embassies and corporate offices. With 260 rooms and suites, The Leela will have four restaurants serving Indian, Japanese (India’s first Megu) and Italian cuisine; two bars; an ESPA spa; a fitness center; and a heated roof-top swimming pool.

Opening its doors in 2011, The Leela Palace Kempinski Chennai will be the first on the city’s seafront overlooking the Bay of Bengal. Set on six acres on the beach and with a design inspired by the nearby Chettinad Palace, The Leela will be Chennai’s largest business hotel boasting 360 suites and rooms as well as extensive meeting facilities.

The Leela Kempinski Gurgaon, Delhi (N.C.R.) which opened last July, has been running at over 90 percent occupancy. A collection of contemporary Indian art fills the 322-room property which features three restaurants, including the dramatic Spectra with seven “live” kitchens; a spa offering Ayurvedic treatments; a fitness center with yoga and aerobic studios; a large heated outdoor pool; 26,900 square feet of banquet and meeting space, and a 24-hour business center.

Last October, The Leela Palace Kempinski Udaipur celebrated its grand opening, the first luxury hotel to debut in the city in seven years. Lying on the banks of Lake Pichola, the hotel is designed to evoke the life and times of India’s royal past. The hotel has two restaurants, a lounge, a swimming pool, a fitness center and a spa by ESPA offering traditional and Ayurvedic treatments in nine spa tents set in the gardens. For more information, visit www.theleela.com.

Audley have launched a new online travel magazine at www.audleytravel.com/magazine

It includes a huge variety of travel lists, offers and destination features with updated information and new articles going live each week.

Examples of travel lists currently available on the site include:

Top 10 Restaurants with a View
Top 10 Hidden Gorges
8 Ways to Give Something Back
Top 10 Desert Experiences
Top 5 Battlefields

Features are available under various different categories ranging from ‘Beach & Relaxation’ to ‘Activities & Adventure’ with other popular headings including ‘History & Culture’; ‘Safari & Wildlife’ and ‘Journeys & Cruises’.

Further information from Audley on 01993 838 000 or visit www.audleytravel.com

Follow Audley on Twitter www.twitter.com/audleytravel

Subscribe to Audley’s RSS feed of travel articles www.audleytravel.com/magazine

Modern, stylish and affordable business hotel brand launches in Dubai

Rotana, the leading hotel management company in the Middle East and North Africa, has announced the opening of the Centro Barsha in Dubai, redefining the conventional concept of economical comfort.

Conveniently located close to the business districts of Media City and Internet City, Centro Barsha, Dubai features 246 rooms and is also in close proximity to the commercial areas of Sheikh Zayed Road and the Dubai Financial Centre.

“We are thrilled about the opening of the second property under our exciting new ‘Centro Hotels by Rotana’ brand, which will certainly meet the demands of a new generation of traveller who’s seeking finesse and functionality at reasonable rates,” commented Selim El Zyr, President & CEO of Rotana.

Conceived by Rotana and designed by LWD, ‘Centro Hotels by Rotana’ signals the start of a bold new genre of hospitality. Centro is a contemporary concept that brings a young, fresh and dynamic environment to low cost business travel.

Business travel and accommodation for the budget conscious executive is an increasingly important market in the Middle East and the ‘Centro Hotels by Rotana’ concept is specifically designed to cater to this rapidly expanding market.

Appealing to large corporate entities, small and medium business owners, and individual travellers, ‘Centro Hotels by Rotana’ is stylish, chic and affordable business hotel brand.

“We are redefining the conventional concept of economical comfort and offering affordable superior class accommodation and hospitality” continued El Zyr.

Centro Barsha, Dubai will feature amenities specifically geared to the needs of the travelling executive including well appointed executive centre, meeting rooms, gymnasium and a swimming pool.

This is in addition to ‘C.Taste’ restaurant, ‘C.Mondo’ beverage and snack bar and ‘C.Deli’, an innovative deli take-away concept.

Rotana is working towards the opening of 25 ‘Centro Hotels by Rotana’ properties across the Middle East by 2014, introducing a unique out-of-the-box solution for the mid-tier market.

For more information, go to www.rotana.com

Move over the Maldives and Mauritius… there is a new player in Indian Ocean luxury and it’s coming in the form of a rather unique Mozambique.

Something of a hidden gem, this sparkling coastline has only been visited so far by ‘those in the know’.

Powder white sands and azure blue seas abound, but this time it’s less manicured, more remote feeling, and even a little adventurous.

What this new Indian Ocean alternative is offering is summed up by incredible Vamizi Island. Billowing white muslins drape enormous beds, the gentle sea breeze whispers through pretty latticed windows and vast decks surround Robinson Crusoe villas scattered with deep sofas, colonial style chairs and cushion covered day beds…

The beaches are your own, the diving is to die for, deep sea fishing is unrivalled and the privacy is quite spectacular.

No rows of over water bungalows or ‘carefully hidden’ neighbours at Vamizi Island… the villas are 70 metres apart, absolutely private and with the company of weaver birds working over head and monkeys gamboling in front of your villa you will never feel lonely.

Vamizi Island, like most luxury African lodges is also fully inclusive except for scuba diving and deep sea fishing, so unlike other Indian Ocean destinations you will not face an extras bill at the end of your holiday.

So if you are looking for Indian Ocean luxury, beaches and seas, a two hour time change, no extras bill and something a little different look no further than magical Mozambique..

Original Travel are offering 6 nights at Vamizi, 1 night at Oyster Bay from £3475 per person for fully inclusive accommodation and international and domestic flights and transfers. For reservations please call Original Travel on 0207 591 0300 or visit www.originaltravel.co.uk

With Professor Robert Brier and Art Historian, Patricia Remler
October 29 – November 15, 2010

The Great Sand Sea of the western desert of Egypt is actually part of the Sahara Desert. This arid expanse, running for hundreds of miles west of the Nile to the border with Libya, is dotted with five verdant spring-fed oases, Siwa, Dakhla, Bahariya, Farafra, and Karga, and a sixth, the Fayoum, that was created during the time of the pharaohs.

Our past Oases trips were such a success that Pat and I along with Far Horizons, of course, have agreed to lead another trip.

It is an off the beaten track adventure, designed for those who have seen Egypt and now want to see more. We would like to invite you to join us.

For much of the trip we travel in air conditioned four-wheel drive vehicles, driving through Egypt’s western desert from Siwa Oasis south until we reach Dakla and Kharga.

The several oases we visit are quite different from the rest of Egypt and as you will see, so are the people, clothing, jewelry and food.

We will stay in some unique and wonderful eco-type hotels. We will travel through three different beautiful deserts and often stop far from anyone or anywhere.

Along the way we visit fabulous sites rarely seen by tourists-like the mud brick pyramids built by the pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom.

This huge area of Egypt is for those who seek the beauty of the rugged wilderness and the remote ruins of Egypt’s historical past.

We are looking forward to seeing a lot of old friends on this trip, and meeting some new ones too! Kind regards,

TRIP DATES: October 29 – November 15, 2010

TRIP COST: $8995.00 includes round trip airfare from New York’s JFK to Cairo You may read what former travelers have to say about Bob Brier – http://www.farhorizons.com/Africa/OasesofEgyptEclipse.php  - and see the entire itinerary on the Far Horizons award-winning website –

VISIT THIS LINK.

Seawings, a seaplane tour operator in Dubai, will continue to expand its cruise operations with the development of the Dubai Cruise Terminal.

Seawings will have two seaplanes permanently based at Port Rashid Cruise terminal as well as a fully operational check-in terminal lounge. “Since starting operations in late 2007, the partnership with the cruise lines has been a successful endeavor,” said Prerna Fogat, business manager of Seawings. “With the cruise segment growing and guests having very limited time in each destination, we worked to establish an operation departing directly from the Port Rashid cruise terminal to offer guests a way to see Dubai and all its icons in less than an hour.

The seaplane experience provides guests with a unique way to discover the sheer scale of Dubai from the sky.”

The additional capacity, with the two seaplanes permanently based at the cruise terminal, will allow Seawings to handle the additional demand.

With the increase of cruise line traffic from Costa, Aida and Royal Caribbean International, Seawings will continue to develop offerings specifically for cruise guests.

Seawings offers up to 16 flights per day, leaving every 30 minutes, as well as tour options.

For more information, visit www.seawings.ae