Jetsettersblog

Florida is ramping up online and social media resources to assist travelers when planning getaways and visiting the Sunshine State this summer.

The recent Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has raised many questions about the Florida beaches, especially for the holiday weekend.

To help visitors, and provide the most accurate and up-to-date information, Visit Florida, the state’s official tourism marketing corporation, has developed dedicated resources on its website www.visitflorida.com/floridalive  to provide real time updates about conditions at the state’s beaches and popular destinations across the state.

“Florida has 2,276 miles of tidal shoreline and 663 miles of beaches. We know many visitors are concerned about recent events’ potential to affect their vacations and Visit Florida wants to do all it can to provide current and correct information,” said Will Seccombe, chief marketing officer at Visit Florida.

“Each year, Florida hosts more than 80 million visitors, many of them returning year after year. We value our relationships with our visitors and want to extend our ongoing bond with these guests by doing all we can to ensure their visits become cherished memories as they enjoy Florida’s many attractions, natural beauty, cultural heritage and resorts.”

The website’s features include live webcam feeds from destinations across the state; Google map-based Twitter feeds providing local updates on beach conditions, weather and activities; photos posted by “Florida Fans” and an extensive collection of vacation deals for a variety of Florida destinations.

The goal is to enable potential visitors to make their Florida vacation plans based on real time information from local sources.

To supplement the organization’s website activities, Visit Florida has also begun aggressive print, broadcast and online marketing campaigns to provide accurate and accessible information on Florida beaches and vacation destinations.

For more information, visit www.visitflorida.org

Carnival Cruise Lines now offers laser tag on 21 ships, following the success of a pilot program on four ships in 2009.

The inflatable laser tag arena, which operates at various times in the ship’s main show lounge, has received “outstanding response” from guests of all ages, according to a Carnival blog post.

Each session allows four players at time — either individually or in teams of two — to battle against each other in a fog-filled dome for a five-minute session.

The cost is $5 per person.

All Carnival ships other than the Carnival Spirit now offer laser tag.

Grandstand Motor Sports has launched its second edition brochure just in time for Jeremy Clarkson who is celebrating his 50th birthday.

Packed full of ideas, Grandstand Motor Sports’ biggest ever collection of holidays includes Formula One, Classic Events, Sportscar or Bike racing. With something perfect for enthusiasts of all kinds, the suggestions for Jeremy Clarkson include:

Le Mans 24 Hours – 12 & 13 June

The 78th running of this extraordinary endurance race tests the stamina of the greatest drivers to the extreme, and attracts thousands of race fans from around the world.

Prices: A selection of itineraries are available priced from £227 per person (based on four sharing a car) for a self drive three night stay and including race tickets and Grandstand representative.

Le Mans Classic – 9 to 11 July

The biennial gathering of class cars and enthusiasts is a real celebration of the history of the motorcar.

Whilst the racing is super to watch, it’s the spectators who help to create the overall atmosphere with an invitation to take part by forming a huge display of classic machinery.

Prices: Ranging from £399 per person (four sharing a car), includes ferry crossing, 3 nights accommodation, entrance, grandstand seat and paddocks access, access to Grandstand marquee with drinks and refreshments and 3 course dinner with wines in a trackside restaurant on Friday evening.

For further details please call 0845 375 0300 or visit

www.grandstandmotorsports.co.uk

Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Epic introduced a pre-cruise, online reservation system for select onboard entertainment.

Booked guests can go to the Norwegian website, log in to the “My NCL” section and visit a special entertainment page where they can reserve their desired performance.

Pre-booking will be available for performances of “Blue Man Group,” “Cirque Dreams & Dinner,” “Legends in Concert,” “The Second City Comedy Troupe,” “Nickelodeon Slime Time Live!”, “Breakfast with Nickelodeon” and the murder mystery “Presumed Murdered.”

Guests may make a reservation for each show once per sailing.

Online bookings open 45 days prior to sailing date.

Reservations for entertainment events with no cover charge are valid until 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

At that time, all unclaimed reservations with be released to guests on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Cancellations of reservations for entertainment events that have a cover charge must be made no later than 24 hours prior to the scheduled start time to receive a full refund. If cancellation occurs with less than 24 hours notice, the full price of the ticket will be charged.

Once onboard, guests may still make reservations for shows through the ship’s iTV system or by contacting the box office. Online entertainment reservations are currently being accepted for the Epic’s June 24 trans-Atlantic sailing.

Great Plains Conservation took over management of Duba Plains Camp, Botswana.

Duba is located in the 30,000-hectare reserve in the northern Okavango Delta just south of the Selinda Reserve, which Great Plains already runs. With this addition, Great Plains now manages more than 1.5 million acres.

Duba is where many of Dereck and Beverly Joubert’s films have been shot, including “Living with Big Cats” and “Relentless Enemies.” The 12-bed Duba Camp (six double tents), where the Jouberts lived for many years, is open to guests wanting a unique African experience while observing an abundance of rare wildlife on the river and flood plains.

The camp will be re-designed by the Jouberts as the ideal safari experience. The design will incorporate layers of silk, mosquito nets and high cooling roofs. Special vehicles and fitted-out boats can follow wildlife. The range of activities has been expanded.

This year Duba has high flood levels that usually force lions, buffalo and other animals into smaller dry parts of the island. “The water opens up opportunities to canoe and explore by boat sections that are virgin territory,” said Dereck Joubert.

“This year the desert people of Botswana are celebrating the exceptional flood where the Selinda Spillway joins up with Duba island.”

For more information, visit

www.wildlifeconservationfilms.com  or

www.greatplainsconservation.com

P&O Cruises this month is introducing O Spa London products and treatments to the Oasis Spa on its six ships — Arcadia, Artemis, Aurora, Oceana, Oriana and Ventura.

O Spa London is an organic British spa product brand developed for the luxury spa market using ethically sourced and sustainable ingredients. O Spa products include Glow, for the face; Cuerpo, for the body; Homme, for men; the ayurvedic Aromaveda; Holisitics, a traditionally inspired Chinese medicine range; Detox, the internal and external line; and Salon, for hair care.

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

Wales View is a magazine-style travelogue that engages the would-be first-time visitor and the obsessive returner to Wales alike.

Wales View, Visit Wales’ free vacation planner, features essays, interviews and really great tips on finding all kinds of things: the best homemade goat’s milk fudge, the world-class views at golfer Ian Woosnam’s favorite spot — the 12th tee at Llanymech — and the murder holes at 13th century Beaumaris Castle, through which defenders could drop boiling water onto anyone they didn’t like.

There are tips for traveling green: television host and adventurer Ben Fogle encourages visitors to drop in at Dyfi Valley, a little-known UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

The London Telegraph’s Julian Rollins recounts his adventures when learning how to geocache — a daring high-tech treasure hunt, at Snowdonia’s Plas Y Brenin, The National Mountain Center.

Shoppers get tips from Britain’s Livingetc writer Joanna Simmons on how to shop the market town of Ruthin and find places like Tilly Mint, a timbered basement boutique that stocks vintage collectibles.

The Guardian newspaper’s Cath Janes professes her love for the South Wales Valleys inviting others to do as she did and get a massage at Nant Ddu Lodge & Spa after hiking to the top of Pen-y-Fan, the highest peak in the Brecon Beacons.

Mike Parker, author of the Rough Guide to Wales, writes about the Welsh word hiraeth. Untranslatable into English, Hiraeth is akin to homesickness and a yearning that springs from a deep love of a particular place.

To download or request a free copy of Wales View, visit www.usa.visitwales.com

Sometimes, it can be hard to find a feel-good story. But every now and then, a tale emerges of goodness quietly told. Hotel Guldsmeden is one such example…

They say that sometimes it’s the smallest lion that has the greatest heart, so it’s fitting that in the homeland of Hans Christian Andersen, there’s a group of people with very large dreams.

The Guldsmeden Group is a cluster of boutique properties with what some may say are purist beliefs in sustainability. If you live outside of northern Europe, you’d be excused for not knowing of them, but what they may lack in size, they make up in passion alone.

The first Hotel Guldsmeden opened its doors in 1999 and over the years it’s been joined by 3 more properties.

They’re located in Denmark, there’s a villa-hotel southern France, and a resort in the mountain village of Ubud, Bali. Each is designed with a strong sense character and operates within the embrace of a corporate culture that’s best described as “dark green”.

“The Axel Hotel Guldsmeden was the first hotel in Scandinavia to benchmark with environmental scheme Green Globe,” explained Sandra Weinert, owner of the Group.

“Since then, we’ve upgraded to the Earthcheck Benchmarking and Certification Program, which provides us with a framework to increase operational efficiencies, maximise the benefit our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, and minimise the environmental impacts of our hotels.”

It makes sense for Gundsmeden to be using EarthCheck’s science-based approach to certification, as it’s considered to be at the forefront of sustainability management systems.

It should be, when you consider that it was developed by the world’s largest not-for-profit research centre, (the Australian Government-funded Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre) and leverages some $260 million worth of academic research.

Guldsmeden has a recycle policy that’s a little unusual to be sure but it’s as innovative as it is clever. And if you’ve ever wondered how to involve your guests in sustainable practices, then they have an answer that will raise a little more than eyebrows for sure.

The Group re-uses its organic coffee grinds that are left over from the breakfast session.

These are taken to their spa and mixed with Epsom-salts and essential oils to make a body scrub that permeates the skin and invigorates the spirit. It’s been so well-received that they’ve partnered with a local manufacturer and developed their own line of beauty/ health products!

If you’ve ever wonder what to do with left-over bread, there’s inspiration to be had there as well. The kitchen makes brown-bread (rugbrød) yoghurt sprinkles by dicing the bread then baking it with honey and toasted almonds, giving it a new lease on life the very next day.

There are no plastic bottles with water in rooms or cafés, as Danish tap water is cleaner and fresher than that bought, so that also cuts down on waste.

All hotel supplies – be it food, drink, sanitary products, beauty & health products, cleaning products, linen, or towels etc. – are either certified as organic, fair-trade, or sourced locally wherever possible.

The Guldsmeden Group uses a green energy provider called Natur Energi (www.natur-energi.dk ), who specialises in producing energy from watermills, windmills, bio-fuel and solar energy. However, in a bid for increased self-sufficiency, solar panels are being installed on the roofs of each property and all appliances are as low-energy consumptive as possible.

Cleaning products are bio degradable, which is good for the environment and also considers the health of those who use them on a daily basis. Then in December 2009, the hotel pushed the limits a little further, by switching to room key-cards made of corn and other plant materials.

Despite the cosy atmosphere that a tea-light or two gives during the dark Scandinavian winter, Hotel Guldsmeden decided to do away with CO2-producing candles. They opted for organic and eco-friendly plant candle-wax, which is placed in reusable glass holders and produce the same ambiance as before.

Guests are encouraged to participate in sustainable living as in each room is a list of quick and easy ways to lessen their negative impact on the environment.

The hotel also supports the Children´s Heart Foundation; adding a voluntary €2 to bills at the conclusion of each stay and then matching the guest’s donation, thereby doubling it.

The staff is deeply involved with local neighbourhood groups and charitable organizations, but their main focus is to help improve conditions for victims of trafficking, prostitution and drugs. This is done through their NO MORE campaign, which has resulted in extensive coverage by international media the world-over.

Although location and value for money still remain the key drivers in the battle to secure custom, but Hotel Guldsmeden has resisted the temptation to treat sustainability as a mere marketing gimmick. Instead, it has taken a committed to a “practice as you preach” approach that’s sitting well with both its clientele and the conscience of those involved.

The Guldsmeden Group: Sandra and Marc Weinert opened the first Hotel Guldsmeden in Guldsmedgade in Århus in 1999. Today, Hotel Guldsmeden also encompasses 3 hotels with a room capacity of 250 rooms in Copenhagen, a villa-hotel in Menton (France) and a resort in Ubud (Bali). A Hotel Guldsmeden franchise in Oslo, Norway, is also underway.

EC3 Global is the world’s largest certifier of sustainable travel and tourism operators. With more than 1000 clients in over 60 countries, The company’s Earthcheck Program responds directly to the major environmental problems facing the planet, including climate change, waste reduction and non-renewable resource management.

It provides benchmarking, certification and performance improvement systems that result in average savings of 30 per cent for energy and waste stream, and 20 per cent savings for water consumption.

Go to www.earthcheck.org  or www.ec3global.com

Interstate Hotels & Resorts has opened and is managing the 366-room Renaissance Moscow Monarch Centre in Russia’s capital city.

The new-build hotel, which includes Moscow’s largest dedicated conference center, is part of a mixed-use development built and owned by Monarch Open Joint Stock Company “Concern Monarch,” one of the largest construction companies in Moscow. The hotel’s location in the new Monarch Centre, in Moscow’s commercial district near the city’s EXPO center, appeals to business and group travelers.

In addition to the hotel, the development includes a separate 33-floor office tower and a four-floor shopping mall.

The complex is located on the main highway linking central Moscow and Sheremetyevo Airport, at the intersection of Moscow’s Third Transportation Ring and Leningradskiy Prospekt.

The hotel offers a combination of individual guestrooms and suites that feature flat-screen televisions and high-speed Internet access.

The property features 40 extended-stay suites that offer additional living space, kitchenette, refrigerators, dishwashers and cook top ranges.

Hotel amenities include an indoor swimming pool, state-of-the-art fitness facilities, as well as massage rooms and sauna.

For dining and entertainment, the hotel offers an all-day restaurant, lobby bar and lounge and a fine-dining restaurant featuring innovative fusion cuisine.

The hotel contains the city’s largest single area conference and convention facility, with some of the largest and most modern meeting and event facilities in Moscow hotels.

Twelve conference rooms and large pre-function spaces total nearly 26,000 square feet, including a 6,600-square-foot ballroom.

For more information, visit the banner below.

The Mantis Group opened the Marlin Lodge on a private island in the Bazaruto Archipelago off the coast of Mozambique.

The new property overlooks the beach of Flamingo Bay, which is easily accessible from its 14 luxury beach suites and three executive beach suites in individual chalets built from Mozambican hardwood, reed-clad brick walls and thatched jecca roofs.

A furnished veranda leads into the bedroom, where a king sized, four poster bed is positioned to take advantage of the views.

Each suite has air conditioning, inside and outside showers, and two private seating lounges.

No TVs or phones intrude on guests’ relaxation.

The pool is shaded by Ilala palms and large umbrellas.

There is an open-air cocktail lounge with views of Flamingo Bay and a spa housed in a timber sanctuary, which offers massages, reflexology, aromatherapy, facials and hand and foot treatments, performed by an internationally qualified therapist.

The cuisine at Marlin Lodge is traditionally Mozambique: an abundance of seafood infused with Asian and Portuguese flavors.

Guests may enjoy their epicurean experience in the al fresco dining room, on the beach, by the pool or on their private veranda.

Guests can also request a packed picnic, which comes complete with basket, blanket, pillows and umbrellas. Available activities include complimentary snorkeling, windsurfing, hobycat sailing, and kayaking.

Guests may horseback ride across the white sand beach and into the water, dive with a resident PADI-qualified instructor or fish for their dinners at one of the greatest fishing sites in the Indian Ocean.

The lodge offers a complimentary traditional Mozambique Dhow cruise and daily cocktail for guests staying one to three nights; a Dhow cruise and island tour for guests staying three to five nights; and a Dhow cruise, island tour, and snorkeling trip to Two Mile Reef for guests staying for five to nine nights.

Rates at Marlin Lodge are $580 for Luxury Beach Suites and $742 for Executive Beach Suites.

Rates are per person per night, based on double occupancy and includes all meals, non-alcoholic beverages, house wines, local beers, selected spirits, a daily sunset cocktail, fully stocked mini bar, and all non-motorized water sports.

For reservations or more information, email reservations@marlinlodge.co.za , call +27 (0) 12 460 9410 or visit www.marlinlodge.co.za  or www.montcom-ny.com