Jetsettersblog

Subsistence villagers in central Cambodia are preparing themselves for an increase in tourists who are curious to explore dozens of local temple ruins that pre-date Angkor Wat by up to 500 years. With some international aid, the villagers have set up a small scale infrastructure of handicraft shop, information centre, restaurant, homestay accommodation and bicycle tours. Guided bicycle trips visit the nearby ruins that have been likened to a setting in an Indiana Jones movie.

The German government through GTZ (German Technical Cooperation) has helped villagers with physical preparation. Khiri Reach, the not-for-profit arm of Khiri Travel, is now promoting Sambor Prei Kuk, formerly known as Isanapura, the capital of a pre-Angkorian Khmer kingdom.

“Our aim is to bring more people to the Sambor Prei Kuk area and extend their stay to at least one overnight,” said Willem Niemeijer, CEO and co-founder of Khiri Travel.

“The area is suitable for adventurous travelers who enjoy low-key pleasures such as forest hikes, exploration by bicycle, ox cart rides, homestays and buying locally made silk, rattan and bamboo handicrafts.”

GTZ has helped with guide training, educating locals to preserve their heritage and building a basic restaurant plus information centre and toilets for tourists. When GTZ started work in the area there were approximately 1,200 visitors per year.

There are now around 8,000, but few stay overnight. The temples are in an impoverished area of Kampong Thom province, halfway between Phnom Penh and Angkor Wat. Most visitors pass through without stopping. That may soon change.

The ruins of Sambor Prei Kuk can be combined with visits to other community based attractions in the province.

These include Santuk Mountain, the holiest in the region, Tonle Sap protected area and bird sanctuary, the Santuk Silk Farm and an inspection of villages specialized in stone carving and making rice noodles.

Since 2005 GTZ has worked with the Sambor Prei Kuk Conservation Project to establish craft training courses for seven villages in the area. Community funds now go towards temple conservation, supporting home businesses, maintaining signage, and the upkeep of the craft hut and information center.

For more information, visit www.khirireach.com  , www.khiri.com  or www.gtz.de/en/praxis/609.htm

Sonesta Collection announced the grand opening of its second hotel in Colombia, the 126-room Sonesta Hotel Barranquilla.

This full-service hotel is located in the midst of business, shopping, restaurants and cultural attractions in downtown Barranquilla.

The hotel is located adjacent to the Centro Comercial Grand Boulevard on Carretera, and adjoins the new shopping mall, casino and nightclub complex.

This hotel, and its sister properties in Valledupar, Colombia; Peru; and Chile are the result of an ongoing relationship between GHL Hoteles and Sonesta.

The Sonesta Hotel Barranquilla features contemporary guest rooms with first-class amenities, a full-service business center, three meal a day restaurant, lounge, room service, 24-hour concierge service, Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, and 2,600 square feet of meeting space. 

For more information, call 800-SONESTA or visit

www.sonesta.com/barranquilla

Avalon Waterways is installing its premium Comfort Collection to accommodations fleetwide by the end of 2011.

The Comfort Collection, which includes premium bedding and other amenities, is being introduced on the new Avalon Panorama.

It then will be added to the rest of the river fleet. The Comfort Collection includes a choice of firm or soft pillows, orthopedic mattresses, high-comfort mattress covers, European-style duvets, Egyptian cotton linens, robe and slippers, Grohe showerheads, marble bathroom countertops and L’Occitane toiletries.

For more information, call 800-221-0090 or visit www.globusfamilypartner.com.

Cunard Line’s new Queen Elizabeth, due out in October, will feature a new alternative French restaurant called The Verandah, company President Peter Shanks announced at a press conference during CLIA’s cruise3sixty conference.

Located on Deck 2, The Verandah will overlook the Grand Lobby. French cuisine designed by Jean-Marie Zimmermann, Cunard’s global culinary ambassador, will be served on Wedgwood china. It will open for lunch and dinner.

The Verandah is open to all guests, but reservations and a cover charge are required. Also on Queen Elizabeth will be the Britannia Club, an 80-seat, single-seating dining room for guests in AA-category staterooms. What’s new is that this is a separate dining room. There is no cover charge.

On the Lido Deck, there will be three dining experiences with waiter service (breakfast and lunch will be served buffet-style here).

The venues, each offered for a three-day period, include Asado, for South American-style grilled meats; Aztec, for authentic regional Mexican cuisine; and Jasmine, for Pan-Asian food. There will be a cover charge of $10 per person.

The Queen Elizabeth will also have the Queens Grill and Princess Grill for top-end suite passengers.

The two restaurants, which will be located on Deck 11, will have glass walls on the starboard side cantilevered over the side of the vessel.

Queen Elizabeth will depart on its 13-night maiden voyage Oct. 12 from Southampton, followed by five celebratory cruises to the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and Caribbean.

The Registry Collection, a luxury exchange program, now offers cruises. The Registry Collection is one of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands under the RCI umbrella.

The cruise program will offer a credit exchange option in which members of The Registry Collection may use a portion of their credits toward the purchase of a cruise at a savings of at least $1,500 per cabin, based on double-person occupancy.

The credit exchange gives members access to such cruise lines as Azamara Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Cunard, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Silversea Cruises and The Yachts of Seabourn.

For added flexibility, members who prefer to save their credits can get discounted cash options, including access to Celebrity Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and more.

For more information, visit www.theregistrycollection.com

The all-inclusive Dominican Republic resorts Paradisus Punta Cana and the Paradisus Palma Real is offering unlimited golf through the end of 2010.

The resorts will end the golf-included policy in 2011. For more information, visit www.golfgetaways.com

The Winwood Hospitality Group, Inc. of Morrisville, N.C., and Embassy Suites Hotels opened its newest property — the Embassy Suites Raleigh-Durham Airport/Brier Creek.

The hotel, near Raleigh-Durham Airport, is located off Glenwood Avenue and I-540 in Brier Creek, within a short distance of over 100 restaurants and shops in the Brier Creek area. The hotel features North Carolina’s first Flying Spoons, Embassy Suites’ new “hip-casual” restaurant concept, and the brand’s innovative and cost-effective Design Option III Prototype.

The hotel offers guests all of the core amenities of an Embassy Suites, such as two-room suites, complimentary cooked-to-order breakfast, complimentary evening Manager’s Reception and an open-air atrium, but with a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly design.

Guests familiar with the brand will notice the suites offer a side-by-side room layout for a more residential feel. Part European-style café and part American coffeehouse, Flying Spoons’ menu features a selection of pastries and desserts, along with specialty coffee drinks, teas and boutique soft drinks. Flying Spoons offers convenient hours of operation for guests, no matter the travel schedule.

The property’s proximity to RDU Airport and Triangle businesses plus its 6,500 square feet of dedicated meeting space makes the Embassy Suites Raleigh-Durham Airport/Brier-Creek ideal for business travelers, while the additional 7,000 square feet of event and outdoor space creates a perfect setting for leisure travelers planning weddings, family reunions or “staycations.”

Additional amenities include an indoor heated pool with children’s play area, whirlpool, Precor fitness center, room service, Starbucks and lounge.

The hotel will provide complimentary shuttle service to and from RDU Airport and throughout the Brier Creek area.

Based on a successful three-month trial run, strong customer satisfaction and solid system performance,

Amtrak is making free Wi-Fi a standard service offering for every passenger traveling on its high-speed Acela Express trains operating between Washington, D.C. and Boston and is moving forward with plans to expand it to other routes.

Known as AmtrakConnect, the Wi-Fi service has been delivering fast, reliable and consistent connectivity to Amtrak customers since March 1 when the trial program began.

Recent on-board surveys reveal that about 115,000 Acela Express passengers per month have logged on, or about 39 percent of ridership. In addition, 76 percent of those polled had a favorable or strongly favorable opinion of the service and with overall system performance.

“We’ve had tremendous positive passenger response to having Wi-Fi available onboard and keeping it free of charge will support increased ridership growth,” said Matt Hardison, Amtrak chief of sales distribution and customer service, noting planned upgrades to the existing service include increased bandwidth to allow for greater access to video files.

Amtrak also is announcing plans to expand Wi-Fi service to other routes contingent on available funding. To advance this goal,

Amtrak has just issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for vendors to identify, procure, install and maintain Wi-Fi on its fleet nationwide, including for: its remaining passenger equipment in the northeast, the Northeast Regional service; for long-distance, overnight trains; and for passenger equipment used in corridor services across the U.S.

This work is expected to begin by late fall 2010 and will start with Amtrak California services routes, followed by the Northeast Regional service.

With the exception of Acela Express, Amtrak trains do not operate with a fixed set of passenger cars.

As such, the Wi-Fi solution selected by the RFP process must be able to function in different train configurations including when cars of different types (i.e., coach, diner, and sleeper) are mixed together, when individual cars are switched between different trains, and when groups of cars from one train are split from, or connected to, another train while en route.

In addition, AmtrakConnect is available for all Amtrak passengers within the gate areas of Washington Union Station, Baltimore Penn Station, Wilmington Station, Philadelphia 30th Street Station, New York Penn Station, Providence Station and Route 128 Station in Boston.

Wi-Fi service continues to be available in all ClubAcela lounges in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York, and Boston.

For more information, call 800-USA-RAIL or visit www.Amtrak.com

Affinia Hotels, with five locations in New York, is introducing Pop-Up Meetings with a guarantee: book a meeting for that same day and Affinia will provide a meeting set-up within an hour, or it’s free.

The Pop-Up meeting guarantee is valid for a minimum group of three people to maximum of 20. To launch the program, a special full day meeting package is being offered which includes a continental breakfast, coffee break, lunch and a special Pop-up Meeting break of popcorn and soda pop all from $135 per person available through Aug. 31.

Each Affinia hotel offers unique and customizable options in varying degrees of meeting space venues including: The centrally located Affinia Manhattan offers nine meeting rooms with more than 9,000 square feet of versatile space, including the impressive chandeliered Grand Ballroom and eight smaller meeting rooms.

Located in Manhattan’s Murray Hill neighborhood, the Affinia Shelburne offers guests 1,725 square feet of total meeting space with Connect 1&2, featuring 1,275 square feet of flexible meeting space that can accommodate up to 75 people, as well as Retreat, a 450 square foot space perfect for an intimate meeting or gathering.

Each room has full audio and video capabilities, a state-of-the-art sound system and dramatic lighting that can be changed to fit the setting of the room and type of event. Catering for all events is handled by the on-site Rare Bar and Grill.
Also in the Murray Hill neighborhood, the Affinia Dumont offers guests The Rafferty Room, an 1100-square-foot space, which can be divided into two smaller meeting rooms to accommodate 12 to 80 people.

The room contains a drop-down screen, high-speed Internet access and full banquet facilities.

Affinia’s Meetings By Design features four packages with such idea-inspiring components as play-dough, sketch pads, wasabi peas and – for those attendees dead-locked by a decision – a classic Magic 8 Ball. Meeting planners looking to make a lasting impression can also direct attendees to www.myaffinia.com , where overnight guests can build a My Affinia profile to customize their stay with choices from an array of amenities and services. From personal toiletries and iGo cell phone and laptop chargers to guitars, golf putters, yoga mats and more, guests will find their selections in-room on every visit.

Once a reservation is made, guests can further customize their stay through the My Affinia Concierge that provides an additional selection of enhancements for a particular stay, including in-room spa treatments, dinner reservations and private transportation. For more information, call 866-AFFINIA or visit www.affinia.com

Timeless Luxury with an Avant-Garde Flair

Introducing

Gran Meliá Crete is a brand new luxury resort, nested on a hillside overlooking Daios Cove. Choose from 300 rooms and suites ranging from the Deluxe Ocean View Suites to the Red Level Master Suites and Villas. Relax and recharge in the 2,500sqm Spa, have a game on the tennis courts, try your hand at the water sports, have a scuba diving adventure, take advantage of the kids’ entertainment and activities and then be swept away in the exclusive VIP Services in the innovative Red Level area.

I can see the Sea

Less than an hour from Heraklion Airport, this sumptuous resort is located right on the waterfront with a private sandy beach with direct access from the resort. To get a taste for the area, a gentle stroll to the traditional fishing town of Elounda will take 15 minutes and the cosmopolitan town of Agios Nikolaos will take 5 minutes.

Exclusive

Each of the 300 rooms, ranging from 42sqm to 550sqm, are designed by the prestigious firm 3SK Styliandis. Optional private pools add an additional extravagance in the Deluxe Sea View Rooms and Master Suites. The Villas and Spa Villas both come with Private Pools as standard and the extraordinary three storey Mansion boasts both an indoor and outdoor Pool plus a Spa Level.

Sanctuary

AEGEO SPA is the perfect retreat; dedicated to purifying the body, balancing the mind and elevating the soul. This Zen-like sanctuary features 2,500sqm of pure indulgence with individual treatment rooms, master spa suites with a private sauna, steam & treatment room, infinity pool with breathtaking sea views, hairdresser, facial and corporal treatments, sauna experience cabins and steam room, fitness centre with independent weight area and finally outdoor and indoor fitness rooms.

Taste

The Gran Meliá Daios Cove, Crete, offers a selection of restaurants and bars including a beachfront Greek tavern; a relaxed gourmet venue, an international food bazaar and a signature wet bar where you can enjoy a cocktail in the swimming pool.

The Extras

The Hotel additionally offers: 2 Tennis Courts (artificial grass), Water Sports & Scuba Diving Centre, Theme nights, DJ nights, Kids Activities, Red Glove Services (Travel Services/Organized Tour Guides), Helipad, Limo & Chauffeur service, Private Jet Service, Valet Parking, Walking Paths, Shopping Centre, Business Services and an On-site Doctor.

Sol Meliá was founded in 1956 in Palma de Mallorca (Spain) and is the world’s leading resort hotel chain, as well as Spain’s leading hotel chain in both the business and leisure markets. It currently provides more than 300 hotels in 28 countries on 4 continents under its brands: Gran Meliá, Meliá, ME, Innside, Tryp, Sol, Paradisus and Sol Meliá Vacation Club.

Sol Meliá is the hotel company with the greatest number of properties in the exclusive club of “The Leading Hotels of the World” (seven hotels).

In 2006, the “Corporate Reputation Institute” of New York ranked the company amongst the corporations with the best reputation in the world, the leading hotel company and the second highest ranked company in the travel industry.

Sol Meliá is the only travel company included in the exclusive “Footse4Good Ibex” Spanish stock market index, and is the third ranked company in Spain amongst companies which generate the greatest degree of confidence and in the top three hotel chains for reputation.

In 2008 the company implemented a Global Sustainability Policy and in 2009 was named the first “Biosphere Hotel Company” by the Responsible Tourism Institute, supported by UNESCO.

The company currently employs more than 34,000 people worldwide with staff from over 80 different countries.

The company fully respects equal rights and balance in its contracting of male and female staff and 10% of its workforce is made up of immigrants.