Jetsettersblog

Lufthansa is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Star Chefs gourmet program that began in 2000. Every two months, it has served first and business class travelers on long-haul flights out of Germany menus created by award-winning international chefs.

Each of the menus bears the signature of its chef so that passengers have over time become acquainted with the very special cuisine of the individual chefs and acquired a liking for several of the dishes offered on the menu.

The result is that in the jubilee months of September and October, the passengers have themselves assumed the Star Chefs’ role after an online ballot on the dish they enjoyed most on a Lufthansa flight.

Those favorite dishes, chosen by Lufthansa frequent travelers from the gourmet program in the cabin over the past 10 years, now feature in the menus served on long-haul flights from Germany during the jubilee months.

Lufthansa is introducing several innovations to mark the 10th jubilee of its Star Chefs program.

Starting in November, the Star Chef creating the monthly in-flight menus will be featured more at center stage. Aside from the principal aspects shaping his cuisine, Lufthansa will provide passengers with a deeper insight into the chef’s culinary philosophy.

Business Class passengers will be pleasantly surprised by a totally new presentation of in-flight food.

They will, for example, be offered a very special salt to take home, if the Star Chef “on duty” is known for using diverse salts to create dishes with his own individual flavor.

Furthermore, “Lufthansa Classics“ will be served in both premium classes.

Alongside the Star Chefs menus, the airline will offer a monthly choice of classic dishes, such as wiener schnitzel (Viennese breaded escalope) or Königsberger klopse (Königsberg meatballs).

To highlight the 10-year jubilee, the Star Chefs pages on the Lufthansa website will also be re-designed and expanded so as to furnish more information and details about the masters of the culinary art and their creations.

As part of Mexico’s Bicentennial Celebration this year, Los Cabos has been chosen as the site for development and construction of the new $40 million Cultural Pavilion of the Republic.

The Cultural Pavilion is the first building of its kind in the state of Baja California Sur and aims to cultivate the artistic and cultural expressions of this particular region of Mexico. Located along the Cabo San Lucas Marina with views of El Arco, the Cultural Pavilion will be compromised of six buildings upon completion.

The project is meant to create a unified space where residents and tourists alike can enjoy traditional Mexican concerts, dances, art exhibits and expositions, international seminars and much more.

The Arts and Biodiversity Pavilion, the first of several buildings to open to the public, will be unveiled in September 2010.

Once completed, the Cultural Pavilion will feature theatres (both closed and open-air), shopping centers, cinemas, a museum, library and restaurants.

For destination information, visit

www.visitloscabos.travel

The sixth Best Western Atrea hotel, an upper midscale prototype designed to attract business travelers, has opened in Woodway, Texas. The 82-room Best Western Atrea Colonnade Parkway features three conference rooms with more than 2,000 square feet of meeting space, as well as an indoor pool and spa, a business center, a fitness center and an onsite cocktail lounge.

Guests receive free wireless, high-speed Internet access and a complimentary hot breakfast. Best Western’s Atrea prototype has several features designed to make business travelers more productive, including multifunction community spaces for meetings or social gatherings, which are often missing from upper midscale hotels, and multimedia features in guestrooms.

Edward Thomas Hotels, which owns Shutters On the Beach and Hotel Casa del Mar in Santa Monica, Calif., has partnered with Jaguar to be the first hotel group in the U.S. to offer the new 2011 Jaguar XJ for the exclusive use of its guests.

The cars will be available for complimentary chauffeured rides within Santa Monica on a first-come, first-served basis.

For Shutters On the Beach, call 800-334-9000 or visit www.shuttersonthebeach.com

For Hotel Casa del Mar, call 800-898-6999, or visit www.hotelcasadelmar.com

The Boutique at Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Resort in Ireland is a shop that features craftsmanship including such Irish crafts as hand-blown crystal, woolens and knitwear, Irish lace, jewelry, fine china and pottery.

A sample of the Irish treasures found at the Boutique at Adare Manor include Tipperary Crystal, Patrick Francis Designs’ cashmere scarves and pashminas, the Newbridge brand’s jewelry and Aisling Maher’s headpieces and hair bands.

The boutique also carries an extensive range of children’s knitwear and traditional items.

Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort in County Limerick is one of Ireland’s leading five-star castle properties.

The 840-acre Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort offers a variety of deluxe accommodations, an 18-hole Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed championship golf course, luxurious spa treatment rooms, dining facilities, fishing, shopping, sightseeing, and a host of other estate activities.

For more information, visit www.adaremanor.com

For more information about Ireland visit http://www.discoverireland.com or for a free vacation planning kit call the NY office at 800/223-6470. Read Ireland feature stories from Jetsetters Magazine.

Inver Lodge, overlooking the Scottish village of Lochinver, and Blanefield House, an exclusive-use property a stone’s throw away from the island of Ailsa Craig, have joined Connoisseurs Scotland’s collection of properties, and Inver Lodge is celebrating with a special offer for the coming season.

Although both provide luxury accommodations on the west coast, each offers an experience defined by stunning vistas, award-winning cuisine and outdoor activities ranging from championship golf to bird watching.

Inver Lodge is a retreat for those seeking to experience nature without forsaking comfort.

Guests choose from 22 rooms, including four superior, two executive and a suite, with views of Loch Inver and the western sea.

At Chez Roux, where Chef Albert Roux creates traditional Scottish cuisine from fresh local produce and seafood, guests dine on Highland lamb and Scottish beef.

Although best known for its plentiful salmon and trout fishing, the diverse countryside is also perfect for anglers, walkers and bird-watchers.

Until the end of October, Inver Lodge is offering a “Dinner, Bed and Breakfast” special for £125 ($199) per person, double occupancy. For more information, email stay@inverlodge.com

The Blanefield Luxury Country House is located three miles from Turnberry Golf Course, recognized as one of the finest courses in the world, and the west coast. With six individual suites, a library, a great hall, a drawing room with open fires and a fully-fitted professional kitchen — which can be staffed and serviced upon request — the property is designed for occasions ranging from family get-togethers to corporate team building.

Guests can also take part in field sports such as pheasant shoots, grouse moors and salmon fishing, or take advantage of sailing at the yachting marinas of Troon, Largs and Inverkip.

For more information, email info@balnefieldhouse.com  or visit www.luxuryscotland.co.uk

With the summer travel season in full swing on the Isle of Capri, the five-star Hotel Punta Tragara has launched a new destination for sea-inspired skincare, wellness and revitalization — UNICA Beauty and Spa.

Part of The Manfredi Fine Hotel Collection, owned by Counts (and brothers) Leonardo and Gofredo Manfredi, Hotel Punta Tragara is a boutique cliffside villa overlooking the Faraglioni sea stacks and the Marina Piccola bay.

Incorporating these surrounding elements, UNICA Beauty and Spa taps into the healing powers of sea salt and algae to create a menu of massage and beauty rituals and is the first spa on the Island of Capri to offer marina-spa Thalassotherapy.

UNICA Beauty and Spa is the result of a 700,000 euro ($899,000) renovation that saw the complete redesign and re-conceptualization of Punta Tragara’s existing spa.

The spa’s terrace is arrayed for comfort with contemporary seating and lounges, creating a setting for pre- and post-treatment relaxation where guests take signature chamomile vervain infusions.

Nearby, on the hotel’s main terrace, are two seawater swimming pools aromatized with Dead Sea salts.

The first is an infinity pool overlooking the Marina Piccola bay while the other is specially designated for Thalassotherapy treatments, heated and equipped with water jets to tone the skin and decongest the airways.

UNICA Beauty and Spa’s signature Thalassotherapy treatments begin with a warm body exfoliation made of Dead Sea salts drenched with essential oils, an outdoor salt bath or indoor steam bath, followed by a massage with essential oils, the application of more Dead Sea salts, and a rebalancing mask of Dead Sea salts.

At the end of the treatment skin is revealed softer, smoother and detoxified (90 minutes, 140 euros or $180).

The Intensive Peeling Massage Sucrées-Kiwi is a relaxing hydrating therapy for sun-stressed skin with a renewing scrub of natural sugar cane, kiwi extract and Babassu Modeling Crème (60 minutes, 140 euros or $180). UNICA Beauty and Spa also offers an array of Hydradermie facial treatments employing high-frequency, mild-galvanic current — a.k.a., “ionization” — to oxygenate and energize cells, enabling the active and beneficial ingredients to penetrate deeply into the skin.

The Hydradermie Deluxe Visage, for instance, combines active biological ingredients with stimulation to lift, cleanse and hydrate, resulting in the elimination of toxins and the reduction of wrinkles for more youthful skin (95 minutes, 200 euros or $257).

The Advance Guinot Spa & Wellness package (available through Oct. 16) includes deluxe double room for five nights, buffet breakfast, welcome gift upon arrival, one Gommage Massage Sucre Kiwi “Relax” treatment, one Spa Essential Massage, one Absolue Minceur, one Visage Lift Hydradermie, and a savings of 15 percent.

Rates for the package start at 4,800 euros ($6,146) based on double occupancy. Rates at Punta Tragara start at 320 euros ($411).

For more information, call 011-39 081 8370844 or visit www.hoteltragara.com

Sol Meliá has opened a new resort in Egypt, the hotel Meliá Sharm, located on the coast of the Red Sea in Sharm El Sheikh (Sinai peninsula), considered a major scuba diving location because of its coral reefs and marine biodiversity.

The hotel is built in Arabian style and provides 468 rooms including two Presidential Suites.

On Oct. 1 the hotel will also inaugurate The Level area, the most exclusive part of the hotel, with a private lounge, open bar, butler service, private beach area, private swimming pool and relaxation area, as well as VIP rooms and services.

The dining options at Meliá Sharm are provided by four restaurants in which guests can sample the best in regional and international cuisine in settings with views over the Red Sea.

The restaurants include Spices (international cuisine), Aqua (a la carte Italian cuisine), Ô Grille (barbecue) and Gabi Lounge (chill-out bar with light snacks by the main pool). There are also five bars — in the lobby (open 24 hours), the Luna Lounge (private lounge for cocktails and cigars with a library and fabulous terrace), the pool bar, the beach bar and the Twist discotheque with live shows every day.

Along with the Meliá Sinai, the hotel will also be among the first to launch the new “Kids & Co by Meliá” family program designed to satisfy the needs of younger guests during their family vacations.

The program has also been implemented in the Meliá La Quinta and Meliá Marbella Banús, both in the region of Malaga in Spain.

Meliá Sharm boasts a three-story lobby with sea views as well as four lagoon-style swimming pools with fountains, a gym, tennis court, multi-purpose sports court and a business center with facilities for conferences, meetings and a wide range of special events in over 800 squared meters of event space.

The hotel is located in Montazah Ras Nasrany Bay, seven kilometers from Sharm El Sheikh international airport in the south of the Sinai peninsula.

Meliá Sharm is the fourth Sol Meliá hotel in Egypt, a growing resort destination for the company to introduce the superior quality and service typical of the Meliá Hotels & Resorts brand, in line with the Sol Meliá growth and diversification objectives in high potential, dynamic destinations such as Egypt, forecast to receive around 14 million visitors in 2011.

For more information, visit www.solmelia.com

A member of The Leading Hotels of the World since 2006 and of Leading Spas of the World since 2008, Paris’ Hotel Fouquet’s Barrière has now been named the first “Leading Green” hotel in Europe, having been certified LECS (Luxury Eco Certification Standards) by the international organization Sustainable Travel International.

Only six hotels throughout the world carry this title.

Along with Hotel Fouquet’s Barrière’s concept of dignified luxury, which focuses on enjoying the luxury of new experiences while living in harmony with the environment, and its triple ISO certification (ISO 9001 for service quality, ISO 14001 for environmental commitment, and SA 8000 for the respect of human rights and children rights), this step forward places one of the most ecologically innovative and responsible Parisian “palace” hotels among some of the world’s leading companies committed to sustainable development.

Eco-initiatives being implemented by Hotel Fouquet’s Barrière include waste recycled as fertilizer and converted into heat and electricity for the hotel; implementation of reusable plastic crate delivery system, in lieu of cardboard, for all fruits and vegetables; financing reforestation of almost 100 acres through funds raised from the Hotel Fouquet’s Barrière grape harvest; hybrid limousines available for guests along with a fleet of the latest electric E-Solex bicycles; and more.

For more information, visit www.fouquets-barriere.com

Italy’s Ragosta Hotels Collection launched a new boutique resort, La Plage Resort, near Sicily’s nature island preserve, Isola Bella.

The resort was created to attract the growing travel trend of up-market travelers seeking a hospitality experience that incorporates elements of their own lifestyles, including modern yet stylish accommodations and innovative dining options.

During the resort’s grand opening, guests can book a four-night stay and receive complimentary accommodations for a fifth night, now through Oct. 31. Rates include daily buffet breakfast and start at 240 euros per room, per night.

La Plage Resort will open as a five-star boutique property with 61 guestrooms and suites.

The resort, which was designed by the architecture firm of Pantha, was created on the philosophy of luxury based on nature.

The resort is designed to function in harmony with the natural surroundings and operate in an environmentally responsible manner.

As the resort is located in a secular pine forest, all design aspects and furnishing feature natural elements such as stone, woods and plants.

On-site ExPure SPA facilities include four-person Jacuzzi, emotional shower, Turkish bath, massage room, relaxation area with tea corner and Panoramic solarium Gym.

The resort offers various Al Fresco public areas such as gardens and solariums and gathering spaces for guests to relax and unwind, as well as an exclusive Marine and Beach Club, accessible only to guests and housing an extensive menu of water sports and activities such as boating.

Guided excursions and tours throughout the region as well as hotel transfers are also available. Rooms will offer toiletries from ExPure SPA, Amaretto Lazzaroni cookies, luxurious linens, robes and towels.

Ragosta Hotels Collection is a member of Summit Hotels & Resorts and Preferred Boutique, divisions of Preferred Hotels Group, representing luxury hotels and resorts worldwide. Based on the Amalfi Coast, Italy, Ragosta Hotels Collection is comprised of the luxury 77-rooms and suites Hotel Raito (member of Summit Hotels & Resorts) in Vietri sul Mare (Amalfi Coast), the 22-rooms and suites Relais Paradiso on the Amalfi Coast and the new 61-room luxury resort, La Plage Resort (member of Preferred Boutique) opening in Taormina-Sicily in spring 2010. A fourth hotel is planned for Rome, Italy, and will open late 2011.

For more information, call 800-457-4000 or visit www.preferred-boutique.com