Jetsettersblog

The Ritz-Carlton Club, Vail, has opened in Vail, Colo., in LionsHead Village.

Featuring Vail’s traditional Bavarian-style architecture, the property offers two-, three- and four-bedroom club residences. Amenities include a dedicated concierge staff, including a ski valet and a ski nanny; a fitness facility with a movement studio; Ritz-Carlton spa services and treatment rooms; the Ritz Kids program;

a great room with a fireplace and bar; a library; an outdoor heated pool and whirlpool spa; a fire pit; and a heated, underground garage with valet parking.

Residences range from approximately 1,300 to 2,874 square feet and offer views of Vail Mountain.

They features fully equipped kitchens with marble-slab counters, room finishes with a contemporary, Alpine-style design; coffered ceilings; hardwood flooring in living areas; high-speed Internet access; and twice-daily housekeeping.

For moreinformationn, visit www.ritzcarltondestinationclub.com

The Four Seasons Resort and Residences Vail has opened.

The property features a 121-room resort, as well the Four Seasons Private Residences Vail with 16 whole-ownership units and the Four Seasons Residence Club Vail with 19 fractional-ownership residences.

The Four Seasons Private Residences and Residence Club Vail combine the area’s European influences with American flair.

The units offer open floor plans and are decorated in the style of the Rocky Mountain West with mountain contemporary finishes, gourmet kitchens and five-piece bathrooms.

The resort, which is situated in the middle of Vail Village, features a slope-side ski concierge that offers rentals, waxing and tuning, lockers with a pipe system to air-dry boots and gear, a Gorsuch boutique, and freshly baked muffins, as well as hot chocolate, tea and coffee, provided complimentary to Four Seasons guests and residents.

At the hotel is the Fireside Lounge, offering breakfast, lunch and apres-ski items; an outdoor, saline, heated pool (with heated towels and warmed bathrobes provided after a swim);

whirlpools; a 14,000-plus-square-foot spa with 13 indoor/outdoor treatment rooms, a hair and nail salon and a relaxation lounge; a fitness center;

Flame Restaurant, a casual mountain steakhouse serving breakfast and dinner daily and offering 24-hour room service;

and the Kids for All Seasons program plus the Children’s Activity Centre and a Young Adult Centre.

For more information, call 800-819-5053 or visit www.fourseasons.com  or www.vailresidences.com

The Montage Deer Valley has opened in Park City, Utah, less than five minutes from the historic town’s Main Street and a 40-minute drive from Salt Lake City International Airport. Reminiscent of the great mountain lodges, the mid-mountain resort features 154 guestrooms and more than 66 suites and private residences.

All guestrooms and suites feature fireplaces, outdoor views and baths with heated limestone floors.

Three high-speed chair lifts are just outside the resort’s front door, providing ski-in, ski-out access.

Among the hotel amenities are the 35,000-square-foot, alpine-inspired Spa Montage;

Apex, a mountain American grill inspired by farm-to-table ingredients;

Daly’s Pub & Rec, a gourmet gastro-pub offering activities like bowling and a nostalgic video arcade; and more than 100 paintings and other works of art influenced by nature, wildlife and western heritage.

The property was designed with Montage’s sustainable initiatives and is registered to be LEED certified.

For more information, call 888-604-1301 or visit

www.montagedeervalley.com

National Hotel Miami Beach, a 1939 Art Deco beachfront hotel in South Beach, announced its induction into Historic Hotels of America, a program that identifies quality hotels that have faithfully maintained their historic integrity, architecture and ambiance.

As a member of Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and a brand of Preferred Hotel Group, National Hotel Miami Beach stands alongside 218 other hotels and resorts that represent the heritage and development of America.

To be eligible for membership, hotels must be located in a building that is at least 50 years old and listed in — or eligible for — the National Register of Historic Places or recognized locally as having historic significance.

A shared goal of member hotels is to create a sincere connection with travelers seeking an experience rich in culture and meaning.

For more information, visit

www.historichotels.org/hotel/national_hotel

St. Barth Properties has launched Grand Cru, a collection luxury villas, featuring spectacular views, the latest in technology and electronics and offer a wealth of creature comforts, according to company officials.

The new villas “take the island’s celebrated villa lifestyle to a new level,” said Peg Walsh, St. Barth’s president.

“Travel agents will have something new to offer their most discerning clients.” St. Barth Properties is a boutique travel company specializing in vacations to St. Barth, FWI. The company, has a portfolio of more than 150 carefully selected private villas, a branded collection of the island’s most distinctive hotels, and provides a full range of concierge services.

For more information, call 800-421-3396 or visit www.stbarth.com

The Site International Foundation has recognized the Hawaii meetings industry as an “up-and-coming destination” for motivational events in its recently released Focus on Destination Selection study.

The study incorporated input from planners in determining the key factors that go into selecting locations for performance rewards or motivational marketing programs. Hawaii was one of three places worldwide, and the only one in the United States, cited as an up-and-coming destination, the other two being Africa and China.

“This study documented that among planners, 82 percent ranked cultural or exotic appeal as the greatest influencer in selecting a destination,” said Steve O’Malley, vice president of Site International Foundation and Research Committee chair.

“While a destination can be seen as inspiring and motivational, the local community must work together to demonstrate to potential audiences how they can be an ideal choice for extraordinary experiences while simultaneously demonstrating value to the business owners approving the destination selection.”

For more information, call 800-295-6603 or visit

www.hawaiiconvention.com

The Ukraine will make the Chernobyl nuclear plant, site of the 1986 explosion that killed 32 people, into a tourist site.

The plant will formally open to visitors in 2011.

At present, only certified guides may take 20 to 30 people in during summertime, for tours lasting five to six hours.

Officials say most of the radioactive material has sunk into the soil, and visitors receive a dose that’s comparable with the exposure received on a trans-Atlantic flight.

The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that nearly 4,000 more people will die of related cancers from the radioactive material released by the disaster.

Located in the town of Pripyat, Chernobyl’s explosion is considered the worst nuclear accident in history, throwing 400 times more radioactive fallout than the Hiroshima bomb, contaminating more than 77,000 square miles.

Authorities promise that visits will be strictly controlled and the risks are negligible.

Beyond the plant, visitors will also visit Pripyat and other local “ghost” towns that have been permanently evacuated.

For more information, visit www.ukraine.com

The European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) has launched a new homepage at www.etoa.org

The website features a new design and a new mode of navigation, enabling members to immediately source operational news, and information on lobbying and regulatory issues.

Visitors to the site now have direct access to registration for ETOA’s workshops and seminars; there are also new facilities for members of the media and other interested parties to sign up for bulletins. “One area where we are really helping our members,” said Adam Buckmaster, head of online strategy at ETOA, “is in the way they can sign up for events or specific information in a few clicks. Online registration for our growing number of trade events has long been in place but now the process is seamless.”

The new site will provide ETOA the means to use its online presence to listen to members and quickly respond to the issues that matter to them.

“For tour operators, taxes and coach restrictions can occur at shockingly short notice and require rapid response; long standing problems such as indirect taxation can also change quickly and are at the forefront of our lobbying work,” said Buckmaster. “We can now flash bulletins, open discussion groups and organize press campaigns with real speed.”

The site also features a section enabling delegates to review ETOA events, at www.visitorreview.com/ETOA.

Using the Visitor Review social media platform, the site features photos, videos and opinions from events throughout Europe, and gives information about forthcoming events.

Developed by Digital Visitor, Visitor Review allows organizations to make the most of social media directly on their websites, gathering from their online visitors reviews, photos, feedback, videos, tips and more. It is being used by such ETOA members as Virgin Holidays, Voyages Jules Verne, EnjoyEngland and VisitBritain.

Since its foundation in 1989, ETOA has grown to include over 500 member organizations, of which more than 150 are tour operators. Collectively, ETOA represents over 5 billion euros in spending on accommodation and travel services annually. ETOA provides representation at European government level for organizations involved in bringing tourists to Europe.

The association promotes greater awareness of the benefits provided by the group travel industry in Europe, particularly increased income and employment.

ETOA also influences European tourism policy and legislation. Areas of activity include promoting Europe as a tourism destination; establishing codes of conduct and guidelines for its members; establishing commercial opportunities between buyers and sellers; and working with other travel and tourism associations to raise the industry’s profile.

For more information, visit www.etoa.org

The new Hôtel 7 Eiffel in Paris is situated in a small street between Invalides and the Eiffel Tower in the 7th arrondissement.

After 12 months of work, the new hotel offers 32 guest rooms decorated in a contemporary style.

The colors are in subtle shades, the textiles soft and luxurious; the contemporary and diffused lighting and walls covered with mosaics of a contemporary guest room (large dressing-closet, hairdryer, MP3 dock, laptop computer available).

On the ground floor, a lobby, lounge space and a veranda welcome guests in three different but coherent atmospheres. Finally, a rooftop terrace is a relaxing spot to enjoy views of the Paris rooftops.

For more information, call 011 33 (0) 1 45 55 10 01 or visit www.7eiffel.com

The St. John Hotel will open in London in early January. The St. John Hotel in Leicester Street promises no “hotel confusion” — lights switch on and off, the taps go from hot to cold, and the restaurant will deliver uncompromising cuisine in a great location. There will also be a bar for elevenses, tea, aperitifs and digestifs which will be available for private parties.

For more information, call 011-020-3301-8069, email reservations@stjohnhotellondon.com  or visit www.stjohnhotellondon.com