Jetsettersblog

The Dominican Republic’s Casa de Campo resort is offering a “Signature Summer Savings” program featuring a variety of choices including 50 percent off second hotel room, a fourth night free when guests book a three-night stay, and a complimentary $200 resort credit for villa stays booked through the resort.

The “Family Summer Savings” program is available from May 1 to Sept. 30, 2011, with rates at $295 per night and 50 percent off room reservations. The “Elite Room Summer Savings” program is available from April 25 to Sept. 30, 2011, and offers a fourth night free with a three-night booking. Rates start at $295 per night. The “Villa Summer Savings” program is available from April 25 to Sept. 30, 2011, and features a $200 resort credit with a minimum four-night stay in a luxury villa. Rates start at $975 per night.

American Airlines will launch daily non-stop service from Miami to the Casa de Campo/La Romana International Airport on April 5. Casa de Campo recently completed a $40 million renovation and features the Cygalle Healing Spa, three Pete Dye-designed golf courses including the famed Teeth of the Dog, an equestrian center, a polo club, a 245-acre shooting center, a 350-slip marina and yacht club, the cultural village of Altos de Chavon featguring the School of Arts & Design affiliated with New York’s Parson’s School of Design, plus museums, shops, restaurants and a Grecian-style amphitheatre that hosts international concerts. For more information, call 800-877-3643 or visit www.casadecampo.com.do

The Queen Kapiolani Hotel has launched new packages that are valid through Dec. 31. Each requires a two-night minimum stay. The Honolulu Zoo Adventure package is available from a nightly room rate of $115 and includes zoo admission for up to two adults and two children (or one adult and three children); two Diamond Bakery Hawaiian Fun gift totes, each with a plush zoo toy and animal crackers; and a 10 percent off coupon for food and beverages and gift shop items. The Waikiki Aquarium package is available from $114 per night and includes aquarium admission for up to four persons (two adults and two children or one adult and three children) and two Hawaiian Fun gift totes.

The Queen’s Royal Tour package is available at $119 per night and includes admission for two to the Bishop Museum, the Queen Emma Summer Palace and the ‘Iolani Palace. Transportation is not included, and children ages 5 and under are not permitted on the ‘Iolani Palace tour. Additional admission can be purchased after arrival for $30 per person. The Oahu Bike and Hike package is available at $114 and includes a bicycle rental for nine hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) for up to two adults from Hawaiian Style Rentals, as well as helmets, locks and maps. Additional bicycles can be rented after arrival. Children’s bikes are not available. For more information, call 866-406-2782 or visit www.queenkapiolani.com

The new 4,293-square-foot Royal Suite at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes is the largest in Central Florida as well as the largest suite of its kind throughout the entire collection of Ritz-Carlton hotels in the United States. The suite features four bedrooms and four and one half bathrooms, a media room, a dining room seating 10 people with a fully outfitted pantry and numerous traditional and technological amenities.

Located on the 12th floor, the suite offers eight private balconies overlooking views of the lakes on property as well as the Greg-Norman designed golf course, which wraps around the resort. Living and closet space includes a walk-in closet in the oversized master bedroom as well as seven high-definition televisions placed throughout (including the master bathroom). Taking the in-room technology experience to the next level is the 60-inch high-definition plasma TV in the soundproof media room featuring Dolby Digital Surround Sound. Guests can stay connected and keep the entire suite at their command with the Wi-Fi Control Touch Panel, which provides instant, user-friendly access to lighting, temperature and control devices to customize the ambiance. iPod interface technology is installed throughout the suite, which is also wired for Wi-Fi and high-speed Internet access.

The pantry (with its own separate service entrance), features top-of-the-line appliances including a Sub-Zero Integrated Refrigerator, Sub-Zero Glass-Front Wine Storage, Miele Integrated Nespresso Espresso Machine, Wolf Integrated Drawer Microwave Oven and Miele Integrated Dishwasher. For more information, visit www.grandelakes.com

The Maikhao Dream Resort & Spa on Natai beach in Phangnga near Phuket soft opened on March 26. Located a 30-minute drive from Phuket airport, the 56-room resort features deluxe pool and sea view units and spacious two-story duplexes. Other facilities include the biggest swimming pool on Natai beach, a kid’s club and a fitness center. Guests can go sightseeing, fishing, kayaking, bicycling, excursions and cruising on the Maikhao Dream luxury boat. The Blue Canyon golf course is a 30-minute drive from the resort.

Opening offers include a 20 percent discount on room, breakfast for two, and roundtrip transfers from the airport. Owned by the same company, the similar sounding (but different) Maikhao Dream Villa Resort & Spa opened April 2 on Maikhao beach in northwest Phuket, 15 minutes from the airport. For more information, visit www.maikhaodream.com

Hotel Aurelio Lech is closing out the European skiing by opening the doors to its exclusive Aurelio Club. Aurelio Club is a private chalet only rented on an exclusive-use basis, but from April 10 to 23, Aurelio Club will be open to take individual guest reservations. Hotel Aurelio Lech will be open until April 10 for last-minute winter bookings.

Aurelio Club is a private chalet offers nine guest rooms, a spacious living room with a fireplace, a library with more than 1,000 international books, private spa area with 54-foot indoor pool, Finnish sauna, Jacuzzi, diving pond, two treatment rooms and relaxation area. Aurelio Lech is a ski resort in Lech am Arlberg, high up in the Arlberg mountains of Austria. April is one of the finest times to ski in Lech, when the crowds are gone, the Alpine snow is new, and the cold temperatures hold steady. The Lech-Zürs ski season officially ends May 1. For more information, visit www.aureliolech.com

Kicheche Mara Camp, an eight-tent camp in a remote valley of yellow-barked acacias on the upper reaches of the Olare Orok River in Kenya, is open and accommodating guests in its new home in Mara North Conservancy. The Naboisho Conservancy further east has reported rhino and wild dog being sighted for the first time in 20 years. Lion research is about to start up to compliment the recently launched elephant and ongoing Loita wildebeest research.

At Kicheche Laikipia Camp, conservation and education remain primary goals of the conservancy management plan. Last year some Northern White Rhino were relocated to Ol Pejeta a year ago and now have been successfully settled, reintroduced and living as close to a wild existence as possible. The conservancy rangers have reported a number of rhino romances taking place which everyone hopes will boost the tiny population of this species.

The Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary on the Ol Pejeta Conservancy is the only place in Kenya where this highly endangered and remarkably intelligent species can be seen. In 2010, approximately 7,000 Kenyan students visited the Ol Pejeta Conservancy and Chimpanzee Sanctuary for educational tours. Students get highly discounted rates when visiting and the conservancy is proud to be an important destination for educate young citizens about the plight of wildlife and chimpanzees. For more information, visit www.kicheche.com

Three Zambian safari camps are joining together to offer a 10-night Classic Safari Package encompassing the highlights of Zambia. The package includes Robin Pope Safaris in the South Luangwa Valley for five nights, Chongwe River Camp in the Lower Zambezi River area for three nights and Tongabezi in Livingstone near Victoria Falls for two nights. Rates start at $5,705 per person and include full board, all game viewing, laundry, bar, national park fees, transfers and internal flights.

Robin Pope Safaris, a classic African safari company with locations in Zambia and Malawi, was founded in 1984 by African guide Robin Pope. The company is known for pioneering a number of specialized safaris including some to the remotest parts of the country. The South Luangwa National Park marks the end of the Great Rift Valley. It is considered one of the last unspoiled wilderness areas and possibly the finest wildlife sanctuary in Africa. The meandering Luangwa River, ox-bow lagoons, woodland and plains of the valley host huge concentrations of game including elephant, buffalo, leopard, lion, giraffe and hippo and more than 400 species of birds.

Zambezi’s Lower Zambezi Valley is another of Africa’s wilderness areas, noted for its bush vistas and major African wildlife, as well as being home to some of the continent’s top safari lodges. Chongwe River Camp is one of South Africa’s most spectacular and unique private homes. Set beneath a canopy of winterthorn trees at the confluence of the Zambezi and Chongwe rivers, this award-winning camp combines the best of everything, from first-class service and luxurious accommodations to exceptional game viewing and enlightening cultural experiences.

Tongabezi Lodge is a romantic hideaway on the banks of the Zambezi River in southern Zambia just upstream of Victoria Falls. It comprises four open-fronted houses, one enclosed house, five River cottages and a two-bedroom Garden cottage, each stunningly furnished using local materials and featuring such amenities as private balconies or terraces, open-air sunken baths, and filmy mosquito-net-wrapped canopy beds. Each house and cottage has its own valet, who takes care of guests throughout their stay and who acts as a private concierge. Tongabezi grows its own produce in its kitchen garden. A number of options to see Victoria Falls are offered including by boat, micro-flight or helicopter. For more information, email info@robinpopesafaris.net  or visit www.robinpopesafaris.net , www.chongwe.com  or www.tongabezi.com

Saint Lucia’s Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet resorts are offering special packages for summer. Jade Mountain is offering vacationers two free nights for each seven-night booking. Stays must be booked by April 20, 2011, for travel from July 15 to Sept. 30, 2011. Daily rates are $950, $1,250 and $1,500 for Jade Mountain’s Sky, Star, Moon suite categories, respectively. Breakfast and dinner is available for an additional $180 per couple, per day; an all-inclusive meals and drinks package is also available for $330 per couple daily.

At the adjacent Ansxe Chastanet, vacationers can opt for two free nights with each seven-night booking in standard, superior and beachside deluxe accommodations. Stays must be booked by April 20 for travel between July 15 and Sept. 30, 2011. Daily per-couple rates are $330, $420 and $525 for stays from June 1 to Oct. 31, 2011, in standard, superior, and beachside deluxe accommodations, respectively. Breakfast and dinner are available for an additional $160 per couple, per day; an all-inclusive meals and drinks package is available for an additional $310 per couple daily. For more information, call 800-223-1108 or visit www.ansechastanet.com  or www.jademountainstlucia.com

Over 50 DEMA members and other industry representatives attended one of two Vision 2020 sessions, hosted by Beneath the Sea 2011, to talk about the dive industry and where they see it in five or 10 years. Vision 2020 was a “brainstorming” session with lively discussions of what industry players thought the industry should be doing in the future and then were asked to take the ideas they generated and prioritize them, indicating where and when resources should be allocated. The goal of this and future 2020 Vision sessions is to provide input to the DEMA Board of Directors as they form strategic plans for the association and the industry itself. The DEMA Board members are taking this approach with the aim of fulfilling their obligations as trustees of the industry’s trade association.

Samples of the most frequently mentioned themes included the importance of the retailer and the need to support this key industry link; the need to listen to consumers and tailor products and programs to their wants and needs; the need for more “face time” between the new diver and the instructor/store personnel, as well as the need for putting fun activities back into diving; a need to embrace the Internet and the need to leverage it to the industry’s advantage; and the use and benefit from social media.

Additional sessions will be held throughout the U.S. in conjunction with other diving consumer shows and will be announced in the next few weeks. DEMA Show 2011 will take place Nov. 2 to 5 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. For more information, call 800-862-DIVE (3483) or visit www.dema.org

Germany will once again be hosting a soccer World Cup in 2011, only this time it will be the women’s turn to shine. The sixth FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011 will take place from June 26 to July 17. Sixteen teams will compete for the world cup. Berlin’s Olympic Stadium hosts the opening game and the final will be held in Frankfurt on July 17.

The U.S. team will play its group games in Dresden (June 26), Sinsheim (July 2) and Wolfsburg (July 6). The other host cities for this festival of soccer are Augsburg, Bochum, Leverkusen, Moenchengladbach in addition to Berlin and Frankfurt. All host cities offer a program and attractions for this international celebration of women’s soccer. For more information, visit www.germany.travel