Jetsettersblog

Plunge into paradise with the kids this May half-term and take advantage of family time in the peaceful surroundings of the Maldives, with savings of up to £314 per family. Traditionally popular among honeymooners, this Indian Ocean destination is appealing more and more to family holidaymakers. And who’s to blame them when the white beaches and turquoise lagoons of Vilu Reef Beach & Spa Resort and Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resortprovide children with the ultimate giant sand pit to play in surrounded by a fascinating underwater world waiting to be explored?

The perfect blend of relaxation and fun, holidays to these four-star resorts will leave the whole family feeling revitalised and full of happy memories in the Maldivian sun. With a separate kiddie pool, play area and an activity programme, there will never be a dull moment for kids staying at Olhuveli. A team of dedicated child minders are on hand throughout the day to entertain with craft making, storytelling and sandcastle building and experienced babysitters are available for when a romantic dinner is calling. There’s plenty on offer for young children too including the recently launched PADI Skin Diver course, available to those as young as eight. While snorkelling is limited to peering down from the surface, this short course enables avid water babies to venture deeper, making frequent surface dives to interact up close and personal with aquatic life.

For parents of babies and toddlers in need of a break from the daily routine back home, Olhuveli is an ideal island destination. This resort has taken care of everything to ensure mums and dads have enjoyable times with the children along with precious time alone if required, with peace of mind knowing that their little ones are being well cared for. The Sun Spa is a welcome retreat with a wide range of refreshing and rejuvenating treatments to choose from and for something fun, Watersports World at Olhuveli offers jet-ski hire and speedboat charter for a little break away at sea.

Parents in need of inspiration for holidays with teens should look no further than Olhuveli’s sister resort Vilu Reef, which is sprawled across the entire expanse of Meedhuffushi Island in the South Nilandhe Atoll. There’s endless entertainment to enjoy from banana riding through the crystal clear waters, diving lessons and windsurfing to a family canoe trip around the island spotting colourful sea life and a morning out on a dolphin cruise where they’ll come face-to-face with these playful creatures.

What’s more, this family-friendly resort also works with charity organisation Pack For A Purpose (www.packforapurpose.org)alongside a local school, encouraging guests to pack a few supplies such as stationery, books or CDs to donate to the kids. The resort can arrange for families to meet the school children and teachers and deliver their donated items in person on a local island tour. Exploring fishing villages, a mosque and the school and offering a flavour of Maldivian life outside the resort, this community project provides a great family day out.

Tropic Breeze (www.tropicbreeze.co.uk / 01752 880880) offers seven nights at Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resort from £5,736 per family (saving £314) and Vilu Reef Beach & Spa Resort from £6,136 per family (saving £290) based on two adults and two children sharing. Valid for May half-term departing on the evening of 24 May, the price includes return flights from London with British Airways, accommodation on a half-boardbasis and transfers.

The collection of beautiful Heritage the Villas on the 2500 hectare Domaine de Bel Ombre in the authentic south-west of Mauritius have launched unbelievable rates on longer three and four week stays combined with free golf and bonus savings on five-star luxury, now starting from as little as *£35 per person per night, or just *£275 per four-bedroom villa, per night.

The new “Stay Longer, Save Bigger” offer is valid for stays of three weeks or more until 30 April 2013 and offers huge discounts starting from 33% on luxurious two, three and four bedroom villas for stays of three weeks, going up to a staggering 45% saving for four week stays!

Heritage The Villas, which are set adjacent to the breathtaking beauty of the Frederica Nature Reserve and only five minutes to the beach, come complete with plush furnishings, Indian Ocean views, infinity pools, spacious patios with verandas for entertaining, unlimited free green fees at Heritage Golf, free golf cart use, plus 20% discount in the Domaine’s 11 restaurants.

Offering free access to the facilities of these award-winning hotels- two kids clubs and a teens clubs, fully equipped sports centres, swimming pools, daily program of activities, and the hip and happening C Beach Club which features its own private beach, water sports, the new kite surfing school, plus a series of Glam Party events with Parisian DJettes- Heritage the Villas are the ideal choice for guests looking for a five-star beach resort experience, but in the privacy, space and comfort of their own private villa.

Two bedroom villas (sleeping up to four people)
£5554 for 3 weeks (33% saving)/ £6835 for 4 weeks (45% saving)

Three bedroom villas (sleeping up to six people)
£5980 for 3 weeks (33% saving) / £7263 (45% saving)

Four bedroom villas (sleeping up to eight people)
£6408 for 3 weeks (33% saving)/ £7690 for 4 weeks (45% saving)

For more information or to book a holiday at Heritage The Villas in Domaine de Bel Ombre visit www.heritagethevillas.mu, call +230 266 97 77 or email resa@heritageresorts.mu.

The “Stay Longer, Save Bigger” villa-only rates are valid for stays of three weeks or more before 30 April 2013.

Villa rental pricing is based on currency conversation rates as at 28 January 2013.

*Price based on eight people sharing a four-bedroom villa for four weeks at £7690.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts unveiled the 145-room Aloft Miami Doral, the first Aloft hotel in metro Miami. An open lobby features the w xyz bar with live music, DJs and events, and a grab ‘n go gourmet outlet for light meals. Other facilities and services include the re:mix lounge, a fitness center open 24/7 and more than 3,200 square feet of meeting space.

Guest rooms feature a plug & play station for charging cell phones, laptops and other electronics and 42-inch LCD TVs. Guests’ pets receive Aloft-branded bed and bowl and treats and toys. Camp Aloft offers kids a bed-in-a-bag and special treats. The property also boasts 800-square-foot suites with floor to ceiling windows, bathrooms with dual sinks and large walk in shower.

Guestroom amenities include complimentary WiFi, king or two queen plush platform beds, 250-thread count sheets, Aloft amenities by Bliss Spa, walk-in showers, Aloft signature coffee and tea amenities, desk and ergonomic desk chair.

The All Inclusive Collection is offering special spring savings packages at its resorts including Mexico’s Hard Rock Hotel Cancun, Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta and Aventura Palace (to be rebranded Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in 2014), as well as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

Travelers who book stays between March 28 and 31, 2013 save up to 35 percent off select room categories including 35 percent off all room categories at Aventura Palace (excluding deluxe rooms, which are 30 percent off) when traveling from now through Dec. 23, 2013.

Also available is a 30 percent discount on all room categories at Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta (deluxe rooms 25 percent off) when traveling now through December 23; 15 percent off all room categories at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana when traveling from now through December 23; and 15 percent off all room categories (deluxe rooms 10 percent off) when traveling from July 4 through Aug. 3, 2013.

Puerto Rico’s Verdanza Hotel in Isla Verde is offering an early summer package featuring 50 percent off published rates plus several value-added amenities.

The package features rates starting at $245 per room, per night for a two-night stay, and two children 16 years or younger can stay in the room with two adults at no additional cost.

Also included is daily buffet breakfast for two adults, a 15 percent discount off food and beverages at any of the hotel’s restaurants; complimentary parking for one car and free dining for children under age five at the hotel’s Eighty20 Bistro. The package is available from April 1 to Oct. 1, 2013.

A conga line of tour operators anxious to sell the Caribbean’s last unexplored frontier (for American travelers, that is) is forming as the U.S. Department of the Treasury granted Collette Vacations a “people-to-people” license to run its nine-day Rediscover Cuba – A Cultural Exploration tour. Collette follows Globus and Central Holidays among others into the formerly off limits island. Cuba adds a new dimension to Caribbean travel, a genuinely compelling history that can be explored extensively on land without a sun and fun component required. The island does offer beautiful beaches, which are popular with European travelers who have been visiting Cuba for decades.

Collette’s is not a beach holiday; the tour is designed to explore Cuban culture in its cities and in the countryside. The tour includes seven nights in the cities of Trinidad and Havana as well as a visit to Cienfuegos. Tour highlights include a walk with a local expert through the Palacio Cantero in Trinidad, the city’s history museum housed in a restored Neoclassical palace.

The tour visits the Manaca Iznaga’s former sugar factory and estate. In Cienfuegos, the city known as the Pearl of the South, the tour visits the Cienfuegos Province Botanical Gardens, the oldest of its kind on the island. It will also visit the opera house, for a choral performance. In Havana, it visits Casa Fuster, the home of artist José Fuster, where one of his apprentices or even the artist himself will be on hand to talk about his work, which is inspired by the Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí. Departures run from June through April with prices starting at $3,524 for land only, per person double.

Group Pestana, Portugal’s largest tourism group, will unveil the Pestana South Beach Art Deco Hotel on April 8. The opening represents the first investment by the Group Pestana in the U.S. market. The company is best known for its heritage Pousadas de Portugal hotel brand. The Pestana formerly operated as the Hotel Milejan.

Located in the heart of South Beach, this 97-room boutique hotel is divided into four classic Art Deco Buildings, classified by the local Historic Preservation Board. The new hotel also offers two luxury two-bedroom apartments, as well as the retro Mermaid Café and the Pool Bar set on a 1940s inspired patio with an outdoor pool.

“North America is a very attractive and strategic market for the Group Pestana,” said José Roquette, Pestana’s development director for the North American market. This is our first investment in this market and Miami is a natural starting point because it is a gateway for Europe and South America where our brand is quite strong. We also are well versed in taking a historic structure and updating it in the right ways to make a real destination hotel.”

Located at 1835 James Avenue, the new hotel revives the 1940s architectural style that helped define Miami Beach as a tourist destination. The renovation touches every area of the former Hotel Milejan Complex, which was built between 1940 and 1952.

In partnership with Massachusetts BMW Centers, the White Elephant, White Elephant Village, and the Wauwinet will provide guests of their top suites with their own set of wheels this season – a 2013 BMW X5 Sport Activity Vehicle.

Guests who book The Loft at the White Elephant, any of the three-bedroom Residences at White Elephant Village, or the Coatue Suite at the Wauwinet will receive the keys to their own BMW for complimentary use during their stay.

Named toCondé Nast Traveler’s 2013 Gold List and Travel + Leisure’s 2013 World’s Best Hotels, the Wauwinet’s Coatue Suite features a private deck with views of Nantucket Bay and direct access to the property’s lush lawns. An adults-only property, it is the only Relais & Châteaux property on Nantucket.

The Loft at the White Elephant, also named to CondéNast Traveler’s 2013 Gold List, is a three-bedroom condo nestled right in the heart of town. Close Main Street, the White Elephant Village Residences offer easy access to the island’s shopping and dining scene and local beaches. Both The Loft and the Residences are ideal for families and groups of friends looking for a vacation home experience with the benefits of a five-star hotel stay.

The Makena Resort on Maui has begun the second phase of renovations, which includes the Makena Golf Course. The course will be closed for the multimillion-dollar improvement program and is slated to reopen during the first quarter of 2014.

Plans include design elements that are inspired by the area, with its kiawe forest, indigenous trees, ancient rock formations and natural streams. It will remain one of Maui’s only sea-to-mountain golf courses.

The Cafe on the Green, which boasts wide-angle views of Makena’s southernmost fairway and the ocean, will remain open daily for lunch, afternoon snacks and early dinner throughout the renovation.

Cayman Islands Tourism Association has launched “Discover Cayman,” an interactive smart phone app featuring destination facts, maps, an event calendar, a trip booking tool, social networking capabilities, and games. The app is designed to be a convenient vacation-planning tool and platform on which to share experiences.

Users can review the Cayman Islands’ hotels, restaurants, activities, dive operators, and transportation; book vacations via the app; learn about Cayman’s rich culture and history with fun facts; receive news, events and offers and interact via Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Youtube. The app is available exclusively for iPhones and can be purchased at an iTunes store.