Posts tagged Resort
[NEWS/ALERTS] Bahama Buzz – Three Bees At Harbour Island To Open May 2013
Feb 4th
Harbour Island is one of the most beguiling islands in the Bahamas, easy to get to and graced with low-key charm and natural beauty. It is also an island of anonymity on which there is an unspoken law: no paparazzi, no ogling fans. Everyone is treated the same, so luminaries and A-listers (the Annistons and Mannings, the Buffetts, DeNiros and Jaggers of this world) can roam freely without a care.
Three Bees took time to evolve. Every family wish had to be considered and over time the original main Villa Bee became three distinct properties — hence the name Three Bees, consisting of the Villa Bee, the Beach Cottage and Bayside, with a few extra goodies for good measure.
Getting to Harbour Island is easy. Jets fly into North Eleuthera directly from Miami and Ft. Lauderdale and, after a five-minute taxi ride, the Three Bees staff takes over: a 10-minute transfer by boat from Eleuthera to Harbour Island. Harbour Island is only five miles long and one-and-one-half miles wide, so nothing is very far away. Once you’ve toured the island in a golf cart you’ll begin to feel – and be treated — like a local.
Park City Utah is gorgeous in Summer and Autumn
Aug 12th
by Frances J. Folsom
Visiting Park City Utah today, it’s hard to believe that this trendy ski town started life in 1868 as a wild and bawdy mining town known for its saloons and houses of prostitution. In 1869 silver and zinc mines were discovered. Almost immediately more than a dozen mines
sprang up employing thousands of miners from Germany, Scotland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Mine shafts were 1700 to 2000 feet deep, mining life was hard with miners working six days a week having only two days off a year; Christmas and the Fourth of July.
Over the years four hundred million dollars in silver was brought out of the mines making twenty-eight men millionaires several times over.
Twelve hundred miles of tunnels, averaging 1800 feet deep, still run underneath Park City. Closed since 1980 today those mines are being used to recycle water from the mountains giving the city forty percent of its drinking water.
In 1960 Park City’s future turned to the tops of those mountains with one thing, skiing. Since then world class ski resorts have sprung up; Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort, the Canyons Resort and the Waldorf-Astoria Park City are just a few that offer hundreds miles of trails for downhill and cross country skiing, snowshoeing and snowboarding. In recent years these same resorts have discovered that these trails can be used in spring, summer and fall for walking, hiking, and mountain biking. And, the gondolas don’t sit idle either; you can ride them to the tops of the mountains for gorgeous views over the landscape.
That being said winter is fun but summer and fall, with no heat or humidity, are great too. And, you don’t have to be an outdoor enthusiast to visit. The streets are lined with shops, galleries, spas and museums.
As far as restaurants go you won’t starve, food critics have written that there are more chefs per capita here than there are in Paris.
Another bonus, the public transportation is fantastic. Buses are equipped with racks for your gear and go to all the mountain resorts as well as the downtown area. If you’re not used to the elevation, 7,000 feet above sea level, it can be a tough climb so hop on and off the free trolleys that go up and down Main Street.
The Park City Museum is housed in a stunning brick building that dates to 1885. Two floors are devoted to their Mega Mine exhibit exploring the mining history with interactive displays that explain the workings of mining equipment such as the Cornish pump, the shafts and tramways and how ore became silver. Of particular interest is a diorama depicting miniature miners and horses at work in one of the mines. One wall is given over to an original shaft elevator with all the workings.
Other exhibits depicting early life in Park City include one of the original stages that brought settlers here, artifacts from the first general store and saloon, and a 1926 fire engine.
To get a sense of what skiing means to this area don’t miss the Skier’s Subway a grouping of metal railroad cars that fifty years ago carried skiers through a mine shaft up one of the mountains to the ski slopes.
At the bottom of Main Street in a retrofitted garage is the Kimball Art Center a repository of visual art. Throughout the year its three galleries host changing exhibits of contemporary art by international and local artists. Each August the center hosts the Kimball Arts Festival; two hundred juried artisans of different genres from throughout the country show and sell their creations. Be sure to reserve early, the festival draws upwards of 40,000 people from around the country.
The best summer fun happens at the Park Silly Sunday Market and Street Fair. This eco-friendly event (90,000 visitors last year and they took only two bags of trash to the landfill) features arts and crafts from local artists, gourmet foods, fruits and vegetables, music and performance art.
Most Olympic parks dry up and go to seed when the games are over, not in Park City. The Utah Olympic Park was the site of fourteen events during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Today it is going strong year round with classes on freestyle skiing, Nordic jumping, luge and bobsledding.
Visitors can get a rush whizzing down the zip lines over the landscape. Or watching the Flying Aces, a group of Nordic jumpers that barrel down the tracks at eighty miles an hour, do air flips and, instead of landing in snow, land into a giant pool.
You will find a boatload of spas specializing in reflexology, massages, herbal wraps, body scrubs and facials. Several to check out are; Vie Day Spa is known for its reflexology treatments, Mountain Body Spa offers luxurious green tea facials, or get a little Botox at Align Spa.
One to be sure and check out is the new Golden Door Spa at the Waldorf Astoria Park City. You will be pampered in style at this 20,000 square foot spa, the largest in Utah. Along with the usual compliment of treatments the spa offers a health and fitness center equipped with elliptical cross trainers, weight machines, treadmills and spinning classes.
A visit to anyone of these spas is sure to get your mind and body into condition for hiking, mountain biking, swimming, shopping, sightseeing and everything else Park City has to offer.
[News/Alerts] Starwood’s Luxury Brands Celebrate Speed And Sport, Announcing A Global Partnership With Bentley Motors
Apr 19th
As a hotel brand created for a new generation of luxury travellers, the St. Regis brand has selected Bentley as the house fleet in hotels and resorts around the world, from The St. Regis Singapore and The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort in Abu Dhabi to the brand’s flagship The St. Regis(r) in New York. In October 2011, St. Regis hosted a bespoke Bentley Italian Driving Tour for model owners and guests of The St. Regis Rome and the newly opened St. Regis Florence.
Bentley models, such as The Continental Flying Spur, are the perfect fit for St. Regis as they combine exquisite design with peerless craftsmanship.
Qasr Al Sarab, Dubai, regal, magical oasis in the desert
Apr 9th
by Barbara Kingstone
When I was told by my daughter who spends time in Dubai, that for two nights we would be in the desert, I mused, thinking I’d be in a tent. 
Okay, I thought rationally, I could do 48 hours in the sand and whatever ants and animals were around. However, after passing great sculptured-like sand dunes of golden and red sands with tuffs of wild grass here and there, off the well paved four lane highway, and a 2 1/2 hour drive from Dubai, my adventurous spirit, often well hidden, come out.
From a distance, Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort, it look liked a beachside playground for kiddies who had skilfully built sand castles.
But there was no sea to wash this fickle edifices away when the tide came in. However, the nearer we got, the more majestic and magical this property appeared.
The 206 room five star resort with luxury suites and villas was beyond anything I could have imagined. Here, on the Liwa Desert (also known as as the Empty Quarter), we passed over a bridge filled instead of water beneath, was sand. The entrance wirh Moorish styled lanterns filled archways was where we were greeted by a staff member who served us a refreshing yogurt drink and wonderful, thick, fresh dates.
Asked to wait in the all white bar was certainly not an inconvenience. The check-in was civilized and fast. and we were shown to our room where our luggage awaited us.
The following days, that longed for pampered and stress-free feeling was omnipresent after days in bustling Dubai. This hotel also had a beautifully designed spa although that said, the facial, about $200, just wasn’t up to snuff as I needed to ask for the deep cleansing. This was the only misstep in this entire experience…not bad.
Our spacious suite overlooked a garden and pool, and since there are no guest rooms in the main building, there are 25 buggies that, with only a click of the zero on the phone, these wondrous machines were outside awaiting to take us anywhere on this vast property. But within hours, I discovered an arch filled tunnel which lead us, in just a few minutes, to the main building. 
Everything was well thought out and easy, just what a guest wants at a unique destination
Archery, one of the main sports in the Emirates (there are 7 in the UAE) is one of the popular activities as is falconry. That said, it is the early morning desert walk that was the perfect way to feel, touch, and sense the sand. There was a degree of difficulty navigating the fine sand which looks so deceptively easy.
And surprisingly was the great the variety of flowers and the sounds of the birds, a cookoo clock of sorts, had us on our feet by 6.30AM. I’m no Lawrence of Arabia, but I could see the attachment one could develope as I watched the color of the sand with its shadows go to various golden hues and aware of the constant movement of the dunes during the night and day.
The difficulty was leaving the room and our terrace. I was smitten with our suite, The Garden Suite, which had all the earmarks of an Arabian room but modernity came in the form of an espresso machine and good coffee wi fi, a great oval tub, a wide counter with double sinks and enough room for toiletries and cosmetics a separate shower and gratefully a lime stone, not slippery marble flooring. 
(I’ve experienced wet marble bathroom floors when I slipped and fell, banging my head into unconsciousness in a sleek, chic, newly renovated Italian hotel’s bathroom). The supply of towels, were rolled for displaying the touch of visual interest and here just seemed like a natural instinct.
Beamed and tatami decorated ceiling, a Moorish-styled alcove for the head board, the wonderful Moroccan styled chandelier which threw great designs when turned on in the evening and created wild designs.
As for the food, from the enormous choice at the breakfast buffet which we always had el-fresco to our choice of Arabic meals at lunch and evening, we were delighted that we could go ‘native’ . In fact, one evening the chef, knowing our preferences created a surprise and delicious Middle East meal. Nothing seemed too much at Qasr El Sarab.
And suddenly it was late, and as if by some movie magic, every evening there was a marvelous picture perfect sun set. In this oasis, I felt content and yearned to return to my villa in the desert..some tent !!!!!
Maybe if I pray to Allah, I could come back again
[News/Alerts] Experience the brand new Occidental Grand Nuevo Vallarta
Mar 21st
