Airlines
AIR LANKA: Sri Lanka's national carrier has now largely been purchased by Emirates, and already this is showing up in the vast improvement on its operations. You can expect Air Lanka to develop into a major and outstanding carrier linking Asia and Europe. Code-shares, like the recently introduced Air Lanka/Emirates service to Copenhagen are also likely to expand.
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PARIS: United Airlines have introduced a long needed service at Charles De Gaulle. Arriving first and business class passengers can now enjoy amenities like showers and valet services --- a godsend after a long-haul flight. |
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LUFTHANSA: The German carrier is spending US$150,000,000 on upgrading its long haul first and business class seating and services. Lufthansa has forty percent of its passengers flying in these classes, the highest proportion of any airline. The German carrier has always been renowned for safety and excellence, and obviously wants to keep it that way.
HEATHROW AIRPORT LONDON: We rate Singapore's Changi as the world's best airport, with KL, Sydney, Melbourne, CDG Paris and the Dubai airport under construction as runners-up. But the airport we most hate to travel through is Heathrow. Terminals are like rabbit warrens and we have never yet been there when something has not been broken down or under repair. The prices we found at the Duty Free were also dreadfully expensive. We feel it is just another case of a captive market leading to total complacency.
SWISSAIR: We notice that this excellent carrier now has satellite telephones on all the aircraft on its European routes except on the A310 Airbuses.
SINGAPORE AIRLINES: is now operating an excellent service from Singapore to Lahore, Pakistan using a 340 aircraft and departing Wednesdays, Saturdays and Mondays via Karachi.
Hotels
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SAN FRANCISCO
The new W San Francisco Hotel, a division of Starwood Hotels, famous for their Sheraton and Westin divisions, has now opened the 31 storey, 423-room hotel across the street from the Moscone Convention Centre in San Francisco. For further information email Sue-Lane Wood at publicity@gcnpr.com
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HONG KONG
The Great Eagle Hotel, Hong Kong's first independent Five-Star hotel has tapped into the market and sales organisation of Summit Hotels and Resorts. This excellent 487-room hotel is more like an European boutique hotel than the more usual business hotels for which Hong Kong is renowned. Great Eagle Hotels also own a number of other outstanding hotels around the world including the Langham Hilton in London, Sheraton Towers Southgate in Melbourne, Le Meridien Boston, Delta Chelsea Hotel in Toronto and the Sheraton Auckland Hotel and Towers. For more information, and bookings view their website at http://www.summithotels.com
DUBAI
Business men who have stayed have been raving about the JW Marriott Hotel since it opened some years ago. This hotel has been so successful that it has now completed its Phase 2 extension, giving it an additional 120 guest rooms including two Royal Suites both sporting a private swimming pool. Already famous for its existing restaurants that are favourites with visitors and locals alike, five new restaurants have been opened - The Vienna Café, a traditional Viennese coffee house, The Market Place, an international upmarket coffee shop establishment, The Piano Lounge which offers snacks, caviar, sushi and oysters, The Hofbrau Haus, a German restaurant licensed to the Munich original and the Bamboo Lagoon, serving traditional Polynesian and Thai cuisine.
THAILAND
If you are on a business trip and taking your wife to Thailand, a great way to really pamper her, is a few days at The Regent Resort Chiang Mai. When the wife of the President of USA selected this place as the one resort to stay at in Thailand, Mrs Clinton knew what she was doing. The place is sensational.
And they are just installing the most stylish health spa in the region here that offers. Thai Herbal Steam Aromatherapy, Traditional Thai Massage, Orient Blend Massage (with oil), Aromatic Massage (with oil), Skin Scrubs, Body Wraps, Thai Herbal Facials, Salon Treatments and Spa Body Rituals. I don't know what a Spa Body Ritual is, but is sure sounds interesting. And my wife tells me that the other treatments there are fabulous ! Ask about the Lanna Spa package that covers 3 nights and 4 days.
Restaurants
VENICE - ITALY
The wonderful Hotel Cipriani has long been our favourite hotel in this amazing city. They have now opened the highly successful Restaurant Cip, with a sensational view across the water to St. Marks Square, superb trattoria food, and live guitar music. Romantic as well as great! To get there, catch the complimentary Cipriani launch from the St. Marks Square mooring.
SINGAPORE
Recently we dined at one of the best French restaurants in Asia. Located at the Duxton Hotel, L'Aigle d'Or is under the direction of executive chef Dominique Ferchaud, a Frenchman dedicated to fine cuisine, and a meal here is as good as anything you can find in France.
L'Aigle d'Or Restaurant, 83 Duxton Road, Singapore tel:652277678
ITALY
If you are passing through the city of Padua try a meal at Caffe Pedrocchi, via VIII Febbraio, 15 35100 Padova tel:049 8781231 . Locals told us it was the best restaurant in town, and having tried it, we are sure they are right.
MELBOURNE
The new Park Hyatt Hotel is currently the talk of the town and the Radii Restaurant and Bar is the place to be seen. If you are entertaining business contacts in Victoria's buzzing capital, your guests will delight in being invited to dine here.
LONDON
1 Kingsway, WC2. These days it's trendy to name a restaurant after the address, and that's been done here. Beloved of theater goers, here is French food with a difference -- such as lobster, wok fried and treated with Thai spices. Old favorites such as confit of duck is also on offer. It's interesting, noisy and always crowded if that's what you like. Tel: 0171 379 9797 Cost: around £62 for two (very reasonable for hyper-expensive London)
Worth Noting
SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL
A new miniaturised pocket computer, the Sharp HC-4500A weighs only 490g, yet has a Windows CE version of Microsoft Outlook and Internet Explorer and can be fitted with an optional digital camera. Extremely handy for the travelling business man who wants to send technical pictures back to head office instantly via the Internet.
AMERICAN EXPRESS GOES PLATINUM
Check out whether an American Express Platinum Card is of value to you ! Many frequent travellers are finding the considerable expense of a Platinum Card worthwhile because of deals American Express has done with airlines with complimentary upgrades and in some cases even a free second ticket if an original is purchased with the Platinum Card. This organisation has also done a deal with Small Luxury Hotels that gives cardholders such benefits as Continental breakfasts, complimentary airport transfers, complimentary green fees, free massages and even a US$50 gift voucher. Bookings must be made through the Platinum Cardholder section of American Express.
MACAU
If you are heading for Hong Kong on a business trip, why not extend your stay for a few days and head for nearby Macau ? Easily accessible, Macau has a unique mix of Chinese and Portuguese influence, has some first class hotels, including Hyatt, Westin and Mandarin Oriental --- and a lovely boutique hotel, the Pousada de Sao Tiago. Head for the casinos, even if you are not a gambler, and enjoy the outstanding floor shows these offer. Macau can be a really great breakaway after a China/Hong Kong trip.
Word of Warning
FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAMS
Before you join a frequent flyer program, check it out. What you see may not be what you get. Very often all the fanfare turns out to be a mirage.
One bank's gold card trumpets that the holders can get most advantages, but it seems that the only one that wins is the bank. A Singaporean friend was recently taken in by such an offer. First, he had to pay to join, then found that he would only get points on first and business class. And last of all, the airline had blackout periods over all the busiest times of year and only allocated a dozen or so seats per jumbo to frequent flyer availability. The bottom line was that the costly membership of this program was not worth two bits. We always quiz people who have been members of FF programs and taken advantages of these for years in order to find out just how user friendly they really are. The irony of this situation was that the Hong Kong branch of the same bank had a really meaningful and worthwhile FF program in place that had none of the difficulties that the banks Singapore program created.
DINERS CLUB
If you hold a Diners Club card, you will have noticed to what extent many establishments don't want to touch it. Now that CitiBank have bought many of the Diners Club branches, they are trying hard to reverse this prejudice which, I am told, was brought about by many years of slow payments and excessive charges to the shops and service providers in Diners Club's earlier days. Hopefully this will now start to change.
Odd Spot
Seen at a British Motorway garage:
PLEASE DO NOT SMOKE NEAR OUR PETROL PUMPS. YOUR LIFE MAY NOT BE WORTH MUCH BUT OUR PETROL IS.
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