Unique luxury hotels, fashionable travel and much more

“There are bound to be teething troubles, but hey, let’s give it the benefit of the doubt and wait to hear travellers’ tales after the 27th. Watch this space.”

That was what I said about Heathrow’s new Terminal 5 in my blog “5 Alive – nearly” on March 17th. I think you probably know by now, dear reader, that the first days of British Airways’ new state-of-the-art terminal – what the Queen described as “a 21st century gateway to Britain - were an unmitigated disaster. Lost luggage, flight cancellations and faulty elevators resulted in furious passengers and contrite authorities. “Not our finest hour,” said BA’s Chief Executive, Willie Walsh, with some understatement.

One delayed (British) traveller commented: “Why is it that whenever anything big is built in Britain, it’s over budget and doesn’t work properly?”

Answers on a postcard please …
by Andy Moreton
(A BA spokewoman has blamed the glitches on “staff familiarization”. Meanwhile, a baggage worker was quoted by the BBC as saying “They have been doing tests on the belt system for the last few weeks and knew it wasn’t going right. The computer cannot cope with the number of bags going through”. Even visiting dignitries are not immune to the situation after David Miliband, the British Foreign Secretary had an embarrassing meeting with Vuk Jeremic, the Serbian Foreign Minister who complained about his experience at Terminal 5 after his bags were lost.)

Saudi Arabia has just opened its first women-only hotel – the 25-room Luthan Hotel and Spa in Riyadh. It offers plush surroundings together with a full range of health and beauty facilities for ladies to pamper themselves away from the eyes of the male-dominated Saudi society.
“Inside this physical structure we are all women,” said the Lutan’s Executive Director, Lorraine Coutinho. “We are women-owned, women-managed and women-run … from the bell-ladies to the electrical engineer.”
Saudi Arabia is one of the most conservative countries in the world. Women must cover up when in public; they are prevented from meeting male friends outside the home, driving cars or taking up employment in many jobs.
The Riyadh Chamber of Commerce is delighted with the new hotel. A spokesman said: “This is a good response to those who say women aren’t taken care of here.”
Of course there are women-only hotels in other parts of the world and this has always been contentious in countries where women supposedly have equal rights. For instance, there was a lively on-line debate when the Marriott Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan, set aside its 19th floor for women nine months ago.
This was the view at the time of the feminist Los Angeles attorney, Gloria Allred: “What we want are equal rights. Not more rights, not fewer rights, but equal rights. This Marriott idea goes back to stereotyping: men as sexual predators, women as fragile and needing to be protected. We don’t want to go back to the 1950s.”
But the overwhelming majority of the women who joined in a blog debate on the subject felt that the segregation idea was a good thing. Example: “A women-only floor would be a comfort and I do believe the majority of men would understand and support it, especially when their wives and daughters travel.”

by Andy Moreton

Hundreds of holidaymakers visiting the Spanish Canary Island of Lanzarote could find that the Lanzarote hotels they’d booked are about to be demolished.
The Canary Island High Court has ruled that 22 hotels have been built illegally because two councils ignored restrictions put in place to limit tourist developments on the island. The authorities have revoked the building licences but have yet to make a final decision on whether the hotels will be pulled down.
Lanzarote is a popular year-round European destination because of its mild winter climate. It attracts nearly a million British visitors a year.

The laws at the centre of the dispute were passed in 2000 to try to limit the development of coastal hotels. The authorities wanted to prevent the island going the way of some Spanish mainland coasts where unhindered building has led to concrete jungles. Police are investigating whether officials in Lanzarote granted illegal licences in return for backhanders from property developers.

by Andy Moreton 

Scientists have found a new way to assess weak points in centuries-old statues and Michelangelo’s David in the Italian city of Florence is one of the first to benefit.
The new computer-based method - developed in the United States - relies on a three-dimensional scan of an object, which can be carried out with a laser. It calculates where points of weakness occur and how they will be affected by forces acting on them, such as gravity.

Work on Michelangelo’s Renaissance masterpiece, which was carved between 1501 and 1504, has found weak regions in David’s right leg in particular. The Florentine authorities could now make pre-emptive repairs.
In the medical field, the technique could be used for scans on living bones in patients.

The Luxique website offers a a unique selection of Florence luxury hotels as well as comprehensive Florence city guide.

by Andy Moreton

La Residencia on the west coast of Majorca is an exclusive 17th century hideaway set on a hilltop in 30 acres of olive and citrus groves. Here at Luxique we’ve described it as “a gem of a hotel.”

We’re pleased to say that this has been endorsed by none other than the musical maestro, (Lord) Andrew Lloyd Webber. It’s apparently one of his favourite hotels and this is where he put up his 60 star guests for his 60th birthday party last weekend. Old friends who had been close to him throughout his career arrived by a specially chartered private jet. Heading the guest list was Sir Michael Caine, who was sharing the birthday celebration as he’d just turned 75. The actual party was being held at a restaurant in the village of Deia.
At La Residencia, the Music of the Night was no doubt helped along by the unique Steinway piano dating from 1887 that the hotel bought and restored to its former glory. Apparently there was much jockeying among the guests for who should get the honour of performing.
Majorca has long been a destination enjoyed by millions of Brits on cut-price package holidays. It’s safe to say there was nothing cut-price about the Lloyd Webber weekend. Hello magazine put the cost of the four-day bash at £5 million. The composer laughs: “If I was spending that much, I’d expect to be buying the hotel and the jet.”

by Andy Moreton 

Paris has dozens of partner cities throughout the world, but only one other qualifies as its ‘sister city’ and that’s Rome. The two have a saying, ‘Only Paris is worthy of Rome, only Rome is worthy of Paris.’

It all sounds very chummy, but now that spring in Europe is grudgingly making its appearance, these two great cities will be in competition for the attention of the short-break tourist and for those wishing to indulge in Paris luxury hotels or Rome luxury hotels.

Paris has always traditionally been the passionate heart of Europe, but lovers emerging from winter hibernation shouldn’t discount the Eternal City, as Rome is fondly nicknamed. After all, who could forget such classic romantic movies as Three Coins In The Fountain and Roman Holiday?

I came across a provocative and tongue-in-cheek blog the other day that suggested Rome far outstripped Paris in terms of a pleasant European experience. Oddly, the writer is actually a resident of Paris, so perhaps the honeymoon period passes when you start living somewhere. There were about two dozen pro-Rome statements proffered, although one of these was ‘the ocean is nearby’ (it’s actually about 17 miles away at the last count).

Needless to say, the blog elicited some fervent comments for and against. Said one: “How can Paris be better than Rome in any sense? Paris is just marketing, the French are masters in self-promotion from food to fashion. Just look at Paris’s main symbol – it’s a bunch of steel rods! Can this even be compared to the Colosseum?” A bit harsh on the iconic and beautiful Eiffel Tower and on a city that can also boast the Arc de Triomphe, the cathedral of Notre Dame and the Mona Lisa!

Perhaps the best and most diplomatic summing-up was this: “Why should one be better than the other? They’re different, that’s all.”

Too true - and the answer is, of course, that if you have time, visit both. There are regular flights between Paris and Rome or an overnight sleeper rail service that takes around fourteen and a half hours.

Search around the web and you will find some of the best design, luxury Paris hotels and Rome hotels as well as city guides with advice about what to see and how best to get around.

For the more adventurous traveller, Tibet in Central Asia has always been a fascinating and somewhat mysterious destination.
But for the past two weeks, disturbing reports and images of the worst violence there for 20 years have been flashing round the world. Anti-Chinese demonstrators have clashed with troops and Chinese shops have been ransacked and burned. A number of people have been killed.
The region’s been under disputed Chinese administration since 1951. The Chinese government has accused the exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, of orchestrating the protests. He has said he will resign if the situation ‘spirals out of control.’

The British Foreign Office says the situation remains tense. Its latest advice is to steer clear of areas where demonstrations are taking place and avoid unnecessary movement within the capital, Lhasa, until the situation has eased. “While the Chinese authorities have said there is no curfew in force in Lhasa, they have also said that they will not process applications for travel to Tibet. You should not attempt to travel to Tibet without permission from the Chinese authorities.”

by Andy Moreton

If there’s one word that dominates the Heathrow Terminal 5 website, it’s Experience. We’re promised:

•    A seamless and upgraded airport experience unlike any other in the world.

•    A dining experience that raises the bar for quality cuisine on the move.

•    On-line check-in … which means a more relaxed experience for everyone.

Experience seems to be the new buzz-word around here.  I had a letter the other day from a well-known British department store signed by the ‘Head of Shopping Experience.’

However, to my mind it’s not as annoying in the world of  PR jargon as ‘solution.’  Companies don’t seem to offer services any more, only solutions.  Here are a few from the pages of the satirical magazine, Private Eye, which invites readers to offer contributions:

•    Outsourced vehicle movement solutions (that’s car deliveries to you and me)

•    The most exciting provider of chilled food solutions across Europe’ (ready meals)

•    The best in accommodation solutions’ (apartments).

by Andy Moreton 

Well, readers, it’s finally here. After years of planning and protest, Terminal 5 at Heathrow was officially opened by the Queen on March 14th and will start accepting passengers on the 27th.

It’s a gleaming, glass-encased structure built on a former sludge works between the runways – the largest free-standing building in the UK. British Airways is moving 92 per cent of its 550 daily flights to Terminal 5 – that’s 30 million passengers a year.
According to the Terminal 5 website, it’s going to put the joy back into air travel. ‘Gone are the queues, the crowds, the stress. In their place find space, light and calm.’

The airline says that, on average, a passenger will take only ten minutes to get from the terminal entrance to the departure lounge beyond the security checkpoint. Check-in should be much faster than at other terminals because there will be 96 self-service kiosks and a similar number of fast baggage drop-off points in addition to 54 staffed check-in desks.

OK, it’s easy to be cynical - and plenty of people are. This on a Times newspaper blog from Rachel of London: “The opening of Terminal 5 is a disturbance for local residents and an insult to the environment. The only winners are those profiting from the aviation industry. It’s a national disgrace.”

The new terminal will doubtless be compared to state-of-the-art structures in Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Beijing. There are bound to be teething troubles, but hey, let’s give it the benefit of the doubt and wait to hear travellers’ tales after the 27th. Watch this space.

by Andy Moreton 

Kenya in East Africa is one of the most beautiful countries on earth, with magnificent wildlife parks, unspoiled beaches, thriving coral reefs and memorable mountainscapes.

Sadly, there was widespread violence after the disputed elections in December and the number of visitors went down sharply. Now a power-sharing agreement has been signed between President Kibaki and the opposition, and tourism officials are encouraging people to return.

The British Foreign Office on its website www.fco.gov.uk says the reaction to the agreement has been largely positive and peaceful, although the situation in Kenya remains fragile and tense. It gives cautionary advice about travel to parts of the country.

Paul Goldstein, who’s the Kenya specialist at the adventure holiday company Exodus (www.exodus.co.uk), said: “We’ve taken plenty of calls recently from frustrated passengers who were not put off by headlines and desperate still to travel. We are delighted they can now.”

by Andy Moreton