Dubai is one of the most innovative places in the world, but I was still staggered to read of the latest planned addition to its skyline – the world’s first moving building.
The Dynamic Tower is an 80-storey apartment block with revolving floors, giving it a constantly changing shape. “The building never looks the same, not once in a lifetime,” said the architect, David Fisher, at a news conference in New York.
The tower is made up of 80 pre-fabricated apartments, which will rotate independently of one another, offering residents a 360-degree panorama. Each will take between one and three hours to make a complete rotation.
The building is equipped with horizontal wind turbines on each floor, so it will generate its own electricity. And because many parts are pre-fabricated, it could be up as early as 2010.
A room with a view always costs a bit extra, and these apartments with many views will set you back between £1.8m ($3.7m) and £18m ($36m).
Another of David Fisher’s moving tower blocks is planned for Moscow and there’s also talk of putting one in the skyscraper capital, New York. As Reuters’ New York correspondent, Fred Katayama, put it, that would give the city that never sleeps a building that never rests.
Luxique can offer you a moving experience at a number of Dubai luxury hotels, including the world-renowned Burj Al Arab and the Jumeirah Beach.
by Andy Moreton
What sort of aroma on your hotel pillowcase and sheets would transport you into the most comforting sleep?
That’s the question the UK budget hotel chain, Travelodge, recently asked some of its clients and it’s now smell-testing a few. Four of its hotels are offering a choice of:
• The sea (the most popular)
• Freshly-cut grass (‘a reminder of summer’)
• Baby powder (‘the ideal comforter for doting parents’)
• Home-baked apple pie (‘to bring back memories of childhood’) and
• Chocolate.
And clients can even take the sheets home with them.
Travelodge sleep director (no, really), Leigh McCarron, said: “Interestingly the top scents that would help Brits to drop off to sleep easily are those associated with partners, children, home and holidays rather than the traditional lavender and vanilla.”
There were a few less appealing, not to say gross, replies to the Travelodge survey such as vapour rub, curry, the scent of a pet and a partner’s natural body odour.
by Andy Moreton
With the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games just 40-odd days away, officials in Beijing have announced plans to try to reduce the smog that’s been causing athletes real concern.
One measure to take a million cars off the road will be enforced from July 20th to September 20th, a period that includes the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It will restrict owners of private cars to driving on alternate days, depending on whether the last number of their licence plate is odd or even. Operating hours for public transport will be extended during the two-month period.
Another measure will forbid lorries and other vehicles with high emissions from entering Beijing during this time. They will have to re-route around the city.
A spokesman for the city’s traffic committee said: “We hope to see a bluer sky.”
by Andy Moreton
Luxique offer a comprehensive Beijing guide along with its unique selection of luxury hotels in Beijing.
Cyprus is a beautiful holiday island and one of the most popular destinations in the Mediterranean.
Sadly, the island has now been divided on ethnic lines for 34 years. It was in 1974 that Turkey invaded and occupied the northern third of this former British colony. The Greek Republic of Cyprus in the south is the internationally recognised state and a member of the European Union; the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Turkey. Nicosia is the last divided capital city in the world.
Of the 2.4 million tourists a year, most travel to the south. Because the north is not internationally recognised, flights there have to be through Turkey.
Many attempts at reunification have been made over the years, but a recent visit by a top UN official has held out the prospect of real progress. It was announced last week that the leaders of the two sides would meet on July 1st to try to push forward the peace process.
Experts from both sides have been discussing a range of reunification issues from power-sharing to complex property disputes (many Greek Cypriots say they lost their homes when they were driven out by the 1974 invasion).
There has been agreement on some measures, but it’s agreed that much still needs to be thrashed out.
by Andy Moreton
There’s talk of building an upmarket hotel on the island of Alcatraz in San Francisco, the site of one of the world’s most notorious prisons.
‘The Rock,’ is the city’s second most popular tourist attraction after the cable cars, and the US National Park Service is eager to offer visitors the chance to spend a night there.
Guests wouldn’t sleep in the cell blocks that once housed notorious criminals such as Al Capone, George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly or Robert Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz). Instead, the hotel would be housed in another part of the famous penitentiary: Building 64 - the guards’ quarters, which boast impressive views across the San Francisco Bay.
Not everyone agrees with the idea, so the plan will have to be approved by city residents. Concern has also been expressed by San Francisco firefighters, who would have to race over to the island in the case of a fire or another emergency overnight.
So the hotel idea seems a long way off yet. But if you have a particular fascination for staying in hotels that were once prisons, try the Four Seasons in Istanbul, Turkey or the Malmaison in Oxford, UK.
by Andy Moreton
The major UK-based consumer group, Which? has just voted Singapore Airlines the best in the world.
What is it about Singapore Airlines that makes it a consistent favourite among passengers and the industry alike? Well, Which? researchers gave it top marks for the helpfulness and efficiency of its cabin crew, its check-in arrangements, the cleanliness of its aircraft, its in-flight entertainment and general comfort. And if all that wasn’t enough, its food was rated second to none.
Singapore Airlines has had an exceptional year, becoming the first to use the new Airbus 380 superjumbo. The airliner began flying from Heathrow to Singapore in March and the A380 fleet should be up to five by the end of June.
Air New Zealand and India’s Jet Airways also reached the final shortlist, but the most remarkable achievement in the top four was that of the tiny British airline, Palmair European. The airline has just one plane – a Boeing 737 - and flies only about 60,000 passengers a year (compared with Singapore’s 18 million). The flights go from Bournemouth on the south coast of England to fourteen European destinations, mainly in the Mediterranean.
Palmair’s clients receive a very individual service. An airline employee draws up a seating plan on her kitchen table every night using special notes she has made for each passenger. Later, she’ll greet them all personally. Flight attendants place fresh flowers on the plane - including the toilets - every day and a row of seats has been removed to give more leg-room. There are no night flights because the airline’s founder deemed them ‘anti-social.’
The managing director of Palmair European, David Skillicorn, said he was delighted. “We are just little Palmair with a little Boeing 737, yet we beat the likes of Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. It’s an amazing achievement.”
by Andy Moreton
A Greek court is considering a request by residents of the Aegean island of Lesbos to ban the use of the word lesbian as a term to describe gay women.
Three islanders brought the case, arguing that the term insulted their identity. Lesbos was the birthplace of the ancient Greek poet, Sappho, whose love poems inspired the term lesbian and the island has become a mecca for gay women from around the world.
The plaintiffs argued that the island’s population were the only true Lesbians – the dispute was over identity, not sexuality. “Gay women have every right to define themselves as they wish, but they don’t have the right to appropriate our national identity,” said one.
In the packed courtroom, one of the islanders wore a badge that read: “I am Paul and I am a Lesbian.” Another unfurled a banner that read: “If you are not from Lesbos, you are not a Lesbian.”
The court will deliver its ruling in the next two months.
by Andy Moreton
Next time you get tetchy waiting for that main course in a crowded diner, spare a thought for the customers at the Damascus Gate in Syria – with just over 6,000 seats, it’s just been named the world’s largest restaurant.
Guinness World Records officials likened the place to a ‘mini-factory.’ Others say it’s more like the set of an epic Hollywood movie with an open area boasting waterfalls, fountains and replicas of archaeological ruins.
During the busy summer months, up to 1,800 staff are employed in the dining area and huge kitchen. The General Manager, Muhammad Samman, said: “The secret of feeding so many people is to divide up the restaurant into smaller sections with every person having his own task to fulfil.”
Mr Samman insists there’s no compromise on the standard of food. “In this part of the world, all people care about is their stomachs, so the food has to be the best.”
As impressed as the Guinness people might be, you won’t be able to buy a pint of their black stuff at the Damascus Gate – it doesn’t serve alcohol.
by Andy Moreton
Delhi Belly, Traveller’s Tummy, Montezuma’s Revenge – call it what you will, but most of us recognise that moment when the most crucial thing in the whole world is to find the nearest loo …
Now, a new skin patch being developed by the US biotechnology company, Iomai, could help the estimated 27 million people struck down every year with diarrhoea and sickness while on their travels.
Preliminary tests found that the patch, containing the toxin behind the most common forms of diarrhoea, prevented people falling ill and reduced discomfort for those already affected.
A study of travellers published in the medical journal, The Lancet, indicated that the patch could be 84 per cent effective against diarrhoea.
Dr Herbert Dupont, of the University of Texas, who helped test the patch, called it one of the most exciting developments in travel medicine. “People could buy this and put it on themselves whenever they take a trip. It’s the most convenient form of immunisation I’ve ever seen.”
by Andy Moreton
There’s been controversy in the run-up to the opening of the Madame Tussauds wax museum in Berlin next month.
No-one has questioned the presence of celebrated figures such as Beethoven, Marlene Dietrich, Boris Becker and even Elvis (he was in Germany briefly as a GI). What has been upsetting some people is the inclusion of Adolf Hitler – not in a chamber of horrors as in the London exhibition, but on the politics and history floor.
The museum authorities say they’ve been at pains not to give the impression that the Nazi dictator is in any way a figure to be revered; they’ve depicted him as ‘a broken man’ in a mock-up of the bunker where he spent the last days of World War II. He’s also positioned behind a barricade to prevent visitors from having their picture taken next to him.
A spokeswoman said: “Seeing as we are portraying the history of Germany, we could hardly have left Hitler out … we want to show the reality.”
But politicians across the spectrum have condemned the decision. One called it “an extraordinary breach of taste,” and another “tasteless, disgusting and vulgar.”
Tussauds Berlin opens on July 9th on the famous Unter Den Linden boulevard.
by Andy Moreton
In addition to our luxury hotels in Berlin, Luxique has created a useful Berlin city guide to help decipher some of the ins and outs during your visit.
