Some of the smartest resorts in the Mediterranean are struggling to deal with hundreds of unwanted guests.
The intruders are mauve-coloured jellyfish which drift around in a huge swarm and can pack a nasty sting.
In a single day recently, medical teams treated 500 casualties along a ten-mile stretch of beach between the chic French resorts of Nice and Cannes. An emergency operation was mounted to rescue a group of youngsters stranded on a raft surrounded by the stingers.
Anti-jellyfish nets are being used as well as a 30-foot catamaran, dubbed ‘a hooverboat,’ that’s been sucking them out of the water.
Marine biologists say rising water temperatures and pollution have produced an increased amount of plankton - the stingers’ natural diet - while overfishing has reduced the number of shark, turtle and tuna – their main predators.
The species menacing the stretch of coast is the Pelagia Noctiluca. Its sting can cause severe burns and in some cases scarring.
by Andy Moreton
The thrills and danger of chariot racing in Rome’s Circus Maximus were vividly brought to life in the 1959 epic Ben-Hur.
Now there are plans to bring the spectacle back to the Italian capital. An historical society, Vadis al Maximo (To the Maximum) is in talks with city officials with a view to staging a major event in 2009. Website: www.vadisalmaximo.com
Spokesman Franco Calo says there are chariot races in other parts of Europe, but not in Rome where, he says, they should be. “After a prolonged and undeserved historical silence, there is finally an initiative to commemorate the glorious past of the Eternal City.”
The festival would last for three days, starting on October 17th – roughly the same period that the race took place in ancient Roman times. It’s hoped to involve charioteers from all over the world. “All the main squares of the capital would be transformed into scenes from ancient Rome using props on loan from film studios,” said Calo. “The Circus Maximus, which is now a park, could hold up to 35,000 people.”
The traditional races used either two or four horses. Prize money and laurel wreaths were given to the winners.
Luxique can offer a selection of luxury hotels in Rome, including several within walking distance of the ancient monuments.
by Andy Moreton
Passengers driving to Heathrow will have been used to seeing the mini Concorde that’s graced the roundabout at one of the main approaches to the airport for the past 16 years.
Now, however, it’s been replaced by what’s thought to be the largest model aircraft in the world – a scaled-down version of the Airbus A380 superjumbo – itself the biggest passenger plane in service.
At 45 metric tons and with a wingspan of 85 feet, it’s a third of the size of the A380. The model was built by Penwal Industries of California from glass-reinforced plastic over a steel frame.
It was flown from the States to Heathrow by a huge chartered Russian cargo plane. Once in London, a mechanical ramp - brought in specially from Germany - was used to unload the ten components.
The model bears the livery of Emirates airline, based in the UAE, which will be using the superjumbo on the London-Dubai route from December. It’s thought the rent for the prime Heathrow advertising site is around £1.5 million ($3 million) a year.
The old Concorde model has been re-housed in a museum near London, joining one of the remaining full-sized supersonic planes.
by Andy Moreton
Fans of the Harry Potter books have found a new place of pilgrimage – and a luxurious one at that.
J K Rowling completed her phenomenally successful series of novels in a suite at the five-star Balmoral Hotel in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. Now Room 552 has, with the author’s permission, been re-named after her.
Since the venue for her final chapter was revealed, the wealthier of the Potter fans have been arriving and specifically requesting the suite. The rooms include the writing desk she used and the queen-size bed in which she slept.
There’s also a marble bust of the Greek god, Hermes, on which Rowling wrote in black marker pen: “J K Rowling finished writing Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows in this room (552) on 11th Jan 2007.” A brass plaque has been put on the door and the door knocker’s been replaced by a brass owl in homage to those featured in the books.
Rowling’s background was famously a lot more modest than the plush surroundings of the Balmoral – she wrote the first of the novels in several Edinburgh cafés.
The Balmoral is, of course, on Luxique’s list of luxury hotels in Edinburgh. We can’t promise you’ll get Room 552, but we can promise the best rates with no booking fees.
by Andy Moreton
US Executive Frank Giotto used a sleepless unscheduled overnight stay at a German airport to come up with an invention that could help the growing number of other passengers stranded in the same way.
He created the Mini-Motel, a one-person tent complete with air mattress, pillow, reading light, alarm clock and dental accessories. It retails for $39.95 (£20).
Giotto was asked by the New York Times what airports might think of a tent city made up of his Mini-Motels. “People sleeping in chairs don’t seem to bother them. We could be forcing the airports to come up with a solution to respond to the tremendous need,” he said.
Overnight stays at airports have become more common recently, partly because airlines are no longer as free with their complimentary hotel vouchers. One enterprising traveller has started a website with a guide to where to get the best overnight service (www.sleepinginairports.com).
That website shows that airports range widely in what they offer overnight guests. The top-ranked continues to be Singapore Changi. It has dimly-lit snoozing areas, where comfortable leather chairs have leg rests and head rests. Some are even fitted with alarm clocks. There are also cheap sleeping cubicles.
by Andy Moreton
The Bunny Girl, an icon of ‘the swinging sixties’ in London, could be about to make a return.
Hugh Hefner’s empire is looking at two sites in central London for a 21st Century Playboy Club. The original - on Park Lane in Mayfair - closed 27 years ago.
A Playboy club that opened in Las Vegas two years ago has been a big success and a large casino and hotel is due to open next year on the Chinese island of Macau. The Executive Vice-President of Playboy, Dick Rosenzweig, said: “We’re looking for opportunities around the world. London will be logical for us – we had some very good years there.”
The new club, which could be open as early as 2010, would offer gaming tables as well as food and drink, not to mention those glamorous waitresses dressed in tights, fluffy tails and rabbit ears.
Feminists are sure to be appalled, but Rowan Pelling, columnist in the UK’s respected Daily Telegraph, said parents should be relaxed if their daughter wanted to sign up. “When I edited The Erotic Review, I knew several intelligent and spirited women who had been Bunny Girls. They all maintained that they were strictly vetted, rigorously trained and fiercely chaperoned.”
by Andy Moreton
Luxique has many luxury hotels in London to choose from and a London city guide to help you find your way around.
I hear that Bono and The Edge have got the green light for their controversial plan to redevelop their hotel, The Clarence in Dublin.
The U2 frontmen have faced opposition from heritage campaigners over the proposed 150 million Euro (£120million/$240million) reconstruction of the protected building on the River Liffey waterfront. But after a long consultation process, the Irish planning authority has given it the go-ahead.
The Clarence dates originally from 1852. Bono and The Edge took it over in the 1990s and extensively refurbished it as a five-star boutique hotel with 48 rooms and suites. It’s attracted guests such as former US President Bill Clinton as well as international rock stars and supermodels.
The promised new super-luxury Clarence will have more than 150 bedrooms, a signature restaurant and a massive floodlit glass-roof atrium dubbed ‘the flying saucer.’
There’s still time to spend a weekend at the fine ‘old’ Clarence in Dublin before work gets under way. Luxique can get you the best room rates with no booking fees.
by Andy Moreton
A new cinema complex in Tokyo is offering the ultimate in movie-going experiences.
The luxury seats at the Shinjuku Piccadilly cost nearly 30,000 Yen (£140/$280) each, but in your private box you get champagne, custom-made Italian leather sofas and a surround sound system. You have your own entrance, a private elevator and a secluded waiting room.
And you get to watch the film on the biggest LCD screen in the world - all 108 inches of it. This has only been made possible because the manufacturers, Sharp, recently opened a new plant in Japan that can handle sheets of glass large enough to make the screen.
If the VIP treatment happens to be to your liking, you might want to book the box for a whole year, but you’d have to be prepared to fork out around 30 million Yen (£140,000/$280,000).
by Andy Moreton
If you like luxury that works out a little less expensive, Luxique has a choice of five fabulous Tokyo hotels as well as a guide to one of the most vibrant capitals in the world.
Rome’s in the news again – this time for banning tourists from eating and drinking near its famous monuments.
Officials say they want to preserve artistic treasures and decorum. Violators face fines of £40 ($80).
The regulation also bans the homeless from putting down makeshift beds and takes to task people who loiter in central areas at night. Officials say these people are often drunk, leave litter on public grounds and in the fountains and also disturb the peace.
The ban remains in force until October and police have already been patrolling landmarks such as the Spanish Steps, moving on tourists and their snacks. Among the first to be fined were three Tunisian men eating and drinking beer on the ancient stairway.
Rome, which is also cracking down on street vendors, is the latest Italian city to act to protect its monuments and limit the effects of mass tourism. Venice has banned picnics in public places and bare torsos in St Mark’s Square, while Florence is clamping down on the squeegee men who wash car windscreens in the city streets and demand payment.
Some tourists have complained that the Roman ban on snacks was not publicised and said there should be alternatives for visitors who want to avoid expensive cafes that tack on a surcharge for outdoor tables.
by Andy Moreton
Luxique offers a selection of luxury hotels in Rome and a useful Rome city guide.
Here’s the latest in my series of quirky museums. A few weeks ago, I gave you French fries. Now stand by for the Museum of the American Cocktail.
Opening on July 21st in New Orleans, the museum will focus on the rich history of the sophisticated drinks that have been served since Thomas Jefferson was President.
The museum (www.museumoftheamericancocktail.org) is located near the French Quarter and features a collection of rare spirits, books and Prohibition-era literature. There will be vintage cocktail-shakers, glasses, gadgets and other memorabilia. “It’s a fanciful combination of things,” said curator Ted Haigh. “And New Orleans is the ultimate fit – a city that loves celebration and history.”
There won’t be a bar, but there will be tastings in connection with some events.
New Orleans’ own special cocktail is the Sazerac, which dates from before the Civil War. Many different recipes for the drink have evolved over the years, but it generally features a combination of Cognac, rye whiskey, bitters and absinthe or pastis.
Luxique can offer a number of fine luxury hotels in New Orleans, including the ‘hip and low key’ Loft 523, the ‘formal and luxurious’ Windsor Court and the ‘unique and whimsical’ Le Pavillon.
by Andy Moreton
