Unique luxury hotels, fashionable travel and much more

What started out as a novel way to attract single female travellers and groups of ladies has turned into a legal nightmare for a boutique hotel in Denmark. The Bella Sky Hotel in Copenhagen opened last year as Europe’s largest design hotel. It reserved one floor specifically for women and added extra feminine touches such as makeup mirrors and glossy magazines to make their female guests feel more pampered.

Unfortunately Denmark’s Equal Treatment Board ruled that the initiative was illegal. The hotel is currently refusing to comply with the ruling, stating “the only man who can access this floor will be a fireman in the case of fire”.

The Dukes Hotel, a five star London boutique hotel has also decided to woo women guests and has assigned some of its rooms as “Duchess Rooms”. These rooms are serviced solely by women staff and have added extras such as fresh flowers, styling accessories and female bathroom amenities. They are proving very popular with their upmarket female clientele, but may prove to be less than popular with the European Commission on Gender Equality.

by Gillian

I suspect that only the ultra-green Scandinavians could have thought up a wheeze such as this …

A luxury hotel in Copenhagen is offering a free meal to any guest who’s willing to produce electricity for the hotel on an exercise bike attached to a generator. At least 10 watt-hours would need to be delivered to qualify – roughly 15 minutes of cycling for someone of average fitness.

The Crowne Plaza in Copenhagen says the idea is to get people fit and reduce their carbon footprint. The luxury hotel already produces renewable energy with solar panels on its facade.

“Many of our visitors are business people who enjoy going to the gym,” said hotel spokeswoman, Frederikke Toemmergaard. “There might be the odd person who will cycle just to get a free meal, but I don’t think people will exploit the initiative overall,” she added.

Copenhagen has a long-standing bicycle tradition, with about 36 per cent of locals cycling to work each day – one of the highest percentages in the world. “Because Copenhagen is strongly associated with cycling, we felt the bicycle would work well as a symbol of the hotel’s green profile,” said Ms Toemmergaard.

by Andy Moreton

Perhaps you want to leave the gym behind and simply relax when you jet off to Denmark … take a look at Luxique’s selection of luxury and boutique hotels in Copenhagen

I spent a day in Paris a couple of weeks ago and was impressed to see the cycle-renting service Vélib working very effectively, in spite of problems with theft and vandalism.

Cities all over the world are making big efforts to go green and encourage people to cycle rather than drive. Amsterdam has always been in the vanguard of this, but Copenhagen is making a bid to become the world’s friendliest city for cyclists. It has good reason - the Danish capital is hosting the UN climate change summit at the end of the year.

At present, about a third of people in Copenhagen already cycle to work, school or university – there are 217 miles of cycle routes. “The city has worked consistently to improve things for cyclists,” said Andreas Rohl, who’s in charge of the city’s cycling programme. “For people here, going on a bicycle is a bit like brushing your teeth, you don’t think much about it!”

Two of the city’s main bridges have recently had a makeover to encourage more people to cycle. One is now completely car-free, the other includes double cycle lanes on both sides. Other cycle-friendly measures are being considered.

Barcelona and London are among the other European cities openly committed to improving cycle routes.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique can offer a choice of five of the best luxury hotels in Copenhagen - from the Nyhavn 71, ‘a rustic warehouse conversion’, to the smartly refurbished Avenue Hotel.

The Luxique city guide to Copenhagen calls the Danish capital ‘a major gourmet destination,’ and there’s proof this month that it’s living up to that description.

Michelin-Starred Kong Hans Kælder Restaurant

The 2008 edition of the food-lover’s bible, the Michelin Guide, has awarded a total of 12 stars to Copenhagen’s restaurants – more than any other city in Scandinavia and a better return than Rome, Madrid, Berlin or Vienna.
Copenhagen’s official tourist guide says Danish cuisine as a whole has changed radically over the past twenty years. “It now blends southern European influences with the richness of Denmark’s natural produce, such as its traditionally excellent dairy produce, its organic fruit and vegetables, and fish from its surrounding waters.”

The new Michelin-starred restaurants tend to be smaller and owned by younger people who work in the kitchens themselves or as waiters.
Here are the restaurants that made the list:
• Ensemble
• Kommandanten
• Kong Hans Kælder
• Kokkeriet
• Era Ora
• Godt
• Noma
• The Paul
• Formel B
• Restaurant Rasmus Oubæk
by Andy Moreton
In addition to the city guide, Luxique offers a selection of unique award-winning Copenhagen luxury hotels and boutique hotels.