Unique luxury hotels, fashionable travel and much more

If the Royal Wedding created an interest in Europe’s architectural treasures, there are a host of affordable cities that offer incredible sights and history to match that of the 1000-year-old Westminster Abbey. Consider spending a few days in a luxury hotel in London to recreate your own royal London experience before flying on to a second city of culture.

London’s prime sights are of course Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament (which are not as old as you might think!), the Tower of London with the crown jewels and the famous Westminster Abbey.

From there, Barcelona is just a short hop away. Luxury hotels in Barcelona can be found right on the famous Las Ramblas where street performers entertain visitors as they browse the flower stalls or sit at an outdoor café. If the street is a little noisy, there are plenty of other luxury hotels to choose from near the Passeig de Gracia shopping mecca, overlooking the port and beach or in the Old Cathedral district. Antoni Gaudi’s unique architecture can be seen all over the city from the UNESCO listed Park Guell, which is filled with his sculptures, to the iconic spires of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral.

Other options include the French Riviera, a hotspot with celebrities and the place to spend the summer if you have a private yacht. Those preferring to stay on dry land will find Nice has a delightful old town filled with squares lined with historic architecture.

If you want to combine blue seas and sunny skies with 2000-years of history then choose one of the 6000 Greek Islands. Luxique has an excellent choice of luxury hotels in Crete, which make a great base for discovering the many churches, monasteries, castles and forts that the island is known for.

by Gillian at Luxique Luxury Hotels

Help often comes from the most unexpected quarters in times of adversity. Amidst the bad news coming out of Japan, which continues to be rocked by aftershocks, stories of courage, self-sacrifice and charity are the silver lining to that very dark cloud. One luxury hotel in Tokyo is doing what it can to help.

The Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka was listed for demolition and was due to checkout its last guests at the end of March. However it is now staying open a little longer for a very good cause. It is currently offering shelter to some of the many homeless and displaced persons in Tokyo following the disastrous earthquake and tsunami.

The elegant hotel, one of the five star Prince Hotel chain, opened in 1955. In its heyday it accommodated visiting heads of state and well-heeled celebrities who paid an average $1,750 per night. The luxury hotel is now offering free rooms and meals for around $10 a day to help the 360 guests, most of whom checked in with just the clothes on their back. It offers a short term solution of housing to shocked evacuees, including some workers from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The hotel rooms will be available as a temporary shelter until July.

by Gillian at Luxique Luxury Hotels

Canada seems to be riding the downturn in world travel very nicely, thank you!

Not only is Canada earmarked to become the very first destination for an official royal visit by Prince William and his new bride, it also seems to be expecting plenty more well-heeled business and leisure guests in the near future.

Toronto in particular is bucking the trend of other major city destinations in the current financial downturn and is enjoying a run of luxury hotel openings. Earlier this month, the Ritz-Carlton chain opened its first ever hotel in Canada, in Toronto. The 53-story tower of luxury will include 267 rooms and is superbly located near the entertainment district. It also has an uber-sized spa which takes up 23,000 square feet.

Close on its heels, the Trump International Hotel will open its 60-story glass tower with a further 256 luxuriously appointed rooms. Again, this is a first in Canada for Trump and is aimed at business-oriented visitors, being located in Toronto’s financial district.

A further two luxury hotels in Toronto are nearing completion. Shangri-La, best known for its Asian luxury hotels, will open a 220-room hotel in part of the historic “Bishop’s Block”, one of Toronto’s oldest buildings. When it opens it will be an easy stroll to major downtown office buildings.

For shopping, which is one of the main draws to Toronto, the Four Seasons will open a new hotel in Yorkville Village in 2012, just steps from the doors of the Bloor Street boutiques.

It seems Toronto will have a high profile for international visitors during 2011, hopefully attracting many more visitors to sample its cultural and business attractions, with a choice of world class luxury hotels competing for their business.

by Gillian at Luxique Luxury Hotels

The Leaning Tower of Pisa has been given a facelift, which involved extensive cleaning and a bit of straightening.

Over a period of eight years, restorers used chisels and laser technology to remove grime from the 24,000 blocks of stone that make up the 183-ft tower.

The stones were in poor condition – mainly because of air pollution and pigeon droppings. They’d also been damaged by sea salt – Pisa was once on the coast and was a powerful maritime republic until its harbour silted up and was cut off from the sea.

The columns of the tower are decorated with flowers, ghoulish faces and fantastical animals. “But sea salt carried on the wind, and rain water that collects in certain areas because of the tower’s tilt have damaged many,” said Anton Sutter, the Swiss-born leader of the £20 million ($31 million) restoration effort.

“We’ve taken out the concrete used in past restorations and cleaned up the pigeon dirt, graffiti and handprints left by tourists,” he said.

The tower has been leaning since the construction of the third level in 1178 because of soft sand and clay beneath its inadequate foundation. It was on the verge of collapse in 1990, and closed to the public, but was then secured.

In the latest restoration, the famous list has been partly corrected – engineers managed to straighten it by 18 inches from the vertical, returning it to its 1838 position.

by Andy Moreton

There’s plenty to see apart from the famous bell tower, and Luxique offers best rates at a jewel of a luxury hotel in Pisa: the classic, 19th century Royal Victoria.

Rome has followed another Italian city, Venice, in drawing up plans to tax tourists in an attempt to raise revenue.

Guests staying at four- and five-star luxury hotels in Rome will pay 3 euros (£2.50/$4) a night from January 1st next year, and there will be a 2 euros (£1.70/$2.66) a night tax on all other accommodation.

Tourists will be advised about the Contributo di Soggiorno tax on arrival and they’ll have to pay the levy before they check out. The maximum number of nights taxable per stay is 10, a charge of up to £25 ($40). Children under two and youth hostels will be exempt.

It’s understood that five per cent of the income generated by the tax will be used to improve tourist facilities in the Eternal City, although further details have not been released. Nine million people visit Rome every year.

The tax could still be challenged in the courts. The European Tour Operators’ Association has criticised the levy, likening it to ‘being on a plane and then being charged to leave’.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique offers a selection of luxury hotels in Rome, as well as a handy city guide.

The Emirates Palace luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi is displaying a jewel-encrusted Christmas tree, which it says is worth millions of dollars.

Items of jewellery studded with scores of precious stones are draped on the tree’s branches, along with more traditional baubles and lights. While the tree alone is worth a mere $10,000 (£6,400), the jewellery adds more than $11million ($7 million) to the value, according to the hotel’s General Manager, Hans Olbertz.

The luxury hotel is asking the Guinness Book of Records to certify the tree as the world’s most expensive.

The vast majority of the population of the oil-rich UAE are Muslim, but Mr Olbertz said he didn’t think the tree would offend local sensibilities. “It’s a very liberal country,” he said.

The tree sits in the sumptuous lobby of the 302-room hotel – which is bookable, of course, through Luxique.

by Andy Moreton

China has been showing off what it says is the world’s fastest passenger train.

Officials at a conference in Beijing played host to railway authorities and experts from around the world and showcased the 16-car CRH-380A. This is a new generation of high-speed train which is said to have recorded a test top speed of 303 mph (486 kph) – far exceeding Japan’s bullet trains.

During regular operations, the train would keep a constant speed of 219 mph (350 kph), with a maximum of 237 mph (380 kph).

The Chinese Vice Premier, Zhang Dejiang, told the forum that China was encouraging its train producers and other concerns to ‘go global’. He said China was ready to share its technological achievements with other countries.

China has signed a framework agreement to build high-speed railways connecting it with Laos and Thailand – part of a plan to facilitate trade and investment among south-east Asian nations.

by Andy Moreton

The city of Venice – currently being showcased in the Depp and Jolie movie, The Tourist – awoke to warning sirens last week as tides in the famous lagoon reached their highest level this year after a period of heavy rain.

More than fifty per cent of the city was said to be under water. Temporary footbridges in St. Mark’s Square, typically put down for pedestrians when the area floods, were removed by local authorities as the risk rose that they would be swept away by the fast rising waters.

Experts call it acqua alta – which means high water. They think it’s caused by an unusually high tide happening at the same time as heavy rainfall.

by Andy Moreton

It remains one of the most remarkable cities in the world and Luxique has a varied selection of the finest luxury hotels in Venice.

Egypt is re-opening its beaches to tourists again after a series of shark attacks that left one dead and four injured.

The shores of Sharm el Sheikh have been out of bounds since a German tourist was killed. Earlier, three Russians and a Ukrainian suffered severe injuries.

South Sinai Governor, Mohamed Abdel Fadil Shousha, said: “We have allowed the beaches to reopen on condition that hotel owners adhere to new controls to ensure the safety of foreign tourists while diving or swimming.”

Hotel owners will be required to ‘patrol the sea’ and also establish watchtowers along the shoreline, so that professional divers can monitor against attacks. Tourists must remain within designated swimming areas and refrain from feeding sharks.

An investigation is continuing into the sharks’ behaviour, with some experts suggesting that overfishing may have driven the sharks closer to shore.

Others have speculated that the sharks were attracted to the coast after a ship carrying Australian sheep and cattle for sacrifice during the Muslim festival of Eid last month, dumped the carcasses of animals which had died on the voyage.

by Andy Moreton

Now the coast is clear … Luxique’s featured luxury hotel in Sharm el Sheikh is the Four Seasons Resort.

Tourism bosses in Australia are hoping the ‘Oprah Effect’ will help to revitalise the industry.

Oprah Winfrey is there with her entourage to record some shows in front of the iconic Sydney Opera House. As well as presenting Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure, the queen of US TV will also be flown around the country to do a series of travelogues.

Tourism Australia’s Managing Director, Andrew McEvoy, told the federal senate recently that Oprah’s core audience demographic of middle-income women aged 25-54 was right at the heart of the people that Australia wanted to influence. “They are the decision makers in travel and tourism,” he said.

Justin Wastnage, a writer on Travel Weekly, says visitor interest in Australia is high in the United States, frequently topping wish-list destinations, yet successive advertising campaigns have failed to shift Americans from thinkers to doers.

The advertising guru Todd Sampson reckons Winfrey to be the most effective brand endorser in the world, but Mr McEvoy sounded a warning that she was not the ‘silver bullet’ for Australian tourism. “The quality and appeal of the Australian product and people’s ability to fly here easily and affordably will determine success in the next decade,” he said.

by Andy Moreton

Australia is one of the ‘must-see’ places in the world, and Luxique has a selection of luxury hotels in Sydney and all the other major cities.