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Top 5 Most Lavish Hotels in Europe

travel globally — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:58:41 +0000

Tourists looking for a luxurious vacation in Europe will never leave in disappointment. Some of the most luxurious hotels in the world are located in Europe as they often combine history, exquisite accommodation and location. They can command a steep rate but many of their patrons agree that every cent spent in these hotels is worth it.

The following are the top five luxurious hotels in Europe:

Hotel de Crillon

In the heart of Paris, France is Hotel de Crillon. The structure was built during mid-18^th century and the beauty of the structure is still there today. Aside from the amazing historical structure and accommodation, it also features an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower. The hotels popularity is also base on its specialized personal services.

St. Regis Grand Rome

A personal butler, a room with exquisite design from the 15^th century and a world-class dining experience are only some of the features of the hotel. The structure was built during the end of the 19^th century and made even more beautiful with 20^th century remodeling.

The Savoy London

The 19^th century structure went through some serious remodeling in 2010 with amazing results. The hotel perfectly defines the concept of discreet, technology-driven accommodation with luxury. The Savoy London offers easy access to some of the most popular destinations in London such as theaters and museums.

Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris

The hotel is right in the heart of Paris’ downtown but it still keeps its elegance and serene setting. Featuring a 28-meter indoor pool as well as classic Italian dining experience, tourists often visit Le Royal Monceau Raffles to experience the best of Paris and Italy.

Hotel Villa Spalletti Trivelli

Experience the classic luxury in Italy in Rome with this beautiful hotel. It’s very popular for businessmen because of the soothing setting with world-class amenities. It has a rural setting a very beautiful hotel exterior and amazing high quality interior.

Southport – the beauty of the seaside

travel globally — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 08:09:26 +0000

The name “Southport” is used since the end of the 1700s when a guest forgot the name of his location during his toast. The party was hosted by the town’s founder named William Sutton. The name of the place used to be South Hawes but the guest remembered “South” then added “port” as he was looking at his glass of port. From that point, the name started to gain popularity.

The popularity of Southport does not rely only on its name. The town is also a popular tourist destination because of its natural beauty. Formby Point is well known to the locals because the area is a perfect setting for picnics. Southport is also home the oldest pier in UK which still stands and offers stunning sea views.

Complementing the beautiful beaches in Southport are the numerous water-based attractions. From boat rides to swimming pools, there are specific activities that any tourist will enjoy. There are also small theme parks, convention centers and art centers for tourists and locals.

Aside from its natural beauty and interesting activities, the town is also full of historical structures. Just visit the Lord’s Street and you’ll see breathtaking structures. Some of them were built during late 1800s and still thrives to this day. The Botanic Garden is another popular tourist destination that also boasts of a rich history. It was opened to the public in 1874 and continues to improve to this day.

Southport is not just your average beach town. It’s a great place to visit during the summer because of the beaches, interesting places to visit, self catering cottages that offer affordable accommodation and other activities that will surely entertain everyone.

Lake District – a walk on the wild side

travel globally — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:27:08 +0000

Located in the north west England, the Lake District is one of the most popular tourist destinations of the country. Although The Lake District is a vast land area, most of the tourist activities are limited to The Lake District National Park which is located inside this remarkable region. The National Park is the largest in England and the second largest in the UK.

Because of its popularity, getting to The Lake District is very easy. The easiest and fastest method to get there is by air, tourists can travel to Manchester or Glasgow. Other means to get to The Lake District are: by train, by bus or travelling by car.

There are hundreds of things to do in Lake District but the most popular is simply to rent a bike and cycle through the forests. There are also tourists who opt for fishing or bird watching. If you want to have an exhilarating experience, go for a hot air balloon ride. You’ll have a magnificent view over The National Park and beyond.

You don’t have to leave the Lake District at the end of the day. Many families and tourists stay here for a couple of days or a whole week during the summer. There are a lot of options for accommodation. If you have the budget, you can stay in a charming cottage in the Lake District area.

Twitter can change the way you travel

travel globally — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:10:08 +0000

The latest incident of an airline crashing into Hudson River has shown a couple of realisations – among them is how technology spreads news like wildfire. Aside from the obvious news that the pilots and the rest of the crew never had serious training for this incident, photos and updates regarding the passengers were circulating online via Twitter before any major news network picked up the news.

For those unfamiliar, Twitter is regarded as the next generation blogging platform. Instead of the usual blogs, Twitter will only allow you to post up to 140 characters. This form of blogging is called “micro-blogging” and the post could be implemented from practically everywhere especially from your mobile phone. Photos could also be posted as well to the same account directly from mobile phones.

Twitter is now being adopted by practically everyone especially well known personalities in certain industries and travel is not exempted. Visit three or four websites owned by travel industry personalities and be sure that one of them is already “twittering”. You can follow their updates from your own Twitter account. From their tips you can get real time updates on travel deals, news about the travel industry or simply their reaction on certain travel news. The best part of Twitter is that you can also react to their posts and the author of the posts should be able to see them in real time as well.

Adopt the latest in blogging technology. Twitter and other micro-blogging tools will help you get in touch with as many people as possible which could greatly help your knowledge about the travel industry.

Summer in Inverness

travel globally — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:47:24 +0000

Boating in Scotland could never be better when you pass by the beautiful city of Inverness. This northern Scottish town continuously dazzles tourists as the city has seemingly perfected the mix of the traditional ways with the conveniences of the modern world. For those on cruise or on boating for the summer season, coming into Inverness through the River Ness immediately provides a picturesque view of the castle built in 1835.

Aside from the beautiful castle that seems to welcome all boaters for the summer, additional structures that withstood the test of time still exists in Inverness. St. Andrew’s Cathedral and the Old High Church are the must visit structures of Inverness, the latter is believed to have been built during the medieval times.

But Inverness is not only about castles and churches for tourists. The city is practically transformed into a city of festival during the summer. Starting July, Inverness will host a series of festivals that shows the best of the city as well as the Scottish traditions that lived through generations. The Inverness Highland Games is considered the kick-off celebration of Inverness. During these days, locals and tourists who are familiar with Scottish traditions sport unique Inverness tattoos. Rafting events are also held during these days. Although the celebration only lasts for two days (18th and 19th), the fun continues for the rest of the summer days.

A highly recommended dock that offers direct access to key cities in Scotland is through Laggan. Cruise ships are stationed there offering fun and travel for the whole family.

Alton Towers Park versus quiet cottage

travel globally — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:04:10 +0000

Step right up and have a great time with your friends and family in Alton Towers – Staffordshire, England.

Alton Towers has lots of attractions that will surely keep you excited no matter how many times you have visited it. Nemesis is their inverted roller coaster and is the first of its kind in Europe, Oblivion is another roller coaster but it’s a vertical drop type and many other roller coasters to enjoy.

You can also enjoy their Congo River Rapids, Skyride, The Flume, Runaway Mine Train and many other fun rides.

Alton Towers Theme Park is surely an amazing place to have an all day fun with rides and recreation. But if you need a moment just for you and your thoughts, you can find your peaceful oasis in a traditional English cottage far from the madding crowd of Alton Towers. The cottage will accommodate all your family, friends and pets. The amenities you can find in the cottages will bring your home comfort into your holiday cottage and you can enjoy relaxing activities such as fishing, walking or boating.

Eating in London

travel globally — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:25:25 +0000

One of the best things about travelling to any location is the fact that you get to try some food that you have never had before. On that same note, it’s also hard to know which restaurants have good food and which do not. That being said, today we are going to talk about the top restaurants that you should visit whenever you visit the London area.

The first place you will want to try is the Fat Duck. Do not be turned off by the name, this is one of the top restaurants in the London area. This great place opened up in 1995 and has been number one ever since. The food that they serve here is the type of food that you will come to expect when you visit London.

From their you can head over to the Capitol Restaurant. As you can tell by the name, this is a spot that offers a wonderful dining atmosphere. Here you will find great French inspired dishes that are better than the dishes you will actually find in France.

Last, but not least, if you get a chance, you have to check out Le Gavorche. This is a great spot that is found right in the heart of London. Here you can dine on classic French cuisine while you take in the amazing atmosphere. This is the perfect spot to have a great meal in a very relax setting. The fact that this place has amazing service just adds to the charm of it.

Plane Stupid protest in Stansted, London

travel globally — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:20:12 +0000

Stansted airport was closed for at least two hours this week when protesters gained access to highly restricted area. The security breach forced the airport authorities to close the airport – affecting thousands of travellers in the process. More than 50 people were arrested after the incident in Stansted Airport.

All flights that should be going out within that time frame are from Ryanair. The airline has already apologized to their passengers as they advised them to rebook for another flight. The airline has already warned their travellers that because of the flight cancellation, flights might be delayed for a minimum of three days.

The protest was made in response to the latest plan unveiled by the airport authorities. A new runway is going to be built which would cater to the increasing number of travellers that goes through the airport. BAA (the airport controllers) advised that this expansion is necessary as travellers increase every year as well as the number of airlines that departs and arrives in different airports of BAA, including Stansted. The protesters organization called Plane Stupid, claimed that this expansion will dramatically increase CO2 emissions in the area.

The protesters used bolt cutters to gain access to the restricted area and chained themselves to the fence near the runway. Flights were cancelled because any flight might have endangered the lives of the protesters. The second group of protesters who planned to gain access to a more restricted area in the airport was stopped.

Ryanair and BAA are now conducting investigations which has considerably challenged the security of the airport.

UK train fare goes up in 2009

travel globally — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:33:20 +0000

Train passengers will have to begin the New Year with a little disappointment. Trains in UK are expected to increase their fare on the 2nd day of January in 2009. Regulated fares are expected to increase by 6% while the unregulated fares will bump up by 7%. This increase was determined by the inflation rate experienced by UK this year. The increase is also a way for the government to significantly cut the support for the rail system and save money.

There is a clamor against this fare increase. The increase of train fare was based on July’s RPI or Retail Price Index. During that time, the inflation rate was at 5% which justifies the increase of fare but that number has dropped to 4.2%.

But even with the increase, operators are assuring their passengers that the increase in fare will mean improvement of the rail system. The money will be reinvested so that improvements on the rail system will be faster.
There are even areas in UK where the increase was up to 8%. Southeastern trains will increase their fare higher than the usual national average. Operators in this area have a standing agreement with the government to add 3% to the RPI. Luckily, this is only an exception and the operator plans to aggressively improve its services.

The increase in fare based on RPI is part of the government planning to significantly cut support to the rail system. The government plans to achieve 40% reduction of support until 2014.

Plane Stupid protest in Stansted, London

Destination for men: Isle of Man

travel globally — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:59:03 +0000

Although the Isle of Man is not as popular compared to other European islands, it does have faithful tourists year after year – for a good reason. Conveniently located between Ireland and UK, the Isle of Man is practically a country on its own. The small island has a unique culture, tradition and even language. The people of the Isle of Man even have a different name which is Manx.

The culture of the Isle of Man is very different compared to the mainland. Although their progressive is at par in most UK cities, they are still clinging to the old way.

You can see forts and castles but you will see nightly attractions that will keep any tourist awake until the wee hours of the morning. The Isle of Man is very popular for motorcycle enthusiasts all over Europe because it is only in the Isle of Man you can find legal street race of motorcycles.

The island is also never lacking in natural beauty. Although they don’t have world class resorts, their natural setting is always there. From bird watching to hiking, you will always have something to do and watch wherever you in the Isle of Man. Water activities are also never lacking in the Isle of Man especially if you like going out on the sea and enjoy fishing. All of these could be experienced in the Isle of Man without having to deal with crowds. The prices of their services are also competitive and you can always go back to UK anytime you like. This island is really the island for men.