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Happy New Year and welcome to the January 2007 issue of WOWconfidential, Kiwi Collection's exclusive insider's newsletter by Mary Gostelow, editor-in-chief of WOW.travel, our online luxury magazine for discerning global travellers.
Please enjoy this issue of WOW.travel. Our Insider is television presenter Varun Sharma, and we feature Seven Sensational hotels that make you look up. We also launch two new series, both found in the Around The World section. My Style starts with Kristiaen Van Gastel, VP Marketing and MD Europe for Elite Traveler, The Private Jet Lifestyle Magazine. My Place is launched by Giovanni Valenti, legendary Concierge of Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. Around The World includes dining and fitness in the USA, driving in Finland, wining in Argentina and things for kids in Tokyo. We have an update on Private Jets and Away-Night is The Baglioni London.
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Experience the ultimate in all-inclusive aboard Silversea Cruises
This is Mary Gostelow reporting from the Andaman Sea. I am sailing onboard Silver Whisper and my experience of cruising has been changed for ever. I have always loved Silversea for its policy of all-inclusive. Yes, you pay heavily ahead of time but onboard you do not have to worry about signing drinks checks or the tipping that is an irritating feature of most other cruise experiences. On Silversea, because you do not have to tip 'your' waiter, you can dine with whomever you like, chopping and changing. Dining becomes a delightful experience.
Anyway, on this cruise we are in 802, a really special 1,288 sq ft suite above the ship's bow. There is a separate parlor with stand-up bar and work area. The bedroom has a king-size bed and sloping windows allow you to look where the ship is going. You have one and a half bathrooms (really handy when there are two of you sailing), and a walk-in closet that really does hold all your cruising gear. The suite comes with such specials as complimentary laundry, any amount - but the best thing is that you can host your new friends for a proper cocktail party before you go to choose your table. And, of course, the cocktails are on the house in this all-inclusive experience. www.silversea.com
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Visit Dusit Laguna, amidst the tropical gardens and azure waters of the island of Phuket
On the cruise we called briefly in at Phuket and there was just time to dash - if one can use that term considering the island's traffic - to Dusit Laguna for lunch. GM Jan Verduyn (see photo) is thrilled with his 28 new Club rooms, designed by Chat Vichai. Even the 40% of guests who are regulars, mostly escaping the English and Swiss winters, are immediately upgrading to these rooms. We took the electric catamaran ferries around the Dusit lakes, and saw the complex's stunning water-side wedding chapel (think Thai temple painted white). We tried in vain to finish the best-selling seafood platter, and loved our side-by-side massage in the Angsana spa. What a relief to see that the spa's villa interiors have bright yellow fabric, a change from today's neutral norm. www.dusitlaguna.com
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Latest Nobu Restaurant opens at the InterContinental Hong Kong
Nobu Matsuhisa has opened his latest - 18th - restaurant, at the InterContinental Hong Kong. Designed by David Rockwell, the restaurant seats 140, including ten at the sushi bar. Actually, Nobu told me, he feels very comfortable in Hong Hong. It is almost like home, and he quickly assimilated his 35 Hong Kong team members into what he calls his Nobu family, now over 1,500 of them in 13 countries. Since he started the first Nobu in New York in 1994, his food concept has not really changed, and black cod remains best-seller everywhere. Now, perhaps, he might like to do his own hotel. www.noburestaurants.com www.hongkong-ic.intercontinental.com
InterContinental Hong Kong, Hong Kong, S.A.R., China
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Experience Orient Express’ Andean Explorer Trip, a magical tour of Peru and the Andes
As a great Andes fan, I am excited by Orient-Express' 11-night Andean Explorer trip, put together for your timing. After two nights at the group's own luxury hotel in Lima, the Miraflores (GM Laurent Carrasset) you have two nights at the marvellous Monasterio del Cusco (GM Philippe Spagnol will put you in one of his oxygen-enhanced rooms to overcome the altitude, nearly 11,000 feet). You take the Hiram Bingham train to Machu Picchu, for an overnight right next to the Inca ruins, at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge (GM Patricio Zucconi Astete). The trip naturally includes guided tours of such sites as Sacsayhuaman - which most call Sexy Woman - before you go on to Lake Titicaca. I would love to do the whole thing. www.orient-express.com
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Ever dreamt of finding diamonds under your pillow? Be one of the lucky five guests at The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne
I would also love to be one of the lucky five of the guests at The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne, over the next few months. From now until May, one guest per month will find a diamond necklace worth $2,500 under the pillow. Specially made by SABRIA, the in-house jewelers, the necklaces are to celebrate the fact that the five year old resort is the only Five Diamond (from the AAA) bearer in Miami, and in Broward, Dade and Monroe counties. GM Marco Selva randomly selects a date, and his reservations manager pulls the name of a suite, or published price, guest. The resort has a coterie of butlers, whose specialties include tennis and making sandcastles.
www.ritzcarlton.com/resorts/key_biscayne
The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne, Miami, United States
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The Palace on Magnolia in Byron Bay makes its debut
The Palace on Magnolia, Byron Bay, adds to the roster of luxury hotels in New South Wales, Australia. Reminiscent of the days of the British Empire, the rooms are labelled Pavilion, Queen's Quarters, King's Quarters and Luxury Suites. All overlook a 40-foot pool and immaculate lawns shaded by fully grown Cuban Royal palms. Designer and GM is entrepreneur Lucinda Rhoades, whose passions also include climbing active volcanoes, paragliding from mountains and a whole range of other extreme sports in the company of the hotel's co-owner, Californian marketer and antique shop owner Kevin Scholes (photo). www.thepalaceonmagnolia.com
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The Lanesborough offers a world-renowned collection of rare cigars
It is worth cigar aficionados flying posthaste to London, where The Lanesborough has a couple of its vintage Cuban Dom Pérignon 1980 Cigars by Davidoff left (one box was bought at a Christie's auction, and each cigar is selling for £400). Also, while you are in what is one of Europe's finest luxury hotels, enjoy a cup of 17-year old Pu-erh tea, Wild Tuo Cha, 1990 vintage, served by the first tea sommelier in England. www.lanesborough.com
The Lanesborough, a St. Regis Hotel, London, United Kingdom
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The Willard InterContinental in Washington DC is to host political meetings
The ballroom of the Willard InterContinental, Washington DC, will be busy over the next few weeks, not only with usual (and unusual) festive season parties but also with political meetings as many newcomers make their way to the capital of the USA to take their seats in Congress. The hotel, run by 46-year old GM Hervé Houdré - one of the youngest-ever two global hoteliers of the year, awarded by HOTELS magazine - has been at the center of power since it was built in 1904 (see The Willard Hotel, An Illustrated History, by Richard Wallace Carr). And it is also up to the minute. Today's employees have a sustainability team that cleans the Anacostia River and raises money for UNICEF wells in Africa. www.washington.intercontinental.com
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Looking for a unique, relaxing hideaway? Estancia Colomé is the place
Estancia Colomé, two hours' drive north of Salta, northern Argentina, this month features art works by American psychological light installation artist James Turrell (shown is his First Moment, 2003). Estancia Colomé has nine rooms, the favorites being the two 550 sq ft Master Suites, with 220 sq ft verandas: enjoy hiking, riding and visiting vineyards. The resort is owned by Donald Hess, who also owns the Hess Collection winery in Napa Valley - he and his wife, art collector Ursula, spend half the year here in Argentina, and the rest of the time looking after their collection in his native Bern. www.estanciacolome.com
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The world’s Poker elites to play in The Aussie Millions Crown Casino Poker Championship
The Aussie Millions Poker Championship, the richest poker game in the Southern Hemisphere, takes place at Melbourne's Crown Casino January 14-19. The grand culmination is the $10,500 buy-in six-day No Limit Holdem Main Event. Over 1,500 entrants are expected, including such professional champions as Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari, Scott Fischman, Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson, Gus Hansen, Joseph Hachem, Phil Ivey, Kathy Liebert, Daniel Negreanu, Lee ‘Final Table’ Nelson, Mike Sexton and the Las Vegas-based couple Chip Jett (photo) and his wife Karina Mikelis Jett - such great entrepreneurs, they produce playing cards featuring 52 of the greatest players. www.aussiemillions.com.au www.crownltd.com.au www.karinajett.com
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Australian Open Tennis Championships to showcase the wonderful world of tennis
Melbourne is certainly where it is all happening this month. On January 15th the Australian Open Tennis Championships begin (the first Grand Slam of the year is at Melbourne Park). Will current champion Roger Federer, or the runner-up, the unseeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, be able to repeat their performance? Trying to get a last-minute hotel reservation could be a problem: Kiwi Collection has a selection of superb luxury hotels, including the 107-room Como Melbourne, run by GM Paul Bidgood (my own favorite room there is the L-shaped 301, with a private Japanese-style terrace garden). www.australianopen.com
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The Ritz London offers a behind the scenes tour of the Royal Albert Hall
On January 19th, The Ritz in London offers a day at the Royal Albert Hall - opened by Queen Victoria in 1871 and named for her late husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, who had died ten years before. The Ritz's program starts with a morning tour behind the scenes at the Royal Albert Hall, then lunch in its Café Consort. Afterwards comes an afternoon performance of Cirque du Soleil's Alegría. Back at the hotel, designed by Mewes and Davis in 1906, you have a table for the four-course dinner-dance in the restaurant, magnificent for its nine chandeliers and gilded baroque décor. www.royalalberthall.com www.theritzlondon.comThe Ritz London, London, United Kingdom
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Marc Newson showcases his newest designs at the Gagosian Gallery
Marc Newson's futuristic designs are showing at the Gagosian Gallery in New York, January 25 until March 3. Sydney-born Newson is based in London. As well as being Creative Director for Qantas, he has an extensive portfolio of work for Alessi, Azzedine Alaia, Iittala, Nike, Samsonite and part of the Hotel Puerta America, Madrid. In 2005 Time magazine included him in its list of 100 most influential people in the world. In 2003, he was commissioned by the Fondation Cartier to design his own 40th birthday present. The result was the Kelvin40 concept jet shown. www.gagosian.com www.marc-newson.com
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Park Hotel Weggis proudly supports the Grand Chinese New Year Concert with performances by the China National Orchestra
Park Hotel Weggis, on the banks of Lake Luzern, is patron of the China National Orchestra concert in Luzern on January 31st. After the concert, take the scheduled ferry - always on time, Swiss style - from the main town pier back to Weggis, to the 43-room hotel that was built by Wilhelm Strassli in 1875. Now, under GM Peter Kämpfer, this luxury hotel is renowned for its service, its food and amazing 2,000-bottle wine cellar, and its six spa cottages, that you reserve by the hour for your choice of treatments. Our favorite bedroom is the Mark Twain I suite, with large balcony overlooking the lake. www.phw.ch
Park Hotel Weggis, Lake Lucerne, Switzerland
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A true passion for perfection lies at the heart of The Peninsula Spa by ESPA
Talking of spas, I was finally able to try The Peninsula Spa by ESPA at The Peninsula, Hong Kong. Its director Sharon Codner, who came from Sandy Lane, welcomed me with a cold towel (but hot, in winter) and I was taken to a circular rooms with chairs round the outside of an eight-foot circular ceiling-fed rain curtain. This is where welcome tea, organic of course, is served. I liked the fact that the 14 treatment rooms have real bamboo growing in glass cages, also fretwood screens, old Chinese wood floors, brown mottled Italian marble, lit white candles. As well as a shower you have a mini bar, filled with fresh mango yogurt, orange juice and whole green apples. Also, another nice touch: instead of beds looking clinically white, when you go in they have embroidered brown silk covers, unveiled in front of you to reveal soft white ribbed blanket-sheets. The spa stays open until 11pm and already 46% of the guests are male. www.hongkong.peninsula.comThe Peninsula Hong Kong, Hong Kong, S.A.R., China
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Malikha Lodge was designed to create a feeling of luxury and seclusion
In 2003 Brett Melzer and Khin Omar Win, who run Balloons Over Bagan, the historic city in the center of Myanmar, had the idea of a luxury lodge at Putao, in the foothills of the Himalayas in the north of the country. The result is the eight-room Malikha Lodge, designed by Jean-Michel Gathy, who did One&Only Reethi Rah in the Maldives (see a typical room, in the photo). GM of the Lodge, which is open October through April only, is Jake Morgan. www.malikhalodge.com
One&Only Reethi Rah, Maldives, North Malé Atoll, Maldives
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Coming up in February
Coming next month, we have insider David Stein of the Stein Group and Seven Sensational Hotels for Babes. Note, if you have not yet signed up for our complimentary emailed newsletter, do so now. Have a great month!
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