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Team Abu Dhabi who are on the first leg of their nine months long Volvo Ocean Race had a pleasant surprise when some dolphins decided to compete with them off the coast of Morocco. The round-the-world yacht race is a gruelling challenge which started in Alicante, Spain, on October 11 2014. The first leg will take the teams to Cape Town where they are expected to arrive between November 2-6. After a two weeks…
The Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi has recently upgraded its spa to feature four brands each of which focus on a different area of relaxation and grooming. The full range of treatments for men and women combines precious elements such as gold, diamonds, and caviar with ancient spa traditions like the Moroccan Hammam. A designated manicure and pedicure salon features products from leading podiatric…
The venerable New York hotel, The Waldorf Astoria, was sold by Hilton to China's Anbang Insurance company in a deal valued at $1.95 billion. The new buyers will invest in renovating the hotel but Hilton will retain the rights to operate the landmark hotel for another 100 years. The US State Department has expressed concerns about the renovation of the hotel and thinks that the Chinese may be preparing to bug…
The chances of meeting a multi-millionaire are highest if you are staying at a hotel in Las Vegas. But not any hotel. The Bellagio Las Vegas hosted 6,400 people in 2013 who each have a net-worth north of US$10 million. Other Vegas hotels making the list of multi-millionaire friendly hotels are Ceasars Palace (No.3) and the Wynn Resort (No.10). New York comes in second place with The Plaza (No.2) and the…
The legendary American jewelry store Tiffany & Co has moved its retail store in Dubai's Mall of the Emirates to the Fashion Dome area. Announcing this move a large Tiffany T bracelet in white, yellow and rose gold has been installed on the ceiling of the Fashion Dome. Perhaps, soon someone will discover that this is the world's largest Tiffany bracelet and people will start flocking to see another one of…
Turkey is preparing for an inflow of a large number of tourists from the GCC during the Eid al Adha holidays in the first week of October. Gauging from the 78% growth in visitor numbers from the Gulf between May and July of 2014, Turkish hotels are likely to have a similar surge in tourists from the GCC. Eid Al Adha, known also as the ‘Festival of Sacrifice’ is one of the most celebrated religious festivals…
Start your morning with a five-star buffet breakfast at the Meydan Racecourse restaurant, Farriers. Follow this with a trip to the stables that house the stars of the world's most expensive horse race - the Dubai World Cup. Get to see how these stars are pampered - they even have a swimming pool for themselves. You also get to visit the Meydan Grandstand and see the jockeys' lounge and parade ring. Breakfast…
Even before you have done the Freedom Trail, thrown a chest of tea into the sea and made the obligatory visit to see John Harvard’s statue, you feel intimidated in Boston. All you see around you are students. The greater Boston area is home to 85 colleges and universities – nerd town USA. No wonder, one of the things Bostonians do for pleasure is to test their knowledge of random facts. Max Clark, Manger of…
While the Andalucian south of Spain is famous for its Islamic architecture - particularly the Alhambra in Granada - the impact of Islamic architecture can also be seen in other parts of Spain. The Monastery of San Miguel in the northern Leon province of Spain is an example of what is called Mozarabic art. The church was built by Cordobic monks in 913. Influenced by the Cordoba Caliphate, the Visigoths who…
Legoland Florida Resort has opened the reservation line for overnight stays at its new Legoland Hotel, set to open next year. LEGO has recently experienced a major renaissance thanks to the major silver screen hit “The Lego Movie” released earlier this year. The five-storey Lego-themed hotel is currently being built at the main entrance of the theme park, 45 minutes from Orlando, and will include a…
We've examined the on-board AMENITY KITS handed out to first and business class passengers flying 27 airlines around the world and of the airlines examined, five were given a full six-star rating: Qatar Airways, Emirates, Etihad, Japan Airlines and United Airlines. “For many of us, First Class and Business Class are a mysterious place and we wanted to get a better idea of what life is like in that rarefied…
Railway enthusiasts with a taste for nostalgia will soon be able to indulge their Orient Express fantasies after Hungarian Railways said it was launching a luxury Budapest-Tehran train service. With ticket prices of between 10,000 and 23,000 euros, guests will receive “five-star” treatment. “Iran has been opening up towards the west recently, so we thought the time was right to set this up,” Marcella…
Not all hotels live up to the same standards when it comes to cleanliness. According to a recent study, tourists are most likely to find an immaculate hotel room while traveling to TOKYO. In the cleanliness category, hotels in the Japanese capital scored an average rating of 8.93/10 on the website. Next in the ranking is Warsaw, Poland with an average rating of 8.76, just ahead of Seoul, South…
When you sit in economy class on a plane your leg space is limited. However, your seat has a button on the arm rest which allows it to tilt backwards giving you a few extra inches. But did you ever consider that when you recline your seat the person behind you feels contricted. Sometimes this can result in fist fights - as it happened recently in a United Airlines flight from Newark to Denver. A United…
One of the nightmares of traveling to the United States is the dreaded immigration and border control checks at the John F Kennedy Airport in New York and other points of entry to the United States. Etihad Airways has just taken that worry off. US Customs and Border Protection have set up a facility at Abu Dhabi Airport which makes you go through all formalities in Abu Dhabi. You go through the requisite…
Orlando is set to become home to the tallest roller coaster in the world, with plans to build a thrill ride equal to a 27-storey drop. Riders of The Skyscraper, set to be built at a sprawling retail and entertainment complex in Orlando called Skyplex, will experience a heart-pumping drop from 570 feet (174 meters) in the air on a vertical roller coaster that will also feature loops, dives, spirals and…
Hardcore fans of “The Lord of the Rings” are being courted in a new luxury travel package developed to mark the trilogy’s 60th anniversary and the upcoming release of the final cinematic installment of “The Hobbit.” The 11-day trip starts in Rotorua, where visitors will be taken on a guided tour of Hobbiton, or The Shire, the bucolic village characterized by Hobbit homes carved into the green hillside, and…
