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2,506 reports
Google has launched a new search option in the US that will lead users directly to a restaurant’s menu listing. The new feature takes users straight to a restaurant’s menu, which is presented under different headings such as appetizers, entrees, and desserts at the top of the search page. Prices are also listed. However, users must be specific when making the request and type the words “show me the…
Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o bagged an Oscar Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Steve McQueen's '12 Years a Slave'. Kenya has in the past featured in Oscar winning movies, shot on location like 'Out of Africa' but never before has a Kenyan actress or actor won the film world's most coveted prize. This is a big destination boost that undoubtably enhances Kenya's presence on the global map.…
Abu Dhabi’s pavilion at this year’s ITB Berlin – one of the world’s top B2B travel shows which runs in the German capital from March 5-9 – will showcase three key destinations in one emirate and almost 70 product lines. “It’s our strongest ITB delegation to date which keenly reflects the growth in the destination’s supplier base, experience line up and product portfolio,” explained Mubarak Al Nuaimi,…
Jamie Oliver has been trying to speak Cantonese to promote his new restaurant in Hong Kong – and it didn’t go entirely to plan. Making a stab at the local Chinese dialect in a light-hearted YouTube video, he announces: “I will open an amazing Italian submarine.” He also promises that the restaurant will be “very slippery”, before collapsing into giggles. Like other tonal languages, Cantonese can…
Khiri Travel, a travel company specializing in Southeast Asian tours, is offering travelers a chance to stay in a luxury tent near the Khmer temples of Banteay Chhmar, located in Northwestern Cambodia. The tour operator has signed agreements with the local population to pitch two luxury tents near the temple ruins for tourists. Wholly involved in the project, local villagers welcome guests upon their…
The soaring cost of cars and utilities as well as a strong currency have made Singapore the world’s most expensive city, toppling Tokyo from the top spot. Tokyo‘s weakening yen saw it slide to sixth place, in the 2014 Worldwide Cost of Living survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). “Singapore’s rising price prominence has been steady rather than spectacular,” said a report accompanying the…
Figures just released by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority show that 276,970 guests checked into the emirate’s accommodation last January – a 36 per cent rise on January 2013. In all the arrivals delivered 855,651 guest nights which is an increase of 26 per cent on the same month-by-month comparison. Occupancy for the month rose to 77 per cent - which was up ten per cent on January last year and…
With 200 high-rise towers planned for London over the next 20 years to meet the city’s growing population, London‘s skyline is undergoing rapid changes. A new exhibition examining this transformation has been announced for April by New London Architecture, London’s Centre for the Built Environment. London’s Growing… Up! will explore the transformation of the cityscape since the introduction of…
The Cromwell boutique hotel in Las Vegas is now taking reservations for stays as of May 21. The star attraction of the hotel is the opening of celebrity Chef Giada De Laurentiis first rstaurant, Giada, serving tradional Italian dishes. The open kitchen concept will also allow guests to watch as chefs prepare fresh pasta, breads and desserts, while the restaurant will bring the first antipasto station…
A Dubai restaurant has installed interactive tables that allow guests to swipe through the menu, update their Facebook status and even order a taxi home. At Ebony Interactive Restaurant in Dubai, interaction with wait staff is minimal, as diners can browse the digital menu, place their order, and watch chefs prepare their meal via ‘chef cams’ by using the touchscreen tabletops. The interactive tables…
On the glitziest night of the year, those celebrities who do deign to eat will sip shots of carrot orange gazpacho and nibble on crispy lobster dumplings and popcorn-topped panna cotta. Those are among some of the 50 dishes that will be on offer at the Oscar night from the chef known as the caterer to the stars, Wolfgang Puck. This year’s menu includes crispy lobster shrimp dumplings with five spice,…
The new Shangri-La at the Shard will open on May 6, with the luxury hotel boasting unmatched views of London from the city’s most striking skyscraper. As the tallest hotel in Western Europe and the first high-rise hotel in London, the Shangri-La occupies levels 34 to 52 of the 72-storey Shard. Guests will be escorted in a high-speed elevator from the hotel’s dedicated entrance on St. Thomas Street to…
Brands like the Mandarin Oriental and Clinique La Prairie were among the big winners at an awards night honoring the best in luxury spa and wellness destinations around the world. If you’re planning a spa vacation abroad, take cues from the results of the World Spa & Wellness Awards 2014 presented in London this week, where the industry handed out 11 awards that singled out the best regional hotel and spa…
San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna have published their list of the top 50 restaurants in Asia for 2014, with top honors going to David Thompson, the chef of Nahm in Bangkok, Thailand. Lauded for reviving centuries-old Thai recipes with a contemporary and sophisticated flair, chef David Thompson doesn’t shy away from the punchy, bold flavors that characterize Thai cuisine — garlic, shrimp paste, chilies and…
Running a new brand as part of their development strategy in the Middle East, Jannah Hotels & Resorts will announce at the ITB Berlin 2014 their upcoming Al-Seef resort in Abu Dhabi. Nehme Darwiche, Jannah Hotels & Resorts CEO, said the resort would give a strong push to the tourism sector in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The resort features 213 new suites, three swimming pools, a variety of…
Put up by Ninja Academy, this fake subway station seems to have taken the place of the Cordusio station in Milan, Italy. This 3D installation looks like it is made out of LEGO bricks and promotes the release of The LEGO Movie. Next to it is Emmett, the movie’s protagonist—he is holding a sign that says, “Save Creativity”. This mysterious station popped up in the middle of the night—we wonder if…
Rose Rock Group, a Rockefeller family-backed alternative investment management firm, will help develop a $2.5 billion residential and hotel project on the south-central coast of Vietnam. The Vung Ro Bay development covering 200,000 square meters (2.15 million square feet) will be developed with Vung Ro Petroleum Co., a Tuy Hoa, Phu Yen province-based oil company. The Vung Ro Bay development enclave…
Architecture firm goCstudio is planning to launch a floating sauna on Lake Washington, Seattle, later this year. The WA Sauna, a self-styled ‘urban escape’, will be constructed from 55 gallon floatation barrels held in place by an aluminum frame and most likely anchored during the day. The sauna will be accessed by kayak. The miniature resort will offer an 8 x 8 foot sauna in addition to a platform…
