January 10th, 2012
One&Only Palmilla is teeing off the New Year with the launch of the first International PGA TOUR Academy at its Jack Nicklaus Signature course. Starting in January 2012, novice and veteran golfers can stay, play and perfect their game with personalized instruction from the nation’s most prestigious source of programs.
Modeled after the flagship facility, the new PGA TOUR Academy at One&Only Palmilla features an unprecedented combination of technologies to help trainers focus on the four cornerstones of improvement; full swing and short game, club-fitting, fitness, and mental conditioning. The academy also uses the latest golf technology, V1 video analysis, to evaluate and diagnose swing errors and to create an individually tailored plan for each player. In addition, the new TOUR features a customized Golf for Life curriculum – a lifestyle program incorporating fitness, nutrition, and course management inspired by the location including spa treatments and tequila tastings.
Guests can select from the following menu of services: Two-, three- or five-day Golf schools and clinics for all levels of player, private, group, or family lessons with our world-class PGA and LPGA professionals, player development programs, including the World Golf Foundation’s new Get Golf Ready program, and short-game clinics guaranteed to reduce player scores.
Guests of One&Only Palmilla including Juniors 5-17 enjoy a 25% discount on PGA TOUR services. One&Only Palmilla’s TOUR Academy two-day Golf School starts at $495/per golfer.
The award-winning Palmilla Golf Club is divided into three challenging sections – the Arroyo Nine, the Mountain Nine, and the Ocean Nine – and offers breathtaking views of the surrounding Sea of Cortez. In addition to the 27 holes, the course features a practice area, a putting and chipping green, and practice bunkers, creating the perfect environment for game improvement.
For more information or reservations, please visit www.oneandonlyresorts.com.
January 6th, 2012
It’s the beginning of a new year, and a new you! If you’re resolving to be healthier this year, why not kick start your new fitness regimen on board an ultra-luxe cruise ship? Crystal Cruises is now offering complimentary Pilates and yoga programs on board both Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity on nine sailings each throughout the year. Travelers can attend several classes per day during their cruise, or arrange private one-on-one sessions of either interest (for a fee), as well as men- and couples-only yoga instruction.
Every Crystal Cruise offers a host of complimentary classes such as stretch, spinning, abs, circuit training/boot camp, and more. Crystal’s state-of-the-art fitness center, the only Feng Shui spa and gym at sea, features Kinesis strength training equipment, LifeFitness® treadmills with individual flat-screen TVs, cross trainers, recumbent and upright life cycles and steppers, free weights, and other strength-training equipment. Golf instruction, tennis, Nordic Pole walking, WALKVEST® Training, personal trainers, and a bevy of dietary choices offer the perfect opportunity to kick-start, or comply with, your healthy lifestyle.
Here’s to a happy and healthy 2012 aboard Crystal Cruises!
For more information on Crystal Cruises, visit www.crystalcruises.com
January 6th, 2012
While they may be far from any hockey rink, Anantara Resorts has still managed to score a “hat trick” in the Maldives! They have proudly achieved Green Globe Certification for three of its resorts – Anantara Dhigu Resort & Spa, Anantara Veli Resort & Spa, and Anantara Kihavah Villas. This recognition highlights Anantara’s sincere commitment to operating in an environmentally, socially and culturally responsible manner through a broad spectrum of initiatives in the Maldives, and is proudly the first operator in the Maldives to have all of its resorts Green Globe Certified.
Anantara’s Maldives resorts incorporate all aspects of Green Globe standards in their daily operation, primarily in environmental conservation such as water, energy, and waste management efficiency. The resorts also support their local communities and environments and promote the islands’ social and cultural heritage through resort and local island experiences.
Baa Atoll, the capital of the Maldives, is also recognized as a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO for its conservation, research, and development of their rich coral reef systems. With this, UNESCO acknowledges Baa Atoll’s “great potential for demonstrating sustainable development throughout the Maldives and the region, while relying on a green economy.”
For more information on Anantara and its environmental, social and cultural sustainability policies, please click here.
January 5th, 2012
Image courtesy of http://www.airlinesanddestinations.com.
Sydney, Australia, already voted one of the Top 10 Most Beautiful Cities at Night by TripAdvisor, becomes even more stunning this spring (or shall we say fall?). From May 25-June 11, Sydney Harbor will once again transform for Vivid Sydney, the largest celebration of light, music, and ideas in the Southern Hemisphere. For these 17 days, the Sydney Opera House sails will be illuminated by more than 50 light-art sculptures and large-scale installations and projections.
Catch the best views of the event at the newly redesigned Park Hyatt Sydney in the Rocks District, reopening in February. With its incredible views of the Sydney Harbor, you can have the best seat in the house in your own room!
The festival will also feature contemporary music performances at Vivid LIVE at the Sydney Opera House; international creative-industry conferences; and the new Vivid Ideas Exchange, a hub for creative ideas, discussion, and debate at the Museum of Contemporary Art. For more information on Vivid Sydney, visit www.vividsydney.com
For more information on Park Hyatt Sydney, click here.
January 5th, 2012
Beginning in the new year, Park Hyatt Masters of Food and Wine, a global series of seasonally- and locally-inspired culinary weekend workshops will make its official debut at all 26 Park Hyatts. The quarterly Park Hyatt Masters events will take place simultaneously at the turn of each season on the weekends of January 13-15, March 23-25, June 22-24 and September 21-23, 2012.
Through engaging and interactive programming, both resident and visiting gourmands and oenophiles can become ‘masters’ of regional cuisine. Park Hyatt chefs and sommeliers will lead masters-in-training in three hands-on ‘courses’ on the designated day:
In the Field: Interaction with artisanal food or beverage purveyors
In the Kitchen: Onsite cooking and prep workshops
In the Moment: Tips on service and presentation
Sample individual hotel itineraries during the January launch include:
- Park Hyatt Maldives will host a fishing excursion led by the hotel’s Executive Chef and resident Marine Biologist. The following day, guests will collect local produce on a nearby island and visit a local Maldivian home to learn about regional cooking techniques. After returning to the resort, they will enjoy a traditional Maldivian meal using their fresh ingredients.
- Park Hyatt Washington will host a local microbrew tasting with the brew masters at PortCity Brewing Company, a winter tea blend tasting with Certified Tea Master Rodrick Markus, and an intimate cooking class with Blue Duck Tavern Chef de Cuisine John Melfi, highlighting the season’s best ingredients.
- Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi will host an excursion to a local date farm. Following the excursion, guests are invited to a cooking class led by the culinary team where they will learn to prepare the region’s famous hot and cold mezza as well as delicious Arabic sweets.
- Park Hyatt Beaver Creek is partnering with ski legend Chris Anthony and Silver Oak Cellars to host a weekend of great skiing, delicious food, and decadent wine. Après-ski, enjoy tasty Colorado cuisine prepared by 8100 Mountainside Bar & Grill’s Executive Chef, Christian Apetz, and a wine tasting led by Silver Oaks.
January 4th, 2012
Every year for four days in February, Brazil’s Rio de Janiero is transformed from extraordinary to astonishing. Cars and people on the streets are replaced by enormous floats and elaborate costumes, and so the pre-Lent celebration of Carnival begins. It is by far Rio’s biggest event of the year, with street and beach parties, masked balls, and parades that make other Mardi Gras celebrations look like Memorial Day. Uber-luxe Crystal Cruises has made it possible for you to join in the celebration in some amazing ways! Join Crystal Serenity on her 14-day “Copacabana & Carnival” journey, departing February 6, 2011. While overnighting in Rio, Crystal Cruises can make special arrangements for fully escorted tours, including tickets for grandstand seating, front-row box suites, or luxury VIP sky box suites. Or if an up close and personal experience is more your style, get a costume and grab a spot in the actual parade alongside performers from one of the samba schools!
Miami to Rio de Janeiro, February 6-20 (14 days)
Calls: Miami, Florida; Barbados/Bridgetown, West Indies; Devil’s Island, French Guiana; Maceió, Brazil; Salvador, Brazil; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Book Now Fares (by February 28, 2012): Starting from $4,520 per person, fares includes round-trip air with transfer from select gateways (or a cruise-only credit); $500 per person “As You Wish” spending credit toward spa treatments, fine wines and spirits, Vintage Room experience, Crystal Adventures shore excursion, gratuities, Internet, and onboard boutique purchases.
December 15th, 2011
Red Fort in New Delhi (new-delhi-tour-india.blogspot.com)
Happy, Happy birthday to the city of New Delhi today! The foundation of the city was laid on December 15, 1911 by King George V and Queen Mary. Since that date, it has become one of the fastest growing cities in the world with a population of 19 million!
Stop by to give your best wishes and see how well it’s aged with Banyan Tours & Travels. The bespoke tour company can arrange an itinerary to see the city’s sights and many cultural offerings! Here’s to another prosperous 100!
December 14th, 2011
Crystal Cruises’ Crystal Serenity rescued two rowers this morning while en route to St. Maarten from the Canary Islands. The rowers’ small boat capsized 480 miles west of the Canary Islands after a large wave sunk their boat. Twenty-three-year-old Tom Fancett from the U.K. and Tom Sauer from the Netherlands, competitors in the 2011 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge Race to row across the Atlantic, were huddled on a tiny life raft for 10 hours before being picked up by Crystal Serenity at 6:00 a.m. local time. The ship was 120 nautical miles north of the rowers when it received the rescue assist call from the Falmouth (U.K.) Coast Guard.
Sailing at full speed to the boaters, Captain Økland maneuvered Serenity through the remaining Atlantic Challenge racers and worsening weather. With lookouts posted throughout the night, Crystal Serenity located the boaters’ flare five hours later, hoisting them directly onto the ship. After a checkup in the ship’s medical center, the survivors appear to be healthy. Crystal Serenity expects to arrive on schedule in St. Maarten on Sunday.
“Both individuals are in good spirits and, of course, very happy to be alive,” says Crystal’s President Gregg Michel. “We are so proud of the quick reaction and skilled seamanship of our crew that enabled them to save these brave men. While these young men hoped to cross the Atlantic in a most basic fashion, they are certainly experiencing the crossing in the most luxurious environment – an ironic, and heartwarming, turn of events.”
December 14th, 2011
Nantucket Island Resorts has launched a brand new weddings website (www.nantucketislandresortsweddings.com)!
Featuring The Wauwinet and the White Elephant, the new site includes tips from on-property and local area wedding planners, a list of preferred vendors, suggested activities for weddings guests, catering options, bridal package details, and more. The fully updated site is the perfect resource for any bride planning a wedding on Nantucket.
It’s true. Most people think of Nantucket as a summer destination, but the spring and fall seasons – or “secret seasons” as we like to say – are an amazing time of year to visit, and ideal for weddings. The weather is fine, the stores and restaurants are all open, and there is nary a crowd in sight. Not to mention, prices are low and the hotels aren’t completely sold out!
Here are just a couple of island-chic wedding ideas to whet your appetite:
For windswept romance…
With the magnificent view of the bay and Nantucket’s coastline as a backdrop, a Wauwinet wedding is an intimate and elegant affair. Say ‘I do’ on the private beach or on the raised Zen deck and enjoy Butter Poached Lobster and Parmesan Crusted Atlantic Halibut from TOPPER’S post-ceremony.
For preppy elegance…
The White Elephant offers equally stunning views of Nantucket Harbor. Opt for a ceremony on the lawn or get married downtown in one of the island’s quaint historic churches. Stroll along the cobblestone streets back to the hotel for a reception catered by Brant Point Grill and dance into the night with the glimmering lights of the harbor in the background.
December 13th, 2011
All scallops are not created equal, and Nantucket bay scallops’ sweet flavor and velvety texture has made these island natives a favorite among gourmands. Nantucket scallop season kicked off last month and is in full swing through the end of March. There has never been a better time to feast on the tiny delicacies as the icy waters of Nantucket Bay make them plumper and juicier.
Head to Nantucket this winter to taste the native seafood straight from the source. When you aren’t getting your scallop fix, cozy up at the historic Jared Coffin House, warm up with a beer at Cisco Brewery, and browse the quaint shops on Main Street.
Can’t make it to the island? Baked, sautéed, or seared, there are so many delicious ways to prepare scallops at home. Try this tasty recipe from Chef Fred Bisaillon of the White Elephant’s Brant Point Grill.
Scallop and Ham, with Crisp Parma and Arugula (Serves 4 people)
Ingredients:
1 lb. Nantucket bay scallops
¼ tsp. kosher Salt
¼ tsp. fresh ground black Pepper
4 oz. Parma ham cut into 2” squares
1 lemon cut into 4 wedges
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
½ lb. baby arugula
Directions:
- Season scallops with salt and pepper
- Heat pan on med/high heat, add olive oil, then place scallops in the pan
- Let scallops cook (without moving them) for 30-45 seconds
- Add butter to pan, and turn off heat.
- Move the scallops around the pan for another 15-20 seconds. They should be golden brown on one side, and butter should be brown but not burned.
- Spoon scallops and warmed oil/butter over the Arugula, and place Parma ham in the same pan for 20-30 seconds until warm, then place on top of scallops.
- Squeeze lemon wedges over the scallops