Four hotel deals in France this winter

by Tom Johansmeyer on
Go to Europe this winter! Bessé Signature Hotels, a collection of some of France‘s most unique contemporary hotels, has three deals that make travel to this inspiring corner of the world easier than ever. At discounts of up to 35 percent, it’s going to be hard to stay home.

At Domaine de la Bretesche, take advantage of the “Winter Promotion” rate to enjoy Brittany for around $280 a night. La Bretesche is a Relais & Chateau property with only 32 rooms and suites wrapped in a fortified 15th century estate. While you’re there, dine at Montaigu, a Michelin-starred restaurant, get rubbed down at the Spa de la Cour Carree and play 18 holes surrounded by a century old forest.

At Hotel Edouard 7 in Paris, start every excursion into the city from avenue de l’Opera, not far from the Louvre and Place Vendome. The latest special involves a “currency guarantee”: book at $399 a night through December 15, 2009, and don’t worry about any swings in the euro. Normally, average euro-denominated rate for this hotel is €345 (which comes out to $512).

The Hotel Bel-Ami is in Paris’ St Germain-des-pres district and is also offering a dollar-denominated guarantee. Book for $395 a night through the end of 2010 to get a double superior room and breakfast daily.

Crash for a night or two at the Hotel Jules in Paris by December 28, 2009, you can save 20 percent and enjoy a complimentary buffet breakfast … for just €160. And, you can add a third night to your stay for only €134.

Airborne booze fueling Brit air rage to new heights

by Scott Carmichael on

It isn’t really a stereotype if it is true – and the stereotype that British air passengers are a bunch of drunken hooligans doesn’t really sound untrue when you read the latest statistics.

In the past 12 months, in-air rage incidents on UK carriers rose 30 percent, and alcohol played a very important part. Almost 3,500 incidents were recorded as “significant”, and 44 were “serious”.

Incidents varied from smoking, to acts of violence. Of the 44 serious incidents, 29 of them involved passengers being restrained, and in 13 incidents, the plane had to be diverted.

37% of the incidents were booze fueled and men are involved 73 percent of the time. The figures are pretty bad, but the chance of being involved in an air-rage incident in a UK carrier is still just one in 24,000.

Once again, it raises the question what is more important to airlines and airports – passenger safety, or making money off alcohol sales?

British backpackers spreading sexually transmitted diseases

by Sean McLachlan on

“No sex please, we’re British.”

That old joke has been proven wrong by a new medical study that found British backpackers in Australia are picking up more than just short-term partners; they’re picking up infections that they spread around Australia and back home.

A survey of 1,008 backpackers at youth hostels in Sydney and Cairns revealed that 24 percent of British backpackers had unprotected sex with multiple partners, meaning 24 percent of British backpackers are total idiots. About half of those interviewed reported inconsistent condom use. The report found that even those who arrived with a partner were getting in on the act, with almost 20 percent them hopping into bed with someone else.

Australia receives an influx of almost 700,000 Britons a year, many of them backpackers, and while the study did not specifically check for Sexually Transmitted Diseases (called Sexually Transmitted Infections by those randy Brits) it doesn’t take a medical expert to put two and two together. In fact, the UK government last year reported that chlamydia, genital herpes, and genital warts are at an all-time high, with the 16-24 age group being the most affected.

Please, guys, wrap your John Thomas. And ladies, make the guys wrap their John Thomas. If you’re British, why not use a Big Ben condom like the one shown here? It’s a great way to inject some of your national culture into the local population.

Gatwick Airport to be sold, modernized

by Sean McLachlan on

This week’s announcement by the British Airports Authority that it will sell London’s Gatwick Airport has everyone wondering about the future of the city’s second busiest hub.

The BAA, owned by the Spanish group Ferrovial, sold Gatwick for £1.5 billion ($2.49 billion) to Global Infrastructure Partners, owned by Credit Suisse and General Electric. The deal comes after the UK government decided the BAA had a near monopoly and ordered it to sell Gatwick and Stansted, both serving London, as well as either Glasgow or Edinburgh airports.

BAA also owns Heathrow, London’s busiest airport, and is expected to use some of the money for that airport’s infrastructure, but most of it will be go towards reducing a staggering pile of debt amounting to almost £10 billion ($16.6 billion).

What this means for travelers is not yet clear. The new owners have stated they plan to modernize Gatwick, and have expressed interest in expanding the north terminal and adding a second runway. Gatwick is the world’s busiest single-runway airport, serving more than 32 million passengers last year. An agreement with local residents has stopped any additional runways until 2019, but now that there’s a new company in the cockpit, that may change. A new runway could enable Gatwick to serve up to 80 million passengers a year, more than Heathrow. The situation will become clearer in early December when Global Infrastructure Partners officially takes over.

London opens its first gay tourist office

by Scott Carmichael on

Following the trend of other European cities, London recently opened the doors of its first gay tourist office.

The office is located at 30 Lisle Street, and offers LGBT specific information, as well as ticketing services for London attractions.

According to centre (note the UK spelling) director Shaun Newport, London has the best LGBT life in the world, and the office is eager to show that to local, national and international visitors.

Amsterdam opened its first gay tourist information center last month, and LGBT tourists planning to visit the Dutch capital can order a special gay Amsterdam information kit for free.