Fairmont Zimbali Resort opens in South Africa

by Tom Johansmeyer on

There’s a new Fairmont in South Africa. The 154-room Fairmont Zimbali Resort has just opened, not far from the Fairmont Zimbali lodge, a 76-room property along the beach. The resort is tucked away in a 700-hectare forest reserve and is only 15 minutes from the new King Shaka International Airport.

Around the resort, there’s plenty to do, from game-viewing expeditions and safaris to micro-light flying and surfing in the Indian Ocean. There are five outdoor swimming pools on the property, including freshwater and saltwater pools overlooking the ocean. And, duffers can look forward to an 18-hole golf course (under construction) designed by Gary Player. Soccer fans, of course, will appreciate the fact that the Fairmont Zimbali Resort is only a short drive from Durban, one of nine 2010 FIFA World Cup host cities.

The Zimbali is one of seven new Fairmont properties to open this year.

Cannes spa special in two nights

by Tom Johansmeyer on

You deserve to be treated like royalty. So, skip the local spa and head off to Cannes for a couple of nights. The 1835 White Palm Hotel has a great new package that provides just the quick fix you need to recharge.

The two-night “Summer Spa Extravaganza,” which is available through August 31, 2010, includes six treatments per person in the hotel’s 32,000 square foot Thermes Marines de Cannes spa, not to mention breakfast and dinner every day. The package includes four hydrotherapy treatments, a massage and an esthetic treatment. At approximately $1,100 a person, you can save close to 25 percent. And, you can add nights for around $550 each (and gain three additional spa treatments per night).

The 1835 White Palm Hotel is a new property, having been open only since May 2009. It connects to the Thermes Marines de Cannes via an underground tunnel, so you can get back to your room without encountering the stress of the outside world.

Daily Pampering: Brunch in Chicago Park Hyatt’s NoMI

by Grant Martin on

Seven floors above the bustling streets of Chicago’s Michigan Avenue lies one of the finest restaurants in the city: NoMI. Peering over Water Tower Plaza from a sweeping, glass-lined perch, there’s much more to enjoy at NoMI than the spectacular view. Chef Christophe David has created a brunch to best all brunches, complete with a dizzying array of stations, fares and dishes. Depending on the day, this can include a fresh, made to order sushi station, carving stations, every imaginable breakfast fare possible, scores of desserts, meats, cheeses and pasts — and that’s all before the main course.

That smoothie above? That’s the Care Smoothie, $16 worth of pureed raspberries, peaches, strawberries, aloe vera, soy milk, and ground almonds. And lo, it’s worth every drop.

Everyday brunch at NoMI runs $55 for adults and $27 for 12 and under children, while a typical holiday brunch can reach around $100 per person. For the view, quality and company, however, in Chicago it can’t be beat.

Abercrombie & Kent: Five cinema-cations around the world

by Tom Johansmeyer on

You may not have that look that Hollywood craves, but you still want to get close to the action, right? You want to touch the greatness that comes with being splashed across screens from coast to coast. Thanks to the latest concept from luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent, you don’t need talent. The latest “cinema-cation” packages send you to the locations where some of the hottest movies of the last year or so have been shot. There are enough options that you’ll definitely find something to match your personal style.

1. Sex and the City 2
After seeing this movie opening night on May 27, 2010, dash off to Morocco. A&K Group Managing Director George Morgan-Grenville was actually over there while movie was being filmed at the Amanjena Hotel and in the Djema el-Fna Square souks. The interiors and pool scenes, he says, were shot at the soon-to-open Mandarin Oriental Jnan Rahma and Palmeraie over in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. Suggests Morgan Grenvile: “Take a camel ride at sunset and spend the night under the stars in a Bedouin-style tented camp surrounded by the largest sand dunes in the world.”

2. Eat , Pray, Love
Before going to see Eat, Pray, Love on August 13, 2010, check out the treasures of Northern India with this A&K Journey for Women. You’ll take apersonal journey with A&K guide Shagun Mohan, who says, “We spend time with local women at a bead-making workshop in the holy city of Varanasi, witness a spiritual Aarti ceremony on the Ganges at night, see the Taj Mahal at both sunrise and sunset, and visit Khajuraho’s Hindu temples. This kind of journey is a life-changing experience for almost anyone.” 3. Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallow Part 1
Families can get a feel for Harry Potter‘s Great Britain ahead of the November 19, 2010 opening with the A&K Tailor Made Magical Great Britain package. According to Duncan Hambidge of A&K Europe, who has visited may Harry Potter film spots with his family, “One highlight for children is the Great Hall at Oxford University, Hogwart’s Dining Room. Another favorite is crossing the dramatic Glenfinnian Viaduct in the Western Highlands aboard The Royal Scotsman, the route taken by the Hogwart’s Express train in the Chambers of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban and The Goblet of Fire.

4. The Hurt Locker
Last year’s Academy Award winner for Best Picture, The Hurt Locker captured the attention of audiences across the United States. A&K suggests following in the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia if you’re looking for travel inspired by this movie. The A&K Extreme Adventures Jordan package is the way to go, led by Raed Omar Saleem.

Saleem’s been leading thrill-seeking visitors through Jordan since 1997 and recalls from a recent excursion, “In the middle of nowhere, we pitch our tents and gather around the campfire for dinner, recalling the hikes through ancient cities, the 4X4 treks and mountain climbs that brought us here. Without speaking of it, we all share the same sense of awe, the palpable sense that time passes through this desert yet barely seems to touch it. The moon-like landscape stretches to the mountains, bannered by multicolored striations in the rock. The smooth reddish sand is devoid of stones, and our camels’ toes rouse no dust as they thudded in their steady pace. There is no dust here in the valley of Wadi Rum, once a sea basin and later the place T.E. Lawrence found his calling. That is the beauty of the desert: it is nothing and everything.”

5. Creation: The True Story of Charles Darwin
Trace the history of life with the A&K Wonders of the Galapagos trip. Says A&K’s Ian Mackinnon, “The islands of the Galapagos offer an opportunity to interact with the natural world to a degree that’s virtually impossible anywhere else.”

He suggests, “Swim and snorkel with sea lions and turtles. Stroll past colonies of penguins and blue-footed boobies. Imagine yourself as Charles Darwin seeing a tortoise for the first time. Every island is unique; it’s no wonder Darwin was changed by his time there.”

I suggest: “Bring a creationist and ask constantly if he thinks dinosaurs walked the earth 5,000 years ago. Point and laugh.”

Paws Up Resort Deal: Celebrate Glamping

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The Resort at Paws Up has reason to celebrate. It’s celebrating its fifth birthday and the opening of its third luxury tented camp, and these milestones, of course, come with a reason for you to head out to Montana to check the place out for yourself. There’s a five-night, all-inclusive package for $2,413 a night that can’t be missed.

In addition to staying in a two-bedroom tent at the new Creekside Camp (for a family of four), you’ll have your choice of five wilderness activities, with a half-day activity per person per day for four days. The hot air balloon ride will take you high enough to see the entire 37,000 acre resort, and back on the ground, you’ll get to take one sporting clays lesson at the five-stand Shooting Club at Paws Up.

Logistically, there’s no reason to sweat: airport transportation and airport transfers are included. And, for $3,100 a night, you can upgrade to a 1,900-square foot Big Timber Home. This deal is available from July 1, 2010 through September 30, 2010.