Inside Zurich’s finest hotel, Baur au Lac

by Grant Martin on

Zurich is famous as the financial and cultural capital of Switzerland, a vibrant metropolis of over 1.6 million residents, a city full of sharply intelligent, extremely focused, well-dressed people. It’s a clean, refreshing environment, with culture and class balanced perfectly to create the ideal city and tourist destination.

Baur au Lac, arguably the best hotel in the city, reflects these traits perfectly. A boutique, five star member of the Leading Hotels of the World, Baur au Lac (literally, Baur hotel on the Lake) is nestled at the foot of the designer shopping district among the waterfront, canals and lush green parks of Zurich. And with a series of recent renovations, they’ve catapulted to the front of technology, style and culture.

Externally, the first thing that a visitor might notice when visiting Baur au Lac is the Rolls Royce Phantom. This year’s model, it’s just one in a fleet of several luxury vehicles at the hotel’s disposal for picking up guests at the airport or for running errands around to city. And it’s the sort of opulence that guest can used to during their stay.

%Gallery-73743%Before one even enters the proper hotel, it’s best to take a peek into the remodeled Terrasse, a sprawling, stone patio with covered, outdoor seating for light snacks, a full bar and a commanding view over the park just in front of the property. This is a great place for a business lunch, snack before going out into the city or evening beverage before a night out on the town, complete with ample shade, bustling waitstaff and a cool atmosphere.

The adjacent Pavillion Restaurant has also been remodeled and features the finest, modern Mediterranean fare.

Internally, Baur au Lac has just finished a massive remodel to reflect today’s style and culture. It’s difficult to tell from the 1844 architecture outside and the awe that one feels when stepping into the main lobby, but each room reflects all of the current state of the art in hotel quality, complete with flat screen televisions, sprawling, cavernous bathrooms and butler service on every floor.

Specific to this remodel, are the stunning new suites. This year, Baur au Lac finished an extensive remodel to create 22 of them, each an outstanding model of contemporary design and aesthetic. For those in the more traditional frame of mind, classic suites are still available.

You can read more about the hotel at their extensive website, where bookings and other photos of the new suites are available.

Dive the Great Wall of China with Urbane Nomads

by Katie Hammel on

Did you know that parts of the Great Wall of China are underwater? Yeah, me neither. But according to Urban Daddy, one particular section of the wall has been submerged under a lake since the 1980’s. And now a luxury tour company called Urbane Nomads is offering the first-ever guided diving trips to the hard-to-reach spot.

Guides will carry your gear to the submerged portion of the Wall and direct you to the coolest underwater spots, where you’ll see “Ming-era stone carvings, some intricate tunnels and a tight-squeeze guard tower”. The “Diving the Great Wall” package includes two dives at the site plus more exclusive activities like a guided tour to the unrestored parts of the Forbidden City, usually off-limits to tourists.

The group at Urbane Nomads calls themselves “travel mixologists” creating unique itineraries that customers can tweak according to their preferences while still keeping the main ingredients. There’s definitely an emphasis on luxury here, though the company claims that, unlike other high-end tour operators, their tours seek to connect visitors with the local culture (in a way that is not staged or touristy) rather than isolating them from it. In addition to China, they offer tours to over 30 destinations, including Spain, South Africa, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Oman, Thailand, Turkey, Laos, Morocco, and Argentina.

Destination spas hard up for guests, slashing prices

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Upscale spas may not be accustomed to offering deep discounts, but the current economic situation has left them little choice. As a result, you’ll be able to take advantage of some fantastic deals and go to spas that might be out of reach otherwise. Live like the wealthy (used to) for a few days.

For the top shops in the spa business, the International Spa Association (ISPA) says that visits are down and shorter, and the people who are coming are spending less. Day spa trips are becoming more common than destination alternatives, which has kicked the industry into “survival mode.”

To bring more spa-regulars – and first-timers – in the door, several spas around the country are going to extraordinary lengths. The Lake Austin Spa Resort in Texas is offering a third and fourth night free for guests booking two nights (arriving on Sunday). Reservations must be made before October 15, 2009 for trips to be taken by the end of the year. Miraval Resort, outside Tucson, Arizona, has a $275 daily special (per person) through October 14 that includes almost everything (except spa treatments and taxes). And, Canyon Ranch, also near Tucson, is offering 15 percent off an all-inclusive package for first-time guests visiting by December 23. Visit between November 29 and December 23, and you could pick up a 30 percent discount.

Looking to make your first destination spa trip? Now is clearly the time to do it.

Sanctuary Swala reopens in Tanzania

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The Sanctuary Swala Camp has just reopened in Tanzania, and the luxury destination is ready for guests. The $1.5 million rebuild has updated the retreat’s 12 canvas pavilions with covered open spaces, large living areas and en suite bathrooms. The indoor and outdoor showers sound particularly enticing to me. But, the best part is probably the view from the large private lounge decks, where you can check out a watering hole that features lions, leopards and bull elephants. If you’re a junkie for exotic nature, this should become the next destination on your itinerary.

Sanctuary Swala is located in a secluded corner of Tarangire National Park, which despite the attractions, is among the least visited in Africa. The high concentrations of unusual animals is certainly a draw, but this is also a great place to hide from the world for a while, and it’ll make for great water-cooler conversations upon your return.

To celebrate the reopening, Sanctuary Swala has a couple of deals – hey, if you’re going to go to Tanzania, it should be made as easy as possible. Book two nights, and the third is free, as long as you travel by November 30, 2009. If you can’t make that timeframe, the camp is holding its 2009 rates through 2010, with Game Package Rates starting at $440 per person per night (all inclusive).

Maldives President proposes green tax for tourists

by Katie Hammel on

The Maldives, an archipelago of over 1000 islands in the Indian Ocean known for their stunning beauty and expensive, luxurious resorts, aren’t exactly cheap to visit. And they aren’t about to get any cheaper. The President of the Maldives has proposed a $3 per day “green tax” on tourists.

The tax would help fund the President’s plans for fighting climate change and for making the Maldives a carbon-neutral country within the next decade. He has a vested interest in stopping global warming – the Maldives are the lowest-lying islands on the planet, with an average elevation of only 7 feet above sea level, and it is estimated that they could be completely submerged by rising sea levels within the next ten years.

With an average of 700,000 visitors, who each stay around three days, visiting the Maldives annually, the tax could provide the country with over $6 million per year for environmental initiatives. With most resorts in the Maldives costing $500 (or much more) per night, $3 per person, per day is a small price to pay to help protect this vulnerable country from the dangers of climate change.