Category: Asia

What do Emma Watson, Katie Holmes, Jerry Seinfeld, Barbara Streisand and Leonard Bernstein have in common with Travel Glitter’s own Monica Poling?

Maybe not that much, but they were all born in the Year of the Horse.

Which means, according to online tour operator www.travelchinaguide.com, they all share the following characteristics: they are cheerful, perceptive, talented, and they can sometimes talk too much. Good news for parents expecting a baby in 2014, which heads into the Year of the Green Horse on Feb. 4, 2014.

For an auspicious start to the year, consider the “Gallop into Prosperity” package at Four Seasons Hotel Singapore.

• 88 SGD credit on food and beverage or spa treatments
• a complimentary standard internet plan for up to 2 devices
• Luxurious accommodation across all room categories

Tucked into the exclusive tree-lined Orchard Boulevard, known as the golden mile of shopping, Four Seasons Hotel Singapore is just steps away from the city’s top shopping, entertainment and businesses.

Visitors can start off the new year right by utilizing the services of the Four Seasons concierge desk. The multilingual team can recommend the latest dining and nightlife hot spots and the best retail establishments and pop-up boutiques.

Guests can also purchase discount tickets at special rates for a select list of attractions that include the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Safari, Jurong Bird Park, Singapore Flyer and Universal Studios Singapore.

Read more : Manta Ray Research Odyessey with Four Seasons Explorer

Four Seasons Hotel Singapore
www.fourseasons.com/Singapore/

Read more about Year of the Horse and Chinese New Year Celebrations throughout China.

In a new program for 2014, guests of the Four Seasons Resort Maldives can join a seven-night research expedition studying the Maldives most fascinating residents, manta rays and whale sharks.

Developed in conjunction with The Manta Trust – the world’s leading manta ray charity – and escorted by its founder and world-renowned manta expert Guy Stevens, two expeditions will immerse guests in the trust’s research and conservation efforts.

The expeditions will run August 21–28 and September 11–18, 2014, dates identified by The Manta Trust as being peak sighting periods due to the southwest currents moving large quantities of plankton through the Baa and Ari Atolls, attracting manta rays and whale sharks from all over the Maldivian Archipelago.

With manta rays and whale sharks feeding at the surface of the ocean, each expedition is suitable for divers and non-divers alike.

All expedition participants will be encouraged to engage in every aspect of the conservation experience: learning how to free dive and take ID photos; contributing to data collection; helping record critical environmental information; participating in workshops and even naming any mantas new to the Trust’s database.

Hosted aboard the Maldives’ fastest and most luxurious liveaboard, Four Seasons Explorer, each expedition also offers the excitement of a once-in-a-lifetime cruise experience. 

Aside from daily gentle giants studies, participants will enjoy effortless access to a side of the Maldives rarely experienced by tourists, where remote snorkel hotspots, secluded cultural experiences, isolated craft villages visits, deserted sandbank barbecues, castaway beach massages, uncrowded water sports and spectacular sunrises and sunsets are an enchanting daily occurrence.

“The Maldives is one of the best places in the world to study these fascinating creatures, due to its large manta ray and whale shark populations, and there’s no finer vessel than Four Seasons Explorer to embark on that journey,” said Manta Trust’s Founder and Chief Executive Guy Stevens.

“Education is the most important step in achieving environmental protection, but we hope these expeditions also showcase the fun and excitement that can be experienced along the way.”

The program starts at $5,600.00 per person, with accommodation in the Explorer Suite starting from $10,800.00 per person. Rates include transfers, full board and three dives/snorkelling excursions per day.

Read more : Four Seasons to Expand to South Korea

Four Seasons Explorer
www.fourseasons.com

Four Seasons Resort Maldives
960.66 00 888
www.fourseasons.com

No doubt Tokyo is hub for art, both contemporary and ancient. Need a primer into the city’s vibrant arts scene?

Customized excursions, led by Japan’s leading art experts, are now part of a new package, Transcendent Tokyo, offered by the Palace Hotel Tokyo.

Contemporary architecture lovers might visit the iconic Fuji TV building in Tokyo’s Odaiba neighborhood with the Palace Hotel Tokyo’s new Transcendent Tokyo package // (c) 2014 Guilhem Vellut / Flickr.com

Members of  Blouin ARTINFO’s Japan bureau will consult with guests prior to their arrival to order to design full- and half-day art tours tailored to their interests.

Each tour will be led by a Blouin ARTINFO editor with expertise in the relevant genre or period, presenting travelers with the rare opportunity to discover Tokyo’s impressive, yet hard-to-navigate art scene with ease.

The Palace Hotel Tokyo, which opened in May 2012 and was recently named an Official Partner Hotel of Art Fair Tokyo 2014, is committed to promoting Japan’s arts and culture.

Transcendent Tokyo is the first in a series of Palatial Pursuits packages that will be offered by the hotel.

“While Tokyo is widely accessible, particularly for the intrepid, this city and its arts can be plumbed to great and especially meaningful depths when explored with seasoned experts,” said executive director and general manager Masaru Watanabe.

In addition to guests’ choice of a privately guided four- or eight-hour art tour, the Transcendent Tokyo package includes three nights’ accommodation in a choice of a Deluxe Room with Balcony, Club Deluxe Room with Balcony,  or Executive Suite, and daily buffet breakfast at the hotel’s moat-side, all-day dining outpost Grand Kitchen.

Guests who book the package will also receive a copy of The Art of Palace Hotel Tokyo book, a compendium of the hotel’s extensive art collection, which consists of more than 1,000 pieces. Package rates start at JPY 198,000 for Deluxe Rooms and JPY 330,000 for Executive Suites and are bookable for single or double occupancy.

Read more: Raffles Hainan to Open in September 2013

Transcendent Tokyo
http://en.palacehoteltokyo.com/special_offers

Blouin ArtInfo Tokyo
www.blouinartinfo.com/travel/popular-cities/Tokyo

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has announced it will open its first property in Korea. Construction is already underway on the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, which is projected to open in May 2015.

Four Seasons Hotel Seoul will open in the centrally located Sejongro Square, a major business district in Seoul, where financial institutions, government offices, shopping venues, and historic sites are located.

The 25-story Four Seasons Hotel Seoul will feature 317 luxury guest rooms that are being designed to meet the needs of international executives travelling to Korea. The hotel will also include top quality restaurants, spacious meeting rooms, and a state-of-the-art fitness center.

Internationally renowned interior designers including LTW, AvroKO and AFSO are finalizing designs, and local architect Heerim, local interior designers Kesson, and general contractor Daelim Industrial are also brining their expertise to the project.

“Despite its rapidly developing economy, supply of luxury hotels in Korea has been limited. Recognizing the vast potential in this market, we have been exploring growth opportunities here for many years,” said Chris Hart, President Hotel Operations, Asia Pacific at Four Seasons. “We are confident that Four Seasons Hotel Seoul will change the face of luxury hospitality in Korea.”

The project is being developed in partnership with Mirae Asset Global Investments, a market leader in real estate investment in Korea.

“As the first top-tier luxury branded hotel in Korea, the superior product and services of Four Seasons will elevate the hospitality market in Korea and attract a new segment of global luxury travellers,” says Mr. Sang-Kee Jeong, Vice Chairman of Mirae Asset Global Investments. “We anticipate that the introduction of Four Seasons will be a catalyst for the Korean luxury market.”

Read more : Oberoi Group Welcomes Oberoi, Dubai

The Oberoi Group has announced the opening of The Oberoi, Dubai, the group’s first property in the United Arab Emirates.

Overlooking the iconic Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, the Oberoi, Dubai features 252 rooms and suites, all with floor-to-ceiling windows which afford spectacular views of the city’s skyline.

The hotel enjoys a central location and is a few minutes’ drive from downtown Dubai and the Dubai Mall.

Said Mr. Karim Bizid, General Manager of The Oberoi, Dubai, “With the opening of The Oberoi, Dubai we offer discerning business and leisure travelers an oasis of tranquility with service which is warm, caring and personalized.

We are confident that The Oberoi, Dubai will add tangible value to the hospitality sector in the United Arab Emirates.”

The Oberoi, Dubai features seamless in-room check in, 24 hour butler service and Les Clefs d’Or concierge services.

Culinary highlights at The Oberoi, Dubai include an array of culinary options, including Umai, a contemporary Pan Asian restaurant, Nine-One, an all-day dining restaurant, which offers the best of world cuisine and Ananta, an Indian specialty restaurant.

In keeping with the Group’s commitment to service, key team members at The Oberoi, Dubai have been trained at The Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development.

Founded in 1934, The Oberoi Group operates 30 five-star hotels, a Nile cruiser and a motor vessel in the backwaters of Kerala under the luxury ‘Oberoi’ and five-star ‘Trident’ brands in several countries.

Read more : Sri Lanka to Welcome Second Centara Resort

The Oberoi, Dubai
www.oberoihotels.com

Centara Hotels & Resorts will open Centara Ceysands Resort& Spa, its second resort in Sri Lanka, in the spring of 2014.

Located on the Bentota Peninsula, on the south side of the island, with the Bentota River on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other, the new resort will be accessible by a five-minute ferry ride.

“Bentota is one of the most exciting new destinations in Sri Lanka, and our two resorts give us a very significant profile in this strong, growing market,” said Chris Bailey, Centara Hotels & Resorts’ senior vice president for sales and marketing.

“Centara Ceysands Resort& Spa is an outstanding property that will have both a romantic appeal for couples and lots of leisure attractions for families.”

“The Bentota Peninsula offers a unique holiday experience. There is the unspoiled charm of the river with its mangroves and wildlife; the classic golden tropical beach with calm seas and all kinds of water sports to enjoy, and of course, there is all the colour and history of Sri Lanka.”

The resort has 165 rooms and suites, including family residences with bunk beds for the children. All accommodations feature views of the river or the beach, and the ocean.

Restaurant facilities will include Café Bem, serving Sri Lankan and international cuisines along with buffets; 360 Seafood, which specialises in locally sourced seafood; and Ceylon Club, which will have a gourmet selection of Ceylon teas.

With its pleasure launch Wayz, the resort will also offer dinner cruises along the Bentota River.

Spa Cenvaree will offer traditional Sri Lankan and Indian treatments along with its range of signature Thai therapies.  There is a fitness center, an oceanfront swimming pool with Jacuzzi and a children’s pool, a water sports center, and a Kids’ Club with separate zones for the youngsters and teens.

The resort is just a few minutes from Aluthgama railway station, and Colombo can be reached in less than two hours by car. Colombo Bendaranaike International Airport is 100 kilometers away from the resort.

Centara Hotels & Resorts, a leading operator of hotels in Thailand, features 47 deluxe and first-class properties in all the major tourist destinations in Thailand.

Additionally, the company owns or operates 18 resorts in the Maldives, Vietnam, Shanghai, Bali, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Mauritius Indian Ocean, and Ethiopia. The Centara Passikudah Resort & Spa was Centara’s first property in Sri Lanka.

Read more: Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum Opens in Turkey

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has recently opened their newest luxury resort, Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum in Turkey.

Located on a 60-hectare waterfront site on the northern side of the Turkish peninsula, at Cennet Koyu (Paradise Bay), the property is surrounded by ancient olive groves and pine trees, and overlooks the Aegean Sea.

The resort’s 109 guestrooms and suites are the largest accommodations in the area, ranging from 72 to 145 square meters. All rooms are flooded with natural light, and most have terraces with private dining areas and sundecks. Each suite features a plunge pool and outdoor shower set in private gardens with spectacular views.

Ten restaurants and bars showcase innovative and gastronomic cuisine, while the spa introduces Mandarin Oriental Group’s award-winning, holistic signature treatments and a range of wellness programs. In addition, the resort features two sandy beaches and extensive leisure facilities.

“We are delighted to introduce Mandarin Oriental’s renowned hospitality to Turkey,” said Christoph Mares, Executive Vice-President, Operations for Europe, Middle East, Africa and India. “Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum … offers guests stylish accommodation and a range of impeccable facilities, all of which are underpinned by Mandarin Oriental’s legendary service.”

Read more : Centara Grand Villas Nusa Dua Bali Opens in Bali

Discover Paradise Bay Special Offer

In celebration of its opening, the property is offering guests the Discover Paradise Bay special offer, which includes three nights’ accommodation in a guestroom, suite or villa, and a daily dining or spa credit of 150 euros per room or 300 euros per one-bedroom suite or villa

Rates start from 595 euros, and the offer is valid through Dec. 31, 2014.

Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum
www.mandarinoriental.com/bodrum

Centara Grand Villas Nusa Dua Bali, located on the southern tip of Bali, has opened for business. The property, operated by Thailand’s Centara Hotels & Resorts, is the company’s first five-star villa resort in Bali.

“We are very proud indeed to be opening Centara Grand Villas Nusa Dua Bali, which is designed as a very exclusive and secluded resort,” says Thirayuth Chirathivat, CEO of Centara Hotels & Resorts. “Bali holds enormous potential for Centara, and is a great strategic destination for us to continue our path of overseas expansion.”

Located at Nusa Dua, in an ocean resort complex established by the Bali Tourism Development Corporation, the resort features 14 independent pool villas, which offer a choice of one, two or three bedrooms and are set in an extensive garden area that provides privacy for guests.

The villas are designed in Peranakan style with spacious interiors, marble floors, and the rich tones of teak and rosewood furnishings.  Each has its private swimming pool complete with a large sundeck, loungers and a pool shower.

The one-bedroom luxury pool villas encompass 225 square meters, with an airy living and dining area flanked by an expansive garden with a private pool and outdoor shower.

At 350 square meters, the two-bedroom luxury pool villas can accommodate families and groups of up to four adults and three children.

Each villa features two spacious bedrooms and two bathrooms with a shower and freestanding bathtub or Jacuzzi. The living and dining areas open onto a private garden with a pool.

The three-bedroom luxury pool villas provide more than 680 square meters of total living space and are suitable for up to six adults and two children.

The 75 square meter private pool is set in a luxurious garden that also has an outdoor gazebo fitted for massages and yoga lessons. The villa has three bathrooms, each with a freestanding bathtub and a separate shower.

All villas are Club class, which includes access to the Club Lounge with its complimentary services, and an around-the-clock villa host service to ensure each guest enjoys life to the fullest in Nusa Dua.

Centara’s first resort in Bali was Centra Taum Seminyak Bali, which opened in 2012 as part of the company’s Centra value brand, while the recently announced Centara Crystal On The Bay Nusa Dua, part of the core four-star brand, is due to open in December of this year.

“Centra Taum Seminyak Bali has proven to be an outstanding success in the brief time it has been open, and we are very confident Centara Grand Villas Nusa Dua Bali will attract the high end of the market and further enhance our profile among international travelers,” said Chris Bailey, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Centara Hotels & Resorts. “With three properties on the island, offering three very separate and distinct Balinese experiences, we are in a very strong marketing position.”

The resort is also equipped with two signature restaurants, a bar, a swimming pool, the executive club lounge, spa with extensive menu of services and 24-hour fitness center, meeting rooms, and a limousine service.

Read more: Gallop Into the New Year With Four Seasons Hotel Singapore

Centara Grand Villas Nusa Dua Bali
http://www.centarahotelsresorts.com