Fine Traveling

Sofitel's iconic Amsterdam hotel has been reincarnated after a two-year, top-to-bottom renovation.

While Alain Ducasse is preparing to cook up the locally-sourced feast for the Royal Wedding in Monaco this weekend, his staff at L'Andana, a country inn situated in Tuscany, are welcoming summer guests to indulge in the Italian dolce vita.

A new campaign offers a chance to win a trip to Scandinavia, or an iPad2, through a website devoted to bringing local passion for the Nordic region to US tourists. The website showcases the personal travel stories of well-known Nordic celebrities, as well as Scandinavian locals, with the hope of inspiring U.S. travelers to plan a visit. Centred around the stories of the celebrities, the travel descriptions and insight into lesser known locations throughout Scandinavia is the campaigns way of digging deep beyond the content of traditional travel guides and vacation websites, in order to give prospective visitors a more organic taste of the Nordic experience. The contest is simple to enter: go to facesofscandinavia.com to enter to win two roundtrip tickets to your destination of choice (choosing between Denmark, Norway, Sweden or Finland) and, while on the site, you may also enter to win an iPad 2. Win a trip to Scandinavia! is a post from A Luxury Travel Blog

The phrase luxury camping will sound like a contradiction to many people, but it really does depend which camp you are in. Most luxury holiday destinations around the world have this much in common; a rare natural beauty, a scarcity of people traffic and noise, a preponderance of greenery, fresh air, and fine food and drink. Well, there is nothing on that list that you cant find when camping. What could be more luxurious than basking in natures glory? Its beauty surpasses the finest art, and the majesty of an inspiring landscape reveals the most extravagant architecture as little more than a temporary sandcastle. Far from the concert halls, starched collars and pricey tickets, agile and skilled birdsong trumps the most epic symphony. It floats through the air, bewitching and free, so effortless and without the burdensome weight of the human artists neediness. Most things described as luxury are more natural than their poorer cousins. You only have to look at the typically leafy suburbs...

Gay pride celebration in Toulouse. Courtesy Guillaume Paumier under CC. The Preferred Hotel Group has assembled a unique collection of approximately 100 of its best-in-class properties that understand and cater to the specific needs of the LGBT traveler. This distinctive group of independently owned and operated hotels - termed Preferred Pride - is ideal for either business or pleasure, and in addition to welcoming members of the LGBT community, Preferred Pride properties stand for equality in their employment policies and services and are active supporters of the LGBT community.All Preferred Pride hotels are either TAG Approved or belong to IGLTA, two organizations that are recognize universally as setting the standards for LGBT travel. But more than just another LGBT seal of approval, It is a global initiative that enables hoteliers to learn more about and better understand the needs and preferences of the LGBT traveler, says the Preferred Hotel Group executive director of leisure s...

Come celebrate the reopening of the Rosewood Hotel Georgia! After a lavish restoration, the Vancouver hotel is welcoming guests to experience "a return to the golden age of hotel travel."

Bali is located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands and a part of Indonesia. Thecountry has a population of over 3.5 million people and is a hot tourist destination for travelersaround the world. The weather in Bali makes the island a popular destination, particularly when itscool at home. The average temperature on Bali is in the mid- to upper-80s all year long makingit the perfect getaway. There are many choices of accommodation on the island and here are the top 5: 1 Jimbaran Puri Bali A luxury resort hotel, the resort offers the perfect romantic getaway. Individual cottages andvillas promise privacy and the generous views of the sea promise relaxation. There are only 41cottages at the resort making it small enough that you feel like youre on your own island yetspacious enough that youll never run out of things to do. 2 Viceroy Bali Villas at Viceroy offer private pools, European fittings and Balinese architectural features. Withmarble floors and luxurious furnishings...

Tragic news is coming from one of Kabuls most closely-guarded hotels. Apparently the Intercontinental Kabul a hotel popular with Westerners has come under attack from gunmen and suicide bombers. The Taliban have claimed responsibility and at least 10 people are reported dead. Although Kabul has been relatively stable for some time, violence and disruption in the city has increased since the death of Osama bin Laden. Breaking news: InterContinental Kabul under attack is a post from A Luxury Travel Blog

View the UK's national collection of oils without leaving home. Aiming to bring some 200,000 works from the UKs national collection of oil paintings online, the BBC has launched Your Paintings with an initial upload of 63,000 pieces. The oils currently catalogued online represent the works of 15,000 artists from 860 collections. To give a sense of the projects massive scale, the National Gallery in London has approximately 2,300 oil paintings in its collection, so the national collection is essentially 100 times larger in sum.Included in the 200,000 works from artists both famous and virtually unknown will be tempura and acrylic paintings as well. A focus on oils was twofold: oil was the preferred medium of artists for hundreds of years, and while there are millions of watercolors and drawings in the national collection, 200,000 is a more practical number in terms of cataloging an entire collection online.The greatest feature of this ambitious project is of course the unprecedente...

All photos by author Five years after a teaching stint in Thailand, Anne Merritt searches out old haunts there. IT WAS MIDNIGHT when we got to Bangkok. I was expecting a wall of humidity when we stepped outside to the taxi queue, like opening an oven door. I was expecting some profound moment when I arrived in Thailand, for old memories to stir up from the smell of orchids and motorbike fumes. Instead, the air was hot, but not aggressively so. The scent of the air was familiar, yes, but not overwhelmingly nostalgic. Not yet. I told the taxi driver where we were going in a sputter of broken Thai. On the plane, Id been flicking through an old notebook with a hand-scribbled Thai-English dictionary in the back. I thought the language would come back easily, but words came out in a jumble to the driver: directions given in broken Thai, with some Korean suffixes slipped on out of habit. My learned languages were all mixed up. Frustrated, I scanned my notebook and strung together the first Th...

Mery Calderon is the founder and President of Kuoda Travel , a tour operator that pioneered private luxury travel in Peru. Born and educated in Cusco, she is an expert in the Andean region and has shown countless guests the majesty of Machu Picchu and the warmth of Peruvian culture. After growing up in her mothers souvenir shop and earning her degree in tourism, Mery went on to supervise operations for the leading luxury properties and tour operators in Peru. An epiphany struck after watching her high-end guests being herded onto a group tour bus: travellers electing to stay in the best hotel in Cusco should have access to private guides, private transportation and a much more personalized experience. Thus, Kuoda Travel was born. Ever since, Mery has dedicated herself to the growth of her company via providing flawless operations and impeccable friendly customer service. What is it that you do exactly? If we have guests in Cusco, my priority is visiting them. I make it a point to know ...

The Hotel Cipriani Restaurant , Copacabana Palace, Avenida Atlantica Back in the 1920s, when Brazil was a favoured retreat for Hollywood stars and European royalty, there was only one place to stay for the jet-set holidaying in Rio: the Copacabana Palace. This beautiful Art Deco hotel, while now dwarfed by newer buildings, still stands out on the Avenida Atlantica for its air of luxurious grandeur, and it is also still the showcase hotel of Rio. You would naturally expect this standard of hotel to host a leading restaurant and the Copacabana Palace has a peach, playing host to the Hotel Cipriani Restaurant. The head chef here is Francesco Carli, who previously worked at the Hotel Cipriani in Venice, from where the restaurant takes its name. He has brought many of the famous dishes from the Venice hotel with him to Rio and when you dine here you can expect to be served the very finest in North Italian cuisine. Sample dishes: Quail tortelloni cooked in its own sauce with shiimeji and Tal...

From opulent pet hotels to pet-dedicated airlines and pampering day spas, we often report on the trend of luxury pet travel.

Sunrise on the Isle of Palms brings the calls of seagulls and sandpipers, backdropped by gentle waves lapping the soft sand. Before long, those tunes of nature are accented by the squeals of kids running across the beautiful swaths of sands, screaming in delight as they dart in and out of the water and plan their next sandcastle masterpiece. Later, the sounds of golf carts motoring up and down the quiet, palmetto-lined streets signal the beginning of the days rounds, as seasoned pros and amateur duffers seek to tackle the islands coast-framed courses. Then the familiar thwack of tennis balls punctuates the air, as early birds hit the courts for few sets before summers oppressive heat kicks in. This is life at Wild Dunes Resort , a slice of heaven on the South Carolina coast, just a stones throw away from downtown Charleston. A relative newcomer among high-end vacation/live communities in the region, Wild Dunes has nonetheless built a considerable reputation over the past three decades...

Pinault and the Dogana as it once was. Images courtesy Flickr under CC. Other than the late Peggy Guggenheim, there is no other private collector or exhibitor of art who has had such a significant impact on the city of Venice as French billionaire businessman Franois Pinault. Pinault is responsible for the transformation of Palazzo Grassi and the Punta della Dogana, once the customs house, into fashionable centers of art for his vast collection and special exhibits or shows.The World Belongs to You at Palazzo Grassi, on now through December 31, draws on themes of contemporary history, from the breakdown of symbols, to the temptation of self-withdrawal and isolation, the attraction of violence and spirituality in a troubled and globalised world, says curator Caroline Bourgeois. The show coincides with In Praise of Doubt at the Punta della Dogana (on through December 31, 2012), an extension of the Palazzo Grassi show which explores just that - doubt, trouble, and identity in art.Both sh...

This just in. One of our favorite hotels, The Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, just announced a swell contest.

The St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London may be hogging the spotlight (understandably, its extravagant renovation has tongues wagging!), but the newly-opened Renaissance Lucerne Hotel also deserves a little press love.

Tripadvisor have released their 10 hidden gems for wining and dining. Making the shortlist are the following: 1. Enoteca de Belem , Lisbon, Portugal 2. La Vineria Bollicine , Sorrento, Italy 3. Chez Marcel , Paris, France 4. Voyager Estate , Margaret River, Australia 5. The Wine Cellar , Willemstad, Curacao 6. Rust en Vrede , Stellenbosch, South Africa 7. La Locanda del Castello Restaurant , San Giovanni dAsso, Italy 8. Medina Restaurant , Mdina, Malta 9. Tamada , London, England 10. Couqley , Beiruit, Lebanon 10 hidden gems for wining and dining is a post from A Luxury Travel Blog

The best time to hit up St. Barts could be the off-season. You've got the idyllic island to yourself, and you can score amazing deals at some of the posh island resorts.

Summer's a grand time to visit Hong Kong: exploring the harbour and the outlying islands by traditional Chinese junk, hitting up the city's world-famous shopping, snacking on dynamite street food at a summertime festival.

Starwood's cool brand of design-led W Hotels is taking the world by storm. The new W in London's Leicester Square has been a smashing success, and W St. Petersburg-- which debuted in April 2011-- is also drawing the cool crowd.

I was fortunate enough to be sent a miniature of Louis XIII Remy Martin cognac last week, from the House of Rmy Martin which was established in 1724. This is no ordinary cognac it is blended from no less than 1,200 eaux-de-vie (fruit brandies), all from Grande Champagne, and aged in century-old Limousin oak casks. A 70cl decanter of the cognac will set you back around 1,500. And, on 15th June 2011, Rmy Martin launched a highly exclusive Jeroboam bottle (3 litres, so more than 4 times the regular bottle) of Louis XIII, the decanter handedcrafted by skilled craftsmen at Cristallerie de Svres , making it a must-have for any serious collector, and with a price tag of 16,000. The bouquet brings with it the incredibly rich and intense aged oak casks (known as tiercons). As for the taste, this is a cognac that certainly wont disappoint. Hints of fruits, spices, jasmine and passion fruit are united, and intertwine with ginger and nutmeg. Rose, iris, fig and prune all enter the mix, too, as ...

Italians are passionate about their driving, and in the country that produces some of the greatest luxury cars, it is clear to see the roots of this passion. Italy has some of the finest roads in Europe, taking you through breathtaking scenery. Although Italian drivers have a reputation for being risk takers, they actually happen to be great drivers and driving in this stunning country is fast, exciting and serious fun. Amalfi Drive the most beautiful coastline Location: between Sorrento and Salerno, Campania Meandering along one of the most beautiful stretches of shoreline in the world, Amalfi Drive was originally built by the Romans, and is carved out of the side of the coastal cliffs. With a succession of dramatic hairpin bends winding through the famous picturesque villages of Positano, Ravello and Amalfi, and over secluded bays and deep gorges for which this region is renowned, driving this road never ceases to thrill. But whilst driving here is immensely enjoyable, you do s...

As science and engineering make futuristic features a reality, what sort of innovations do you imagine will be possible for air travel by 2050 or so? Theres no need to imagine, actually. Engineers at Airbus have already done the dreaming for you. Theyve even created a slick little video to demonstrate The Future, by Airbus.Imagine, if you will, stepping in to your pre-selected themed cabin, relaxing into a perfectly clean, ecologically grown seat that changes shape to suit you and looking up through the transparent ceiling at the Milky Way in all its glory, says Airbus. Transparent fuselage, unobstructed views of the stars, private holographic cabins, self-cleaning headrests, and pliable seats that transform to fit your body are just some of the amazing features for the future of air travel, as envisioned by Airbus.Also projected for 2050 is the incredibly zippy Zero Emission Hyper Sonic Transport designed by aircraft manufacturer EADS, in association with Airbus. The amazing new pla...

Calling all meeting planners. Concorde Hotels and Resorts is promoting their European properties, in picture-perfect settings like Paris and the French Riviera, for their exceptional venues.

Here are Five Star Alliance, we've got summer travel on the brain. From the beaches of South Carolina to the Greek Isles, we're dreaming up our next getaway.

In the last few years, the British have gone mad cruising. Let me put that another way, in the last few years the British have gone cruising mad. Yes, over the last few years cruising has been all the rage. On reflection that might seem a little odd, as afterall arent we in a recession, and isnt cruising meant to be very expensive? Well, yes and yes and no. A little explanation may be called for here. There are some compelling reasons why people go on cruises. Firstly, the send off or arrival can be an absolutely unforgettable experience. If you have ever had a send off, or an arrival in Southampton, or any other port for that matter, you will know what I mean. The crowds, the ticker tape, the cheering, the noise and the honking of horns lives on in the memory. You get caught up in the joy. You feel on top of the world, and the centre of it, if only for a while. You hardly get such a welcome or send off on a normal holiday do you? Except may be from your dog A lot of people go on holid...

It's official- summer is here! Today marks the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and official start of the season.

Billed as the don of all doners, the worlds most expensive kebab will set you back a cool 750. The dish has been devised by British chef Andy Bates who runs Eat My Pies who hand-picked succulent milk-fed lamb from the Pyrenees, chose barrel-aged feta cheese and a cooling cucumber yoghurt infused with Krug Grande Cuvee Champagne, and finished it with edible gold leaf and platinum. The full breakdown for this ultimate doner kebab is as follows: Shoulder of milk-fed lamb 84 Coeur de Boeuf tomatoes 20 Micro Cress and Bibb Salad 11.95 Chili Peppers 35 Barrel Aged Feta Cheese 54.20 Laudemio Extra Virgin Olive Oil 26.95 Purple violet potatoes 15 Edible gold leaf and platinum 130 Saffron 138 Krug Champagne 195 Other ingredients (garlic, lemon, salsa, mint, cucumber, yoghurt) 40 Total: 750.10 The worlds most expensive kebab is a post from A Luxury Travel Blog

Camilla Shaughnessy is the founder of EventfulStays.com , a UK accommodation website which specialises in mid- to high-end home stays available for short term lets searchable by event. Camilla enjoyed the echelons of senior positions in corporate life before establishing her own consultancy firm in 1994. She went on to launch Eventful Stays in December 2010, inspired by renting out her Oxfordshire home to help generate additional income after the market crash in early 2010 when she and her husband lost their savings. While investigating ways in which to rent out her home which features a pool house, helipad and gym Camilla realised that, whilst there are numerous holiday rental companies, none specialise in major event-focused breaks or indeed personal events such as special birthdays, wedding anniversaries and hen weekends and so Eventful Stays was born. What is it that you do exactly? I get up at 5am when my head is usually buzzing with ideas and get a couple of hours of work don...

For most, when thinking of Tenerife luxury is not the first word that springs to mind. However a closer look at Tenerife proves that it really does know how to treat visitors to a bit of indulgence and well-being, you just need to know where to look. The first luxurious element of Tenerife is that it is an island blessed with year round warmth. Temperatures rarely drop below 18 degrees Centigrade, even in winter and the ocean is always welcomingly warm. The moist atmosphere and occasional rainfall have given resorts such as Puerto de la Cruz the status as The City of the Eternal Spring, with beautiful, lush vegetation all around. There are many stunning beaches around the island where the water glistens in contrast to the picturesque black, volcanic sand. Puerto de la Cruz and Costa Adeje are two of the most luxurious resorts on the island, and offer sensuous cosmopolitan vibes, far removed from the boisterous reputation of some of Tenerifes more touristy resorts. Puerto de la Cruz is...

Whether you're looking for some adrenaline-pumping adventures in Red Rock Country or some spa rejuvenation this summer, the Sedona Rouge Hotel has got you covered.

Have you ever wanted to get away from it all, only to arrive at your chosen destination and find that all have just arrived as well, or even worse that all are already there and all will be staying for some time yet? Yes, it does happen, and these days without a bit of intelligent holiday planning, it is more and more likely to happen. So, if you really want to get away from it all , a little lateral thinking is in order, or else all will have a horrible habit of turning up just when you do. So, thinking laterally while looking at the continent of Africa, look at Tanzania, and then cast your eyes into the ocean off the coast. There lies the island of Zanzibar, one of the original Spice Islands, far away from alls thoughts, and a real get away from it all island. And here you really can get away from all. Zanzibar is the original trading island. Amongst the first visitors to Zanzibar were Arab traders who arrived in the 8th Century to trade gold, silks, ivory, spices, animal skins a...

Photo: Mark Scott Johnson ESL teacher Lukas Gohl describes a typical day in Santiago. 7:59 AM: ONE MORE MINUTE until the alarm on my cell phone bursts into 16-bit tonal fury. It begins to shriek, sending me frantically groping for the off button. I roll out of bed, trying not to wake my roommate Jon, whos slumbering three feet away. Sharing a hostel room the size of a broom closet is a complicated affair. When were sleeping, the floor is littered with luggage and dirty laundry. During the day, we pile everything back on top of our beds. I struggle to my feet as the lingering effects of alcohol stagger my step and fog my brain. As Chileans say, tengo hachazo . I have an axe in my head. The throbbing pain is all that remains of a riotous night in Barrio Bellavista, where poets, barmen, petty thugs and tourists collide to make one swinging neighborhood. I swear at myself under my breath for staying out so late, but thats life in Santiago. In a city this big, its easy to get swept away by ...

When most English people decide to go on holiday, they expect to end up in a destination thats at least a few degrees latitude closer to the equator than their drizzly island, especially those who call the hectic hustle and bustle of London home. What was I doing, therefore, booking a flight to Dublin, a city barely one hours flight sideward across the globe? It was a question I would ask again when I stepped straight into a murky puddle on the airports tarmac, before despondently staring upwards at the pregnant grey clouds above. I reminded myself of the vow I had made to challenge the conception that a holiday should be far, far away, a vow to prove that short haul holidays, as well as breaks in ones own country, can be just as fulfilling as going far afield. But this didnt hold much promise at that moment in time. Dublin sits in the centre of Irelands eastern coast, staring Wales square between the eyes across the Irish Sea, and is a drab place to be in the drizzle. I arrived at my ...

The five star Makadi Spa Hotel opening its doors next month is the ultimate getaway for those wanting to indulge in complete luxury and relaxation. Situated on its own private beach the adults only hotel is an upmarket and tranquil oasis on the Red Sea. The hotel has three large outdoor freshwater swimming pools including an infinity pool with spectacular views of theRed Sea. The private beach looking out onto crystal clear waters provides the perfect place to sit back and relax, whilst also offering easy snorkeling with the reef beginning at waist depth. For those who still require some form of activity on their relaxing break yoga, aerobics, water aerobics and a fitness club are available for guests. There is also a free daily shuttle bus that runs betweenMakadiBayand the Grand Mall in Hurghada where guests can purchase the ever important gifts and souvenirs! For the spa connoisseurs the hotel will not disappoint. All of the treatments are provided by CINQ MODES, the French pioneer ...

Are you are looking to visit somewhere special in the world? Somewhere that takes your breath away, and leaves you speechless? Somewhere where God has intervened to present nature at her most fearsome and beautiful? Somewhere to remind man that although he can build castles and palaces, on the earth and in space, he can never build the palaces of nature? Nor can he ever match natures power or beauty. The Iguacu Falls are natures reminder to man. The Iguacu Falls mean big waters in Guarani, the local Indian language. The first European to find the Falls was the Spanish conquistador Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca in 1541, but the falls remained largely forgotten into the nineteenth century. Legend tells the story that the Falls were created by a God, who planned to marry a beautiful woman. She fled to her lover and they escaped in a canoe on the river. The God was overcome by rage and cut up the river to create the waterfalls, which condemned the lovers to an eternal fall in the waters. Even...

HRH The Prince of Wales Rainforest Project winning photographer Daniel Beltr and Pultizer-Prize-winning National Geographic photographer Jack Dykinga will lead a Visionary Wild Photography Workshop based at King Pacific Lodge on the coast in British Columbias Great Bear Rainforest , from 5th to 12th September 2011. Local expert bear guides from the Gitgaat First Nation will lead the small group to photograph the rare white spirit bears often referred to as the panda of British Columbia numbering between 200 to 400 individuals, and naturalists will guide excursions by boat to photograph orcas, humpback whales, rainforest wolves, grizzly bears, and the stunning fjords and wilderness landscape. Named the number one resort in Canada by Cond Nast readers for three years running, the floating wilderness lodge is dedicated to sustainability and providing a high level of service and luxury in the midst of one of Earths last intact tracts of temperate coastal rainforest. Visionary Wild a s...

No matter where you live in the northern hemisphere, its hard get away from summers annoying and at times downright oppressive heat and humidity. As a former resident of Charleston, South Carolina, I can attest to the crankiness that takes over in June and lasts until late September, when daily life becomes a sprint from one air-conditioned space to another. Fortunately for us in the Southeast, we had an easy respite in nearby Asheville, North Carolina, a fun and funky town nestled in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. From outdoor hikes to spa forays, dips in cool creeks to whitewater trips on Class Four rapids, a retreat to this cool clime was unarguably built in to nearly everyones hot weather schedule. And although Asheville has always been on Southerners collective summer radar, only in the last several decades has the rest of the countryand indeed the worlddiscovered the quaint region, resulting in a boon of new luxury resorts, boutique hotels, and an eyebrow-raising dining scen...

Planning a summer jaunt to the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland? The Grand Hotel Kempinski welcomes you with open arms.

A warning: Read this review of The Peninsula Hotel Shanghai and you might change your summer plans to include a trip to China.

Making sense of passenger rights in Europe. Image Septem Trionis. If youre headed to Europe this summer and traveling within the EU by plane, train, or other mode of transportation, the European Commission encourages you to know your rights as a passenger. The commissions passenger rights campaign seeks to inform all passengers of their rights under EU law and how to exercise these rights when it comes to issues like re-routing, reimbursement, seeking assistance, or filing claims.For instance, did you know that in the event of any air traffic problem, passengers are entitled to the choice between reimbursement and re-routing, as well as assistance in the form of meals, drinks, or accommodation? Further, for delays lasting more than five hours, if you choose not to continue on your journey, you are entitled to have your ticket reimbursed and to be flown back to your point of origin.To learn more about EU passenger rights, visit the European Commissions website.