The Beatles themed Hard Days Night Hotel is to open in Liverpool in January 2008. The hotel opening will coincide with Liverpool’s tenure as the 2008 European Capital of Culture.

The Hard Days Night Hotel, a four star boutique hotel set in the heart of the ‘Beatles Quarter’, is just a stones through away from the world famous Cavern Club where the Beatles first rose to fame. The stunning Grade II listed hotel will feature 110 rooms, including executive rooms and two stunning penthouses - the specially designed Lennon & McCartney suits - the Lennon featuring a white grand piano.

www.harddaysnighthotel.com

9/14/2007 2:06:52 PM UTC     

Changi Airport has unveiled its new high-definition entertainment facility - the Hi-D Lounge. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) partnered Panasonic Asia Pacific Pte Ltd in the design and construction of the lounge. The lounge, located in Terminal 2's Departure Transit Mall, houses high-definition (HD) quality screens in various sizes for passengers to enjoy HD quality programmes and interactive entertainment.

The HD Lounge also features the Travellers Sports Bar where passengers can enjoy a drink or a snack while enjoying their favourite programme or sporting event.

www.caas.gov.sg

9/14/2007 11:18:25 AM UTC     

Oman Air is to launch a daily Muscat-London Gatwick service in November. It will use A330 and A310-300 aircraft with business and economy cabins. Complimentary limousine services will be available to all business class and gold card passengers and Oman Air Sindbad FFP members when departing and arriving in London.

Oman Air has also upgraded its web site. The new home page and overall design provides business travellers in particular better functionality, services, information and convenient online booking.

www.omanair.aero

9/14/2007 9:50:32 AM UTC     

Grosvenor House, London’s largest five star hotel is offering guests the ultimate Christmas package. Available between 1-21st December, guests will be shown to their newly refurbished luxury suite and offered a Champagne afternoon tea which they can either enjoy in their hotel suite or in The Park Room which has stunning views overlooking Hyde Park.

Having relaxed over homemade scones and sandwiches it’s time to start thinking about the evening ahead. Grosvenor House will arrange for a top hair stylist and make up artist to come to your suite and pamper you to your heart’s content so when you step into the horse drawn carriage that will await you away to a pre-ballet dinner at The Royal Opera House, you feel like royalty. Following a delectable three course meal in the renowned Amphitheatre Restaurant in the Royal Opera House, you will be shown to the best seats to watch a performance of the popular and magical ballet, The Nutcracker. During the interval a bottle of Champagne on ice will have your name on it to put even more Christmas sparkle into the evening!

After the performance, your chauffeur driven Bentley will be waiting outside, ready to drive you back to the hotel for the all important opening of Christmas stockings and pulling of Asprey crackers. For Her, a vast array of gifts await, including 1ct diamond stud earrings by Asprey, a selection of luxury skincare products from Crème De La Mer, a stunning Patek Phillippe ladies watch, a beautiful Panama Smythson diary and a Hermes scarf. For Him, a matching Panama diary from Smythson, Patek Philippe watch, the latest Sony PSP, a William Fovllkner Mont Blanc fountain pen and a beautiful Hermes tie.

The next morning will commence with a Champagne breakfast in bed, a perfect way to kick-start the day. Your chauffeaur driven Bentley will be on hand to drive you to Selfridges where a personal shopper will be ready to help you shop till you drop! Returning to the Bentley, you will be chauffeured to Richard Corrigan’s restaurant, for lunch, Lindsay House (Corrigan is also launching a new restaurant at Grosvenor House in 2008) to enjoy a feast to remember.

The Christmas package costs £26,000 per room (excluding VAT)

www.grosvenor-house.co.uk.

9/13/2007 9:02:37 PM UTC     

Jet2.com has announced another 8 destinations to the network, as well as strengthening their support and commitment to the Yorkshire region as official partner and associate sponsor of Leeds Rugby!

The new destinations the airline claim are as a result of listening to their clients needs.

• Hamburg -Germany from £19.99* starts 1 May, 4 times weekly
• Madrid - Mainland Spain from £24.99* starts 2 May, 4 times weekly
• Jersey - The Channel Islands from £28.99* starts 24 May, 3 times weekly
• La Rochelle - France from £28.99* starts 24 May, 1 per week
• Avignon - France from £33.99* starts 22 May, 3 times weekly
• Sardinia (Olbia) from £33.99* starts 3 May, 1 per week
• Crete (Heraklion) from £48.99* starts 20 May, 1 per week
• Cyprus (Paphos) from £58.99* starts 4 May, 2 times weekly

*Leading fare, one way including all taxes.

 In addition to the 8 new destinations, jet2.com have also increased flight frequency on existing routes flying from Leeds Bradford Airport as follows.

• Geneva and Lanzarote will now fly year round
• Paris will increase to a double daily service
• Belfast International will increase to a thrice daily service
• Toulouse will increase to a twice weekly service

 www.jet2.com

9/13/2007 4:51:45 PM UTC     

Bidders have opened their wallets with generosity to support the Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 First Flight Charity Auction. With just a few seats left, the total committed to charities is over £650,000.

Throughout the two weeks of the auction, conducted on eBay, around 2,000 bidders pre-qualified by paying a security deposit, while several thousand others registered, so far buying 638 seats on both legs of the flight.

All the proceeds raised from the auction are going to the Singapore’s Community Chest, the Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, and to Médecins Sans Frontières.

Cheques will be presented to the beneficiary organisations in conjunction with the first flight on 25 and 26 October.

Australians made up the largest nationality of successful bidders (15%), followed by Singaporeans (11%), Britons (6%), Americans (4%) and Germans (3%). The other 60% come from all over the world.

Successful bidders ranged in age, from a San Francisco man who will turn 22 on the day of the flight, to a 76 year old from Vancouver, Canada.

Data suggests internet users from over 160 countries visited the auction pages at some point during the auction.

www.singaporeairlines.com

9/13/2007 4:08:53 PM UTC     

Eurostar has begun a search for the lucky passengers and well wishers who travelled in the first day of service or who were at Waterloo International on 14^th November 1994 - the day services began nearly 13 years ago. 

Following a flood, the archives containing the official photography were destroyed, so Eurostar is now asking people to come forward with their own photographs and stories to help celebrate that momentous day.

Eurostar has created an online portal for people to upload their stories and photographs. For those chosen to be featured on the site, there will be the chance to win return tickets to Paris, Brussels or Lille from the new St Pancras International terminal, which also starts on November 14th this year.

If you have pictures or a story from Eurostar’s first day that you would like to share, visit www.eurostar.com/fortomorrow. Submit your entries before 14^th October for your chance to win a pair of standard class return tickets to Paris, Brussels or Lille.

9/11/2007 4:51:24 PM UTC     

The celebrated 116-room Hotel Le Parc-Trocadero Paris will be renamed as the Renaissance Le Parc Trocadero Paris Hotel following a renovation and will be the third Renaissance-branded hotel in Paris.

“We are delighted by the continued expansion of our Renaissance brand portfolio in Paris and our growing presence in the city,” said Arne Sorenson, Marriott International’s chief financial officer and president of European lodging. “We are equally excited to welcome the once fashionable Le Parc hotel into our lodging system and look forward to working with its owners in restoring it to its former grandeur and style.”

While its famed 1 Michelin star restaurant, Le Relais du Parc, remains, other services will include high-speed internet access in conference rooms and guest rooms, Wi-Fi access in meeting rooms, and a business centre.

www.marriott.com

9/11/2007 4:28:56 PM UTC     

The summer is nearly over and the kids are back to school. But half term is looming. Sanctuary Villas and Apartments are suggesting an introduction to practical learning on a half term break in a number of their properties in France, Italy or spain.

Practice language skills whilst shopping in Cannes; take an art or cookery class in Tuscany; visit the historical Roman sights of Orange; or truffle hunting excursions in the Arno Valley. Alternatively guest can laze around the pool or play in extensive gardens or take advantage to explore the surrounding countryside. 
 
Sanctuary Villas and Apartments currently have availability at several of its European properties over half term week 20th-27th October 2007 from around 325.00 per person sharing a villa that sleeps 10 people. Prices do not include travel.
 
www.sanctuary-villas.com

9/11/2007 3:18:16 PM UTC     

A new Dutch hotel group is claiming to have identified a new group of travellers. They are calling these modern travellers “Mobile Citizens” and it has named its hotel after them – citizenM.

“citizenM offers a new type of hotel experience for sophisticated travellers. People who value personal choice, contemporary design, friendly technology and the proximity to a city – for an astonishing price,” says Michael Levie, CEO of the citizenM hotel group.

The first citizenM hotel will open at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam with 230 rooms at the beginning of 2008. The second will open in the fourth quarter of 2008 near Amsterdam city centre.

www.citizenm.com

9/11/2007 10:57:57 AM UTC     

e-tickets are now available for all 124 KLM destinations in its network and can be used when flying with 72 interline partners. Paper tickets will be available on request, but it will impose a surcharge on issuance.

Following in the footsteps of Air France, KLM passengers travelling alone within the KLM European network to and from Amsterdam can check in by using their mobile phone. Having entered the required details passengers will be able to check or change seat assignment and get a text message containing check-in details for reference. Passengers can get boarding passes at check-in machines or baggage drop off points.

In the future, it will also be possible to receive a boarding pass with a barcode on your mobile phone. Passengers can then use this barcode to board without the need to a printed boarding pass.

www.klm.com

9/10/2007 8:36:54 AM UTC     

It’s cleaner, more fuel-efficient and it’s coming to London. The environmentally friendly Bombardier Q400 enters service with Luxair on its key four times a day business route from London City to Luxembourg on September 17 offering both economy and business class cabins.

The Q400 consumes 25 per cent less fuel per passenger than a jet and with 72 seats, compared with 37 on the Embraer 135 it replaces, Luxair is able to offer a more flexible and attractive fare structure. It is nearly as fast as the E135, has 40% shorter climbing time, which means less turbulence leading to greater passenger comfort. It is also quieter and produces less carbon emissions.

www.luxair.lu

9/7/2007 2:28:19 PM UTC     

Air Bagan, a private airline from Myanmar, has launched a scheduled service between Yangon and Singapore’s Changi Airport. They will operate 14 weekly flights using Airbus A310-200 aircraft.

Air Bagan joins two other airlines at Changi Airport in offering passenger flights to Yangon. SilkAir operates 28 weekly flights between the two cities, while Jetstar Asia Airways operates six weekly flights. With Air Bagan onboard, there will now be 48 weekly scheduled flights between Singapore and Yangon.

www.airbagan.com

9/7/2007 1:53:01 PM UTC     

Football Fanatics at the Internet booking site Alternative Airlines, have developed a special web booking facility to allow football fans to find the cheapest and most convenient way of flying to the forthcoming European Champions Group Matches.

The web site now features a special section that details which airports are closest to the each of the stadiums and includes a unique booking display, which allow fans to choose from both scheduled and low cost airline flights.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Rangers and Celtic are all through to the Group stage of the competition and the first round of matches takes place on the 18th and 19th of September.

Managing Director John Pope said: " We noticed that as soon as the draw was announced flights on many direct routings suddenly became full or jumped up in price, so we have deliberately pulled together the widest possible of alternative airlines and in-direct routings to allow fans to take advantage of the many different ways to get to each match."

www.alternativeairlines.com

9/7/2007 10:53:53 AM UTC     

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels is gearing up for the October opening of the five-star Millennium Sukhumvit Bangkok. Located in one of Bangkok city's prime central areas on Asoke Road, the hotel is within easy access to the business district, financial institutions and is adjacent to the subway and skytrain stations near the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.

Millennium Sukhumvit Bangkok features a sail-like glass façade with an atrium and concept floors. Designed for business and leisure travellers the hotel combines a blend of cutting-edge technology, stylish meeting spaces and genuinely warm service.

"Proximity" key card access to the rooms, Wi-Fi Internet and an in-room media hub are available to meet with today's lifestyle demands.

To celebrate its opening, the Millennium Sukhumvit Bangkok is offering a special introductory room rate starting from THB 4,199++ (approximately £62.00) per room per night. This offer is valid for stays from 1 November to 31 December 2007.

www.millenniumhotels.com

9/7/2007 10:35:28 AM UTC     

In the first six months of 2007, VLM Airlines carried 16 per cent more passengers across its network compared to the same period in 2006.  The increase follows significant growth on a number of services including London City to Amsterdam, Antwerp and Luxembourg and the edition this year of Groningen via Amsterdam.

VLM Airlines currently provides over 100 flights a day in and out of London City to Amsterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Groningen, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Luxembourg, Manchester and Rotterdam. 80% are business travellers and the airline accounts for over a third of flights at the airport.

VLM Airlines has also seen a further increase in the number of online bookings, which increased by 32% in the six months to June 2007.  In addition to its easy-to-use internet check-in facility, customers can now also make their hotel reservations, car rental, book lounge access and travel insurance.

www.flyvlm.com

9/7/2007 9:59:14 AM UTC     

Norwegian, Scandinavia’s low fares airline is adding to its growing network out of the UK by starting a twice-weekly operation from London-Stansted to Troms from the 8th of December.

www.norwegian.no  

9/6/2007 11:56:51 AM UTC     

Virgin Atlantic has announced a range of fares on many of its routes for the post Summer period. All fares are available now and are on sale until 25 September 2007. Fares start from £238.00 to New York, other fares include Chicago £288.00, Montego Bay 386.00, San Francisco £398.00, Shanghai £358.00 and Sydney £758.00.

Passengers can also upgrade to Premium Economy from £100.00 each way.

www.virginatlantic.com

9/6/2007 8:51:10 AM UTC     

Next month Millennium Hotels and Resorts will open their Burooj Suites Hotel Apartments in Port Saeed, Dubai.

Whether for business travellers requiring spacious accommodations in which to work and relax, or suites with kitchen facilities and additional bedrooms for accompanying family members, the 164 one and two bedroom suites plus two penthouse suite Millennium Burooj will also offer three restaurants, swimming pool, gymnasium and meeting rooms, high speed internet connections and business centre.

www.millenniumhotels.com

9/6/2007 8:25:53 AM UTC     

The Sheraton Stockholm, one of Scandinavia's finest five star hotels, has just completed an extensive refurbishment. Still one of Stockholm's most recognised

landmarks with its 70´s façade, the interior has undergone a dramatic transformation from its traditional dark interior to a cutting-edge Scandinavian inspired decor. 

All 465 rooms have been updated with a comforting and elegant timeless 1940´s look with the facilities and comfort of the 21st century, such as Sheraton's Sweet-Sleeper beds and the latest technology.

Ideal for both business and leisure travellers the renovations include new Sheraton Club rooms and lounge, a new Threesixty restaurant and bar, link@sheraton work area and a new fitness centre.

A one night stay in October starts at £96.00 per room per night based on two people sharing a Classic room.

www.sheraton.com/stockholm 

9/5/2007 4:50:15 PM UTC     

Want to do something different this Christmas? Why not try a trip on the Orient-Express? They are offering an extensive programme of lunch, dinner and day trip departures during December.

Whether you are looking to treat yourself, your staff, a client or a loved one, there is no better way to soak up the festive feeling than on board the British Pullman, their 1920/1930s antique luxury train or the Northern Belle, their 1930s grand touring train.

From the moment you step on board you’ll be transported back in time to the golden age of travel, where impeccably dressed stewards will attend to your every need, as you gaze out across the English countryside and indulge in fine wine and an array of sumptuous Christmas dishes. Prices from £190.00 from December 1^st to the 22^nd December.

Or you might like to try their Christmas carol trips to Chester, Canterbury or Salisbury, a West End Show package, or tickets to the tennis Masters and

enjoy all the action from a seat in the Grand Tier box.

It’s probably best to book early.

www.orient-express.com

9/5/2007 2:08:18 PM UTC