Recent media attention around Ashya King, the five-year old British boy, who travelled to Prague this summer for proton therapy treatment certainly put the spotlight firmly on the Czech Republic and its reputation for cutting-edge medical treatments.
It’s 11.30PM on a warm Saturday night in August and Frankfurt’s annual Museum Embankment Festival is in full flow. With bars, a somewhat random selection of stalls selling everything from pro-cannabis campaign badges to jewelry and craft wares, and music stages stretching down both sides of the mighty Main river, it’s easy to see why this predominantly business-focussed city feels alive with decadence this evening.
Part One: South Eastern; Soft Adventure
Southern Africa offers so much and we wanted an extended journey of indulgence experiencing the best hotels with fining dining and fine wines, but we also wanted some soft adventure. This feature covers the soft adventure aspects but there was no compromise necessary on the comfort aspects.
Edmiston have launched their new Yacht Charter Directory listing the top 100 boats in the world available to charter.
This is a collection of the most stunning boats on the planet complete with everything from multiple helipads, swimming pools, on board sports, jet skis, tenders etc to 100 foot slides straight into the water. The prices range from 1,247,000 USD per week down, so this is the ultimate luxury holiday. It is more expensive than going into space, but the Yachts are quite simply stunning.
We arrived at Dulles airport on Virgin Atlantic's new Airbus 380. It was Friday, late afternoon, and we had less than 48 hours to see Washington DC. Our hotel, The Liaison Capitol, was welcoming, the rooms a good size and the staff helpful – the service was great all weekend. The hotel is located right by the Capitol Building so our first excursion was to see that renowned centre of political intrigue by night. It was beautifully lit and imposing and we could see stretched before us the Mall, which is where we were heading on Saturday to walk all 21/2 miles of it.
On Sunday 2 February Sunborn Gibraltar was escorted to her permanent home in Ocean Village Marina. Accompanied by flat calm seas and bright sunshine, a crowd gathered to witness the arrival of this game-changing yacht hotel.
La Rosiere
Variety is the spice of life and an invitation to ski at La Rosiere, a French resort that had never featured on my radar, was irresistible. Lots of familiar names around: Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa, Aosta Valley, and in sight across the valley: Val d’Isere so there were obviously good prospects.
Whistler sets a standard that many other ski resorts have to match; right up there with Aspen and some European resorts but for very different reasons. The main concern for many is the flight; eleven hours but you do not lose skiing time as it is overnight and you are chasing the sun outbound. Passing through Vancouver airport is quick and the transfer is less than two hours to Whistler, the roads are good and it’s worth keeping awake for the stunning scenery.
Yves de Contades talks to Niklas Berg, CEO of Avinode, the Air Charter Marketplace.
- Where did you grow up?
Gothenburg, Sweden
- How did you start in the industry?
International Excellence interviewes Scott Morrow, CEO of Luxury Link, the luxury travel site.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Clinton, Tennessee, a small town of 3,000 residents at the foothills of the Smokey Mountains.
How did you start in the industry?
