IHG signs Hotel Indigo Stratford-upon-Avon

InterContinental Hotels Group has sign a deal for Hotel Indigo Stratford-upon-Avon, UK. The hotel will operate under a franchise agreement with St Jamess Hotel Group and open in early 2018. Just as no two neighbourhoods are alike, no two Hotel Indigo properties are alike.

Hilton launches biggest ever campaign

Hilton Worldwide has revealed that Hilton HHonors members can now receive an exclusive discount on room rates by booking directly through its brand websites, Hilton HHonors mobile app and reservation call centers, or through preferred corporate travel partners and approved travel agents. This guaranteed discount is available at more than 4,500 hotels around the world.

3 great 'community tourism' experiences in Ecuador

Community tourism has been described as the difference between seeing and living, as exemplified in the two scenarios below: Scenario one: You arrive in a small Andean town on board a bus full of tourists, drive around, take shots of various landmarks, eat in a upscale restaurant, buy a few souvenirs, exchange a ?buenos dias? [...]

3 great 'community tourism' experiences in Ecuador is a post from A Luxury Travel Blog

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Qatar Airways signs code-share deal with Comair

Qatar Airways has signed a new code-share agreement with Comair, a franchise of British Airways, that will add three new African destinations to the Qatar Airways route map, and provide additional flight options to travellers in Cape Town and Durban.

3 great 'community tourism' experiences in Ecuador

Community tourism has been described as the difference between seeing and living, as exemplified in the two scenarios below: Scenario one: You arrive in a small Andean town on board a bus full of tourists, drive around, take shots of various landmarks, eat in a upscale restaurant, buy a few souvenirs, exchange a ?buenos dias? [...]

3 great 'community tourism' experiences in Ecuador is a post from A Luxury Travel Blog

The post 3 great 'community tourism' experiences in Ecuador appeared first on A Luxury Travel Blog.

AeroMobile brings in-flight connectivity to SWISS passengers

Leading in-flight connectivity provider AeroMobile has partnered with SWISS to allow its passengers, in all cabin classes, to use their mobile devices to call, text and browse the internet at 30,000 feet. Aeromobile is a registered mobile network operator which enables airline passengers to roam in-flight.

Mission San Xavier del Bac

The kids in front of the Mission

South of Tucson sits the striking Mission San Xavier del Bac. Also known as "The White Dove of the Desert" for its brilliant white washed exterior paint and domes, the church was built by Spanish Franciscans in the late 18th century and blends Moorish, Byzantine and Spanish Renaissance styles in its architecture and interior design.

San Xavier del Bac was founded as a Catholic mission by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692. The construction of the current church began in 1783 and was completed 14 years later. It is considered a National Historic Landmark.

The Mission was created to serve the needs of the local community here, the village of Wa:k (San Xavier District) on the Tohono O'odham reservation, as it still does today.

Inside the church

There is no admission charge to visit Mission San Xavier. Some 200,000 visitors come each year from all over the world to view what is widely considered to be the finest example of Spanish Colonial architecture in the United States.

Mom, Joyce and the White Dove of the Desert

Church's courtyard

Peres to step down as chief executive of Movenpick Hotels

The chief executive of Movenpick Hotels & Resorts, Jean-Gabriel Peres, has informed the board of directors that he intends to step down from the leadership of the company after 17 years of contribution to the company's growth and success. Peres will support the transition in leadership and will continue to make his extensive experience available ... Continue reading Peres to step down as chief executive of Movenpick Hotels ->

U.S. and Cuba Sign Agreement to Approve Commercial Flights

For Americans, taking a trip to Cuba got a little easier on Tuesday, when the U.S. and Cuban governments agreed to reinstate commercial air travel between the two countries for the first time in more than a half-century. Yahoo! News... Keep reading!

U.S. and Cuba Sign Agreement to Approve Commercial Flights

For Americans, taking a trip to Cuba got a little easier on Tuesday, when the U.S. and Cuban governments agreed to reinstate commercial air travel between the two countries for the first time in more than a half-century. Yahoo! News... Keep reading!

Peres to step down as chief executive of Movenpick Hotels

The chief executive of Movenpick Hotels & Resorts, Jean-Gabriel Peres, has informed the board of directors that he intends to step down from the leadership of the company after 17 years of contribution to the company's growth and success. Peres will support the transition in leadership and will continue to make his extensive experience available to the hotel management company as a member of the board.

What's it like to fly the DJI Phantom 3 Advanced drone?

A drone has to be one of the ultimate gadgets nowadays so you can imagine my delight when I got to trial the DJI Phantom 3 Advanced drone recently. DJI, if you haven't heard of them already, are comfortably the market leaders when it comes to drones, controlling around 70% of the global market, and [...]

What's it like to fly the DJI Phantom 3 Advanced drone? is a post from A Luxury Travel Blog

The post What's it like to fly the DJI Phantom 3 Advanced drone? appeared first on A Luxury Travel Blog.

LATAM Airlines group sees passenger traffic increase for 2015

LATAM Airlines Group had reported its preliminary monthly traffic statistics for January 2016 compared to January 2015. System passenger traffic increased by 1.9 per cent while capacity increased by two per cent. As a result, the company's load factor for the month decreased 0.1 points to 85.6 per cent.

IATA illustrates strong safety record with latest data

The 2015 global jet accident rate - measured in hull losses per one million flights - was 0.32, according to data from the International Air Transport Association. This was the equivalent of one major accident for every 3.1 million flights. This was not as good as the rate of 0.27 achieved in 2014 but a 30 per cent improvement compared to the previous five-year rate (2010-2014) of 0.46 hull loss accidents per million jet flights.

Van Gogh's Bedroom Is Booked Up

No surprise: A real-life re-creation of Vincent Van Gogh's famous painting of his bedroom, which was listed for $10 a night on Airbnb, sold out for the first month within hours of its promotion.

The Art Institute of Chicago commissioned ... Keep reading!

Jumeirah partners with Emirates

Jumeirah Group has launched an exclusive offer providing Emirates Skywards members up to 30% off the Jumeirah Flavours Rate at participating Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts in Dubai.

Secrets of the World's Best Airlines: What Makes Them Special

Remember when flying was fun? There are still a few oases in the sky, on airlines that offer excellent customer service and special touches that make flying more palatable. See our five favorite airlines and what makes them special.

Continue reading for more details

Ed Leigh appointed as Verbier ambassador

Verbier has announced the appointment of Ed Leigh as its new resort ambassador. Widely respected as one of the premiere winter sports and off-piste ski resorts in the world, Verbier offers 191 runs of varying difficulties and is no stranger to playing host to some of the biggest names in skiing and culture.

Country Counting

I recently stumbled across a website that lets you create a customized map highlighting all the countries you\'ve visited. (You can try it yourself at Traveltip.org.) While I initially considered it merely a fun exercise, I found myself hesitating ... Keep reading!

EVEN Hotels expands in US

The EVEN Hotels brand is set to grow, with signings in Pittsburgh, Houston and Eugene, Ore. EVEN Hotels now has three open properties, including the 150-room, new-build flagship EVEN Hotels New York-Times Square South hotel.

6 surreal places in Burma

As Burma has only very recently opened its doors to international tourism, many of its most bewitching and beautiful locations remain virtually unknown to the outside world. Some of these places are so unusual, so striking, that they have an almost surreal quality ? dream landscapes unlike any other in the world. The following are [...]

6 surreal places in Burma is a post from A Luxury Travel Blog

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6 Surreal Places in Burma

Extracted from: http://www.aluxurytravelblog.com/2016/02/13/6-surreal-places-in-burma/

By Alastair Donnelly on Feb 13, 2016 in Asia, Attractions, Going Out, Myanmar, Regions

As Burma has only very recently opened its doors to international tourism, many of its most bewitching and beautiful locations remain virtually unknown to the outside world. Some of these places are so unusual, so striking, that they have an almost surreal quality - dream landscapes unlike any other in the world.

The following are just six of Burma's unbelievable sights - but with so much of the country unknown and unexplored, it's only a matter of time before we discover more.

1. Kyauk Ka Lat Pagoda

Just outside Hpa An, in southern Burma, is Kyuak Ka Lat Pagoda. Here, at the centre of a man-made lake, a pagoda perches improbably atop a bizarre, top-heavy, limestone pinnacle. Narrower by far at its base than at its peak, visitors can only marvel that it doesn't topple into the water below.

Hpa An is worth a visit for more than just Kyauk Ka Lat - it's also home to Kaw Gun Cave, a grotto filled with thousands of Buddha statues in the side of Mount Zwe Kabin. Hpa An is easily combined with a visit to Golden Rock, which is just a relatively short distance away.

2. Golden Rock

To look at it, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the Golden Rock was just moments away from tumbling down the mountain and into oblivion. This vast, 7.6-metre-tall, gold-covered monolith teeters on a precipice at the top of Kyaiktiyo Hill, making an impossibly tiny point of contact with the mountain beneath. But don't be fooled - this rock isn't going anywhere soon. It has stood on this spot since before records began, and is thought by Buddhists to be balanced on a single hair from the head of the Buddha.

The Golden Rock is a popular pilgrimage site, but tourists are welcome to visit too. It's around five hours by road from Yangon, so we recommend spending the night at one of the guesthouses on the mountain itself. This also allows you the chance to see the rock at sunrise and sunset - when it glows with a surreal light.

3. Laykyun Setkyar

Standing watch over a small town about 140 kilometres northwest of Mandalay is the imposing Laykyun Setkyar: the Giant Buddha of Monywa. This mammoth, gold-emblazoned sentinel took 12 years to build and towers over the landscape at a cool 129 metres (plinth included), with 31 floors inside to symbolise the 31 planes of existence in Buddhist thought. What's inside? Not much, by all accounts - but you can climb the stairs for pretty great panoramic views from the top.

Records disagree as to whether the Laykyun Setkyar is the second- or third-tallest statue in the world, but whichever is true - it's pretty tall. Monywa is a well worth a visit - slot it in between Mandalay and Bagan to see the Buddha for yourself.

4. Mingun Pahtodawgyi

Burma is packed with pagodas. Hundreds upon thousands of them, in all different shapes and sizes, from the tiny to the vast, but none is quite like Mingun Pahtodawgyi. Construction on this stupa (if you can call it such) was started by an eccentric Burmese monarch, King Bodawpaya, in 1790 - but the story goes that the king abandoned the project when it was prophesied that he would die upon its completion. Despite his best efforts, King Bodawpaya did die - and today his great pagoda stands at just one-third of its planned height, criss-crossed by vast cracks wrought by and earthquake. It sits on the banks of the Irrawaddy just 10 km from Mandalay, so makes an easy day trip from the city.

5. Mount Popa

Make your way to the Pegu Mountain Range in central Burma, about 50 kilometres southeast of Bagan, and you'll find yourself gazing on a rather unusual sight. Taung Kalat is a sheer-sided, rocky column soaring 737 metres from the valley floor. This rock formation - made by magma hardening in a volcanic vent - would be striking enough on its own, but what makes it particularly surreal is the temple complex at its summit. Anyone who makes it to the top of the 777 steps cannot fail to be impressed by the effort it must have taken to build this monastery.

Taung Kalat is usually referred to as Mount Popa - although technically this is the name of the volcano that created it. It's an hour's drive from Bagan, so can easily be incorporated into most Burma itineraries. Watch out for the naughty monkeys at the top!

6. Bagan

And finally - though it needs no introduction, Bagan simply can't be missed off any list of surreal sights in Burma. Anyone who's seen misty, dreamlike photos of this landscape at dawn - or soared over it in a hot air balloon - can attest to the fact that this is one of the most enchanting landscapes in the world. And with over 2,500 temples and stupas, this is still only a tiny fraction of what once existed here at the height of the Pagan Empire.

And the best thing about all of these places? You'll have them virtually to yourself - until the rest of the world finds out.

Jumeirah partners with Emirates

Jumeirah Group has launched an exclusive offer providing Emirates Skywards members up to 30% off the Jumeirah Flavours Rate at participating Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts in Dubai.

Country Counting

I recently stumbled across a website that lets you create a customized map highlighting all the countries you've visited. (You can try it yourself at Traveltip.org.) While I initially considered it merely a fun exercise, I found myself hesitating ... Keep reading!

Norman Foster to oversee Kulm Hotel Pavillon redevelopment

The legendary Kulm Hotel St. Moritz has announced that British architect Lord Norman Foster is to oversee a ?5.4 million refurbishment and extension of the Ice Pavillon in the Kulm Park. The Pavillon stands between the main hotel building and Chesa al Parc (one of the Kulm's restaurants and the clubhouse for Kulm Golf St. Moritz); in front of it is the hotel's outdoor ice rink (in winter) and tennis courts (in summer).

5 New Resources for Travel Photography

Photos are the best souvenir you can bring home from a trip, in my opinion. There are countless resources online to help you take better travel photos, including some excellent articles on our website. (Shameless plug for my favorites: 19 ... Keep reading!

5 New Resources for Travel Photography

Photos are the best souvenir you can bring home from a trip, in my opinion. There are countless resources online to help you take better travel photos, including some excellent articles on our website. (Shameless plug for my favorites: 19 ... Keep reading!