Mandarin Oriental Geneva Unveils Its Mandarin Floor

Mandarin Oriental Geneva recently complete a two-year refurbishment of its guestrooms, and has recently revealed its new "Mandarin Floor." Located on the hotel's sixth floor and boasting superb views over the city, rivers, and mountains. Interiors have been designed by renowned French Designer Sybille de Margerie of SM Design. Margerie was also responsible for the guestrooms, public areas, and spas at the Mandarin Oriental Paris. The new interiors are designed to provide guests with the ultimate in comfort, modernity and style, whilst enjoying magnificent views over the river Rhône, city and mountains. The "Mandarin Floor" offers modern and spacious rooms and suites bursting with a sophisticated palette of reds, invigorating exotic fuchsia, and delicate tones of silver or gold.

The "Mandarin Floor" offers guests a variety of luxurious rooms and suites; from the elegant Mandarin Rooms, stylish Junior River Suites, the classy Deluxe Suites, to the most exclusive Royal Mandarin Suite with its private elevator access and the possibility of a configuration as a magnificent three-bedroom suite. All rooms and suites are equipped with the latest in sophisticated technology and entertainment systems and complimentary Nespresso coffee machines. With the addition of the "Mandarin Floor," the Mandarin Oriental Geneava now offers a total of 170 stylish and spacious guestrooms and 27 suites. With the launch of the “Mandarin Floor”, Mandarin Oriental, Geneva now offers a total of 170 stylish and spacious guestrooms and 27 top suites.

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Did You Know? Banyan Tree Club and Spa

When winter arrives in Seoul, the expansive outdoor swimming pool at Banyan Tree Club and Spa transforms into a fairy-tale ice rink and snow-sled field.

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Image of the Day: Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort

Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort overlooks the island’s famed Kuta Beach and the Bali Strait along Jalan Pantai Kuta. The Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort is part of Beachwalk: A Sahid Kuta Lifestyle Resort, a lifestyle center complete with shopping, restaurants, bars, nightlife, and an XXI Cineplex. Ngurah Rai International Airport, also known as Denpasar International Airport (DPS), is only a 15-minute drive away.

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Paradisus Palma Real Introduces a Royal Redesign

Paradisus Palma Real, the luxury all-inclusive Punta Cana resort, has completed its comprehensive redesign, adding 110 Royal Service Suites, as well a new Royal Service Lounge with its own private Italian restaurant, new juice bar, pool, ECO spa, and fitness areas. The resort’s service has also been upgraded, from pre-arrival to Punta Cana and resort arrival, as well as personalized and intuitive butler service throughout.

As part of the improvements to service, once guest books their stay at Paradisus Palma Resort, a staff member will contact them to discuss preferences, dietary restrictions, and their vacation desires. The resort will then make recommendations, pre-book reservations, and help create the perfect vacation.

Paradisus signature Royal Service Suites offer unparalleled all-inclusive luxury in an adults-only atmosphere. Each of the 220 Royal Service Suites comes complete with an in-suite Jacuzzi. Modern touches include 32-inch flat screen televisions, iPod docking stations, Expresso coffee machines and now customized mini-bars, bathrooms are stocked with Thierry Mugler bath amenities. The resort has also taken their service standards up a notch, now providing one modern certificated butler per every six Royal Service Suites.

The additional Royal Service ECO Spa is exclusively for Royal Service guests, featuring five massage treatment eco palapas. A water ritual area – comprised of two hot tubs, pool with hydrotherapy, cold plunge, pediluvio foot bath, showers, steam room and sauna – will be located adjacent to the new Royal Service pool.

 The new Italian restaurant, Il Palazzo, will be exclusive for Royal Service Guests, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. This modern Italian experience is located within the new Royal Service lounge and offers unobstructed views of the Caribbean. The Royal Service white sand beach area will now boast a new Juice Bar. Guests will be able to order smoothies and freshly squeezed juices, including the signature passion fruit drink. The new Juice Bar is open daily, from morning to early evening. The resort’s main lagoon-style pool will now feature a designated and dedicated Royal Service area, which connects to the Royal Service Lounge.  Paradisus Palma Real’s new Fitness area, YHI Moves, will be over 2,000 sq. ft, boasting new Life Fitness equipment and a large cardio and weights area, attended by professional personal trainers, offering assistance and complimentary yoga, pilates and stretching classes. The resort’s new Red Lounge is an all-day lobby bar and after-dinner lounge, which changes ambiance to suit the mood and tempo of day and night-time entertainment.

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Spotlight on La Tremoille

Paris is synonymous with refinement and elegance, it is a place where everything is so beautiful it can be considered an art form. From the food to the clothes, everything seems seamlessly dripping with Parisian luxury. Travelers and tourists who have been to the fabulous Golden Triangle in Paris located in the 8th district, have seen and shopped at the finest haute couture fashion houses, experienced gastronomic delicacies, and if they are lucky know about Paris's best kept secret: La Tremoille. 

Image of the Day: Fairmont Yangcheng Lake

Nestled along the shores of the legendary Yangcheng Lake, home to the sought-after hairy crab, Fairmont Yangcheng Lake is a luxury five star Kunshan resort unlike any other.

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Refined Seasonal Eating at Relais Santa Croce's Guelfi e Ghibellini

Guelfi e Ghibellini is the restaurant located on the hotel grounds of Relais Santa Croce hotel in Florence, Italy. A perfect blend of traditional and modernity in Tuscan cuisine, the menu is seasonal and changes every three months dictated by the ingredients local markets have to offer. Guests are welcomed by a marble fireplace and black leather armchairs that create an atmosphere of sophisticated elegance, which guests can uncannily taste in their meals at Guelfi e Ghibellini. The tables are decadently laden with traditional Italian blown glassware, amongst an in-depth selection of different flavors of olive oil. The menu is also known to slightly change on a day-to-day basis, as the talented young local chefs like to enhance the menu with daily produce from local markets. As Italians are known for their artisanal craftsmanship in everything they produce, it is no surprise the same sentiment is trickled into their food. For example, all pastries are made strictly by hand in order to deconstruct the traditional and transform it into a contemporary gastronomical experience.

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Two Of Our Favorite Spas in City Center Las Vegas

Up and down the Strip, and throughout the downtown area, spas are serious business in Las Vegas. Two of our favorites are located within City Center, Las Vegas' newest complex nestled between Monte Carlo and Bellagio - The Sahra Spa & Hammam at The Cosmopolitan and Spa & Salon Vdara. Our sister publication, Luxury Travel Advisor, recently spelled out their perks.

"The Sahra Spa & Hammam at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas covers 43,000 square feet and has an impressive range of spaces: Think 16 massage rooms, four body treatment rooms—each with private steam showers—six skincare treatment rooms, two hydrotherapy rooms and a series of specialty suites designed for group treatments.

The Hammam has proven to be a popular spot to unwind in for an afternoon. The 1,200-square-foot space can be used individually or by up to four guests, and has separate alcoves for steam and cold water plunge pools. Guests can also relax on the heated stone loungers or get a scrub massage to complete the treatment.

The signature Hammam treatment, the Sahra Journey, incorporates several cleansing, purifying, and exfoliating methods into a 2.5-hour package that also includes the Red Flower Hammam Experience. This unique therapy uses 11 flower oils and fruit essences, including Red Flower Lemon Coffee Blossom Olive Stone Scrub for varied scents and healing properties. A "vigorous scrub" is followed by a purifying clay wrap with essences of cardamom; all the while guests relax on warm stones.

Tops for girlfriends: The Sahra Suite has a living and entertaining area and private spa accommodations. (Perks include a flat-screen TV with DVD player, wet bar, whirlpool tubs, steam room, shower, changing and vanity areas.) Beyond massages and facials, girls can get nail treatments, hair and makeup, and can even order room service for dinner and champagne.

Good to know: Try to book at least a week in advance. Some services are only scheduled once per hour, so the farther out the booking, the better the likelihood of getting the dream treatment.

When staying at the hotel, ask to be booked into Terrace One Bedroom Suites, which have private terraces and deep Japanese soaking tubs (great for continuing the relaxation after spa treatments, we say).

At CityCenter, the three-year-old multifunction city within a city, Vdara has an 18,000-square-foot, two-story spa, salon and fitness center.

The Naturopathica French Lavender Soothing Massage is a specialty treatment offered by the spa, but we hear the signature Bamboo Fusion Massage is tops. This signature treatment uses bamboo for Balinese ritual techniques, such as compression, tapotement, ringing, and skin rolling.

Good for kids: A children's manicure/pedicure is available for anyone under 14 years old. This children's service features a strawberries-and-creme (not "cream") pedicure, which we hear uses "farm fresh products."

Bridal parties are also in luck: Brides should try the "Head Over Heels" pedicure treatment, "Body & Soul" massage package, and Day-of Hair and Make-Up services. Grooms, meanwhile, can get a Men's Cut & Style and MAN-icure. Bonus: After the ceremonies, the couple can join up for a "Happily Ever After" couples massage package.

And at Vdara Pool & Lounge, book one of the six specially designated Spa Cabanas, which have a media unit for television and music, ceiling fans, safety deposit boxes, hand sinks, as well as a refrigerator stocked with mineral water and fresh fruit. Spa treatments can also be booked at the cabanas, including the Cabana Purifying Body Treatment & Massage.

Top Tip: At the hotel, book the Two Bedroom Penthouse Suite, which has two full master bedrooms, spa-style bathrooms and a full kitchen and living room. (Guests staying in the suite get four one-time use Spa Facility passes, so this is an especially good pick for spa-focused vacations.)"

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Image of the Day: Amanzoe

Comprising a 38-suite resort and an Aman Spa, Amanzo'e is Amanresorts’ third Mediterranean retreat – the Greek complement to Montenegro’s Aman Sveti Stefan and Turkey’s Amanruya. Drawing its name from the Sanskrit-derived word for "peace" and zoe (pronounced zoi), the Greek word for "life," Amanzo'e is situated on a hilltop close to the quaint town of Porto Heli on the east coast of the Peloponnese. The luxury Porto Heli resort offers almost 360º panoramic sea views as well as a private Beach Club in a picturesque bay.

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The Grosvenor House Hotel in London Unveils Dedicated Nursery Suite

With over 100 luxury hotels in London, properties really have to work hard to stand out. We think that Grosvenor House has come up with a creative, thoughtful and practical solution for travelers with young children in mind. Our sister publication, Luxury Travel Advisor, recently wrote about Grosvenor House's unveiling of their dedicated nursery suite for guests.

"Grosvenor House, A JW Marriott Hotel in London, and nursery designers Dragons of Walton Street have opened the 'Suite Dreams' nursery at the hotel. Designed and tailored with a royal baby in mind (and it just so happens that one is due in July), one of Grosvenor House's Premium Park View Suites has been transformed into a quintessentially British nursery – making it the first nursery offering of its kind from a central London luxury hotel.

Inspired by the suite's views of Hyde Park and the hotel’s history, Dragons of Walton Street (which has a historic association with the Royal family) has created and installed a selection of bespoke, hand crafted and painted furniture ideal for families with small kids. The master bedroom has a sculpted scroll top cotbed, complete with a coronet and sheer voiles draped either side. Combining the practical with luxury, the bedroom also has a chaise longue with two arms making nursing easier for new mothers.

Between the bedroom and the bathroom, guests will find a practical baby changing area themed with Beatrix Potter characters, including Peter Rabbit.

The living area has a more playful London theme, with child-size furnishings and toys, including a hand-painted play table and rush-seated chairs, hand-painted for Grosvenor House. But we hear the pièce de resistance is a dolls house cupboard hand painted to represent Grosvenor House's signature architecture (the intricate artwork for this piece alone took five days to paint!). The Suite Dreams nursery also includes a Balmoral Silver Cross Pram, the original coach-built pram that, like Dragons' furniture, is handmade and hand painted in the UK. (We hear it has been the pram of choice for royalty and celebrities around the world for decades.)

Guests will be able to select from three packages that include the suite: Clarence (one night), Windsor (two nights) and Buckingham (three nights). Guests who choose the premium Buckingham package will get a full baby concierge service including: pick up from the airport, an evening of childcare, dinner for two in JW Steakhouse, spa treatments for both parents, a private consultation with one of the Dragons of Walton Street's head designers, a private tour of Buckingham Palace (date dependent) as well as a personal shopping trip at Harrods.

The 'Suite Dreams' package will be available to pre-book from May 2013 and will be officially open to the public from June."

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