2011 July travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Located in the city’s busy and dynamic historical centre of the beautiful Portuguese city of Porto, Hotel Teatro is an urban and chic property that makes you feel like you are part of a spectacular show. Considered as one of the four prestige hotels in the city, it is close to the city’s attractions including Clerigos Tower and Oporto Coliseum. The hotel has been built on the same place where the revered 1859 Teatro Baquet once stood. The theatre, which was destroyed by fire in 1888, had been a cultural hub for Porto. 122 years later, the internationally known designer Nini Andrade Silva brings the spirit of the Teatro Baquet back to life in the Hotel Teatro.
Continue reading An originality, innovation and class

The Wolwedans Dunes Lodge is set in the heart of the magnificent NamibRand reserve. Perched on top of a dune plateau, this lodge boasts some of Namibia‘ most dramatic and beautiful desert scenery. Wolwedans means “where the wolves dance” in Afrikaans. Offering the nature-loving individual a wonderful desert experience, Wolwedans is the perfect base to discover this unique and diverse desert habitat.
Continue reading A place to relax, unwind and get a real feel for the surroundings

Set high above the sea, at the highest point of Santorini‘s volcanic Caldera, Chromata Hotel has the most breathtaking views of the volcano and the Aegean Sea. Perched on the side of the cliffs in the picturesque white-washed, cycladic village of Imerovigli, Chromata is a small luxury hotel of immense charm features an excellent service and chic interior design. This stylish boutique hotel is a perfect spot to spend days relaxing.
Continue reading A little masterpiece of design

Over the hills in La Mancha, Toledo has a much higher profile. A mesmerizing town rich in Spanish history and culture, it is capital of Castilla-La Mancha, not the most compelling of regions. Mainly flat and grab, this region – not surprisingly – drove Don Quijote to mad hallucination in Cervantes’ seminal allegorical novel. Windmills aside (which become Don Quijote’s “giants”), La Mancha is renowned for manchego, a delectable sheep’s cheese. Toledo itself is not a great gastronomic destination as its proximity to Madrid makes it a classic day-trip destination – and thus something of a quick-fix food town. Its attractions are best experienced overnight; the town comes into its own at dusk when shadowy alleys, high stone walls and deserted streets impart a poignant sense of a long, illustrious past.
Continue reading El Greco’s Toledo

Luarca is one of many idyllic fishing coves along the indented coastline of Asturias.  Situated at an elevation of 110 m above sea level, the village is located 90 km from the capital, Oviedo. With a population of about 5,000 people, Luarca has one of the most attractive harbors in all of Spain. This is a truly stunning fishing village built around an S-shaped cove sitting between sheer cliffs.
Continue reading The white town of the green coast

In 1929, King Alfonso XIII officially opened the sanatorium at El Vendrell, run by the brothers of San Juan de Dios. For more than 40 years it was a symbol of compassion, treating children with respiratory diseases until it was sold in the 1970s. It is apt today that both the building and its original vocation of care and treatment have been lovingly restored as part of the luxurious Hotel RA Beach Thelasso-Spa. The resort overlooks the beach of San Salvador on the famous Costa Dorada and it is only 30 min by car from Barcelona Airport.
Continue reading Hotel RA Beach Thalasso – Spa

The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, informally shortened to the Museo Reina Sofia, is located at the southern end of the paseo by Atocha station. This is the Spain national museum of 20th century art. Along with the Prado Museum and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the Reina Sofia Museum offers visitors one of the finest selections of art in Europe. Madrid’s 18th century hospital was beautifully converted into a museum in 1992, with two panoramic glass lifts standing out in the façade. When it opened it nurtured a whole new appreciation of contemporary art, something that had been sorely lacking under the Franco regime when avant-garde artists either relied on private foundations and banks for support and exhibit space, or went abroad. Suddenly this new focal point brought performance art, video work and installations to the capital, while side street spawned light-filled galleries with white wall.
Continue reading Art mileage

Do you want to escape the monotonous routines, mad rush, partying nights, to some place serene, divinely, and very close to the nature? If your answer is positive, you should book rooms at the Lake Okareka Lodge by Lebua, in New Zealand. Surrounded by a stunning untouched environment of shimmering lakes, forested hills and the evocative songs of New Zealand’s native birds, you will feel a million miles away from everywhere. A multi-award winning Lake Okareka Lodge is an exclusive ultra-luxury resort lodge sheltered in calm waters on private sandy beaches, with breathtaking views framed by the lodge’s local stone, natural timber and beautifully landscaped flora.
Continue reading Among Top Honeymoon Destinations

Llanes was a significant fishing port from the 15th to the 18th centuries for both deep sea and inshore fleets. Due to its location, it was one of the most dangerous ports in north of Spain. The work known as the “Cubes of Memory” is a series of paintings done on the concrete blocks that go to make up a breakwater in the port of Llanes. The blocks were delivered in the 1930s as a breakwater and storm protection. Since they were decorated by the Basque artist, Agustín Ibarrola by the end of 2001, the memory cubes have become one of the area’s main tourist attractions in the village of Llanes.
Continue reading The “Cubes of Memory”

Located in a thousand-year-old medieval village Eze in Southern France, Chateau Eza is a charming property tucked away in one of the most exciting sites on the Cote d’Azur. Situated 400 meters above the Mediterranean, it is one of the most charming hill-top stone villages along the Côte d’Azur. Offers cosseting accommodation, discreet attentive service and Michelin-starred cuisine amid the astonishing and breathtaking views, the chateau Eza is an ideal place for totally relaxing vacation.
Continue reading Pretty as a postcard – Chateau Eza