magellanstraits

HotelFacts: #3: The Envelope

magellanstraits — Fri, 24 May 2013 09:00:34 +0000

For the third in our series of Hotel Facts, we are once again immersed in the archive of The Savoy London. I first saw it on some advertising that The Savoy undertook a decade with a clever byline – “Nowadays, people tend to use our Internet address” – and it probably needs no explanation. The letter came from the former Czechoslovakia and was addressed simply to The Greatest Hotel in London. The British post office authorities automatically assumed it was destined for The Savoy. Classic.

Contributor: Sue Lowry

The Savoy London is managed by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts which is a client of Magellan PR. For more information, please visit http://www.fairmont.com, follow them on twitter @FairmontHotels or on Facebook/Fairmont Hotels. Their community website is www.everyonesanoriginal.com. Follow The Savoy London on twitter @TheSavoyLondon and on Facebook/The Savoy.

Magellan PR is on twitter: @MagellanPR / on Facebook: MagellanPR / on Pinterest: Sue Lowry / on Google+: Sue Lowry & MagellanPR and on Flickr: Sue Lowry. For more information on our company, visit www.magellan-pr.com. Follow our other blog focussing on travel in the South of England – A3 Traveller.

Suite Dreams Series – #9 – The Presidential Suite at the Fairmont Zimbali Resort, South Africa (magellanstraits.com)

Shaken Not Stirred Series – ‘The Great Gatsby Cocktail’

magellanstraits — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:00:08 +0000

Images courtesy of Fairmont Hotels and Resorts

To celebrate the recent release of the 2013 film ‘The Great Gatsby’, Erik Lorincz, The American Bar’s award winning barman, has created an elegant masterpiece in the form of ’The Great Gatsby” cocktail for The Savoy, A Fairmont Managed Hotel.

He tells us that his inspiration was drawn from the film itself as well as the book. Ingredients from the Millionaire cocktail helped to represent Jay Gatsby and his aristocratic personality whereas gin was added to represent F.Scott Fitgerald attempting to hide his notorious drinking habit! I think we owe Gin a thank you for helping to create an edge of your seat classic!

Ingredients:

- 50ml Bombay Sapphire
– 2.5ml Apricot Liqueur
– 1bsp crushed caraway seeds
– 25 ml Lime Juice
– 2.5ml sugar Syrup
– 1bsp Caster Sugar
– 20ml Champagne

Contributor: Guy Hough

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Travel Facts#2: In the footsteps of Napoleon!

magellanstraits — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:00:37 +0000

For anyone wanting to know more about Emperor Napoleon, surely there can be no more symbolic a place to visit than Aix Island, in Poitou-Charentes, France.

Napoleon finally left French soil forever from Aix Island en route to his banishment on St Helena. This rather melancholy fact is made more poignant when you hear that he personally built the property (now a museum dedicated to his memory) a couple of years before.

By the way, bicycles are de riguer on this car-free and delightful island that is reached by ferry from Fouras. There are also plenty of Napoleonic war fortifications to see too – with Fort Boyard (a sea-fort) in the far distance.

Contributor: Sue Lowry

CRT Poitou-Charentes is a client of Magellan PR. Follow them on twitter @VisitPCharentes or on Facebook/Atlantic Coast & Cognac Country – Holidays in Poitou-Charentes.

Suite Dreams Series – #11 – The Savoy’s Monet Suite

magellanstraits — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:00:41 +0000

I guess the picture above lets the cat out of the bag so to speak but we recently took a sneaky peak around perhaps one of London’s most famous suites – the Monet Suite of The Savoy where Monsieur Claude painted some of his most memorable London scenes.

Taking the Blue Lift this time (love an historic hotel that has a number of different coloured lifts), Suite 618 comes complete with butler service and an unbeatable panoramic view of the capital – even on an overcast day.

Monet himself stayed at the hotel in September 1890 and took two adjoining rooms on the sixth floor, one for himself and one to use as a studio. He stayed almost two months and returned in February 1890. In total, he produced a collection of over 80 canvasses of London showing Charing Cross Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and the Houses of Parliament at different times of the day and under different weather conditions – many sketched from his hotel balcony.

The colour scheme of the hotel seems to echo his palette – these subtle lilacs, creams and sea-greens really work for me too – and the chandelier on this occasion is a rather fetching green … Murano perhaps? Do so love chandeliers and only luxury hotels seem to look after them properly.

Once again, the style of the suite is Edwardian Grand as the River facing rooms are in the oldest part of the hotel, dating from that era.

Can you spot the famous London image here above in miniature and the one below?

You can almost match it with the view from the suite although of course, what Monet would have made of The London Eye is anyone’s business!

Flicking through this book of Monet’s body of work, standing by the window where he would have looked out on, many decades ago, gives you a small frisson of connection with the artist and a brief insight into an illustrious past and a London which perhaps has not changed as much as we sometimes think it has.

Rates start at GBP2495 (approx USD 3850*) including tax for an overnight stay with butler service.

For more Claude Monet Suite images, see my flickr stream here.

* using XE currency exchange as of 25th April 2013 – GBP1 = USD1.54

Contributor: Sue Lowry

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Travel Facts#1: Cognac

magellanstraits — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:00:40 +0000

When visiting Cognac for the first time, one key point was gifted to me by the kind people at Courvoisier, “all cognacs are brandies but not all brandies are cognacs”! As you travel around Cognac, you can see how fiercely this fact is protected – as well it should be. It’s a heritage to be proud of. By the way, see the black mould on the door in the image above?That indicates that there’s a good cellar inside!

All the main cognac houses offer guided tours – the one I took was with Courvoisier of course. I believe that it’s even possible for students of the grape to stay in their chateau now. Legend has it that Napoleon took several barrels of Courvoisier over to his exile in St Helena – a treat much appreciated by his English jailors who named it “The Cognac of Napoleon” – a moniker that remains to this day.

Accommodation by the way need not be expensive in this area. I stayed in a gypsy caravan, complete with shower, wifi and free breakfast and couldn’t have been happier.

Contributor: Sue Lowry

CRT Poitou-Charentes is a client of Magellan PR. Follow them on twitter @VisitPCharentes or on Facebook/Atlantic Coast & Cognac Country – Holidays in Poitou-Charentes.

Aix – a kinder pace of life

magellanstraits — Mon, 13 May 2013 09:00:06 +0000

Have you ever visited somewhere that you immediately & instinctively loved and that you hoped would stay like that forever? Well, that place for me is Ile d’Aix in Poitou-Charentes, France. I will be returning very soon and I fervently hope that it will have that same impact on me once again.

No more building is allowed on this island and as homes become available, the council themselves are buying them to secure its constancy and charm. A favourite haunt of French day-trippers, houses on Aix cost the equivalent of a Parisian apartment … that is, if someone will sell one to you.

Accessed by ferry from Fouras, the island is car-free and bike friendly – indeed it is easy enough to cycle around the entire island in a very short space of time as it is only 3 km long and 600 m wide. And it’s flat!

Beaches galore, good locally produced food and a pace of life that verges on the sleepy with gazing out at the horizon & dreaming a key priority. This island is for people who want contemplation and relaxation – not for those who yearn for a faster pace of life.

I can’t wait to return to visit Napoleon’s House once more (now a museum), whilst staying in a charming, contemporary hotel that bears his name. Paradise.

Contributor: Sue Lowry

CRT Poitou-Charentes is a client of Magellan PR. Follow them on twitter @VisitPCharentes or on Facebook/Atlantic Coast & Cognac Country – Holidays in Poitou-Charentes.

The Great French Blogger Relay!

magellanstraits — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:00:57 +0000

Magellan PR is proud to be working with CRT Poitou-Charentes for a unique European blogger marathon featuring nine experienced and talented blogger/photographers from three different countries – the UK, from The Netherlands and from Germany from 9th – 19th May 2013. Bringing up the rear as participant number 10 will be yours truly, Magellan!

Each blogger has been chosen for their unique niche market and will be following either a solo, a couples or a family itinerary, custom created for personal preference. So if you are interested in exploring the region and all it has to offer through the eyes of some of the best of European travel blogging talent, then look out for the #FranceAtlantic hashtag group.

This can be further drilled down by adding either #FranceAtlantic #PC1s (for independent solo travellers), #FranceAtlantic #PC3c (for couples) and #FranceAtlantic #PC2f (for family ideas and adventures). A unique micro-site has been created to showcase their travels and experiences.

So come along and join in the fun and games over in Atlantic France – we at Magellan are certainly going to enjoy seeing the region through the eyes of these great bloggers and photographers …

Germany: Elke Weiler, @MeerBlogde (#FranceAtlantic #PC3c); Nicole Hildebrandt, @luziapimpinessa (#FranceAtlantic #PC2f) and Gesa Temmen, @Lilies-Diary (#FranceAtlantic #PC1s).

The Netherlands: Ester Blanker, @Gezinspiratie (#FranceAtlantic #PC2f), Moniek de Jongh, @moodejo (#FranceAtlantic #PC1s) and Dionne van der Welle, @reishonger (#FranceAtlantic #PC3c).

The UK: Jane Meighan, @runawayJane (#FranceAtlantic #PC1s), Abigail King, @InsideTravelLab (#FranceAtlantic #PC3c) and Charlotte Everiss, @themummyblogger (#FranceAtlantic #PC2f).

Contributor: Sue Lowry

CRT Poitou-Charentes is a client of Magellan PR. Follow them on twitter @VisitPCharentes or on Facebook/Atlantic Coast & Cognac Country – Holidays in Poitou-Charentes.

An Architectural Marvel

magellanstraits — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:10:34 +0000

I have to admit to a liking for contemporary architecture so it might come as no surprise to read that I am immensely looking forward – imminently – to seeing one of the most technically difficult buildings ever constructed – the glorious Flame Towers Complex.

Set on the highest part and overlooking the entire city of Baku, Azerbaijan, the three-columned building is designed in the shape of a flame with even the tip of each tower designed with a “flick”. One tower houses offices, another residential apartments and the third a hotel (our client) – Fairmont Baku – located in the northernmost block.

Barry Hughes, of HOK International, the architects for the build, tells us “The most impressive thing about the Towers is actually the shape. We set out to make towers that were shaped like flames. We were inspired by the ancient ideal of flame worship that was dominant in the region that is today Azerbaijan.”

He continues “For me, the most special thing is that sculptural object sitting there up on the hill. You don’t see that anyplace else in the world at this scale. People invariably are going to Baku now and looking up on the hill and seeing those buildings and it still takes my breath away.”

I can’t wait to see this for myself very soon*.

*Projected opening of Fairmont Baku is early summer.

Contributor: Sue Lowry

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is a client of Magellan PR. For more information, please visit http://www.fairmont.com, follow them on twitter @FairmontHotels, on Facebook/Fairmont Hotels and on Pinterest under FairmontHotels. Their community website is www.everyonesanoriginal.com. Fairmont Baku is on twitter: @FairmontBaku and on Facebook/FairmontBaku.

Magellan PR is on Twitter: @MagellanPR / on Facebook: MagellanPR / on Pinterest: Sue Lowry / on Google+: Sue Lowry & MagellanPR and on Flickr: Sue Lowry. For more information on our company, visit www.magellan-pr.com. Follow our other blog focussing on travel in the South of England – A3 Traveller.

HotelFacts: #2: The Stork’s Nest

magellanstraits — Wed, 08 May 2013 09:00:44 +0000

For the second in our Hotel Facts series, we turn to Spain – the Castile y Leon area to be precise and Abadia Retuerta LeDomaine - a stunning hotel & winery estate dating back to the twelfth century.

On the bell tower of the former Santa Maria de Retuerta Abbey, eagle-eyed guests may spy an extra large bird’s nest – the spring and summer home to a returning stork family and their young brood.

Estate staff keep a benevolent watch over the young family as one by one, the young leave the nest. Indeed, for nature lovers and ornithologists, this estate is a bit of a gold mine for avian rarity. The 700 hectares Estate and immediate area is home to over 130 different species of bird and the hotel has a full list of species sited within the grounds. These include cormorants, storks, mallards, ospreys, red kites, buzzards, sparrowhawks, sparrows, starlings, chaffinches, crossbills, peregrine falcons and many more.

Contributor: Sue Lowry

Abadia Retuerta LeDomaine is a client of Magellan PR. Follow them on twitter: @LeDomaineHotel and on Facebook/Abadiaretuertaledomaine.

HotelFacts: #1: The Savoy’s Red Lift (magellanstraits.com)

HotelFacts: #1: The Savoy’s Red Lift

magellanstraits — Wed, 01 May 2013 09:00:09 +0000

For the first in our new series of hotel facts, we turn to that unbeatable fountain of knowledge – The Savoy London’s unique archive.

For many guests of The Savoy London, the first clue as to where your room is located within the hotel is when you are invited to travel by a certain lift. The Red Lift (modelled by Alexandra Pinhorn), in all its red lacquer and gilt splendour, takes you swiftly up to the Edwardian side of the property and the personality suites.

Its main claim to fame however is that it was London’s very first electric lift – still looking as good today as to when it was first operated! The Savoy’s first owner, Richard D’Oyly Carte referred to the lift as an “ascending room” – enabling him to charge the same rates for upper level accommodation (generally cheaper) as for the ground floor.

Contributor: Sue Lowry

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Related articles

Travel Facts#2: In the footsteps of Napoleon!

Suite Dreams Series – #11 – The Savoy’s Monet Suite

Travel Facts#1: Cognac

Aix – a kinder pace of life

The Great French Blogger Relay!

An Architectural Marvel

HotelFacts: #2: The Stork’s Nest

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HotelFacts: #1: The Savoy’s Red Lift