Author: Shawon Hannan
With cruises now capturing the imagination of the young and the old, world cruise experts has predicted that 2013 will be a great year to circumnavigate the world in a luxury liner. Most of these voyages commence at Ft. Lauderdale and New York, in the US, or Southampton, in the UK, and proceed westwards, on various routes which include travelling through the Caribbean, and then sailing on the Pacific Ocean, through the Panama Canal, or around Cape Horn. The ports of call usually include destinations in Hawaii, the South Pacific islands, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, South East Asia, and…
East Midlands Trains, a UK-based train service, has announced its elation at train passengers expressing huge levels of customer satisfaction for train services at the recent National Passenger Survey for Spring 2012, conducted by Passenger Focus, the UK-based research organisation. Passengers have given the thumbs up to East Midlands Trains with the latest independent passenger survey showing that satisfaction with the Stagecoach-owned train operator continuing to grow. The results of the survey, released today by national transport watchdog Passenger Focus, show overall satisfaction has shown a year on year increase to 87%, and satisfaction has increased in 28 of the…
New York is the ultimate meetings destination for corporates, says a recent report submitted by Air and Business Travel News. NYC & Company, the official marketing, tourism and partnership organisation for the city, rated it on availability of contemporary venues, and better valuation of the venues, irrespective of the fluctuation in exchanges rates. NYC & Co vice-president, Jerry Cito, said, ‘Planners have great opportunities to secure competitive rates and find added value in leaner months, particularly in the first quarter of every year. These lower rates can be teamed with events such as Restaurant Week, which offers fixed-priced menus, and…
St Regis Doha hotel, in Doha, Qatar, has opened its new Remede Spa, the first from the spa brand in the Middle East. The new spa is offering an Olympic size swimming pool, luxurious pool cabanas and a private beachfront. The spa covers an area of around 1,400 square metres, and includes 22 treatment rooms, before and post-treatment lounges, as well as male and female steam rooms. Tareq Derbas, the general manager at The St Regis Doha, said, ‘The opening of our Remede Spa is an important milestone for the hotel. We aim to offer guests an unprecedented level of…
Brighton and Hove City Council has given its backing to a spa resort on the Brighton seaside. The spa resort, to be constructed for an investment of £5m, will feature an indoor and outdoor children’s club, a year-round spa and health centre, a beach club and restaurant, an outdoor swimming pool, and a member’s club, and will be constructed on the previous Peter Pan’s Playground site, located close to the Palace Pier. The Brighton Bathing Pavilion, the spa resort, will be developed by The Karma Royal Group, and will be open to general public except for its member’s club. The…
A recent survey has shown that overall customer satisfaction is at 83% for train services operated in London and the South East. The newest National Passenger Survey for Spring 2012 reported that on individual routes, customer satisfaction varied from 97% on the Merseyrail Wirral route; to 75% on ScotRail’s Rural route; around 70% on the First Capital Connect route to Thameslink South; and as low as 23% on Greater Anglia’ Mainline route. Anthony Smith, the chief executive officer of Passenger Focus, the UK-based research organisation which carried out the survey, said, ‘Well done to London Midland, Merseyrail and Heathrow Connect,…
Today Jamie Oliver’s brand new restaurant opens its doors to passengers at North Terminal of London Gatwick Airport. The new Jamie Oliver at Gatwick outlet has been exclusively designed for catering to passengers at airports, and includes a Jamie’s Italian, a Jamie’s Italian Bakery and a Union Jacks Bar serving English cuisine. The restaurant occupies around 6,000 sq ft area, and has one of the largest kitchens, which occupies 40% more space than at any other Jamie’s Italian restaurants. Spencer Sheen, the head of retail at Gatwick Airport, said, ‘We’re thrilled Jamie Oliver chose to open his first ever restaurant…
ScotRail, a railway network in Scotland, has decided to ban consumption and carrying of alcohol on its trains at night, between 9pm and 10am. The network has also stated that it will restrict admission of people under alcoholic influence who the network feel are unfit to travel. The network has taken the stance on demands from passengers against anti-social behaviour on trains and pressure from the government to take action against people indulging in aggressive behaviour on travelling in alcohol-induced states. Steve Montgomery, the managing director of the network, said: ‘Anti-social behaviour fuelled by alcohol has no place on our…
The Park Inn by Radisson Odintsovo Greater Moscow hotel has planned to open in Moscow, Russia. The 122-room hotel is owned by Belgium-based hotel company, Rezidor Hotel Group, and will be a member of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. The property is expected to open in mid 2013, and will be located close to Skolkovo, near the business centre of Odintsovo. The location of the hotel is in the centre of the city of Odintsovo. Kurt Ritter, the president and chief executive officer of Rezidor, said, ‘Russia and its capital city Moscow are a key development market for our dynamic…
Chiltern Railways, a UK-based train company operating on the London Marylebone to Birmingham Snow Hill route, has announced a new car park deck at Warwick Parkway railway station in Warwick. The company is investing around £2.5 million on construction of the car park deck, which will be offering around 222 car park slots for passengers availing of the parking spaces at the station. The new decking area will be open in December 2012, when the company will increase the parking spaces to up to 959 slots. Malcolm Holmes, the general manager mainline at Chiltern Railways, said, ‘The launch of Mainline…