Melbourne hotels make canine companions welcome

Canines and their human companions are now welcome to stay in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD with as Citadines on Bourke Melbourne transforming into a dog-friendly retreat, complete with a rooftop courtyard where pups can stretch their legs. 

Having recently welcomed four-legged guests to a selection of apartments at Somerset on Elizabeth Melbourne, The Ascott Limited has decided to spread the doggy joy to a sister property.

Positioned in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD and comprised of spacious apartments with separate living and dining areas, Citadines on Bourke Melbourne offers guests and their pups a city base to stretch out, relax and explore the city’s many sights and sounds at an affordable price.

Four-legged guests will be catered for with a bed fitted for the furry traveller, water and food bowls, and a welcome pack including treats, toys and a special gift.



Pups on their first city-break will get a true taste of the high life, experiencing their very own New York moment at the aparthotel’s rooftop courtyard.

Back on ground level, dogs will also have plenty of opportunity for exercise with neighbouring parks in Carlton and Fitzroy Gardens both within close walking distance.

The guest services team will be well-versed in many of the dog-friendly activities on offer around the city, including Tom and Captain who guide dogs on adventurous walks around Melbourne, and Gourmet Pawprints who offer pup-friendly experiences such as Paws and Pours High Tea and Doggy Winery Tours.

Happy times for pampered hounds. 

For further information about Citadines on Bourke Melbourne, please visit www.citadines.com

How many brands does one hotel group need?

Global hotel chain Hilton has announced it is to introduce yet another new brand - its 18th.

Joining brands like Doubletree, Conrad and Waldorf Astoria, Tempo by Hilton will be targeted at "a growing segment of modern achievers" and will be "an approachable lifestyle brand' that has been designed with input from experts in the well-being, food and other lifestyle spheres." 

Hilton CEO Christopher J Nassetta said: "Tempo by Hilton is the latest example of our ability to anticipate what our guests are looking for.

"I think this will be one of our larger brands in the US - and ultimately globally."

He says there could be as many as 500 locations for Tempo over the long term.

Confirmed locations for new hotels so far include New York, Maui, Los Angeles, Nashville, San Diego, Houston and Atlanta.

Rooms will be "reinvigorating and relaxing" with "cocoon-like beds featuring wraparound headboards". 

Hotels will have a complimentary tea and coffee bar in the lobby (why not in the rooms?), a casual café and craft cocktails.

Each location will also feature versatile meeting space for small groups or social events.

The trouble is that the image offered to the media looks like any generic hotel room - and Nassetta is merely spouting hotel speak.
I can see nothing in the publicity blurb that merits a new brand. It sounds just like any other mid-scale chain to me. 

Tempo will be part of Hilton's loyalty program as well as the Travel with Purpose sustainability program.

The first Tempo by Hilton hotel is expected to open in mid-2021.

But at least Hilton still has a long way to go to match French chain Accor, which at my last count had 35 different brands in its voluminous portfolio.

These include Raffles, Fairmont and Sofitel; MGallery, Pullman, Sofitel, Swissotel, Novotel, Mercure and ibis. 

In my opinion all these brands just lead to confusion among consumers - but this has nothing to do with consumers. It's all about enticing investors with something new. 

Ibiza and Majorca have had enough of boozy Brits

The holiday islands of Ibiza and Majorca have long been magnets for booze-fuelled British tourists. 

But now the Spanish have had enough of the pink pissed pests. 

he regional government of the Balearic Islands has passed a bill clamping down on alcohol-fuelled antics in resorts that have a reputation for rowdiness and excess drinking, Travel Mole reports.

Happy hours, free drinks and the advertising of pub crawls are now illegal in the West End of Sant Antoni on Ibiza and Playa de Palma, El Arenal and Magaluf (above) on Majorca.

The laws, drawn up in consultation with the tourism industry, also bans two-for-one drink offers, prohibits the sale of alcohol in shops between 9:30pm and 8am and forbids advertising party boats in designated areas. Alcohol vending machines have also been outlawed.

In addition, no new licences will be granted for the notorious booze cruises. 

The regional government said the measures will "fight excesses in certain tourist zones" and "force a real change in the tourism model of those destinations".

Tourism Minister Iago Negueruela described the move as "an exceptional law for a particular area and a specific problem".

A ban on 'balconing' - when holidaymakers jump from a hotel or apartment balcony into a swimming pool - has already been in place in some resorts and has been extended across the whole region. 

British tourists have helped make these resorts notorious. Magaluf, for instance, has been nicknamed 'Shagaluf' because of its reputation.

"With this, the Balearic Islands become the first destination in Europe to fight back against tourism based on excess," Negueruela said.

What do Caracas, Port Moresby and Pietermariztburg have in common?

Caracas in Venezuela (below) is the most dangerous city in the world, Numbeo's latest international crime index reveals. 

Numbeo is the world's largest database of user contributed data but I call complete bullshit on its figures. 

Analysis of the Numbeo figures shows the Venezuelan capital has a crime level of 84.92, while Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea has one of 83.22. Next comes Pietermaritzburg in South Africa.

Pretoria, Durban and Johannesburg, all in South Africa, rounded out the fourth, fifth and sixth places on the list followed by San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Rio de Janeiro,  Recife and Salvador in Brazil. 

Cities with crime levels lower than 20 are considered to have very low crime. Between 20 and 40 is low, between 40 and 60 is moderate, between 60 and 80 is high, and higher than 80 is considered very high.

Three US cities (Memphis, Baltimore and Detroit) made the top 20, with Port of Spain in Trinidad, where I have happily strolled the streets solo, comes in at No.14.

Australia’s most dangerous city is apparently Darwin (55.30), sitting way down the index at 86. Canberra (19.32) is listed as Australia’s safest city on the 375-city list. 

Why is it, then that I feel far safer wandering around beachfront Durban than I do in San Francisco, and certainly a lot safer in Pietermaritzburg than in Naples? 

The fact is there are lies, damn lies and statistics and these figures simply do not reflect crime reality. 

The vast majority of all crime in South Africa, for instance is black-on-black violence in remote ghettos, or townships. Few, if any tourists are likely to enter Gugulethu, or Kwa Mashu. 

In Pietermaritzburg (above), a city of fewer than a quarter of a million people, the crime hotspots are Imbali, Edendale, Dambuza and Plessislaer - all outlying townships with gang issues, political violence and vicious taxi company rivalries. 

Tourists will not be visiting shanty towns or open-air garbage dumps populated by dump divers.   

 

The same story in Brazil. Much of the crime happens in favelas, hillside shanty townships in which rival gangs wreak violence on each other and into which no sane visitor would set foot. 

Caracas is not not on my list of cities to visit, so I cannot verify what happens there, but WorldNomads says violent crime is rife and foreigners are prime targets. 

Violent crime, including armed robbery, carjacking, home invasions and sexual assault is common, too, in Port Moresby, but that city is hardly a vacation hotspot.  

Perhaps avoid Caracas and Port Moresby - but I would not not allow statistics to scare me away from holiday destinations in South Africa or Brazil. 

   

 

Step back 200 years with Sydney's new museum drawcard

The new Hyde Park Barracks experience aims to offer a journey through Australian history.

The UNESCO World Heritage-listed building, which dates back to 1819, reopens on February 21 after a complete refurbishment and is hoping to redefine the museum experience.

Led by ground breaking audio technology, visitors won’t just follow in the footsteps of real people who encountered the Barracks – they will re-live their experiences.

With immersive activations over three storeys, visitors will walk through history: stand where they stood and listen to their stories. 

“Audiences around the world are looking for more from their museum visits than merely seeking information,” said Adam Lindsay, the executive director of Sydney Living Museums.

Hyde Park Barracks is one of the most significant convict sites in the world. Commissioned in 1817 by Governor Lachlan Macquarie, the building was designed by convict architect Francis Greenway, and almost 100,000 people passed through its gates over 68 years during the time that it served as a convict residence, immigration depot and female asylum.

“The Barracks has been central to the many chapters of Sydney’s emergence as a diverse, multicultural city,” said Don Harwin, Minister for the Arts.

“The renewal of such an iconic heritage landmark promises a bold, new look at the interwoven, challenging and often inspiring stories of Sydney’s early history.”

At the heart of the new experience is our globally significant Archaeological Collection. More than 4000 original objects will be on display, many for the very first time.

The collection of items worn, touched and treasured by past residents is considered one of the best preserved examples of 19th-century institutional life anywhere in the world.

The renewed Hyde Park Barracks tells a significant part of Australia’s convict story and the site’s early role in immigration and institutional care. But the impact of this place on Aboriginal land, culture and communities is also acknowledged and told.

Tickets to visit the museum will cost adults $24, concession $20 and children $16.

The Historic Houses Trust of NSW, incorporating Sydney Living Museums, cares for significant historic places, buildings, landscapes and collections. It is a statutory authority of, and principally funded by, the New South Wales Government.

See https://hydeparkbarracks.sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/

Discover why cruise passengers want to spend less time at sea

Cruise passengers are looking to expand their horizons in 2020 with an increased demand for far-flung, pristine destinations. 

Cruisers also want yo immerse themselves in each location, a survey by global luxury travel network Virtuoso reveals. 

The network is revealing its top cruise trends for the year in time for “wave season,” occurring each January through March, when savvy travellers book voyages to benefit from special incentives. 

Virtuoso’s cruise portfolio includes 33 ocean, river, yacht and expedition partners offering thousands of itineraries to global ports-of-call.

“In 2020, cruisers are choosing itineraries based on destinations and the more unusual and faraway the better,” said Beth Butzlaff, vice-president for cruise sales at Virtuoso. 

“Cruising used to be considered more passive, but lines have overcome that misperception with [ships spending] more time in port and passengers enjoying experiences that are unique to the destination. 

"Passengers want to enjoy the essence of these places through interactions with local people and culture, and the industry has responded with innovative offerings to satisfy evolving preferences."

Virtuoso’s top cruise trends for 2020 include: 

Distant Destinations
The No.1 reason travellers are interested in cruises is the ability to visit multiple destinations. No longer just focused on the Caribbean or Mediterranean, cruise ships visit ports as diverse as Muscat, Oman; Manta, Ecuador; Tasmania  and Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. 

In-Port Immersion
Cruise lines are creating new itineraries and shore excursions to provide more destination immersion. Azamara offers three ways to further that connection with a locale: late-night and overnight stays, complimentary evening performances in port and shore excursions that encourage deeper connections with local people and cultures. Seabourn also offers cultural, culinary, adventure and mindful-living experiences during shore excursions, bringing the destination to life for passengers. 

Cold is Hot
Lines as varied as Crystal, Seabourn, Viking and Ponant are offering more expedition cruises as the boom in adventurous cruising continues building. Passengers seeking pure, scenic destinations are attracted to chilly locales such as Antarctica, the Arctic, Greenland and Norway’s fjords. 

Conscious Travel
Cruise lines are responding to consumers’ growing awareness of sustainability by implementing more environmentally friendly technology and programs to boost the destinations they visit, both economically and culturally. Hurtigruten, Lindblad Expeditions, Aqua Expeditions and Royal Caribbean International are among those leading the way. 

Micro-Cruises
Micro-trips – short jaunts for people with more money and desire to travel than time – are trending in the cruise world in North America. Lines such as Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity and Virgin Voyages offer two- to five-night Caribbean cruises. Equally convenient, passengers have multiple options for their port of departure, with Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, New Orleans and Galveston, Texas, all offering micro-cruises. 

Americana
Cruise lines featuring U.S. sailings are flourishing, with American Queen’s Mississippi River cruises in particularly high demand. The appeal extends beyond Americans, with Australians who want to cruise the legendary river also booking voyages.  

The Suite Life
Some cruise devotees only travel in style by booking a suite, and if the category they desire is not available, they push their sailing date further into the future. Suite inventory is relatively small, specifically for spacious owner’s and penthouse suites, so this demand has inspired lines to open itineraries well in advance, especially for world cruises. With 2020 bookings strong, cruisers are bumping sailing dates out as far as 2022. 

Travellers who want to take advantage of wave season and book through a Virtuoso advisor will receive complimentary amenities on select sailings. To view cruises from Virtuoso’s partner lines visit www.virtuoso.com/luxury-cruises.