Iberostar Bellevue: a doorway to the Adriatic

We have been looking for hotels located in different European destinations in the beach resort catalogue for this summer 2013. Among all the hotels from the portfolio, the Iberostar Bellevue Hotel represents a doorway to the Adriatic, a sea which is on a par with the Mediterranean when it comes to cleanness, quality and crystal clear waters. Besides, the Adriatic sea bathes shores which have been hardly explored up to now. 

The Bellevue Hotel is a complete 4-star resort in Budva from the Spanish chain Iberostar Hotels & Resorts. Its full All Inclusive board includes special services for trips as a couple or family trips.

Swimming pools for adults and children, sauna, Turkish bathroom, massages, sports and gym, entertainment for adults and miniclub for children... The facilities and rooms of this hotel in Budva, as well as the personal treatment from the staff are good and the quality-price ratio is perfect. 

However, the privileged location is the hallmark of this hotel: at the seafront of Plaza Becici beach, on Budva coast (Montenegro). Furthermore, the hotel features 40.000 square metres of well-cared gardens located between the sea and the mountains: an astonishing landscape. 

The keys:

• All Inclusive Hotel located on Montenegro coast
• Resort with 6 bars, one of them on the beach, and 2 restaurants. 
• Hotel with spa and gym
• Hotel with Miniclub and local folklore. 

New spa in Palma, at just a stone’s throw away from the beach

The Hotel Marina Luz, an Adults Only hotel located next to the beach of Cala Estancia and right in the heart of the Bay of Palma, is preparing the inauguration of a spa centre which will feature as part of its’ facilities from January 2014. 

With a built area of more than 110 m2 and and 200 m2 of open terrace area, this new wellness centre will offer all types of services to look after your body and soul: sauna, jacuzzi, relax area, massage cabins, gym… And of course, not forgetting the spectacular sea views as the spa will be located on the solarium of this modern hotel in the Bay of Palma. 

The materials from which the spa centre will be built have been carefully selected, with the aim to balance style and good taste, whilst bearing in mind the comfort of the guests. For example, the facade will be built with iroko wood, both durable and stylish. The spa will also offer a reception area for all guests, where detailed information will be available and bookings will be taken for the services offered. 

The access to the spa will be free of charge for all guests of the hotel during the Winter, until March (including this month). During the Summer months, the spa will be included in the accommodation price of all guests who have booked the Junior Suite rooms. All treatments and massages will be detailed in the spa menu, along with the charges. 

Included in the concept of Adults Only accommodation in Mallorca, the Hotel Marina Luz is known as being one of the prime hotels in Palma due to its’ location: only a short distance away from the beach of Cala Estancia and barely 5 minutes distance from the airport of Mallorca.

When added together with its’ sophisticated design and select ambience, all in all the hotel has become a perfect place to stay for couples and guests on business trips alike. During the whole year, it is a frequented hotel for weekend breaks, both for local and international tourists.

Whilst not being located in the city centre, the hotel offers its’ visitors accommodation surrounded by exceptional natural environment, and only 15 minutes away from the Cathedral of Mallorca. Plus, it is well connected with the rest of the island by motorway, and a quaint seafront promenade, which is directly connected to the centre of Palma, is right on the hotels’ doorstep. 

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Petit Palace Art Gallery: the art of being a boutique hotel in Madrid

The Petit Palace Art Gallery Hotel is a true boutique hotel in Madrid, an accommodation where you can find special services, well differentiated from those on offer at other urban hotels.

The building occupied, located in the area of the exclusive Calle Serrano, has a distinct presence in the city and its interior design is one of the most valued in the capital to the point that, for many visitors it is precisely the style and atmosphere of this small hotel that adds to its charm.

Share with other Petit Palace hotels its modern technology, its full services and its value for money: a hotel in Madrid with free WiFi and laptops in the rooms, pet friendly, has its own restaurant and serves breakfast... And all kinds of attention that go beyond the usual standards.

One of the strengths of this boutique in Serrano street are its rooms. The hotel offers quintuple rooms in the centre of Madrid: privileged spaces, with a versatile design suitable to accommodate groups of friends traveling to the capital. Bunk beds, big beds, full bathroom... Other rooms are designed for business clients and include a stationary bicycle and a working area, or for romantic escapades with your partner.

Given its location, much of the year it combines the nature of of luxury accommodation with that of a business hotel in Madrid, with a special conference room for businesses and a restaurant where to celebrate events, cocktails or events.

The key points:

· Hotel in the exclusive area of ​​Calle Serrano.

· Hotel in Madrid that is pet friendly.

· Rooms for groups and business.

· Rooms with free wifi in Madrid.

Who is Luke Durden?

Decidiendo destino para las vacaciones de verano

La búsqueda de un destino para las vacaciones de verano es siempre una ardua tarea y a pesar del avance de las nuevas tecnologías y sobre todo, la cantidad de información que existe, llegar a tomar una decisión resulta complicado. Obviamente, lo mas importante es saber con quien se va uno de vacaciones.

La isla de Mallorca esconde rincones espectaculares para disfrutar en familia, con la pareja o con amigos. Al numero de hoteles disponibles y especializados se une el gran abanico de servicios existentes, y que complementan un destino ya de por si magnifico.

En el norte de la isla, se encuentra el municipio de Muro, con una playa, Playa de Muro, que transcurre por 5,5kms de fina arena blanca, declarada la playa mas segura de Europa en 1999. Este destino es ideal para familias y no es difícil encontrar un hotel para familias en Playa de Muro. El Parque Natural de s'Albufera se encuentra también en Muro, y fue el primer parque natural de las Islas Baleares, inaugurado en 1988. A día de hoy es uno de los grandes atractivos para aquellos que disfrutan del ejercicio (senderismo, nordic walking, ciclismo) al aire libre en un entorno incomparable.

Otro destino popular en el norte de la isla de Mallorca es Acudía, a 50 kilómetros de la capital Palma de Mallorca, y que cuenta con un puerto propio. Acudía se caracteriza por un ambiente mas familiar, con servicios de calidad en una zona excepcionalmente bonita. Cuenta con mas de 14 playas o calas para disfrutar del mar mediterráneo, 1 campo de golf, puerto deportivo para la practica de toda clase de deportes náuticos, rutas cicloturisticas que conectan con otros municipios de la isla...es decir, una infinidad de posibilidades al alcance de su mano. Solo debe elegir donde hospedar:

· Hotel Cala Millor Garden, Cala Millor: Hotel solo para adultos

· Hotel Holiday Garden, Playa de Muro: Hotel solo para adultos

· Aparthotel Playa Garden, Playa de Muro: Spa y media pensión

· Aparthotel Green Garden, Cala Ratjada: Hotel con miniclub

· Hotel Costa Verde, El Arenal: Hotel todo incluido

A swing into the Atlantic

Golf is an exciting sport that, year after year, increases the number of new players and lovers of the sport. Many are those who are waiting for their holidays to be able to practise and enjoy their favourite sport anywhere in the world.

That’s why the Iberostar Fuerteventura Palace has among its services offer, a full service for golf lovers in the heart of the Atlantic.

This golf hotel in Fuerteventura, located right next to the beach of Jandia, is one of the all-inclusive accommodation with best services for golfers on the island. It has agreements with the following golf clubs: Golf Club Fuerteventura, Jandia Golf, Golf Salinas Antigua and Playitas Grand Resort Club.

Iberostar Hotels & Resorts provide theirs guests with everything that is necessary:  Reservations, rental equipment and even lessons for those who wish to enter the world of golf during their holidays in the Atlantic. And also, the best services for adults in an adult only hotel in Fuerteventura.

A stroll to Cala Estancia

Cala Estancia is one of the best areas for strolling along the sea front without having to use your car to leave Palma.  Located along the semi circular sea front promenade which forms the Bay of Palma, Cala Estancia, together with the wetlands of Es Carnatge and Cuidad Jardin, is one of the key points of the route. Here nature, excellent services and an outstanding beach join together to offer you relaxing scenery, handy and perfect for a Sunday morning stroll with the children or an evening walk any day of the week. 

You can walk along the promenade, many people take the opportunity to run all the year round or travel by bicycle using the comfortable bicycle lane which connects the centre of Palma with Arenal using this area of coastline.  All the journey is on the flat and very easy, without traffic or the necessity of complicated manoeuvres.  Even if it is not a very hot day with little sun, always use sun screen and adequate clothing because next to the sea with the breeze and intense light can cause sun burn.

The first part of the route if you leave from Palma Cathedral, is the Parc de la Mar, one of the green jewels of the city and one of the best places to see the bay and watch the sailing boats pass by or enter Palma Port.  Continuing south we pass by Portixol, one of the most exclusive areas to live in Palma.  Originally a fishing nucleus which conserves the charm of the small houses opposite the sea, the nautical club and endless terraces and bars where you can breakfast a traditional llonguet or enjoy an excellent paella for lunch.

A little further along we come to El Molinar, an equally desirable neighbourhood with great atmosphere both in winter and summer as this is the favourite area for relaxing and discounting of the locals.  Bars, restaurants, and a comfortable sandy beach, with small coves with clear, calm water along the promenade where maybe only two people can bath but which are a real treat to take that essential dip.

If we follow the route towards Cala Estancia we pass by Cuidad Jardin, with its terraces and bars with finger food, and the natural area of Es Carnatge from which we can see and almost touch, the planes which arrive or leave from Palma Airport situated just a few metres away.  The images of these enormous machines flying over the sea and reaching land is spectacular and with a good camera you can take some truly impressive shots.

At the end of this protected area with natural trails and small coves with fine sand and rocks, used by many people to take a dip with their dogs, the promenade enters a residential area where you will find one of Palma's most elegant Adults Only Hotel, the Hotel Marina Luz, part of a Mallorcan hotel chain with establishments throughout the island. If you are thinking about a short break in Mallorca this hotel in Cala Estancia will be your perfect option.  It is the building in the area which offers the best sea views, and is just a step away from the beach and for those who are looking for total relaxation, access is only allowed to those over 16 years of age.  Also on offer are free bicycles to explore the surrounding area and in January 2014 it is planned to open a Spa and Wellness Centre on the terrace with magnificent views of the bay.

Nearby to the hotel is one of the most exclusive chill out bars in Mallorca, Puro Beach.

The establishment is constructed on a rocky prominence over looking the sea and offers one of the most spectacular sunsets on the island.  Here you can ask for cocktails, coffees, book a table for dinner, organise a white party or just spend the day on a sun bed next to their swimming pool.  A treat that we all deserve from time to time.

If we continue a few more metres, finally we arrive at the beach of Cala Estancia, which means, a cove protected from the wind.  Quiet with an eclectic atmosphere, predominately family orientated with numerous restaurants and bars nearby.  The route of the promenade continues from here along the Playa de Palma to Arenal which belongs to the neighbouring municipality of Llucmajor.  In total there are approximately 15 kilometres which, if you travel by bicycle, seem very few.

The clock at the Puerta del Sol

Few are the tourists that visit Madrid that leave without taking a picture next to the clock from Puerta del Sol, that every 31st December marks the end of the year and welcomes the new year, surrounded by crowds, scrutinised by millions of spectators from their homes across the country.

The clock in the Puerta del Sol is an undisputed symbol of Madrid, and one of the elements that make up collective imagination of all Spanish people. However, its origin are not in Spain but in London.

The famous pealing clock was fabricated by Spanish exile in London, José Rodríguez de Losada, a soldier who carved out a successful career in the City creating accurate clocks, it is estimated that he created around 6,000, engineering gems that have rolled from pocket to pocket, generation after generation.

Some of his works were intended as important gifts, sent from London to Spain, as lavish gifts to the monarchs in the nineteenth century. It is believed that this was the case of the clock in the Puerta del Sol, a mechanism that the watchmaker would have created in honour of Elizabeth II and sent to Spain back in 1860. The clock, unique in Europe, was placed in the building of the Casa de Correos, the Post Office, and inaugurated in 1866.

Since then it has never stopped working. Accurate and precise, it is one of the few clocks that feature a 3 metre pendulum and a manual mechanism ball, that currently is only used once a year. It slows just four seconds a month and is always exactly coordinated with the National Astronomical Observatory.

The watch is serviced weekly by the famous Casa Losada watchmakers and remains the meeting place for many locals and tourists visiting the capital of Spain.

To all who wish to see it, there are a number of hotels near the Puerta del Sol, some with balconies offering exceptional views of the square and the clock:

· Hotel Petit Palace Posada del Peine

· Hotel Petit Palace Puerta del Sol

· Hotel Petit Palace Mayor Plaza

· Hotel Petit Palace Londres

· Hotel Petit Palace Arenal