Panama Skyline

The Veneto Hotel in Panama has to be one of the most luxurious of all the high class Panama hotels, and perhaps one of the most well-equipped also. Every single one of the Veneto’s 301 rooms offers spectacular views of the city. The rooms are all luxuriously appointed and the hotel offers a range of high-class suites including 2 Grand Presidential suites.

Panama has always been a popular destination, but luxury of this class is usually out of reach for most. Not so the Veneto, which has some pretty stunning room rates currently.

For those looking for a little Las Vegas style entertainment, the Veneto’s casino offers traditional table games, slots and regular tournaments offering substantial cash prizes, with free entry for Senior Citizens several days of the week, plus a dazzling variety of concerts and shows in their ballroom. The 40,000 square foot casino also has a private VIP room with luxury surroundings; dedicated wait staff and a separate cage area.

Panama Casino Action

The Veneto is arguably more famous for it’s world-class spa resort facilities, which include therapeutic massage, stone therapy massage, oriental massage, and hydrotherapy. The cosmetic treatments include facial, body treatments and natural spray tanning. There is also a world-class fitness center, sauna, steam bath and Jacuzzis. The spa is also open to day guests, although it is recommended to book an appointment.

With some of the best restaurants in Panama inside offering a wide range of  cuisines from around the world, it will be difficult to come up with a a reason to leave. From fresh seafood in the Sushi bar, to a genuine New York Steakhouse, the choices are a varied as there are fish in the ocean. The steakhouse is, in fact, the only restaurant in Panama to offer certified USDA prime beef including the ultimate – Certified Angus Beef gold.  Combine this with a world class wine cellar, and as far as I am concerned, the perfect meal is right there.

The helpful staff and knowledgeable concierge are available 24 hours a day to serve your needs, and always ready with help finding the very best of the local attractions. Panama itself is a cosmopolitan city with a strong hint of Spanish thanks to the previous colonization. Combine this with a colorful Native American and African influences, the year round array of carnivals and almost perfect tropical climate, this makes Panama a year round destination. The vibrant local culture bleeds over into the economy making Panama the fastest growing economy in South America – in spite of the financial crisis - no doubt helped by the ongoing investment in the Panama canal.

Paris by Night

Now here is an interesting way of seeing Europe, rather than the usual dash around the capital cities, as most American visitors who attempt to “do” Europe seem to do. A relaxing 12 day cruise along some of the most famous river-ways of Europe.  Starting with two nights in Paris, followed by a leisurely cruise along the Moselle, Rhine and Main rivers, ending with another two nights in Prague.

My personal preference is to see Paris in August as many Parisiens choose this time for their own vacation, which makes visiting the Louvre and other museums considerably less frenetic. The journey begins by being met at the airport (Charles de Gaulle) and transfer to a hotel for the first night in Paris, after which you are free to join the company’s “welcome walk,” or if you are feeling more independent, explore the city under your own steam.

The second day in Paris includes a trip to the Louvre with the second half of the day to see more of the city. I rarely manage to get out of the Louvre in under a day, and I suspect that if you have any interest in art, you will be spending the whole day there. I usually top off a trip to the Louvre with a walk through the gardens to watch kids sail boats in the pond in the Jardin des Tuileries. But that is one of the fantastic things about Paris - whatever your personal preferences, there is something to interest everyone. Paris is a great place to start - either as a return visitor or a first timer, offering perhaps the most culturally and historically diverse range of museums, buildings and galleries than almost any other city in Europe. In fact, the Louvre is the biggest museum in the world. Whatever your opinion of the glass triangle at the entrance (and many Parisiens dislike it) it is unquestionably somewhere everyone should visit - at least once in their lifetime.

Day three goes from Paris through Luxembourg with a visit to the American Cemetery where one can remember the many American service men who lost their lives during the Battle of The Bulge in WWII, and on to Trier, Germany’s oldest city. Then on from Trier, taking in Cochem, Koblenz, Rüdesheim, Heidelberg, Würzburg, Bamberg, Nuremburg and Prague, where you have two more nights, although you can extend your visit for a further 3 nights in Prague. The trip encompasses 4 different countries and includes 10 guided tours.

Having lived in Europe for much of my life, I can heartily recommend this way of traveling. European river cruises allow you to see a completely different part of the country from the rivers that is almost never seen when traveling any other way.

Viking River Cruises run this one and call it their “Cities of Light,” cruise, which is appropriate. There is nothing quite like the view of Paris at night and Paris is as different from Prague as New York is from San Fransisco. Both have a wealth of history behind them and the cities in between give a glimpse of another culture altogether. I was a little surprised at the price -  $2,800. I suspect the strong dollar and ongoing financial crisis have made this far more affordable than would normally be the case. The itinerary is here - Paris to Prague River Cruise

Prague Castle at Night

Its Easter but its not too late to get away to the snow one last time. Whistler, the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics, has a ski season which extends all the way into June.

Whistler Ski Resort, British Columbia, Canada

Whistler is perhaps as not as trendy a ski destination as some of the Rocky Mountain ski resorts, but the little town a few hour’s drive north of Vancouver is home of some of Canada’s best skiing - which is why it will host the next Winter Olympics.

Whistler the town is located between the two mountains: Blackcomb and Whistler, which together provide 3300ha of skiable terrain. A new cable car, caled the Peak 2 Peak now runs between the two hills: those with a fear of heights may want to avoid it though as it covers 4.4km in 11 minutes 436 meters above the ground!

Whistler is all about skiing: it was designed as the perfect location for skiing when it was created for the 1962 Winter Olympics: these days it can manage 65,000 skiers an hour. The runs are long, wide, covered with powder snow - and nowhere as crowded as most American resorts.

Now subtle is not something you can call Whistler - the run’s names say it all: Banana Skin, School Marm to mention but two. The village itself really doesn’t have the character to compare with say Banff  or a European resort - but it makes up for it with a real luxury hotel: Four Seasons Whistler

Four Seasons, Whistler

The Four Seasons Whistler takes out the hassle factor at the start of a ski holiday - on arrival boots and ski fittings happen in the hotel’s own ski shop. The ski concierge will have your gear waiting for you each morning, minutes from the hotel and will even supply you with hot chocolate right on the slopes!

Apres ski is of course welcome at the end of a long-day - with a Peak 2 Peak Martini available in the hot tub after the apres ski massage sounds like a good start to the evening.

The Four Seasons also offers of course a full-sized skiers breakfast buffet - everything from Canadian bacon to home-made granola should set you up for good day on the slopes. The hotel’s signature dining room is called the Fifty-Two 80 Bistro - named for the number of vertical feet of Blackcomb’s mountain- a view of which is available from the bistro along with both indoor and outdoor seating and a huge roaring fireplace in winter.

Apres Ski at the Four Seasons, Whistler

Italy is a favorite luxury destination for many Americans; but if you are looking for something new why not think further south than Venice or Milan - have you ever considered Sicily?

Sicily, Italy

Given that Sicily’s image is closed tied up with The Godfather for many, it possibly not surprising that it hasn’t really made it to the luxury travel trail. All that is starting to change as the Verdura Golf and Spa Resort starts to take bookings ahead of its June 2009 opening date and with it brings 5-star luxury to Sicily.

The US$158.2 million resort will feature not one but two championship golf courses as wells as a nine hole just for fun. There is an extensive spa complex, an open-air amphitheater and a 2 mile private beach.

The Resort covers 230-hectares of rolling valleys of olive and lemon treas. Its a comparably small resort for Europe with only 400 guests maximum at any one time. They do seem a little unfocused in that they are trying to attract the business/family/honeymoon markets all at the same time - not sure how that will work out.

Every one of the over 200 stylish rooms will have views over the sea and or the golf course, thanks to the sloping terrain no building will block another’s view. Rooms are designed to reflect “simple luxury”  featuring polished concrete floors, four-poster wooden beds and local pottery.

Verdura Golf and Spa Resort

The spa complex will include 11 treatment rooms arranged around an open courtyard. Treatments will cover every thing from weight-loss to detox and energizing. There is an indoor-outdoor 20m spa lap pool plus four hydrotherapy pools in the garden setting.

This being Italy, food is a focus with the Verdura featuring four restaurants, with menus designed by Michelin-awarded Executive Chef Franco Maddalozzo. Local ingredients will feature including fresh fish, fruits, olives, mint, honey and almonds.

The children are looked after by a range of clubs and activity programs designed to entertain the kids while the parents get a break. The creche will look after babies older than 6-months. Older children will enjoy the 60m two-tiered swimming pool, floodlit tennis courts, watersports and bicycles. The resort is a car free environment so they won’t have to dodge mad-Italian drivers either.

The resort is only an hour’s drive from Palermo’s international airport and is located on Sicily’s southwest coast. Verdura is playing the fashionable green card too with solar panels for electricity, double-glazing and insulation in the buildings and electric buggies rather than cars for transportation around the resort.

If you manage to drag yourself outside of the confines of the resort - and its recommended that you do - you can climb the active volcano Mt Etna, visit the local historic towns, of visit the Aeolian Islands of Vulcano and Lipari by a boat tour.

Photo Credit

Luang Prabang is still not mainstream to the luxury travel crowd - but this stunning, laid-back Buddhist town with a strong over-lay of French style should be. Only about an hour’s flight from Bangkok and but a million miles away from the bustling Thai capital.

La Residence Phou Vao, Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang was the traditional royal capital of Laos before the French came, and to this day has all the style of panache which the capital, Vientiane, lacks.  Located in the hills the town is small and easy to walk around and is framed by the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. If you stay at La Residence Phou Vao you will have a unique view across the pretty town and the surrounding rivers: La Residence is the only hotel on Phau Vao - the prominent hill overlooking the town.

View from La Residence

La Residence makes the most of the spectacular view with the central infinity edged pool appearing to float above the river. At night the Buddhist stupa (temple) on top of Mt Phousi on the far horizon is the focal point as guests relax by the candle lit pool. This being Laos - the hotel pays for the stupa’s electricity bill. La Residence’s main restaurant offers diners the option of eating inside or outside next to the pool. For the special romantic night choose the 500 candles dinner where couples are set up at a garden or terrace table adorned with bowls of white irises and surrounded by hundreds of tea lights in the Spirit Gardens, all designed to enhance the 10-course degustation menus. For those preferring few candles and courses there is an excellent menu which combines both traditional Lao dishes such as sticky rice and French favorites.

500 Candles Meal, La Residence

The boutique La Residence only has 36 rooms all of which are bigger than average featuring a separate sitting area, balcony furnished with lunges, a big bed swathed with mosquito netting (for show) and a bathroom  including a terrazzo bath and double basins.  There is of course the obligatory spa which features a plunge pool and a wide selection of scrubs, rubs and treatments all set in small pavilions dotted throughout the forest. The steep walk back up to the bar will make you feel you’ve earned your gin and tonic!

As engaging as the La Residence sounds - guests would be foolish not to get out and explore the town of Luang Prabang on foot - the mixture of backpacker bars, Lao silk shop and illegal (and cheap) fake brand name goods is truely unique.

La Residence guest room

Como Shambhala Estate in Ubud, Bali is already a well-known retreat for the celebrity circuit with guests including as Daniel Craig, Sting and Annie Lennox. This luxury retreat regularly makes the world’s best spas lists - and with good reason.

Bali is known as paradise island, the town of Ubud, in the highlands, about 40km from the airport at Denpasar, has been known as a centre of healing long before Bali was discovered by the western tourist. The location is gorgeous anyway with steep sided valleys set off my rice paddy terraces. Even if you weren’t looking for healing this is the type of enviroment that makes you feel pretty relaxed.

Shambhala Estate is a wellness retreat offering a wide-ranging mixture of treatments including yoga, Pilates, meditation, mountain biking, rock climbing and white water rafting. Estate features include lush rain forest inhabited by a chorus of birds, frogs and the beauty of local butterflies. Monkeys, squirrels and dragonflies will be your companions if you choose to take the 300 odd steep steps all the way down to the the Arang River, where you can cool off in the river.

There are five large residences on the property and a number of smaller villas. The most luxurious is the Bayugita, originally built for a wealthy British expat as his state-of-the-art Balinese retreat. The residence features open-sided teak decks and a private plunge pool as well as an open-sided bathroom complete with spa.

Guests can do as little or as much as this wish. The resort will contact you in advance to see if you have any specific requirements from your stay. There are world-class fitness instructors available as well as ayurvedic doctor, natural therapist, nutritionist and clinical psychologist. There are specific programs including “Stress Relief” and “Lose Weight” and the much less scary sounding rejuvenation program.

For lounging nothing beats the main lap pool which is infinity-edged and offers stunning views of the clearing and forest beyond. There is also a hydrotherapy pool which is fill of local spring water which is chlorine free and is even claimed to have anti-aging properties.

There are three main options for dining at the resort: unless you just decide to have a personal chef whip you up something in your villa or residence that is. Next to the main pool area there is a light snack menu some featuring banana-leaf plates: tasty and healthy. The Glow is the heart of the resort consisting of a modern, open-sided all-day dining restaurant again featuring healthy, tasty food. For more final dining there is the option of Kudos House which offers gourmet meals in a 150-year old Javanese building.

In keeping with the healthy overtones of the resort there are two gyms a conventional fully air-conditioned multi-station gym indoors and an outdoor jungle gym which is used for personal training and includes pull up bars and balancing stations - you might want to get up early for this one and avoid the heat of the day.

If your idea of good holiday is non-stop partying and shopping then Shambhala Estate is probably not for you. If however you need some time out, some stress relief and maybe a little bit of healthy living it sounds like an attractive option.