After two years of planning and negotiations reconstruction work has now been approved and scheduled for the hotel with a long tradition of service in Rainerstrasse in Salzburg, near the old part of town. From 2014 the Crowne Plaza Salzburg – The Pitter will appear resplendent with its very own glass dome.
‘We are very aware of the historical significance of the ‘Pitter’ in the city of Salzburg and have approached the project with great care’, emphasised Martin Gissel, Senior Hotel Manager of the Crowne Plaza, and assured all concerned that redesigning and reconstruction work would do justice to the history and traditions of the building, and to Salzburg’s architectural heritage.
The entrance area, beer garden and outdoor restaurant facilities are also being remodelled
The Pitterkeller is Salzburg’s oldest beer cellar. It is now being extended, but will nevertheless retain its historical character. The fitness area has been moved from the basement to the 6th floor. From autumn 2014, guests will be able to marvel at the view, and to enjoy meals in the new Panorama Restaurant. A further highlight will be provided in the inner courtyard with the construction of a 450 m² ballroom with a glass dome and a glass facade looking out onto the garden.
First changes due on May 1st
From the 1st February until the 30th April 2014 the hotel will be closed due to work being carried out in and around the building. From the 1st May 2014 the entire facility will again be open to the public. In August the panorama restaurant and fitness area reopen, and from October 2014 onwards the dancehall with a glass dome will also be available for hire.
Hotel Sidorme Viladecans is a three star low cost hotel that has just opened on the outskirts of Barcelona. The hotel is located 10 minutes away from Barcelona Airport in front of Viladecans Train Station. They have a 20 minute direct connection to Barcelona city centre and 15 minutes from Estacion de Sants. The hotel offers free WiFi, free parking and free coffee! They also offer free meeting rooms for the first 2 hours!
For the second year in a row, Copenhagen takes the number one spot on Fast Company’s ’10 smart cities in Europe’ list, thanks to its sustainability targets and focus on green growth.
Which European cities are the high achievers when it comes to innovative infrastructure, technology, and entrepreneurship? Each year Fast Company, a leading progressive business media brand with an editorial focus on innovation in technology, ethonomics (ethical economics), leadership and design, names the world’s smartest cities. This year, Copenhagen is number one for the second year running. The Danish capital has been chosen for the following reasons:
Notching top spot for the second year in a row Copenhagen has established a reputation as the leading green city across the globe. Copenhagen led the Siemens Green City Index for Europe and has also been selected as the European Green Capital for 2014. And with good reason.
Copenhagen has one of the lowest carbon footprints/capita in the world (less than two tons/capita). Copenhagen also has the most ambitious carbon reduction plan of any major city in the world. They aspire to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025. That may sound a ways away but that is only 12 years from now.
In order to achieve such an ambitious goal, the city has established hardcore targets including energy efficiency and renewable objectives, green building standards (all new buildings to be carbon neutral by 2020), and increased transit access to name a few.
Of course, our readers are well aware of the impressive cycling rates in the city-approximately 40% of all commutes are conducted by bike. The city also recently collaborated with MIT to develop a smart bike equipped with sensors to deliver to provide real-time info to not only the rider but also to administrators for open data aggregation on issues of air contamination and traffic congestion.
The top ten smart cities in Europe:
Copenhagen
Amsterdam
Vienna
Barcelona
Paris
Stockholm
London
Hamburg
Berlin
Helsinki
Last year Copenhagen was named the ‘World’s Most Livable City’ 2013 by Monocle Magazine and the Most Walkable City 2013 by Walk21 – both accolades underscoring the city’s profile as Capital of Sustainable Meetings.
Copenhagen is known as one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the world, so organising a sustainable event here is no great challenge. Did you know, for example, that as many as 71% of all Copenhagen’s hotel rooms hold an official eco-certification and the majority of the city’s meetings venues have a strong sustainable profile?
The city also has certified experience in hosting state-of-the-art events with a sustainable profile. In fact, Copenhagen was the ever first city to host an eco-certified international political summit when some 30,000 people attended the UN’s Climate Change Conference, COP 15, in 2009. We continue to welcome sustainable events and increase our experience.
In 2012, Denmark hosted the Presidency of the European Union. More than 100 meetings were organised in accordance with the sustainable event management system, ISO20121, making it the most sustainable European Union Presidency ever. Copenhagen’s sustainable portfolio is so comprehensive that, these days, it is easier to hold a sustainable event than a non-sustainable one.
Ryanair has just announced the opening of its third hub, located in Lisbon, which will introduce four new routes, in a 90 million dollar investment. From April, Lisbon will be connected to four new cities – Dole, Manchester, Marseilles and Pisa – that join the other five existing European routes, representing a total of 124 weekly flights, 900,000 passengers / year.
To celebrate this event, Ryanair will offer 100,000 seats priced from €19.99 for those wanting to travel in February and March.
Regent Hotels and Resorts were formed in the 1970’s and cover 7 destinations at the moment. Each of their hotels are unique, luxury and reflect the location they are set within. Among others they have hotels in Bali, Beijing, Singapore and Berlin. Berlin has 195 rooms and is set in a discreet but central location, they have a beautiful boardroom and gorgeous chandeliers. They advised that some of the old bank buildings can also be used for offsite dinners and are located very close to the hotel but saying that even their room service has 2 Michelin stars.
The property in Taipai completed its refurbishment at the end of 2013 and the new opening in Montenegro is due to open in the summer of 2014. Montenegro will have 35 rooms, 45 suites and small meeting rooms, the hotel will have a nautical feel to reflect its location on the Bay of Kotor.
Hilton Vienna and Hilton Vienna Danube Waterfront have just launched a meetings promotion for May 2014, with several additional benefits for events inquiries.
Organisers can choose between bedroom upgrades, complimentary receptions, on-site office space, or 1 million HHonours Points for events over 50,000 Euros at Hilton Vienna Danube Waterfront, or 100,000 Euros at Hilton Vienna.
Hilton Vienna Danube Waterfront sits beside the Danube, and can offer 367 bedrooms and suites, with 10 functions spaces, as well as a 344m2 Ballroom, and is just 10 minutes from the city centre.
The Hilton Vienna is located besides Stadtpark, a short walk from the city centre, and is able to offer 579 bedrooms and suites, as well as 2 large ballrooms and 11 smaller function rooms.
Jumeirah Hotels visited the Trinity offices today representing Jumeirah Carlton Towers and Jumeirah Lowndes in London. They have a further 21 hotels located internationally in areas including Dubai, Frankfurt and Majorca! At every Jumeirah Hotel they have the same ethos; Never say no and treat colleagues and clients with respect and integrity. Each member of staff will greet any guest within 3m of them.
An exciting investment at Carlton Towers is their ‘Sushi Box’ in which sits a member of staff that at the push of a button will hand Sushi out of the box! What a novel way of serving food! The bedrooms have also been redecorated in neutral brown, black and cream colors. The hotels Ballroom is due to be totally refurbished in August 2014, it doesn’t need it but as a 5 star hotel they want to keep the standards high. At Carlton Towers the can now offer a range of activities to support a conference including makeover and Martini classes! The hotel are so confident in the food at their restaurant that the classic menu has not changed since 1961 – now that says something!
At Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel they have a hidden gem, they can offer exclusive hire of an outdoor terrace which can hold up to 150 standing, this can be totally exclusive and BBQ’s can be served up there too! This is a boutique hotel with just 1 meeting room holding comfortably 16 boardroom.
Berlin braces itself for double conference capacity
Berlin’s hotel landscape is set to grow rapidly over the next two years as Messe Berlin increases its convention capacity.
In Spring, the International Congress Centrum ICC Berlin will close for refurbishment and be temporarily replaced by a new congress and trade fair centre – the CityCube Berlin.
This new, multi-functional congress hall will be able to host events for up to 11,000 participants. It will feature two main floors, flexible wall partitioning, numerous conference rooms and the southern section of the Messe Berlin exhibition grounds nearby.
When the ICC Berlin reopens, Messe Berlin will have almost doubled its available convention capacity and the city’s hotel stock is making serious strides to keep up with the increased requirement.
Since the beginning of the year, tourists staying overnight in Berlin are now required to pay the new Berlin ‘City Tax’, effectively an accommodation tax.
Applicable from 1st January 2014 to all private overnight stays the tax is equivalent to 5% of the room rate and is automatically added to the room bill. Tourists in business travel to Berlin, however, are not obligated to pay the tax if they are able to verify the business nature of their travel.
Following an intensive period of renovation the Alpenhaus Kaprun reopened on the 4th of December. The facility convinces and excites with a unique combination of tradition and modernity.
The facility’s 122 rooms and suites have been available again since the beginning of December, now in a modern alpine style. The entrance and bar areas are completely new, as are the lounge and spa. The hotel director, Tina Maria Verdi, and the architect, Martin Aufschnaiter (Dipl.Ing.), were both keen to retain the building’s authenticity and traditional character. A feeling of ‘nature’ and of remaining ‘down to earth’ can be sensed throughout the whole of this 4-star complex. In the morning guests look forward to a hearty ‘organic’ breakfast, and later relax in the ‘bio sauna’ after a long seminar.
New conference room to open at the start of next year
From 2014 the new conference room of the hotel in Kaprun will again be able to offer plenty of room to participants in seminars and conferences with 270m² of space and the option of dividing the area into 3 smaller units. Five seminar rooms allow ‘Alpenhaus Kaprun’ to provide an ideal framework for successful conferences in the Salzburg countryside.
The new ALPEN.VEDA.SPA
The 1000m² spa area has also been enhanced for guests featuring a new indoor pool, a Jacuzzi, saunas, 2 relaxation zones, a fitness area and 5 treatment rooms – providing perfect facilities and an ideal atmosphere for a relaxing stay. The hotel is particularly proud of the new family sauna in the pool area, and the refreshing circulating Kneipp bath.
Relax in a familiar atmosphere
Two new attractions opened in December 2013. Every year around 44,000 will be welcomed in the new lobby by an open fire, cosy seating groups and a great selection of books to encourage guests to sit back and relax. The redesigned ALPENHAUS.BAR is now the perfect place to celebrate the end of a long seminar day.
Courtesy of the Salzburg Convention Bureau, 23/01/14
