Category: International

 Marriott Leads Green Hotels in Prague With Socially Responsible Initiatives

Accepting social responsibility to protect the environment as an essential part of doing business; one of the premier hotels in Prague City Centre is leading the way in creating initiatives to preserve natural resources.

Stepping out more than four years ago to become the first among hotels in Prague to utilize green energy, 50 percent of the energy used at this impressive lodging now comes from renewable resources. In another bold move, the hotel brought energy performance contracting to the hotel sector that not only netted the property an annual savings of nearly 427 tons of CO2 emissions but earned recognition as the “Best European Energy Service Project” in the lighting sector. In the summer of 2009 this distinctive choice among Prague hotels near Old Town Square joined the Veolia Project with their “fresh water from the tap” initiative to help reduce the enormous amount of waste from using plastic and glass bottles

Milan is going for the double, bidding to host a major sports event – the European football Champions league final – in May 2015, the same month in which a major exhibition event, the Universal Exposition (Expo), will open its doors to welcome visitors from around the world.

On October 18th, The Westin Palace, Madrid will be celebrating its 100th Anniversary; 100 years of being a landmark and part of the history of Madrid, but also 100 years looking to the future.

 

This summer the hotel has had all its meetings & functions space refurbished  a 7 Million Euro investment.

 

The 15 multifunctional and flexible rooms, located at the same level (ground floor) and offering natural daylight, can accommodate up to up to 800 guests and combine 21st century technology and service with sumptuous spaces elegantly decorated.

The newest addition to Vienna’s luxury hotels, The Ritz-Carlton, Vienna will set itself apart with impeccable service.

La Mamounia is delighted to announce the third edition of the La Mamounia Literary Award taking place on 29th September 2012. Following the success of the first two editions, this award aims to encourage and promote French – Moroccan literature.

La Mamounia, as a recognised patron of art and culture is delighted to create the opportunity to celebrate the best literary works of Moroccan writers throughout the past year to further contribute and highlight its commitment to Moroccan cultural life

 The minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque, Marrakech’s most famous symbol – built in a traditional Almohad style and topped with four copper globes – is visible from near and far.

It is not really that high (77 metres), but thanks to local topography and a local ordinance that forbids any other building in the Medina to be higher than a palm tree, it towers majestically over its surroundings.

Still an active place of worship, non-Muslims may not enter. But it’s possible to get a good view of the exterior by walking around either side.

Best Places for a mint tea…..in Marrakech

Top spots for a refreshing cup of Moroccan mint tea include the Grand Balcon overlooking Jemaa el-Fna and the Café des Espices overlooking the Rahba Kedima. When you are shopping in the souks Le Bougainvillier is a beautiful place to take a breather for tea flavoured with mountain herbs

Around sunset, donkeys descend on the Djemaa hauling gas canisters by the cartload and all the makings of 100 small restaurants. Within the hour, the restaurants are up and running, with chefs urging passers-by to note the cleanliness of their grills, the freshness of their meat, produce and cooking oil, and their aromatic spice mixes.

The grilled meats and cooked salads are cheap and often tasty, and despite alarmist warnings your stomach should be fine if you use your bread instead of rinsed utensils and stick to bottled water. Adventurous foodies will want to try Marrakesh specialities such as steaming snail soup, sheep’s brain, and skewered hearts

From the moment you arrive in Marrakesh, you’ll get the distinct feeling you’ve left something behind – a toothbrush or socks, maybe? But no, what you’ll be missing in Marrakesh is predictability and all sense of direction. Never mind: you’re better off without them here. Marrakesh is too packed with mind-boggling distractions and labyrinthine alleyways to adhere to boring linear logic. If you did have a destination, you’d only be waylaid by snake charmers, out-of-control donkey carts, trendy silver leather poufs and ancient Berber cures for everything from relationships to rent.

Farewell Ramadam, Ramadan has left us for another year…so sad to see it go, although it was a tough one.  For all of us in Marrakesh, having day upon day of intense heat, hardly ever dipping under 45 degrees, well let’s just say it was a Ramadan to separate the men from the boys.  When we go outside in that heat, simply breathing becomes a laborious task, struggling to draw a breath like one struggles to draw water from a well.  It made most of us do as little as possible.  And that is hard too.  Not only do you give up your food and your water, but also your sense of pride in any accomplishment.  I barely walked this Ramadan, let alone worked out.  I had high hopes of reorganizing parts of my home, re-stacking the books in the bookshelf, clearing out the little storage room, but had to just let all that go. It was a “being” month, not a “doing” month.  I’d never thought of Ramadan that way, but this one took me to a new place, a difficult place.