What we are reading

some of our favourite travel articles of the last 2 weeks:

• Thomas Marzano reports on his great experience at the Four Seasons Palo Alto using Twitter
• A Luxury Travel Blog checks out the amazing Ananda in the Himalayas
• CNNGo with a nice guide to Discovery Bay, Hong Kong
• Sassy Hong Kong reviews the Alila Villas Soori, Bali
• The Diary of the Purple Passport visits the Yoga Yard in Beijing
• The global blackbook on the Anantara Seminyak Bali
• Insiderei.com: Mini-Shopping mit dem Peninsula Tokyo
• Ecosalon: Alila Villas Uluwatu
• Mapplr reviews the Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam
• Designboom: Touchscreen vending machines in Tokyo
• The Wall Street Journal: An Insider’s Guide to Hong Kong
• A Luxury Travel Blog: the new Hotel de EDGE by Rhombus in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong opening soon
• Luxist: Four Seasons Marrakech opens this summer
• The New York Times reviews the W Retreat and Spa Vieques Island
• The Practical Traveler column at the NYT on how not to get sick from a flight
• The Guardian: Macau, where China likes to spend it
• Der Spiegel: Wellness-Oasen in Großstädten

What we are reading

catching up, some of the most interesting stories we came across over the last, well, 2 months

• Karla Cripps of CNNGo visits the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi
• The Australian: Aman New Delhi turns one
• CNNGo features six hotel  restaurants with incredible views, including Anantara Seminyak, Amansara and the Datai
• Speaking of the Datai, here is a report over at Sassy Hong Kong
• HK Magazine with an excellent list of the best alfresco bars in Hong Kong
• Huffington Post: Melanie Nayer inside the World’s tallest hotel
• The Independent: 24-hour room service: Alila Diwa, Goa
• A nice collection of first impressions from Hong Kong
• The Hotel Design blog with some gorgeous pictures of Les Suites Orient Bund Shanghai
• CNNGo’s Best Eats awards for 2010 for Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Bangkok, Singapore and Mumbai
• The Guardian explores an important question: Why is outdoor gear so ugly?
• USA Today: How can you tell which TripAdvisor reviews to trust?
• National Geographic Traveler: The Tap Dance of Tipping
• CNNGo: 24 hours at Changi airport

 

 

Samaya Bali, a review

46 private pool villas right on the beach and close to everything happening in Seminyak, the hippest place in Bali

What makes it special

• The combination of the beach location, spacious private villas and being close to great bars, restaurants and shops
• The always present GM Ray Clark and his team provide excellent service
• The restaurant Breeze has great food and the location right on the beach is the best in Seminyak
• The beach in Seminyak is perfect for endless walks
• Yoga early in the morning with ocean view
• Very popular for Cocktails enjoying the sunset

You should know

• The Courtyard villas are across the street, about 5 min walk to the main part of the hotel or you can always call a buggy
• The other villas have the advantage of being closer to the beach but are getting a little old and are going to be renovated staring Oct. 2010

Conclusion

• Seminyak is full of great hotels but the beach location and GM Ray Clark give the Samaya the edge.

our pictures on Flickr