Travel News: May 2013

Friday, May 31, 2013

Airport Guide: Detroit (DTW)

By George Hobica

The Motor City may catch plenty of flack for the mess it is in these days, but frequent travelers know that the city's airport is one of the most laid back, most modern and easiest to use in the country. Heading this way? Here's a quick guide to get you up to speed.

Public transportation

In decentralized Detroit, who knows where you're going. Ann Arbor? The Oakland County suburbs? Canada? Maybe the actual city of Detroit? Not only is everything super spread out, few of these places are actually connected to each other by anything other than the most perfunctory of bus services. If that. But, hey you want to take a bus? It's possible. For downtown Detroit, catch the SMART Bus; Route 125 offers occasional service to the heart of the downtown area for $2 (exact amount not required, but change is issued in the form of ride credit.) Find more info at smartbus.org. The Ann Arbor-bound will have better luck just hop the public AirRide coach service, $12 each way and $22 round-trip. You can book and buy tickets in advance, online at myairride.com; walk-ons are available, with some stipulations.

Shuttle / Taxi

Detroit's famously lacking in affordable shared-ride shuttle services or, for that matter, plentiful cabs. Which is okay, because what you will find ends up being pretty expensive Downtown Detroit is nearly 22 miles from the airport, after all, and that's one of your closer-in destinations. The most popular option is to book with Metro Cars, the ubiquitous black car service based out of the Ground Transportation Center, located inside the garage at both terminals. A sample fare to Downtown would be $56 not much more than a taxi. And this way, you're actually riding in style.

Car rental

Much cheaper than car service and far less time consuming than taking public transit will be renting your own wheels. Visitors to Detroit enjoy at most times of the year, anyway some of the cheapest car rental rates found at any major U.S. airport. Complimentary shuttle buses serve the various airport-adjacent agency locations from the Ground Transportation Center, located on the garage side at both terminals.

Best food

Finding a sit-down restaurant in either terminal is easy, but they aren't all created equal. Particularly in the McNamara Terminal (that's the one with all the Delta flights), where too many passengers brush right by the terminal's two best addresses in favor of more recognized national brands. Don't fall into that trip. Where you want to be is the Mediterranean Grill, which up fresh and healthy Middle Eastern staples heaping piles of fresh tabouleh, hummus and more. The other spot to know isSora, an honest-to-goodness sushi bar and Japanese restaurant, which has some travelers showing up to the airport a little early, for plates of beautiful sashimi and other atypical airport fare. Over in the North Terminal, your options are a little more limited; if you want a true Detroit experience, hit upNational Coney Island, a branch of the popular local diner chain, with Greek fare, Detroit-style dogs and a couple decent beers on draft (sit at the counter, if you can). For a sure bet and something speedy, head to Earl of Sandwich, found down by Gate D36. The chain has wildly popular outposts at Disney World in Orlando, Disneyland in California and on the Las Vegas Strip. You can't go wrong with their tuna melts.

Where to go drinking

It's Detroit. You go drinking everywhere. But if you're in the McNamara Terminal, keep it classy with wine and cheese at the stylish Vino Volo. Over in the North Terminal, go native at theHockeytown Caf, a boisterous location of the popular downtown sports bar, ranked one of the best in the country.

Best souvenirs

The shopping at McNamara Terminal is currently undergoing somewhat of an overhaul. When it opens, expect lots more upscale brands, plus fun stuff like the first-ever airport location of Dylan's Candy Bar into the fold. Then again, if it's candy you're after, Detroit's own Gayle's Chocolates, a long-running Royal Oak sweet shop famous for truffles, is your best bet for a tasty souvenir. (You can't eat a t-shirt, after all.) Gayle's has locations in both airport terminals.

Wireless internet

Passengers receive 30 minutes of free access via Boingo; beyond that, paid service varies by time and device used. Sign up or add value to your account at Boingo.com in advance and save yourself some hassle. Coverage is good throughout most public areas beyond security.

Get away from it all

Located directly adjacent to the McNamara Terminal and even boasting a quiet and efficient security checkpoint, the Westin Detroit Metropolitan Airport is one of the best places to be when you have to be in the airport but would rather feel like you are anywhere but. Buy a pass to the top-notch fitness center for just $15, hit the spa for a treatment (there's a very nice pool) or just have lunch atDEMA, the pretty good restaurant that opens out to the hotel's 80-foot atrium lobby.

The long layover

Sticking around awhile? There's loads to do within a half-hour of the airport, but the cost and logistics of getting out and back in time can make leaving a bit of a risk for those who don't have at least six hours to kill. If that's you, then suck it up, rent a car and get out. (Walkup rates at Detroit can be surprisingly low check out carrentals.com to get a quick vibe on what's available.) Once you've got wheels, you can go anywhere, but with apologies to everywhere else in the region your first stop should definitely be Ann Arbor's Kerrytown district. Just twenty minutes drive from the airport, this is where you'll find the famed university town's equally famous Zingerman's Deli, with its addicting sandwiches and some of the best cheese and bread for sale in the Midwest today. Up the block is the excellent Kerrytown Market a mini-version of Seattle's Pike Place plus the very good Saturday Ann Arbor Farmers Market and plenty of other shopping. Pop down Main Street for a pint of Belgian-style ale at Jolly Pumpkin, one of Michigan's best breweries, then head on out to Zingerman's Roadhouse, located on the western edge of town, where they do great cocktails and some really decent food. (The best seats are at the bar that faces the open kitchen keep your eye on the food coming out and just order what looks good.) Don't miss your flight!

Best airport hotel

For all the reasons previously mentioned and more, the Westin is definitely the way to go; however, if price is a factor and sometimes the prices here are too high there's a cluster of very affordable hotels just outside the airport on Merriman Road, a short and free shuttle ride from the terminals. The nicest these days is the SpringHill Suites Detroit Metro Airport, featuring that Marriott brand's soothing, spa-like dcor in spacious, suite-like rooms. Free breakfast, free wireless, an indoor pool and Jacuzzi plus a nice workout room make this a great value for money; figure on grabbing a rate somewhere close to $100 per night.

Tudor warship, artifacts to open as new UK museum

LONDON (AP) — The remains of a Tudor warship that sank more than 400 years ago will be displayed along with thousands of its artifacts for the first time at a new British museum.

Museum officials and historians say the 27 million-pound ($41 million) museum not only allows visitors to view the wreck of theMary Rose, Henry VIII's flagship, but also provides a snapshot of Tudor life onboard the vessel.

The Mary Rose Museum, located at the historic dockyards in the southern English city of Portsmouth - near the exact spot where the 16th-century vessel was built - opens to visitors Friday.

The Mary Rose led the English fleet in battle against France from 1512, but sank after three decades in service during the Battle of The Solent on July 19, 1545. The ship remained on the seabed off the south coast of England and was not discovered until 1971, when divers noticed its exposed timbers.

After further investigations and numerous dives - including one byPrince Charles - the hull section of the ship was finally lifted to the surface in 1982, an event that was broadcast on television to millions of viewers around the world at the time.

The museum is built like a ship, housing both the wooden hull and galleries displaying many of the 19,000 artifacts collected from the wreck, from leather boots to cannons to a skeleton of the ship's dog, Hatch.

"This isn't just about a ship, it's about life in Tudor times," said John Lippiett, chief executive of the Mary Rose Trust. "It is a memorial to the 500 who lost their lives on the Mary Rose."

Historian and television presenter David Starkey went further, describing the Mary Rose as an "English Pompeii, preserved by water, not fire."

Experts say the ship is the earliest large warship armed with guns that has survived reasonably intact, and has richer archaeological value than the Vasa in Stockholm, which sank in 1628 as a new and almost empty ship.

"Its significance is as the earliest surviving warship firing broadside armament, and for the direct evidence it gives on shipbuilding at the time — when there are no detailed written records or plans," said Pieter van der Merwe, general editor at the Royal Museums Greenwich.

"It is literally a time capsule of Tudor England with evidence of health and diet in the bones of its crew, medicine, personal possessions and weaponry," he added.

The recovered section of the wooden hull, measuring about 35 meters (115 feet) long and 11 meters (36 feet) tall, will be kept in an airtight chamber with viewing windows as officials finish the final stages of conserving the wreck. Millions of liters of water and wax chemicals have been sprayed on the wreck to preserve it since it was raised to the surface, and the museum expects to remove its internal walls surrounding the hull in 2017 when it is fully dry.

The new museum, located next to Lord Nelson's flagship, the HMS Victory, replaces a smaller museum which only housed some of the artifacts, not the wreck.

Passengers arrive in US after cruise ship fire

BALTIMORE (AP) — Passengers whose cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas was cut short by an onboard fire began arriving back in Baltimore on charter flights from theBahamas on Tuesday afternoon, with many praising the response of the company and crew.

"I'll never go on any other cruise line," said Craig Dzubak, 26, of Pittsburgh, who was on his first cruise. "They couldn't have handled it any better." He said he and his wife, Chelsea, were planning their next cruise while on the flight home.

Robert Alexander of Hamilton, N.J., said he was impressed by how well-prepared everyone on board was for emergencies. An actor from the ship's theater made announcements to passengers after they were evacuated from their rooms, he said.

"It just shows the training they do," Alexander said. "Our head waiter at our dinner table was one of the first responders" to the fire.

Meanwhile, the vice president of the Grand Bahama Shipyard said the ship would be repaired at his facility, though a full assessment of damage hadn't been done yet.

"We are still working with the cruise line to assess the repairs, and I sent a crew over there this morning," Reuben Byrd said Tuesday. "I'm assuming it will be a big job for us," he added.

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez did not immediately return phone calls or emails Tuesday afternoon about the repairs. Earlier, she said she had no updates on the incident or cause.

Byrd said the shipyard didn't know about the cause, either. The U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board planned to investigate. NTSB spokesman Eric Weiss said the agency has sent one senior investigator to the Bahamas. No other details about the investigation were available Tuesday.

The fire began at 2:50 a.m. Monday and was extinguished about two hours later, with no injuries reported. Photos show a substantial area of the stern burned on several decks of the ship the length of about three football fields.

Martinez said President and CEO Adam Goldstein — who met with passengers Monday in the Bahamas — would not give interviews Tuesday. "We're just going to focus on getting all of our guests back to Baltimore," she wrote in an email.

The ship, which left Baltimore on Friday for a seven-night cruise, was headed originally to CocoCay,Bahamas. Royal Caribbean said the ship never lost power and was able to sail into port in Freeport, Bahamas, on Monday afternoon. It remained there Tuesday. The ship launched in 1996 and was refurbished last year.

Royal Caribbean said on its website and through social media that executives met with passengers in port. The company also said passengers will get a full refund of their fare and a certificate for a future cruise.

Aboard the ship, the captain announced that passengers needed to go to their muster stations, passenger Mark J. Ormesher told The Associated Press in an email. Immediately after, his room attendant knocked on the door and told him and his girlfriend to grab their flotation devices. The attendant said it wasn't a drill.

Ormesher, a native of England, who lives in Manassas, Va., said he and his girlfriend smelled acrid smoke as they went to their muster station, the ship's casino. The crew quickly provided instruction.

"This encouraged calm amongst the passengers," he said. Passengers were required to remain at their stations for four hours, he said, and the captain "provided us as much information as we needed to stay safe."

Ormesher, who is 25 and on his first cruise, said the air conditioner had been shut off, and as the hours passed and the ship got hot, bottled water was distributed. The crew and passengers remained calm, and helped those who needed it. Crying babies were given formula and held while their parents used the bathrooms.

After passengers were allowed to leave their stations, Ormesher said he saw water on the outside deck 5 and in the hallways. The mooring lines were destroyed he said; crew members brought new lines from storage.

The damage at the rear of the ship looked bad, Ormesher said; burned out equipment was visible.

Royal Caribbean said all guests and 796 crew were safe and accounted for. Martinez said in an email that the company was arranging 11 charter flights.

The company in a statement on its website said it is "deeply sorry for this unexpected development in our guests' vacation. We understand that this may have been a very stressful time for them. We appreciate their patience and cooperation in dealing with this unfortunate situation."

Carnival Corp. also had trouble with fire aboard ship earlier this year.

The Triumph was disabled during a February cruise by an engine room fire in the Gulf of Mexico, leaving thousands of passengers to endure cold food, unsanitary conditions and power outages while the ship was towed to Mobile, Ala. It remained there for repairs until early May when it headed back to sea under its own power.

Fran Golden, a blogger for the cruise magazine Porthole, said the two incidents are different.

"I think it's easier to make people happy when they're not stuck on a ship for four days without toilets," she said.

Still, she applauded Royal Caribbean's public relations efforts after the fire. She said sending CEO Goldstein to meet with passengers was a "brilliant move." The company also Tweeted a picture of one meeting.

"It shows that you're a responsible company. It shows that you care. It's not just, 'oh well, this incident happened,'" she said. She noted that the head of Royal Caribbean's Azamara Club Cruises line, Larry Pimentel, also met with passengers in early 2012 after a fire aboard the Azamara Quest disabled one of its engines during a cruise in Asia.

Mike Driscoll, editor of the Illinois-based publication Cruise Week, said Royal Caribbean had the benefit of hindsight and could use lessons from the recent Triumph fire in its response. He said company took charge of the response on social media, sending out photos and updates. He likened it to the company saying, "Hey, we're not hiding anything."

___

Associated Press writers Kasey Jones in Baltimore and Jessica Gresko in Washington contributed to this report. Jeff Todd reported from Nassau, Bahamas.

Industry experts gather in Istanbul for CATHIC

Turkey’s tourism potential is coming on par with that of the much-promoted BRIC states – Brazil, Russia, India and China – encouraged by a forecasted 45 per cent annual growth in gross domestic product during the next five years, according to Daniel Thorniley, president of DT-Global Business Consulting.

Thorniley is set to further address the topic at the upcoming Turkey & Neighbours Hotel Investment Conference, scheduled for May 29th-30th in Istanbul.

Another CATHIC speaker, Şenay Azak-Matt, of Aareal Bank, pointed to development opportunities in Istanbul and cities in the country’s Anatolian region.

“Istanbul in particular is attractive for hospitality developers, as past figures prove that despite the financial crisis, hotel performance is still positive,” he said.

Ömer Isvan, president of Servotel Corp., who also will speak at CATHIC, observed that challenges in developing hotels in popular cities include land costs, especially for standalone, ground-up projects.

“The intricate zoning and building permit procedures also require substantial patience and perseverance,” he said.

“The process may hinder some of the creativity and leadership elements that we would normally wish to incorporate into the development.”

Isvan, together with regional and international experts at CATHIC, will discuss the opportunities of cross-segment development while balancing brand standards with customer expectations and achieving successful return-on-investment.

Yalin Yaltirakli, development director for InterContinental Hotels Group in Turkey and a CATHIC speaker, said his company’s strategy is “to grow where we can, delivering the right type and level of business to ensure that our owners are successful”.

The company has been making investments in Turkey intended to drive delivery into regional cities.

“It’s vital that the hotel brand is right for the location,” he said.

“Everyone loves a five star hotel, but we see a great opportunity for strong returns on investment with our mid-scale hotel brands in Turkey.

“Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express have a great deal of potential in this market. Our collective history to date in creating branded hotels gives us experience we can draw on to advise a potential investor on the best brand for a particular market.”

CATHIC is co-organised by Bench Events and Questex Media, which also manages the Russia and CIS Hotel Investment Conference, Arabian Hotel Investment Conference, International Hotel Investment Forum Asia Pacific and International Hotel Investment Forum Berlin.

Tags: cathic

An icy expedition to the Arctic Circle

IT'S all business on the bridge of the Sea Adventurer.

The pack ice of the Franklin Strait is far behind us, and the water ahead looks smooth and obstacle free, but the second officer and helmsman are concentrating on getting this expedition ship safely away from the remote Canadian settlement of Taloyoak and across Spence Bay.

There isn't much talk - a brief question about today's soccer match that saw the ship's passengers and crew taking on a team of local juniors, and a quick chat about a flock of low-flying birds - with most of the talk focused on the ship's performance.

The Sea Adventurer is part of the Adventure Canada fleet, a Canadian company that takes travellers on expeditions inside the Arctic Circle during the warmer months of the northern summer, and my 117 travelling companions and I are nearing the end of an epic voyage around the famed Northwest Passage.

The journey started in Kangerlussuaq, on the rugged south-west coast of Greenland, and now we're deep inside Canada's wild north sailing through straits and inlets named after the explorers that opened this infamous crossing between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

This ship was built in 1975, to ferry scientists between research stations in the Russian Arctic, and with an ice-strengthened hull and comfortable accommodations, it's the perfect vessel to carry tourists through a hostile and unforgiving region.

But one of the best things about travelling on the Sea Adventurer is that visitors are welcome on the bridge, with the ship's experienced captain Kenth Grankvist leaving the door open on smooth sections so passengers can stand behind the crew to watch the computers and listen to commands.

From my perch at the back of the bridge I can see four computer screens - two radars showing surface obstacles, another pointing to the ship's position, and a fourth plotting the evening's path using red lines and way points - as well as a GPS and another instrument indicating how much water is below the hull.

It's almost 11pm but the sun has only just disappeared below the horizon, leaving the western sky blazing with the fiery tones of a northern sunset, and a small pink ball is rising in the east dropping a carpet of sequins on the still water of this strait named after resolute explorer John Rae.

The second officer, a sailor from the Philippines who has been on the Sea Adventurer for almost 14 years, checks the red lines on the computer screen against the paper chart on his table and asks the helmsman to adjust the course by a single degree to port.

The junior officer presses a button on a console to turn the bow slightly to the left, rather than reaching for something resembling a steering wheel, and then lifts his binoculars to scan the horizon for the whales or seals he knows the guests on board are itching to see.

During this two-week cruise from Greenland to Canada's northern Nunavut province the cautious crew has guided the ship through an ocean of ice - everything from nuggets of frozen water to icebergs the size of apartment buildings - and taken us to the haunts of the explorers that unlocked the secrets of this remote region.

We've seen the Ilulissat Glacier that produces most of the Atlantic's icebergs, inspected the abandoned Royal Canadian Mounted Police post at Dundas Harbour and Hudson Bay Company station at Fort Ross, observed polar bears feast on a beluga carcass, visited Inuit communities, explored in zodiacs, and roamed the tundra.

Visiting the bridge is a rare treat for cruise passengers, but it is something Adventure Canada is keen on offering because it lets travellers become engaged in the journey rather than simply being taxied from one sightseeing location to another.

Adventure Canada expedition leader Brad Rees, the man directing this 5000km voyage called Into the Northwest Passage, says "stepping on to the bridge of the Sea Adventurer is like stepping into the cockpit of a 747". "You see the interaction between the captain and the crew, watch the GPS and radar work, see the officer of the watch and the sailor on the bridge working together to manoeuvre the ship so she stays on course, and look at the charts," the American adventurer says.

"By looking at the charts, both the electronic and paper charts, passengers take notice of the landmarks they see along the way and know what they are looking at right then as well as what is coming and what has passed.

"It's a rare thing to spend time on a bridge when a ship is underway, but that's the beauty of expedition cruising and you can do things with us you wouldn't be able to do on other ships."

The writer was a guest of Adventure Canada.

* Adventure Canada's expedition ship was renamed the Sea Adventurer in 2013, in 2012 it sailed as the Clipper Adventurer.

Go2 - ARCTIC CIRCLE

Adventure Canada has been taking travellers into the wilds of northern Canada for 25 years, and in 2013 and 2014 is offering voyages to the Arctic Circle to explore the region.

In 2013 the Into the Northwest Passage expedition - the 15-day itinerary that starts in Kangerlussuaq and finishes at Kugluktuk to retrace the steps of the Arctic explorers - departs Toronto on August 6 and arrives in Edmonton on August 20. The trip costs from $7195.

Niki Leondakis to offer keynote at Boutique Hotel Summit

22nd May 2013

Niki Leondakis will offer her keynote address on May 22nd

Boutique Hotel Summit has confirmed Commune Hotels & Resorts chief executive Niki Leondakis will offer the keynote address at the 2013 event.

The event is being held at the Montcalm Hotel, London.

As arguably the highest profile woman in the US boutique and lifestyle hotel sector, Leondakis is making her mark as one of the most intriguing players in the space, having spent nearly 20 years at Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, most recently as president and chief operating officer, and now at the helm of Commune.

In her new role as chief executive of Commune Hotels & Resorts, she is charged with growing the company’s annual revenue to a target of $1 billion in the next five years.

The joint venture between Thompson Hotels and Joie de Vivre Hospitality has a portfolio of 45 hotels throughout the US, and in Canada and London.

Commune currently has new projects opening or under development in markets including Honolulu, New York, Chicago, Miami, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and Palo Alto, California.

Target markets for expansion include gateway cities in Europe, Asia and South America.

Event organiser Piers Brown said: “We look forward to welcoming Niki to London, and to hearing her unique insights on an industry in which she has become firmly established as a leader and influencer.

“Her keynote speech is sure to be a fascinating start to the conference.”

Tags: boutique hotel summit

Industry experts gather in Istanbul for CATHIC