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The world’s most distinguished travel experts pick the finest hotels

“A once-in-a-lifetime experience that sets a new standard for over-the-top luxurious hotels. This is a masterpiece. If you want to see what living like a billionaire is like—just once in your life—stay here.”

“In 35 years of hotel design and visiting, this is the best hotel experience I have ever had. Such a wonderful location and such wonderful service—it was a magical experience. I was heartbroken to leave.”

“Truly one of the most beautiful spots—and hotels—in the world. What more can I say?”

“These are just three of the many comments we collected from the Forbes Traveler 400 board of travel experts who determined the 2008/2009 list of the world’s top luxury hotels. You’re just dying to know which hotel they’re talking about, right? Well…to paraphrase the Bard, there’s the rub.

When we first published this groundbreaking list two years ago, we broke rank from the other travel magazines and websites that place great emphasis on mathematically ranking the best hotels in the world. Statistically speaking, the only way to make such a claim is to ask several thousand people for their opinions. The world’s best hotels, then, are often ranked by a sea of anonymous web surfers.

Turning to the crowd is good for certain tasks. When you can’t remember the capital of Belarus, ask everyone on the bus. Someone will probably remember it’s Minsk (a fifth-grader, no doubt). But when picking the right hotel means the difference between an unforgettable trip and an unforgiving spouse, shouldn’t you ask people who stay in luxury hotels once or twice a week—not once a year?

So, from a wide variety of industries, we assembled a board of 79  luxury-travel experts. Arianna Huffington is a renowned author, publisher and one-time California gubernatorial candidate; her fellow board member, Todd English, is a celebrity chef and restaurateur. Adam Tihany is a noted interior designer and architect who’s responsible for several high-profile hotels around the world; Tony Wheeler co-founded Lonely Planet, publisher of the eponymous guidebooks.

We were fortunate to have Erik Blachford, current CEO of TerraPass and former CEO of Expedia, opine alongside Peter Greenberg, noted travel writer and The Today Show’s travel editor. And if anyone knows about luxury hotels, it’s Matthew Upchurch, CEO of Virtuoso, a consortium of upscale travel agents, and Aaron Simpson, group CEO of Quintessentially, a global concierge service for discerning travelers.

We asked our board members to rate nearly 800 highly regarded four- and five-star hotels in seven categories. Because new hotels need time to find their rhythm, we omitted properties less than two years old; and, we didn’t include hotels that are undergoing major renovations. Our experts were promised anonymity so they could speak freely, and they had nothing to gain from any of the hotels they praised (or criticized). We then took the top-rated 400 and commissioned reviews from professional travel writers who have first-hand experience with the hotels (and did not receive complimentary stays during their visits).

The result is the Forbes Traveler 400, a rundown of the world’s best hotels, spread across six continents and presented geographically.”

I am honored to be a member of this panel! I hope you click on the link below to see the Forbes 400!

http://www.forbestraveler.com/forbes400/

Meet the other 78 members of this panel!

http://www.forbestraveler.com/forbes400/panel

Late night on May 20th we boarded our flight from Paris to Johannesburg and tomorrow we will arrive in South Africa!

 (In this interlude, please envision me sleeping peacefully in Business Class!!!)

Good morning, it is now May 21st and we cleared South African Customs. For the next several posts, our friends at Wilderness Safaris will describe our activities:

Wednesday       May 21 2008 

Situated in the exclusive Sandhurst suburb of Sandton, The Saxon, a boutique hotel and spa, combines ethnic African elegance with personalised attention to detail. It became home to Nelson Mandela after he was released from prison, and it was during his stay that South Africa’s former President edited his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom. Off the main entrance there is a boutique shop, piano lounge, smoking library and dining room, where world-class chefs ensure personalised cuisine. The wine cellar serves as an exclusive dining area for couples or small groups. The Saxon has 24 suites of various sizes, and 5 Presidential suites, all incorporating a strong element of African art, with latticed shutters covering large bay windows looking out over the gardens or pool area.

Each suite features large screen televisions, VCR and DVD player with surround sound system.  There is a magnificent nine hundred and twenty square metre swimming pool, pool terrace where sundowners can be served and an Olive Bar. A full menu of spa treatments is offers at the Spa and Studio using the most up-to-date equipment and there is also a fitness centre. Website:         www.thesaxon.com

You may recall the fiasco that ensued when people suddenly realized they needed to have a passport to travel to destinations that previously only required a certified birth certificate, etc. Our Senators and Representatives even had appointed staff members whose sole function was to assist you in expediting your passport application through the issuance process. Next, Congress delayed the implementation date of the new law requiring valid US Passports for travel in the Western Hemisphere by auto or ship. Anyone traveling by air has needed a passport for quite some time.

Now Congress and the Department of Homeland Security are at it again. The latter wants the law implemented some time this summer while the former slipped some verbiage into an omnibus spending bill requesting the law not go into effect until June, 2009. Now, add in the reaction of the countries/islands you are planning to visit and you get total confusion. Many small Caribbean countries are unaware of the proposed delays and are currently requiring travelers to carry a valid US Passport. In short, you can get several different “opinions” on whether you’ll need a passport for your travel and the catch is that this is not a multiple choice test.

I can assure you from experience that within the US and in countries abroad I’ve received different answers to what seemed to be simple questions. For example, when flying internationally, how many carryon bags can a person bring? Oh, and what constitutes a carryon bag? Since the suspected bomb assembly scare occurred in London, the Brits have banned travelers from carrying more than one “carryon” (Is a purse a carryon? It depends on the agent checking you through security, the agent checking your boarding pass, etc). Now we are allowed to carry 2 bags in Great Britain. The problem is that sometimes these changes in law don’t filter to the “Powers that be” at airports who actually can keep you from boarding a plane.

I’ve heard people explain that they aren’t planning to leave the US in the foreseeable future. If I could accurately foresee the future, I’d pick next Saturday’s Powerball numbers and retire! Why wait until you’re ready for a vacation outside the US, then find that you need a passport and because of the beaurocratic nightmare of the passport process, you won’t be able to secure one?

Other things to consider for those of you smugly gloating because you already have a passport: When does your passport expire? Most countries require you to carry a passport that is valid for AT LEAST six months after your travel dates. How many blank pages do you have in your passport? Many countries require Visas and that you present a certain number of BLANK Visa pages in your passport.

So, do yourself a favor—get a Passport or renew your Passport today!

On Sunday, September 16th we’ll celebrate Great Getaways’ 15th anniversary at an Out-of-This-World Bash at ARTichokes, 10557 Mission Road. In addition to delicious food, fine wine, award-winning musicians, you’ll meet Carolyn Wincer of London, England, Director of Astronaut Sales for Virgin Galactic; Dean Johnson, Executive Vice President of Creative Leisure International, purveyor of luxe vacations; and Cathy Larson, Director of Sales for Holland America Line. Also, be sure and say hello to Heidi Denecke, winging her way to join us from the Ritz Carlton Kapalua, Maui; Susan Huston, Director of Sales for Crystal Cruises, and Becky Powell, Business Development Manager for Virtuoso.

We invite you to preview our items that will be available at our Silent Auction to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association. We hope you’ll bid on items to create wonderful memories for you and hope for those whose memories have been erased and lives forever altered! Click  below on “Let us tempt you”
    LET US TEMPT YOU!

I am here attending Virtuoso’s Annual Travel Mart, a conference of travel consultants and vendors, where we share trends, ideas, new products, and ways to help your dreams become reality. This is an intense week—Great Getaways has 774 one-on-one appointments with execs from cruise lines, tour companies, hotels, resorts, and, of course, space travel (Go Virgin Galactic!!!) over a period of 4 days. Every 4 minutes from 8:00 AM through 4:00 PM we have a 4 minute meeting with a vendor. It’s like speed dating on steroids—resulting in the mating of wonderful vacation ideas with you, our client!

Yesterday we had 2 keynote speakers, Dewitt and Terry Jones, the former a photographer for National Geographic and the latter, his brother, the founder of Travelocity. What an amazing combination of talent!!! In fact, they spent a significant amount of time talking about turning imagination into “imaginaction”. Have they been reading Great Getaways tagline or what??? You don’t remember our tagline? Okay, one more time, then of to bed to dream of wonderful vacations— our tagline is “Imagine…Create…Experience!” Sweet Dreams from the Bellagio! Ciao!

Now that you’ve refreshed your memory, let’s continue: 15 years is a big deal in the travel industry! Companies come and go; some ideas that sound good thrive while others fade. Our industry has weathered all sorts of events, some unfortunately of our own design. Those of us who have grown and prospered are the ones that have returned to our roots; we are NOT order takers or glorified reservationists; we advise; we counsel; we use our vast pool of experience to benefit you and the journeys you take.

On that note, I once again invite you to join us to celebrate our anniversary, to share your own memories of a life well lived, and to create some new ones. My mother has so many memories of her many journeys around our world, but, unfortunately, many of those memories have been stolen from her by the insideous disease, Alzheimer’s. As I’ve watched Mom’s lapses of memory, her increased irritability and confusion, I grieve the loss of the mother I remember. She was so active, organizing reading groups and book clubs long before Oprah made it trendy; she followed the stock market, daily charting her investments; she went to the theater regularly and supported her favorite restaurants (Don Roth’s, The Cheesecake Factory, and The Bagel to name a few); and Mom was passionate about politics—that is, as long as the politician was a Democrat! (I still remember the birthday card I gave my mom that said, “Some said you’re so old, you voted for Lincoln” and inside it read, “But I know you’re a Democrat!”).
That vibrant woman has departed and what I see now is just a shell that houses glimpses of the woman that raised my brother, sister and me.
So, it is with great honor that we will have an amazing silent auction at our 15th anniversary celebration in support of the Alzheimer’s Association! Feast your eyes on some of the goodies that could be yours if you are the highest bidder:
A Mediterranean Cruise courtesy of Celebrity Cruises; 3 nights at the chic Azul Blue in Mexico courtesy of Creative Leisure; 3 nights at the Ritz Carlton Kapalua, Maui; a 3-night Mexican vacation courtesy of Classic Vacations; an original painting by Becky Pasha, one of the owners of ARTichokes, an orginal piece of artwork by Richard Stern (www.sternartworks.com); a selection of books courtesy of Rainy Day Books; tickets and a parking pass to a 2008 Royals game courtesy of David Wolff and Nancy Hipsh; haircolor and styling by Kim Jegen of Beauty Escentuals; and more!

So, come party with us (casual attire, of course—comfort IS important!), enjoy the food, the music, the art, and the event, and bring your credit card or checkbook! I promise you’ll have an out-of-this world good time!

Gasoline to drive to the Celebration: $5.00
Money for Babysitter $25.00
Bidding on the oodles of luxuries in support of Alzheimer’s Association: Priceless!