The infinity pool at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve resort at Phulay Bay overlooks the Andaman Sea

But for those with a more plebeian orientation, itʼs hard not to recall Fantasy Island. I mean that in a good way.

In Thailand, just 54 rooms will be supported by close to 300 staff; each guest will have a personal concierge; and nearly anything you wish can be accommodated at any hour you choose.

In the spa, there are 11 treatment rooms ‒ it would be normal to find this quantity at a 400-room hotel ‒ and beyond the resort itself there are opportunities to explore pristine neighboring islets ‒ uncommon at a hotel of any size.

Originally, plans for Ritz-Carlton Reserve were made at a time of vibrant economic development and the timetable for their development ‒ perhaps 15 locations in all ‒ has slowed, but not been derailed. Among its many distinctions, Ritz-Carltonʼs management team is known for taking the long view, thus avoiding knee-jerk changes to a brand that is renown for its graciousness and constancy.

The Reserve resort at Phulay Bay, reached via the airports at Krabi (40 minutesʼ distance) or Phuket (2 hours away), will open for business on December 22, 2009.

Other Ritz-Carlton Reserve properties are anticipated as well: Molasses Reef, a Turks and Caicos project that was 75 percent complete when partner Lehman Brothers collapsed, will be resumed when another financing partner steps into the role. Guacamaya in Costa Rica is expected to open in 2011, and Dorado Beach in Puerto Rico is slated for a 2012 opening. Beyond those, Ritz-Carlton is actively considering Abu Dhabi, South Africa, India, and a ski resort location for additional Reserve locations.

Our choices for extracurricular activities at Phulay Bay: a seaplane tour with a private picnic on an outlying island; a candlelit massage within view of the sunset; and at least one lazy day with absolutely no advance plans whatsoever.

Peg Prideaux, CTC
111109

Who wouldn't want a great hotel deal in this neighborhood?

Is it just me, or are there others who never, ever, ever want to stay in a $19 hotel room?

I’m much happier with deals like these that have come across my desk at about the same time, any of which will provide something far more memorable than the savings one forgets with the turning of the calendar.

In New York, families reign at the Sofitel where rates begin at a mere $259 a night (a bargain in Manhattan) and where children get a second room for 50 percent off (even better). Breakfast is included, just the thing to get you out the door to family favorites like Rockefeller Center, the New York Public Library, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Times Square, all very walkable from your West 44th Street location. You just know that next year, it will cost twice as much. More info: Sofitel New York.

In South Florida, if you hurry, you can play golf for free at the Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort and Club. Here’s why you want to: They’ve just spent $150 million to upgrade the place, re-doing two 18-hole championship golf courses as part of the facelift (under the watchful eye of Raymond Floyd). It’s all right on the beach, with multiple pools and restaurants. From as little as $199 per night, but only if you hurry. The deal expires September 30, 2009. More info: Fairmont Turnberry Isle.

In Beverly Hills: Sure, with starting rates at $575, the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Rodeo Drive is a splurge. But hey, it’s not $800 right now, and the third night is free making the effective three-night rate just $384. In Beverly Hills circles, that’s lunch money; yet the prestige remains as high as ever. And why wouldn’t it? The next-door neighbors have names like Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo, Judith Ripka, Georg Jensen, Christian Dior, Harry Winston, and the rest of the gang. Whatever’s on sale in such designer stores isn’t likely to be advertised, so it’s good strategy to shop in person.

By the way, the ten-day forecast for Beverly Hills is “sunny and warm.” So is the ten-week forecast. More info: Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire.

These deals are just the tip of the iceberg. And the moral of this column is, while $19 hotel rooms are something to be avoided at all costs, they are a barometer of excellent values at the higher reaches of the travel ladder. Take advantage of these times or, in the words of a prominent travel executive who is better served if we don’t mention his name, “Don’t let a perfectly good recession go to waste.”

– Peg Prideaux, CTC
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France's high-speed train, Thalys, boards passengers in The Hague, Netherlands.

Those in Europe who are responsible for high-speed rail service are thinking about business travel needs, but leisure travelers can also benefit from ever-improving European rail service.

Why Travel by Rail?
One big advantage of rail is that itʼs a less stressful way to travel, partly because it is more comfortable, and partly because the rail station experience is so much more tolerable than a typical airport. Also, with far fewer weather delays, one can generally count on on-time departures and arrivals. And finally, for journeys of two to four hours, the door-to-door time for passengers is usually shorter via rail than via air.

Existing High-Speed Lines
Many European high-speed routes are already in existence, with more coming as the European Union continues to integrate its infrastructure. Present high-speed routes ‒ weʼre talking about trains that travel at 300 km per hour or faster (thatʼs 185 mph or more) ‒ can add to your travel ease and help you avoid air or roadway congestion.

High-speed train travel already operates between these pairs of cities: London to Paris or Brussels (Eurostar), Paris to Lyon or Marseille, Brussels to Cologne, Madrid to Barcelona, Madrid to Seville or Malaga, Milan to Bologna, Naples to Rome, Rome to Florence, and St. Petersburg to Moscow.

In addition, other cities are connected by routes that are mostly (if not 100 percent) conducted over high-speed rails, such as Hanover to Berlin, Frankfurt to Cologne, and Paris to Geneva.

Future High-Speed Lines
These routes are in process:

• Service between Paris and Amsterdam, beginning mid-December 2009, will save over an hour over present train travel.
• In the UK, plans are afoot to add high-speed rail between London and Glasgow, cutting present travel time roughly in half.
• France, which is a leader in high-speed rail, will add new lines from Paris to Brittany, and Paris to Lyons.
• In Scandinavia, there are plans for a high-speed connection between Helsinki and St. Petersburg.

An EU priority for high speed rail is to expand the number of cross-border routes, in anticipation of which the EU is funding infrastructure development of the numerous tunnels and bridges required to realize this goal.

Bottom line, once youʼve flown transatlantic, rail travel is a fast, comfortable and civilized means of making your way around Europe. And it just keeps getting better.

‒ Peg Prideaux, CTC
091109

Estimated time of departure for Boeing's 787? It's anyone's guess.

Built with advanced carbon fiber construction, the 787 is much lighter than it would have been using traditional materials, resulting in 20 percent fewer emissions and 20 percent greater fuel efficiency, although its speed will remain about the same as a 747.

Inside: Larger luggage bins, bigger windows, and cleaner air.

Outside: Curved wings.

And yet: No telling when you’ll be able to fly in it.

The 787 is touted as holding great promise for the world’s airlines as well as for the global network of parts suppliers and sub-contractors on the ground; but the complexities of innovating with many new partners have overwhelmed Boeing’s original plans and delayed the 787’s delivery, a multi-billion-dollar boo-boo.

So you don’t get to fly in it yet.

Late 2010 … Maybe

Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA), first purchaser of the 787, is still waiting for planes it had planned to put into service two years ago. Boeing’s current estimate for delivery is late 2010, and skeptics call that an estimate to write on the calendar in pencil. And who are these skeptics? Well this week, it includes just about everyone in the investment community.

And why is that? Well, we won’t pretend to have a Wall Street decoder ring, so let’s just say the coffee-shop gossip around Seattle, where the plane gets its final assembly, has included a lot of head-scratching about how the 787 will keep its wings attached to the fuselage. It’s an essential question that leaves plenty for engineers work out while executives have some ’splainin’ to do to Boeing shareholders.

It’s not the kind of problem anyone likes to have this far into the game.

And naturally, it’s a big reason why you don’t get to fly in it yet.

Once Boeing gets the engineering squared away, and the jets are finally ready for scheduled production, and the shareholders have calmed down, then the airlines will have a choice of seating configurations ranging from 210 to 330 seats. As commercial airlines continue to need cash, it doesn’t take rocket scientist to predict how that will turn out.

And you’ll know that for sure, once you get to fly in it.

– Peg Prideaux, CTC
090409

The troubled Maui Prince Hotel occupies a verdant location with adjacent golf course.

The Maui Prince Hotel is the latest to fall (perhaps) victim to the economy. Although the hotel went into foreclosure a week ago, its banker (Wells Fargo) had hoped the operators would keep it open. After all, the all-ocean-view resort that sits at the foot of Haleakala had just undergone a big renovation to attract quality guests.

But the management has told its nearly 400 employees that the resort, including its golf course, will close on September 16, just two weeks from now.

The bank has petitioned for a new company to take over the operate the resort. If you have reservations past the closure date and are concerned, you can contact the hotel; but whatever you’re told will likely change back and forth over the coming days.

Don’t let this news put a damper on your plans if you’d like to plan a Maui visit for the coming winter. There are still abundant options. Consider the Four Seasons at Wailea (adults only, by the way), which opened a new $9 million salt water pool this summer … another over-the-top feature to draw visitors from the competition.

That level of luxury is one way to escape the constraints of America’s new every-day austerity.

– Peg Prideaux, CTC
090209

Four Seasons, a healthy competitor, proffers this brochure-style shot of the new Serenity Pool at their Maui resort.

Mentioned in this post:
Maui Prince Hotel
Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea

The Wall Street Journal as travel trend-setter? Well, perhaps not every day; but today theyʼre pointing experienced travelers toward Sanya, China as Asiaʼs answer to Hawaii. And theyʼve hit the mark for those who seek to be among the first in new places. As Bruce Stanley reports in todayʼs Journal, luxury hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton and Mandarin Oriental have recently opened along the beachfront and that, as we all know, puts foreign adventuring in the uber-comfort zone.

Now is a great time to consider visiting Sanya, as peak season for travel is October to March.

Above, courtesy Mandarin Oriental. Below, courtesy Ritz-Carlton

While there are several new resorts in the area, two vie for the rank of flagship.

The Mandarin Oriental, on the southern tip of Hainan Island, sits like a backlit rhinestone brooch between green hillsides and an aqua sea. It has an introductory offer of three nights for the price of two in select accommodations. The hotel’s website and staff operate in five languages.

An ocean-view room is 2,000 CNY (Chinese yuan) per night, or about $293 USD at this writing. An ocean-front pavilion with a private plunge pool is 2,600 CNY per night, or about $380 USD. The top category, ocean view suite, at over 1,000 square feet plus a large balcony, is 3,799 CNY per night, or about $556 USD. For those seeking an exotic honeymoon or anniversary, this is easily the equivalent of top suites costing twice or three times as much depending on the island destination; so itʼs a great buy, particularly if your air mile credits can help you get there.

The Ritz-Carlton, on Yalong Bay overlooking the South China Sea, offers the largest spa in the region. Standard rooms offer garden or lagoon views; ocean views start 1,900 CNY per night (about $278 USD), and a two-bedroom ocean-front villa is about 8,000 CNY per night (about $1,170 USD) at over 2,700 square feet with accommodations for four. Like its competitor, the Ritz-Carlton offers select packages with a third night free. (By ‟select” we mean not applicable across the board to all dates or room categories.)

How to Get There

To reach Sanya, fly into Sanya International Phoenix Airport, which is about an hour from Hong Kong by air, two-and-a-half hours from Shanghai, and three-and-a-half hours from Beijing. Once on the ground in Sanya, youʼre about 25 minutes from the resort area. Recommended: Use the hotelʼs own private car transfer service, presently at a cost of roughly $15 to $25 USD. Alternately you can bargain with local taxi drivers for a rate; expect results in proportion to your linguistic skills.

Prices or currency values mentioned here (August 17, 2009) are subject to change and fluctuation.

It should go without saying (and yet I’m saying it), no one pays to be covered in Passport Newsletter’s monthly printed newsletter or our blog. Our only criteria for offering information is its potential value to you as a traveler.

– Peg Prideaux, CTC
081709