Traveler based in Cananada – Matti Haapoja has an amazing road trip in Norway with his wife and friend and he has firmed some pretty cool footage about beautiful landscapes on the Panasonic GH4, GoPro Hero 4 and Phantom 2 quadcopter. The quality of the video and the beauty of the country will blow your mind. Here we go:
Park Hyatt Saigon is pleased to announce that Frederic Boulin has been appointed General Manager of the hotel effective February 2016.
Mr. Boulin, a French native, brings to the newly renovated Park Hyatt Saigon more than 20 years of hotel management experience in the luxury segment across five continents in flagship properties.
A graduate of Hotel and Business Administration from the Switzerland – Glion Institute of Higher Education, Mr. Frederic Boulin was selected as a Corporate Trainee by Hyatt International in 1990 and later joined Hyatt Regency Acapulco. Mr. Boulin held Food and Beverage positions in Venezuela, Argentina, Cambodia, Guatemala and Greece. In 2002, Mr. Boulin held the Executive Assistant Manager at Grand Hyatt Seoul and the Resident Manager position at Grand Hyatt Sao Paulo before holding his first position as General Manager at Hyatt Regency La Manga in Spain, followed by Grand Hyatt Cairo in Egypt.
Prior to joining Park Hyatt Saigon, Mr. Frederic Boulin was General Manager of Park Hyatt Seoul since 2011. Under his leadership, Park Hyatt Seoul won a number of prestigious recognitions, including Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List in 2012, ‘Top 10 Hotels in Japan and South Korea’ by Condé Nast Traveler’s Reader’s Choice Awards in 2013 and ‘Top 500 World’s Best List’ by Travel + Leisure in 2013.
“I am thrilled to settle down in the vibrant and dynamic Ho Chi Minh City and explore the opportunities the city presents today. Together with an amazing team, we will continue to create unique handcrafted guest experiences, build an extraordinary reputation and position Park Hyatt Saigon at the top of the Southeast Asian market,” said Frederic Boulin.
Park Hyatt Saigon enjoys a prime location on the city’s most famous square, overlooking Saigon Opera House and within walking distance of the most popular cultural and historical attractions. The elegant, French colonial-style hotel houses 245 guestrooms and suites, redefining urban luxury with its sophisticated design, handcrafted details and modern-day comforts. World-class bars and restaurants include Opera, offering authentic Italian cuisine; Square One, serving both Vietnamese and Western dishes; Park Lounge, specialising in afternoon tea; and 2 Lam Son, one of the city’s top nightlife destinations.
Residential-style meeting venues at Park Hyatt Saigon—the first of their kind in the city—include the Pool House with a private barbecue area and the Guest House featuring a show kitchen. For the ultimate in relaxation and rejuvenation, tranquil Xuan Spa offers wellness treatments inspired by traditional Vietnamese beauty rituals and ingredients, as well as a well-equipped fitness centre and elegant outdoor pool. The dedicated team at Park Hyatt Saigon provides warm, discreet and dignified service to those seeking relaxed, personalised luxury. For more information or reservations, visit parkhyattsaigon.com.
About Park Hyatt—Park Hyatt hotels provide discerning, affluent business and leisure guests with elegant and luxurious accommodation and offers them highly attentive personal service in an intimate environment. Located in the world’s premier destinations, each Park Hyatt hotel is custom designed to combine sophistication with a distinctive regional character. Park Hyatt hotels feature well-appointed guestrooms, unique meeting and event spaces, critically acclaimed art, food and beverage programmes, and signature restaurants showcasing award-winning chefs.
Wanderlust Tips
Hotel’s guest donated by purchasing paper “leaves” to stick on our paper tree in the ground floor lobby. After one week, Novotel Nha Trang collected VND3,660,000 from the paper tree. This morning, 21 April, the hotel added VND1,340,000 from Planet 21 fund and planted 30 shade trees and 32 decorative trees for the children at Phuoc Dong pre-school.
The event was supported by the school’s teachers and 27 volunteers from Novotel Nha Trang.
Wanderlust Tips
Paradise Vietnam, the market leader in Halong Bay luxury cruises, introduces its newest line of cruise ships – La Vela Cruises – offering more choices to customers of the Bay’s premium cruise company.
Always at the forefront of service quality and product design in Halong Bay, Paradise Vietnam is proud to introduce its newest line of cruise ships, La Vela Cruises, which will be launched on April 1st, 2016. The leading 5-star Halong Bay cruise company ensures that their unrivalled levels of quality and service will now be extended in this recent venture.
“We are extremely excited to be launching La Vela Cruises as part of the Paradise Vietnam family,” explains Nguyen Cao Son, Chief Operations Officer of Paradise Vietnam. “Just as with our other cruise ships, we will ensure that there is an internationally trained cruise manager on each ship, and the La Vela ships will also have their own private pontoon for ease of access.”
The La Vela Cruises fleet consists of just two: The La Vela Classic and the La Vela Premium. The La Vela Classic holds 28 cabins – 26 deluxe cabins and just 2 suites – whereas the La Vela Premium holds only 21 cabins – 13 premium cabins and 8 balcony cabins. Unusual for Halong Bay cruise ships, there are also options for connecting cabins for family travellers.
Both La Vela Cruise ships are steel boats that reflect the roaring 20s in their sophisticated Art Deco design, and thus are in contrast to Paradise Vietnam’s traditionally designed Indochina wooden cruise ships. Expansive sundecks that come fully furnished with sunbeds are an extra highlight of both cruise ships.
“We have always maintained a 5-star experience on the Paradise Vietnam cruises and the La Vela Cruise ships are no different, but here we are offering a 4-star price,” says Edgar Cayanan, General Manager of Paradise Vietnam. “This means that the famous Paradise Vietnam guarantee of a quality Halong Bay experience can now be enjoyed by even more people.”
Wanderlust Tips
Hanoi, Vietnam (March 11th, 2016), at the “Enterprises with great achievement in social security declaration ceremony” hosted by the Economics and Forecast Magazine (Ministry of Planning and Investment), Paradise Vietnam received pubic tributes together with over 59 other organizations.
This is an annual celebration held by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, with the purpose of raising public awareness and encouraging businesses into social activities. The event also aims at enhancing consumers and suppliers’ perceptions about the organizations that have excellent performance in social security, transforming Vietnam into a reputable and attracting trading environment which positively contributes to export, tourism and helps drawing more foreign investments.
In recent years, Paradise Vietnam has contributed many financial funds for social welfare activities in not only Quang Ninh Province, but also all around Vietnam. Furthermore, the company has provided thousands of jobs for local employees, increasing their income and living standard.
Mr. Dao Trong Tuyen, CEO of Paradise Vietnam shared, “This award is not the achievement of a single person but the result of a joint effort of the whole group. Social security is and will always remain one of our most important concerns and motivations for sustainable development of the group in the future”.
Wanderlust Tips
From May 2016, with a will to provide guests with exclusive summer experiences at affordable prices, Paradise Hotels & Cruises officially introduces three special packages for Vietnamese and Expats, combining services of Paradise Cruises and Paradise Suites Hotel.
Paradise Hotels & Cruises, a renowned brand in providing the most luxurious hotel and cruise service in Halong Bay, proudly introduces three unique summer packages for Vietnamese and Expats: 2 days 1 night Halong Cruising Theme, 2 days 1 night Halong Discovery Journey and 3 days 2 nights Halong Ultimate Relaxation.
“Summer is the ideal time of the year for Vietnamese and Expats to enjoy the most relaxing holiday with family and friends”, explains Mr. Nguyen Cao Son, Chief Operating Officer of Paradise Hotels & Cruises. “This summer, with the newly renovated cruise fleet, most updated cruising itineraries and various onboard activities, we are confident in bringing guests the most memorable escape in the World Heritage Site Halong bay.”
Halong Cruising Theme 2D1N package enables you to enjoy the best of the bay by embarking on the majestic Paradise Luxury fleet, which features the first class facilities and customer service. Joining the 2 days 1 night Halong Discovery Journey, you are warmly accommodated in the elegant Paradise Suites Hotel and enjoy a half day excursion of the legendary Halong Bay. Meanwhile, the 3 days 2 nights Halong Ultimate Relaxation package combines one night on the spacious Paradise Luxury vessel and one night at the stylish Paradise Suites Hotel for the most thrilling experience both onboard and on-land. In the newly revised itineraries, travelers will visit well-known destinations like Titop Island, Dark and Bright Cave and participate in activities like swimming, kayaking, Tai Chi, squid fishing or cooking class…
“We believe our customized summer packages will bring happy moments to more guests who wish to enjoy summer in the finest way.” concludes Mr. Nguyen Cao Son.
HALONG CRUISING THEME
2D1N Overnight cruise
VND 3,150,000/pax
HALONG DISCOVERY JOURNEY
2D1N Hotel stay and half-day excursion
VND 2,150,000/pax
HALONG ULTIMATE RELAXATION
3D2N Hotel and Cruise Tour
VND 3,900,000/pax
For Vietnamese and Expats, daily departure and valid for trips from May 1st to September 30th, 2016
For further information about this program, please contact +84 918 472 699 or +84 965 212 798.
Paradise Hotels & Cruises proudly provides you with exclusive luxury services on the World Heritage Site of Halong Bay with four upscale Paradise Cruises brands and one boutique hotel, Paradise Suites.
Launching the first vessel in 2008, Paradise Cruises has quickly imprinted classy signature in Vietnam’s most famous World Heritage Site – Halong Bay. With four different cruise brands (Paradise Luxury, Paradise Privilege, Paradise Peak & Paradise Explorer), it has become renowned for constantly innovating to answer the widest variety of wishes when it comes to discovering Halong Bay in the most refined way.
Paradise Suites Hotel offers high-end facilities and services in conformity with the natural surrounding elegance. Paradise Suites focuses on charm and experience and has been designed to provide guests with an atmosphere of beauty and delicacy at all times.
Find out more about Paradise Hotels & Cruises at here.
Wanderlust Tips
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Taste of Australia is an integrated Australian food and beverage promotion across Vietnam, which introduces Australian food & beverage products and at the same time share Australia’s modern and sophisticated culinary culture with the Vietnamese market.
“Kangaroo Bun Cha” is where Hanoi’s talented Executive chefs from established hotels and restaurants put their culinary skills to the test. Hotels and restaurants which joined the event include InterContinental Hanoi Westlake, Sofitel Plaza, Daewoo Hanoi and Hanoi Cooking Center. All the chefs were asked to demonstrate their gastronomic skills to create their own and unique version of Vietnamese traditional “Bun Cha” using kangaroo.
Master Chef Vietnam’s Luke Nguyen, together with the Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, H.E. Mr. Hugh Borrowman were the two judges of the cook-off. The judges were clearly impressed with the four unique creations. Executive Chef at Hanoi Cooking Center was crowned the winner of the competition.
Wanderlust Tips
With the will to bring guests exclusive gastronomic experience in Hanoi, Paradise Hotels & Cruises introduces Spring Summer menu of HOME Restaurant, with a new concept.
Since its opening, HOME Restaurant, with the French colonial atmosphere has become a familiar place for guests who wish to enjoy Vietnamese cuisine in a truly vintage decor. At HOME, guests can read and take away the “newspaper menu” that is regularly updated with seasonal dishes, news from Paradise Group and useful travel tips.. This spring-summer, HOME brings you a new menu with a combination of signature and seasonal dishes. Besides the already popular “Cha ca lang”, guests can enjoy the unique flavor of “Marinated sea snail” or “Grilled prawn with Halong seafood emulsion” made by HOME’s expert chefs. A fine selection of wrap and roll dishes with local ingredients is worth looking forward to as well.
“Carefully selecting from signature Vietnamese cuisine, we hope to bring our valued guests the best dining experience with this new list of wrap and roll dishes.” shares Mr. Hugo, general manager of HOME Restaurant. “Guests now can self prepare their Vietnamese spring rolls, making their dinner even more enjoyable, just like being HOME”.
Besides the food and beverage menu, we update guests with the most recent information about upcoming Paradise projects such as: 4-star La Vela Cruises, street food restaurant NGON Villa, new collection of Kaab fashion brand and other useful insights about historic sites nearby Truc Bach Lake.
“In the heart of capital Hanoi, let HOME be your home of culinary art and your cultural destination to learn more about Vietnamese people and culture”, concludes Mr. Nguyen Cao Son, Chief Operating Officer of Paradise Vietnam.
About Paradise Hotels & Cruises
Paradise Hotels & Cruises proudly provides you with exclusive luxury services on the World Heritage Site of Halong Bay with four upscale Paradise Cruises brands and one boutique hotel, Paradise Suites.
Launching the first vessel in 2008, Paradise Cruises has quickly imprinted classy signature in Vietnam’s most famous World Heritage Site – Halong Bay. With four different cruise brands (Paradise Luxury, Paradise Privilege, Paradise Peak & Paradise Explorer), it has become renowned for constantly innovating to answer the widest variety of wishes when it comes to discovering Halong Bay in the most refined way.
Paradise Suites Hotel offers high-end facilities and services in conformity with the natural surrounding elegance. Paradise Suites focuses on charm and experience and has been designed to provide guests with an atmosphere of beauty and delicacy at all times.
Wanderlust Tips
In a recent article by Travel + Leisure, the Saigon Suite at The Reverie Saigon was listed in the’12 Penthouse Perches to Swoon Over’. The Saigon Suite was listed amongst 11 other hotel suites from around the globe.
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Mr. Kai Speth, the General Manager of The Reverie Saigon, had this to say regarding the recent listing by Travel + Leisure, “To have the Saigon Suite featured alongside some of the world’s most luxurious hotels is truly an honor for The Reverie Saigon. The recognition is also a testament to the changing of tourism trends in Saigon and even Vietnam. For international media and luxury travelers alike, the country is transforming into a destination with remarkable and luxurious travel experiences.”
Travel + Leisure describes the Saigon Suite as follows: “The one-of-a kind suite designed by Cassina and Poltrona Frau, two Italian design houses, is an homage to 20th-century design. With stunning views of the sprawling city and the Saigon River, the suite’s furnishings include Frank Lloyd Wright wooden barrel chairs, a Le Courbusier lounge chair and a vintage wooden trunk repurposed as a minibar in a sitting room.
The nearly 3,000 square foot suite comes with dedicated butler service, something that seems like a pre-requisite among the best accommodations in the world these days, and guests should take time to appreciate the Veliero bookcase in the living room. The nine-foot tall piece with glass shelves that suspend off an inverted v-shaped pillar is so technically advanced it wasn’t produced until ten years ago even though it was designed in the 1940s. Rates from $12,000 a night.” To read the full article, please visit here.
Times Square Building
22-36 Nguyen Hue Boulevard & 57-69F Dong Khoi Street
District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Telephone: +84 8 3823 6688
www.thereveriesaigon.com
Travel + Leisure is the preeminent voice for the sophisticated, insatiable traveler, serving up expert intelligence and the most immersive, inspiring travel lifestyle content anywhere.
The magazine captures the pure joy of discovering the pleasures the world has to offer—from art and design to shopping and style to food and wine. Whether the experience is in print or digital, T+L offers compelling reasons to get up and go.
A member of The Leading Hotels of the World, The Reverie Saigon offers an astonishing hotel experience, showcasing extravagant, unapologetic European opulence in a storied Asian setting. The latest luxury addition to the country’s flourishing hotel scene features 286 rooms and suites alongside 89 fully furnished serviced apartments, all of which are among the largest in the city and feature incomparable views of the winding Saigon River and the city skyline.
Renowned Italian brands furnished the rooms and suites of both the hotel and residence, and set the ambiance with exquisite and, in some cases, one-of-a-kind pieces. The property features five distinctive food and beverage outlets, a 1,200-square-metre spa & fitness centre, an expansive outdoor swimming pool and 16 versatile and elegantly decorated function spaces.
The hotel and residences are located in the 164-metre tall Times Square building, a mixed-use development, which includes eight storeys of prime office space and the showrooms of some of the same high-end Italian furniture brands whose pieces are featured throughout the hotel.
The Reverie Saigon is managed by Windsor Property Management Group Corporation (WMC Group). Incorporated in 2004, WMC Group is a hospitality and property services management company headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. The company’s diverse management portfolio includes Windsor Plaza Hotel, Sherwood Residence, restaurants in the central business district, grade-A offices and commercial shopping centers.
Wanderlust Tips
Wanderlust Tips Magazine’s April 2016 with the theme of “The promise of the sea” will bring the readers to a extremely peaceful and romantic paradise where has blue sky, white sand and golden sunshine.
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Dear valued readers,
You might be finding yourself wanting to temporarily leave the mainland. Immerse yourself in the vast blue ocean away from the hustle and bustle of life and soak in the sunshine on a white sand beach where you can enjoy pristine nature. “The sea will send you a promise, simple yet beautiful and affectionate” – this poetic song lyric came to my mind when I started thinking about the topic for our April issue. “The promise of the sea” sounded just perfect.
So when the sea calls visit Binh Ba surrounded by clear blue water, heavenly Con Dao, enchanting Co To, charming Quan Lan, beautiful and hospitable Phu Quy, overwhelming Koh Phi Phi in Thailand or mesmerising Boracay in the Philippines. On any of these you can soak in the beauty of the endless ocean that mixes with the blue of the sky where they meet on the horizon, enjoy a romantic sunset, lounge and read in the shades of palm trees or explore colourful coral reefs. Do not forget to pack a bottle of fine wine to add class and style to a beach BBQ with friends and family.
If you miss your date with the ocean but still crave a peaceful place that nourishes your soul there is no place like Hoi An’s Ancient town. When in Hoi An learn to get lost. Wander into the maze of alleys and explore the many tasty dishes on offer in the ancient town. Do not forget to strike up a conversation with the friendly locals and revel in their warm welcome at every corner. After an exciting day exploring sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee, listen to a romantic son, and let the colourful life around you take you away.
Remember that the ocean always keeps its promises!
Wanderlust Tips | Cinet
