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| Vol. 5 | Issue 14 | April 4, 2007 |    |
Two brand-new lodging options in Tokyo are between them providing some things uncommon to that city: spacious guestrooms and affordable prices.
Oakwood Premier Tokyo Midtown is the latest in Oakwood’s group of serviced executive apartments to open in the city. Designed as extended-stay accommodations, with all the creature comfort that implies, they are being offered at nightly rates that start at $204 for a studio, $230 for a one-bedroom, and range up to about $700 for a three-bedroom flat.
The apartments are all equipped with high-speed Internet access, floor-to-ceiling windows, gourmet kitchens, large flat-screen home theaters, washers and dryers, work niches, marble entries, hardwood floors, video intercoms, drench showers, steam saunas, and balconies. On-site are a fitness center, a business center, a conference room, a hair salon, a supermarket, individual mailboxes, and parking.
Services include a 24-hour front desk, concierge service, dry cleaning, DVD rentals, storage, and thrice-weekly maid service (daily maid service is available for an extra charge). Continental breakfast is served daily in the lobby lounge. That’s quite a lot for the money, considering the rates are already well below Tokyo’s average hotel price, and the Midtown area is quite pleasant and 40 percent green space.
If you prefer more classic accommodations, the Ritz Carlton, Tokyo opened to guests on March 30. It's in Roppongi, which is also part of the Tokyo Midtown development, and comprises 248 rooms beginning on the 45th floor of the city's tallest skyscraper. Ritz Carlton claims that the guestrooms are the most spacious in Tokyo, starting at 559 square feet. The hotel will ultimately have two restaurants, two bars and a deli, although all may not yet be operational during the soft opening, as well as a spa and fitness center. Rates start at about $441, $611 for rooms on the Club floor, and higher for the eight categories of suites. 
We may not be a cashless society quite yet, but two travel suppliers are making it easier for travelers to literally “pay as you go.” Frontier Airlines has just introduced “cashless cabins,” having equipped its flight attendants with card readers that allow passengers to pay for movies and alcoholic beverages with credit or debit cards. It also expects that saving its attendants from the need to make change will also speed up the beverage service process. The service is being rolled out across Frontier’s flight schedule. Amtrak is also expanding its electronic credit-card processing, from Acela Express to all trains across its network that offer food and beverage service, a process expected to be completed by the end of the year. There is no longer any minimum purchase requirement to use a credit card, receipts will be issued only when requested, and no signature will be required for purchases under $25.
Virgin Atlantic is launching a “film festival in the sky” over the next four months. In partnership with Britain’s National Film and Television School, the airline will screen 14 short films as part of its inflight entertainment system. Passengers will be given the opportunity to vote for their favorites, and the top six vote-getters will be screened for three more months. Ultimately a panel of judges will choose one winner, who will receive Virgin Atlantic tickets and a systemwide screening of their next film.
Two South Florida resorts are this month promoting literacy and entertaining children at the same time. Through April, special “Green Eggs & Ham” breakfasts will come with a copy of that Dr. Seuss book, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Florida Family Literacy Initiative. At the Riva restaurant of Fort Lauderdale’s Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, children can get green-tinted scrambled eggs with a side of ham, for $16, through April 20. The Terrazza Restaurant in the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami offers a version for a more sophisticated palate: poached eggs Benedict with sautéed spinach, Black Forest ham, and a peas cream sauce. It costs $26, and is available through April 30. At both resorts, about $5 per person goes to the charity.
For those heading to the United Kingdom with wireless devices, a new unbiased "WiFi watch" Web site is a good source of locations, reviews and reports on hotspots throughout that nation. The site, www.AtLarge.com, is published by CNET networks.
First class is getting classier on Qantas. The airline has begun offering an eight-course tasting menu of chef Neil Perry’s signature dishes paired with specially selected wines, served in small portions throughout the course of the flight. The tasting menu is being offered in first class on international routes to and from the airline's Australian gateways, starting with the Los Angeles (LAX), Bangkok (BKK) and Singapore (SIN) routes, with plans to extend it further.
The Bell at Skenfrith
Skenfrith, Monmouthshire, NP7 8UH
tel 44 01600 750235; fax 44 01600 750525
www.skenfrith.co.uk
Skenfrith, a tiny village of 500 residents in southeastern Wales, is surrounded by green hills, thousands of grazing sheep, and small farms. The picturesque ruins of a 13th-century Norman castle stand in the center of the village, and the free-flowing Monnow River, a natural habitat for trout, winds its way through idyllic pastures. From spring to fall, purple crocus, goldenrod, red clover and other wildflowers carpet the valley floor, creating a stunning quilt of colors.
No, this scene is not storybook fiction; it’s what I viewed from my second-floor bedroom at The Bell at Skenfrith, an upscale but rustic-looking pub, restaurant and inn. Business travelers from London (two and a half hours by car) or Birmingham (90 minutes away) make time in their busy schedules to drive here for a taste of the rump of Monmouthshire lamb or the pan-fried breast of local duck. The vegetables, herbs and salad greens are all organic, much of it coming from The Bell’s kitchen garden. The wine list is a 33-page informational menu written by owner William Hutchings, who describes his obsession for Cognac and his latest buying trips to Champagne, in enjoyable prose.
The dining room, with its stone floor and fireplace, wood tables, fresh flowers, framed black-and-white photos, and large windows overlooking the Welsh countryside, is decorated by William’s wife, Janet, who makes sure that everything at The Bell, from the kitchen to the bar to the eight upstairs bedrooms, runs as perfectly as it looks. Janet’s touches, like the nicely framed trout flies outside each room, are part of the inn’s simple yet sophisticated charm.
My lunch starter, consisting of grilled goat cheese, roasted red peppers and green olives, was superb, as was the main course of wild-mushroom-and-spinach risotto, soft poached hen’s egg, Parmesan shavings, beans, and basil pesto. Next to my table was a blackboard indicating the local producers that supply the inn’s kitchen: free-range duck from Madgettes Farm; pork from Bower Farm; free-range chickens and eggs from Galway; and fresh cream from the herd of Jersey cows down the road. Naturally, the menu changes daily; what farmers and suppliers bring in fresh that morning is on the tables for lunch or dinner later the same day.
Michelin named The Bell at Skenfrith its 2007 Pub of the Year, and although most pubs do not have four-poster beds and luxurious toiletries in their bedrooms, this public house also knows how to please drinkers. The local ales sold at the bar — including Freeminer Bitter, Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, Hook Norton, and the popular Stowford Press cider — qualify The Bell as a pub with panache.
Room rates are approximately $110-370 a night, including breakfast and tax. Dinner averages about $55 a person, not including beverages, for three courses a la carte.
Score: ••••• Ron
Bernthal
Malaysia Airlines has just announced a slate of new lower airfares from Los Angeles (LAX) and Newark (EWR) to nine Asian destinations for purchase by May 31. Travel at these fares must be either before May 31 or between Aug. 15 and Nov. 30. Destinations on sale are in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Round-trip economy fares range between $840 and $920 from LAX, and are $50 higher from the East Coast. A standard business class fare of $3,320 round-trip is being offered on all the routes out of both U.S. gateways.
Nineteen W hotels in North America are offering a Spring Fling package until April 15, with special rates and two "spring cocktails" included. In honor of Earth Day, for each package bought, W Hotels will plant 100 trees in partnership with Trees for the Future. The nightly Spring Fling rates range from $129 (in Atlanta) to $399 (in New York).
Continuing the celebration of its new routes to China, United Airlines is cutting the mileage required to redeem awards tickets for its U.S.-China flights. Economy Saver awards have been reduced from 60,000 miles to 45,000 miles for travel between the airline’s U.S. gateways and either Beijing (PEK) or Shanghai (PVG). The offer is good for travel through June 30. Promotion code is MPA057.
Golfers eager to try one of Golfweek’s “Top 40 Best New Courses” can do it at a discount in Orlando from now through July. The luxury Rosen Shingle Creek resort has a “Deluxe Golf” package for $248 a night single, $328 double, that includes lodging, breakfast buffet, and one round of golf per person at Shingle Creek Golf Club. An optional one-hour lesson at the on-site Brad Brewer Golf Academy is another $130 per person.
Scandinavian Airlines’ spring sale is upon us, for travel until May 17. The seasonal offer is available on most routes to and from U.S. cities served by SAS, for travel to Copenhagen (CPH), Helsinki (HEL), Oslo (OSL) and Stockholm (ARN). The round-trip fares range from $530 to $860, not including taxes.
