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Volume 5, Issue 43, October 23, 2007 |
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Dubai’s major land developer, Nakheel, has assembled a fascinating collection of satellite images that show just how rapidly the ancient and modern have collided in Dubai. The occasion was last week’s Cityscape Dubai 2007, the international property investment and development event that drew more than 40,000 attendees from 120 countries — all there to see what’s coming next in the country that is being developed most rapidly, most expensively, and perhaps most beautifully of anyplace, at least so far this millennium.
Unless you’re a long-time road warrior who visited Dubai before the UAE existed, the differences between the 1973 images and those of today are nothing short of astonishing. While references to the city of Dubai can be found as far back as 1095 A.D., documented records only exist after 1799, electricity and an airport didn’t arrive until the 1950s, and the emirate itself did not exist until 1971. As the first photo from 1973 shows, at that time Dubai was almost entirely desert, with a small population center on the coast.
The combination of location and oil money lent itself to Dubai’s rapid development, and nothing has been done halfway. Jebel Ali, the port built in the 1970s (see left of 1990 and later photos), has the largest manmade harbor in the world. Although Dubai has significant shoreline along the Persian Gulf, water is a precious commodity in desert lands, and the development mandate in Dubai is to create more shoreline – more than 600 miles’ worth, in fact. The well-known developments The Palm and The World are Nakheel efforts, and they’re just the beginning, with a trilogy of palms planned, and more than 250 new hotels on the drawing board.
A look at these images side by side is amazing for the sheer rapidity of the development. In 1990, only the new harbor and some city expansion can be seen, and the 2000 image shows just more of the same, with nothing yet built offshore. Compare that with the satellite image of Dubai today, with two of the Palm developments completed and the mini-universe of The World’s islands well on their way. And finally, you can see the image shown above (or larger here), which uses the magic of computers to show what Dubai will look like in the near future when Nahkeel’s current projects are complete within the next three to five years. 
EVA Airways has two new facets coming into view in December. The airline is putting a new Boeing 777-300ER in service on its New York (JFK)-Taipei (TPE) route, shaving about four hours off the trip. The flights to Asia will still include a refueling stop in Anchorage (ANC) due to headwinds, but the return flights will now be nonstop. Elsewhere in the EVA fleet, retrofitting of the airline’s B747-400 aircraft to include its new Super First Class cabin will be complete by Dec. 1.
Guests of, or would-be visitors to, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts properties can now read up on and share insights about those hotels on the company’s blog site, Travelogue. Not a typical blog, the site is part promotion, part content, heavy on pictures, and includes options to subscribe to an RSS feed and to share elements of the blog with friends via e-mail.
If you’re rich — very rich — $1 million and a little bit of luck will get you a chance to buy a one-of-a-kind diamond necklace. Emirates Airline has teamed with renowned jeweler Montblanc to sponsor a contest benefiting UNICEF. Through March 31, passengers on board any Emirates flight can registered for a chance to purchase the necklace. The winner of the drawing will fly Emirates first class to Montblanc’s workshop in Paris, to witness the finishing touches in the creation of their Ruban d’amour diamond necklace and matching earrings. UNICEF will receive $150,000 of the purchase price. Application forms are available from the Emirates cabin crew.
Let no one say the airlines aren’t keeping up with the latest Web 2.0 trends. American Airlines has introduced a map mashup, called the AAdvantage MileFinder, that lets travelers go to a map of the city of their choice and see what their options are for earning bonus miles. The map shows participating hotels, restaurants, rental cars, even utilities and financial services companies that participate in the AAdvantage mileage program. You can also rate the participants, read other travelers’ comments, and leave your own. You can even set the map so that it uses a specific location — say, a hotel you’ve already booked — as its center. The only drawback: Right now, the mapping service is only available for 11 U.S. cities, although it will ultimately expand to include more destinations.
The Grand Hotel Kempinski Geneva, closed since 2005 for extensive renovations, is now officially reopened. The redesign of the hotel, located on the shores of Lake Geneva, brings the outdoors inside, so to speak, with extensive use of glass and lots of blue touches to reflect the lake. The 380 guestrooms and 43 suites are all equipped with wireless Internet access and satellite TV; the hotel now also has an indoor salt-water swimming pool, gym, sauna and steam bath. A shopping gallery occupies the first floor, and the second floor puts a restaurant, lounge and bar side by side — all of unique but complementary design — where guests can order from all three menus regardless of where they are seated.
Omni Interlocken Resort
500 Interlocken Blvd.
Broomfield, CO 80021
Tel 303 438 6600; fax 303 438 7224
www.omnihotels.com
During a recent business trip to Colorado, I wanted to stay close to downtown Denver, but also within a short drive to Boulder. The Omni Interlocken Resort, located in the suburb of Broomfield, is a 20-minute drive to downtown Denver, 10 minutes to Boulder, and just 30 minutes to Denver International Airport (DEN). It was the perfect choice.
The 390-room property sits on 300 beautiful acres of rolling hills, pampas grass, aspen and locust trees, and is near several sprawling corporate complexes. Despite the growth in the area, there is still room to spread out: The hotel has more than 40,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, and its golf course is a bucolic 27-hole, Graham/Panks-designed beauty with views of the mountains, from the Flatiron Range beyond Boulder to Pikes Peak. The clubhouse, located about a mile from the hotel itself, has a full-service restaurant called Fairways.
Two heated, outdoor swimming pools, a spa with nine treatment rooms, a co-ed eucalyptus steam room, and plenty of exercise equipment are part of the Omni Interlocken’s resort amenities. I enjoyed the free high-speed Internet access, available just by signing up (also free) as an Omni Guest Select member, and the new online check-in service, which eliminates front desk registration; the room key is handed to you upon arrival. The chain’s new healthy breakfast menu, served in the Meritage Restaurant, includes eggs from free-range chickens, all-natural pork products from Colorado’s Maverick Ranch, organic cereals, Starbucks’ organic shade-grown coffee, and whole-leaf teas. I can honestly say that the all-natural breakfast sausages and bacon really did taste much better than the usual hotel fare.
My room was equipped with the usual TV cabinet (flat screens are coming next year), wood desk, and upholstered chair. A triple-sheeted king-size bed with about seven different pillows dominated the space; I tip my hat to housekeeping departments everywhere for dealing with all the bedding material. The front range of the Rockies was visible out my window, and I made sure to visit the front desk each afternoon, where a flute of Champagne awaited anyone who stopped by.
The four-lane highway corridor between Denver and Boulder, once a narrow road that meandered through farmland, has become a busy stretch of office parks, upscale shopping centers, and residential communities, but for travelers looking for convenience to Denver’s urban scene while within touching distance of the mountains, this suburban location offers the best of both worlds.
Score: ••••• Ron Bernthal
Global Traveler invites you to enter our Global Traveler of the Year essay competition, sponsored by GT and Alitalia. One Grand Prize will be awarded: an Alitalia package for two to Rome, including Magnifica class tickets and two nights at the Boscolo Hotel. The winner will also be invited to Global Traveler’s annual Awards Luncheon on Jan. 16 in New York City. Entries will be accepted online through Dec. 16. This year’s topic: In 200 words or less, tell us about your favorite place you have visited in the world, and why.
Business class between New York (JFK) and London (STN) from $499? That’s got to be a sale, and it is: MaxJet has extended its business class sale to include travel dates between Nov. 16 and Feb. 28. The sale was good only for travel through the end of the year, but the airline has added two more months. You must buy the tickets by Oct. 31 to qualify. The fare is $499 each way for flights on Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays; $599 for other days of the week. The sale is also good for MaxJet departures from Las Vegas (LAS) and Los Angeles (LAX), starting at $599.
There’s an even shorter window of opportunity to take advantage of Eos Airlines’ bonus offer: Buy a round-trip ticket between New York (JFK) and London Stansted (STN) by Oct. 26, for travel between Oct. 24 and Jan. 31, and you’ll get a freebie — your choice of either an iPod or bonus frequent flyer points. Depending upon the price of your ticket, you get either an iPod Nano or an iPod Touch — or if you prefer the points option, either 20,000 points or 35,000 points. You must register for the offer before buying your tickets to qualify for a bonus.
Year-end travel just got more affordable. Air France is offering a sale on its business class fares to Europe from 12 U.S. gateways. Tickets must be purchased by Dec. 5, for travel departing the U.S. Dec. 17-Jan. 4 and returning Dec. 22-Jan. 9. Sample round-trip fares include New York (JFK)-Madrid (MAD) $1,370; Philadelphia (PHL)-Frankfurt (FRA) $1,570; Houston (IAH)-Rome (FCO) $1,870.
Through Oct. 31, you can buy tickets for round-trip travel to London (LHR), via Canada, for less than $500 from the midwestern United States. The Air Canada sale is good from travel until Dec.18 or from Dec. 24 to March 5. Lowest fares, shown unbundled, start at $159 roundtrip, but with taxes and fees come to $480.43; that’s for economy travel from Milwaukee (MKE), Columbus (CMH) or Pittsburgh (PIT). For about $120 more, you can originate farther afield — for example, in St. Louis (STL), Houston (IAH) or Portland (PDX). Tickets must be purchased at least 10 days in advance of departure. Transfer airports are Toronto (YYZ), Montreal (YUL) and Vancouver (YVR).
