Heathrow airside meet-and-greet

London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) is one of the most crowded airports in the world with lines of legendary proportions. The YouTube video embedded below shows what the videographer calls "a stupidly long unnecessary queue" that required 3 1/2 hours simply to reach the front.



There is a luxury alternative to the hassle of crowds and long lines at Heathrow. One of my Virtuoso suppliers offers both airside and curbside assistance for VIP clients flying through LHR.

Airside VIP Meet and Greet — you will be met direct from the plane by a host and escorted through passport control, baggage claim, and into the customs area. Baggage porters will collect and transfer your luggage. Once clearing customs, your host will liaise with your chauffeur who will drive you into central London (limousine transfer is included in the price of the service).

Curbside VIP assistance — you will be met as you arrive at the departure terminal, escorted through passport control, into the main terminal building, and to the airline lounges. Approximately 45 minutes before your plane's scheduled departure, your VIP host will return to the lounge to escort you to the plane.

Inter-terminal transfer assistance is also available.

If you're planning a high-end stay at a luxury hotel in London such as The Dorchester, I would be happy to make these arrangements in conjunction with your hotel booking (click the link for my hotel reviews posted last year). By booking with a Virtuoso travel consultant, you receive valuable amenities: complimentary daily breakfast for two, room upgrades if available, and much more.


copyright (c) 2010 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
.

Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay | what to do

Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, less than an hour's drive south of downtown San Francisco (and just 23 miles from SFO), is on the outskirts of a small, picturesque town overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The only oceanfront resort in the San Francisco Bay area, there is lots to do — a sandy beach for kids to play on, miles of coastline for couples to walk along, 36 holes of golf, horseback riding on the beach, a great spa, tennis, wine tasting, and great food.

Half Moon Bay is a great destination for a romantic weekend anytime of the year - or for a summer family vacation. I was intrigued by the Signature Drive that the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay suggests for guests. You can spend a few hours taking the drive, or make an entire day out of it. The tour is replete with suggestions for lunch and dinner along the way. Pictured on the map above, the tour winds through five distinct regions:

1. Historic Main Street. Explore the historic downtown — stroll and shop for art, crafts, jewelry, antiques and more.

2. Pumpkin. Drive past farms, fruit stands, and visit the Annual Art & Pumpkin Festival held every October.

3. California Redwood. Hiking trails, biking, horseback riding, and dining.

4. Santa Cruz Mountains. More than 70 wineries to visit as well as dining.

5. Coastal. Walk miles of sandy beach or the bluff-top trail that hugs the coast.

Coastal View rooms at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay are definitely worth the upgrade — request a south-facing room for the more spectacular view — and the Fire Pit rooms are very popular. Located on the ground level, they feature a patio with a gas fireplace and adirondack chairs overlooking the coast. Ask your travel consultant about various vacation packages as well. As a Virtuoso guest, you will enjoy complimentary amenities such as free breakfast daily, room upgrades, and a spa credit.

If you want a beach vacation with warm ocean water and hot summer days, there are better choices. Mark Twain's famous comment — the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco — may be an exaggeration, but it's true enough. I love Northern California's temperate year-round climate, but there are better choices for "a week at the beach."


Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2010 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
.

hotels.com | a cautionary tale

Internet booking engines have their place, especially if you are shopping for economy or moderate hotels. They are a quick and easy way to price out a variety of properties in a given destination and make a booking. They are fine until things go wrong, which they sometimes do, and it becomes difficult if not impossible to get a live human being to spend the time necessary to get your problem resolved.

The following is a true story reported to me by an actual hotels.com customer about an experience that caused her days of distress. I am telling this story with her permission - but fictionalizing her name.

Susan wanted to book two connecting waterfront rooms (king + double-double) at a particular five-star resort for her family's vacation over Easter weekend. Unfortunately, she was informed by the resort that the room configuration she needed was not available. Not being one to give up so easily, Susan tenaciously began searching the web for alternatives and found a website that seemed to offer exactly what she wanted at the same resort.

Phoning the toll-free number, the agent in the call center assured Susan she could definitely get those connecting rooms. The agent put Susan on hold, phoned the hotel's reservations department, then reported back to Susan with the wonderful news that "Julie in reservations" had exactly the connecting rooms she was looking for. However, the rooms had to be booked immediately or they would be gone. Susan provided her credit card number to the agent, and the reservation was made.

Susan then called "Julie in reservations" herself, just to verify her arrangements. That's where everything fell apart. Her requests had not been confirmed. Susan definitely did not have the connecting waterfront rooms she had requested. She immediately phoned hotels.com to cancel her reservation. Hotels.com did so and then informed her that she would have to pay a 50% cancellation fee. Susan was understandably very upset and asked over the course of many phone calls to speak with a hotels.com supervisor who could help, but she reports that no one ever called her back.

This is when Susan contacted me (she found me on the web). My agency has a long-standing preferred relationship with the resort involved here, and I spoke directly with the reservations manager. This is a company that wants to take great care of their guests, and they were more than happy to waive any cancellation fees under these circumstances. The resort instructed hotels.com to refund the customer's money.

Is there a moral to this story? Booking engines and call center agents can make hotel reservations, but travel consultants do so much more. Hotels and travel consultants have the same goal in mind — to do everything in our power to ensure that information is communicated accurately, that guests are treated warmly, and that they enjoy a perfect stay. This doesn't always happen, Susan's story being an example of how things sometimes go wrong. Beyond the amenities that a luxury travel consultant can offer (complimentary daily breakfasts, room upgrades, and more), we work for you - even to help you solve a problem caused by an online booking engine.

travel consultant (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2010 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
.

Riviera Maya vacation

I'll be leaving in three weeks for a Riviera Maya vacation and site inspection. Located in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, the Riviera Maya is a vacation area that has become very popular with upscale tourists. I will be staying at two properties during my week in this western Caribbean beach destination — four days at Orient Express's Maroma Resort (pictured above), a beachfront property that boasts some of the best snorkeling in the world — and three days at Rosewood Mayakoba, a serene resort near Playa del Carmen. I'll be making site inspections of a total of nine Riviera Maya luxury resorts and posting my reviews right here.

More than just a beach resort, the Riviera Maya boasts a number of outstanding archeological sites including the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza (pictured to the left) and Tulum. Travel provides a priceless opportunity to experience different places and to learn about ancient cultures. It's a chance to learn, expand our horizons, and - for me - to gain invaluable first-hand impressions that helps me serve my clients as a travel consultant.

Riviera Maya vacation (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2010 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
.

Ritz-Carlton Kapalua | Wine & Food Festival

What a great value! The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua Maui is offering an incredible deal for the four-day Kapalua Wine and Food Festival being hosted at the resort. The special package begins at $750 per night for a Deluxe Ocean View room (minimum stay of three nights) and includes a two-day Pass for two guests valued at $540. This gets you into:

The Grand Tasting, June 25, 6-9 p.m.

The Kapalua Seafood Festival, June 27th, 6-9 p.m.

The current rate for Deluxe Ocean View rooms is $745; just $5 more gets you into two lavish wine and food buffets — in other words, both of you will enjoy two abundant gourmet dinners. While breakfast is not included at this rate, clients of STARS agents will receive an upgrade if available, customized welcome amenity, and late 4 p.m. check-out.

Contact your luxury travel consultant to book this package.


Ritz-Carlton Kapalua Maui (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2010 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
.

Jeu de Paume | street photography exhibit

The Jeu de Paume is a Paris museum famous for once having hosted the greatest collection of French Impressionist art in the world. That collection is now part of the immense Musée d'Orsay, but the Jeu de Paume is still an active musuem located at the northwest corner of the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris.

As if I needed to invent a reason to visit Paris, my favorite city, the current exhibition at the Jeu de Paume is a collection of 120 images by Lisette Model, a pioneer of the art of street photography. This exhibit will be on display through June 6, 2010. Admission to the Jeu de Paume is 7€. The museum is open every day except Monday, and hours are from 12 noon until 7 p.m. (9 p.m. on Tuesday).

Where to stay near the Jeu de Paume? Hotel de Crillon is just 0.2 km from the musuem and Le Meurice just slightly further - 0.4 km. For the best rates along with added-value amenities including complimentary full breakfast daily, upgrades, and even a free one-way airport transfer with three night stay, contact a Virtuoso travel consultant.

P.S. — Thanks to Chocolatine France, a Virtuoso onsite in France, for alerting me to this great opportunity.


Jeu de Paume (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2010 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
.

Brownell - travel beyond your expectations

I don't believe I have ever blogged about Brownell Travel, the agency with which I am so proud to be affiliated. This video will give you a hint of why I love being a part of the Brownell family.



We are a team with more Conde Nast and Travel & Leisure recommended experts than any other agency in the world. Obviously no one travel consultant knows everything, but if you call or email your Brownell travel consultant with your vision for a world-stretching vacation, we regularly call upon the expertise of our colleagues to help us plan your trip of a lifetime.

We are also blessed to have great relationships with some of the most outstanding travel partners in the industry. Our on-site partners located virtually everywhere on earth have relationships with reliable ground operators and the best tour guides available. They can ensure that your trip goes as smoothly as possible - and they're there in the event the unexpected happens and you need help thousands of miles away from home.

I love the way Troy Haas describes "luxury travel" in this video:

To see the change from having to worry about when do we have to make the transfer?, is the driver there on time?, are the rooms all OK in the hotel?, do you have your bags? ... When our people we lined up are taking care of all of those things, the client can then relax and enjoy the experience.

Brownell travel consultant (search here on Google)

Click here to visit Brownell's website.

copyright (c) 2010 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
.

barging on the River Thames

While I am not into cruises, I thoroughly enjoyed a barge trip I took several years ago in the south of France. So when I received news of this special offer on the Magna Carta for selected sailings this spring, I wanted to pass it along. This cruise is on my own wish list; it glides down the River Thames through some of the most beautiful English countryside you'll ever see.

A barge cruise is nothing like an ocean cruise. You're not on a big ship with hundreds or thousands of other passengers; you'll be one of eight exclusive guests. No extra charges for drinks or shore excursions; everything is included. You won't be having your meals in a large dining room in which hundreds of meals are being prepared simultaneously; every night is like a wonderful dinner party, thrown by the crew, with exquisite meals elegantly served.

Carrying just eight passengers and ideal for groups of friends or families, a Magna Carta barge cruise is an intimate and exclusive experience. The barge boasts two decks with four luxurious, spacious staterooms on the lower deck, each with beautiful hardwood floors, under-floor heating, independent air conditioning and en-suite facilities complete with oversized showers and basins, heated towel rail, independent under-floor heating and other fine guest amenities.

On the upper deck, guests will find the saloon with picture windows offering panoramic views of the charming English countryside. Here, passengers can relax on Italian leather sofas and enjoy a fully stocked bar, library complete with reference books, a selection of games and a comprehensive CD collection. Exquisite dishes are delivered from the professional galley and are enjoyed in the adjacent fine dining area. Leading from the saloon are split-level sun decks offering a sun umbrella and chairs. Sunk within the upper level is a large, bubbling Jacuzzi, providing passengers with an oasis for complete relaxation.

Save $2,000 per cabin on cruises departing March 21, March 28, April 3, April 18, April 27, and May 30, 2010. Guests can save $1,000 per cabin on dates outside those listed above. Contact me to book your cruise and to make your pre- and post-cruises arrangements.

Magna Carta barge cruise (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2010 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
.

full solar eclipse | July 11 in Tahiti

As if you needed another reason to visit one of the most idyllic spots on earth, French Polynesia will experience a total solar eclipse on July 11, 2010. A solar eclipse occurs when the new moon passes directly in front of the sun, blocking out its light and creating a mystical "twilight in the middle of the day" experience. According to Nasa's eclipse website, "the southern coast line of French Polynesia's Tahiti lies a tantalizing 20 km north of the eclipse path and experiences a deep 99.96% magnitude partial eclipse at 18:28 UT."

Tahiti and Moorea will experience a 98% eclipse of the sun. There is room availability on both islands that evening, and you can spend the rest of your Polynesian holiday on Bora Bora. The warm waters of its lagoon are the most incredible shade of aquamarine, and this is one of the best places on earth to snorkel. My recommended places to stay? Four Seasons Bora Bora (the ultimate five star resort with a distinctly Polynesian flavor) and Bora Bora Lagoon Resort (an Orient Express property with reasonable prices and the best snorkeling anywhere).

Never look directly at the sun. The only time that the Sun can be viewed safely with the naked eye is during a total eclipse, when the Moon completely covers the disk of the Sun. It is never safe to look at a partial or annular eclipse, or the partial phases of a total solar eclipse, without the proper equipment and techniques.


Bora Bora (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2010 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
.