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It is I&MI Media's pleasure to bring this collection of hotels and DMC's that have recently been added to our website and will be a part of our annual directory,
The Workbook, in the 2008 edition.

TANZANIA: Fairmont Zanzibar Resort Opens

IRELAND: The Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt

GREAT BRITAIN: Andaz Liverpool Street Opens

GERMANY: IMEX Wild Card Winners

UAE: Millennium Towers Hotel Dubai

Austrian Airlines Adds to Russian Route Network

United Airlines – LAX/FRA

Bruges, the oh so beautiful medieval city in Belgium, is in the movies. On January 17th "In Bruges", the new independent film by Academy Award-winning writer/director Martin McDonagh, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. "In Bruges" is a dark comedy that features actors Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes and the ultra scenic Bruges –highlighting the town's well-preserved gothic architecture, canals and cobbled streets. If you are not familiar with Bruges, this film will afford you a view of a city perfect for smaller to mid-size meetings and incentive travel programs. Bruges oozes with charm and a program held there is not soon forgotten. There are many Four Star properties including a Crown Plaza and a Sofitel, as well as several excellent independent hotel properties and unique event venues.  For more information on Bruges, Visit Belgium can help. http://www.visitbelgium.com/bruges.htm

Hyatt introduced its new ‘Andaz’ brand in London. The Andaz brand is heavy on customized service and unique amenities like iPods with music programmed by local celebrities for guests to use and enjoy. Read about the new Andaz Liverpool Street Hotel in this edition. It is the first Andaz to open anywhere in the world. More Andaz properties are planned with two scheduled to open in New York City in 2009.

Fairmont Hotels has been expanding in Africa. The latest hotel to open is a newly renovated luxury beach resort property, the Fairmont Zanzibar. The area has some of the most pristine beaches and best diving in the world. Read about the Fairmont Zanzibar in this issue.

Until next time
Best

Helena Miele, CITE
Editor electronic newsletters

Zanzibar’s dignitaries including the President of Zanzibar, His Excellency Amani A. Karume and First Lady presided over opening ceremonies of the Fairmont Zanzibar. The property, located on the northeast coast of Zanzibar’s main island, Ungunja, is on a 350 meter/1,100 feet stretch of beachfront. Its 109 rooms include island cottages, sea view villas, sea view suites, garden villas and cliff rooms placed throughout the property. For events, the resort hotel’s one conference room accommodates 120 attendees. Food and beverage venues consist of Tradewinds, a casual restaurant; Zama Lounge with Arabic African cuisines; Nahodha Lounge and the poolside bar.
The resort’s enviable beach location makes for excellent water sports. There is windsurfing, boating, fishing charters, as well as a fully equipped dive centre with a decompression chamber, one of only three in Africa and the Indian Ocean. Additional recreation facilities include two swimming pools, fitness and spa, volleyball, mini golf, table tennis, darts and pool.
The Fairmont Zanzibar is a 55-minutes drive from Zanzibar Kisauni International Airport.

Email: zanzibar@fairmont.com
Web site: http://www.fairmont.com/zanzibar

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company opened its first hotel in Ireland, The Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt. The 200-room property sits in the midst of the famed Powerscourt Gardens in County Wicklow, just 16 miles/26 kms from Dublin International Airport and 15 miles/24 km from Dublin City Center.
The hotel’s location, facilities, signature restaurant and close proximity to the Powerscourt Golf Club, a 36-hole championship golf complex make it a natural for meetings and incentive travel programs. Guest rooms, many of which have floor to ceiling windows, include 107 suites, 23 club level rooms and 17 club level suites. All of the guest room furnishing were custom made for the hotel and every room features wireless access.
Meeting space includes a 5,959 sqft/554 sqm Ballroom that is divisible into three rooms. At full size, the Ballroom accommodates 400 for a gala dinner and 600 for a reception. There also is 3,000 sqft/279 sqm of pre-function space and an additional five meeting rooms, accommodating from 18 to 150 attendees, as well as a dedicated boardroom.
In addition, there are many areas throughout the 1,000 acres of gardens and woodland for outdoor events and team building programs. The historic Powerscourt residential estate is available for events and can seat up to 140 for a banquet.
Dining at The Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt takes you to another world. Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey opened his first restaurant in Ireland here; Gordon Ramsey at Powerscourt. The restaurant overlooks the gardens and Sugarloaf Mountain and offers alfresco dining in warm weather. Two private dining rooms accommodating 14 and16 guests each are available for small dinner parties and it is possible to book a chef’s table for 10 in Gordon Ramsey’s kitchen restaurant. Plus, Gordon Ramsey-inspired menus are available for banquets. The restaurant kitchen will be presided over by Chef de Cuisine Paul Carroll, whose experience includes training under Gordon Ramsay at Petrus in London, a restaurant which earned its first Michelin star rating in the first year of operation. The hotel also features an authentic Irish pub, McGills complete with Irish pub fare and entertainment and the Sugarloaf Lounge, serving light snacks and afternoon tea. The hotel’s ESPA is 30,000 sqft/2,788 sqm in size and features 20 treatment rooms, two spa suites and fitness center with lap pool, state-of-the-art thermal suite and poolside waterfall.

E-mail: jill.ohare@ritzcarlton.com
Web site: http://www.ritzcarlton.com

The Global Hyatt Corporation launched its new luxury brand, Andaz, in London in November with the opening of the Andaz Liverpool Street. The hotel, located at 40 Liverpool Street, is in the former Great Eastern Hotel, which was built between 1884 and 1887 by Charles Barry, the grandson of Charles Barry who designed the Houses of Parliament. The Hindi word Andaz means personal style and the brand reflects this in adding new hotel concepts to services and amenities. Upon arrival guests are met by an Andaz Team Member and welcomed into the ‘Living Room’. Check-in is done with “Tablet PCs either in the Living Room or en route to the guest’s room. There is no front desk, reception or concierge area. It is all very personalized service and all staff members from general manager to waiters take care of guests. Room rates include non-traditional extras such as healthy mini-bar items, local telephone calls, laundry/dry cleaning and blockbuster movies.
The 5-Star property’s 267 guest rooms are designed in a style that reflects ‘casual luxury’ and give a comforting home away from home feel. Guest rooms are outfitted with broadband Internet access, Bose iPod docking stations, flat screen TV’s, desks and eco-friendly bathrooms.
The hotel’s 14 unique and beautiful events rooms accommodate 10 to 400 attendees.
Andaz Liverpool Street has five dining venues and three bars. The Aurora Restaurant and Bar offers fine dining all under a huge stained-glass dome with an art deco bar. Other choices include the East Way Brasserie, Catch for seafood, Miako for sushi and The Studio for private dining from 2 to 30 guests.
The property is next to the Liverpool Street train station and the Stansted Express terminates at Liverpool Street, with a journey time of around 45 minutes.

Email: info.londonliv@andaz.com
Web site: http://www.andaz.com

IMEX, the award-winning global meetings industry exhibition, and the German Convention Bureau (GCB) is once again awarding a free stand at the upcoming show to some very fortunate companies new to the meetings market. Winners receive free exhibition place, accommodation and travel as well as complimentary tickets to the show’s gala dinner. Plus, a year’s worth of marketing support and guidance from the IMEX marketing team.
This year’s IMEX winners are two up and coming destinations Torun, Poland and the Republic of Armenia. GCB winners are two tourism-marketing companies, Holstein Eventmarketing and Marketingkooperation Städte.
Torun, Poland is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was a prominent trade center in the Middle Ages and today is known as ‘the beautiful city’. Torun has the capacity to host events for up to 1,000 delegates.
Republic of Armenia, formerly part of the Soviet Union, is now an independent country. Armenia lies along the Great Silk Route and reflects a long history of mixed Turkish and Persian influences.
Holstein Eventmarketing specializes in planning cost-effective conferences and incentive travel programs for smaller groups.
Marketingkooperation Städte in Schleswig-Holstein represents 14 cities in the German federal state of Schleswig Holstein. It has been honored several times in various local business awards and its team is passionate about sustaining and developing a strong meetings industry within the state.

Web site IMEX: http://www.imex-frankfurt.com
Web site German Convention Bureau: http://www.gcb.de

The 5-Star Millennium Towers Hotel Dubai, which opened at the end of last year, is located on Sheikh Zayed Road between the Mall of the Emirates and Ibn Battuta shopping mall. It is also adjacent to Dubai Media City and the Emirates Golf Club. The hotel’s spacious 352 guest rooms are at least 33 sqm/355 sqft in size and outfitted with high-speed Internet connection and interactive TV connections.
The conference center on the hotel’s 1st floor consists of three multi-function rooms, a boardroom and a 280 sqm/3,014 sqft ballroom with 180 sqm/1,938 sqft of pre-function space. A dedicated events team is available to assist planners. Dining choices at the Towers include all-day dining in the Atrium with its 15-meter high ceilings, Asian cuisine at Toshi and Italian dishes at Dante’s. Libations are served at the Champagne Bar and the pool bar. Recreational facilities include the Jasmine Spa, a fitness center and outdoor pool.
The Millennium Towers is 15 minutes from both the airport and the exhibition center.

E-mail: sales.dxbtowers@mill-cop.com
Web site: http://www.millenniumtowershotel.com

Austrian Airlines is expanding its route network in Russia with the addition of two new destinations; Sochi and Nizhniy Novgorod. Beginning in April there will be a thrice-weekly service from Vienna to both Sochi and Nizhniy. Sochi flights commence on 1st April and Nizhniy flights commence on 2nd April. Aircraft used for these new routes will be the Fokker 70.
Sochi is located at the foot of the Caucasian Mountains on the east coast of the Black Sea. The city, which was founded in 1838, will host the 2014 Winter Olympics. Return flights from Sochi will reach Vienna in the early morning, offering passengers easy connections to Central and Western Europe and North America.
Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia’s fifth largest city is located approximately 400 km/248 miles east of Moscow. The city is considered Russia’s architectural Mecca and was renamed Gorky from 1932 to 1991, after one of its most famous sons, author Maxim Gorky, before returning to its original name of Nizhniy Novgorod with the fall of Communism.
Austrian already offers passengers five Russian destinations in the cities of Rostov, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Krasnodar.

Web site: http://www.austrianairlines.co.at/eng

United Airlines launched service from Los Angeles to Frankfurt, Germany in December. The new service is non-stop and operates daily. Equipment used on the route is a Boeing 777 aircraft configured with 12 United First seats, 49 United Business seats and 197 United Economy seats, including 83 Economy Plus seats, which offer up to five inches more leg-room.

Web site: http://www.united.com/