Oman: Al Bustan Palace InterContinental Muscat Reopens

Belgium: Bruges' First 5-Star – Kempinski Hotel Dukes' Palace Bruges

Germany: Hotel Berlin, Berlin – Berlintastic!

Great Britain: Scotland's Blair Castle

Turkey: Four Seasons Istanbul at the Bosphorus

Delta Flies to Lyon

SAS to Delhi

The Motivation Show is coming next month from 23-25 September at Chicago's McCormick Place. Over 2,000 exhibits will feature brand name merchandise, incentive travel and meeting destinations, gift cards and online services. The education component of the show will present more than sixty workshops and seminars on industry best practices such as “Incentive Program Design and ROI”, “Employee Engagement and Recognition”, “Motivating Sales and Channel Partners”, “Consumer Marketing” and “Meeting & Incentive Travel Strategies”. For registration and information, go to the Motivation Show website at www.motivationshow.com
The Prague Marriott is using renewable energy with 75% of the hotel's energy needs provided by renewable sources.  Furthermore, as of 1st April the 5-Star hotel, together with its neighbor the B.H. Business Centre administrative complex, became the third largest consumer of electricity from renewable resources in Prague, Czech Republic.
Spanish hotel group Sol Melia has plans to open five properties in Italy by the year 2010. The five new properties will bring the total number of Sol Melia hotels in Italy to ten. Next year in summer 2009, the company will open a new hotel complex in Rome and additional hotels are planned for Florence and Venice in northern Italy and Naples in southern Italy.

Until next time
Best

Helena Miele, CITE
Editor electronic newsletters

The 5-Star Al Bustan Palace InterContinental Muscat reopens on 1st November after completing a multi-million, interior/exterior refurbishment including complete makeovers to the lobby, food and beverage venues, beach and garden areas, sports facilities and most of the guest rooms and suites. New additions include a 50-meter infinity pool, four lagoon pools and children's pool and landscaping with water features.
All 254 guest rooms and suites have private balconies and are equipped with high-speed Internet access, flat screen TV’s and the latest technology.
For events, the hotel accommodates up to 1,400 for a reception and 800 for a banquet. There are a total of 16 banqueting and reception rooms and ten sales and meeting professionals will be on-site to assist planners.
F&B venues will include four restaurants and the Al Maha Piano Bar. For recreation the Beach Club offers a variety of activities and the fitness center is outfitted with high-tech equipment.
The hotel is 35 kilometers from Muscat International Airport and is close to Muscat's business and commercial districts.
Email: sales@albustanpalace.com
Website: www.ichotelsgroup.com

Berlin meets Chicago
The Berlin Convention Office takes part in the biggest trade fair for incentive products and services in the incentive sector. With over 1,900 exhibitors IT & ME 2008 is the biggest trade fair on the American market for meeting and travel planners. The 36th Incentive Travel & Meeting Executives Show is staged at the McCormick Place Complex in Chicago from September 23 to 25. The Berlin Convention Office represents the city of Berlin together with partners from the Berlin hotel and event sector at the Germany stand, No. 3250.

We look forward to seeing you there!

	You can also meet us at the following events and trade fair: MPI World Education Congress, August 9-12, 2008 Las Vegas, USA EIBTM, December 2 to 4, 2008, Barcelona, Spain
Berlin Convention Office Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH Am Karlsbad 11 10785 Berlin, Germany	Email: berlin-convention-office@b-c-o.com Tel.: +49 30 26 39 183 Fax: +49 30 2647 489 65 Website: www.berlin-convention-office.com Member of: ICCA, MPI, SITE, ECM, GCB

On 15 May, Kempinski Hotels opened the Kempinski Hotel Dukes' Palace Bruges in a castle that dates back to 1429.

The property has 93 guest rooms including 22 suites, six of which are historically listed. Each guest room retains the beautiful original features of the castle and is outfitted with elegant furnishings, marble bathrooms and technology such as flat screen TV’s and high-speed Internet access.

Meeting facilities include a ballroom of 260 sq. m. (2,799 sq. ft), two meeting rooms and one boardroom.  The property is perfect  for smaller groups or to be used as one of the hotels in a citywide conference. The hotel offers special 'Meetings Concierge' packages and will assist with program suggestions for each meeting.

For dining, Manuscript restaurant features Belgian and international classics made with the best of seasonal ingredients.

Additional facilities include an indoor swimming pool, sauna, hammam, gym outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment, and Spa by Yoaké.

E-mail: reservations.bruges@kempinski.com
Website: www.kempinski.com

There is value to be found in Germany, especially in Berlin….and the Hotel Berlin, Berlin with 701 guest rooms, 22 function rooms, enhanced service and a good sense of fun might just be the place for your next event.

When the hotel renovated and expanded in 2006, hotel management met with meeting and incentive professionals in order to create the most functional, user-friendly meeting rooms. The result of this undertaking was 22 function rooms with 2,000 sq. m. (21,528 sq. ft.) of flexible space.
As for service, the property recently created a Guest Care Center where all guests' requests are directed to appropriate staff members and fulfilled immediately.
Dining at the Berlin features the hotel's new 'Sense & Season' concept originating from theory of slow food. The hotel's three restaurants and bar serve meals made with organic, seasonal ingredients. The 'Work & Play' fitness center offers a gym, Finish sauna and relaxation area.
E-mail: a.bubner@hotel-berlin.de
Website: http://hotel-berlin.de

If planning a trip to Scotland, consider the 13th century Blair Castle, 35 miles north of Perth which recently opened the State Dining Room for private dinners.
The State Dining Room accommodates 50 for banquet and 140 for reception. Facilities available for private hire include the beautiful Victorian Ballroom, the Library and the contemporary Banvie Hall.
The Victorian Ballroom accommodates 220 for a banquet or up to 400 in theater or reception setting and features excellent acoustics, atmospheric lighting, a Bechstein grand piano and spacious dance floor.

With a bar and seating area, Banvie Hall, adjoining the Ballroom, is good for smaller informal gatherings and can be accessed through a 'secret door'. The Library is perfect for board meetings or for smaller events with theater style seating for 40.
Entertainment such as Scottish dancing, harpist, pianist playing on the castle's Bechstein grand piano, Perthshire pipe or drum band can be arranged by Blair Castle event staff. Catering for castle events is by Prestige Scotland.

E-mail: events@blair-castle.co.uk
Website: www.blaircastlefunctions.co.uk

The Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at the Bosphorus opened in June. The 166 room property,  located on the European bank of the Bosphorus, is an amazing property in an amazing location. An incentive travel program held here would be remembered for a long time.
Meeting facilities are superb with 2,551 sq. m. (27,459 sq. ft.) of flexible space that accommodates up to 900 attendees. The outdoor terrace is available for events in warmer weather. Aqua, the hotel restaurant, serves Mediterranean cuisine with Italian and Turkish specialties. The Spa is 2,100 sq. m. (22,605 sq. ft.) in size and features 10 treatment rooms, steam rooms, saunas, men's and women's hammams and a sky- lit indoor pool. Personal trainers are on-hand for private sessions at the Fitness Center. There is also a heated outdoor pool with whirlpool and Istanbul's most impressive golf club, the championship Kemer Golf and Country Club, is a 40 minute drive from the hotel. 
Website: www.fourseasons.com

On 18 July, Delta Air Lines inaugurated service to Lyon, France. The daily service flies from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Lyon's Saint-Exupéry International Airport. Equipment used on the route is a Boeing 757-200 ETOPS aircraft with 174 seats configured in two classes of service with 16 Business Elite seats and 158 Economy seats. Delta's personal seat back, on-demand in-flight entertainment system with over 20 first-run and classic films plus TV programs, music and video games, is available in both classes of service. Delta's new Economy Class features include all-leather seats, amenity kits and enhanced menus.
Delta's flights to Lyon connect with 40 European destinations through the airline's relationship with Air France. Delta's international flight network from the USA is impressive. The carrier operates more than 450 flights per week to 47 destinations in 31 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, India and the Middle East.

Website: http://www.deltaairlines.com