Fine dining in Guernsey

Guernsey, understandably, is somewhat of a hub for offshore banking and many of the major finance houses have offices on the channel island. It’s fair to say most days will find business travellers flying to and from the mainland. The two main airlines are Flybe and Aurigny.com

Islanders boast there’s enough restaurants to dine in a different one every day of the year. Well, I didn’t count them, but here’s a particular highlight:

We visited Guernsey’s only Michelin-starred restaurant, Christophe.

Its large terraces make the most of its position: at the top of Fermain Bay near St Peter Port, with lofty, panoramic sea views.

We had the Gourmand menu, which according with chef/proprietor Christophe Vincent’s seasonal philosophy changes every three months. Each course is paired with a wine – the wine depends on whether you choose the £60 or £85 per-head option.

Our first course of foie gras ballotine with fig compote paired perfectly a sweet aromatic glass of Grand Cru Classe Sauternes. The foie gras and compote actually went better with bread and butter than the accompanying piece of crispy gingerbread, which made a slightly too-sweet combination.

This was followed by an asparagus and morel risotto: creamy rice, rich fragrant stock and intense mushrooms. Again it was complemented the by grassy bouquet of the New Zealand wine Clos Henri Sauvignon Blanc 2007. The rack of lamb was perfectly pink and tasty with a glossy translucent jus, though I wasn’t sure about the drops of mint oil – for me it conjured up aromatherapy rather than dinner.

In French style, cheese was served before dessert. The loaded trolley bore an excellent range of pungently mature Guernsey, French and Spanish choices, served with a wonderfully deep and complex 2006 Kalleske JMK fortified Shiraz from South Australia’s Barossa Valley.

A distinctive palate-cleanser bridged the gap between cheese and pudding: an orange sorbet with olive oil and salt, which somehow evoked a refreshing summer salad.

Yet another unusual and delicious vino was served with pudding: Elysium Black Muscat from California’s Quady Winery accompanied an artfully deconstructed “Rhubarb and Custard”.

christophe-restaurant.co.uk
Fermain bay, St Peter Port, Guernsey

Where to do business in Budapest?

View of Parliament from Castle Hill on the Buda side of the Danube

I’m just back from a trip to Hungary‘s capital Budapest, checking out hotels for ttgluxury. I visited several fine hotels in the city, different in style but they all had things in common: they’re all finding the current climate a challenge, and consequently offering excellent rates and deals. And, they all to varying degrees have business traffic as a significant part of revenue.

Budapest is a 2.5 hour flight from the UK. We flew with national carrier Malev from Gatwick (from £87.70 inc taxes, business class £341.70 ). Business class gets you the Aviance lounge at Gatwick and the comfortable Malev lounge at Budapest airport, with bar, nice snacks and free Wifi − plus friendly, attentive service onboard and rather palatable Hungarian bubbly.

The city is actually two – Buda and Pest, joined by name but split by the mighty river Danube, on its 2,850km route from Germany to the Black Sea.

Budapest is a dazzling showcase of architectural styles, from Baroque to Bauhaus via Arts Nouveau and Deco. Some buildings are meticulously restored, others crumbling and pocked with bullet holes from the 1956 uprising.

Museum of Fine Arts

There’s plenty to keep delegates entertained when not working: river cruises, traditional thermal spas, countless world-class museums, a busy year-round cultural programme, great walks and cycle rides and buzzing night life. Find out more here

InterContinental

With its brand-new executive Club lounge facilities and vast conference floor with multiple layout options, the 400-room InterContinental is the obvious choice for corporates. The 1960s block is no architectural gem but is in a beautiful spot right on the banks of the Danube in the heart of the city with wonderful views.

Another modern five-star option is the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus, with state-of-the art conference facilities and separate reception for 450 delegates. When I visited, a gleaming S-class Mercedes stood centre-stage in the lobby, to demonstrate how the hotel can incorporate promotional events such as car launches.

There’s also the stunningly palatial Boscolo New York Palace, and for smaller events (80 capacity theatre-style) the Bauhaus-style boutique Andrassy Hotel. The Andrassy’s location among most of the city’s embassies and close to several corporate headquarters ensures a steady flow of business traffic.

For exclusive and memorable events, the landmark, exquisitely restored Art Nouveau Four Seasons Gresham Palace says business traffic makes a small but significant portion of its revenue.

Four Seasons Gresham Palace

Counting the costs of G20

What is the carbon footprint of the G20 summit? Of this, a fascinating factor is what the CO2 levels of president Obama’s London visit are: that 747 (Airforce One), his 500-strong retinue, all the preceding support flights bringing battalions of SUVs, helicopters and of course ‘the Beast’ – the 3.5 tonne bomb-proof Cadillac limo.

Surprisingly none of the eco-warriors seem to be publishing calculations on this – anyone know?

Please share this info with us!

And another factor – how much is G20 costing? Figures being tossed around are in the region of £20 million. Ironic that at a time when the business travel and meetings and events sectors are thoroughly debating cutting down and video conferencing options, the big daddy of all meetings is being staged. I guess budgeting considerations are different when the global taxpayer is footing the bill…

Two nights in Bangkok: Weerasak and the wine angels

OK, let me explain the title: Weerasak refers to Weerasak Kowsurat, chairman of Tourism Authority of Thailand board of directors. I met him during a recent press trip to Bangkok. We were on the 55th floor of the Centara Grand hotel, where the Red Sky bar and restaurant boast stunning views over the multi-hued neon cityscape.

Weerasak told me he’s optimistic about visitors to Thailand in 2009, despite the setbacks of global recession and last year’s airport protests. He says he expects 14 million visitors during 2009 – including plenty of Brits.

“We understand British visitors, and we know they value the genuine friendliness and care that is the core of Thai hospitality. And a key factor is the value for money Thailand offers – we know how important this is during these times.”

He also pointed out that the Skytrain extension to the airport would be open on August 12.

This should be a welcome improvement to travelling into the city, as traffic is appalling.

The Centara adjoins the Bangkok Convention Centre and on the 22nd floor you can walk straight from hotel to the vast multi-space auditoria which can merge to host a maximum of 6,000 delegates theatre style.

Also impressive is Lifestyle on the 26th floor, with spa, decent sized gym, panoramic pool with bar and gardens, plus two tennis courts.

Which brings us to the wine angels – abseiling up and down the spectacular glass two-story wine cellar at The Red Sky bar and restaurant on Fifty Five, to pluck fine vintages from the upper shelves.

Check out luxury travel news & views at ttgluxury.com

Typosquatting – have you been affected?

Typosquatting – this is a new one on me. Apparently these typosquatters buy up domain names that are common misspellings of popular/big brand URLs.

So unsuspecting punters land on these sites, which are designed to – this is according to McAfee security analyst Greg Day, who may be inclined to paint a gloomy scenario: “generate click-through advertising revenue, lure unsuspecting consumers into scams, harvest email addresses in order to flood unsuspecting internet users with unwanted email and can even result in malware infections.”

So watch your typos, people.

Day offers some simple advice: if you’re not sure of the correct URL, use a search engine instead of guessing. He also says that because of these squatters, there are around 8,000 URLs using “iPhone’. Amazing.

But how much of a problem is this? I’ve never knowingly landed on one of these bogus sites, and I am a very carless typisst.

Have you ever been affected? – Let us know your experiences: please comment below

Oh, and latest news, the scammers are descending on Twitter now.

One thing for sure is that the global plague of internet spammers, scammers and crooks has made information security into a massive business.

Infosecurity Europe 2009 is a big show on at Earl’s Court in April. If you’re interested in this stuff, find out more at http://www.infosec.co.uk/

2009 set to be a big year for Vilnius

Happy new Year to Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius. The city celebrated the start of its year as European Capital of Culture 2009 with an extravaganza of music, theatrics, lights and fireworks. Vilnius is also celebrating its millennium: the first time the city is mentioned is in chronicles from the year 1009.

I visited Vilnius last year on a Baltics press trip hosted by Reval Hotels, to write a feature for ttgbusiness

I’d not been to the region before, I think I was expecting some sort of grim, grey hangover from the soviet era.

What I found was an immaculately restored, Unesco world heritage site, packed with beautiful architecture and fascinating history, and brimming with optimism and confidence.

The Hotel Lietuva was symbolic of this new confidence: the 22-story tower was the old, KGB-bugged soviet Intourist hotel − now totally revamped into a slick, modern property with cool Scandinavian décor and state-of-the-art conference facilities.

The country has enthusiastically embraced the EU in its eagerness to cast off the shackles of its hulking neighbour. Initially it suffered a major brain drain as many of its bright youngsters fled to all points in western Europe. But people say there’s now a steady trickle back.

The excellent tourist guides are full of fascinating tales, from ancient empires through to Nazi horrors, then KGB antics and Cold War paranoia. But they are more keen to talk about Lithuania’s bright future, rather than dwell on the past.

Of course in the current economic climate, the country’s immediate future is as uncertain as everywhere else. But Vilnius is definitely a destination to watch.

Happy new year everyone.

Living it Taj: back in business

It’s heartening to see the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai announcing that it will be reopening on Sunday (December 21). This seems a remarkably quick feat given the amount of damage to the hotel we saw on TV during those appalling terrorist attacks.

I hope it’s equally disheartening for the terrorists to see such a determined return to “business as usual”. 

In the words of the Taj homepage: “You will feel the buzz of business as usual and experience hospitality that is quintessentially Taj.” 

OK, there’s a dash of PR cliché, but I think I can agree there is something “quintessential” about these hotels. I’ve stayed in two of them, the Taj West End in Bangalore and the Taj Exotica in the Maldives. Very different – the West End is a business hotel in the heart of a global commercial hub, while the Exotica is a romantic hideaway resort on a tiny Indian Ocean atoll.

If you missed them, here’s the Maldives and India (Golden Chariot train journey) stories for ttgluxury: http://www.ttgluxury.com/

In both properties I found the staff and management – how to describe? I don’t know, beyond the usual exquisite Asian levels of service, they’re sophisticated, intelligent, without too much fuss.

Bangalore’s West End with its tranquil pools and tropical gardens is a calm oasis in the crazy tumult of this full-throttle city.

The Exotica in the Maldives is… well, OK, the picture you see is my snap of the sun rising over the aircraft carrier-sized infinity pool on my presidential water villa. But that doesn’t mean I’m totally biased.

Now, you may think an impoverished travel journo is easily taken in by a bit of five-star hospitality. But most writers have been around long enough to distinguish between quality service and bullshit and bling. In fact anyone who’s bought a surly, crap coffee for the wrong side of £5 in London, Paris or anywhere else will understand.

Anyway, good luck to the Taj for its fast-track reopening on Sunday. And when you’re next inviting those freeloading ladies and gentlemen of the press to sample your wares, bugger the firebombs – I’ll be there.

 

 

ttgbusiness Awards: Jeremy Vine reveals his Andrew Sachs moment

The 400-strong ttgbusiness Awards gala bash was a lively affair, with the winners raising the roof at the Radisson SAS Portman hotel every time an award was announced.

After a delicious lunch of mushroom veloute and herb-crusted rack of lamb (washed down with plenty of wine), top BBC presenter Jeremy Vine took to the stage to hand out the gongs.

See the winners here

See pics from the event here

Vine started by reading out some funny and quirky comments by Radio 2 listeners on the hot topics of the day, then played us an excerpt from Russell Brand’s (now defunct) radio show, where a ranting Russell accuses the hapless presenter of having unprotected sex with his own wife.

He then sailed slickly through the awards, while lively tables such as CWT, FCm and Chambers cheered up a storm whenever their names were called.

Then the party moved en masse across to the other side of Portman Square for the BMI-sponsored after show party at Rubylo for drinks, DJ and dancing…

Were you a winner? Did you enjoy the event? Did you see Paul Tilstone dancing? Tell us your tales from the day (and night) below…!

Islanda in the sun

Thailand: it seems the travel industry – along with many other sectors – could be on the road to recovery with the airport siege being resolved. But business has already has already taken a massive hit, running into millions a day since the siege started.

So anybody doing business in southeast Asia – think about this little gem as an incentive/meetings venue with a difference. The Islanda resort is utterly charming and the perfect place for some “blue sky” thinking.

Islanda Resort, Koh Klang, Krabi

A five minute long-tail boat ride from the mainland town of Krabi, the island of Koh Klang is a step back in time: buffalo standing in vivid green rice fields, and no cars – the largest vehicle on the island is the resort’s ornate tuk tuk. Alarmingly young children whizz around expertly riding motorbikes.

The resort is blissfully peaceful and has a conference room which can host up to 50 delegates. The large infinity pool is definitely the place to recharge between brainstorming sessions.

A few minutes away on the mainland, the Maritime Park & Spa Resort, owned by the same group, has a convention centre which can host up to 1,000 – and its conveniently close to Krabi airport.

Perhaps a creative events organiser could use the little sister resort on the island as an exotic and exclusive breakout room?

Meeting in Phuket: more conference/events news from Thailand here