Rooms and Facilities

The hotel’s 120 spacious rooms are set in a turn-of-the century Portuguese mansion with 10 suites and 10 independent cottages. Suites and deluxe rooms have traditional Goan paintings and terracotta sculpture to complement the olive green and sandstone decor.  Set amid green spaces, the hotel has a heated indoor pool, traditional ayurvedic massage spa and casino.  The hotel offers wired and Wi-Fi internet services, satellite television, international direct dial, a minibar, tea and coffee maker.  The poolside restaurant has two live food counters featuring traditional Indian and European cuisine.  The indoor restaurant has a delightfully Goan lunch and dinner buffet.  A short stroll down to the beach also allows guests to enjoy parasailing and jet skiing in the waters of the Arabian Sea. The private beach also has active and vigilant lifeguards although the water is red-flagged just a few meters out.

The Majorda Beach resort offers the elegance of Goa’s warmth and hospitality to its discerning clientele, without the kitschy ambience of a run-of-the-mill resort.

The holiday highlight for most visitors to the Maldives is being able to see exotic fish and the coral reef life with your own eyes.  Many pelagic creatures such as sharks, oriental sweetlips, rays, and blue-lined snappers can be seen.  The clear waters of the Maldives offer enough light and visibility so that diving to see these creatures is pretty straightforward.

If diving is not for you then you can enjoy a tour of the creatures that reside in the coral reef of the Maldives through taking a passenger submarine.  This allows you to enjoy both the day and night creatures as tours operate at all hours of the day.  Passengers are treated to the sights of yellow boxfish, turtles, and yellow-blue stripped snappers and even tip reef sharks.

Visitors on Maldives holidays can see different kinds of marine life at different times of year.  The Maldives is ruled by two seasons, namely the north-east monsoon that dominates during the months of December to April, and the south-east monsoon, dominating the climate and seas during the months of May to November.

Visitors to the island will immediately notice there remains a British influence throughout Barbados, particularly when looking at the architecture of older buildings, with many being built in Georgian, Victorian or  Jacobean styles. There are also strong elements of West African culture to be found in Barbados. This is most noticeable with the arts and traditional Calypso music of the island.

The island of Barbados has plenty to offer holidaymakers visiting the country. Most famous for stunning beaches and a perfect year-round climate, Barbados holidays provide plenty of other activities and excursions for those who don’t want to lie on the beach all day. Barbados famously has some of the best cuisine in the Caribbean, mixing Creole cooking with African and European influences. The country also boasts a vibrant culture of traditional arts, crafts and music, with a lively atmosphere that is sure to infect visitors to the island.

You can reach Rome by air from two airports, Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport and Ciampino International Airport.  Ciampino is served by UK budget airlines and is actually closer to Rome than the Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport.

A Roma Pass might be worth purchasing if you plan to stay for at least three days in the city.  This enables you to save on entrance fees to museums and attractions, also giving you free public transport.

If you want to shop in Rome, there is ample opportunity.  Fashion lovers are well provided for with numerous designer stores throughout the city.  There are also many independent boutiques giving you a new and refreshing shopping experience.  The Via Del Condotti is the main shopping thoroughfare for designer labels.

The Italians take their food very seriously and you will find a wide range of delicious Italian meals on the menu in the trattorias and bustling pavement cafés.  Whether it is a simple pizza or pasta dish, or the most exquisite dark chocolate ice cream, Rome will keep you coming back for more.

The city itself is like an intoxicating perfume, one that will envelope you from the moment you arrive and linger on long after you have left.

Walk along the banks for the Seine and breath in everything that inspired Victor Hugo’s great works such as Les Miserables and Notre Dame de Paris.  The cathedral itself is breathtaking; admission to the main hall is free and visitors can also attend Mass for a small fee.  Queues for the Towers are long in summer time, so come between October and March if you prefer a quieter visit.  Whatever time of year you visit, though, the views across the city are spectacular.

Out of the city, a short train ride southwest will take you to Saint-Maur-des-Fosses, an affluent suburb of Paris that was once home to Alexander Dumas and Victor Hugo.

No visit to Paris is complete without a trip up the Eiffel Tower; make sure you take in the views across the city at night for a truly memorable experience.

Combining cultures from East to West, Marseilles is home to a large population of North Africans, Spanish, Italian and other Mediterranean peoples. The third largest city in France, Marseilles was founded in 600BC, making it one of Europe’s oldest cities. It is, to this day, one of France’s most important port cities.

Terracotta roofed buildings, sunny walkways and a diverse selection of locals has led to a fascinating blend of cultures. The open air markets, which merge Provençal French markets with Moroccan souk-style bazaars, are the perfect place to see how this mix of people get along with one another and offer delicacies unique to Marseilles, such as their famous dish bouillabaisse and the beautifully perfumed soaps, which are milled in the city and scented with Provencal lavender and herbs.

Fans of the author, Alexandre Dumas, should not miss the opportunity to visit the Château d’If by taking a boat to the island prison, which held the Count of Monte Cristo in the novel of the same name.

Hollywood is 45 minutes from the Los Angeles International Airport and has plenty of activities for you to enjoy, especially if you are short on time.  Jump on a bus and take the Hollywood Movie Star Tour.  You never know what celebrity you might run into.  Another must see is the Chinese Theatre.  Match your hands and feet impressions with some of the most iconic movie stars, including Tom Cruise and Joan Crawford.  New York may be known for Broadway, but if you have your heart set on seeing a show you will not be disappointed.  Whether you want to see a comedy, drama or musical, Los Angeles has it all.

A trip to California is not complete without seeing the happiest place on earth. Disneyland is located in Anaheim and is just a short drive from the international airport. Have breakfast with the stars and get your picture taken with Mickey Mouse. Walk down Main Street and shake hands with Goofy. Have lunch in the New Orleans Quarter and get spooked at the Haunted Mansion.

Remember that the City Of Angels is a big place, and if you only a few days to see the sights, plan accordingly, as you will not want to miss a thing.

There are some beautiful all-inclusive resorts that specialize in wedding planning.  All you have to do is show up.  Fiji, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Barbados and the Virgin Islands are just a few of the first class destinations where you can tie the knot.  You can choose from a casual barefoot ceremony, or opt for something more formal in the tropical gardens.  Your planner will help you choose the flowers and music that is provided by the resort.  The weddings officiate and your certificate is also included.  After you say I do, your friends and family can congratulate the two of you at a first class reception with food, champagne, dancing and a beautiful wedding cake. 

One of the best things about having your ceremony and honeymoon on the same island is the cost.  You can save hundreds of dollars on airfare, accommodation and meals.  Some tropical island destinations will give you incredible discounts if you book your ceremony at their resort.

For guests looking for luxury holiday dining, the most unique restaurant in the Maldives is the Ithaa Underwater restaurant on the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island.  Serving contemporary fusion cuisine that mixes Asian and Western influences, this exquisite award-winning restaurant is situated 15 feet into the Indian Ocean, surrounded by a spectacular coral reef.  The coral reef offers a 270-degree panoramic view.  To reach Ithaa, guests walk across a wooden walkway from the oversea Sunset Grill Restaurant.  To ensure intimacy and privacy, only 14 lucky guests are admitted into the underground dining area.

The world’s first underwater restaurant itself is encased in clear acrylic, and this one of a kind restaurant is the only one where guests are surrounded by glass with fish swimming on the outside.  The flavours are proudly Maldivian, featuring traditional spices of Maldivian cooking in Western recipes.  Ithaa itself has become a top tourist attraction of the island.

The restaurant is open for cocktail hours, lunch and dinner, all served in elegant ocean themed dining ware.  Cocktail hour only includes drinks and canapés.

Firstly, any journey to and from this mountain city is an experience in and of itself.  Spectacular will not even begin to describe your assent and descent through this lush, green, undulating mountain range.  Dalat, famed for being the ‘city of eternal spring’, is significantly cooler than other places in Vietnam due to its high altitude, so be sure to pack a cardigan – not usual advice for those travelling through sub-tropical Southeast Asia.

The centre of this unique city is located on a lake where you can enjoy a coffee and watch the world go by, and even spot a Vietnamese cowboy and his horse posing for photographs if you’re lucky!  Also it is well worth taking a climb to, or even staying the night at, the ‘Crazy House’ if your budget allows, for a taste of the weird and wacky world of planning permission gone berserk in this hybrid of creative madness. 

However, the main must-do activity when visiting this city involves taking a trip to the mountains for a trek.  Be warned, it is not for the faint hearted, but if you can make it to the top of the 2,160 metre high Lang Bian Mountain, the views you are treated to will leave you breathless in more ways than one.