The Spa also includes some staples such as men’s and women’s relaxation areas, fitness center, movement studio and a glass-enclosed pool with panoramic city views. Naturally Peninsula Cuisine is available for light dining. ESPA designed the offerings specifically for the Peninsula Spa, which combine innovative treatments with all-natural ingredients.

The theme of well-rounded and well-being at the ESPA spa is part of the Peninsula Wellness program, “ a lifestyle program that touches every aspect of a guest’s lifestyle, both during their stay and beyond, and which focuses on providing a sanctuary for the five senses.”

ESPA partnered with well-renowned Designer Alexandra Champalimaud who was involved in the restoration of Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu and many more high end projects.

Prices are in the same range as the competitors in New York, for instance a 60 minute aromatherapy massage is $195 USD which is the same as The Caudalie Spa at The Plaza.

I am adding The Peninsula Spa by ESPA to my list for my next trip to New York!

The project will be completed next summer in August or Septembre 2009 inshallah and I can’t wait to see The Burj Dubai completed along with The Dubai Armani Hotel. Stay tuned!

On a domestic side with the top 25 Canadian destinations, Quebec City made it as #6, Montreal #14, Tremblant #19 and Tadoussac #24. The Rockies and West Coast are all over the map!

Be involved on Tripadvisor and comment about our lovely & authentic province of Quebec, we need the business on this side of the country!

With oil price that rose above $130 a barrel earlier this month and guestrooms in Monaco in the 1500-2000 € range per night for luxurious hotels, this event is really not in line with what is happening on our planet. The biggest issue with Le Grand Prix de Monaco and F1 is the reduction of the output of CO2. F1 has started this year to be green as most of their sponsors have green committees, they did not have much choice!

This season sees the first step in such moves, as cars must use biofuel, or fuel made from organic rather than fossil matter, for the first time. In line with the European Union objective for road-car fuel in 2010, racing fuel will now have to contain 5.7 percent biofuel. Another new rule this year eliminates a previously obligatory 10-minute period during qualifying when the cars did nothing but burn off fuel.

Next season, a device designed to save the car’s kinetic energy during deceleration and then to use it in short power bursts – thus saving on fuel – will be instituted. Other “clean” technology systems, including one using heat from the engines to produce extra power, are in the works.

Prince Albert II of Monaco, whose Formula One race is a symbol of both the sport and the principality, has vowed that the race would become greener, and he wants the cars to use more environmentally friendly engines.

I love Monaco, I have been there 3 years ago and stayed at our hotel, The Fairmont Monte Carlo. It’s a great place to visit and I look forward to reading more about the new F1 rules and green initiatives that will really make a huge difference for our planet.

IMEX 2008 has introduced a number of Green initiatives, making it the greenest IMEX to date. Initiatives include the use of hydroelectric Green Energy for all electricity needs during the exhibition, the use of recycled and recyclable badges using corn-starch laminate (the badges are completely compostable in water), the use of bio-diesel fuel for 90% of hosted buyer buses, etc. Germans are leaders in environmental issues and we can all learn from them.

Many of my Fairmont colleagues from all around the world will showcase at IMEX: our Global Sales offices from London, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Moscow as well as Fairmont hotels from The Quebec Region, Singapore, Monte-Carlo, The Canadian Rockies, etc. Click here to learn about The Fairmont Green Partnership.

Have a great show my fellow hoteliers and we look forward to hearing about the success of IMEX 2008!

After a very long flight, it was lovely to be picked up at the airport in a Bentley with Evian water and a cold face towel. It’s hot and humid in Singapore, over 30 degrees with daily rain showers. Upon arrival at the magnificent colonial 103- suite Raffles Singapore, we were escorted to our James Michener Suite and received a Singapore Sling. During our entire stay we had a butler service which we are not used to. You are not a hotel guest at Raffles but a resident and the service we received was amazing. The Raffles hotel is Singapore’s jewel, dating from 1887 and has gone through a S$160 restoration from 1989 to 91.

We enjoyed a massage at the Amrita Spa and one of our best memories is our evening at The Raffles Culinary Academy with Master Chef Tan Yee Hoo. We cooked a great meal with great company.

The Swissôtel The Stamford, the tallest hotel in Singapore at 226 metres and 73 floors, is a large 1263- room business hotel that offers a totally different experience than the Raffles. We had a fabulous meal at Jaan, featuring Modern French food, located on level 70!

Singapore is a unique multi-cultural destination that welcomed 10.3 million visitors in 2007. All of the best hotels in the world are in Singapore: Fairmont Singapore, Conrad Centennial Singapore, The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore, Shangri-La Hotel, The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, The Meritus Mandarin Hotel Singapore, Four Seasons Hotel Singapore, Grand Hyatt Singapore, The Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, etc. The average daily rate is supposed to hit S$230 in 2008 with an annual occupancy rate of over 88%.

Another fabulous destination for a hotel geek like myself with amazing growth…

The Plaza is owned by Elad Properties. The hotel was bought for $675 million in 2004 and $400 million were injected to return The Legend to its original glory. Some details I was able to find on the net: 30 million dollars were spent for the roof and 4.5 million for the Grand Ballroom restored to its 1929 opulence.

Since opening in 1907, the Plaza has been bought and sold eight times, once by the Hilton family in 1943 and once by Trump in his Ivana- infuenced ’80s.

The Plaza hotel will offer 282 distinctive Louis XV style guestrooms (including of 152 pied-à-terres) and is the first hotel in the world to have 24-carat gold plated Sherle Wagner designed sinks and fixtures in every guest room and suite. I guess only the megawealthy community can really appreciate 24-carat gold plated sinks, I’d be happy with a regular marble sink and brushed nickel faucet…

Another interesting part of this project is the conversion of guestrooms to private residences. Sales for the 19-story Beaux Arts building went better than expected. From floor plans alone, 75% of the 182 residences were sold. Twothirds of the buyers were American, with 66% of those from the metropolitan area. The biggest buyer, real estate developer Harry Macklowe, bought an entire floor of the Plaza for around $60 million. New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft also purchased in the building, as did several international billionaires.

The restoration of The Plaza, Henry Janeway Hardenbergh’s Beaux Arts masterpiece, has been overseen by an award-winning design team including Gal Nauer Architects, Costas Kondylis and Partners, Walter B. Melvin Architects and Rani Ziss Architects.

Square-foot prices started in the $5,000 range and increased to an apex of $6,500. A one-bedroom with a view of Central Park costs around $7 million. A three-bedroom is on the market for $20 million.

You must go on the Elad page and and click on the video and dream you were a guest of The Plaza for a few minutes…

Starting tomorrow night until February 17th, over 500 000 visitors will participate in the activities offered in Quebec City: opening ceremony, international snow sculpture event, canoe race, dogsled race, ice palace visit, evening parades, Bonhomme’s Bal and much more. I went to the Carnival last year with friends and my 10 year old Godson and it was very well organized and quite busy.

This award-winning event generates direct economic returns of $34 million a year and has a huge media impact for Quebec City with journalists coming from 10 countries. Over the 3 week ends of the carnival, the hotels are showing an occupancy rate of about 85%.

One hotel not to be missed is certainly the legendary Fairmont Le Château Frontenac. This is one of the most photographed hotel in the world. I’m lucky, I’ve stayed there many times and every time, I’ve received the royal treatment. The hotel now has a famous Canine Ambassador, Santol, available in the hotel lobby to meet and greet guests, accompany them on walks and simply be around for a bit of petting.

Happy Carnival, dress warm and enjoy our beautiful Quebec winter!

Back in the 80s, avid skiers were going down the virgin mountain on fresh tracks and were going back up with a school bus. 25 years later and 3 high-speed quad chairs, Le Massif welcomes 170 000 visitors per year and is looking to increase its business. Le Massif was bought for 9,2 million dollars in 2002 by former Cirque du Soleil President, Daniel Gauthier, who’s injecting huge amount of money for his new endeavors. A series of projects have been announced including a train service from Quebec to La Malbaie, train stations, 400 new accommodation units (200 units at the base, 50 mid-mountain and 150 in Baie St-Paul), etc. The first phase of the project will be completed in 2013. I look forward to learning more about the housing projects. Currently on the mountain, there is no ski-in ski-out accommodation.

Another great highlight of my day on the mountain was meeting our 1994 Freestyle Olympic Gold medalist, Jean-Luc Brassard, spokesman for Le Massif since 2005. Jean-Luc is actually doing a great PR job and it at ease with his ambassador duties. It was an honor to ski with him after I skied with Nancy Green in Sun Peaks a few years ago.

I look forward to seeing the development of Le Massif and its area as Charlevoix will largely benefit from this investment. In the meantime, I strongly recommend to all of you skiers out there to escape to Le Massif this winter, it’s a true paradise…

I’ve stayed at all the 8 Canadian Faimont hotels mentioned on the list and agree they are top choices. I hope that a member of the Travel + Leisure‘s global team will make it to the beautiful area of Charlevoix in Quebec next time.

Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island, ranked 5th in Canada, has a special place in our heart and I would like to thank the owners, Frederique and Sinclair Philip, for a lovely stay. We had the Harbour Seal Room and very much enjoyed our culinary experience.

As for the best hotel in the world, The Oberoi Udaivilas in Udaipur, India, it certainly looks fabulous and reminds me of the forts and palaces I have seen in Rajasthan… When are we going back?