Luxury Travel Advisor - May 2008 - (Page 48)

pean-style cornicheÐa waterside walkway of shops, restaurants and nightlife. Your luxury clients will be most interested in The Palace, one of Port Ghalib' s five-stardeluxe properties, with spacious terraced rooms overlooking the Red Sea, the marina or one of the world' s largest manmade saltwater lagoons. Architecture and décor is Arabian Nights meets 21st century, with a moatlike entrance, pyramid-shaped bedside lamps, handcrafted stone headboards, handwoven fabrics and bathrooms featuring handset stone walls instead of tiles. Modern conveniences include Wi-Fi and large-screen TVs. Public areas are dotted with sculptures, mosaics and other artTHE PALACE`s two-stor y lobby boasts mosaics and details by Egyptian artists (above, left). GUESTS in The Palace Presidential Suite can view the Red Sea from a breezy balcony (above, right). work by Egyptian artists and craftsmen, including hand-carved lattice screens on windows that make the desert sun dance with dappled light. The latticework is used outside, too, to hide air-conditioning units. More than 2,000 palm trees from throughout Egypt have been planted around the complex for shade and breeze. The Palace Presidential Suite features a living area with glass doors that open completely on three sides for alfresco entertaining, as well as a fitness room with a treadmill and exercise bike, a study with an executive-like tufted leather chair and a bedroom with ivory-inlaid furniture. Guest Services Manager Osama Taghian (osama.taghian@ eg.suninternaional.com; 20-65336-0000, ext. 4234) accommodates such special requests as a sunset camel ride on the beach or in the Eastern Desert with traditional dinner in a Bedouin tent. A romantic alternative, especially for honeymooning clients, is a private candlelit dinner on the open-air deck of a two-story tower in the lagoon. Of course, guests can snorkel and scuba dive at spectacular dive sites in the coral-rich Red Sea. Contact General Manager Andrew Davidson (andrew.davidson@eg.suninter national.com; 20-65-336-0030). The Palace at Port Ghalib provides complimentary fruit kabobs and cool towels poolside and at the beach, and Wi-Fi service works all the way to the water' s edge. Signature restaurant Olive serves continental-style dishes with classical music in the background. The Palace shares a common public area with its sister hotels, the Sands and the Oasis, which are more casual and family-oriented. The main dining area here is a bustling marketplace, with eight live cooking stations offering selections including Middle Eastern, Indian, Japanese and Italian, with brick-oven pizza and a separate, supervised children' s dining area with kid-sized tables and chairs. There is also a children' s play area between these two hotels. The three hotels and the marina share a common public area, but the marina area is the shopping, dining and nightlife center for Port Ghalib, with covered souks. Sun International has partnered with top European club operators, such as Ministry of Sound, to run clubs and discos. The marina has its own customs facility and is able to accommodate 100-foot-plus yachts. Port Ghalib is four miles from the Marsa Alum airportÐop erated by the same company that operates Charles de Gaulle Airport in ParisÐw hich offers daily service to and from Cairo. The complex also includes a worldclass convention center, which can accommodate 1,500 people and boasts a video-conferencing facility and eight simultaneoustranslation booths. Ð Evelyn Kanter 48 LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR | May 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Luxury Travel Advisor - May 2008

Luxury Travel Advisor - May 2008 Contents Publisher's Letter Editor's Letter Park City Riviera Maya Italian Castles Rotorua China Villa Retreats The Ritz-Carlton, Powerscourt Rancho Bernardo Port Ghalib Dead Sea Spas Silversea The Professor The Pulse Jetset Report Sightings Source List

Luxury Travel Advisor - May 2008

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