Luxury Travel Advisor - May 2008 - (Page 6)

PUBLISHER© S LETTER LUXURY T R AV E L A D V I S O R jmcmahon@questex.com rterrero@questex.com llambert@questex.com Join the Club Inspiring and Educating Sellers of Affluent Travel Group Publisher: John McMahon (212) 895-8243 Editorial Director: Ruthanne Terrero, CTC (212) 895-8423 Managing Editor: Lindsay Lambert (212) 895-8434 T his month I was lucky enough to join two clubsÐT he Mickey Mouse Club and Club Med. To be honest, I wasn' t overly excited about joining either one. But as my good friend Bob Malmberg (see our February cover story) said, ª We cannot possibly keep abreast of the myriad changes in the marketplace.º And he was dead on. Preconceived notions must be checked at the door, but expertise must follow you in. During my trip to Disney (with my family in tow), I used The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes as my base (I' m pictured below with my four daughters and Mark Ferland, general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Grande Lakes). I thoroughly enjoyed Walt Disney World, but chose to not be a warrior and take it all in during my five-day stay. After all, if you don' t return to Disney at least every few years, your kids will consider it child abuse. Instead, I sat by the Ritz-Carlton' s pool and relaxed as my daughters turned into mermaids and stayed in the water all day. (Insider tip: Take advantage of the Ritz Carlton' s holiday activities at no additional cost.) My family enjoyed a very civilized Easter egg hunt, a petting zoo, pony rides and a surprise sighting of John Travolta. My wife' s heart was pounding and the kids were laughing as they reminisced about John' s role in Hairspray. To finish off the trip, we headed up the road for a two-day stay at the Loews Royal Pacific and took advantage of its Cut-the-Line passes at Universal Studios. This let me add another day to my pool time, and let me catch up with Ellen DeGeneres. One might have thought we were in Hollywood for the week. Finally, I went solo to the reopening of Club Med Ixtapa, where I was blown away by the beauty of the property and the fine dining experience. (Another insider tip: Request the Sol units. These all-waterfront suites rank with any five-star resort, private concierge and all. The sound of water breaking on the shore comes free of charge.) This resort puts families first but is so well laid out that space is easy to come by. The Club Med staff keep the kids active and out of sight. As I always say, parents are affluent, not kids, so as trusted travel advisors you have the difficult task of pleasing both. But if you follow my footsteps above, all of your clients are all but guaranteed to have a good time. Staff Editors: Mark Rogers, Erin F. Sternthal, Joe Pike, Susan J. Young, Dave Eisen, Mackenzie Allison, Jena Tesse Fox, Roberta Roberti ADVERTISING & SALES STAFF Eastern U.S./Europe Associate Publisher Kimberly Ziegler (212) 895-8268 Caribbean/Latin America/Mexico Stephanie Gordon (305) 854-1622 West Coast Associate Publisher Pattie Lincoln (818) 788-4488 Hawaii Simone Perez (808) 394-2090 Europe Ritchie Markus (41) 1 918 1717 Catherine Tondelli (39) 06 522 46 050 Asia: Hazel Li, InterAct Media & Marketing kziegler@questex.com stephanie@gordonmediagroup.com plincoln@questex.com simone@abbottcommunications.com ritchiemarkus@ggaweb.ch ctondellli@alice.it hazelli@starhub.net.sg TRAVEL AGENT CUSTOM SOLUTIONS: Associate Publisher, Southern Hemisphere: Peter Gatt (212) 895-8292 Senior Managing Editor: David K. Moseder (212) 895-8447 pgatt@questex.com dmoseder@questex.com ART, CIRCULATION & PRODUCTION, MARKETING Associate Art Director: Debbie Sheehan dsheehan@questex.com (212) 895-8429 Assistant Art Director: Alba N. Negrón-Diaz anegron@questex.com (212) 895-8427 Designers: Katy Lin, (212) 895-8432 klin@questex.com Bogdan Migulski, (212) 895-8428 bmigulski@questex.com Photo Coordinator: Melissa Buesing mbuesing@questex.com (212) 895-8256 Production Director: Marilyn Hiris mhiris@questex.com (212) 895-8439 Production Manager: Sarah Ross sross@questex.com (212) 895-8440 Director, Audience Development: Heidi Spangler hspangler@questex.com (216) 706-3705 Reprints: LuxuryTravelAdvisor@reprintbuyer.com (800) 290-5460, ext. 139 charrison@questex.com Marketing Manager: Christina Harrison (216) 706-3770 CORPORATE President & C.E.O.: Kerry C. Gumas Executive V.P. & Chief Financial Officer: Tom Caridi Executive V.P.: Robert S. Ingraham Executive V.P.: Tony D'Avino Executive V.P.-Corporate Development: Claudia Flowers V.P. & General Manager: Don Rosenberg V.P.-Digital Media: Seth Nichols V.P.-Human Resources: Diane M. Evans For a $100 subscription to Luxury Travel Advisor, call 216-706-3705 between the hours of 8:30 am and 5:00 pm EST; fax: 216-706-3714; e-mail: hspangler@questex.com or send a written request to Heidi Spangler, Luxury Travel Advisor, 600 Superior Ave Suite 1100, Cleveland, OH 44114. JOHN MCMAHON Group Publisher jmcmahon@questex.com Copyright © 2008 Questex Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopy, recording or information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by Questex Media Group, Inc. for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923; phone: (978) 750-8400; fax (978) 750-4470; call for copying beyond that permitted by Sections 107 or 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law. For those not registered with the CCC, send permission request in writing to questexpermissions@reprintbuyer.com or phone 800-494-9051 ext. 100. Luxury Travel Advisor does not verify any claims or other information appearing in any of the advertisements contained in the publication, and cannot take any responsibility for any losses or other damages incurred by readers in reliance on such content. Luxury Travel Advisor welcomes unsolicited articles, manuscripts, photographs, illustrations and other materials but cannot be held responsible for their safekeeping or return. Questex Media Group, Inc. provides certain customer contact data (such as customers' names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses) to third parties who wish to promote relevant products, services and other opportunities which may be of interest to you. If you do not want Questex Media Group to make your contact information available to third parties for marketing purposes, simply call toll-free (216) 706-3705 between the hours of 8:30 am and 5 pm CST and a customer service representative will assist you in removing your name from Questex©s lists. Outside the U.S., please phone (216) 706-3705. 4 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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