Greeted with refreshing fruit juice on our arrival at reception at the Sheraton La Caleta Resort & Spa, we made our way to the Club Level 5th floor where we had a family room for the duration of our stay. This is a relatively new hotel having officially opened in April 2005; it has 284 rooms of which 20 are suites (2 with outdoor Jacuzzis).
Siam Park is Tenerife’s latest attraction. From the same people behind the highly successful Loro Parque on the north of the island, it is a spectacular waterpark that was opened in September 2008 and that can be found on the south of the island, just outside Costa Adeje. Siam Park has a large artifical beach with the biggest artifical waves in the world, and rides for all young and old alike, making it suitable for families and friends with any age children in tow.
Asias most recent and exciting luxury boutique hotel group, Alila Hotels & Resorts, has introduced its second property in Indochina: Alila Luang Prabang. Set to open its doors in October 2010, Alila Luang Prabang is expected to raise the bar for luxury retreats in Laos. The small UNESCO Heritage town of Luang Prabang is the cultural centre of Laos, known for its laid back atmosphere & profusion of temples, handicraft shops & art galleries.
A German designer named Andrew Kupresanin has come up with a digital camera called ‘Nadia’ that assesses the aesthetic beauty of the photograph you’re taking. Rather than show a LCD viewfinder image of what you’re shooting, it displays a percentage. The higher the figure is to 100%, then supposedly the “better” the picture, presumably taking into account a number of the “rules” that make a good photograph (eg. the rule of thirds) as well as contrast/lighting, etc. Although perhaps a little primitive in this version, it’s makes for an interesting alternative to the way we normally take photographs and I wonder if this is an add-on feature that might be integrated into digital cameras of the future.
I will go to the ends of the earth to uncover gems and gourmet delights for ALTB readers. This time I went to the very north of Scotland to the Caithness Smokehouse in Barrock. Barrock is only about five miles from Dunnet Head, the most northerly point on mainland Britain, and about three hours of driving into the wilds north of Inverness.
