360 DEGREES Weblog

The Istanbul Edtition is an exclusive new hotel in the heart one of the world’s most vibrant cities right across the Kanyon Shopping Mall.  The hotel is a fifteen story tower with seventy eight rooms and suites for guests. The Istanbul Edtion is part of the Edition Hotels, a subsidiary of Marriott. Ottoman influence is evident in the decor with bronze and silver-gold, and light and dark woods standing out. Guests may bask at The ESPA Spa, dine at the Cipriani restaurant or Gold Bar, and gather at the pool.

Book your stay at The Istanbul Edition with Kiwi Collection and receive the best available rates with VIP Status.

Thanks Sybarites

Ritz-Carlton has been a renowned name in the luxury hotels industry, providing unmatched hospitality services around the globe. In a fitting tribute to the chain, the readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine in the U.S. recently crowned the Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong, China the ‘Best Hotel in the World’. As part of the 24th annual Readers Choice Awards for 2011, the hotel also bagged the Best Hotel in Asia Pacific award. Complete with 285 well-appointed guestrooms and suites, four exceptional restaurants and bars and a lot more to pet your creature comforts, the Ritz-Carlton Shanghai well-deserved the honor indeed.Ritz-Carlton has been a renowned name in the luxury hotels industry, providing unmatched hospitality services around the globe. In a fitting tribute to the chain, the readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine in the U.S. recently crowned the Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong, China the ‘Best Hotel in the World’. As part of the 24th annual Readers Choice Awards for 2011, the hotel also bagged the Best Hotel in Asia Pacific award. Complete with 285 well-appointed guestrooms and suites, four exceptional restaurants and bars and a lot more to pet your creature comforts, the Ritz-Carlton Shanghai well-deserved the honor indeed.

Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of EasyJet, is set to launch a new airline to compete with his old company. The new airline will be called FastJet. Stelios sold controlling interest in the business ten years ago, and has been operating under a non-compete agreement with the new owners, but he claims that they have breached the agreement and so he’s ready to go head to head with them.

I rather like EasyJet for providing a simple, bus-like shuttle around European cities. Generally, they provide superior service to their low-cost rivals RyanAir. And they’ve often shown innovative flourishes that I really appreciated — for example, in Geneva, the EasyJet automatic check-in dispenses boarding-cards that are the same size as credit cards, so you can carry them in your wallet.

I’m inclined to think that whatever Stelios launches next will benefit from all the stuff he learned with EasyJet, and yet will be able to start afresh, avoiding whatever baggage EasyJet has to lug around as a result of its mistakes along the way. Certainly, Stelios seems to me to be someone who believes in a less humiliating, less uncomfortable, less stressful travel experience, and we could always use more of that.

One immediate difficulty Haji-Ioannou faces in launching a rival is that he continues to own 26% stake in easyJet, while family members have an 11% stake through a company called Polys Holdings.

The Haji-Ioannou family’s combined holding was worth around £550m at Monday’sclosing share price. There were reports that other shareholders were calling for him to sell immediately.

It may not be easy, either, for Haji-Ioannou to achieve the success he had with easyJet when setting up a new airline.

Thanks boingboing

With demand for private jets on the rise, there has been a corresponding surge for customized interiors, with greater luxury, and of course modern designs too. Just basic seating comfort doesn’t seem to cut it anymore, and a theme like ‘accommodation on the move’ seems to be the current mood. Airbus, a veteran of 170+ corporate jets, has unveiled the world’s largest corporate jet cabin that provides all that one might need in a modern day professional setup.
The cabin has been fitted on the Airbus ACJ 318 aircraft, and a luxury charter services is currently being rendered by Comflux, through whom one can hire the aircraft to experience this ‘office in the skies’. Amenities aboard include the 2 convertible bedrooms and attached bathrooms, lounge-cum-dining-cum meeting area with LCD Television, with designer leather sofas and convertible tables. The lounge also features a service station, which could be useful during the dining meets. Not to forget, are the multiple plug points for your electronics at various parts of the cabin. All of this and more is spread over an area of close to 800 sq ft which can be equated with a studio apartment on a realistic estimate. Hence, the capacity for accommodation of guests apart from crew members is 19 at given time which means a sizeable get-together in the skies isn’t a far-fetched thought anymore. So, if you are a part of the jet setting well-paid bunch of executives, you could put this cabin on your next corporate shopping list.
The cabin was recently put on display at the Jet Expo in Moscow, which gave visitors an experience of what it could be like, abroad the Airbus ACJ 318 corporate jet. With the current services allowing intercontinental travel, corporates don’t need to worry anymore for exclusive spaces in the sky. However, for comparisons, do take a look at our insight in to the Airbus A380, and rather refreshing Transparent Airbus. Looking at them, one begins to imagine whether there is anything that would be impossible with the company’s expertise.

Who cares if your camper rolls down the hill and into the lake — you’ve got the Sealander (€15,000; roughly $20,500). This unique tow-behind solves the question of whether to bring the boat or the camper by functioning as both, thanks to a low-emission electric outboard motor, a fully-equipped interior with a cooking/washing module, a cooler, a heater, and seating that converts into a bed, all packed inside a watertight package that’s sure to draw confused looks at the local boat dock.

In their latest collaboration, Incase teams up with the Ace Hotel. The five-piece collection includes a Duffel Bag, Shoulder Bag, 15” Sleeve, Portfolio for iPad 2 and Snap Case for iPhone 4. Fusing Ace Hotel design aesthetics and Incase expertise, the collection is “constructed of durable Martexin Original Wax textiles, the items in the collection have a seasoned character designed to age expressively.”

September 2011 the collection is exclusive to Ace Hotel New York. As of October it will be available at all Ace Hotel locations and in the Incase webshop.

During a private “fly-in” fishing excursion in the Alaskan wilderness, the chartered pilot and fishermen left bait in the plane.

And a bear smelled it. This is what he did to the plane.

The pilot used his radio and had another pilot bring him 2 new tires, 3 cases of duct tape, and a supply of sheet plastic.

He patched the plane together, and FLEW IT HOME!

Location: The Jaguar Suite is located at 51 Buckingham Gate, Taj Suites and Residences, side-street between Buckingham Palace and Westminster Cathedral, London. The Jaguar suite is a newly added feature to the already known Taj, and will be available from September.
Accommodation: This five star TATA enterprise Taj hotel has collaborated with another TATA company Jaguar, and has added two suits in the hotel that are sleekly-designed 1,832 square ft suites, inspired by Jaguar’s timeless style and technological innovation, which will be the first of its kind in the world. The bedroom is evidently designed with the inspiration from the Jaguar models of cars of legendary 1960’s E-type to the state-of-the art C-X75.
The rooms are designed by the Jaguar Design Director Ian Callum and his in-house design team, hence the rooms feature the custom-built auto motivated artwork. The material used in the decor and the furnishing are leather, metal and high gloss veneers. The rooms are equipped with super king sized beds, grand sized bathrooms and marble floored showers. Further, the room is decorated with subtle Jaguar motifs and artwork, and consists of dining area to accommodate 10 people, a fully ready gloss black kitchen and a number of gadgets including TV’s, Blu-ray players and sound systems. The room also features the unique wall that is covered in Italian leather, and is embedded with a 42 inch television with minimalist clean-fuel fireplace. There is no word on the tariff as of now. Apart from these two suites, the hotel features 86 contemporary suites from one to nine bedrooms, including the Presidential floor, separate living room, fully-equipped kitchens and luxurious bathrooms.
Fine Dinning: Apart from the Jaguar room which has a dinning space for 10 people, the hotel has three separate restaurants and three bars for the elegant guests.
Other Highlights: The hotel is built in a true English style as the architecture gives glimpse of the history of England. Award-winning Courtyard garden plays a beautiful ornate cherub ordained fountain (allegedly a gift from Queen Victoria). Another highlight of the hotel is the Michelin starred Quilon Restaurant which serves southern coastal Indian cuisine. The hotel has an array of rejuvenating spa option with a bespoke treatment range designed by Anne Sémonin.

The once fashion prodigy Kris van Assche has honed his craft at Dior Homme, Yves Saint Lauren and few other high-profile designers to present you such enticing pieces as this recent collaboration with Eastpak. A bright brown canvas defines a messenger with a functional fit that offers plenty room for you documents and needful things.

$270

With a name like that, you’d expect the new line of Tumi Alpha Bravo Bags ($60-$600) to have a little bit of military swagger — and you’d be right. Available in a variety of styles, including crossbodys, totes, duffels, backpacks, and roll-behinds, these soft, unstructured bags feature ballistic nylon and leather construction, rugged hardware, and just the appropriate number of pockets and compartments.