Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2017 i Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Edition

A waterfront development whose architecture combines both the historical and contemporary, The Fullerton Heritage comprises a myriad of dining, hospitality and lifestyle establishments across The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore, The Fullerton Waterboat House, One Fullerton, The Fullerton Pavilion, Clifford Pier and Customs House. Together with the two hotels’ nine dining destinations, an array of 29 restaurants, bars and cafés in the precinct make it a vibrant focal point of lifestyle offerings for both hotel and city guests to enjoy. The precinct is strategically positioned in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District, minutes from the city’s iconic cultural landmarks and close to the main shopping belts of Suntec City and Orchard Road. It is also well linked to various transportation hubs, with Changi International Airport less…

• This month’s prizes come from Hong Kong hotel The Cityview. Located in downtown Kowloon adjacent to bustling Nathan Road, The Cityview is within a minute’s walk of Yau Ma Tei MTR station, offering easy access to the city’s Tsim Sha Tsui and Central business districts, along with attractions including Temple Street Night Market and Ladies’ Market. The Cityview offers 422 modern and comfortable guestrooms and suites – some providing smartphones with free local calls, IDD to select countries, mobile internet access and wifi hot-spotting. Free wifi access is available throughout the property, which also includes three restaurants offering Western, Chinese and Thai cuisine. • This month, two prizes are up for grabs offering each winner three nights’ stay in a Premier room with daily buffet breakfast for two. The…

• Gateway Apartments A serviced residence with 499 units across two towers, it recently completed renovating its two- and three-bedroom apartments. Guests have access to the 13,000 sqm Pacific Club’s excellent facilities. gatewayapartments.com.hk • Gateway, Hong Kong A new Continental Club floor will be unveiled this month on the hotel’s uppermost level 17, with 21 new guestrooms and suites, plus the Continental Club Lounge, designed as a social and networking space. marcopolohotels.com • Harbour Grand Kowloon In 2014 the hotel commenced an extension project of 360 guestrooms, which will bring the total room count to 915 – it’s scheduled for completion in 2018. A refurbishment of all 555 existing rooms is also planned. kowloon.harbourgrand.com • Harbour Plaza Metropolis An 821-room property located near Hung Hom Station, with a rooftop garden…

NEW Shangri-La at the Fort Opened: March 1, 2016 The sixth Shangri-La property to open in the Philippines, Shangri-La at the Fort is a mixed-use development in the heart of Bonifacio Global City (BCG) – Metro Manila’s emerging lifestyle centre. The 576-room hotel occupies levels 18-40, with 46 suites, seven restaurant and bars and 6,000 sqm of event space. The complex also includes Shangri-La Residences, occupying floors 9-17 with a range of 97 one- two- and three-bedroom apartments; Kerry Sports Manila – a recreation club with a health club, swimming pool, basketball course and boxing gym; and Horizon Homes, offering 98 private residences on the top floors. shangrila.com Conrad Manila Opened: June 15, 2016 With award-winning architecture, Conrad Manila makes a striking addition to the Bay City Area. Located on…

1 IMPERIAL PALACE AND EAST GARDEN The Imperial Palace in downtown Tokyo offers some beautiful views of the palace across a lovely moat and stonewall. A 5.3km pathway around the expansive grounds is a popular jogging route, while the East Garden is open to the public and a peaceful place to relax alongside city workers picnicking beneath the trees at lunchtime. Access via Otemachi Station (exit C10) on the Metro Chiyoda Line. 2 TSUKIJI MARKET Yes, this crazy wet market tops every tourist list, but that’s for a reason: it’s a unique experience and shouldn’t be missed. Forget the pre-dawn tuna auction and arrive around 8am – you’ll still be surrounded by a mind-boggling array of edible sea life (including enormous bluefin tuna) and a cacophony of sound as stall…

Just a few years ago, craft beer was decidedly niche in Hong Kong. Today, more than 20 local breweries jostle for shelf space behind the bar, and the market shows no signs of slowing. Local brewers continuously extend their repertoire, and foreign brewers are also setting up in the city – the latest being hip Japanese beer Hitachino Nest, which opened its only overseas production facility in Fo Tan last year. It seems craft beer has gone mainstream: it’s stocked in many of the city’s hotels and restaurants and visible on supermarket shelves. Even Cathay Pacific (CX) is getting in on the act with its newly launched craft beer Betsy. Named after CX’s first aircraft, a 1940s Douglas DC-3, it is the first ale developed to be drunk at altitude…

As business travellers know, life on the road can take its toll. Restless sleep, poor diet, no time for exercise and missing the comforts of home are common gripes for road warriors. It was with these issues in mind that Oasia was conceived. Launched in 2011 by Far East Hospitality, the brand is dedicated to giving corporate travellers a rejuvenating stay that encompasses the holistic aspirations of a balanced lifestyle. Three pillars of wellness lie at the core of this philosophy: Refresh, Refuel and Recharge. Refresh epitomises quality rest in a comfortable and peaceful environment; Refuel symbolises nourishment through quality sustenance; and Recharge presents guests with opportunities to invigorate the mind and body. With these central principles, combined with the best of Asian hospitality, Oasia has established itself as the…

Qatar Airways reveals new business class product QATAR Airways has unveiled its highly anticipated new business class seat. The Q Suite offers the first-ever double bed offering in business class, with a privacy door that“completely encloses you”and a Do Not Disturb sign. Additionally, adjustable panels and movable TV monitors on the centre four seats allow passengers travelling together to create a collective private suite, ideal for family set-ups or business meetings. The new product will be installed on all newly delivered B777 and A350 aircraft, with existing models set to be retrofitted. A similar product is being developed for the airline’s B787 and A380 aircraft. qatarairways.com Oakwood debuts new brand in Singapore AFTER launching its new Oakwood Suites brand in Jakarta in December 2016, Oakwood Asia Pacific has now debuted…

BACKGROUND Kenya Airways took delivery of the first of its Dreamliners in 2014, and uses them for its major European and Asian routes. CHECK-IN I flew in to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from Livingstone (Zambia) at 2150, transiting airside for flight KQ860, which was scheduled to depart at 2359. LOUNGE The Simba Lounge is new and has a pleasing décor, but although signposted from the airport’s check-in/security area, it took a bit of finding if you’re transiting from another flight (it’s up an escalator near the spa). At 2230 there were 30 people in the lounge, which has a maximum capacity of 38; with some guests stretched out barefoot on sofas, it felt crowded and understaffed. The buffet selection was limited (lentils, spinach, beef and rice), but there was…

The Communist country of Cuba is opening up to free trade, although it may prove to be a bumpy ride. Jenny Southan reports from Havana I am sitting in the back of a vintage Chevrolet, rumba playing on the radio. A policeman has stopped cars from moving in any direction and, as the minutes tick by, I wonder what the delay is. I try to download a data package for my iPhone while I wait, but there’s no 3G in the country. Looking up, I see a black car cruise past with four men in army fatigues inside, then a van with the sliding door open. Right there, in full view, is Fidel Castro. A gaunt figure in a white jacket and snowy beard, the 90-year-old revolutionary is unmistakable.“Fidel!”my driver…

While Frankfurt’s high-rolling hedge-funders and FTSE financiers keep the markets ticking over, its reputation as a commercial powerhouse may not tempt those looking for a European break. Still, the city’s entrepreneurial spirit has begun to take root outside the financial district in the form of edgy bars and restaurants, while those after more cultural nourishment can wander the banks of the Main River, home to some of Germany’s best museums. If you have some time between meetings or fancy extending your trip by a day or two, Frankfurt has a host of creative districts worth exploring. BAHNHOFSVIERTEL The area around the central station, Bahnhofsviertel is one of the city’s grittier parts, where scantily clad mannequins in shop windows signal the (red-light) district’s main industry. Not unlike the gentrification in London’s King’s…

Like many grand hotels, The Peninsula is a family business. It all started with two brothers of Jewish-Iraqi descent: Ellis Kadoorie settled in Shanghai in 1880, while his elder brother Elly set himself up in business in Hong Kong. The brothers first gained a major shareholding in Hong Kong Hotels Limited, then in 1922 that company acquired an 85 per cent interest in The Shanghai Hotel Company, the two companies merging to form The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels – parent company of The Peninsula Hotels. Architects were first commissioned to draw up plans for“the finest hotel east of the Suez”in the early 1920s, located at the tip of Hong Kong’s Kowloon Peninsula. However, soon after it was completed The Peninsula was requisitioned by the British forces, and served as emergency…

The main entrance, called the Diamond Lobby, is grand and glitzy, with a huge, multicoloured fountain feature BACKGROUND Phase One of the Galaxy Macau integrated resort complex launched in 2011 with the 1,500-room Galaxy Hotel in one gold-topped building, plus the smaller Banyan Tree and Hotel Okura properties sharing a similar building. Phase Two in 2015 added a Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott, with extra space for the gaming, retail and Grand Resort Deck areas in between. WHERE IS IT? In the northwest sector of the Cotai district. Macau’s city centre is 10-15 minutes’ drive away, while access from the international airport or Taipa Ferry Terminal takes only 5-10 minutes. WHAT’S IT LIKE? The main entrance, called the Diamond Lobby, is grand and glitzy, with a huge, multicoloured fountain feature hiding…

These days, finding space alongside Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour is not easy, with real estate in high demand.Yet development on the Kowloon side continues, thanks to land reclamation, reinventions of prime sites, and innovative reuse of existing areas. One such example is the old Kai Tak airport runway, which after being demolished was left for years while various plans were discussed on how best to utilise the land that juts far out into Kowloon Bay like a long, thin finger. The answer seems obvious now – a new cruise terminal has taken shape that, in conjunction with Ocean Terminal at Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui, is driving more travellers to visit Hong Kong through the lucrative cruise industry market. The Kowloon harbour region is replete with opportunity. Extensions to…

This year is set to be a good one for Bangkok’s MICE sector. The Thai capital currently has a slew of venue and accommodation offerings, with eight exhibition centres, more than 60 convention facilities, over 20 unique venues and in excess of 400 hotels, according to the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB). But in December last year, TCEB launched its 2017 MICE Development Plan, aiming to attract a total of 27.1 million MICE travellers over the year. Luckily, event planners will find a lot on offer in the country, particularly in Bangkok. LARGE-SCALE VENUES Among the largest venues in the city is the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) in Bangna district, which has undergone a massive expansion since 2013, culminating in the recent opening of 32,000 sqm…

SIA makes Krisflyer redemption changes Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its subsidiary Silkair have begun folding fuel and insurance surcharges into their base fares. The change will have no immediate impact on full-fare tickets, but it does affect members of SIA’s Krisflyer loyalty programme as fuel and insurance surcharges no longer apply to redemption bookings. The bad news is the change will increase the number of miles required to redeem for flights in certain zones. The flip side is that the removal of fuel and insurance surcharges will mean cash savings when paying for redemption tickets. In addition to the removal of these surcharges, Krisflyer members will no longer receive a 15 per cent discount on redemptions when booking online. singaporeair.com Virgin Atlantic closes Clubhouse lounge in Hong Kong Despite Virgin…

1 DONG KHOI STREET Start with a stroll down the wide boulevards of the city’s main commercial thoroughfare and admire the heady mix of old and new. At the beginning of the street stands the 130-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral, featuring classic neo-Romanesque architecture with its red brick façade and stained-glass windows. Opposite the ancient basilica is the Saigon Post Office; though it functions as a modern post office, the magnificent colonial French architecture inside and out will transport you back to French Indochina. Continue walking down the street and you’ll pass the Saigon Opera House on your left, another example of flamboyant French architecture and home to a number of cultural performances. Interspersed with these historic marvels are plenty of high-end shopping malls, boutique outlets, kitsch book stores and, of…