Iconic Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc Reopens This Spring

Overlooking one of the worlds top superyacht anchorages, one of the world’s most iconic and luxurious hotels, in the south of France, will re-open on 15th April after a four-year restoration project.

The Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d’Antibes has been the subject of a €45million refurbishment project, the first major since the 1950s. Designed to restore the hotel to its original quality, it has been authentically restored to showcase the original features first seen by guests in 1870 when the former owner of Le Figaro newspaper, Auguste de Villemessant, built it.

Dramatically positioned on the southern-most tip of the Cap d’Antibes, Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc has been the ultimate place to stay on the Riviera for the luxury traveller, and is the choice for royalty, celebrities and VIPs when staying in the region.

The owner, Mrs. Oetker, along with leading architect Luc Svetchine, has carried out the restoration with the focus being the utmost respect for the heritage of the property and the history of the hotel.

They have ensured that no detail has been left untouched and whilst the hotel has been totally restored and modernised, the soul and spirit of the hotel have been left unchanged.  

The restoration project, initiated in 2007, includes the refurbishment of all rooms and public areas in the main building of the hotel; a new grill restaurant with sushi bar; a new swimming pool and beach area; a new restaurant and terrace; and a new kitchen area to service the famous Cabanas, where time has stood still.

New suites, with balconies, will each have a lounge, dressing room, bathroom and separate shower room.

All one-bedroom and two-bedroom have sea views, a private bar, LED TV screen with iPod player and sound proofing in all rooms facing the Cap Boulevard.

The jewel in the hotel’s crown, the Eden-Roc Suite, has also been completely renovated. With completely new décor and furnishings, the suite will now feature its own beautiful wooden pergola and an outside Jacuzzi on a 250m2 terrace offering magnificent views of the Lerins Islands.

Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc has two villas – Villa Eleana, which opened in 2010 and Villa les Cedres – which combine the first-class facilities of the hotel with the exclusivity and privacy afforded by a private villa.

Visiting Oceanco to see Y708

It may have been cold and grey in Holland but there was great excitement in the air as we stood among the owner's VIP party watching the hull of a brand new superyacht see light of day for the very first time.

We were very privileged to be the only journalists invited to witness the occasion when the hull of the new Oceanco project Y708 was moved slowly from the builder's shed at Krimpen.

She was loaded onto a heavy lift barge using a Self Propelled Module Trailer (SPMT) itself weighing 252 tons.  Onto it was the hull weighing 950 tons and it, was sitting inside shipping cradles weighing 80 tons.  The weight of the entire contraption was spread over trailers possessing between them, a total of 224 wheels.

The barge moved its precious cargo to the Oceanco facility at Alblassendam.  Here the aluminium superstructure sat, in two parts, on the quay waiting to be fitted to the hull.

Once done the yacht was then moved inside the covered sheds to lay alongside her sister ship Y707.

Y708 is 86.6 metres overall.  Her exterior is the inspirational work of the young Russian designer Igor Lobanov while the interior will be completed by industry veteran Albert Pinto the genius behind Alfa Nero

With Oman Air Flying is almost a Pleasure

Do you remember the time when flying long haul in economy class was not an experience to be forgotten?  Do you remember when all the cabin crew were helpful, polite and friendly?

Remember the hot towel, the printed menu and the little comfort pack with socks, mask, earplugs, a toothbrush and toothpaste.

All gone now, swept away by a brigade of money pinching accountants who think passengers are cattle and should be treated that way. Well not quite! At least not on Oman Air.

We have just flown out and back to Oman with the airline and it was a revelation, a step back in time. The courteous and ever helpful staff are even under 60 and heaven help us, they gave service with a smile!  The seats were comfortable and the legroom adequate.  Even the TV screen in the back of the chair in front was big enough to actually enjoy watching the on demand films.

Eat your heart out British Iberia Airways these aircraft have WiFi Internet from Inmarsat and you can use your mobile phones to call home or send text messages.

How very refreshing to learn that there is still one airline who values the custom of the economy class traveller.  There has been so very little in the past to differentiate one airline from another to the point that as travel writers we could not make a recommendation as to who to fly.  Now we are not so sure.

Flying will never be fun in the back of the plane but Oman Air ensure the experience is the best it can be.

What is business and first class is like? Sadly we did not have the chance to find out for ourselves on this trip perhaps next time……..

The Wave Muscat Marina

© Frances Howorth

We sailed majestically into The Wave Marina on the coast of Oman at the end of our brief cruise to the Dimaniyat Islands. Our Oman Charter trip to the country was organised by the Ministry of Tourism for the Sultanate of Oman

Now it has to be said that the Marina is far from finished and we were privileged to be among the very few yachts that have docked there.

Following a meeting with those responsible for its development we can report that when finished this is going to be a most wonderful port in which to moor a superyacht.  Kempinski and Fairmont have each signed up to build Five Star hotels and Superyacht owner Greg Norman has designed the soon to be built golf course.

The marina, like much of the development, is being opened in phased stages and will eventually have 500 berths.  Currently it is a hive of activity as workers prepare The Wave for the start of the Extreme Sailing Series in Oman at the end of February.

Mourjan Marinas part of IGY have been retained to oversee the planning marketing and operation of the marina as a whole.  They are work together with Oman Sail to ensure that the complex is not just for visiting yachts but also for the people of Oman. The aim is to promote sailing and encourage local people of all ages to discover the joy of water sports.

Yachting Where Fuel Oil is Cheaper than Water

At anchor off Kharabah Island in the Damaniyat Islands ©Frances Howorth

“Fill her up,” says Simon the yacht’s skipper. At less than 23 pence a litre for fuel oil he can be forgiven for not being to specific on the exact quantity to take on board.

He was a little more careful with bottled drinking water and counted it carefully on the quayside before loading it on the yacht. Water does after all cost a lot more than the diesel being pumped into the fuel tanks in Oman.

We were sailing aboard a catamaran that is brand new to the Oman Charter fleet. We left the somewhat flat and featureless mainland coast behind us as we motored away from the Marina at the Millennium Resort at Mussanah and raised the sails.

Sand, palm trees and mosques dominate the vista as we sailed along the coast of Oman. Leaving the mainland behind we headed offshore to cruise among the Damaniyat Islands.

Here in crystal clear waters we were the only yacht in the area and the anchorages were beautiful and breathtakingly tranquil. These islands form part of a nature reserve set aside by Oman some 20 years ago to preserve the habit of turtles and coral reefs.

Some islands are bird sanctuaries, home to kingfisher and heron others are preserved for the growth of endemic and threatened fauna.  Waders, shorebirds and some species of waterfowl seek refuge here and breed in significant numbers.

Underwater the coral and fish were so rich and abundant we were astounded and we were only snorkelling in shallow water.  No wonder the area is a secret haven for divers.

High speed along the coast of Oman

We hurtled down the coast of Oman on board a 65 metre high speed catamaran reaching speeds of 50 odd knots. We left Port Sultan Kaboos not as you might expect sailing aboard a SuperYacht but instead on Shinas, a high speed ferry.  It was chartered in to take visiting journalists on a short demonstration cruise

The ferry is one of a two in the world's fastest diesel-powered passenger ferry fleet.  It normally links the capital Muscat with Khasab in Musandam Peninsula from Wednesday.

"The high-speed ferries were introduced on this route basically to promote remote areas, providing services and easing movement of equipment without going through borders," Mehdi Al Abduwani, Chairman of the National Ferry Company (NFC), told members of the BGTW.

He also revealed that NFC would eventually run five such ferries.
"There would be two ferries in the north (linking Khasab with Muscat), two in the South (linking Halniyat Island with Salalah) and the third ferry would link Masirah Island with Shannah in the east.

Shinas has clocked a top cruise speed of 51 knots (100km/h) while her sister ship Hormuz has clocked world-record 56 knots.

Facilities on board these ferries are all located on a single deck. A helicopter landing pad on the bridge deck can accommodate a medium-class helicopter. The vessels are built at an estimated cost of $70 million by Australia-based Austal, who are the world's largest builder of fast ferries

The unrivalled performance of the two 65 metre vehicle-passenger catamaran ferries showcases the world-class ability of the Austal design team. They have successfully developed a new, customised, high efficiency hull design capable of delivering record-breaking performance, while Austal’s construction team managed to meet demanding weight targets.

Millenium Resort in Oman

We arrived safely in Oman touching down at Muaskar Al Murtafa'a, the international airport that serves Muscat, the country’s capital after a pleasant flight with Oman Air.

We transfered to Millennium Resort - Mussanah a hotel so new it has not yet officially opened.

It is located in the South Batinah region of the country, a 45 minute drive from the airport nestled along the Gulf of Oman.

From the hotel balconies we have panoramic views of the resorts own private 54 berth marina and in the distance the Hajar mountains.

Facilities include 234 hotel rooms as well as the resorts 74 fully furnished branded serviced studio as well as one and two bedroom duplex apartments.

Hotel guests will benefit from lavish restaurants and water sport facilities in phase one of its handover.

In addition to the sleeping accommodations, state of the art conference and banqueting facilities ideally lend themselves with the resorts ballroom and outside private garden as well as three dedicated meeting rooms with their private terraces over-looking the marina.

The resort offers a dedicated team of event planners to ensure that any event or meeting is a memorable one.

In what, in the trade is called a soft opening, the hotel is opening its doors especially to host the AGM of the British Guild of Travel Writers. This means we will be the first organisation ever to use the meeting rooms.

Phase two of the resort leisure facilities coming on line throughout the first half of the year