Thursday April 28, 2011
Image of Anantara Mui Ne Resort & Spa courtesy of Anantara.
Visitors to Southeast Asia will be glad to know that two major names in the hospitality industry - Holiday Inn Express and Anantara - are adding new properties, both in countries where they've never been before.
Anantara is opening its first Vietnamese property in Mui Ne: the Anantara Mui Ne Resort & Spa. Anantara's signature spa, dining and discovery journeys will be available to discerning visitors come autumn 2011, giving tourists more reasons to visit southeast Vietnam.
The Anantara Mui Ne Resort & Spa is located 198 kilometers northeast of Ho Chi Minh City, next to the town of Phan Thiet in the province of Binh Thuan. The resort occupies a central shoreline position in the midst of Mui Ne village's stunning landscape, which includes stunning mountains and desert-like sand dunes. Read More...
Wednesday April 27, 2011
Image © Getty Images.
If you're planning a trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia over the next few months, try to snag one of the great Siem Reap hotel deals we've listed below. Some of them are interesting destinations in themselves, with diversions you can enjoy after exploring the Angkor Temples nearby.
The hotels listed here have some pretty sweet amenities, like pools you can cool off in after exploring Siem Reap and spa services that can unkink those tired muscles. Sure, the hotels listed here are not budget establishments (three-star is the lowest you'll get in this list), but they're offering up to 40% off of regular rates!
More on these Siem Reap hotel deals after the jump. But if you're looking for other Siem Reap hotel recommendations, check out our other pages on Siem Reap Budget Hotels, Siem Reap Mid-range Hotels, and Siem Reap Luxury Hotels. That's enough of that; on with the hotel deals. Read More...
Sunday April 24, 2011
Bali in Indonesia is the setting for Courtyard by Marriott's new, 900th hotel, now providing luxurious digs for tourists at the renowned Nusa Dua resort area.
The new Courtyard by Marriott Bali is within a stone's throw from Bali's popular 18-hole championship golf course, local attractions, and loads of activities. Its 250 guestrooms are filled with interesting local touches - like unique paintings by Balinese artist I Gede Putra Udiyana. Guests have a choice between rooms with a private balcony, a garden terrace, or a terrace with nearby pool access. Six suites with oversized accommodations and double-sized balconies are available for honeymooners. Read More...
Friday April 22, 2011
Image © Getty Images.
Staying safe in Southeast Asia is a bigger challenge compared to safety in the U.S. or in Western Europe... not that these places aren't free of tourist scams, but you need to be on extra alert when roaming around the streets of Phnom Penh or Manila.
This might be seen as growing pains for the tourist trade: the tendency of any inadequately-regulated industry to attract outlaws has so far outpaced the local government's ability to create safeguards for their stake holders. So it is with tourism and foreign tourists: sure, institutions exist to try to protect travelers (Manila, for example, revived its tourist police after that deadly bus hijacking incident, the aftermath of which is pictured above) but you only have so many policemen against so many other scammers, muggers, and other unsavory folk just waiting to take advantage of tourists who don't know the lay of the land.
For more on this subject, read our article: Staying Safe in Southeast Asia.