He Beached an Old Cruise Ship and Turned it into $18 Million Beachfront Hotel with Love

released by Doulos Phos Ship Hotel

By Andy Corbley, Sep 02, 2025, It was the oldest passenger ship still floating: he turned it into an unforgettable terrestrial hotel experience.

Long since declared unseaworthy, the MV Doulos Phos is now the 5-star Doulos Phos Ship Hotel at the Bintan resort reclamation project in Indonesia.

But if you’re imagining the ship to be merely a prop, thank again. Her new owner, as nautically enthused as an interview with CNN demonstrated him to be, endeavored to keep intact every ounce of heritage that was possible to preserve, from the defunct engine room to the porthole windows.

“If I didn’t have this project, maybe I’d have a Ferrari and a Lamborghini at home, and I’d be sailing around the world every year with my family,” 74-year-old Eric Saw, a devout Christian Singaporean multi-millionaire, and the owner (captain, maybe?) of the boat and the hotel told CNN.

That project took 15 years and $18 million to complete, along with countless headaches and many inches of nails bitten down in anxiety. It was journey that barely holds a candle to the vessel’s long history.

It was 1914, just two years after Titanic sunk when SS Medina rolled off the shipyard in Newport News, Virginia. Over a career spanning 100 years, she transported agricultural goods, then military personnel during the First World War, then passengers again under the name SS Roma. In the mid-20th century, she swapped her steam engine for a diesel one, and her name (again) to MS Franca C. and set sail as a cruise liner.

Her final conversion came when she was purchased as a missionary vessel and floating library in 1977, and renamed the MV Doulos. She docked at over 100 countries, sailed hundreds of thousands of nautical miles, and was at one point the oldest operating passenger vessel on the seas.

But time ends all romances, and with a mountain of maintenance needs that no one would pay for, she was drydocked in Singapore to await bids for new ownership, 4 years shy of her 100th birthday.

Eric Saw already ran a three-story restaurant inside a Mississippi-style paddle steamer, and felt “a calling from god” to buy and repurpose the ship into a new line of work.

After three years of paying dock fees for the vessel, Saw zeroed in on a place of rest on Bintan island in Indonesia. He was offered 3 acres of reclaimed land; he requested that it form the shape of an anchor.

In October 2015, at 101 years-of-age, the newly-renamed MV Doulos Phos, or “servant of light” in Greek, embarked upon her final voyage from the island of Batam to Bintan. There she would rest upon a bed of concrete undergirded with piles extending 130 feet into the bedrock below the seabed.

Inside, the small crew and passenger cabins which were crammed and poorly lit were expanded, but some were left as-is for adventurous visitors. Elevators and fire escapes and other modern building requirements were installed to meet building codes and regs, along with modern electrical and plumbing.

released by Doulos Phos Ship Hotel

Yet every vestige of heritage possible to save was retained, including the four life boats, which still hang from chains along her midship, and tons of material including the original rivets which held her hull together as welding hadn’t been pioneered in shipbuilding in 1914.

Perhaps because he saw it as a mission from god, Saw takes a salary of $1.00 a year, while all operating profit is donated to charitable causes—a servant of the light, in name and nature. He Beached an Old Cruise Ship and Turned it into $18 Million Beachfront Hotel with Love

Read More........→November 12, 2025

Visit One of the Most Beautiful Islands of Asia-Boracay Island Philippines

Boracay is a beautiful island of the Philippines located approximately 315 km (200 miles) south of Manila and 2 km off the northwest tip of Panay Island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Boracay beautiful beaches - the famous white beaches of the island of Boracay regularly appear in those, "Best beaches of the World" lists. Although unchecked tourist development did have the authorities declare the beaches contaminated and unsafe, the beaches have since been found to be at acceptable levels of pollutionand look pristine (You can look, but don't touch). Boracay is a beautiful island,accessible for all types of bugets.Here u can find a numerous hotels,luxury villas and budget accommodation. Leisure activities: Leisure activities available on or near Boracay include scuba diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, kiteboarding, cliff diving, and beach relaxation. Boracay is the site of a 18-hole par 72 golf course designed by
Graham Marsh.In addition, as of 2010, Boracay has in excess of 350 beach resorts offering more than 2,000 rooms ranging in quality from five-star to budget accommodation.In addition, Boracay offers a wide range of restaurants, bars, pubs, and nightclubs. Events: Boracay is one competitive venue for the Asian Windsurfing Tour, with the week-long Boracay International Funboard Cup competition usually held in January on Bulabog Beach. In 2010, the event dates are January 25 – 31.[CNNGo, a division of CNN focused on travel/lifestyle/entertainment, selected the Boracay International Funboard Competition on the weekend of January 22–24 as one of its 52 weekend recommendations for 2010. The well-known Ati-Atihan Festival takes place each January in Kalibo on nearby Panay island. A much smaller Ati-Atihan festival is celebrated on Boracay, usually in the second or third week of January. Dragon boat races are held annually on Boracay under the auspices of the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation, with teams coming from around the Philippines and from other Asian nations to compete. The races usually take place sometime in April or May. The 2012 Boracay Edition of the PDBF International Club Crew Challenge to is scheduled for April 26–28, 2012. The Boracay Open Asian Beach Ultimate Tournament, an ultimate frisbee event, has been held annually since 2003, usually during summer. TRANSPORTATION: Boracay island is separated from Panay island by a narrow strait. The island is located opposite the barangay of Caticlan in the municipality of Malay, Aklan. Transportation across the strait is provided by boats operating from the Caticlan jetty port Source: Sam Daily Times

Read More........→February 06, 2025

Tourists return to Kashmir; Gulmarg hotels packed

Kashmir's famous tourist resorts and hill stations, particularly Gulmarg and Pahalgam, are receiving a huge rush of visitors this winter as almost all the hotels and tourists huts have been booked for the next several weeks.

The high-end Khyber Resort and Spa at Gulmarg is fully sold out till the middle of January 2021. "I have been shuttling between my office and Khyber in search of a room for our tourism advisor who is scheduled to attend an important event here on 31 December. I have completely failed as they don't have a single room unsold", Dr Javed-ur-Rehman, Assistant Director Tourism said.

He said 700 to 800 tourists come into Gulmarg every day. They include 200-300 visitors from all over India while around 500 local visitors also enjoy a trip every day.

The recent snowfall has triggered a remarkable influx of visitors as hundreds are keen to fulfil their passion for skiing or a joyride on the famous ropeway called 'Gulmarg Gondola'. The Jammu and Kashmir Cable Car Corporation is currently operating only the first phase of the ropeway as the skiing activity for now is limited to the lower end. A large number of common and amateur skiers have converged on Gulmarg.

"The high-altitude phase of Gondola, between Kongdori and Afarwat, over the alpine slopes will operate around the next snowfall as we require a minimum of 2 metre thick snow for the professional skiers there", Nisar Ahmad Wani, Director of Tourism, said. According to him, it was mainly due to Christmas and the New Year celebrations that all the huts and hotels had been booked in advance.

"We are going to have a huge snow carnival here. Like March 2020, Khelo India national games of 2021 are also being held at Gulmarg. These will be scheduled for January 2021. We will be starting the professional skiing events from 1 January 2021 as our snow safety officer will be arriving from the US on 28 December. It will be a three-month-long event which is expected to be attended by hundreds of celebrated skiers from all over the country and abroad", Wani said.

"Fortunately the fear of Covid-19 is receding and the air traffic from New Delhi and other cities to Srinagar is increasing sharply."

The Department of Tourism has already conducted eJashn-e-Kashmir', a winter cultural bonanza in October-November. A series of programmes, including a golf tournament, was organised at Pahalgam. Other programmes were held at Gulmarg and different places in Srinagar.

This all has brought a cheer to thousands of the Kashmiris associated with tourism after Kashmir reeled from the Coronavirus lockdown for seven months of Summer-2020 and remained jinxed for over a year. It began exactly when the Khelo India was underway with participation of hundreds of skiers at Gulmarg in March 2020. Prior to that, the entire tourism had come to a grinding halt due to the restrictions imposed by the authorities for two months after abrogation of Article 370 in August last year, followed by the three-month-long shutdown enforced by the separatists and the militants.

Commercial and academic activity resumed fully in the last week of February 2020 but it proved to be short-lived as the pandemic began within a month. Now it is after 16 months that the valley's hotels and houseboats, and all others associated with tourism and handicraft, are getting some business. The voters' enthusiasm in the current District Development Council elections has added to the aura of festivity in the valley.

The celebrities enjoying in the valley include actor Sana Khan who is here on honeymoon with husband Mufti Anas Sayeed. The couple's pictures and videos on Instagram have gone viral.

While 8,42,202 domestic and foreign tourists had visited Kashmir in 2018, the numbers plummeted to 4,99,582 as all visitors and pilgrims from across the country and abroad were advised to leave ahead of August 2019. With the improvement in the situation, notwithstanding the Covid-19 lockdown, 28,030 tourists have visited Kashmir this year till November 30.

According to officials, no tourists visited the valley in April, May and June 2020 as the air traffic, along with surface communication, remained closed due to the pandemic lockdown. With the initial relaxations, 186 tourists reported in July and 284 in August. In September, 848 tourists visited Kashmir. The inflow went up to 2,697 in October and 6,327 in November. The hoteliers are expecting the arrival of over 10,000 tourists in December and even more in January 2021.

"We have had no occupancy in the last 11 months. But, now we have started receiving orders for bookings. I have sold 10 rooms for March 2021," Shaukat Ali Wani, the owner of Wani Hotel at the Boulevard in Srinagar said. (Under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) Source: m

Read More........→December 19, 2020

40% restaurants may not reopen at all in India

While the online food delivery space is somewhat returning to normal, the dining out industry in India has been hit hard and is operating at only 8-10 percent of the pre-Covid levels, a new Zomato report revealed on Wednesday. Out of the 83 percent of restaurants that are not open for business, 10 percent have already shut down permanently.

"We anticipate an additional 30 percent restaurants to not reopen at all. Remaining 43 percent are closed right now but are likely to open as the situation becomes better," said the 'Indian Restaurant Industry - Mid COVID-19 Report' released by the online food delivery platform.

The slump in the dining out industry is largely driven by markets being in lockdown, consumers not stepping out due to fear of transmission and restaurants not opening up, even if the city is not in lockdown.

"Even in cities where restrictions have been lifted, only 17 percent dining out restaurants are open for business at the moment which are also running at low capacity," Zomato said.

Most of the customers plan to decrease spending on dining out in the near future and some of this spend will shift to online food delivery.

"Nearly 60 per cent restaurateurs said they estimate to retain less than half of their original business volumes for a few months even post-Covid," the findings showed.

In the meantime, the online food delivery industry has largely recovered, with the overall sector clocking around 75-80 percent of pre-Covid GMV (gross merchandise value).

Recovery trends are strong and Zomato estimated that the online food delivery industry would hit the pre-Covid levels of business in the next 2-3 months.

"Predictably, residential areas are doing 50 percent better than commercial areas. Restaurants in and around commercial districts are expected to take the longest to recover," Zomato said.

The leading food delivery platform said it has delivered seven crore food orders since the lockdown started on March 25.

"We estimate that between other food aggregators and direct restaurant channels, Indians have ordered 20 crore times since the lockdown," the report mentioned.

The number of restaurants offering food delivery is at 70 percent of the pre-COVID levels. Out of this, about five percent restaurants did not offer food delivery services pre-Covid.

With companies giving employees the option to work from home, there has been a mass exodus of people from metros to other cities across India.

"One in every five Zomato customers in metros (pre-Covid) have opened their app from a smaller town recently. Out of these relocated folks, one third have already started ordering food again from their new location," the Zomato report noted. Source: https://southasiamonitor.org/

Read More........→August 19, 2020

How to enjoy your food and lose weight?

Photo: RIA Novosti

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Hundreds of millions of people would like to lose weight and become fitter. So what is stopping them? There is certainly no shortage of literature and information available on how to improve one’s diet. But could we be approaching this problem from the wrong point of view by trying to limit the amount of food we eat rather than by changing what we eat? Victor Michaelson, Managing Partner of Consulting Group Slow Food Ulitka shared with the Voice of Russia's Eco Plus his different point of view, and he is worth listening to.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/voiceofrussia/radio_broadcast/47136388/273262229/

By: John Harrison Can people like me change our eating habits? 

• Victor Michaelson: First and foremost, you have to change your mindset and don’t preach, on the one hand, and defend yourself that things that you do are because of your stressful life, because of the inability of good food around and so on. There is always a way to carry life that you are satisfied with. And I would say that there are two basic things. First is diversity, your food has to be diverse. You don’t have to stick to something specific, should it be Coca Cola, which I stress out completely, or chocolate, which is not so bad in limited quantities. The second thing is just to limit yourself, not to eat too much. We all know that we eat too much. And the first task that I would give to everyone who turns to me for an advice, is to try to limit the quantity of food you eat. But is it possible for people like me, who’ve been eating the way we eat?
• Victor Michaelson: I need to turn to my own personal story. I started looking at what I'm eating at the age of 45, which is not exactly the teenager or a toddler age. And my eating habits changed drastically, as well as the functioning of my body, my look, my health level and so on. And it wasn’t a revolutionary change, it was evolutional. I started to look what I'm eating, first. And started to try to eat less, especially in the second half of the day. It is not like you’d have to finish eating 6 hours before you go to sleep. And after the last eat for three hours you are fine, and then in the last three hours before you go to bed you are hungry and you struggling with it. It is not a good thing. You have to eat whenever you want to eat, just to eat less. Ideally, is eating six times a day. Is there a way that a layman like me can know where to get, let’s talk about dried fruit, which hasn’t got sugar in it?
• Victor Michaelson: I'm not a professional, I'm not a specialist, I'm just within this movement and spent a lot of time, even years in it, so I have some understanding. I visit markets. There are plenty of markets in Moscow, for example, and everywhere in the country. And in Moscow, we have these weekend markets. Pretty much every district would have one. There should be someone who is selling dried fruits. And you should go to this person and ask him what exactly you have sugar free. And you will be surprised how happy this person will be to show a real stuff. He would pull something and say – this is a real kuraga (dried apricots)from my mountains or brought by my friend. It looks ugly, it looks like brownish stones and you would never buy it in the supermarket, because it is not shining with the colour and so on. But if you take it home and put in a hot water for several minutes, you will have the most delicious thing in this period of your life. Do you need to become a health food fanatic?
• Victor Michaelson: Slow food is about enjoying life and enjoying food. You have to be a hedonist, but you have to be an enlightened hedonist, educated hedonist. You listen to your intuition, you listen to the general attitude and what people are saying, what people are writing about it.

You go to the market with someone who is more profound in this issue who would show that this is a good thing, this is not. You talk to the people who sell it, because at least half of them are pretty honest people who really want you to buy good stuff. And also, when you limit the quantity of food, you save money. And when you save money, you are able to buy something more expensive on the same budget. Source: http://sputniknews.com/

Read More........→December 13, 2015

Seven 7 Star Hotels - The World’s Most Luxurious Hotels

1. Town House Galleri: First up is the seven star luxurious Town House Galleria in Milan, Italy. Located in the heart of the city, this fairly new hotel offers prestige living and a service menu that will gain you immediate entry into waiting lists that are as long as the green mile. Offering a personal butler, Bentley and only the best in food and drink, Town House Galleria will make all wishes come true while you stay in Milan. Whether you need tickets to Da Vinci’s Last Supper, get entry to the hottest restaurant in town or need a rare import, it can all be arranged for you and seemingly fast if some reports are to go by.

2. Burj Al Arab Hotel: Dubai’s seven star Burj Al Arab Hotel has long become a synonym for grandeur, class and style. Offering limousine service, private transfer for all guests via private golf cart, private butler service and just about anything else that is being associated with luxury, the Burj Al Arab Hotel is located in the premier Jumeirah Beach area of Dubai.

3. Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi:  The Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi was named the worlds finest hotel in the middle east in 2007. Featuring some out of this world indulgence, staying in this hotel would be like stepping into thousand and one night. Huge plush pillows, plasma TV, private butler service, laptops in each room, wireless Internet, private check in and much more will delight visitors to this splendid seven star hotel. There are several more planned high prestige hotels in various stages of development. Whilst some are scheduled to be completed next month other are not likely to see the light of the day till 2010.

4. Morgan Plaza Beijing: The Morgan Plaza is a super-luxury 7 star hotel under construction in Beijing, China. Although it was set to be finished last month’s, there has been no official confirmation of it completion yet but it definitely going to be completed in time for the Beijing Olympics. When completed it is rumoured to be possibly more luxurious than the Burj Al Arab and has been considered to be the official landmark of China, still in competition with the Shanghai World Financial Center. The plaza will contain two pavilions, a temple, the world’s best Japanese restaurant and a 600 meter long corridor.

5. The Centaurus Hotel Islamabad: The $350 million, 7-Star Centaurus Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan will help to put this country on the map for international travellers once the project is completed around 2010.

6. Tameer Towers Abu Dhabi: Tameer Towers in Abu Dhabi is set to complete in 2011 and will incorporate a luxurious seven star hotel.

7. The Flower of the East, Iran: Resembling a Flower as its name suggest, the luxury Persian seven-star hotel, ‘The flower of the East’ is located on Kish Island in Iran and is due to be completed by 2010. Source: Article

Read More........→December 12, 2013

Indonesia to boost Bali tourism with 60 new hotels

Image Link Flickr,

JAKARTA: Indonesia is looking to increase the number of tourists to the resort state of Bali. As a precursor to a planned advertising campaign, the government and partners are to build 60 new hotels on the island. Indonesia’s tourist island Bali will have 10,466 hotel rooms in 2014 with the 60 new hotel projects under construction, property research agency Knight Frank has predicted, citing government information. Supply of hotel rooms in Bali has continued to grow with 3,922 additional rooms in the second

Image Link flickrhalf of the year, Senior Associate Director of Knight Frank, Fakky Hidayat, said on Wednesday. Over the next two years, the hotel rooms on the resort island would total 10,466 units, Fakky was quoted as

saying. In the first half of the year, five-star hotels contributed the largest number or 37.7 percent to the total number of hotel rooms in Bali, he said. The second largest number was contributed by four-star hotel accounting for 31.3 percent followed by three-star hotels accounting for 31 percent, he said. The largest

Image Link Flickr

number of the new hotels would be built in Kuta until 2014, he said. He said that four-star hotels grew faster in number in Bali with the growing number of domestic and foreign tourists. The number of four-star

Image Link Flickr

hotels rose 50.2 percent with 3,358 rooms in the first half of the year. The number of rooms of five star hotel totaled only 924 units in Nusa Dua, he said. Four-star hotels are dominant in Seminyak, Sanur and Legian with rooms 691 units, 1,025 units and 617 units respectively. For tour operators in Jakarta and

Image Link Flickr

elsewhere, they told Bikyamasr.com that the increase in hotels and space will hopefully translate into a reduction in prices and availability for customers. “We have seen prices really rise in recent years and this has hurt the industry, so hopefully these new rooms and hotels will push the price down a bit,” said one tour operator in the capital. Source: Bikya Masr

Read More........→October 13, 2012

China’s Vegas:Macau becoming major tourist hub

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China’s Macau or Chinese enclave of Macau has become a major tourist destination in the South east Asia. The reason you will find glittering casinos, hotels and nightclubs in this destination. These all are enriched with the features of rich colonial past. The island of Macau is 60 km from Hong Kong. Its structure gives it to a unique look. The structure is a good view of natural landscape and architectural marvels. The island of Macau has structure of tall glass which stands against the background of green hills. While visit to Bangkok to Malaysia you will find the numbers of casinos, but these are only the casinos but have not any theme or character. In Macau you will find the mixture of ancient time and modern time culture. In Macau you can visit to 30 casinos. In all of casinos you will find the story of itscolonial heritage. This is the speciality of the casinos which make them different and unique from others. The island has a population of approximately 552,300 people and approximately 10.4 million of tourists travel every year. Macau is situated in the Southeast of China. It is situated along with two administrative regions. These two administrative regions are China and Hong Kong. One more speciality of this island is that it is considered as the first and last European colony in China. This was the place where Portuguese traders set their business in the 16th century. You can visit and watch the Portuguese colonies in the morning hours and spend your nights in the casinos. ‘City of Dreams’ is the latest addition to this island. It is an entertainment resort which is enriched with the facilities of accommodation, international dining, entertainment, and designer brand shopping under a single roof. COD is enriched with the assortment of all entertainment options like the hotels of Grand Hyatt, Hard Rock and Crown. The City of Dreams has the option for every age bar. For kids there is a kid city and Dragon’s Treasure. This is an audio video multimedia show that entertains your kids. Some other attractions for the kids are ‘The House of Dancing Water’. This gives an adventure of water games to the kids. For men there is casino, for women there are designer brand shopping stalls. It is one of the unique places in China and Hong Kong which is clubbed with all the facilities. There is enough space provided for the tourist as all the shops, cafes, casinos and restaurants are connected with corridors. December to February months is the best to visit this destination. To reach Macau, you have to reach Hong Kong first because there is not direct flight to Macau. From Hong Kong different transport tools are available for Macau. You can go to Macau from Hong Kong by helicopter. It takes 15 minutes to reach at Macau from Hong Kong and the cost of per person is 12,500 rupees. The currency used in Macau is Pataca. One Pataca is equivalent to five rupees according to Indian currency. If your budget does not allow you to take a helicopter ride, then you can select another option ferries. The cost for ferries is just rupees 700 per person. Some more attractions of Macau are Macau Tower, Macau Museum, A-Ma Temple. Ruins of St. Paul’s are the centre of attraction of this island. Source: Medley News 

Read More........→October 03, 2012

Singapore Marriott Hotel wants guests to share memories

SINGAPORE: Singapore Marriott Hotel, best known for its iconic green pagoda roof at the crossroads of Scotts Road and Orchard Road, completed its SG $35million refurbishment in April, bringing a new level of luxury to one of the city’s most loved properties. In celebration of this milestone, the luxury Singapore hotel is inviting all guests from around the globe to submit their dearest memories of their hotel experience, captured as a photo or a video. Participants can log on to Singapore Marriott Hotel’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/singaporemarriott or Twitter account @MarriottSG and post the photo or video with the tagline “I Love Marriott@SG.” The campaign will run from 16th July to 17th August 2012. Mr. Antony  Page, General Manager of Singapore Marriot Hotel comments, “Over the past 17 years of operation in Singapore, we are proud to serve some 40,000 guests every year, including those who selected us for various important occasions. We’re honored to have been able to contribute to each one of their memories. “As we celebrate our 5 star hotel re-launch, we would like to give back to our valued customers for their continuous support. To embrace the technological advancements we have witnessed in the past 17 years, we see social media as an exciting way to engage with our guests.” From the campaign, a total of two winners will be chosen. The entry with the most number of ‘Likes’ and comments will be awarded the Grand Prize of a 3-day 2-night’s stay in the Studio Room. The Runner Up will receive a SG $300 voucher to be redeemed at any of the Hotel’s restaurants; Marriott Cafe, Crossroads Cafe, Pool Grill, Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant or Java+. Furthermore, the first 30 fans who ‘Like’ and share the campaign announcement post on Facebook and Twitter will receive a voucher worth SG $20 redeemable at Java+, the latest addition to Marriott’s Singapore restaurants. The premium retail deli outlet offers imported products from around the world including high quality cured meats, cheeses and fine wines. Java+ is the ideal location to unwind over a glass of wine and to savour authentic Spanish tapas. There is also the option to take-away a wide range of sandwiches and coffees, as well as freshly-baked pastries and heavenly cakes, ideal for any occasion. Singapore Marriott Hotel Singapore Marriott Hotel’s 5 star accommodations offer the ultimate getaway for business and leisure travelers alike. The Singapore hotel’s Orchard Road location provides convenient access to downtown shopping, entertainment and business centers. Retreat to one of their designed guest rooms or enjoy upscale amenities like the luxury spa, 5 esteemed restaurants, lavish lobby, 24-hour fitness center or well-equipped business center. Whether you are in the market for a wedding venue or a conference center, Singapore Marriott Hotel is your solution. Marriott International is a leading lodging company based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA with more than 3,700 properties in 74 countries and territories and reported revenues of over $12 billion in fiscal year 2011. The company operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts under 17 brands, including Marriott Hotels & Resorts, The Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Bulgari, EDITION, Renaissance, Autograph Collection, AC Hotels by Marriott, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn & Suites, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Marriott Executive Apartments, Marriott Vacation Club, Grand Residences by Marriott, and The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club. There are approximately 300,000 employees at headquarters, managed and franchised properties. Marriott is consistently recognized as a top employer and for its superior business operations, which it conducts based on five core values: put people first, pursue excellence, embrace change, act with integrity, and serve our world.Source: Bikyamasr

Read More........→September 13, 2012

China’s dog and cat ‘hotels’ give owners peace of mind

Beijing (China Daily/ANN) – Some pet owners who headed out of town for the holiday engaged neighbors to tend their animals. Others laid in plenty of food and water and hoped for the best. But an increasing number turned to pet boarding services in Beijing, and they made their plans well in advance. Lu Kaiwen, a manager of a pet supplies shop that also provides boarding, said his shop has 60 rooms for dogs and all were all booked in December. “We are always busy during Spring Festival.” Lu said. Wang Yao, a 26-year-old white-collar worker in Beijing, has two cats. She shares a two-room apartment with two colleagues, one of whom also has a cat. “I will be away for about seven days to go back to my hometown, and I really worry about my cats,” she said before Chinese New Year. “I cannot imagine what a mess we will see after we are back, because the cats are really naughty. And my biggest concern is whether they can take care of themselves. “But I am still not sure whether I should send them to a pet boarding service,” Wang said. “My roommate said that her cat is timid and tends to have depression, so she would not send it out. My two cats had never lived together with other cats, so I am afraid that they cannot get along well with other cats.” Wang’s roommate bought a cat climbing frame to entertain the cats during the days they are away. Jin Xing said the accommodations at his cat boarding business were “already spoken for. Some regular customers even order a position at National Day holiday in October.” Jin’s store charges 30 yuan ($4.70) a day for one cat during the holidays, 5 yuan higher than the normal rate. The concept of pet “hotels” is unfamiliar in smaller cities. Wang Qinghong, who is 53 and retired in Xingtai, Hebei province, said she had never heard of pet boarding services. Wang raises a dog. “That is a difference between big cities and small cities, for the paces of life are different. Only a limited number of people in small cities will go out during the Spring Festival, but young people in big cities would always go back to their hometowns during the holiday,” Wang said. “And even when all my family members are out of town or traveling, I will ask my neighbors to take care of my dog.” In big cities, many young people do not know their neighbors. But that poses no pet problems for Zheng Chengyuan, 26, who works in Tianjin. His and his wife’s pets are two carp. “I chose to raise carp because I supposed that I would always be away from home during holidays. We often travel back to our hometown,” Zheng said. “Carp are easy to raise, and being away for one week would bother nothing.” Source; Bikya Masr

Read More........→June 20, 2012

The Palm Islands - Dubai's Eigth Wonder of the World

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The Palm Islands, also referred to as The Palm Dubai and The Palms, are the world's three largest man-made islands, which are being built on the coast of the emirate of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The project is being handled by Al Nakheel Properties (Nakheel Corporation), which will increase Dubai's shoreline by 120km (72 miles) and create a large number of residential, leisure, and entertainment areas. The idea was first announced in May 2002 and the two manmade freehold artificial palm tree-shaped resort islands are expected to maintain Dubai's position as a premium tourist destination. The Palm Islands has also been named 'The Eighth Wonder of the World'. The two Dubai islands, The Palm
Jumeirah and The Palm Jebel Ali, will be built in the shape of date palm trees and consist of a trunk; a crown with 17 fronds; and a surrounding crescent island - the back of which forms the breakwater. Collectively, the island will support more than 60 luxury hotels, 4,000 exclusive residential villas (sale), 1,000 unique water homes (sale), 5,000 shoreline apartments (sale), marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities, health spas, cinemas and various dive sites.ItsDevelopment  The project took four years of methodical planning and exhaustive feasibility studies in Dubai, ensuring that the islands would not disrupt the environment. The first stage of the development of The Palm Islands, includes the construction of the land foundations, which involves sand transfer and rock placement. Following this, the next stage will involve the building of infrastructure and services, as well as the 300 meter (990 feet) bridges linking the islands to the mainland. The final stage consists of the construction of homes, townhouses, and apartments.Source: MyClipta

Read More........→June 07, 2012