IMPERIAL
RIVER CRUISES is offering 20% commissions on bookings of
small groups of 10 or more on select departures in 2006.
Itineraries include cruises from Moscow to St Petersburg on the
Volga Prince, with departures in May and August; from St.
Petersburg to Moscow on the River Voyager II, departing from June
through September; and from Moscow to St Petersburg on the River
Voyager II in from June through September. Rates begin at $1,400
per person, double, including accommodations, meals, transfers and
sightseeing. For details, visit www.cruisebyriver.com or www.imperialtravel.net.
THE
RITZ-CARLTON HOTEL CO. assumed management of the 112-room
Villa Padierna on the Costa del Sol. The property features the
18-hole Flamingos Golf Club, past site of the European Seniors
Match Play Championship, with two more courses -- the Brijan Golf
Club and the Padierna Golf Club -- set to open in 2006 and 2007.
Other features include a thermal spa and a beach club. The hotel is
the second Ritz-Carlton-operated property in Spain, alongside the
Hotel Arts in Barcelona. A third, smaller hotel in the spa village
of Carratraca, about an hour from Malaga, is set to open in spring
2006. Ritz-Carlton also partners with Orient-Express Hotels to
operate the Hotel Ritz Madrid. For information, see www.hotelvillapadierna.com or www.ritzcarlton.com.
AUSTRIAN
AIRLINES is marking the debut of its Boeing 767 service
from New Yorks Kennedy airport to Vienna with inaugural rates of up
to 40% off business class fares to 25 cities in central and eastern
Europe. The service features 50% more business class seats than the
Airbus aircraft formerly used on the route. Sample roundtrip fares
from New York to Budapest, Hungary; Prague, Czech Republic; or
Warsaw, Poland; are $2,510, with a 14-day advance-purchase
requirement.
CONTINENTAL
JOURNEYS unveiled an eight-night tour to Romania, priced
at $799 per person, double. The itinerary focuses on Dracula sites
in Transylvania; the painted monasteries in Bucovina; the medieval
old towns of Sibiu, Sighisoara and Brasov, and the capital,
Bucharest. Ten departures are scheduled from May 19 to Sept. 15.
The rate includes accommodations; daily breakfasts, six lunches and
seven dinners; city tours; and sightseeing, as well as transfers,
hotel taxes and service charges and the services of an
English-speaking guide. To book, call (800) 601-4343 or visit www.continentaljourneys.com.
THE EGERTON
HOUSE hotel in London, recently acquired by Red Carnation
Hotels, is poised to complete an extensive renovation by the end of
May. The 29-room boutique property in the Knightsbridge section
will feature a new club bar and a revamped drawing room, as well as
renovated guest rooms furnished with a mix of antiques and
high-tech upgrades, such as wireless Internet access, flat-screen
TVs and iPod nanos. Hotel information can be found at www.egertonhousehotel.co.uk.