Hotels & Resorts Escape package WANT a weekend vacation without leaving Cairo? In Ramses Hilton Hotel, in the heart of Cairo, you can enjoy the weekend Great Escape package for LE295 per person in a double room overlooking the Nile on a bed-and-breakfast basis including service and taxes. The offer also includes two cinema tickets, free parking for one vehicle, and a 10 per cent discount in shops in Ramses Hilton Galleria. Starwood awards READERS of Business Traveller's Middle East magazine nominated Sheraton for 12 awards, including Best Business Hotel, and voted Starwood Preferred Guest as Best Hotel Loyalty Programme during the magazine's annual award ceremony held in Dubai on the eve of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) on 2 May. Business travellers voted Sheraton Kuwait Best Business Hotel in Kuwait and runner-up for Best Business Hotel in the Middle East. Nominations also went to Sheraton Doha, Sheraton Cairo and Sheraton Jeddah as Best Business Hotels in their respective cities. The awards, voted for by readers of Business Traveller's Middle East magazine, recognise excellence in travel in the region, and are celebrated annually during the ATM. Eat away SHERATON Luxor Resort has been chosen by Qatar Airways to prepare 170 meals daily for all flights between Luxor and Doha. In addition to its location -- on the banks of the Nile -- the hotel also accommodates the Qatar Airways crew who can enjoy their stay helped by the distinguished services offered by the hotel staff. Heliopolis exhibit TO CELEBRATE the centenary of the establishment of Heliopolis, InterContinental Heliopolis Hotel has chosen the series Ayam Masriya (Egyptian Days) to publish a special edition on the Cairo suburb. The edition includes rare photos of Heliopolis and its founder Baron Empain as well as stories by renowned writers. The hotel has bought 1,500 copies to be distributed in its rooms. The hotel also requested Ayam Masriya to hold a two-week photo exhibition on Heliopolis which Cairo Governor Abdel- Azim Wazeer inaugurated on 17 May. It will be opened to the public until the end of the month. New Le Meridien contracts LE MERIDIEN Hotels and Resorts group plans to open a huge hotel project in the new Terminal Three at Cairo International Airport. Le Meridien and the Airhotel Company for Hotels and Tourism are currently poised to sign a joint management contract which will set the project in motion. Le Meridien owns and manages hotels and resorts around the world and Airhotel is a joint venture between the Civil Aviation Authorities and EFG Real Estate Investment. The latter's main purpose is the construction of hotels, hospitals and health centres with a capital of $100 million. The first fruit of Le Meridien-Airhotel cooperation will be two five-star hotels located on the premises of Cairo Airport's new Terminal Three, and managed by Le Meridien. With the completion of Cairo's new terminal set for February 2007, the hotel will open its doors to guests by 2008. Moreover, Le Meridien Hotels and Resorts is about to sign contracts involved with downtown Cairo, Aswan and Sharm El-Sheikh. Sheraton Miramar awards SHERATON Miramar Resort, on the Red Sea, has received, for the second consecutive year, the MENA Travel Award for 2005 as Best Environmental Five-Star Hotel. The accolade came in recognition of the hotel's achievements in environmental stewardship to promote environmental sustainability and apply environmental management standards. "Our commitment over the past few years to applying environmental management schemes has helped us improve efficiency, reduce costs and sustain our environment." Alexander Bieber, GM of Sheraton Miramar Resort said. In the air Emirates for Alexandria EMIRATES has launched flight services to the Mediterranean city of Alexandria this month. The city will be the airline's 79th destination on its rapidly expanding network and the second gateway in Egypt after Cairo, located 150km away. From 15 May, Emirates started flying daily to Alexandria's Borg Al-Arab Airport. Emirates has carefully scheduled services to enable tourists and business executives from the UAE and the rest of the GCC to connect quickly to Egypt, slashing transit times significantly. Alexandria also serves as a convenient, alternative route into this mystical land of the Pharaohs. "Alexandria has been on our route radar for sometime now and I am delighted to announce the launch of our services to the city," Sheikh Ahmed Bin Said Al-Maktoum, Emirates' chairman, said. "It is an ideal partnership between two cities that have enjoyed traditional trade ties since ancient times. Free flights to London FREE British Airways flights to London for passengers travelling from Egypt are being offered by a BA Miles promotion. For every completed journey to London or beyond from Cairo, in any cabin, customers are eligible for a BA Miles reward flight to London in the same cabin. This means, for example, that a customer travelling in First from Cairo to London and back will earn 120,000 Bonus BA Miles, the equivalent to a First reward ticket to London. To qualify, the outbound journey must be completed by 31 May and return by 30 June 2005. The offer is open to all members of the British Airways popular frequent flyer programme, Executive Club, who are based in Egypt. Becoming a member is easy -- enroll online at ba.com/execclub. British Airways offers daily morning flights between Cairo Airport and London Heathrow. The service offers First, Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller cabins. News Port Ghalib in Dubai THE EGYPTIAN resort Port Ghalib has been presenting itself as the first integrated resort community in Egypt's southern Red Sea. The presentations have been made in Dubai at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference and the Arabian Travel Market (ATM). Speaking at the hotel investment conference focus panel on Egypt, James Pringle, senior counselor for the M A Kharafi Group -- the master developer of $1.2 billion Port Ghalib -- debated the viability of Egyptian projects and industry trends with other senior Egypt-based executives from the tourism industry. "Port Ghalib holds a number of investment opportunities, from participatory opportunities with the main developers in core project components, to land purchases for secondary developers of resort hotels and residential communities, as well as investments in service businesses and retail and entertainment businesses," Pringle said. Port Ghalib, Egypt -- the spirit of the coral coast -- will be a live model integrated community setting it apart from other resorts in the region. It is located along the southern Red Sea Coast of Egypt, stretching over 18 kilometres of virgin coastline. With its diverse cultural, historical, and natural influences the resort will attract family holidaymakers, yachtsmen, marine sports enthusiasts, business travellers, eco-tourists and adventures. It will comprise nine villages, featuring 23 hotels, an international marina and yacht club, conference centre, golf course, luxury residential properties, retail and commercial outlets, and entertainment facilities.
