JP/18/BRIEF

JP/18/BRIEF

Accor thanks partners with cruise

DENPASAR: Accor Hotel & Resort in Bali and Lombok is showing its gratitude to 50 partner travel agencies with an elegant cruise extravaganza featuring dinner on Lembongan island.

Participants will depart from Benoa harbor for Lembongan island, where they will enjoy a special cocktail dinner and a spectacular fireworks show. A nautical theme will add sparkle to the night, with Accor team members decked out in sailor outfits and other seafaring accessories.

Accor regional general manager for Bali and Lombok, Michel Vivier, said: "Key travel agent relationships have never been more important than they are today, and Accor is committed to thanking them for their valuable contributions to the success of out growing hotel network in Bali and Lombok.

"In July, Accor will open the All Season Legian -- our sixth hotel in the Bali-Lombok region -- and the continued expansion of our hotel network in diverse brand offerings is very exciting for us and the travel agent community.

"Bali has returned to its former popularity with strong business growth after 12 challenging months. Accor is delighted to take this opportunity to thank travel agents for their support and encourage them to send more clients to our hotels."

Accor Indonesia's fast expanding network around the country is expected to grow to 40 hotels by the end of 2005. --JP

Ubud Hanging Gardens to open on July 1

DENPASAR: Niche hotel owner and operator Pansea Orient-Express Hotels announced the imminent opening of its latest resort property, the Ubud Hanging Gardens in Bali. The property will open on July 1 this year.

Surrounded by ancient trees and gravity-defying terraced gardens, this extraordinary haven nestles on a hillside overlooking the Ayung River gorge, and truly deserves its unusual name.

Perched adjacent to steep rice terraces looking out to a temple (Pura Penataran Dalem Segara) on the opposite hill, the breathtaking property's 38 villas are all constructed in contemporary Balinese style with thatched alang-alang roofs.

The villas are set high on wooden pillars with king-sized four-poster beds, indoor baths, outdoor showers and dramatic individual plunge pools.

The garden, conceived by the landscape architect William Warren (author of Balinese Garden, Thames & Hudson), together with John Pettigrew (another devotee of botanical gardens who created the garden at the Begawan Giri), is truly unique.

Nature becomes a spectacle here, with exotic trees and essences of the tropics -- cocoa, coffee, fruit trees, durian, rambutan, lychees, a variety of tropical bamboos, flame trees, bird of paradise flowers and orchids.

The Anglo-French architect Gordon Shaw respected the group's desire to protect the environment and utilized only local materials: alang-alang as roofing, local Batu Jaember wood, Java stone in the pools, batiks, cottons and Palimanan mural stone. --JP