Accor Hotels and Resorts opened its first Pullman Hotel in Australia at Sydney Olympic Park. Pullman is Accor’s 5-Star brand that caters to the corporate events market. The 16-storey Pullman Sydney Olympic Park is 100% non-smoking and has 212 rooms and suites. Meeting facilities at the hotel include three conference rooms and a boardroom. The largest room accommodates 140 delegates theater style. Wireless Internet is available in all areas. Additional facilities include a fitness center and jogging track. Golf courses are located within a half hour drive from the hotel. The hotel’s Olympic Park location provides easy access to all of the park’s sports, concerts, and exhibition venues. Dining options include the Bacar Restaurant with international cuisine and the wine bar.

E-mail: E-mail: h6411@accor.com
Website: www.pullmanhotels.com

Tokyo’s Hotel New Otani, a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, is comprised of ‘The Main’ with 556 guest rooms and suites and the new ‘Executive House Zen’ with 87 rooms. The Main, which opened in 1964, has been entirely refurbished. The new Executive House Zen is located within The Main and combines the property’s high standards with environmental responsibility, the spirit of Zen and Japanese culture. Guest room décor features include natural materials such as bamboo, hemps, ‘washi’ paper and locally crafted ceramics. The floor to ceiling windows offer views of the property’s 400-year old Japanese garden.
The hotel offers 35 event rooms in 9,404 sqm /101,224 sqft of space, equipped with a state-of-the-art light control system, push-button control seating, stage, spacious reception area and optical high-speed Internet. Dining options include 37 restaurants and bars. Additional amenities include rose garden, art museum and swimming pool.

Website: www.newotanihotels.com/tokyo

The Grand Hyatt Melbourne is in the finishing stages of a $AUS 45 million redevelopment that includes new upper and lower lobbies, a restaurant, a bar and The Residence, a new meetings venue.

Hosting 547 guest rooms, the hotel also offers 16 meeting rooms with over 2,080 sqm /22,393 sqft of flexible space accommodating from 12 to 1,500 attendees.

The Residence, a private mansion concept for meetings with personalized service will be launched on 15 February 2009 when the hotel hosts AIME’s welcome cocktail reception for Hosted Buyers and press, along with the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau. The Residence provides four rooms of flexible space with natural light, a large courtyard, wine bar and chefs cooking food to order for attendees.

Email: melbourne.grand@hyatt.com
Website: www.melbourne.grand.hyatt.com        

The Hilton Sanya Resort and Spa received the prestigious 5-Star rating. The evaluation, which was administered by the China National Tourism Office’s Star Rating Committee, involved a formal assessment of the entire property. Following the inspection, the property was commended for its superior service, facilities and excellent operations of the hotel.
The Hilton Sanya Resort and Spa features 501 guest rooms, suites and villas overlooking the white sandy beach of the South China Sea. Event facilities are located in a separate two-story MICE Pavilion with 3,000 sqm / 32,292 sqft of flexible meeting space. Additional facilities include the Spa Retreat with fitness center and tea lounge, seven restaurants and bars, two tennis courts, the pool, and the Yalong Bay Adventure Club.

Email: sanya@hilton.com
Website: www.hiltonworldresorts.com

The two towers of the new Radisson Hotel Bangkok Sathorn, which opens at the end of the year, will feature 436 guest rooms and suites, including a selection of studio rooms, one-bedroom suites, two-bedroom suites and three-bedroom suites and Extended Stay suites. All guest rooms will have private balconies with views of either the city or the river. Event facilities will comprise the Grand Ballroom, which accommodates up to 300 delegates and two meeting rooms, which accommodate 50 delegates and 40 delegates respectively. The Ballroom’s pre-function space accommodates up to 240 attendees. Dining venues will include an all-day dining restaurant and a wine-bar and grill on the 37th floor. Facilities will include a spa, fitness center and outdoor pool.
The Radisson Hotel Bangkok Sathorn is located close to the Bangkok Skytrain and Metro and the soon to open Bus Rapid Transit station.

Website: www.radisson.com

Starting 1 December, Singapore Airlines and SilkAir will be operating up to 15 flights a day between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. SilkAir will commence twice daily flights between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur starting 26 October 2008 and Singapore Airlines will operate five daily flights. From 1 December, Singapore Airlines and SilkAir will operate four flights each. Together with Malaysia Airlines, the three carriers will offer up to 15 flights a day.
Customers will generally have access to all flights operated by the three airlines, as interchangeable tickets are available for travel on most fare types apart from some issued on restricted fares. Customers will have to note restrictions and conditions of the fare type they intend to purchase.

Websites:

Singapore Airlines: http://www.SingaporeAir.com
SilkAir: http://www.silkair.com
Malaysia Airlines: http://www.malaysiaairlines.com

Pacific Blue Airlines will launch service from Brisbane, Australia to the Solomon Islands (Honiara) starting 2 December 2008. The service will be twice weekly and the airline will fly direct between Brisbane and the Solomon Islands with connections available from Perth, Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra and Melbourne.
The airline is also adding three extra seasonal flights each week between Wellington and Brisbane commencing 1 December 2008 bringing the frequencies up to eight flights a week.
And last month, Pacific Blue launched non-stop service from Melbourne, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand.

Website: www.flypacificblue.com

Korean Air launched service from Incheon International Airport in Seoul to Tel Aviv, Israel. The new non-stop service operates thrice-weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Equipment used on the flight is a Boeing 747-400 Combi aircraft, seating 280 passengers in a two-class configuration (Prestige and Economy). Flight KE957 departs Seoul at 4:45pm to arrive at Tel Aviv at 10:15pm the same day. The return flight KE958 leaves Tel Aviv at 11:55pm and will arrive in Seoul at 4:15pm the next day.
The last time Korean Air operated flights to Tel Aviv was from November 1995 to February 1998.

Website: www.koreanair.com