Magic descends on the Austria Trend Eventhotel Pyramide in Pösendorf, Vienna this coming December and January, as a spectacular dinner show comes to town. The stage of the Pyramide Event Center will be the venue for spectacular acrobatics and mouthwatering cuisine, combining to create a wonderful, original evening. The display will feature a breath-taking blend of athleticism and acrobatics, with signature Cirque du Soleil acts, set to inspirational music and captivating images. Bernie Rieder, the celebrated chef, will be providing the delicious cuisine for the event.

Performances last about 3 hours, including a four-course meal, and are scheduled for every evening of December 2009 and January 2010, and group bookings are welcome. For reservations or more information please contact
Email: tickets@cirquealacarte.at or call phone +43 664 6258 131

Solaris, a new entertainment and lifestyle center opened on 9 October in Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn. The new Nokia Concert Hall, located within the Solaris Center, is a conference venue as well as an entertainment venue. The Hall seats 1,830 delegates and provides video and sound systems, a 20x10m large screen and on the balcony there are up to six interpreter booths. The Concert Hall also offers 12 additional meeting rooms, three in classroom style and nine in theater style.  The Hall’s lobby area is suitable for receptions with catering and bar facilities. A VIP lounge and extra exhibition facilities are located next to the main entrance.

The European Film Academy Awards 2010 is the first red carpet international event to be booked by the Nokia Concert Hall.

Website: www.solaris.ee
Estonia Convention Bureau: www.ecb.ee

The Westin Grand Munich Arabellapark is the place to go for large events, offering 21 meeting rooms and the largest ballroom in Munich. The ballroom measures 1,200 sqm/12,917 sqft and accommodates up to 1,250 attendees. It is fitted with an integrated stage, the latest technology, several balconies, a large foyer area and its own separate street entrance. The hotel has a new Arabella Spa, one of the largest in Munich.

The hotel’s 627 guestrooms and 28 suites overlook the rooftops of Munich and out to the beautiful Bavarian Alps. Together with its sister property, the Sheraton Munich Arabellapark Hotel, conveniently located across the street, the 2-hotel complex offers 40 meeting rooms and a total of 1,101 guestrooms and suites.

Website: www.starwoodhotels.com

Moscow’s Hotel National is now part of Starwood’s Luxury Collection. The iconic, 206 guestroom property built in 1903, is known for its onion domes. The hotel is located directly opposite the Kremlin and a few minutes walk from St. Basil’s Cathedral, Red Square and the Bolshoi Theatre. Presently, this grand dame of a hotel is receiving a phased renovation that will add new spa and fitness facilities, underground parking and two Presidential Suites. All the guestrooms and public spaces have already been upgraded. A new courtyard restaurant will be added in addition to a redesign of the hotel’s renowned Alexandrovsky bar and Moskovski restaurant. Full restoration of Hotel National is scheduled for completion by the end of 2012.  The meeting space at the Hotel National accommodates from 18 - 170 attendees in 15 private, individually decorated function rooms and halls. 
E-mail: hotel@national.ru
www.luxurycollection.com/national

EIBTM and RTE (Reed Travel Exhibitions) are creating a new discipline for meetings called the Meeting Architecture Manifesto. The discipline focuses on content, design and format rather than hospitality and logistics. And for the past year, RTE has liaised with a global group of meeting professionals and Maarten Vanneste, CEO Abbit Meeting Support, to design this new vision. The Manifesto calls for the establishment of the Meeting Architecture 2011 project to plan for the longer-term development and implementation of this new meeting management model. And Meetings Architecture will be discussed as part of the professional education program at EIBTM, which takes place 1-3 December, Fira Gran Via, Barcelona.

To view the Manifesto and get involved in the development of this project, go to http://www.meetingarchitecture.org. To register for EIBTM, go to the show’s website.

Website: http://www.eibtm.com

The Gran Melia Resort Salinas is located in the north of Lanzarote Island in the Spanish Canary Islands. The resort was designed in an open-air plan making for some great outdoor event space. All 272 guestrooms have ocean views, including the 28 new one bedroom Master Suites that each have a separate living room and en-suite Jacuzzi.
The Gran Melia Resort Salinas Convention Center has over 1,997 sqm/21,500 sqft of special event space. It comprises five meeting rooms and banquet halls, all with natural daylight, that accommodate from 10 - 400 attendees. The Center has its own separate entrance and overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. It also includes a business center and indoor gardens. Additional facilities include four à la carte restaurants and one buffet-style restaurant, outdoor heated swimming pools, Beauty and Wellness Center, three tennis courts and more.
E-mail: gran.melia.salinas@solmelia.com
Website: www.gran-melia-salinas.com

The 5-Star Sofitel Amsterdam The Grand added 53 brand new suites to its total inventory of 178 guestrooms during the renovation that took place earlier this year. The celebrated property was once a monastery and dates back to the 15th Century. For a time, it was Amsterdam’s City Hall and after a major restoration and renovation in 1992, the building became a 5-Star hotel. 
For meetings and events, The Grand offers 19 fully equipped event rooms, some of which are listed as historical monuments. The rooms accommodate from 12 attendees in the boardroom to 220 attendees in the Council Chambers. For dining, the hotel’s restaurant offers French cuisine with a mix of international and fusion dishes. A new spa is being built now and will be unveiled in spring 2010.
Website: www.sofitel.com

The newly opened Grand Hyatt Doha is located in Doha’s West Bay Lagoon district on a private beach. The property exudes the feel of being in an Arabian palace with grand entryways and public spaces. The lobby features an oversized atrium and a floor to ceiling glass window that is 55 ft/16.5m tall.  The majority of the 249 guestrooms and suites and 91 private residences have balconies overlooking the Persian Gulf.

The hotel’s conference center is comprised of two floors with over 2,200 sqm/23,000 sqft of function space. The ballroom, divisible into three sections, is 1,500 sqm/16,000 sqft and there are eight meeting rooms and three boardrooms.  Dining options at the hotel include a choice of six restaurants and bars.  For health and recreation, there are three outdoor swimming pools and one indoor swimming pool, a fitness center, an Arabian-inspired day spa, a Hyatt Pure spa and a 400m/120 ft private beach.

Email: doha.grand@hyatt.com
Presentation on www.i-mi.com
Website: http://doha.grand.hyatt.com

The Rezidor Hotel Group just opened the Radisson Blu Resort & Thalasso, Monastir in Tunisia, Northern Africa. The newly re-branded, beachfront resort will open spring 2010 and offer 260 guestrooms, including 14 junior suites, 6 senior suites, 2 Presidential suites and 20 Spa suites in the Thalassotherapy Center. All guestrooms have private balconies or terraces and all rooms are equipped with free high-speed Internet access.

For events, the hotel offers three meeting rooms, a ballroom and a business center.  The garden area is available for functions and marquees can be erected.  A dedicated events coordinator is onsite. For dining there is a choice between three restaurants with the Chef’s Market buffet restaurant serving Italian, Asian and Tunisian cuisines.

Website: www.radissonblu.com/resort-monastir