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Pet’s Corner...with Kathleen Murray: Animal Behavioural Therapist

with Kathleen Murray

Home & Away with Robert WalsheHome and Away Extra

BARCELÓ Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa, the fi ve-star lux-ury Asian inspired resort on the Costa Blanca, has intro-duced a new seven-day Thai experience break, providing the perfect combination of relaxation and wellbeing. The Thai Experience break costs from 1065 € per person (£995 per person). The break in-cludes seven nights’ bed and breakfast accommodation in a deluxe room, a VIP check-in with complimentary Thai tea, three Thai massage treat-ments of the guest’s choice at the Thai Spa, full use of the spa facilities including a heated indoor and outdoor pool, Turkish steam bath and outdoor Jacuzzi, a daily 90-minute yoga, meditation and Chi Kung session and compli-mentary Barceló Asia Gardens bath robe. Asia Gardens is a short distance from Alicante and its airport. www.barce-loasiagardens.com. Orient-Express has launched its 2010 trains and cruises brochure incorporating authentic new journeys. Crossing boarders and continents, the trains and cruises open up the heart of destinations from France, Laos, Thailand and Burma of-fering guests a truly unique travel experience. www.ori-ent-express.com

Robert Walshe is a free-l a n c e c o n -tributor / broad-caster and is guest t r a v e l w r i t e r for River M e d i a n e w s p a -per titles across the island of Ireland

DONEGAL’S only 5-star hotel Solis Lough Eske Cas-tle has been named the world’s top Luxury Coun-try Hotel at the industry’s most prestigious awards ceremony held in Bangkok, beating off competition from around the globe. The stunning hotel near Donegal town landed the coveted Luxury Country Hotel accolade at the World Luxury Hotel Awards last weekend, just two years after it opened its doors following meticulous restoration of the original 17th century castle. In the space of just 18 months the castle was transformed from a ruin into Donegal’s only Five Star hotel which is managed by Solis Ho-tels & Resorts. Solis Lough Eske Castle was among 200 hotels worldwide shortlisted before being se-lected outright winner in the Luxury Country Hotel category. It was also shortlisted for the Luxury Spa Hotel award and The Luxury Hotel award, which were won by hotels in Thailand and the Maldives.

www.solislougheske.com The Brunello Lounge & Restaurant, restaurant of the prestigious Re-gina Hotel Baglioni in Via Veneto, in Rome, has re-ceived the “International Certifi cate of Excellence “from the Gotha of Taste. The Gotha of Taste is an independent International committee reunit-ing since1999 unites more than 200 gastronomy journalists worldwide with the goal to connect journalists and experts from prestigious newspa-pers and televisions with facilities enhancing taste and genuine and traditional cuisine with a special attention to innovation while respecting interna-tional quality standards of excellence.

Holiday HotspotSingapore is remarkable in that it is one of the few

“city-states” left in the world remaining the smallest nation in South-eastern Asia. All visitors arrive at Singapore’s Changi Airport, an airport that is more like a resort destination than a typical airport. Be-sides the usual airport shopping and restaurants the airport has a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, free movies, plus several gardens including an outdoor sunfl ower garden. Over ten million people visit Sin-gapore each year to see such amazing sights as the famed Orchard Road, one of the most famous shop-ping districts in the world. Legalized gambling is also a huge draw and Singapore boasts some of the most luxurious casinos in Asia, like Marina South and Sentosa. Confronted with so many shopping opportunities, visitors often ignore Singapore’s cultural offerings. Visiting exhibitions complement the state-of-the-art permanent displays of Chinese, South Indian and Islamic heritage. Eating out in Sin-gapore is considered a national pastime. And for the serious foodie the city-state’s unrivalled, multicul-tural cuisine is truly the stuff of heaven. In fact great culinary experiences can still be had in restored shop houses found in Singapore’s cultural enclaves: Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Glam. Singa-pore’s light rail system is one of the most advanced in the world. The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) is the fastest and the best way to explore Singapore. Over 40 stations link the city and its suburbs. The MRT system terminates at Changi Airport, for easy ac-

cess to your fl ight. Standing at a stun-ning 165m, the Sin-gapore Flyer is the height of a 42-storey building – that’s some 30 metres taller than the famed Lon-don Eye making it the Worlds largest obser-vation wheel. As the wheel turns, you’ll be treated to a visual 360° feast of iconic and his-torical landmarks and views from the Marina Bay to the Singapore River, Raffl es Place, Merlion Park, Empress Place and the Padang. There is no other place in Singapore that offers these breathtaking, panoramic views. One of the big highlights for me was a trip on Flight Experi-ence which is similar to the fl ight simulators that airlines use to train their commercial pilots, and its 100% authentic replica cockpit delivers a total immersion virtual reality environment. The 180° wraparound visuals, high-fi delity sound and cooling systems, along with a slight seat vibration, all com-bine to fool your senses into believing you are actu-ally captaining a jet airliner and is a must do for any airline enthusiasts.. Singapore offers a wide variety of accommodation types to suit all budgets and preferences. They range from backpacker, budget and youth hostels to boutique and fi ve-star hotels. The Pan Pacifi c Singapore located in the heart of Marina Bay is the number one ranking Trip Advi-sor destination to stay in the city and having spent three days at the property I can understand why. The hotel is 20 minutes from the Singapore Expo and Changi Airport. It is also close to Singapore’s historic, cultural and entertainment areas, such as Chimes, the Boat Quay, Clarke Quay, Robertson Walk and the new Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay. The property is also connected to Millenia Walk and Suntec City shopping complexes. The attention and staff service impressed me greatly and many rooms enjoy tremendous views over nearby Ma-rina Bay. Pan Pacifi c together with Kempinski and The Doyle Collection are some of the high profi le members of Global Hotel Alliance delivering on the world’s most desirable, independent, upscale and luxury hotel brands under one umbrella. The best websites for information on Singapore include www.globalhotelalliance.com/panpacifi c www.visitsinga-pore.com and www.fl ightexperience.com.sg/

Weekly Best Buy.If you’re after a new kind of city break that is

worlds away from Europe, or a wild safari adven-ture on land or sea, South Africa provides plenty of choice. Abbey Travel offers packages to allow you to soak up the highlights of this beautiful country. Visit Cape Town, the Winelands, The Garden Route and enjoy a Safari Trip all in one fantastic holiday this coming Easter 2010. Departs March 27th - April

9th 14 Days from just €1895 includ-ing return fl ights & fl ight taxes, 9 nights in 4* ho-

tels on a B&B basis and 2 nights Safari on a full board basis and 6 days car hire. www.abbeytravel.ie Whatley Manor the privately owned 23 bedroom boutique hotel tucked away in the heart of the Wiltshire countryside has put together a choice of romantic proposals to spoil your loved one for Valentines weekend. Start with a unique gift of pre-senting your very own handmade chocolates to your loved one when you join a master class on Tuesday 8th February. You’ll have the opportunity to spend the day in the hotel’s kitchen learning the secrets of handmade chocolates from the hotel’s Michelin two-star chef Martin Burge before taking home all that you have made on the day includ-ing the recipes. The full day Master class costs £127 per person and includes the master class, an apron, recipes, buffet lunch with wine and refresh-ments throughout the day. Arriving on Friday, 12th February or Sunday 14th February this special two night stay costs from £698 per room based on two sharing a standard room for two nights, including champagne and chocolates. www.whatleymanor.com Irish Ferries has opened the door for 2010 bookings on their services to France and Britain with packages that include double-digit discounts and a number of attractive early booking offers. Under the title The French Revolution, they begin the year with a fare sale to France offering dis-counts of up to 28% refl ected in a lead fare from EUR99 one way for car and driver, inclusive of a reserved seat. To avail of this offer, bookings must be made at least 14 days in advance of travel and before 31st January next. www.irishferries.ie The stylish Hotel L’Avenida in Soller, Mallorca is opening for the months of January and February 2010 with a special self-catering winter sun escape package which is perfect for a group of friends, a corporate event or a large family gather-ing. Representing exceptional value whist providing luxurious and exclusive ac-commodation, a 7 night self-catering stay costs from only €200 (£180) per person, plus 7% room tax. L’Avenida was trans-formed three years ago from a private mansion into an exclusive townhouse hotel and during that time it has gained a reputation as one of the coolest hotels in Mallorca www.avenida-hotel.com

Please don’t let your dog killALREADY there have been killings. Serious damage has been caused to others. Sheep are big targets at this time and for the next few months es-pecially as they will be giving birth.

Dogs can smell this in the air miles away. This is the time of year to get excited if you’re a dog. Pups are born, lambs are born, lots of animals give birth in the spring. Nature works this way and it fi res up hunting instincts.

It is vitally important that these old wolf instincts (that will always be there) are controlled. They can-not be gotten rid of so they must be controlled.

You must control it by controlling your dog. Even if your dog has never looked at a sheep, that doesn’t mean

that it never will. You must know where your dog is at all times and it must do what you say straight away without question.

It should be home, in the house, in a run, in an enclosed yard or on the end of a lead… nowhere else. If a dog is free to do what it wants and go where it wants, it will be in trouble in no time.

This will not be its fault but it will probably pay the price. Dogs get poisoned. This is a horrible thing for anyone to do to a dog.

If you let your dog irritate people regularly and don’t do something about it then this is what the other person has done about it many times in the past.

It happens all the time. Its wrong but your dog is at risk of some form of cruelty if you don’t keep it on your property. Sheep pay a high price every year and every year dogs are loose running about. They all need to be protected.

Every year there are new dogs in the area, some with very irresponsible owners. Even if you are a responsible owner your dog can still cause trou-ble by accident e.g. if someone comes in and leaves a door open or doesn’t close a gate on the way out etc.

It’s a full time job making sure your dog does not cause trouble. Please take the job seriously as your dog’s life (and others) depends on you. 0863192247

with Robert Walshe

from just €1895 includ-ing return fl ights & fl ight taxes, 9 nights in 4* ho-

tels on a B&B basis and 2 nights Safari on a full

■ Robert on Flight Simulator Singapore

tels on a B&B basis and 2 nights Safari on a full

Robert on Flight Simulator Singapore

LivingLivingLivingHome and Away Extra

BARCELÓ& Thai Spa, the fi ve-star lux-ury Asian inspired resort on the Costa Blanca, has intro-duced a new seven-day Thai experience break, providing the perfect combination of

9th 14 Days from just €1895 includ-9th 14 Days from just €1895 includ-9th 14 Days

Living

■ Singapore Skyline at night.

LivingLivingLiving

Robert Walshe is a free-l a n c e c o n -tributor / broad-caster and is guest t r a v e l w r i t e r for River M e d i a n e w s p a -per titles across the island of Ireland

be made at least 14 days in advance of travel and www.irishferries.

The stylish Hotel L’Avenida in Soller, Mallorca is opening for the months of January and February 2010 with a special self-catering winter sun escape package which is perfect for a group of friends, a corporate event or a large family gather-

■ Pan Pacifi c Hotel Singapore.