BEST ROOFTOP HOTEL BARS IN EUROPE
If you've enjoyed the views from the rooftop bar in Dublin's Marker Hotel (above), then you should check out these fabulous top-floor bars:
The Roof, ME Reina Victoria, Madrid
The rooftop bar of this landmark hotel (as the Gran Victoria, it was the preferred layover of many a famous bullfighter) is considered one of the best bars in Spain – purple strip lighting and the contemporary décor barely a distraction from the superb views of the Spanish capital. Plaza Santa Ana 14; melia.com
Hotel de Rome, Berlin
In the summer months, drinks on the rooftop terrace bar of this 19th-century classic is a Berlin must: kick back on the divans amid the potted plants with a Hugo in hand (Prosecco, lime, elderflower syrup and mint) and enjoy the views and live music. Behrenstrasse 37; hotelderome.de
Hotel U Prince, Prague
You won't get better views of Prague's Old Town, including the castle, the Clock Tower and Powder Tower, than from the terrace bar of the fancy Hotel U Prince. It's open year-round (covered and heated in winter) and there's also a decent restaurant. Old Town Square 29;
hoteluprince.com
Westin Excelsior, Florence
The perfect panorama of Florence atop a converted 13th-century mansion at the edge of the Arno. Order a Vecchio Terrazzo (Ferrari Brut Perlé, Cointreau and Aperol) and take in the views of the rust-red rooftops, Ponte Vecchio and all those beautiful spires. Piazza Ognisanti 3; sestoonarno.com
Oblix Bar, London
The Oblix is not part of a hotel, nor is it at the top of the building, but it's included because the Shard – Renzo Piano's London masterpiece – is just amazing, as well as London's highest building. Take a lift to the 32nd floor; only halfway up, but still high enough to look down on the rest of the city. Oh, and the 202-room, 5-star Shangri-La will open here in 2014. 32 London Bridge St; the-shard.com
SIZE DOES MATTER
No, you're not imagining it: airline seats are getting smaller. From a standard 17 inches in the 1960s, seat width ballooned to a positively roomy 18 inches in the late-1990s but have since receded again to around 17 inches, with some airlines going for a waist-tightening 16 inches.
And it’s the airlines – not the manufacturers – that dictate seat proportions, including the all-important pitch that determines how much legroom you have. Studies have shown that even a one-inch difference can improve comfort and sleep quality on long-haul flights by up to 53 per cent; to this end, Airbus has launched a marketing campaign to make 18 inches standard for economy class seats.
For the record, both Aer Lingus and Ryanair seats are 17 inches wide, but Aer Lingus wins the pitch battle – its seats range from 31-32 inches, whereas Ryanair comes in at a tighter 30.
FIVE-STAR LOCKUP
The original headquarters of London’s Metropolitan Police is being redeveloped into a 235-room luxury hotel that will open its doors in June 2016.
The Grade II-listed building, at 3-5 Great Scotland Yard in Westminster, served as police headquarters from 1829 to 1890. The Galliard Group, headed by Cork-born Donagh O’Sullivan, has taken a 125-year lease on the building and will spend £100m on the conversion.
KENYA TAX HIKE
The good news for Kenya – one of Africa’s most popular safari destinations – is that the Westgate Mall atrocities did little to dampen tourist enthusiasm; cancellations barely reached 4 per cent in the aftermath of the tragedy.
But the government has announced a 16 per cent VAT on all tourism products including game drives and conservancy and park fees. This, in addition to $5 bed tax and $40 tax on tourist vehicles, threatens Kenyan competitiveness. Visitors, however, should only notice a 5-8 per cent increase in costs, as many camps have longstanding VAT of around 8 per cent.
IRISH WEB SUCCESS
Some good news for Tourism Ireland, whose website
[ ireland.comOpens in new window ]
has been ranked as one of the 20 best designed tourism websites in the world by US travel news website skift.com.
A fine compliment, but the really good news is in the numbers: in 2013, the website got 13 million visits – 21 per cent up on 2012; in terms of social media reach, Tourism Ireland has 1.2 million friends on Facebook (ranking it second worldwide among tourism organisations), 103,000 Twitter followers (3rd in ranking) and 10 million hits on Youtube, right at the top of the list.
