Trends: Singita Family Suites, Club Med Diets

By Adam Kirby, Associate Editor -- HOTELS Magazine, 11/1/2007

Singita Designs Suites For FAMILY TRAVEL

 Singita, the luxury African game lodge operator, has opened a foursome of family suites, two each at its exclusive Boulders and Ebony lodges in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve in South Africa. Featuring the same basic design as the other suites at the two lodges, the family suites are connected by common dining and lounge areas, offering exclusivity to groups of four to six people traveling together.

Families with children over the age of 10 booking family suites have the option of requesting a private chef, guide, safari vehicle, host and even baby-sitting services for an additional charge. “Family travel is a trend that we have picked up recently,” says Mark Witney, Singita’s chief operating officer. “Being in a game reserve, kids are not completely comfortable sleeping in a completely separate unit from their parents.”

The average rate for a family suite is about US$1300 per person per night; kids cost 50% less. The minimum age for admission is 6.

Because the second bedrooms in Singita’s family suites are considerably smaller than the master bedrooms, the accommodations are not often used by sets of adults, as “somebody is going to get the short straw,” as Witney puts it.

Club Med Helps Guests LOSE WEIGHT

Starting with its Columbus Isle resort in the Bahamas, Club Med is rolling out an initiative to help boost the health and slim the waistlines of its guests. The Club Med Diet Program is open to all guests, but notably is targeted at American travelers.

Guests enrolled in the program wear a special wristband identifying them to staff and other participants. They also receive training kits with pedometers, a map showing jogging trails, a recommended activity list, a meal diary and a chefprepared healthy eating guide. To maintain newfound dietary habits, the eating guide includes healthy recipes for use at home.

"It has always been at Club Med that you are very active and eating fairly healthy," says Kate Moeller, public relations manager, "so this is a matter of packaging that and providing some tools to help guests do it better."

If the Columbus Isle program proves successful, Club Med likely will expand the program to other properties frequented by Americans, namely its Sandpiper, Cancun and Ixtapa resorts.

Hotel Murano Doubles As Art Gallery

Hotel Murano, opening in Tacoma, Washington in March, has gathered glass pieces from more than 40 international glass artists, including the renowned Dale Chihuly, to outfi t both public areas and guestrooms. The idea is to make a casual walk through the hotel into an artful journey that will educate and inspire guests.

The journey begins with the hotel's entrance, where Costas Varotsos has designed a large-scale masterpiece conveying a visual relationship to the horizon and the interior, where art is deeply integrated into function and design. Inside, on each guestroom fl oor, travelers will be greeted with the story of a highlighted glass artist as well as his/her creation. In addition, hand-blown bedside lamps both lighten and liven up the rooms.

Finally, to fully capture the artful intent of the property, the hotel will publish and offer a book telling the individual stories of each artist featured.