Argophilia

Αργοφιλία: For the love of the journey.

“Hope and Heroes”- the 40th Istanbul Music Festival

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Coming soon, the Istanbul Music Festival celebrates its 40th anniversary from May 31st until June 29. The first festival of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV), the event has seen some 3000 plus performances over the last 4 decades, and this year’s festivities promise a memorable event for those in attendance. This year’s theme is “Hope and Heroes.”

Indian Ocean Tsunami Watch

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A tsunami watch has gone into effect for the entire Indian Ocean after a massive magnitude 8.7 earthquake occurred 270 miles Southwest of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued the tsunami warning at 0845 local time, with predicted landing times for various regions should a tsunami occur.

Should Google Buy Travelzoo?

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What could Google do with Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO)? This is the question some insiders may be asking if reports of the beleaguered travel deal company’s sale ring true. Having had shared plummet over 70 percent since last year, Travelzoo would seem ripe for the picking, but just who’s plucking online booking portals these days? Reuters has it the company is seeking advisers on a potential sell.

Bulgaria Tourism 2012: Government Focus

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Ivo Marinov, Deputy Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism for Bulgaria, predicts 2012 will see a 5 to 6 percent increase in tourism to his country. Marinov was on hand Monday for the signing of contracts totaling over 20 million Lev slated to increase the country’s travel industry.

Maribor 2012 Presents Homage to Stravinsky

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Coming this Friday to Maribor, Art Director of SNG Maribor Ballet, Edward Clug, will stage Hommage a’ Stravinsky, a modern ballet creation. To celebrate the 130th anniversary of the great composer’s birthday, the Maribor Slovenian National Theater will host this synthesis of the Stravinsky ballets Petrushka and The Rite of Spring.

Argo Exclusive: A Peek at Hotel Félicien

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Planning a visit to Paris this year. Well, a new hotel from the people who envisioned Hotel Seven, Hotel Crayon, designer boutiques hoteliers Elegancia Hotels will unveil Félicien this coming November. This latest thematic fashion stay in Paris arises once again from the imagination of entrepreneur Philippe Vaurs, and the added creative genius of one Olivier Lapidus, one of the world’s great clothing designers. Argophilia Travel News offers a sneak peek at a fantastic Paris stay.

Accor Hotels’ First MGallery in Downtown Doha

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Accor Group, the world’s leading hotel operator with some 4400 plus hotels in 90 countries, has just announced a deal with Qatar’s Msheireb Hospitality for operating the Msheireb Downtown Doha project., an Accor Hotels MGallery hotel in the city’s prime business district. This luxury boutique offering expands upon traditional Qatari hospitality with a truly original thematic scheduled to open in 2015.

Hotel Berati Joins Argophilia Albania

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In a bit of our own company news, Argophilia Travel Albania has signed on another business this week. Our semi-behind the scenes distribution channel dedicated to Eastern Europe, the telling about people and places not so many ever took the time or energy to, is working, slowly, but surely.

Great Hotels: Entre Cielos Argentina

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One of the great things about travel, on the ground and on the web, is discovering fantastic new places, experiences, and people. When all is said and done, human beings are discoverers. Well, the other day we discovered a little bit of wonderment all the way down there in Argentina, Hotel Entre Cielos in Mendoza. […]

Hôtel des Académies et des Arts: Paris Art-form

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Our recent excursion to Paris enlightened us about quite a few Parisian attractions, hidden secrets, legendary and lesser known wonders within the confines of the place the ancient Parisii settled and worked. Our own enlightenment, mirroring an historic one, embodied in the nickname of this place on the Sein, La Ville-Lumière. The City of Light, is in fact an ongoing work of art, a living canvas painted familiar and anew each day. Like children, this is the way to discover Paris.

Sofia INTRO!FESTIVAL 2012 – Days Away

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In 44 days the very first Sofia INTRO!FESTIVAL kicks off May 10 to May 12. To begin the Bulgarian season of entertainment, music, and fun this year, organizers have put on this new music fest at the Sofia Airport, with a big focus on bands.

Hotel Seven: “Paris As You’ll Like It”

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Given your choices for a romantic getaway to Paris, what hotel would you spend a weekend or a week with? The Hilton, the Ritz Paris perhaps, the Westin Paris, or maybe Hotel de Crillon? Possibly, but remember I asked about a romantic getaway.

Hotel Spotlight: Azimut Hotels Novosibirsk

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Travelers researching a trip to the Russian Federation will, undoubtedly, feel directed toward Moscow and St. Petersburg, the country’s most visited destinations. It’s a little bit funny, a country nearly as big as Canada and China combined, is so virtually unknown as to be famous for two places only.

21st Century Adventurer Andrew Evans Sails Cape to Cape

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For those seeking adventure, or at least seeking to read about adventurers, here’s a bit from National Geographic Traveler’s own Andrew Evans. According to the news, Evans is testing his Digital Nomad reputation by navigating the vastness of the Atlantic between South America’s Cape Horn and Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.

WIHP Convert Reveals Value to Guests & Hoteliers

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Have you ever Google’d before going on a trip, only to run across one crappy website after another in search of a hotel? Face it, despite all the technology advances, the mobile breakthroughs enabling us like never before, hotel websites still suck. WIHP aims to change all that.

Hospitality Spotlight: La Mamounia in Marrakech

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Is there a more exotic destination than Marrakech? The “Ochre City” was once capital of the vast Almoravid Dynasty, which spread across the Northwestern Sahara and half of Spain. Today visitors to this mystic city of sultans may best experience what being royal in Morocco means staying at one of the world’s great hotels, La Mamounia.

London’s Sheraton Park Tower – Starwood Digital Superstar

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There are a lot of hotels engaged in social media, and presenting their wares online. Hilton to the smallest Mom & Pop cabins on the remotest river, everyone wants in on the digital superhighway. Today, a lone tweet sent me reeling back toward an old friend from childhood, Sheraton and Starwood Hotel’s fine Kightsbridge luxury hotel, the Sheraton Park Towers.

5 Luxury & Lifestyle Sites to Live for

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Surfing the web is a pass time for some, a job for others, but a necessity for finding anything good on the web. No matter what service one signs up for, which social network they cotton to, without Googling for some excellence or even relevance, a lot is missed. Argo Travel News tries to bring some surfing gems to you periodically. So here are some luxury sites you may not have skimmed across yet.