http://www.hotelchatter.com/ Hotel Reviews, Hotel Ratings, Hotel Openings en-us Copyright 2008 - SFO Media 2009-11-25T15:44:37Z HotelChatter HotelChatter http://www.hotelchatter.com/images/hcwhite.jpg http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Island%20Resorts http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/10/20/134045/16 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/32083/fregate.jpg" class="top"><p> Sometimes, that old adage, "Can't see the forest for the trees in the way" can take on a positive connotation. We've made puns about hotels taking the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/9/30/133516/100/hotels/Hotels_Keep_Gettting_Greener_The_Westin_Riverfront_Takes_the_LEED">LEED</a> and recently reported on Kimpton's initiative to <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/10/7/12415/7233/hotels/Kimpton_s_Giving_Tree_Campaign_Not_Shel_Silverstein_Related">plant a billion trees</a> in Brazil, and in the same spirit, Seychelles' <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Fregate+Island+Private/ian/237197"><b>Fregate Island Private Resort</b></a> is marking a significant ecological milestone: <b>They recently planted the 100,000th tree in their endemic hardwood program.</b> <p>The program is part of Fregate's efforts to become <b>carbon neutral</b>, which in broad terms refers to achieving <b>zero carbon emissions</b>. Hoping to replenish what was destroyed when Seychelles was colonized&#151;namely local forestation that was replaced by coconut trees&#151;Fregate sought to bring back natural flora and Heidi Atwal 2009-10-20T14:43:40-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/6/27/21411/0071 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/QUALIASHOT1.jpg" class="top"><p> <p>The idyllic Hamilton Island resort off the Queensland coast Down Under, <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Qualia/ian/261614"><b>qualia</b></a>, is ramping up the Aussie factor. Of course, it's been Aussie all along, but they're now cashing in on it with a bunch of Australian-themed spa packages at the <b>Spa qualia</b>.<p>Since spa treatments are really a pretty new thing to Australia, none of the offerings are truly Australian in any way, but at least some of them sound authentically Aussie. For example, there's the <b>It's A Man's World</b> spa menu which, they say, is "inspired by the Australian man, particularly the type who is likely to spend time sailing or playing golf" &#150; you can get some "individual guy time" and a steam scrub amandak 2009-06-27T02:14:11-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/5/15/83113/1956 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/Tangalooma_Resort.jpg" class="top"><p> <p>Some say an ex-whaling station is a <a href="http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=48&ContentID=141824">strange place to build a resort</a> &#151; but we have a feeling that it's a great place for the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Tangalooma+Island+Resort/ian/274751"><b>Tangalooma Island Resort</b></a> off the coast near Brisbane in <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/browse/Australia%20And%20South%20Pacific/au/QL">Queensland</a>, Australia.<p>Ironically, Tangalooma used to be the biggest whaling station in the southern hemisphere, but now it's all about being nice to big fish (and mammals). For example, there's a pod of dolphins who seem to call Tangalooma home now, routinely comin' around to be fed and have even brought gifts of eels to their feeders.<p>But if dolphins aren't your creature of choice, you can also go jet skiing to check out some turtles and dugongs, or snorkel around amandak 2009-05-15T09:54:21-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/1/19/231649/517 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/Cacao_Pearl_Island.jpg" class="top"><p> <p>Here are two words we don't usually read in the same sentence: "non-profit" and "luxury". It's a curious idea but that's the idea behind a new eco-resort in the Philippines. We're already <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2007/2/28/115546/143/hotels/Searching_For_The_Perfect_Overwater_Bungalow_The_Philippines_Shows_Tender_Love">quite enamored</a> with the <b>Palawan</b> region of the Philippines so the planned <b>Cacao Pearl</b> enticed us just from the location--but we're confused about the non-profit luxury idea.<p>The Cacao Pearl will include 60 residences on a private island--think thick rainforest, coconut palms and white beaches--and they're promising both sustainable development and "sustainable enjoyment". Their target market is what they call the "grown-up backpacker", presumably ones who've saved a bit of cash, because you'll be able to buy one of these residences and then either rent amandak 2009-01-20T12:54:44-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/1/8/7237/65318 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/Qualia_Bedroom.jpg" class="top"><p> <p>The luxury <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Qualia/local/742"><b>qualia</b></a> resort on Australia's Hamilton Island is not afraid to bring attention to its birthdays. A while back they reported in on the success of their <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/4/18/7477/44830/hotels/Happy_Half_Birthday_to_Hamilton_Island_s_Qualia">first six months</a> and recently they started distributing press releases wishing themselves a happy first birthday.<p>But as far as new kids on the resort block go, qualia--and yes, that's qualia with a small Q, because the lowercasing shows "the relaxed, understated nature of the property"--must have reasonably proud parents. In the second half of qualia's first year of life, a few cracks have been showing on this resort that we used to think was perfect.<p>More recent <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g255085-d736746-Reviews-Qualia-Hamilton_Island_Whitsunday_Islands_Great_Barrier_Reef_Queensland.html">TripAdvisor</a> comments point to plenty of lapses in service quality, amandak 2009-01-08T09:45:44-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/