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20 Years Later, Bali's Amandari Resort Still Doesn't Have TVs But There is WiFi

Where: Ubud, Indonesia

Time to wish the luxurious Amandari resort on the tropical paradise of Bali a very happy 20th anniversary! There are a bunch of special events happening during October to celebrate the anniversary, including a photo exhibition, some joint events with the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, screenings of old films on Balinese culture and some special meals on the actual anniversary weekend, 21-23 October.

A recent visitor to Amandara asked a very sensible question: is it still luxurious twenty years on? The resort was closed for three months earlier this year, but the changes were not all that extensive – even the décor, after some discussion, remained the same, because they wanted to continue the links to the traditional culture there.

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Tags: Hotel Contests / Asia Hotels / Sheraton Hotels / China Hotels / → All Tags

Sheraton Hotels' Contest Rewards 'Asia's Top Workaholics'

While Australians are combing the globe for who best can fetch the mail out on a lonely Great Barrier Reef island, Sheraton Hotels has already awarded two women for doing way more than fetching the mail, indeed for being the biggest workaholics in the Asia Pacific region.

In a contest similar to the Great Barrier Reef job, avid office drones were encouraged to submit essays describing their lives devoid of vacations and family quality time. The two winners, Rachel Zhang Yi of China and Tee Yan Ven of Malaysia, both garnered a massive percentage of votes by turning their entries into something of mini-blogs, documenting their daily schedules and stresses. Yan Ven especially sounds desperate for some time off, saying: "my work takes up 90% of my time, and while I really enjoy what I do, this competition has given me a reason to reward myself and remind myself of balancing my work and social life."

Although their prizes don't include months off to live in the middle of nowhere, they will at least be treated to a pampering vacation with three other family members or friends at a Sheraton resort of their choice. We're rooting for Fiji or the Maldives!

[Photo: Sheraton Asia]

Tags: Hotel Deals / Accor Hotels / Novotel Hotels / Mercure Hotels / Ibis Hotels / All Seasons Hotels / Asia Hotels / Australia Hotels / → All Tags

Accor Tempting Us With Three-Day Sale in Oz, Kiwiland and Asia

Accor Hotels in the Asia Pacific are getting ready for a three-day sale--they say there'll be a million rooms in 250 hotels up for grabs at rates discounted by more than 75%. The sale runs from February 24 to 26 and is for stays between April and July.

This region includes Australia, New Zealand and Asia, and includes a bunch of hotel chains that are all branded to Accor: Novotel, Mercure, Ibis and All Seasons are among them.

Right now at the super sale website all you can see is a tantalizing "Coming soon", but we'll be there early on February 24. We're after an Adelaide hotel room in May and we'll let you know what kind of bargain we snag.

[Photo: Wikimedia]

Tags: Malaysia Hotels / Asia Hotels / Casino Hotels / → All Tags

Malaysia's First World Hotel is First in Sheer Size

Where: Selangor Pahang Border, Genting, Malaysia, 69000

Who doesn't love superlatives? We're crazy for knowing what's the most expensive, tallest and most haunted of hotels, but the simple title of largest hotel goes to the First World in the highlands of Malaysia. As the star attraction of the region known as Malaysia'a answer to Las Vegas, the First World boasts a staggering 6,118 rooms, having surpassed the MGM Grand's measly 5,690 in 2006 for an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records.

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