Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve

As the world’s first Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Phulay Bay embodies the attributes, philosophy and unique style and design of the Reserve brand extension. It has been designed for those who seek to escape the stresses of everyday life and immerse themselves into a completely bespoke and personally-tailored-to-suit vacation experience.

Set on the shores of the Andaman Sea, Phulay Bay is a striking 54-villa and pavilion boutique hotel offering unspoilt views of the naturally rugged shoreline and dramatic limestone karsts which make up this beautiful part of southern Thailand.

The resort is the vision and work of in-demand Thai architect Lek Bunnag, and is an awe-inspiring combination of modern styling and architecture; grand and oversized in scale with distinctive accents from not only Thai, but Middle Eastern and Moroccan cultures. Bunnag takes inspiration from beautiful things from around the world to create an environment where the senses are continuously triggered and enlivened from the moment guests enter the resort driveway to the moment they leave.

An exhilarating sense of arrival will immediately let guests know they are somewhere special: 20ft high aubergine walls and ‘hedges’ made from indigenous trees create a sense of wonder from the outside and a great sense of peace and stillness once on the inside. Guests enter the resort through the high walls and walk over a stepping-stone pathway that leads them to a magnificent pitched-roof Thai pavilion situated on an island surrounded by thousands of gently flickering candles.

From here on in, guests subtly and gently have their senses enriched and stimulated with the resort’s own scent, signature drink, the stunning scenery from both inside the accommodation and throughout the resort, to tactile 100% Thai silk soft furnishings used in the villas and restaurants.

“When styling and designing Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, we were very conscious of the abundant natural beauty surrounding us which is what makes people fall in love with Thailand,” explained Estelita Sebeto, the resort’s General Manager. “We want guests to enjoy and discover the extraordinary diversity so have worked with nature to maintain a setting that evokes the very best of the natural environment and sourced local and sustainable materials in its construction and styling.”

Working closely with Thai interior designer IA49, Bunang has carefully designed buildings and public spaces to combine contemporary with culture, perfectly complementing the natural flora of existing trees and plants which cleverly act as privacy screens throughout the grounds offering greater intimacy in the resort. The use of traditional story-telling Lanna art forms both in architectural structure and as paintings and artworks on the walls and doors of villas further stimulates the senses and creates an element of interest for guests.

No two of the resort’s 16 signature Reserve Villas are the same; all slightly different in physical design and styling, guests can opt for a villa with lap pool and lawn area for sun worshiping, a private rooftop for alfresco dining and sunset viewing, or a completely secluded pool bathing area for total privacy. Across all nonetheless, luxury prevails with oversized 3metre by 2metre beds, deep sunken baths, walk in closets, expansive decked gardens and vast ‘keyhole’ doorways that create a sense of magic setting the guest at ease and welcoming them to luxury.

With an emphasis on personalised, bespoke experiences, guests can ‘design’ or tailor make their visit to perfectly suit their needs and desires. Their very own villa butler, can organise a light BBQ lunch at a favourite beach spot; a meditation class with local monks; elephant trekking to a remote picnic spot; a sea plane tour of region’s dramatic scenery; an in-villa personal yoga session; a boat journey to surrounding islands – the possibilities are endless.

World-class culinary experiences will be available throughout the resort’s six intimate and carefully thought-out restaurants. Each designed to accommodate a small number of guests for highly personalised and non intrusive service. Chef will personally meet diners to better understand their tastes and preferences and all ingredients will be sourced from local markets and cooked fresh.

Included is the resort’s signature Thai restaurant, Sri Trang, a modern, and stylish restaurant with private dining room for 10 set on its own jetty overlooking the shoreline called ‘Sri Trang by the Sea’. Lae Lay, the resort’s sea front pavilion sits parallel to a 23metre infinity pool stretching out to the sea beyond. Beautifully appointed with oversized chairs and hanging lanterns among rustling trees, guests can also choose to dine under the stars on their own in a private sala seating up to 8 guests, aptly named ‘Lae Lay Under the Stars’.

An infinity pool bar will offer soft loungers and silk pillows by day with lighter more relaxed culinary offerings, while the resort’s sunset lounge, will offer day beds, oversized pillows, chill-out lounge bar music and candle lanterns for a truly intimate and relaxing feel. The perfect place for a glass of champagne or a stylish martini as the sun sets over the seemingly endless horizon. RAW spa café prepares fresh, uncooked and unaltered vegan products and has a green hydroponic bar growing the resort’s own wheatgrass and lettuce.

The ESPA villa at Phulay Bay is a sanctuary for relaxation and rejuvenation with stepping stones meandering through the spa leading to decked walkways and relaxation terraces surrounded by vegetation and reflection ponds that perfectly capture the unique character of Phulay Bay. The Spa itself comprises three traditional Thai pavilions set over two levels offering 11 treatment rooms including single and couples massage rooms and two VIP treatment suites with their own expansive decks for massage and showering.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., of Chevy Chase, Md., currently operates 73 hotels in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Caribbean. More than 30 hotel and residential projects are under development around the globe with future openings including Dubai International Financial Centre, United Arab Emirates; Shanghai, Pudong, China; and Kowloon, Hong Kong. The Ritz-Carlton is the only service company to have twice earned the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, which recognizes outstanding customer service. For more information, or reservations, contact a travel professional, call toll free in the U.S. 1-800-241-3333, or visit the company web site at www.ritzcarlton.com.

Rio Carnival, World’s Best Carnival

Rio Carnival is one of the most entertaining leisure events on earth that are hold during the whole year. Every year, the carnival is held between 13th and 16th of February. Carnival is very important to the Brazilians, it sums up their culture. It is a euphoric event where people dance, sing, party and have tons of fun.

People’s acquaintance with Rio Carnival dates back to 1723. Even though it has such a long history, Rio Carnival is actually famous for its Samba Parade that consists of a plenty of people and dancers from various samba schools. Because Samba Parade of the Rio Carnival is quite different from other parades, millions of tourists visit Brazil during that period.

Rio Carnival is the result of months of preparation. People eagerly anticipate the start of each year’s Rio Carnival. It begins with the crowning of the Fat King (King Momo), who is presented with a giant silver and gold key by the city’s mayor. Then it is Carnival all over the place, in the streets and squares, bars, clubs and all other venues, taking over the whole city of Rio and culminating in the Rio Carnival Parade also known as the Samba Parade.

Therefore, it is acknowledged that Samba Parade is supposed to be seen at least once in a lifetime. This parade can be perceived just as a street festival but indeed it is more than that because it mostly demonstrates the competition among the samba schools. It might seem that dancers in the Samba Parade is just hanging out but actually it is an orchestrated parade in which every dancer has a certain role and place depending on the samba school he/she has enrolled.

Another feature that makes Rio Carnival unique is that Samba Parade has different themes every year. Also, each samba school is represented with different colored costumes. Thus, these characteristics make the Samba Parade entertaining and exciting to watch. Since people all around the world are aware of this fact, Rio de Janerio attracts a plenty of visitors from Australia to Russia.

There are also other activities as the parade goes on such as balls in Copacabana Palace and beach and street festivals that are highly accompanied with traditional music and dancing, namely samba. Since everyone is allowed to participate in the street festivals, you can have the joy of music, dancing and singing at the same time by means of visiting Rio de Janerio during the carnival time.

The Sambodromo is the stadium of samba. It consists of the Parading Avenue (the samba run-way) and several independent concrete structures for the spectators (the so called sectors) along both sides of the Parading Avenue. it comes to life during Carnival It is truly magnificent and overpowering, lit up with special effects on Samba Parade nights, filled with thousands of cheering spectators and surrounded by many other thousands of people who could not get inside. It can seat around 70,000 people, which is already far too few for the ever growing Rio Carnival Parade. Entry to the Sambodromo is only possible with tickets for events. However it opens its doors and offers free entry to the grand stand seats in almost all sectors on rehearsal days which take place in the Sambodromo on the weekends before Rio Carnival.

All in all, Rio Carnival is a great opportunity to discover Brazilian culture that is exposed by local dancers and singers. Furthermore, it provides you an occasion to entertain yourselves with Rio Carnival’s outstanding atmosphere and ambiance as well as never-ending dancing and music. You shouldn’t wait for the best time to visit Rio de Janerio because no doubt carnival time is the right time.

You can get detailed information about Rio Carnival at http://rio-carnival.net/