The Lakes - Annecy

An idyllic setting, close to Switzerland and Italy, the city is located in a deep gorge on the Thiou river at the northern end of Lake Annecy. Within easy reach of the mountains by road are Semnoz (20 mins). There are also well renowned ski resorts within 45mins drive

Peak of perfection: the ultimate eco ski hotel

The 29-apartment Lagació mountain residence, which cost €8m to build and took just eight months to complete. Photograph: Marcel Hagen for the Observer

There is something about taking a train journey across the European Alps that can melt the heart of even the most hardened traveller. My 7.30am start from a snow-packed Munich, where I live, is followed by a five-hour whiz through landmark stops: Rosenheim at the foot of the Bavarian Alps, Innsbruck in Austria, the Brenner Pass to Italy, before a change at Fortezza, in the heart of the Unesco World Heritage-listed Dolomites, followed by a further train trip to Brunico.

My ultimate destination is Lagació Mountain Residence, in the small mountain town of San Cassiano, Alta Badia, in the province of Bolzano-Bozen. A one-hour car journey from Brunico takes me through a mesmerising sequence of hairpin bends, inclines and tunnels. I reach San Cassiano as snow begins to swirl down. Gazing up, it is impossible to see the higher peaks because of cloud, but the landscape is dramatic. Mountains appear to be wrapped around this small town, and when combined with the cloud cover, the peaks bring to mind images of bygone centuries when inhabitants of the Alps lived in fear of dragons and other creatures.
The principal challenge facing the contemporary Alps revolves around sustainability. When Lagació opened in December 2009, it was certified by South Tyrol's Climate House Agency as CasaClima A, the second-highest award possible in a scheme that evaluates the energy efficiency of buildings in this autonomous region of Italy. Lagació uses fewer than 30kWh per square metre for heating, compared with 120 to 220 for a typical building in South Tyrol. Not carbon neutral, but for the eco-conscious tourist, a better bet than most lodges and hotels in the Alps.
"We were not thinking about creating an eco hotel," explains Margareth Canins, owner (with husband Pio) and the beating heart of the hotel. "The eco elements – the type of windows and solar energy, for example – sort of evolved; it was a process. Our architect wanted to use lots of different materials, such as Formica, and I refused. I wanted woods and slates," she says adamantly. "The architect asked me if I really wanted to use all of this material just for guests. I told him: 'We are also doing it for us, the family.' If I come out of my apartment [which is above the hotel] I need to feel at home. Only then will guests also feel at home. Sustainability has always been very important to me, but most important was that everyone has to feel comfortable here."
 
The subterranean spa at Lagació. Photograph: Marcel Hagen The 29-apartment Lagació cost around €8m to build and took just eight months to complete. It quickly caught the imagination of German and Italian style magazines for its attractive mountain location, spacious rooms and minimalist design, not to mention the subterranean spa. Margareth insisted on using local materials throughout, such as pine, spruce and larch, loam and loden fabrics, though the slate for the stairs comes from Brazil, she tells me. Water, from a local spring, is "revitalised" using the Grander method: a process which claims to add "energy" to improve the "structure" of water via magnetic generators.
Of the 18 staff at Lagació, seven belong to the local Ladin population, which has inhabited parts of the Dolomites for centuries. South Tyrol is an area that until relatively recently belonged to that behemoth of European history, the Austro-Habsburg dynasty. It was only in the wake of Austria's defeat in the First World War that it was handed to Italy. The Italian-Austrian-German influences are a huge part of the appeal of this part of the world and manifest themselves in the food, architecture and language.
I get a first-hand insight into the language complexities in conversations with Margareth. She insists on speaking English (she needs the practice, she says), but we are intermittently interrupted by her son Matteo, who occasionally appears to be speaking the wonderfully impenetrable South Tyrolean German dialect; at other times, I hazard a guess that he is speaking Ladin, a Rhaeto-Romance language spoken by around 40,000 people in the Alps. Indeed, "Ladin is not a dialect, it's a language" is a sentence I hear often. In addition to German and Ladin, away from the hotel, in shops and at school for example, Matteo might also speak the third regional language, Italian. Visitors with decent German or Italian will have no trouble, but English is strictly in fourth place here.
As topics of conversation, only food comes near family as the most popular subject during my stay. Breakfast is the principal meal served at Lagació, taken in the Stube, the spacious and rustic L-shaped breakfast room characterised by old beams and cabinets. Within the Stube there is a smaller, more intimate and refined dining room. All the food is produced locally, which for breakfast means home-baked breads, cheeses, fruits, eggs, mueslis, cold meats, plus other local specialities and honey. As the buffet is available until 11am, guests are encouraged to take their time, relax, and enjoy the food and a chat.
Lagació's spacious apartments range from doubles to family rooms. My own U-shaped apartment, Bellerophon (all apartments are named after Dolomite fossils), has an intelligently designed walk-in wooden wardrobe near the entrance, perfect for discarding wet clothes and muddy boots, a huge bed and – best of all – patio doors that lead to a balcony from where the mountains seem to be within touching distance. As this is San Cassiano, however, the stylish fitted kitchen is unlikely to get much use during my short stay: with two Michelin-starred restaurants in San Cassiano itself (St Hubertus, led by executive chef Norbert Niederkofler, is just 300m away), and a handful of other more reasonably priced options, it is no surprise that the wider Alta Badia area has been labelled by the Ski Club of Great Britain as "probably the best resort in the world for foodies". Try regional specialities canederli (bread-based dumplings) and tutres (ricotta cheese, sauerkraut or spinach pancake-like dishes), while gnocchi and strudel are staples on most menus.
 

With great food and plentiful snow, added to the spectacular background of the Dolomites, the economies of numerous small communities have inevitably come to rely on attracting winter-sports tourists during the winter months. Alta Badia is neither considered the most challenging ski area to be found in the Alps (90% of slopes are deemed "easy" and "medium"), nor is it renowned for après-ski excitement. While 95 slopes across 130km in a spectacular location is an obvious attraction, many visitors are enticed by its decidedly relaxed, more family-oriented atmosphere.
The impact on the natural environment, however, of snow-making machines, countless lodges perched halfway up mountains and numerous ski lifts (450 in the Dolomiti Superski Skipass area alone) is obvious. The managing director of Lagació, Christof Irsara, sensibly does not deny the contradiction, admitting that much work needs to be done for winter sports to become more sustainable. He points to a "growing trend for walking activities in the snow, activities that do not need a ski lift, for example". It is, however, difficult to imagine tens of thousands of passionate skiers and snowboarders converting to the less exhilarating sport of snow walking.
But it is equally difficult to be overly critical. Lagació could be described as a reluctant eco hotel pin-up. Sustainability has always been just one aspect of Margareth's wider vision of creating a hotel that is built and decorated almost exclusively with natural materials, that is family-focused and that relies entirely on locally produced food. The result should be warmly welcomed: Lagació is ahead of much of the field not just in terms of style and hospitality, but also in terms of sustainability.
Good place to start… 90% of the runs are easy or moderate.

Global oil reserves and fossil fuel consumption

The world is showing no sign of weaning itself off fossil fuels: in the 28-year span covered by the BP data below, worldwide reserves of oil fell only twice – in 1998 and 2008

 

Have we passed peak oil? Photograph: David McNew/Getty images

Oil has been the world's fossil fuel of choice since the late 1960s and our taste for it doesn't seem likely to diminish in the short term. Oil companies are still keen to secure any undiscovered reserves while continuing to be a powerful lobbying presence.

You may think that with pressing concerns over peak oil and global warming, the world would be slowly weaning itself off the energy-rich liquid. But in the 28-year span covered by the BP data below, worldwide reserves fell only twice – in 1998, and a decade later in 2008.

Opec nations control the lion's share, with 76% of the world's reserves. Interestingly, many of the Opec countries' proven reserves have barely changed in the past 20 years, despite massive exporting activity.

The largest percentage growth in oil wealth is in Vietnam, with a 39% surge in its proven oil reserves from 2007-08. This newfound wealth corresponds to 1.3bn barrels, which may sound like a lot, but would feed the world demand for less than three weeks (17 days) at 2008 levels of consumption.

Oil consumption fell by 0.29% from 2007-08, while its more polluting relation coal saw a 3% increase in its use. Reasons for coal's recent rise include the low price of emissions trading permits and the fuel's increasing promotion as key for 'energy security'.

The Australian airline Qantas

The Australian airline Qantas will this month announce a deal to build the world's second commercial-scale plant to produce green biojet fuel made from waste for its fleet of aircraft.

Its proposed partner, the US-based fuel producer Solena, is also in negotiations with easyJet, Ryanair and Aer Lingus about building a plant in Dublin, although this project is less advanced.

Airlines are trying to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels ahead of their entry into the EU's carbon emissions trading scheme in January 2012 and the introduction of other new environmental legislation. Under the scheme, any airline flying in or out of the EU must cut emissions or pay a penalty.

Solena's joint venture with Qantas – which could be announced within the next fortnight – follows a tie-up with British Airways, signed in February last year, to build the world's first commercial-scale biojet fuel plant in London, creating up to 1,200 jobs.

Once operational in 2014, the London plant, costing £200m to build, will convert up to 500,000 tonnes of waste a year into 16m gallons of green jet fuel, which BA said would be enough to power 2% of its aircraft at its main base at Heathrow. The waste will come from food scraps and other household material such as grass and tree cuttings, agricultural and industrial waste. It is thought the Qantas plant, to be built in Australia, will be similar.
Solena uses technology based on the Fischer-Tropsch process, which manufactures synthetic liquid fuel using oil substitutes. Germany relied on this technology during the second world war to make fuel for its tanks and planes because it did not have access to oil supplies.
Airlines have been using synthetic fuel made in this way from coal for years, but this results in high carbon emissions.
The use of biomass – which does not produce any extra emissions – as an oil substitute has more recently been pioneered by Solena. The privately owned company says that planes can run on this green synthetic fuel, without it having to be mixed with kerosene-based jet fuel. In the UK and US, regulators allow only a maximum 50% blend, and the fuel was only recently certified for use by the UK authorities. BA is understood to be exploring the possibility of using 100% biojet fuel, once it is approved as expected.

Airlines including Virgin Atlantic have also been testing biofuels – made mostly from crops, which are converted into fuel – by blending them with kerosene-based jet fuel. But experts say these blends have to have a low level of biofuels to ensure that engine safety and performance are maintained. In February 2008, Virgin became the first airline in the world to operate a commercial aircraft on a biofuel blend, but this was only 20% and through just one of the plane's four engines.

The use of conventional, crop-based biofuels is controversial. Some environmentalists are concerned that an increase in the farming of crops and trees for biofuels could take up too much agricultural land and hit food production. But Solena plans to make its biojet fuel using waste, not crops.
Industry experts say that, in the future, biojet fuel will work out cheaper than kerosene-based fuel as oil prices rise. Producers such as Solena could also earn subsidies by using waste materials that may otherwise have to be sent to landfill. The Germany airline Lufthansa is also understood to be interested in a joint venture with Solena. But with each plant costing £200m to build, it will take time to roll out the technology.
One challenge faced by Solena is securing a supply of biomass waste for its new plants. Ideally, facilities will be located in or near cities, where most of the waste will be sourced, and near airlines' bases. The bioenergy producer will face competition from other companies planning to build incinerators, which also need to use waste to generate subsidised electricity.

Allen Limousine Service. Dallas

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Here at Allen Limousine our mission is providing you with excellent professional customer service that‘s reliable and affordable. Allen Limousine Service offers the finest limousines available, equipped with the most current amenities. All of our chauffeurs are professional, bonded, and insured. Whether it’s a trip to the airport, or that special event, Allen Limousine will ensure you arrive on-time in luxury and style. Allen limousine provides unmatched, quality service and value. Our staff remains sincerely dedicated to first class service and total customer satisfaction. We are driven to provide consistently superior service that will exceed your every expectation. With over 20 years of transportation experience, our staff will go above and beyond to deliver exceptional attention to detail in providing the utmost of quality service. Allen Limousine offers a complete solution for your Luxury Car Service, Limousine and Van Transportation needs all around the Dallas Metroplex area as well as around the country. Dallas Limousine Service & Car Service in Dallas Texas. Allen Limousine specializes in Group transportation, corporate travel, meetings & events as well as airport and executive Sedan service around the Dallas Metroplex area. We look forward to serving you here at Allen Limousine.

Business ‘bed and breakfast with a difference’

Business ‘bed and breakfast with a difference’

Pre-order your hamper for traditional or continental breakfast to prepare yourself.

For maximum flexibility, and because requirements vary so much, we can offer our accommodation as a holiday let for virtually any duration, or as a comfortable and secure alternative to a hotel. As such we can offer each room as a separate, self-contained unit with private bathroom, TV and wireless broadband - together with a shared kitchen and living area. This is particularly useful for busines people or for people connected with the horse racing industry who wish to retain a flexible schedule. We supply a daily breakfast hamper (please not we have a vegetarian option) for either continental or cooked breakfasts (including tea and coffee):

Traditional Breakfast

• Sausages
• Eggs
• Beans
• Tomatoes
• Bread (choice)
• Fruit Juice

Continental Breakfast

• Croissant
• Jam
• Cereal
• Bread(choice)
• Fruit Juice

Gingell Cottage is set within a grade II listed estate. Grove Farm, the main house has recently been extensively and sympathetically extended with 6 bedrooms and three receptions. Gingell Cottage has followed the theme of style and taste throughout. On part of the estate there is a listed barn, ready for renovation, which contains 500 year old graffiti that has been reproduced as the logo for Fizz Equine Marketing Ltd and Gingell Cottage.
Gingell Cottage has been designed to offer two extremely comfortably en suite rooms, both private and secure with their own lockable doors. The accommodation lends itself equally to a family holiday, a business stopover with bed and breakfast, or a weekend getaway for lovers.
A ten minute walk away is an Award Winning informal dining venue, Harveys Garden Centre. The Pub we recommend and who gives our customers a complimentary drink is The Gardeners Arms in Tostock. An extra special treat for visitors to Gingell Cottage on a Sunday night is the Gardeners Arms Line Night. Twenty three pints of various beers are free to customers as they are drawn off the barrells. The food is traditional hearty pub food serving local dishes such as Suffolk Ham and a prize winning homemade pie.

Fast, accurate laboratory quality results in the field

There is never a guarantee of success today in mining and mineral exploration. You make the best decisions based upon your mine models and your company’s experience. Yet one prerequisite for success endures: the immediate need for dependable fast geochemical data.
Being able to quickly delineate ore boundaries, mine mapping, sorting, grading, extraction or the prevention of environmental by-products all require accurate, fast geochemical data. On-site labs or sending material off site for analysis is expensive, time consuming and impractical in remote locations.
Fortunately there is a cost efficient solution for determining the elemental composition of sample data at all stages of the exploration and mining process.
The range of Niton XRF analysers places in your hands an instrument that can deliver laboratory specific data within seconds at any location. With a number of tools from Bluetooth to PC connect ability and a range of soft ware packages the Niton range leads the world in portable hand held XRF technologies. You have a mini lab right there in your hands!
Nitons new GOLDD + range delivers the lowest detection limits and the fastest measurement times for light elements ranging from Magnesium (Mg) to Uranium (U).

The team at PAS can draw on a collective 20 years experience in instrumentation. This experience covers all technical assistance, training and sales through to applications use across a diverse range of industries including: Mining & Exploration, Scrap Metal Recycling, Engineering & Fabrication, Mineral processing, Petrochemical and Gas exploration and production, Environmental, Consumer goods and Precious Metals (Jewellery).
Our comprehensive knowledge and full factory support guarantee you have the best possible team to assist you with all aspects of your instrument.

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The Cotton House - Mustique Island

The Cotton House is a 20-room 5-star luxury boutique hotel in Mustique, the Grenadines.
The hotel is on the small Grenadine island of Mustique, which is only 3 by 1 / 2 miles that surround Cotton House on a picturesque hill on the Caribbean Sea in the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Mustique is one of the most exclusive islands in the world and the Cotton House is the island only full-service hotel.
The Cotton Hill Residence offers a panoramic view of the Atlantic Ocean and the park has to this very private two-room residence its own butler to meet every request. It has a spacious living room, dining room with an additional outdoor gazebo and large private swimming pool. Each room is equipped with king-size beds and signature French antique furniture. The bedroom is set beside the main house, each room has a large bathroom with double sinks, soaking tub and separate shower, is the master bedroom with outdoor shower overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
This recently renovated duplex suites are furnished to the highest point of the resort's breathtaking views of the island in the Atlantic side. The upper floor of each suite has a bedroom with a king-size bed in romantic voile netting and set up a large private balcony is perfect for concealed in-room dining or private spa treatments. Spacious bathrooms and fully equipped locker rooms are located on the upper and lower floors of these suites are located, making them ideal for families. Located just outside the living room on the lower level, a wooden deck with private pool. Elegant shade with sun umbrellas and lounge chairs set up, the private terrace offers another ideal place to enjoy an in-suite massage or a romantic dinner.
Two superior suites on the upper level and two deluxe suites on the lower floor, all come with French doors from both the bedroom and living room on a large private verandah removed. The two suites on the ground floor have private pools that flow from the elegantly appointed suites with veranda pool deck. These rooms are for couples with a maximum of two children since extra single beds can be included in the living room. A door separates the bedroom from the living room and the suites each have a main bathroom en-suite rooms with a powder from the living room.
Luxury Deluxe King rooms face the Caribbean Sea, and all are furnished with rattan pieces signed and have four-poster beds crowned in decorative netting. All rooms equipped with elegant verandahs with private pools and pool decks
Cottages are charming stand alone West Indian-style with each room a view over the garden and distant Atlantic Ocean views. Bedroom with king-size bed with decorative netting, spacious dressing rooms and bathrooms with raised spa. Each room opens onto a large veranda, furnished with sun loungers and dining area.
The Veranda Restaurant is open for breakfast and dinner. Eating at this restaurant include the best of the Caribbean flavors including local deliveries in the offer a menu that a simple, but an eclectic international gastronomic experience.
The great room has a colonial feel that this space make a focal point of the hotel where guests mingle, relax and be. Enjoy afternoon tea on the veranda provides that the pond have to look at Lilly, a cocktail before dinner or after dinner cigar and cognac, the room is a living room, a sense of being.
For in-room dining, guests can choose from the chef menu or a specially created menu, you choose served in your own private dining area. In Room Dining at the Cotton House is more than just room service, it is an experience that reflects the attention to detail and a moment of culinary delight.
The Beach Cafe and Bar offers al fresco dining on the water's edge, a casual atmosphere, you can only experience the Cotton House is. Menu estimates that the local produce and offers a selection of fresh fish, lobster, salads, baguettes, fried seafood baskets, pizza and barbecue concepts, which is simple and yet light and delicious.
The pool deck is the pool bar, where a complete selection of beverages is available as well as beach towels upon arrival, with complementary refreshing sorbets, chilled towels and cold water are offered during the day waiting. Lifeguards also have a full drinks from the poolside bar which was the original Sugar Mill.
promote Cotton House Spa offers massages and treatments and to restore, promote relaxation, healing, balance and peace of mind and body. The team of professionals has developed a number of innovative programs to meet a variety of special needs and lifestyles.
The ground floor of the spa houses the well-equipped fitness center with state of the art cardiovascular equipment consisting of treadmills, cross-training, multi-work-out and bike machines all with panoramic views through the large glass window on the hotel gardens the Caribbean Sea.
Originally from the 18th Century coral warehouse and sugar mill, the late British designer, Oliver Messel carefully restored many of the original features of the Cotton House. It is well established as one of the best in the Caribbean Luxury Resorts recognized.
Facilities:ServicesAirport transportation (complimentary)Babysitting or child careBeauty treatmentsFree breakfastConcierge ServiceFitness facilitiesFull-service spaHairdressersInternet access - wirelessLaundryParking (free)Room service (limited opening times)Safety deposit box - front deskSelf ParkingHelp with trip planningBusiness & EventBanquet facilitiesDry cleaning / laundry serviceLibraryMeeting rooms (small groups)Rooms (all rooms have)Air ConditioningBalconyCable TV serviceCeiling FanClock RadioCoffee / teaDesigner toiletriesDial-up Internet accessDVD PlayerHairdryerBudgetChild care (in room surcharge)In-room safeMinibarLinensWindow opens

Rockcliffe Hall Spa & Golf Resort in Hurworth, England

A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company. Such a self-contained resort attempts to provide for most of a vacationer's wants while remaining on the premises, such as food, drink, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping. The term "resort" may also used to identify a hotel property that provides an array of amenities and typically includes entertainment and recreational activities. A hotel is frequently a central feature of a resort, such as the Grand Hotel at Mackinac Island, Michigan. A resort is not merely a commercial establishment operated by a single company, although in the late twentieth century this sort of facility became more common. Towns that contain resorts—or where tourism or vacationing is a major part of the local activity—are often called resort towns. Towns such as Sochi in Russia, Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt, Barizo of Spain, Cortina d'Ampezzo of Italy, Druskininkai of Lithuania, Nice or French Riviera of France or Newport, Rhode Island or St. Moritz Switzerland, Blackpool, England or larger regions, like the Adirondack Mountains, the English Lake District, or the Italian Riviera are well known resorts. The Walt Disney World Resort is a prominent example of a modern, self-contained commercial resort. Resorts exist throughout the world, increasingly attracting visitors from around the globe. Thailand, for instance, has become a popular destination. Resorts are especially prevalent in Central America and the Caribbean. Closely related to resorts are convention and large meeting sites. Generally these occur in cities where special meeting halls, together with ample accommodations as well as varied dining and entertainment are provided.

A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company. Such a self-contained resort attempts to provide for most of a vacationer's wants while remaining on the premises, such as food, drink, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping. The term "resort" may also used to identify a hotel property that provides an array of amenities and typically includes entertainment and recreational activities. A hotel is frequently a central feature of a resort, such as the Grand Hotel at Mackinac Island, Michigan. A resort is not merely a commercial establishment operated by a single company, although in the late twentieth century this sort of facility became more common. Towns that contain resorts—or where tourism or vacationing is a major part of the local activity—are often called resort towns. Towns such as Sochi in Russia, Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt, Barizo of Spain, Cortina d'Ampezzo of Italy, Druskininkai of Lithuania, Nice or French Riviera of France or Newport, Rhode Island or St. Moritz Switzerland, Blackpool, England or larger regions, like the Adirondack Mountains, the English Lake District, or the Italian Riviera are well known resorts. The Walt Disney World Resort is a prominent example of a modern, self-contained commercial resort. Resorts exist throughout the world, increasingly attracting visitors from around the globe. Thailand, for instance, has become a popular destination. Resorts are especially prevalent in Central America and the Caribbean. Closely related to resorts are convention and large meeting sites. Generally these occur in cities where special meeting halls, together with ample accommodations as well as varied dining and entertainment are provided.

Rockcliffe Hall in Hurworth, County Durham, England is all that we have come to expect from a stately home in the English countryside. There is a large, red brick villa on a spacious estate, romantic images of times, horse-drawn shuttle would be good to and pulled from their country to do shelter.

Fast forward to modern times and Rockcliffe Hall is a 5-star hotel that services an increasingly sophisticated clientele. Eager to offer its guests with the best spa experience, Rockcliffe Hall recently, the services of RTR-Design, a busy architectural and design firm of Burton-on-Trent in Derbyshire. The result is a stunning modern luxury spa that shines and shows, modern interior design excellence.

The first thing that strikes you about the spa is how big the plant. Many hotels house the Spas in tight areas, you shuffling of the massage treatment rooms through a maze of narrow corridors - not Rockcliffe Hall. The Spa at Rockcliffe is spacious and has a core of Whirlpool, which can comfortably accommodate enough people who do not wait for others to finish their relaxation time, before you can begin. The furniture in the entire spa is contemporary, relaxed the strengthening of the modern subject and make visitors and a million miles from anywhere.

We love the fact that the owners of the hall Rockcliffe bold enough to the modern design, the RTR design to have been presented to hug her. Glorious from the outside, this hotel is the modernization of providing a wow factor and inside what is sure to please his claims.