Friday, August 8, 2008

Hotel Metropole, Monte Carlo





The Hotel Metropole, located just steps away from Casino square, was recently intensive refurbished by the renowned French Decorator Jacques Garcia, in a fresh Mediterranean dcor, combining classic elegance with modern designs. Ideal accommodations, for business or leisure guests, that seek space are offered with king-sized bedrooms and suites, many with terraces. A palace hotel with the times. The ideal urban resort in the heart of the heart of this vibrant Principality.
It has 170 rooms and suites, all equipped with color and cable television, PAY-TV and video on demand, Internet, direct-dial telephone, minibar, air-conditioning, and marble bathroom with Jacuzzi.

The Metropole Palace also has a beautiful heated sea-water swimming pool, a restaurant serving French gourmet cuisine as well as Lebanese and Italian specialties, a magnificent shopping center with 80 prestigious boutiques, and an underground car park for 600 cars. The hotel provides six conference and banqueting rooms, including a conference center situated on the top floor of the hotel. The Salon Edouard VII can be divided into two separate areas, accommodating up to a maximum of 250 people. Equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technology, it also offers a stunning view of the Casino Gardens and the Mediterranean Sea. This makes it the ideal venue for meetings, conferences, seminars, art exhibitions, banquets and auctions, as well as such events as gala dinners, and a variety of fashion shows. It is a perfect setting for outdoor cocktail parties and al-fresco dining on its terrace on beautiful summer evenings.
Source : Expedia.ca

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

The World's Best Places to Live 2008

Mercer Consulting's annual roundup of the global cities with the best quality of life is here, and Zurich once again comes out on top. The best place in the U.S.? Honolulu at No. 28.

New York, London, and Paris are internationally renowned cities but consultants at Mercer Consulting have picked Zurich, Switzerland, as the best place to live in the company's annual survey.
Consultants rated each city on a variety of factors including the level of traffic congestion, air quality, and personal safety reported by expatriates living in more than 600 cities worldwide. In the top 25, U.S. cities such as San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago were all edged out by Geneva, Switzerland, Vancouver, B.C., and Auckland, New Zealand. The highest-scoring U.S. city is Honolulu, which came in at No. 28.
Still, Mercer acknowledges that cities with a high quality of life are not necessarily the most exciting. "There are a lot of 'sleepy' towns that got high ratings," said Rebecca Powers, a principal consultant in human capital for the company. "But if you were to judge them on something like nightlife, there are some that probably wouldn't have rated as high."



No. 1: Zurich, Switzerland
Mercer score: 108
2007 rank: No. 1
GDP: $300.9 billion (2007 est.)
Population: 7,581,520 (total country); 347,517 (total city)
Life expectancy: 80.74 years




No. 2 (tie): Vienna, Austria
Mercer score: 107.9
2007 rank: No. 3
GDP: $319.7 billion (2007 est.)
Population: 8,205,533 (total country); 1,825,287 (total city)
Life expectancy: 79.36 years



No. 2 (tie): Geneva, Switzerland
Mercer score: 107.9
2007 rank: No. 2
GDP: $300.9 billion (2007 est.)
Population: 7,581,520 (total country); 185,000 (total city)
Life expectancy: 80.74 years

No. 4: Vancouver, Canada
Mercer score: 107.6
2007 rank: No. 3
GDP: $1.274 trillion (2007 est.)
Population: 33,212,696 (total country); 560,000 (total city)
Life expectancy: 81.16 years


No. 5: Auckland, New Zealand
Mercer score: 107.3
2007 rank: No. 5
GDP: $112.6 billion (2007 est.)
Population: 4,173,460 (total country); 1.18 million (total city)
Life expectancy: 80.24 years


No. 6: Dusseldorf, Germany
Mercer score: 107.2
2007 rank: No. 6
GDP: $2.833 trillion (2007 est.)
Population: 82,369,548 (total country); 581,858 (total city)
Life expectancy: 79.1 years



No. 7 (tie): Munich, Germany
Mercer score: 107
2007 rank: No. 8
GDP: $2.833 trillion (2007 est.)
Population: 82,369,548 (total country); 1,332,650 (total city)
Life expectancy: 79.1 years


No. 7 (tie): Frankfurt, Germany
Mercer score: 107
2007 rank: No. 7
GDP: $2.833 trillion (2007 est.)
Population: 82,369,548 (total country); 3,700,000 (total city)
Life expectancy: 79.1 years


No. 9: Bern, Switzerland
Mercer score: 106.5
2007 rank: No. 9
GDP: $319.7 billion (2007 est.)
Population: 8,205,533 (total country); 122,178 (total city)
Life expectancy: 79.36 years



No. 10: Sydney, Australia
Mercer score: 106.3
2007 rank: No. 9
GDP: $766.8 billion (2007 est.)
Population: 20,600,856 (total country); 4,297,100 (total city)
Life expectancy: 80.73 years





Source : BusinessWeek