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Holiday Destinations
Dubai has The Burj, but Berlin might get The Berg
By Jeff Salton
22:44 November 19, 2009 PST
Hoax or hopeful? Sky high or pie-in-the-sky? German architect Jakob Tigges has unleashed a daring plan to create a man-made mountain in Berlin – not exactly a feature you instantly associate with the German city, but if this “project” gets approval that could change. According to The Berg website, Berliners are getting behind the project as another tourist-attracting (money-making) option for their fair city. Read More
Everyone gets a water view in Europe’s first rotating hotel
By Darren Quick
23:09 October 18, 2009 PDT
There are plans to build what will be Europe’s first rotating hotel in Croatia. The hotel will form the centerpiece of a new resort to be built near Split, the second-largest city in Croatia that is situated on the shores of the Adriatic Sea. It was the desire to give guests views of the Adriatic Sea from all rooms that led to the rotating design from Richard Hywel Evans of holiday resort designer specialists, RHE. Read More
The reconfigurable SpaceCamper – compact 5-berth people carrier and camper and load transporter
By Gizmag Team
03:59 October 5, 2009 PDT
The SpaceCamper is not your normal camper van. The SpaceCamper was designed by young German designer, engineer and entrepreneur Markus Riese, the fellow who designed the first folding bicycle with suspension on both wheels (the “Birdy”) and founded German bicycle manufacturer Riese and Muller while still at school. Riese took a year off when he graduated, buying a campervan for 12 months of touring Australia on a surfing holiday. As he worked his way around the vast Australian continent, meeting many other campervan explorers, the concept of the SpaceCamper was born – to build everything a full blown much larger camper has into a T5 transporter, and to be able to reconfigure the layout so that it can be repurposed for use in multiple roles. As usual, he succeeded big time! Read More
The world's oldest hotel - open nearly 1300 years
By Loz Blain
02:19 October 2, 2009 PDT
It's said that less than one in five businesses started today will be around in five years' time - which puts this story into perspective. Hōshi Ryokan is a hotel and spa in Komatsu, Japan. It has been owned and run by the same family for 46 generations so far, and its famous hot springs have been refreshing and revitalizing its patrons for no less than 1291 years. Founded by a Buddhist disciple whose master had the springs' location delivered to him in a dream, Hōshi is the world's oldest hotel and also the world's oldest continuously-operating business. Read More
New electrically-powered 2012 sports bag from Live Luggage
By Gizmag Team
18:32 September 30, 2009 PDT
We've written about the electrically-powered Live Luggage system before (here and http://www.gizmag.com/new-lightweight-electrically-powered-suitcase-from-live-luggage/10814/), and the brand's latest offering looks even more useful - it's a powered triple bag sports luggage system designed for sports men and women on the move. The new 2012 Sports Bag is a multifunctional luggage system which includes a large weekend bag for heavy-duty items like ski boots, a multi-purpose rucksack and a large main case, which all zip together to create one powered unit. Read More
The world's first floating, rotating (floatating?) hotel building
By Loz Blain
05:47 September 18, 2009 PDT
Antalya is a city of around 800,000 people on the Southern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Like most cities in that region, it has played host to a revolving cast of empires over the centuries, from the Romans, to the Byzantines to the Ottomans and Turks. Nestled between a stunning coastline and majestic mountain ranges, it's known as one of the most beautiful cities in Turkey, and it's also the site of one of the world's most unusual hotels. The Hotel Marmara Antalya features the only fully rotating hotel building in the world - and the way they've done it is fascinating. Read More
The Carcamp - caravan car integration
By Darren Quick
05:58 September 12, 2009 PDT
Anyone who has towed a caravan and encountered a ‘snaking’ situation, where the caravan swings from side to side, knows just how scary such an experience can be. There are some ways to lessen the risk of such scenarios, such as not loading heavy items towards the rear of the caravan, but motor home manufacturer Heku has come up with an interesting design called the Carcamp that's designed to enhance stability even at high speeds. Read More
The world's largest single-story motorhome?
By Darren Quick
17:00 September 2, 2009 PDT
Running the risk of being mistaken for another pavilion at the recent Caravan Salon Motor Home and Caravan Trade Show in Dusseldorf was the Snakeliner President-Suite – a mobile house sitting atop a semitrailer that lets travelers satisfy their wanderlust while enjoying 969 sq ft (90m²) of living space. Read More
Men-only RV on show at Caravan Salon Dusseldorf
By Jeff Salton
21:01 August 31, 2009 PDT
Attention all males! When you were young, did you ever dream about being given the keys to the toy shop? Well, for four very lucky men that dream was realized when they won a competition to help design the red-blooded man’s recreational vehicle (RV). They chose to incorporate a bar, disco, outdoor theater, rooftop sundeck, two plasma screens, sound system, poker table and barbecue – and no needless devices in the kitchen. Read More
The world's highest hotel... but not for long!
By Loz Blain
06:29 August 10, 2009 PDT
If a gob-smacking view is your thing - and heck, it's mine - you could do worse than check in at the Park Hyatt, Shanghai, which has just taken the mantle of the world's highest hotel. See that nice pagoda-shaped building you're looking down on out the window? Yeah, that's the Jin Mao Tower, and it's about 40 meters taller than the Empire State Building in NYC. The Park Hyatt Shanghai occupies floors 79 to 93 of the Shanghai World Financial Center, the tallest tower in China at a massive 492 meters - and it's shaped like a giant bottle opener. Rack rates start at around US$320 per night, and ramp up to nearly US$13K for the stunning Chairman Suite. Read More
Sears Tower adds glass 'walk out' 1350 feet high
By Gizmag Team
07:51 July 14, 2009 PDT
If you're ever likely to suffer from Acrophobia (from the Greek: akron , meaning "peak, summit, edge" and phobos, "fear" and meaning an extreme or irrational fear of heights), then Sears Tower in Chicago is the place that'll surely bring it on. Standing at 1,450 feet and 110 stories, Sears Tower is the tallest building in North America and the third tallest building in the world. The building recently added a new attraction as part of an updated Skydeck Chicago experience. Christened “The Ledge”, it's a series of glass bays on the 103rd floor that offer visitors unobstructed views of Chicago – 1,353 feet straight down. Read More
Lonely Planet iPhone travel guides put the world in your pocket
By Jude Garvey
16:22 June 11, 2009 PDT
Gen Y doesn’t know how easy they’ve got it. Young intrepid travelers used to set off on world adventures with little more than their summer savings, a few changes of clothes, a promise to phone home and a well-thumbed guide book. How times have changed. Today’s youth don’t leave home without being wired to the hilt – and that’s just to meet friends at the mall. It seems only logical that Lonely Planet, a 35-year-old guidebook publisher, has just released its City Guide series for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Read More
Rosetta Stone: taking language learning to the public
22:28 April 20, 2009 PDT
The Rosetta Stone is a famous ancient Egyptian artifact discovered in 1799 that helped linguists unlock the secrets of Egyptian hieroglyphics. It's therefore an apt name for the company which has developed products designed to teach millions of people worldwide the secret of learning languages using interactive, computer based technology. Already laying claim to the title of the world's largest language software company, Rosetta Stone has now taken the plunge and gone public, the first company of its type to do so. Read More
Ducato wins MotorHome Base Vehicle award for third straight year
By David Greig
21:14 April 12, 2009 PDT
Boosted by the performance of its six-speed automated manual MTA gearbox and a new natural gas powerplant, the Fiat Ducato has just taken the coveted Which Motorcaravan Base Vehicle winner’s accolade for the third year running. Along with the awards, the success of the design is reflected in the marketplace - two out of every three motorhomes in Europe are built on the Fiat Ducato base and there are more than 400,000 Fiat Ducato motorhomes on the road in Europe alone. Read More
The World's first flying hotel - The Hotelicopter
By Paul Evans
18:16 March 29, 2009 PDT
The double deck Airbus A380 has set new high standards for luxury accommodation in the air but, unless you can afford to deck out your own A380 as a private jet, the Hotelicopter concept aims to top this airborne opulence by equipping a four story converted heavy lift aircraft with 18 luxuriously-appointed room hotels. Modeled on the Soviet Mil V-12, the largest helicopter ever built, of which only two prototypes were built in the 1960s, the Hotelicopter company would like us to believe they purchased one of these prototypes in 2004 with the Hotelicopter now ready for its maiden flight in June 26th. We're not sure that we do, but we like the concept. Read More
From oil rig to luxury eco-resort
By Karen Sprey
16:38 March 4, 2009 PST
Think "oil rig" and what comes to mind? Deafening noise, pounding seas, people covered in black muck and ugly metal structures? Perhaps even explosions and Red Adair, but it’s unlikely "luxury resort" popped into your head. However, thousands of decommissioned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico could in future be given a new lease of life as exclusive, self-sufficient eco-resorts that make use of renewable energy and cater for those looking for a new and unique holiday experience. The idea is catching on, with Morris Architects' program to turn a disused rig into a high-end resort experience winning it the firm a $10,000 Grand Prize in the Radical Innovation in Hospitality awards. Read More
Avoid excess baggage charges with Balanzza Ergo Travel Scales
By Mike Hanlon
13:45 February 18, 2009 PST
Traveling has its pros and cons, and one of the main traps for the unwary is to collect weighty beads, tinkets and keepsakes which stop being a good idea when it comes time to load your bags on the scales for the return flight. International airlines long ago adopted mafia tactics of going easy on outbound luggage allowances and then making you an offer you can't refuse when you are at your most vulnerable – checking in when going home! The Balanzza Ergo is the latest evolution of a digital luggage scale for travellers, weighs just 217 grams and will help you to avoid putting your newly purchased wooden clogs in the airline rubbish bin. Read More
Atlantis Dubai: the luxury resort that's home to 65,000 marine animals
By Karen Sprey
00:48 February 16, 2009 PST
The recently-launched luxury Atlantis hotel rises towards the sky from the man-made island of Palm Jumeirah, but unlike it’s mysterious namesake, this Atlantis is unlikely to get ‘lost’. The ocean-and-aquatic themed resort is impressive, and not surprisingly everything about it is big - from the development price of US$1.5 billion to its size (it's spread over 46 hectares of reclaimed land) and its 1, 539 rooms. It also features a massive 17 hectares of water park activities and an 11 million liter marine habitat that is home to more than 65,000 marine animals. Read More
New lightweight electrically-powered suitcase from Live Luggage
By Mike Hanlon
23:08 January 22, 2009 PST
January 23, 2009 Live Luggage launched the world’s first power assisted suitcase last year, but batteries and hard cases make for heavy luggage and heavy luggage makes for not enough carrying capacity. Many non-powered suitcases weigh in at more than 10 kilograms, which takes a large lump out of any 20 or 30 kg airline luggage allowance. There’s no weight been announced yet on the new lightweight Hybrid PA bag, but it includes a laptop case and overnight travel bag which can both be separately removed to suit the differing check-in requirements of the world’s airlines. Read More
Location, location, location: could this hotel be in the world's most beautiful?
By Loz Blain
02:19 January 8, 2009 PST
Gizmag readers are an intelligent, well-traveled, knowledgeable and resourceful bunch if the feedback emails we receive are any indication. So here's your chance guys and gals, because we're struggling even to imagine a more stunning setting for a luxury hotel than this. Explora Hotel Salto Chico sits at the edge of an alpine lake, beside a giant waterfall, at the foot of one of the Andes' most spectacular views, in the middle of the Patagonian wilderness in remote Southern Chile. Just take a look through the photo gallery, it's absolutely mind-boggling, and very close to enough lakes, glaciers, snowy mountains and waterfalls to chew through the tallest stack of camera memory cards. So tell us, is there a more spectacularly located hotel anywhere in the world? Read More
The Volkner car-swallowing ultra-luxury motorhome
By Jack Martin
12:31 December 3, 2008 PST
The concept of incorporating secondary last-few-miles transport in a motorhome starts with a fold-up bicycle, steps upwards through a motorcycle riding piggyback and we’ve occasionally seen a full blown car being towed behind the largest beasties. So we were blown away when we saw the latest from German Motorhome specialist Volkner Mobil at the recent Caravan Salon in Dusseldorf. Volkner has been using CAD for more than two decades in tailoring its extraordinary high-end vehicles for those who insist in living in luxury no matter what. In order to fully cater for this elite clientele, it has created (and patented) a central garage concept that allows a luxury sports car to be ingested by the bohemoth, so that when you get there, you'll want for nothing (check the gallery and other luxury appointments). Volkner began been building the motorized garage into its high end Performance models in late 2006 and has now built motorhomes capable of swallowing whole Porsche 911s, Jaguar XK8 Cabriolets, BMW 6 Series Cabriolets, Maserati Quattroportes and this Mercedes Sports. Read More
The US$55,000 Port-a-bach relocatable home (in a shipping container)
By Mike Hanlon
22:48 November 30, 2008 PST
December 1, 2008 The appeal of regularly relocating where we live probably comes from our nomadic origins as a species, and over the years we’ve thrilled at the possibilities of some remarkable constructs designed to enable just that: the Icosa Pod, miniHome, Free Spirit Sphere, Nackros Villa, LoftCube, Trilobis, Kitahaus, and the relocatable sphere house. New Zealand is one of those countries where its near-to-no-one geographic location has created a hotbed of innovation through necessity and the Kiwi-produced Port-a-bach is particularly inventive because it is based around a remanufactured shipping container. As such, the NZD$100,000 (US$55,000) fold-out dwelling is not just rugged due to its natural steel exoskeleton, it’s as easy to transport internationally as it is to transport locally on a standard container truck. It has low environmental impact and can connect to local utilities or be entirely power, water and sewer independent. Read More
Plans unveiled for another architectural marvel in Dubai
18:47 November 11, 2008 PST
The latest in a long-list of architectural wonders planned for Dubai's skyline, the Anara Tower is a 125-storey modern interpretation of the Minaret that will soar to almost 2000 feet and provide five million square feet of mixed use space including four sky gardens, a major Art Gallery, residential, retail and office space and a boutique five star hotel. Designed by UK based Atkins Designs Studio, the visually stunning skyscraper will also become the new global HQ for developer Tameer Holding Investment, which already boasts an impressive real-estate portfolio including the Princess Tower, Eye-Park and the Podium, a recently announced tower that will incorporate the world's largest LED screen. Read More
One kilometer high Nakheel Tower to become world's tallest building
By Darren Quick
01:03 October 8, 2008 PDT
It looks like Dubai is running out of countries to compete with in the architectural stakes, so they’ve started outdoing themselves. State-owned builder Nakheel has unveiled plans to build what would be the world’s tallest building before the Gulf city state’s previous claimant to the title, the Burj Dubai Tower, has even finished construction. Nakheel plans to build a tower measuring over 1 kilometer (0.62 miles), high in an area between two of the city’s artificial palm shaped islands which the company also created. Nakheel has not revealed the exact height or cost of the tower but said it would have “more than 200 floors” and be part of “a multi-billion pound development”, which includes a man made inland harbor and 40 additional towers ranging from 20 to 90 floors high. Read More
World's largest LED screen to be built in (where else) Dubai
By Emily Clark
02:28 October 7, 2008 PDT
Dubai is set to be home to the world’s largest LED screen - a curved, 300ft+ tall monster that will be visible from a distance of just under 1 mile. The screen will make up the facade of the “Podium” skyscraper which will offer commercial and retail space across 35 floors of around 10,000 square feet each with over 50,000 square feet of parking space. Read More
Terotech
- November 21, 2009 @ 19:38 UTC
