The Yeatman wine themed hotel
4-12-2013
The Yeatman is a luxe hotel in the heart of the wine cellar district of Porto with view on the city and the Douro river. The 5-star hotel is specialized in wine and gastronomy. All rooms have a Portugese ‘wine partner’ that hosts the room decorations, from pictures of the vineyard to branded artifacts. The wine partners hold weekly wine dinners at the hotel with meals that are cooked by Michelin star chef Ricardo Costa*.
Taylor’s Port sponsors the Master Suite 008, one of the most luxurious suites in the hotel. The bed in this suite is placed in a gigantic 28.000 liter wine barrel. According to the legend, the barrel is over a hundred years old. Check here the photos of this phenomenal hotel.
Nightswap exchange nights
3-12-2013
Through the Nightswap website people can lend out their house or room and get a night in someone else’s house in return without any financial transaction taken place. It’s possible to collect nights and spend them all in once, home swap at the same moment or to buy extra nights. The website offers insurances as well and is an alternative for peer-to-peer websites like Couchsurfing.org and Airbnb.com with a slightly different business model.
Game cafe in New York
3-12-2013
A crowdfunding game café initiative in Manhattan was funded by 188 people this October. For $8.700,- the game café ‘The Uncommons’ was created in the Big Apple. In the café-toy shop- coffee house guests can play a wide range of board games for $5,- a day. The shop sells a range of (warm) alcohol free drinks, pastries and sandwiches. A six months membership ($150,-) will provide you with privileges like a 10% discount for all in-store items, possibility to reserve a table and includes the rental fee.
Christmas gestures
2-12-2013
Recently the Dutch paper ‘NRC Handelsblad’ published an article about what makes people happy. The writer, psychologist Sonja Lyumbomirsky gives as point number 1 that money can make happy sometimes, but focus on buying experiences (vacations, food and courses) rather than things. Things will get old quicker and are easier to compare to things of others or newer versions that come out later, this leads to more disappointments. This gives precisely the importance of hospitality, a good experience in a restaurant, bar or hotel contributes to the happiness of guests. As restaurant owner, you and your team contribute to creating a memory, especially with the holidays! The season makes it simples to create lasting experiences because your guests will already be in a merry mood and this can only be strengthened by dishes, decorations and hospitable gestures. This booklet will contain more photos than you are used to, but the images speak for themselves. Beautiful, simple examples of easily usable Christmas gestures. Download ‘Christmas gestures’ here.
Hotel offers Bike Butler service
2-12-2013
The Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in Vancouver offers their members of the Fairmont Presindent’s Bluc an exclusive Bike Butler service. With this service, hotel guests can explore the environment in an ecofriendly way. The hotel rents out 20 bikes, for free, and the bike concierge Marc Henley prepares the bikes and fixes accessories such as helmets, locks, water bottles and maps. Marc Henley has 20 years experience of cycling in Canada and can provide the best cycling routes and tips.
Christmas tree illuminated by sprouts
2-12-2013
Sprouts aren’t exactly beloved vegetables amongst children. The London Southbank Center shows the hidden powers of sprouts, making the vegetables became a lot more attractive. The battery system of five power cells with each 200 sprouts creates a chemical reaction by using the natural electrolytes from the sprouts to power lights in a Christmas tree. The initiators expect that the 1000 sprouts will lighten the tree for a month, after which they are replaced to keep the tree illuminated throughout the holiday season. Other types of fruits and vegetables can also be used in the battery system. The vegetable-powered battery was created by scientists from The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair.
The Bakery Cafe in Groningen
2-12-2013
Bakery Borgesius will open its new concept ‘the Bakery Cafe’ in Groningen the Netherlands on Sunday, December 7th. At ‘the Bakery Cafe’ visitors can consume bread that they have cut themselves at the bread table. When they order sandwich filling they can take unlimited use of the bread. The bread is fresh and mostly organic. Consumers can also drink a cup of coffee, tea, beer and more drinks. The interior of the cafe is made from natural materials and has a natural and quiet appearance.
Christmas dinner of unwanted animals
29-11-2013
‘MOES eet- en drinklokaal’ and the ‘Keuken van het ongewenst dier’ (kitchen of the unwanted animal’ organize an special Christmas dinner of unwanted animals on Sunday, December 22. The six-course dinner is dedicated to animals that are unwanted. For example the Japanese oyster, racehorse meat, crayfish, goose and swan will be served. Hunters will provide an explanation of the dishes and explain why these animals are undesirable. The six-course dinner costs € 65,= per person.
Instagram marshmallows
28-11-2013
Now it is possible to print your favorite Instagram photos on marshmallows. Very simple, you choose nine of your favorite Instagram photos and Boomf delivers the pictures on 4cmx4cm vanilla marshmallows. The site advises to use relative simple pictures with a good contrast. At this moment, the marshmallows are only available in the United Kingdom for £ 12, but there are plans to introduce the marshmallows internationally next year. A nice gift for the holidays: a marshmallow with your favorite photo into a hot chocolate during the cold winter days.
Recyclable wrapping paper
28-11-2013
During Christmas a lot of wrapping paper is used and thrown away, certainly not environmentally friendly. Therefore you need to use the ‘Eden’s Paper’. This wrapping paper does not only looks cheerful, but you can grown carrots, broccoli, red peppers, onions and tomatoes with it. The seeds are hidden in layers of biodegradable paper. So when the presents are unwrapped, plant the wrapping paper, give it some water and a few week later you will have vegetable plants. ‘Eden’s Paper’ is a crowdfunding project, the paper has been developed but they are still looking for funds to start the production.
