WALKING THROUGH PERU
Country Walkers, the world’s leading purveyor of small group walking adventures, is offering a new “special departure” for 2007—“Peru Trek: An Inn-to-Inn Adventure.” The tour winds its way along the Salcantay route, a lightly traveled yet still-challenging trail that approaches Machu Picchu from the southwest. With historic sites and biodiversity constant companions along the way, the Salcantay route not only provides stellar views of the snow-capped peaks of the Vilcabamba Range but also strikes deep into the Andes on rocky trails and stone paths once used by the Incas.

Group members stay at remote, charming eco-lodges that utilize local, indigenous materials and are positioned to capture the intense natural beauty of the surroundings. The Lucma Lodge in Lucmabamba, for instance, resides in an avocado orchard. In Huayracmachay, the Wayra Lodge--a.k.a. “the place where the wind lives”--greets guests with massive, lichen-covered boulders, a sign of pure mountain air.

The nine-day/eight-night “Peru Trek: An Inn-to-Inn Adventure” is priced at $3,398 per person and will take place September 19-27 and October 3-11. For more information, call 800-464-9255 or visit www.countrywalkers.com.

WORLDWIDE BUSINESS CENTERS
While there may be a Starbucks and a copy shop on every street corner, traveling executives often find it difficult to find a quiet, well-equipped place to work while on the road. The Regus Group offers a convenient and cost-effective way for execs to remain productive while out of the office with its worldwide network of business lounges, fully equipped offices, meeting rooms, and videoconferencing studios in 750 locations, 350 cities, and 60 countries. Many business travelers are already familiar with The Regus Group subsidiary Laptop Lane airport business centers, which offer private offices with printing, copying, and faxing equipment, PC workstations, Internet access, and phones with unlimited long distance and conference-calling capabilities. Other offerings include the Executive Club program, the only membership program that provides members with unlimited access to 750 business lounges located in first-class office buildings in key business districts worldwide. All business lounges offer complimentary high-speed Internet and gourmet coffee and tea. Executive club members can enlist administrative support and utilize copiers, faxes, and printers for nominal service fees, and members may also opt to take advantage of fully furnished private offices and meeting rooms, available by the hour or the day.

For more information on the full range of services offered by The Regus Group, call 888-OFFICES or visit Regus Business Centers.  

CARBON NEUTRAL AIRLINE
In January, business-class airline Silverjet marked its official inauguration with its first round-trip journey between London’s Luton Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.

Silverjet’s first flight was accompanied by the launch of its unique carbon offsetting program. Included within all ticket prices is a mandatory carbon offset contribution, giving fliers the opportunity to reinvest "Carbon Points" into a number of climate friendly projects around the world. The program has been set up in partnership with leading climate change consultants The CarbonNeutral Company and has been developed in accordance with the CarbonNeutral protocol, the leading standard and quality mark for action on climate change.

Silverjet plans to commence operation of their second London-Luton to New York-Newark flight in July and is currently investigating additional long haul opportunities. Among the amenities offered by Silverjet are exclusive terminal experiences on both sides of the Atlantic that allow customers with only carry-on baggage to check in as few as 30 minutes before departure time. Each Silverjet flight offers award-winning flat bed seats, and night flights feature a designated Quiet Zone to maximize sleep time--no serving trolleys, no unnecessary announcements during the flight, removal of all overhead reading lights and call bells, all food and beverages individually served, and a late breakfast to eat on board or take away.

Fares for Silverjet's daily non-stop service between the New York area and London start at $1,798. For more information, visit www.flysilverjet.com.

NEW FOUR SESONS THAILAND RESORT
Four Seasons recently announced the opening of its fourth property in Thailand, the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui. The resort's 60 villas are built into the landscape, constructed on stilts among the coconut, jackfruit, and mango trees of this former fruit orchard, and are hidden from sight when the resort is viewed from the sea, while the resort’s beach is positioned on a private cove, accessible only to guests. The property also features a total of 88 pools; two restaurants as well as in-villa dining; The Spa, featuring five individual pavilions nestled inside a coconut grove; tennis courts and instruction; a children’s program; and more. A series of “Thai Collection” packages enables guests to combine a visit to Koh Samui with stays at the resort’s sister hotels in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and the Tented Camp Golden Triangle. For more information, visit www.fourseasons.com.

OMNI CUSTOMIZED MEETINGS PROGRAM
Omni Hotels recently launched its Sensational Meetings program, which promises to customize the environment surrounding a particular meeting to match its customer goals, shaping the event’s sensory elements to maximize the meeting experience. Three examples of its Sensational Meetings program include Energetic Meetings, Challenging Meetings, and Recognition Meetings. Energetic Meetings are favorable for brainstorming, planning, and training, with qualities that include vibrant, high-energy colors; fun, stimulating flavors; and unique lighting and creative accents that create an invigorating, intellectually stimulating atmosphere. Challenging Meetings, on the other hand, involve transition and negotiation, and can tend to have periods of tension. Omni Hotels can provide a relaxed environment that reduces the stress while increasing productivity, by lowering lighting to set the mood, serving green tea, and offering music that speaks to positive energy and re-assurance. Recognition Meetings honor past accomplishments and build on a vision for the future. Attendees are apt to having higher energy levels, so Omni Hotels can provide celebratory or upbeat music, individual floral arrangements, and champagne truffles. For more information, call 800-THE-OMNI or visit www.omnihotels.com.

CAR COLLECTING TRENDS
Every year Hagerty, the leading insurance agency for collector vehicles and boats in the nation, asks more than 100,000 of its members for their opinions on everything from what types of autos they collect to why they collect them. The Hagerty Hobby Survey helps gauge industry trends, checks the pulse of the collector car market, and tracks hobbyist behaviors. Results of the most recent survey have been tabulated, and once again, they yield quite a few surprises:

• Chevrolet (32.6 percent) beat Ford (19.6 percent) as the most popular make with the collectors surveyed. The Chevy Corvette remains respondents’ number one dream car.
• 77.5 percent of respondents believe that family relationships are at least “somewhat important” to the perpetuation of the collector car hobby, and most cite “family” as the primary reason for their introduction to the hobby. Currently, more than 60 percent of respondents have a family member in the hobby.
• More people surveyed this year own tricked-out, pumped up, collector and antique trucks than ever before, with 10.3 percent of respondents admitting to joining the truckin’ brigade.
• Vintage tractor owners are more likely than other vehicle collectors to have inherited their collector, besting even antique and post-war classics. According to survey results, tractor owners are also more likely to bequeath their tractor to another family member, citing “preservation” as their number one reason for ownership.
• Hobbyists overwhelmingly reported (82.6 percent) that they will bequeath their collector car to someone as part of their estate settlement, instead of selling them or requesting they be sold. As stated above, vintage tractor owners are the most likely to leave their ride to a family member while lowrider/tuner car owners are the least likely to do so

More detailed results from the 2006 Hagerty Hobby Survey can be reviewed by visiting www.hagerty.com.

PARK CITY CONDOMINIUM RESORT
With its strategic location in historic Old Town and access to world-class skiing, The Sky Lodge, a venture of CloudNine ResortClubs, promises to add to Park City, Utah’s unique blend of rustic sophistication. Set to debut in November 2007, The Sky Lodge will offer 22 exclusive residences ranging from 1,260 square feet to over 2,700 square feet of living space (plus decks with private hot tubs), all with spectacular views of Old Town and the Watsatch Mountains. Each ResortClub member at The Sky Lodge owns a deeded one-eighth fee simple interest in one of the luxury residences on the property—a variety of two- or three-bedroom flats or two-story townhouses, as well as a three-bedroom penthouse--including furnishings and accessories. Each one of the 22 units at The Sky Lodge accommodates eight owners, all of whom (or their family or friends) are entitled to 35 nights per year in their own residence.

The Sky Lodge is located at 201 Heber Avenue. For additional information on ResortClub membership opportunities, call 435-658-3336 or visit www.theskylodge.com.

AVITAT WESTCHESTER FBO RENOVATION
A major renovation of Avitat Westchester’s fixed base operations (FBO) facility at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York, is now complete, offering clients such as J.P. Morgan Chase, American Express, Paul Newman, and Richard Gere surroundings that have been designed with the five senses in mind. In addition to one-of-a-kind amenities, including a baby grand piano, Starbucks coffee, and floor-to-ceiling fish tanks, the new facility includes a new 21,000 square foot, two-story, lean-to terminal, multi-tenant offices, crew facilities, maintenance shops, and storage facilities.

The company’s new space is “spatially geared toward providing a full sensory experience, even though our passengers pass through the facility very quickly as they move from limousine to aircraft door,” says Avitat Westchester President Mike Dolphin. “A soaring atrium, custom-designed stainless steel staircases, and spaces shared by both crew and passengers make this complex a statement about the relationship between those who fly and those who are flown; an always intimate yet rarely integrated architectural experience.” For more information, call 914-428-3730.

SEA ISLAND TOPS BEST GOLF RESORTS
In a major coup for the legendary Georgia resort, Sea Island displaced California’s Pebble Beach for the top spot in Golf Digest’s most recent ranking of the “75 Best Golf Resorts in North America.” The ranking, which appeared in the December issue and included resorts in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, was issued by Golf Digest’s Course-Rating Panel, a group of more than 800 low-handicap golfers, who rated the resorts on criteria that included quality of lodging, dining, and golf. For more information, visit www.seaisland.com.

WOMEN'S WELLNESS AT OLD EDWARDS INN
Old Edwards Inn and Spa and the Cleveland Clinic recently announced a Women’s Wellness Retreat to take place September 9-13, 2007. The event will feature Tanya Edwards M.D. Medical Director, Center for Integrative Medicine Clinical Practice, and other Cleveland Clinic staff. Guests will experience five days of fitness, wellness cuisine, relaxation, and education with topics that include Integrative Therapies on Menopause, Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer Treatments, Facts Regarding Herbs and Supplements, Anti-inflammatory Diet, and Mind-Body Coaching.

Participants may select from several packages that include up to four spa treatments at Old Edwards Inn’s 25,000-square-foot, full-service spa. Packages include four nights deluxe accommodations at the Inn or The Lodge; champagne arrival; daily wellness lectures presented by the Cleveland Clinic; a cooking demonstration by the Inn’s executive chef; access to the Fitness Center and a variety of fitness classes and instruction; gourmet wellness cuisine at breakfast, lunch, and dinner; and more. Early registration rates are available through July 1, 2007, and reflect a 10 percent discount. For more information, call 828-787-2610 or visit www.oldedwardsinn.com.