Marina Bay Sands Introduces SmartHotel Features in Mobile App

At five o’clock in the morning, a pale golden light is washing over an otherworldly landscape of conical rock formations and undulating cliffsides. The sky is specked with colorful hot air balloons at varying heights. In the early morning silence, the only sounds are the occasional gentle woosh as the balloons fire and dogs barking far off in the valley.

Apple revealed travel-related features available in the next generation of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. 

Gleaming gypsum crystal dunes roll as far as the eye can see at White Sands National Park. With waves towering up to 60 feet tall, the composition of the Northern Chihuahuan Desert landscape is constantly changing due to wind and weather patterns. Hardy plants like yuccas, grasses, and shrubs have evolved to survive in the shifting sands, adding texture to the spectacle of shapes and shadows that define the scenery.

Following two flat months, Hillsborough County’s hospitality industry saw a large surge in growth in July according to the latest reports from STR, Inc. July’s hotel revenues were up 13.8% while occupancy increased by 3.4% to 70.4%, average daily rate (ADR) up 11.5% to $143.55 and RevPAR up 15.3% to $101.08.  July tourist development tax collections for Hillsborough County, which reflect June collections, came in at $4,347,279, bringing the total collection for the fiscal year to $56,732,408. Total taxable hotel revenue through June has reached more than $900 million for the fiscal year-to-date indicating that Hillsborough County will surpass $1 billion for the second continuous fiscal year.

Oman Air has introduced a new initiative across its fleet, which sees the plastic used to wrap passenger blankets and mattresses in its premium cabins replaced with an friendly, paper-based alternative.

In 2012, the government of Singapore set out to create a “City in a Garden,” a futuristic botanical garden that would showcase the city-state’s embrace of the future and add to its already distinct skyline. Singapore is small — 274 square miles — yet it managed to fit Gardens by the Bay, an area containing several hundred acres of lush greenery, a waterfall, 1.5 million plants, and the largest glass greenhouse in the world into its tiny frame. Many visitors to Gardens by the Bay come for the iconic Supertrees, Cloud Forest, and Flower Dome, but there are a number of lesser-known exhibits to walk through on a day trip to the Gardens by the Bay.

THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE AUGUST 26, 2023, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE .

H​urricane Idalia is barreling toward the Florida Gulf Coast and is expected to make landfall as a major hurricane on Wednesday and disrupting travel up and down the coast.

J2 adventures is designed to meet the needs of families and groups by integrating thematic, custom-designed excursions around specialized topics and interest areas.

Ott previously served as General Manager of San Diego Mission Bay Resort, a Noble House Hotels & Resorts property.

This forms part of the airline’s continued efforts to invest in its lounges, it will complete its London Heathrow Terminal 5B refurbishment in the coming months, and is undergoing lounge refreshes at its London Heathrow Terminal 3, Edinburgh and Seattle lounges this year.

Theme park and resort operator Merlin Entertainments has appointed longtime sports and media executive Scott O’Neil as its CEO effective Tuesday. O’Neil replaces Nick Varney, who announced in April that he was retiring from the company he launched in 1999.