Organic wine gala dinner on Valentine’s Day

Asian cuisine restaurant Asian Live at the InterContinental Seoul COEX in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, is offering an Organic Wine Gala Dinner for Valentine’s Day. The dinner is based on healthy hansik (Korean traditional cuisine), prepared by chef Kim Byeong-eun who was in charge of the meals during the ASEM and G20 meetings. Guests can enjoy a delicious full-course gala dinner accompanied by sparkling wine Toques et Clochers Crmant de Limoux 2007. The Organic Wine Gala Dinner is available on

Feb. 10, 2012

Finair offers early bird promotion

Finair is offering tickets to major European cities at about 600,000 won as a February promotional event. Flights to Amsterdam, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Zurich and Prague cost 600,000 won until Feb. 29 and trips to other European cities are priced at 700,000 won, excluding tax.Departure should be before April 15 and the return date should be no later than May 15. The length of required stay is from four days to a month. The promotional event also includes a free stop-over at Helsinki,

Feb. 10, 2012

JW Marriott Hotel Seoul’s molecular cocktails

JW Marriott Seoul’s Bar Rouge in Banpo-dong, southern Seoul, has invited molecular cocktail expert Antonio Lai as a guest bartender from Feb. 8 to 11 to present his famous molecular cocktails. Having worked in various areas of food and beverage for 14 years in Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore, Germany, Italy and the United States, he first encountered molecular cocktails while training as a cocktail maker in Italy. Since then, Antonio’s research and development gained him a reputation as one of the

Feb. 10, 2012

American shifts to more self-serve kiosks

American Airlines recently completed a radical makeover of its lobby at Los Angeles International Airport, a project that eliminated the counters that separate ticket agents from long lines of passengers.In place of counters, American Airlines installed banks of self-serve kiosks, a total of 36 machines, where passengers can check in, get boarding passes and pay for on-board extras.Although American Airlines filed for bankruptcy in November and has called for 13,000 layoffs, airline officials sa

Feb. 10, 2012

Fascinating and feisty Bucharest: Romania‘s capital rises from its past

BUCHAREST, Romania -- On Sunday morning in Bucharest, I knew just what I wanted to do: I wanted to go to church. I also wanted to go down to the Old City, visit a few museums and buy a warm pretzel from a sidewalk stand. But mostly I wanted to go to church.Bucharest is studded with nearly 300 exquisite churches, some dating to the 1500s. During Communist times, Nicolae Ceausescu tore some of them down, and he hid others inside mammoth apartment blocks, but Romania has always been a religious cou

Feb. 10, 2012

Westin Chosun Seoul offers celebrity cocktails

The Circle, lobby lounge and bar in the Westin Chosun Seoul, introduces celebrity cocktails to celebrate the upcoming 100th anniversary of the Chosun Hotel in 2014. Celebrity cocktails are named after and inspired by celebrities and dignitaries who have visited and stayed in the Chosun Hotel over the past 100 years and will be offered until the hotel’s 100th anniversary in October 2014.The MacArthur cocktail, for example, is inspired by General Douglas MacArthur who used to enjoy drinking poktan

Feb. 3, 2012

Airport yoga room in San Francisco

San Francisco Airport opened a yoga room with low lights and soothing blue walls for stressed-out travelers, in the newly refurbished Terminal 2. It joins the Berman reflection room, a space intended for silence and meditation located before Terminal 2 security. Officials believe it is the first yoga space to be attached to an airport or public transportation venue. Large felt-constructed rocks reminiscent of the Zen gardens of Japan are installed, along with folding chairs. The room is already

Feb. 3, 2012

Climb Halla Mountain with Um Hong-gil

Lotte Hotel Jeju presents the Halla Mountain-Climbing Package with champion mountaineer Um Hong-gil, who has climbed 16 peaks taller than 8,000 meters in the Himalayas. The package is available through Feb. 11 for 50 teams of two people on a first come, first served basis. The package includes a two-night stay in a lake-view room at Lotte Hotel Jeju, breakfast, full-course dinner and Halla mountain-climbing with Um Hong-gil, and a mountain climber hat from the French outdoor brand Millet (worth

Feb. 3, 2012

Hotels.com accepts BC Global Card

BC Global Card members can now enjoy a wide selection of accommodation on Hotels.com, the global hotel reservation website.Hotels.com and BCcard, the leading payment network in Korea, linked an agreement to provide BC Global Card members with the ability to use their cards for independent and major chain hotels as well as self-catering in more than 140,000 properties worldwide. BC Global Card members can also join the recently launched Hotels.com Welcome Rewards program, which offers Korean trav

Feb. 3, 2012

Cruise ship victims mull $14,460 compensation deal

ROME (AP) _ How much is it worth to suffer through a terrifying cruise ship grounding?Italian ship operator Costa Crociere SpA on Friday put the figure at (euro) 11,000 ($14,460) plus reimbursement for the cost of cruise tickets and extra travel expenses, seeking to cut a deal with as many passenger

Feb. 1, 2012

Grand Hilton Seoul offers Valentine’s Day specials

The Grand Hilton Seoul offers “Romantic Valentine’s Day Dinner Buffet” for couples wanting to create some special memories with special menus and presents. Available on Feb. 14 only, the hotel’s Buffet Restaurant will provide beautiful flowers, cake, wine for reserved guests, in addition to its wonderful array of salads, appetizers, mains and desserts. Guests can experience the special Swiss cuisine corner featuring plentiful beef fondue with a variety of traditional Swiss dishes and desserts. T

Jan. 27, 2012

Millennium Seoul Hilton’s whisky, wine promotion

Millennium Seoul Hilton’s traditional English-style bar Oak Room is offering a special promotion through the end of February. Guests purchasing select premium whisky (Royal Salute 21 Years or higher, Ballantine 21 Years or higher, Johnnie Walker Blue Label or higher), premium cognac (Hennessey X.O, Remy Martin X.O, Camus Extra) or premium bottles of wine priced at 580,000 won and up will receive a complimentary stay at one of the hotel’s deluxe rooms. Oak Room is also featuring a Happy Hour Carv

Jan. 27, 2012

Hotels.com picks hotels with best views

Hotels.com, the world’s leading hotel booking website, has selected several hotels with the best views situated in cities full of entertainments where travelers can discover and enjoy fabulous sunrise and sunset at the same time. The hotels are Marina Bay Sands (Singapore), Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai (India), Molino Stucky Hilton (Venice), ME Madrid (Spain) and SLS Hotel (Los Angeles.). Prices for one-night stay at these hotels range from 200,000 to 400,000 won as of January 2012. Hotels.com’s Ko

Jan. 27, 2012

Korail offers ‘Snow Train to Taebaek’

Korail will operate the “Tong Tong Tong Snow Train” to Mount Taebaek starting next month, offering travelers the chance to enjoy a snow covered mountain this winter. Leaving Seoul Station at 7:59 a.m. on Feb. 1-5, 8, 10-12, 17-19, 22, and 24-26, the train will arrive at Chujeon Station while passengers can enjoy a variety of events, snack and live music aboard the train. A bus will pick up the passengers from the station, dropping them off at the Mount Taebaek Provincial Park, from where travele

Jan. 27, 2012