Once in a Lifetime

LIFE IS FAR TOO SHORT TO DO EVERYTHING. BUT THERE ARE SOME SIGHTS ON THE PLANET SO EXCEPTIONAL THAT, AT LEAST ONCE IN A LIFETIME, IT’S WORTH THE EFFORT.

One of the most ambitious and largest man-made constructions, was recently announced as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Made from blocks of stone, packed earth and rocks, construction on the Wall was begun by Qin Shi Huangdi, first Emperor of China, more than 2,000 years ago and took many hundreds of years – and workers’ lives – to complete. Even though it is a myth that it is big enough to be visible from spacecraft orbiting the earth, the remaining part of the Wall is still around 6,400 kilometres long, and in places 9 metres thick. Pretty hard to be missed and very easily accessed from your base in Beijing.

The amazing new SKYWALK AT THE GRAND CANYON, 200 kilometres east of Las Vegas, was completed in March 2007. A reinforced glass walkway juts out terrifyingly from the canyon wall 1,200 metres above the Colorado River on the western edge of the Grand Canyon, giving visitors incredible views of one of the greatest natural wonders of the world. Built to withstand the weight of 71 fully loaded Boeing 747 planes, the Skywalk can cope with winds in excess of 160 kilometres per hour.

Go from one extreme to the other and be equally dazzled by Las Vegas, a multi-billion dollar man-made grid of spangled, neon-lit glamour imposed on the barren desert. This is the playground of megawatt zillionaires, venue of world-class cabaret acts and mecca to hundreds of thousands of tourists, hoping to make a quick buck, and having a really fabulous time doing it.

One of the wonders of the ancient world and the greatest achievement of Rome’s extraordinarily talented architects. The amphitheatre was restored to all its former glory in Ridley Scott’s epic Oscarwinning film “Gladiator”.

The great elliptical stadium with three tiers of arcades was designed to accommodate and control crowds of over 50,000, who gathered to watch bloody and brutal mortal combat and deathdefying chariot races. A labyrinth of passageways leads to cells where chained wild beasts, slaves and gladiators alike awaited their grim fate.

BEIJING:

• HOTEL KUNLUN – DELUXE COLLECTION
• LOONG PALACE HOTEL & RESORT – DELUXE COLLECTION
• BEIJING LANDMARK HOTEL – FIRST CLASS COLLECTION
• JIANGUO HOTEL BEIJING – FIRST CLASS COLLECTION
• PRIME HOTEL BEIJING – FIRST CLASS COLLECTION
• THE PRESIDENTIAL HOTEL BEIJING – DELUXE COLLECTION

LAS VEGAS:

• THE GRANDVIEW AT LAS VEGAS – FIRST CLASS COLLECTION
• THE CLIFFS AT PEACE CANYON – FIRST CLASS COLLECTION
• CLUB 36 – FIRST CLASS COLLECTION
• THE JOCKEY CLUB – COMFORT COLLECTION

ROME:

• GRAND HOTEL DE LA MINERVE ROME – DELUXE COLLECTION
• HOTEL ALDROVANDI PALACE – DELUXE COLLECTION
• ROSE GARDEN PALACE – DELUXE COLLECTION
• ST. GEORGE ROMA – DELUXE COLLECTION
• THE DUKE HOTEL – DELUXE COLLECTION
• GRAND HOTEL PALAZZO CARPEGNA – FIRST CLASS COLLECTION
• HOTEL QUIRINALE – FIRST CLASS COLLECTION
• RIPA HOTEL – FIRST CLASS COLLECTION
• TORRE ROSSA PARK HOTEL - COMFORT COLLECTION