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Hilton Worldwide has signed a management agreement to convert Hacienda La Boticaria, an Andalucian style retreat close to Sevilla, into a luxury Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts property. Hilton Worldwide has already begun operating the resort, which is set to become a Waldorf Astoria in early summer 2011 and will mark the arrival of the brand in Spain. The new Hotel & Resort is located in Alcala de Guadaira and is 20 minutes from both Sevilla city centre and San Pablo airport, plus only a couple of hours drive from the Costa del Sol. Originally opened in 2004, the 133-room property Hacienda La Boticaria sits in 40 acres of private land and offers a truly authentic Andalusian experience.

John Vanderslice, global head, luxury and lifestyle brands, Hilton Worldwide, said, “Waldorf Astoria Sevilla at la Boticaria will be a wonderful addition to our growing brand portfolio, offering a truly unique guest experience. The property will be a warm and inviting hideaway, where guests will discover the delights of the Andalusian lifestyle while enjoying exceptional facilities, only minutes from Sevilla and many local attractions. Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts aims to provide unparalleled service and quality, building on the success of the renowned Waldorf Astoria in New York and its legacy of timeless luxury and personalized experiences.”  Read more »

Marbella will once again become the epicentre of world of women’s tennis with the hosting of the Andalucía Tennis Experience 2011 this coming April. This Tournament is the third edition of its kind and will be held between April 2nd and 10th at the Club de Tenis Puente Romano in Marbella.

After last year’s second edition of the Tournament which has served to make this exciting project even more popular, as some of the biggest names in tennis are set to take part in this year’s event. In statistics, just over 20,000 fans attended the event last year, with a global TV audience of 18,000,000 and in its two years of existence it has played host to some famous Spanish and international tennis players.

The first three tennis pro’s who will be playing were revealed this morning and their presence will do well on the way to ensuring some fantastic high quality tennis. The Tournament will be turning the spotlight on the previous world number one, Serbian Ana Ivanovic, who is one of the players on the circuit who seems to attract the most media attention, not it seems – only for her game skills, but also for her sultry good looks. Ivanovic is returning to the event after last year’s smash debut, along with Belorussia’s Victoria Azarenka, who is also certain to be amongst the favourites to win. For those looking to support closer to home, Spain’s Carla Suárez will also be looking to do better than last time and finally win the title which has unfortunately slipped through her fingers in the last two years.

Game on, ladies!

Sounds weird? Or perhaps even downright freaky?

Not so, say experts. In fact, it has been proven time and again that umbilical cords could even save lives as they are imbued with stem-cell rich tissue which has the potential to cure a vast number of diseases. These truly amazing blood stem cells can be used to regenerate bone marrow and this makes them unbeatable in the treatment of leukaemia, genetic diseases that cause irregular blood formation, server immunodeficiency disorders and other diseases that require stem cell transplants.

If you think this is a novel idea though, you’d be mistaken. Private umbilical cord banks are said to have proliferated in Spain since 2006 when the Prince of Asturias took it upon himself to preserve his eldest daughter’s umbilical cord in a private bank of this type in the United States. These banks are pricey, and can cost up to 2,000 euros – however, luckily there is a free public alternative. The difference between the public and private umbilical cord banks is quite simple: private banks save the stem cells for the exclusive use of the patient or client, whereby the cords which are donated to the public banks by law must be made available to anyone in the world.  Read more »

Kofi Annan, who served as the seventh Secretay-General of the United Nations from 1997 until December 2006 and who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, is speaking at the III World Conference on Climate Change & Wine in Marbella. The conference will be held at the Palacio de Congresos y Ferias in Marbella on April 13th. Mr. Annan’s speech, Global Compact Challenging Business to Become Leading Actors in Sustainable Development, will be of interest to all types of business, not only the wine sector. Kofi Annan is speaking at 6pm and the speech will be for about 90 minutes. Doors open at 5:30pm. A gala dinner will follow at 9pm with Mr. Annan attending. The Tickets range from 120 € to 250 €. 250 € for the conference and gala dinner. This congress will be a major event with much media coverage. If you are interested you should better get your tickets now. Other guests are Nicola Joly, a French Winegrower and one of the pioneers and leading personalities of the biodynamic wine movement and Claude Bourguignon director and founder of the Laboratoire d’Analyses Microbiologiques des Sols (LAMS), recognized authorities on soil health and protection. You can find more Information about the congress on www.climatechangeandwine.com.

Plans for the construction of a five-star hotel in La Bajadilla Port have been anounced by Marbella Town Hall. Jose Carlos Martin Sanchez, the President of the Andalucia Marinas has said that the plans are for an “emblematic” hotel, and the chosen hotel will be the winner of a design competition. The project, which has been estimated at a cool £124m is not yet fully confirmed as the plans need to be approved by the Junta de Andalucia. However, it has been made public knowledge that the project was included in the proposal sent to the Andalucian Public Port Agency earlier this week.

The port area which has been planned by the town hall includes plans for the construction of an area specifically designed for medium sized cruise ships between 112 and 146 metres long. This would be a covered and protected area, ensuring easy embarkment and disembarkment for the cruise liners passengers, no matter the weather.