The world will probably never know, nor indeed care, which hotel first described itself as an "oasis of calm", but it is now so common a cliché that it seems to be applied to any hotel or resort in the world that can offer up air conditioning, cable television and a mini bar. No longer simply a favoured phrase among industry wordsmiths short on ideas, "oasis of calm" has also entered the realm of the amateur reviewer, like a verbal epidemic. Google the words "hotel oasis of calm", for example, and you'll be faced not with a list of Bedouin valium salesmen, but with hundreds of TripAdvisor entries proudly extolling oases of calm around the globe, from the Ibis London Euston St Pancras to the Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South, to the more appropriately oasis-like Mena House Oberoi, near the pyramids in Giza. Non-hospitality claimants to the title listed further on include psychiatric and rehab clinics of various kinds, refugee camps, spiritual centres and resting places including the Mortlake Crematorium in southwest London ("an oasis of calm in which to say farewell to a loved one"), not far from Heathrow Airport, where more of TripAdvisor's oasis-of-calm candidates include the Hilton Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 and, not to be outdone, its near neighbours the Sofitel London Heathrow and Marriott Hotel Heathrow.
Upmarket London auctioneer Christie's will be holding its 15th Annual Ski Sale on January 23, "celebrating the golden age of travel, from the turn of the 20th century through to the 1950s, when skiing holidays became increasingly popular as new transport links gave greater access to this exhilarating holiday option." In other words, when package tourism spoiled the slopes for the idle rich. The sale catalogue comprises mostly travel posters from the aforementioned golden age (although a 1965 Air India poster advertising its flights to Switzerland has somehow passed muster), which once beckoned wealthy travellers with artwork recognised today as highly collectible. Probably of more interest to the Hong Kong market is a selection of vintage Louis Vuitton luggage with an estimated starting price of a reasonable £1,000 (HK$12,500). To download a catalogue and register for phone bidding, go to
www.christies.com.
One of Cunard's "three queens", the Queen Victoria will be putting in at Hong Kong on March 18 and setting sail the following day on a nine-day cruise down to Singapore, via Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City, in Vietnam, and Bangkok, Thailand. Farrington American Express Travel is selling berths from HK$9,799 (per person, twin share), although this price will only get you a small inside cabin with no porthole. The cheapest of the worthwhile accommodation is curiously described by the agent as a "mental balcony" cabin. It is actually metal (rather than the preferred, brighter glass balcony) and costs from HK$13,699 per person. These prices are full board and include return flights from Singapore with Singapore Airlines, but you should expect to pay just over HK$5,000 more in fuel surcharges, port taxes and other miscellaneous fees. For more information, go to
www.amextravel.com.hk or call 3121 3677.
