TRAVEL

Home & Away with Robert WalsheLiving

Falcon Holidays new Direc-tor of Ireland is Helen caron. With 20 years’ experience in travel she started her career in sales for tour operator Page & Moy, followed by a stint at Festival cruises, join-ing First choice in 2000 as Retail commercial Manager and subsequently Head of Integration for Distribution. Since 2008 Helen has been commercial and Trading Di-rector for Thomson and First choice with responsibility for in-house and third party trade sales for the compa-ny’s mainstream business, as well as cruise distribution strategy and commercial relationships with all tour operators and other travel related suppliers. Home & away wishes her every suc-cess in her new role.

Weekend HotspotStately manor luton Hoo

is famous most notably as part honeymoon location for the Queen and Prince Philip. with a further claim to fame as a movie location for “ Eyes Wide Shut “ ,” Four Weddings & a Funeral “, casino Royale and War Horse. Built by the Earl of Bute, it was bought at the end of the 19th century by Sir Julius Wernher, who made his fortune from South african diamond mines. It was passed on through the family, including lady Zia Wernher,

who was a descendant of both Tsar nicholas I and of Pushkin, until its upkeep became an impossible bur-den for nicholas Phillips. That is also why there is a Russian orthodox chapel (now deconsecrated and used as a function room) within the house, complete with fabulous ceiling and full-length portrait of Tsar nicholas. Modeled on The Ritz, its interiors include a stunning parade of public rooms culminating in a spec-tacular dining room with breathtaking marble. luton Hoo - ’Hoo’ from the anglo Saxon word meaning ‘spur of a hill’ combines beauty with a relaxed informality in traditional colours of browns and greens. A fleet of Lon-don black cabs are on hand to ferry you to and from the airport or around the estate grounds if your fitness levels are not up to it. The capabil-ity Brown designed garden is beautiful through each of the seasons, and is obvi-ously lovingly tended to by grounds man Keith Hersey who has worked on the es-tate for decades. There are 44 individually decorated rooms in the Mansion House with a grand total of 144 en-suite guest bedrooms includ-ing the new wings. Guests can choose from a range of

rooms and suites offering high level accommodation all decorated and furnished to a high standard offer-ing character and charm. The Wernher Restaurant designed by the man who created the Ritz Hotel restau-rant in london is located at the Mansion House offering guests the chance to enjoy fine dining. Three of the orig-inal chandeliers hang from the ceilings which alongside floor to ceiling marble panels and drapes afford sweeping views of the grounds, giving a majestic feel to the room. The adams Brasserie in the nearby Stables Building is more informal but also pleas-ant. other facilities include tennis courts, gym, horse riding facilities and a golf course close by. an indul-gent weekend away wouldn’t be complete without a spot of pampering and the spa is a great spot to relax with treat-ments with many of the flow-ers and herbs found growing on the estate. Housed within the original stable courtyard and overlooking the wood-land, it’s a great place to unwind. Luton Hoo benefits from a countryside loca-tion in Bedfordshire only a 10 minute drive from luton airport, there are also road and rail links close by. It is only 3 miles away from the M1 motorway and 5 minutes from luton Parkway station

offering services to london. The location makes it a great place to see local areas of interest such as Hatfield House. luton Hoo is a mem-ber of Pride of Britain Hotels offering some of the finest privately-owned properties in the UK. Meanwhile a mag-nificent 18th-century sport-ing estate in leicestershire, an enchanting old house in a famous cotswold’s garden and a medieval gem in one of England’s prettiest villages are among the latest hotels accepted into this exclusive collection.

The consortium of pri-vately-owned, luxury inde-pendent hotels is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2012 by welcoming six new mem-bers, bringing the total to 43. The collection includes grand country houses, chic city establishments and idyllic rural hideaways, with a mix of traditional and contempo-

rary styles – but where the emphasis is always on great hospitality. www.prideofbrit-ainhotels.com

Weekly Best BuyHilton Worldwide is offering

up to 20% off its best avail-able rates if booked 21 days in advance. With prices start-ing at just €82 (£69) per room per night guests can choose from over 240 properties in some of the world’s most de-sirable locations including Europe, the Middle East and africa or equally, can enjoy a mini-break closer to home in the UK or Ireland’s very own Hilton Dublin, conrad Dub-lin or Hilton Dublin airport. not only are guests offered a leisurely breakfast, which is included in the package but they can also enjoy a late checkout at the weekends. If a family mini-break is on

the agenda, guests will be pleased to know that kids stay and eat for free. cou-ples can also stay in one of the world’s most romantic cities, Paris. Starting from as little as €79.50 per person, per night, the sights of Paris will be on the doorstep and guests can retreat to luxu-rious surroundings after a day of exploring all that the city has to offer. To add a further touch of romance, Hilton Hotels and Resorts’ ‘Request upon arrival’ serv-ice is available, where guests can request some personal touches in their room before arrival. www.hilton.com

Robert Walshe is a free-lance contributor / broad-caster and Travel Editor for River Media newspaper titles across the island of Ireland

Pet’s Corner... with Kathleen Murray

Home and Away Extraone of my favourite hotel companies

Kempinski has signed a management agree-ment for Kempinski ambience Hotel Delhi, with the opening planned for the second quarter of 2012. The five-star deluxe hotel will be set within an office and conference complex, about a 45-minute drive from In-dira Gandhi International airport in Delhi, in the historic neighbourhood of East Delhi, Shahdara. The hotel will feature 480 rooms

and suites, four restaurants and a bar in-cluding a Grand Ballroom accommodating up to 5,000 people. The property will also boasts an extensive spa and fitness centre with a sauna, hammam and two swimming pools. The opening of the Kempinski ambi-ence Hotel Delhi does not affect the 25-year relationship between Kempinski Hotels and leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts. www.kem-pinski.com

n Luton Hoo.

n Helen Caron Falcon Holidays Ireland Boss.

n Wernher Restaurant Luton Hoo.

Are owners liable for dog damages?THIS week I thought it might be helpful to know some law in re-lation to dogs so here is just one little piece that could be useful to people.

liability of owner for damage by dog (Sec-tion 21 of the 1986 control of Dogs act)

1) The owner of a dog shall be liable in damages for damage caused in an attack on any person by the dog and for injury done by it to any livestock; and it shall not be necessary for the person seeking such damages to

show a previous mischie-vous propensity in the dog, or the owner’s knowledge of such previous propensity, or to show that such injury or damage was attributable

to neglect on the part of the owner

2) Where live-stock are injured by a dog on land on to which they had strayed, and either the dog belonged to the occupier of the land or its pres-ence on the land was authorised by the occupier, a person shall not

be liable under this section in respect of injury done to the livestock, unless the person caused the dog to attack the livestock.

3) a person is liable in

damages for any damage caused by a dog kept on any premises or structure to a person trespassing thereon only in accordance with the rules of law relating to liabil-ity for negligence.

4) (a) any damage or in-jury for which a person is made liable under this sec-tion shall be deemed to be attributable to a wrong within the meaning of the civil liability act, 1961 , and the provisions of that act shall apply accordingly

b) Sections 11 (2) (a) and 11 (2) (b) of the Statute of limi-tations, 1957 , shall apply to such damage.