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FEATURES |
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Djibouti: A
Palace Emerges Sylvia
Frommer-Mracky Travel Editor The African
Times Palace, a word that
conjures up a palatial, sprawling edifice which
most often is quite stunning and awesome to the
onlooker, a grand mansion in every sense. Hotels
around the world now search for up market travelers
who want to live in a palace when they vacation,
therefore, thousands of resorts now have the word
"palace" attached to their title. Will this entice
the jet setters of the world or the once in a
lifetime traveler experience? Could be! The
public relation firms are hard at work convincing
readers of trendy magazines that a palace is what
they really want. Palaces could be
presidential, maharajah-like, or smaller Beverly
Hills versions. Whatever, they usually are quite
different from our very own homesteads. Most of us
do not have 11,000 foot spas offering almost every
hedonistic luxury of wellness and beauty methods
known to sybarites; or acre swimming pools merging
with the sea, where the standard room is as
charming as the huge suite. There is one palace-like
establishment that stands out in a little known
country made of volcano rocks, great rift
depressions, desert meeting one of the most
exciting, voluptuous waters, in a strategic
location here a palace emerges, a smashing secret
that every sybarite can want, a miracle appearance
on the sea horizon named the Djibouti Palace
Kempinski. This is the"miracle"
palace built in nine months on reclaimed
beach-front with stunning results that impresses
the visitor the minute he enters and is greeted by
the personnel. This palace has become the
meeting place for the elite where you can chat with
the Saudi Arabian Ambassador, become friends with
the Libyan Ambassador, who may offer you a sample
of his special blend of tobacco for a shisha smoke
in the second lobby. This is the hot spot in
Djibouti City for the elegant get togethers, award
dinners, weddings, ambassadorial meetings,
Presidential conclaves, yet not so remote that the
stationed foreign armed services are denied the
pleasures of the "palace." Being in a strategic
geographical location there are armed forces in
Djibouti. The United States, France and Germany
are stationed there. They are welcome to disco away
and swim in the palatial pool and to visit the new
casino Nice for short R & R's. SEVEN STARS AND STRIPES,
is the organization that chooses the ultimate
global awards with an outstanding advisory board.
Guess they felt a five star designation was no
longer the right fit for some locations and created
this organization to crown those establishments
that compare to global perfection. Their
consultants go beyond hotels to consider the finest
in cuisine, wines, airlines and resorts. The
Djibouti Palace Kempinski Hotel was designated this
award after their doors opened for
business. If I lived in Europe with
those nasty winter days which make you feel blue, I
would get on an Air France, Ethiopian, Emeritus,
Dalleo flight, whatever you can afford, and fly off
to this uncrowded unusual warm and sunny resort
destination of Africa. It's not that
far. This palace has just
begun. A marina and man made beach should be
completed by the time you read this. Additional
phases will be competed and decorated in exotic
themes keeping the original hotel as the business
center and the wings for family suites and
travelers. There is no doubt that there will be
more to follow and we must all visit when the
island is completed (similar to Palm Island in
Dubai) and the palace elaborates its
grandeur. Your Africa expert travel
agent can show you the way. |
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Does
this greeter make you feel like a prince or
princess, a dignitary, a multi millionaire
(billionaires in this day); as an ordinary traveler
always hopes to be greeted. The Djibouti Palace
Kempinski can make this happen and it is all just
beginning.