Hilton reopens its doors in Mauritius
The Hilton Mauritius Resort & Spa has reopened its newly renovated resort. The improvements include the creation of a grand deluxe room category and the redesign of three restaurants, three bars and the lobby area. The new rooms now include a separate bathtub and shower area in each bathroom, a flat-screen TV and a DVD player. The refurbished restaurants are La Pomme d'Amour, Ginger Thai and Les Coquillages. Prices start from €285 (Dh1,303) for two adults, per night. For more details, visit www.hilton.com.
Fairmont launches revamped Bali resort
Travellers to Bali can now book into Fairmont's first residency, the Fairmont Sanur Beach Bali. Formerly the Regent Bali, it now comprises 120 suites and villas. Located along a 200-metre beach, the hotel also has a 50-metre infinity pool, a spa and a number of restaurants, including Layang Layang, Nyala Beach Club and Grill, and the Lobby Lounge. There are two introductory offers to celebrate its opening. Guests will receive 25 per cent off the best available rate – starting from US$263 (Dh966) per night – when they book a suite; or a second night for free when they book one night in a pool villa. For more details, visit www.fairmont.com/sanur-bali.
Go private with new high-end jet holidays
Four new private-jet itineraries for 2016 have been announced by the Four Seasons. Included in these is the Timeless Discoveries: An Around the World Journey package which will run from January 26 to February 18, 2016. The trip begins in Los Angeles and makes its way to Kona, Bora Bora, Sydney, Bali, Chiang Mai, Mumbai, Prague and finishes in London. The package starts at $100,000 (Dh367,310) and includes travel aboard the Four Seasons private jet, ground transportation, all meals, and accommodation at Four Seasons hotels and resorts. For more details, visit www.fourseasons.com/aroundtheworld.
Dusit Thani expands in the Maldives
Guests at the Dusit Thani Maldives can now book into its new three-bedroom beach residence. The accommodation – an existing two-bedroom beach residence with an added one-bedroom beach villa – measures 690 square metres and consists of one master king bedroom upstairs opening onto a private veranda, with another twin bedroom downstairs. It boasts an indoor entertainment lounge, a dining area, a kitchen, a veranda, a swimming pool with an outdoor dining area and a private beach pavilion. It also features a courtyard with a third bedroom in a detached villa. This sub-villa has its own plunge pool, an outdoor rain shower and a semi-open-air bathroom. Prices start from $1,230 (Dh4,518) for three adults, per night. For more details, visit www.dusit.com.
alane@thenational.ae
Follow us @TravelNational
Follow us on Facebook for discussions, entertainment, reviews, wellness and news.
How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised:+$3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
Hydrogen: Market potential
Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.
"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.
Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.
The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.
Company Profile
Company name: Cargoz
Date started: January 2022
Founders: Premlal Pullisserry and Lijo Antony
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 30
Investment stage: Seed
