Sun International’s Table Bay Hotel on Cape Town’s harbor front, is touting itself as an ideal venue from which to watch the Volvo Ocean Race on November 4. On that day, seven yachts will enter Cape Town’s harbor as part of their round the global race, which spans 6,500 nautical miles.

The Volvo Ocean Race, formerly the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race, starts in Alicante, Spain and visits Cape Town, Kochi, Singapore, Qingdao, Rio de Janeiro, Boston, Galway, Goteberg, Stockholm, finally finishing in St. Petersburg.

Elegant touch: Thanks to its prime location, the Table Bay Hotel offers its guests front row seats to watch the moored boats, while enjoying Afternoon Tea on the hotel’s terrace in the lobby or at its Atlantic Restaurant.

We hear there’s still space available at the hotel during the event. For more information, contact the United States Marketing & Sales Office of Sun International Hotels & Resorts at sainfo@sun-int.net; 954-331 8135.

For more luxury travel in Cape Town, see the August 2008 issue of Luxury Travel Advisor.

The Mandarin Oriental, Miami has created two packages for those clients who want to enjoy Miami’s nightlife scene. Guests can tailor their evening by selecting three venues from a selection of exclusive bars, lounges and nightclubs.

The “Ultimate Miami Nights” package includes two nights in either the hotel’s presidential-style suites: The Mandarin Suite has its own spa serenity room (shown here) and The Oriental Suite has its own Media Room. Also included is a daily champagne breakfast; a chilled magnum-sized bottle of champagne and hors d’oeuvres in room upon arrival; a full Presidential Suite bar set up and 24-hour personal butler service. Day One of the program includes a private shopping tour to Miami’s designer boutiques with a personal shopping escort and limo transportation; a celebrity make-up artist to provide professional hair and make-up services prior to evening out with a VIP Nightlife Guide; a professional photo shoot with a top Miami fashion magazine photographer; a chauffeured night out to three of Miami’s most posh dinner, lounge and party venues with a personal VIP Nightlife Guide in a 14-passenger stretch Hummer limousine with bottles of champagne and VIP admission, preferred seating and table service at selected venues.

Day Two is a bit calmer, with a full day in a stunning VIP Spa Suite; use of the private “Opium” bed at the hotel’s Oasis Beach Club; a six-course gourmet dinner prepared by a private chef in the the Presidential Suite’s kitchen and dining room for up to eight people and a late 3 p.m. late check out for late risers.

The cost of the package is a cool $25,000 for a two-night stay. For reservations, contact the hotel directly at 305-913-8288 or at 866- 888-6780.

Silversea Cruises‘ expedition ship, Prince Albert II, will call French Polynesia home from mid-March to late October 2009. The ship’s deployment to Papeete, French Polynesia’s capital, will correspond with a collection of new itineraries that feature the “less-traveled regions” of Polynesia, stretching from the southernmost Austral Islands to the northernmost Marquesas Islands. The 132-passenger ship’s deployment to the region comes on the heels of successful meetings between Silversea and the government of French Polynesia.

The ship’s tentative schedule promises to be one of flexibility, allowing expeditions to be less dictated by time constraints. For example, the ship will stay longer in areas of particular interest and veer course when curiosity dictates so.

Highlights of the 2009 French Polynesia program include: the Austral Island Adventures (Prince Albert’s eight Zodiac boats will get passengers up close and personal with the unique culture, flora and fauna of Rapa, Raivavae, Tubuai, Rurutu and Rimatara on five 11-day, roundtrip journeys from Papeete); Journeys to the Marquesas (an expedition team will lead explorations of Fatu Hiva, Pua Mau, Hiva Oa, Atuona, Ua Pou, Nuku Hiva and Tahuata, as well as Manihi and Fakarava Island in the Tuamotu Archipelago and the Society Islands of Bora Bora and Tahaa); Tuamotu Expeditions (departing from Papeete on five 10-day expeditions, the ship will explore the Tuamotu islands of Tikihau, Rangiroa, Apataki, Arutua and Fakarava, as well as Raiatea, Maupihaa and Huahine in the Society Islands).

Jade Mountain, Anse Chastanet’s “resort within a resort” on St. Lucia, has rates available for travel agents.

During their stay, agents will receive a complete tour of the 600-acre property, a complimentary spa treatment, a complimentary scuba or snorkel experience, a jungle biking or kayaking pass and a half day sailing cruise on the hotel’s yacht, Serenity.

From July 30 through October 31, 2008, the industry rate is $329 per person, double occupancy, for run-of-house accommodations in an “Infinity Pool Sanctuary,” inclusive of tax/service and breakfast and dinner. Rates from November 1through December 19, 2008, the rate is $399 per person.

Alternatively, those wishing to have guaranteed room reservations in specific room categories will receive a discount on the published daily rates: 50 percent will be applied in “superior” and “beach deluxe” categories, and 25 percent in “hill deluxe” and “premium” category. Anse Chastanet’s themed weekly packages are available to agents with a 25 percent overall discount in the various room categories.

Contact jademountain@ansechastanet.com.

The fabled US Grant hotel, on the edge of San Diego’s trendy Gaslamp Quarter, has named Douglas Korn as its new general manager. He doesn’t have far to move: Korn has spent the last six years as general manager of the Westin Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego, which is minutes away by foot from The US Grant.

The US Grant emerged from a $56 million renovation in 2006 and is now a member of Starwood’s Luxury Collection. The hotel is a AAA Four-Diamond and Exxon-Mobil Four-Star hotel.

Korn says that his immediate order of business is to generate new sources of business and oversee the ongoing development of a full-service luxury spa at the hotel. The property currently boasts 270 guest rooms, including 47 suites. Of course, anyone staying at the property must eat at the Grant Grill, an institution since 1951 where movers and shakers are said to eat and “where deals get done.”

The US Grant originally opened in 1910 and has been listed on the National Registrar of Historic Places since 1979.

Ever wondered what the adrenaline rush is like when buckled in behind the steering wheel of a Ferrari? Well, Baglioni Hotels, the luxury Italian hotelier with 14 European properties (seven in Italy) and luxury tour operator, Red Travel, are making the dream reality.

The one-day Ferrari Tour is a personalized 24-hour assisted tour, which starts at the entrance of a Baglioni hotel, where clients are greeted by a brand new Ferrari (perhaps the sporty Maranello, pictured). From there it’s through the winding roads of Italy—Lazio, Tuscany, Emilia Romagna or the northern lakes. The tour is led by an experienced Ferrari driver, who is also the tour director. The director will advise clients on technique and driving secrets.

The package is available from three Baglioni hotels: Hotel Bernini Palace (Florence), Carlton Hotel Baglioni (Milan) and Regina Hotel Baglioni (Rome).

For information and reservations, luxury travel advisors can contact Paola Ragnoli (redtravelferrari@baglionihotels.com; 011-39-02-773-331).

We hear that Auberge Resorts has picked up the management contract to operate the Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa in Rancho Sante Fe, CA, along with sister property, La Valencia Hotel, in neighboring La Jolla. Along with the announcement, Auberge is installing David Friederich as managing director of both properties.

Under the agreement, Rancho Valencia will be branded as an Auberge Resort, while La Valencia will not. It will become, instead, an affiliate hotel managed by Auberge.

Rancho Valencia, located in the affluent and exclusive enclave of Rancho Sante Fe, is an all-suites property, wherein each suite features a fireplace and private garden terrace. For those who like an active vacation, the property boasts 18 hard-court tennis courts, complemented by a comprehensive tennis program. There, too, is Spa Rancho Valencia—the perfect place to unwind after a day’s worth of pounding the courts.

Sister property, La Valencia Hotel, endearingly nicknamed the “Pink Lady of La Jolla” for its pinkish exterior hue, is 82-years old and offers an assortment of room categories, along with four dining venues, all overlooking La Jolla Cove and the Pacific Ocean. The hotel is a member of Preferred Hotels and Resorts.

The properties will be under the watchful eye of Friederich, who, for the previous five years, worked at the Cloister Hotel on Sea Island, GA, most recently in the position of general manager. He also spent 11 years with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

One&Only Palmilla in Los Cabos, Mexico, has announced that effective September 1, 2008, the resort’s five-year contract with renowned chef Charlie Trotter will end and, with it, the closing of “C,” the resort’s fine-dining restaurant.

One&Only Palmilla, however, isn’t in dire straits. It has announced that in November 2008, it will debut an original dining concept through a collaboration with another famed chef: Jean-Georges Vongerichten (pictured here), behind such haute eateries as the eponymous Jean Georges inside New York City’s Trump Tower at Columbus Circle.

The Rocco Forte Collection’s Le Richemond in Geneva has a new general manager: Patrick Mossu, who most recently served as general manager of the Grand Hotel Kempinski, also in Geneva. Mossu has held a variety of hotel positions throughout the globe, and while at Grand Hotel Kempinski oversaw an extensive renovation period.

Le Richemond in Geneva re-opened in September 2007 after an extensive refurbishment of its own by designer John Stefandis. The 109-room hotel, originally built in 1875, offers vista views over Lake Geneva and now includes the addition of a brand new seventh floor featuring the 2,475-square-foot Armleder Suite (at right), characterized as a royal suite.

“Madagascar” the movie has nothing on the real thing. Leaping lemurs, chameleons and scaly Nile crocodiles await luxe travelers on the Abenteuer Afrika-operated (www.abenteuerafrika.com) 12-day Madagascar safari, available mid-September through November 20, 2008.

The per-person rate of $3,060 includes accommodations, meals, boat and road transfers,

excursions and entrance fees, local guides, chauffeured cars and insurance. Sorry, air arrangements to Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital, must be made separately.

The adventure begins at Perinet National park, home to many lemur species (the cute, small mammals with fox-like faces, wooly fur and large eyes). At the private Vakona Reserve, guests will get up close and personal with “real” Nile crocodiles—yes, the temperamental kind that bite! Exploration ensues at Nosy Mangabe, where guides will explain ancestral myths and traditions of the Sakalava Tombs.

While roughing it in the bush during day, nights will be spent in the lap of luxury, highlighted by a two-night stay at Le Royal Palissandre (www.hotel-palissandre.com) in the center of Antananarivo. In Perinet National Park, guests will stay at the Vakona Forest Lodge, with its distinctive bungalows; in Masoala, the Arol Ecolodge (arollodge.free.fr/home.htm) has lemurs parading on the grounds; and in Nosy Magabe, guests will stay at Relais du Masoala (www.relaismasoala.com), set in a lush coconut grove.

All luxury travel advisor questions can be directed to Dianne Orban (dorban@abenteuerafrika.com; 011-264-64-404030).