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Tabacón Grand Spa Thermal
Resort - Costa Rica |
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Los Tucanes - Costa
Rica |
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Tabacón Grand Spa - Costa
Rica |
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British Airways - FIRST
Class |
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NEXT: Falling Rock -
USA |
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| La Fortuna - Costa
Rica |
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| 6 Stars and 5 Stripes |
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| The
Tabacón Grand Spa Thermal Resort is located circa
two hundred miles from San Jose, Costa Rica's capital. During our pleasant ride
to the resort we were offered exquisite specialties in form of delicious hours
d'oeuvres. We arrived at the unique, inviting main-entrance of the resort,
decorated, or rather 'naturally surrounded' by the luscious, wild and diverse
flora and the sounds of the tropical rainforest. As we emerged from the
perfectly AC'd SUV, we were pleasantly surprised by the comfortable level of
humidity still in the early rain season. Costa Rica has only two seasons, which
are called 'dry' and 'green', affording a mild climate and nice weather pretty
much year-round. Besides, we got
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| My accommodations were in one word 'handsome' featuring cool earthy
floor tiles, dark wooden doors and trimmings. It was so uniquely laid-out that
the suite appeared more spacious then it actually was. The bellman familiarized
me in decent English with my accommodations and withdrew himself without
expectations. The dark wooden furniture and natural fabrics challenged the
relaxed colors of the suite. The open air bath facilities and the sapphire blue
bath tub created the overall feeling of stylish, comfortably, serenely designed
luxury. I dropped my laptop on the desk and here in the jungle of Costa Rica I
was within seconds by WiFi connected with the world. Trust me, my Skype
conversation with Europe didn't last long, I was too tired. Besides the
melodious sounds and oblivious smells of the tropics were demanding my
undivided attention. I poured a glass of superbly chilled champagne, nipped on
some of the freshly sliced luscious fruits, gazed through the
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| Seven Stars and Stripes Inc. now offers, for the first time, this
extraordinary, custom designed ‘His & Her Seven Stars Cufflink
set. Limited Edition. |
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| GRAND SPA |
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| La Fortuna - Costa
Rica |
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| 'Of Global
Distinction' |
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| Always seeking new innovations, The Grand Spa introduced the 'Huey
Temazcal Aahuatlan', an exclusive therapy based on ancient Mesoamerican
rituals, the first of its kind in Costa Rica. It is offered to the public and
supposedly it is the only one in the world embedded in the energy of an active
volcanic environment. Temazcal is a pre-Hispanic steam bath ritual that is
widely used in Mesoamerican cultures, intended as both a spiritual and physical
cleansing experience. The experience takes place in a womblike well rounded
structure, where energy from the center of the earth and from all four winds is
summoned and flows in circular motion in direct relation to the natural
elements, which make up this magical place: Earth, Water, Fire and Air.
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| The Tabacón thermal mineral spa, directed by Miss Rosa Paulina
Pèrez, earned the Seven Star Spa Award of Global Distinction with full
accolades for: Exceptional customer service, genuine and unpretentious personal
care that guests receive from the entire spa staff, and especially from Mr.
Victor. The exquisitely maintained, natural and eco-friendly facilities.
Innovation in development of new therapies and treatments and its one of a kind
location.
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| Our Seven Stars and Stripes™ book - 2003 to 2006 world-edition,
is
still available. Over 300 pages - featuring only the finest
establishments and fascinating cuisine art images from around the world. All
beautifully compiled in this full-color collector's edition.
ISBN# 1-4259-4267-9 |
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| Congratulations to all, from your Guests and from Seven Stars and
Stripes: |
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- For your visible commitment to excellence.
- For your willingness to be recognized for your latest
innovations.
- For your devotion to your staff and company.
- For your ability to receive.
- For your decision to raise the bar.
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| Dear Friends, |
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| 'Hello again', - this time from the famous
Tabacón Grand Spa Thermal Resort in La Fortuna, Costa Rica located near
the base of the majestic Arenal Volcano and the Arenal National Park. We
expected an exotic paradise and found a Seven Star Spa and then some. It is a
magical place, where water, fire, air and earth converge and welcome the one
who is in dire need of rest with Mother Nature's embrace, the only one in the
world embedded in the energy of an active volcanic environment. The
friendliness of the Costa Ricans, Ticos (as they call themselves), besides the
beauty of this country full of adventures, make Costa Rica a popular
destination for visitors from all over the world. This beautiful Latin American
country never fails to amaze us frequent global travelers, and the
Tabacón Grand Spa Thermal Resort should be on your short term
travel destination list. Nothing I can write will do any justice to the time
spent at the Tabacón's Grand Spa. It isn't normally that easy for me to
get lost in the moment and forget about the stresses of traveling around the
world. On the way back to Europe our experience with British Airways First
Class service between New York's Newark airport and London's Heathrow will
reveal both world-class plusses and glaring minuses. |
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| I remain yours truly |
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Thorsten Buehrmann |
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| Watch the Seven Stars and
Stripes |
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| Award TV Show on |
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| Hamptons Televisions WVVH
World-Wide |
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| La Fortuna - Costa Rica |
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| 5 Stars and 6 Stripes |
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| A second entrée was presented as Lamb Filet and Chop with a
sweetened fresh Rosemary Sauce, reminding us of the exquisite preparation and
care needed to keep the gamey flavor of lamb under control. Each of the two
entrées was offered with a wine pairing of a superb Grand Cru
Classé of Chateau Berliquet 2001, decantered in a graceful crystal
bottle. It offered a timeless and stylish combination of merlot, cabernet
sauvignon and cabernet franc in the perfect proportions leading to an opulent,
rich structure with a decidedly black current and vanilla nose. I couldn’t
help savoring this elegant wine even long after the entrées were
finished.
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| Chef Cortés spent years developing his own unique style
loosely modeled after the alta cocina approach putting together international
ingredients with ingenuity and panache. Chef Cortés sees himself as a
sort of guarantor of utilizing the abundance of fresh local ingredients while
applying Old World techniques. In his own words he revealed to us the secret to
his incredible love for what he does: “To travel around the world, being
in contact with other cultures, is the key for the creation of new
recipes,” he said.
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| Seven Stars and Stripes Awards for: |
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| First Class |
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| 6 Stars and 5 Stripes |
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| On the other hand, a first class dining facility was in fact
available in Newark at the First Class Lounge for those passengers arriving a
bit early and not wishing to interrupt their mid-Atlantic slumber with a
wake-up call for in-flight dining. There was a three-course dinner with the
proper wine pairings available and we took advantage of it since after the long
wait in line at Emigrations left us famished. For starters we opted for the
Southwestern Corn Chowder, which proved to be tasty with just the right amount
of spice to accentuate the thick, velvety soup. The suggested wine pairing was
Pouilly-Fuisse, George DeBoeuf 2006, a reasonably good traditional white
Burgundy with sourced grapes from the region promising a consistent crisp and
refreshing complement.
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| Upon boarding the aircraft, we found the first class compartment
spacious, comfortable but seriously outdated. The antiquated entertainment
system looked only slightly better when one compared it to some of the earlier
Star Trek television shows. Macadamia nuts were promptly offered by a pleasant,
friendly and ever present cabin crew. After take-off, a delightful Lobster
Bisque was part of the menu and we took note of its delicious flavor but for
the first time we were more interested in falling asleep than eating since we
had already dined at the terminal. Before getting ready for bed I decided to
try out the comfort factor of turning neighboring first class seats into a
semi-private dining venue. Team member Edmund joined me in the opposite facing
seat so that we could simulate eating together but were disappointed with the
reality that you had to be quite slim to enjoy company for dinner. We did see
that the bread was served using the proper utensil, a pair of tongs (not like
BA's Business Class), while the wine was opened improperly when the flight
attendant cut the foil too close to the rim of the bottle, allowing flavor
contamination
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| In Next Gazette: |
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| * Falling Rock, PA - USA |
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| In The Press: |
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* Tabacón Grand Spa Thermal
Resort -
AWARD-Hand-Out on National TV |
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