Britain’s favourite boy band to open new restaurant

JLS the X Factor finalists and now Britain’s favourite boy band are looking into entering the hospitality sector with a new restaurant and club based in London’s West End, according to The Sun.

Aston, Marvin, JB, and Oritse will be equal investors in the venture and the band is now actively looking for suitable locations.

The Sun stated that JLS plan to open an Asian establishment, probably to be named Jewels of the Lotus Sutra, which is based on the group member’s initials, wanting to make it one of the best venues in London.

A source close to the band told the Sun, “each of the boys want to get involved in how it will look, what’s on the menu and who’s on the guest list.”

Fullerton Bay Hotel is Preferred Hotels & Resorts' newest member

Opening in July 2010, the Fullerton Bay Hotel is Preferred Hotels & Resorts' newest member and Singapore's most anticipated new luxury waterfront hotel.

Preferred Hotels & Resorts, a brand of Preferred Hotel Group and a collection of more than 200 of the world's most desirable destinations, is pleased to announce its newest member in Singapore - The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore.

The much anticipated July opening of the 100-room The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore will mark the hotel as the city's first and only waterfront hotel. Seated on Marina Bay's prime waterfront location in the Central Business District and the historic Arts and Cultural precinct, the hotel will offer impeccable service and hospitality.


LCL Architects, the group behind the hotel's inspiring glass facade, is also responsible for the creation of the luxury hotel rooms, while the arrival experience and restaurants are the latest projects by design wunderkind, Andre Fu. Guests will enter the hotel through a 17-metre-wide lobby at the historic Clifford Pier, an important heritage site that saw the arrival of many of Singapore's early settlers. The hotel's exquisite interior designs are richly-steeped in Singapore's illustrious history; Fu used vintage nautical maps and commissioned contemporary art that reflects the celebration of heritage and modernity in the Lion City.

Each of the hotel's six suites - including a Presidential Suite - are individually themed to reflect the wealth of cultures in Singapore's cosmopolitan population, including Chinese, Malay, Indian, Peranakan, and Colonial. Named after the ex-governors of the Straits Settlement, each features magnificent Marina Bay views from its balconies and is adorned with custom artwork and antiques alongside contemporary pieces.

The hotel's trio of culinary experiences includes the signature restaurants of Clifford, The Landing Point, and Lantern. Clifford, a modern brasserie, is illuminated by splendid 10-metre-high floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bay. Guests are greeted by an opulent 800-bottle fine wine library and vintage furnishings in warm gray, burnt orange, and dark aubergine set against ivory French paneling and herringbone oak floors. With a majestic 13-metre-long bar and spacious outdoor terrace, The Landing Point is the hotel's sophisticated lounge. Lantern is a stylish rooftop bar, surrounding the hotel's 25-metre rooftop swimming pool with panoramic views of the waterfront, the Singapore skyline, and sunset.

"This new hotel will undoubtedly be Singapore's latest luxury design hot spot and will join its renowned award-winning sister property, The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, as another iconic hotel in Asia's global city," said Mark Simmons, area managing director - Asia, Preferred Hotel Group. "Preferred Hotel Group is excited to have The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore as one of our exclusive partners to accommodate our distinguished group of global luxury clients."

"Catering to the Preferred Hotel and Resorts' discerning travellers - especially the well-heeled jetsetters and sophisticated chic - The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore embodies and sets the tone for an indulgent experience," said Giovanni Viterale, general manager of The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore, The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, and The Fullerton Heritage. "The ideal location of the hotel alongside the sparkling waterfront makes it a perfect destination for business, leisure, and gourmands alike."

Boris Johnson opens Travelodge in Waterloo Road

Mayor of London Boris Johnson came to Waterloo last Thursday to officially open the chain's 400th hotel as it celebrates its 25th anniversary.

Travelodge London Waterloo, located at St George's House in Waterloo Road, has 279 bedrooms and is full every night for its first month.


The development – which incorporates a grade II listed building as well as a new structure – has cost £21.1 million to covert into a Travelodge hotel. Travelodge says that the new hotel has created 60 new jobs, with half of the positions being filled via the London Employer Accord programme which helps the long term unemployed back into work.

"London Waterloo is the perfect example of the modern and vibrant company Travelodge has evolved into over the last 25 years," says Guy Parsons, chief executive of Travelodge. "Located in a prominent location it offers the perfect low-cost base for both leisure and business customers."

"With the Olympics getting ever nearer and given the prominent role tourism plays in the growth of the London economy, we have also invested heavily to ensure that Travelodge is the biggest hotel brand in the Capital in time for the 2012 games."

The hotel is offering a complimentary 'Triplet London sightseeing tour' which allows two customers and a tour guide to cycle around London visiting the capital's sights. In addition to these tours Travelodge is also trialling a free cycle service where customers can hire a 'Go Cycle', the world's lightest electric bike. To help guests seek out London's landmarks, Travelodge has created a cycle sightseeing guide which takes in the capital's top ten attractions in an hour's ride.

Waterloo has seen a flurry of new hotels opening, with several more on the drawing board. The H10 London Waterloo opened earlier this year and the Tune Hotels.com Westminster will welcome its first guests at the end of August.

New World Hotels launches new corporate ID

New World Hotels has launched a fresh corporate identity as New World Hospitality, with a logo that displays an elegant feel, both classic and modern in its simple interpretation.

This is the first in a series of repositioning initiatives, including revitalisation of the group’s namesake New World Hotels brand and ambitious expansion plans.

The emblem also represents the company’s new approach to delivering service based on “relationship hospitality” -- nurturing long-lasting relationships with guests, associates, owners and the community with service that is perceptive, engaging and inspiring.

These qualities will run through all New World Hospitality’s growing portfolio of brands, including New World Hotels and pentahotels, with the goal of being recognised as a distinctive hospitality icon, within the region and internationally.

Fenn to become IHF chief executive

The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has announced Tim Fenn is to become its new chief executive. Mr Fenn will replace John Power, who retires at the end of this month.


A native of Cork, Tim Fenn was born into a family hotel business. He has over 25 years experience in management and consulting roles in the private sector snd has been a corporate finance manager with Farrell Grant Sparks.

John Power has been Chief Executive of the Irish Hotels Federation since 1996. Prior to joining the IHF he was was a Group Director of Ryan Hotels Plc and Chief Executive of its Irish Hotels Division, where he worked for twenty-seven years. A native of Limerick, he is a board member of Tourism Ireland Ltd and an active member of many committees including Tourism Marketing Partnership, Hotels Joint Labour Committee and the Business Tourism Forum.

Paul Gallagher, president of the IHF said that Tim Fenn brings a wealth of business and management acumen to the role of IHF Chief Executive. "His direct experience of driving shareholder value, brand development and strategic leadership are significant assets that he will bring to lead our organisation effectively in these most challenging economic conditions. Tim's commercial leadership and finance industry experience ensures that we will continue to have a strong leader with the ability to provide our members with the support they need across a range of issues facing our sector."

"On behalf of all our members and staff, we sincerely thank John Power for his exceptional dedication over the past 14 years. He has shown extraordinary commitment to the IHF and its members in tackling the issues impacting the hotels sector during his tenure", he added.

Robot chef gets a boost from wireless kitchen

Go on, put your feet up. A new household robot that keeps track of the contents of your kitchen and can learn simple tasks could soon be making you dinner while you relax.

The new robot, developed at the Technical University of Munich, exploits the use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags on dishes and utensils in its "Assistive Kitchen" to sidestep some of the object-recognition difficulties that have plagued previous household robots.


"If you want to interpret and understand everyday activities using vision data, it's very complicated, error-prone, and resource intensive," says Michael Beetz, who led the research. "If you do it with RFID tags, there is very little sensor information, but it's highly correlated with the activities you are performing."

As a result, the robot knows where everything is, and it can learn simple tasks simply by observing the movements of the objects.

Surfing for recipes
"Setting the table is very easily recognised from cups and plates disappearing from the cupboard and appearing on the table, and cleaning up later is characterised by the same objects disappearing from the table and appearing in the dishwasher," Beetz says.

The team is also working to integrate a number of open-source software packages to enable the robots to get instructions from the internet, in the same way that some search for images .
Robots would search how-to websites like eHow, converting natural language into robot-friendly instructions using language software called WordNet.

They could then optimise the algorithms based on their particular environment, such as carrying four plates to the table rather than making four trips with one plate. And while they are online, they can share what they have learned. Beetz plans a repository of information on which robots can share data about specific tasks, recipes, and handy household tips. "The hard step will be to have the first robot doing it. But then they would share everything," he says.

Intelligent environment
"It's very interesting and promising work," says Stanford University roboticist Andrew Ng. "If you have sensors just on the robot, the range of things the robot can perceive is very limited," he says. "If it is able to use sensors embedded in an intelligent environment, it's as if the robot has many more eyes and sensors and can immediately act much more intelligently in a new environment."

For the robot's core software, Beetz and colleagues chose Player - an open-source software architecture that is becoming a standard for robotics and sensors. Player was pioneered by Brian Gerkey, a co-author of the study. The team plans to make all of its findings available and to publish all of the software that it develops, hopefully to bring you robot dinners that much sooner.

8 manly drinks that every guy should try

Tell us if this sounds familiar: You walk into the bar, make your way through a crowd, and when you finally get the bartender’s attention, you order the same damn thing you always do. It’s a fine line between boring and reliable. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying your favorite drink, but why not give your taste buds something else to enjoy? That’s right, you’re a stubborn bastard.

To bring you a sampling of some of the best drinks you’ve probably never tried, we caught up with Julian, a veteran bartender at Mé Bar Manhattan. So listen up, then go try one. You may even impress your Johnnie Walker Blue Label-loving boss.

8 Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon
One of Julian’s favorites, this bourbon is aged 15 years and served on the rocks. “Some purists say you shouldn’t put too many rocks in, maybe one or two,” Julian says. “The thought being, it opens the flavor, but you don’t want to dilute it.” According to WineEnthusiast magazine, Jefferson’s is “Rich walnut in color with a multidimensional fruit-cake-like nose.”

We’re straining not to make a fruitcake joke here. Moving on.



7 Legacy’s Euphoria Ale
“This is a quality Belgian-style, triple-malt beer from Reading, Pennsylvania,” says our expert. “It’s got a high alcohol content too, at 9%, and it’s very sweet. As a general rule, the higher they are in content, they tend to get sweeter.”

We assume most of you zoned-out after “high alcohol content.” Stay with us.






6 Sauza Hornitos Tequila
“Guys should expand their horizon beyond Petron and Jose Cuervo,” Julian says. “Cuervo is towards the bottom; Petron is a fine tequila, but it’s often expensive. I recommend Sauza Hornitos. It’s made with 100% blue agave and can be mixed in margaritas and it’s fine just to shoot. If you want to go even higher, get Frida Kahlo. That’s some of the best.”







5 Spiced Rum with Apple Cider
“Although not the most ‘manly’ drink,” Julian says, “I serve this one in the winter; I’ll throw in an orange peel, cinnamon and ginger. A hot drink works well in the cold weather.”

So does a warm coat and a female companion with loose morals. Take your pick.






4 Manhattan
Like Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, this cocktail is making a comeback. “A lot of bars are taking more traditional drinks like the Manhattan and doing them well,” Julian explains. “It’s made with whisky, sweet or dry vermouth, and bitters. The whiskey is often a bourbon. But rather than using Knob Creek which will damage your wallet, you can use Canadian Club whisky or something less expensive.”

Or, if you can afford Knob Creek, have at it.

3 Knappogue Castle
“Knappogue is an Irish single malt whiskey, and it’s one of the smoothest” says Julian. “Get it on the rocks.”

Once you put back a few, you can practice your Irish accent which will probably sound better to you (and you alone) as you become more intoxicated.

2 Grimbergen
“This is an actual Belgian beer, whereas the Euphoria ale was Belgian-style,” says Julian. “It’s less potent than the Euphoria but still has 6.5% alcohol content.”

There’s a few Grimbergen varieties, so see what your favorite bar has to offer. Although Grimbergen kind of sounds like an old, angry Gremlin, we’re willing to give it a shot.





1 Scotch Laphroaig
Laphroaig is considered one of the most strongly flavored of all scotch whiskies, and is most frequently aged to 10 years. “It’s served on the rocks, and is not necessarily for the faint of heart,” says Julian. “It’s got a very smoky taste.”

In other words, put on your man pants, get out there and enjoy.