BCCB Worldwide (formerly the British Consultants Bureau) - www.bccb.org.uk
Be - Collaborating for the Built Environment - www.beonline.co.uk
CEDR (The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution) - www.cedr.co.uk
The ContractStore - www.contractstore.com
The Law Society - www.lawsoc.org.uk
International Bar Association - www.ibanet.org
Trade Partners UK - www.tradepartners.gov.uk
The Middle East Association
Some Hotels around the World
CYPRUS
In CYPRUS which we know well, there are far too many hotels and most of them cater for the package tourist. There is a new generation of hotels catering for the upmarket package tourist nowadays - those city highflyers again!
Columbia Beach Hotel & Resort on the South Coast on Pissouri Bay is a lot more attractive and sensitively designed than some of the other de luxe hotels that have sprung up on the island. It has excellent large, comfortable rooms and a superb swimming pool. Tastefully designed and fitting neatly and unobtrusively into the landscape, this is a lot classier than the Anassa Beach (which has had a lot more publicity). The resort is not cheap and for less expensive accommodation, you can stay next door at the recently refurbished Columbia Beach Hotel. The resort and hotel are on one of the best beaches along the south coast and well worth a visit.
The food at the Resort is disappointing but there are plenty of local restauarants within a few minutes walk.
Address: COLUMBIA Beach Hotel, Pissouri, P.O. Box 54042, 3779 Limassol, Cyprus
Phone: +357 / 25-833000
Website:www.columbia-hotels.com/
The Jubilee Hotel is in the mountains at Troodos and just right for those who want somewhere peaceful and unpretentious. Good local food, excellent breakfasts and plenty of opportunities for walking or mountain biking in the vicinity, with skiing in the winter and a log fire in the lounge.
Address: The Jubilee Hotel, Troodos, Cyprus. Phone: +357 25 420 107 Fax +357 22 673 991
website: http://www.jubileehotel.com/EN/index.html
Souli Hotel at Latchi on the North coast near Polis is friendly, cheap and right on the beach. Excellent local wine and local cooking with some delicious fish, the meals are far preferable to the pretentious and expensive monster up the road known as the Anassa Hotel.
Address: Souli Hotel, Latchi.
FRANCE
Recently we travelled around FRANCE and a few good places to stay are listed here - none of them in the 5 star luxe bracket beloved of high-flying young city lawyers, and the first two are listed in that excellent, but out of date and out of print book 'The BMW Guide to French Hotels' - which was last published in 1989!
Too many French hotels serve only a set meal and too often the food is disappointing and the wine overpriced with the same hefty mark-up that we have come to expect in England. Some exceptions are listed below.
Hotel Les Saisons (3 star) at Vironvay off the A13 not far from Monet's house at Givernay. On the edge of the village, the hotel has accommodation around the garden - which has a swimming pool. The rooms are typical heavy French decor but the restaurant is brilliant - with Gault Millau and Michelin accreditation. One of the best meals we have eaten for a very long time and very reasonably priced - the wine list is pricey but also good.
Address: route des Saisons, 27400 Vironvay (Eure). Phone: 32 40 02 56
Chateau de Beaulieu (3 star) just outside Tours is well-placed for the Loire valley. Dating from the 18th century it has its own park and good food. Not the easiest place to find if you are coming from Tours, but worth a few wrong turnings.
Address: route de l'Epend, 37300 Joue-les-Tours. Phone: 47 53 20 26
Chateau Hotel des Jacobins (4 star) in the centre of Agen was a lucky find. It has a coutyard with parking - a great boon as Agen is impossible for parking - enormous rooms and the best presented breakfast of our holiday. And very resonably priced. There is no restaurant but a classy restaurant and a tasty creperie are within a few moments' walk. Agen's old town has some wonderful buildings which are very close to the hotel.
Address: 1 ter place des Jacobins, 4700 Agen. Phone: 05 53 47 03 31. Website www.chateau-des-jacobins.com
NEW ZEALAND
Having been on holiday in NEW ZEALAND, links to a few of the excellent places we visited are listed below:
Tio Bay Lodge in The Bay of Islands - a lovely house on the water's edge with its own jetty, 5 minutes by boat and 30 minutes by car to the nearest town. www.tiobay.com
The Honest Lawyer - An excellent pub at Nelson with quality food and wine : http://honestlawyer.co.nz
Wilderness Lodge at Lake Moeraki, a remote small hotel on the West Coast of the South Island: www.wildernesslodge.co.nz