Like to know more? Visit www.visitusa.org.uk Subscribe to our fortnightly email newsletter online. Call the information and brochure request line on 0870 777 2213 or email vusa@bhpdirect-mail.com


Hyatt French Quarter opens


The Hyatt French Quarter has


opened in New Orleans following an $18M renovation to one of the city’s most historic properties. The hotel, the third Hyatt in New Orleans to start welcoming visitors within the last year, was completely renovated in 2012. It has 254 guestrooms with 12-foot ceilings. Many rooms include balconies that overlook the French Quarter, courtyards or Bourbon Street. The property connects the downtown


Central Business District with the French Quarter and is close to some of the city’s top restaurants and most of its main attractions. The $18 million renovation included upgrades to the hotel’s 254 guest rooms, as well as the hotel exterior, lobby, landscaping and pool and deck area. The Red Fish Grill is known for its


BBQ Oysters, Alligator Sausage, Seafood Gumbo and Double Chocolate Bread Pudding. www.frenchquarter.hyatt.com


This summer has seen the grand opening of Manta at SeaWorld San Diego, described as a combined coaster and marine life attraction “where guests not only experience the mysterious manta up-close but also feel the sensation of being one”. Manta, a coaster shaped like a giant manta ray, takes riders on dozens of twists and turns and a 54-foot drop. Lasting a minute and 40 seconds, the


ride features a half-mile of track, with four trains (20 seats each) that reach


BA’s new high rolling route


British Airways is to launch a Gatwick-Las Vegas service on October 29 2012 operated by a three-cabin Boeing 777. It will include a premium Club World cabin with fully flat beds. Flights to McCarran Airport, Las Vegas,


will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays departing from Gatwick at 11.30 with the return flight at 15.55. Together with its Heathrow service British Airways will operate 10 flights a week to Las Vegas. Return flights start from £722 in


World Traveller, £1100 in World Traveller Plus and £3550 in Club World, and are available to book now on www.bartraveltrade.com. Cathy Tull, Senior Vice President of


Marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said: “Las Vegas continues to grow its popularity in the UK market ….We believe the growth is due to our mix of world-class entertainment, Michelin-starred dining and accommodations to suit all budgets.” www.britishairways.com


Universal at Transformer stage What’s being described as a


‘breakthrough mega-attraction’ has opened at Universal Studios Hollywood. 'Transformers' is a technologically advanced thrill ride that immerses guests in the HD, 3D action-packed world of Transformers, propelling them along 2,000ft of ride track as they are surrounded by 14 gigantic screens, many fully enveloping them at heights of 60


Blastaway at


Wet ‘n Wild Wet ‘n Wild Orlando has


opened a new family water playground, Blastaway Beach. Covering an acre and featuring


feet. Other rides at Universal Studios Hollywood include ‘The Simpsons Ride’, ‘Revenge of the Mummy – The Ride,’ ‘Shrek 4-D’, 'Jurassic Park –The Ride’, and ‘King Kong 360 3-D’, which was created by film director Peter Jackson and features on the Studio Tour, which takes guests behind the scenes of landmark TV and movie locations. www.universalstudioshollywood. com


a new sandcastle-themed water playground, Blastaway Beach is Wet ‘n Wild’s first new attraction in over four years. Aimed at families, it is built


around a sandcastle rising 60-feet high, and has 15 slides across two pools and ‘160 soakers’, jets, waterfalls and water cannons. Wet ‘n Wild Orlando has over


15 themed rides and attractions. www.wetnwildorlando.com


their maximum speed in two seconds. Cars skim a lake (without getting


riders wet) and Manta features two separate launches: the first in a tunnel with larger-than-life images of rays projected on a 270-degree screen. Non-riders can also experience Manta


at the 100,000-gallon aquarium, filled with California bat rays, diamond stingrays and shovelnose guitarfish and hundreds of fishes native to the California coast. www. seaworldparks. com/en/seaworld-sandiego


A brand new Manta


VISIT USA IN BRIEF


More of Dallas from American American has introduced a


fourth seasonal flight between London-Heathrow and Dallas-Fort Worth. Including a code-share flight with British Airways, the airline now runs five daily flights to the Texan city. Return ticket prices start from


around £610pp. American will introduce its new Boeing 777-300ER on the LHR- DFW on January 31 2013. The carrier is the first U.S. airline to order and take delivery of the Boeing 777-300ER. American operates 70 daily flights


between the UK (London and Manchester) and North America. www.aa.com


Palm Springs gets makeover Greater Palm Springs,


California, has launched an all-new brand for the destination and its destination marketing organization. Repositioning the entire area as


the ‘Greater Palm Springs Oasis’ with the maxim ‘A Brand New Day,’ and a name change for the former ‘Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities Convention and Visitors Authority, to ‘Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau’, the aim is to increase greater awareness of the nine-city resort destination a0nd promote the area as a single destination. The nine area resorts are: Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio and Coachella. www.palmspringsoasis.com


Cleopatra in Los Angeles “Cleopatra: The Exhibition” has opened at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. The exhibition of ancient artifacts


from the Cleopatra era (she became queen in 51 B.C.) represents the largest collection of its kind ever assembled in the US. It features more than 150 priceless Egyptian pieces. www.californiasciencecenter.org


www.sellinglonghaul.com • July/August 2012 57


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