Beverly Hills Hotels

Beverly Hills was wealthy and famous long before it was discovered by the movie industry. At the beginning, our fabled El Dorado was blessed with a commodity more precious in Southern California than jewels: water.

The source of this fertility comprises three dramatic canyons: Franklin, Coldwater and Benedict. Moisture from the Southern California sky gathers on the hills and wends its way down to form streams flowing to the nexus of Beverly Drive and Sunset Boulevard. Native American inhabitants, the Tongva or Gabrielinos, considered it a sacred site, naming it the Gathering of the Waters or, in Spanish, El Rodeo de las Aguas.
Before the arrival of Spanish explorers, the Tongva led a peaceful life nourished by abundant game and meadows filled with wild oats, cucumber, buckwheat, cress and prickly pear. Their everyday lives were guided by animistic religious practice inspired by an environment filled with color: blue lupine, orange poppies, red foxtail, wild roses, fuchsia and golden rod.
The fateful first contact between these peaceful natives and Europeans occurred just north of what are Olympic and La Cienega boulevards on August 3, 1769. Friar Juan Crespi, who served as Chaplain on the legendary expedition of Don Jose Gaspar de Portola, kept a journal. He recorded a magical passage through a "large vineyard of wild grapes and an infinity of rose bushes. After traveling about half a league we came to a village of this region," recorded the Friar, "people came into the road, greeted us and offered seeds."
Their "gift of life" proved ironic, for these armed Spanish tourists spelled doom for the Gabrielinos. Their medicinal arts were powerless against an imported smallpox epidemic, which destroyed two thirds of the local Native population in 1844. Mistreatment by European settlers soon did the rest.
In 1838, the Mexican governor of California deeded the land grant El Rodeo de las Aguas to Maria Rita Valdez Villa, the Afro Latina widow of a Spanish soldier. Maria Rita, an early California feminist icon, built an adobe ranch house near the intersection of present day Sunset Boulevard and Alpine Drive. She employed a vast posse of cowboys and proceeded to raise cattle and horses.
As was the custom of a time, Maria Rita permitted her livestock to wander freely, but once a year a festive roundup, another kind of rodeo, was held beneath a huge eucalyptus tree at the corner of Pico and Robertson boulevards.
In 1852, three Apaches ambushed Maria Rita's rancho. A shoot-out and siege followed in a grove of walnut trees at Benedict Canyon and Chevy Chase Drive. Maria Rita survived, but the battle may have influenced her decision just two years later to sell the ranch to Benjamin D. Wilson and Henry Hancock for $4000. However, the legendary waters deserted the new owners; a drought decimated their crops and their cattle died in parched streambeds. However, their names live on today in nearby Mt. Wilson and Hancock Park.

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                                                      castle_hill rsort for honymoon couples

Castle Hill is located approximately 30 kilometres northwest of Sydney in the Shire of Baulkham Hills.

The exact origin of the name Castle Hill is not known. One origin is thought to be the fine views offered by the hills in the district. Governor Phillip first saw the area on one of his exploratory trips in 1791. Governor King began ‘Government Farm’ in the area in July 1801, referring to it as Castle Hill in March 1802. The farm of 34,539 acres ranged from West Pennant Hills to Maroota, although only a small portion was cultivated. In 1804, 266 Irish convicts escaped the farm with stolen rifles and makeshift weapons, intending to march on Parramatta before overthrowing the English authority in Sydney Town. Their plot was betrayed and they were consequently defeated by the English redcoats. It was the first European uprising on Australian soil and is known as the Castle Hill rebellion. Castle Hill Heritage Park in Banks Road is a remnant of Government Park.
Castle Hill Heritage Park in Banks Road remains a remnant of Government Park. The first free settler in Castle Hill was Frenchman, Baron Verincourt de Clambe, who received a grant of 200 acres in 1802. It has been suggested that de Clambe's house "The Hermitage" was commonly called 'The Castle' by locals, because of the Baron's noble status.Castle Hill is a vibrant hub for Sydney’s northwest. It offers visitors a selection of attractions including the annual Castle Hill Show and Orange Blossom Festival along with a huge variety of restaurants, diverse shopping opportunities, accommodation and leisure activities including; movies, ice skating, tenpin bowling, rock climbing and major sports facilities.Towns surrounding Castle Hill include: Baulkham Hills, Bella Vista, Dural, Glenhaven, North Rocks and West Pennant Hills.

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Porto Elounda Resort

The Porto Elounda is the latest five-star creation of architect Spyros Kokotos, designer of all the well-known luxury resorts in Elounda. Unique in many respects, Porto Elounda is the only 'Insignia Resort' in Greece.

The Resort lies 500m from the renowned Hotel Elounda Mare, the only Relais & Chateaux in Greece. Both Hotels are under the same management and receive the personal attention of the Kokotos family.
The Porto Elounda Deluxe Resort is built on the seafront, on a plot of 110,000 m² with a 150 meter long private sandy beach. The view from the Main Building, the Villas and Bungalows over Mirabello Bay and the distant mountains, is magnificent. The rooms and suites in the main building have all been renovated in 2003/2004, providing excellent accommodation with large balconies or terraces. The public areas are decorated with antique and contemporary furniture and rugs. Porto Elounda is also the sole Greek resort that includes an Executive nine-hole Golf Course and a Golf Academy.
The first view from the hilltop is a panorama of the Bay of Mirabello, where the foreground is dominated by the Porto Elounda De Luxe Resort and the green expanse of its golf course. Designed with respect to the architectural tradition of the land, this unique complex is an oasis of recreation and discreet luxury comprising the hotel and the seafront bungalows and villas.
Staying at Porto Elounda is a delight of traditional Cretan architecture and interior design. The typical whitewashed surfaces bind harmoniously with the brown and gray rock walls, the local carob and olive trees. The decoration is exclusively antique pieces of folk-art: carpets, chests, tapestries, mantelpieces with fine Cretan marble throughout the Halls and Salons.
Some Rooms have direct access from their balconies to the large oblong pools. Right on the seafront are Bungalows with direct access to the sandy beach or platforms on the rocks and there even is a Grande Suite with its own private beach, outdoor pool and garden, indoor pool and more.
The Resort has been awarded the European Blue Flag for the past six consecutive years in recognition of the continuous efforts of maintaining the environment in pristine condition, for efficient water management, wastewater treatment and for the participation in the raising of environmental awareness among the staff and local schoolchildren.
The Porto Elounda Resort is situated 7 km to the east of Agios Nikolaos in what is generally considered the most beautiful part of Crete and 70 km, approximately 1 hour’s drive, from Heraklion International Airport. Fly to Athens and take the connections to Heraklion, or fly direct to Heraklion by charter flight from many European cities.

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