From Sochi To London

Big Ben- August 12, 2012

I made the trip to London for the second week of the Summer Games.  Sheremetyevo Airport was full of people leaving to watch or participate in the Olympic Games. 

Bosco Store- Sochi Airport 

Before I even left the airport in Sochi, I noted the signs in the airport greeting London at Bosco's store.

 

Heathrow Airport 

Immediately upon landing in Heathrow, I saw a large sign connecting the two cities, as well.

Sochi had a great presence in London.  Sochi.Park at Kensington Gardens in central London's Hyde Park.Sochi.Park had several zones including Visit Russia, promoting Russia;  Krasnodar Krai, which featured business and economic opportunity in the region that includes Sochi; a zone devoted to national and international Olympic partners, with a bobsled experience and finally a "4D" zone that showed how visitors will experience Sochi in 2014.

Women's Marathon- London August 5, 2012

Bus At Bosco Club- London

It seemed everywhere in London, there were Russian fans, Sochi volunteers and officials of Sochi 2014.Bosco Club was a venue sponsored by General Partner for Sochi 2014, Bosco.  The venue was situated adjacent to Green Park and just a short walk from Buckingham Palace.

The whole experience was impressive.  There were fans from scores of countries, with British fans, of course, the most prevalent.  The whole city was decked out and Union Jacks could be seen flying on virtually every street and from many buildings.  

Restaurant near New Bond Street- London, U.K.

Everyone was friendly, smiling and enjoying the experience.  The Olympic Park was very accessible in Stratford with an underground station just a short walk from the main entrance.  The Park was on a grand scale, but well-designed and the venues looked great, too.  The weather was spectacular and with the multi-national crowd carried a sense of excitement and anticipation.  

ArcelorMittal Orbit (Observation Tower) and Olympic Stadium- London

When I flew back to Sochi, we passed just to the left of the Olympic Park and I looked down at the Bolshoi Ice Palace, the Olympic Stadium and other buildings and venues at the Park.  I am sure that athletes, journalists and fans will be as impressed with the venues as they were in London.

Sochi Olympic Stadium- July 2014

Park Inn By Radisson Cosponsors Familiarization Trip To Sochi With Destination Sochi

            

Destination Sochi is offering a 4 day/3 night familiarization trip to Sochi from September 23-26, 2012.  The Park Inn by Radisson is a co-sponsor of the trip. The trip, featuring 2 nights in Rosa Khutor at the Park Inn and 1 night in central Sochi, will cost $1,695.  All meals, accommodation and ground transportation in Sochi will be included.

Guests will be greeted at the airport and escorted to our motor coach for the ride to Krasnaya Polyana and the Park Inn by Radisson Rosa Khutor.  There will be a champagne welcome reception at the Park Inn, with a welcome speech by General Manager Harald Buerkle, followed by a tour of the new Radisson Hotel and the Park Inn.

Later that evening, Destination Sochi will host a dinner at the Park Inn. Monday's highlights will include viewing the mountain cluster at Rosa Khutor and a tour of Gornaya Karusel resort, an unforgettable Russian banya experience and dinner at a top mountain restaurant.

Tuesday, the 24th, we will depart after breakfast for Adler to view the Olympic Park, view official transportation venues and central Adler. Then our route will follow the picturesque Black Sea coast about 25 kilometers to central Sochi.  We will stop at a locally prominent restaurant for a genuine Caucasian lunch followed by a tour of the city center.  

The tour will be full hosted with bilingual guides (English, French and Russian).

Please contact us for a complete itinerary and also to reserve your place. The tour will be limited to 40 guests, so make your reservation as soon as possible.

Contact via email:  yelena@destinationsochi.com

Call +7 962 859 1776

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group And Harald Buerkle Team Up In Rosa Khutor

Park Inn by Radisson- Rosa Khutor

Rosa Khutor is located in the Caucasus Mountains about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Black Sea in southwestern Russia and will host the alpine events during the 2014 Winter Games to be held in Sochi.  Rosa Khutor is a very ambitious mountain resort project and next to the high-speed gondola taking skiers and spectators to the mountaintop, a new European-style village with accommodation, dining and shopping is being built. This year, the Park Inn by Radisson opened its doors and during the 2012- 2013 winter season its sister property, the Radisson, Rosa Khutor will welcome guests for the first time.  The two properties sit just across the Mzymta River from each other and can be accessed by the pedestrian bridge (click here for a 360 degree panoramic photo of the site) constructed over the river.  

Lobby Bar- Park Inn by Radisson

I first experienced the Park Inn in February of this year, just after its January opening and during the International Ski Federation World Cup, when I interviewed Luke Bodensteiner of the United States Sk and Snowboard Association in the hotel lobby for SochChannel.com   At that time, I was impressed with the design of its chic lobby bar and lounge.  More recently, I returned and spent an afternoon with Harald Buerkle, the General Manager of both the Park Inn and the Radisson.  Mr. Buerkle was kind enough to treat me to a very good lunch of the best German food to be found in the area.  This is not entirely surprising given that Mr. Buerkle, with a Chef's Master degree, has a background in food preparation, including 5 years working in Michelin-starred restaurants.  Mr. Buerkle, starting at the age of 16, was precocious in food preparation and was promoted to prominent positions at an early age.  In fact, at 27, he was the Executive Chef at one of the most prominent hotels in Eastern Europe and managing a team of 70 people.  Harald (I hope he will excuse the familiarity!) previously worked in Moscow and also has served stints working at Radisson Blu Hotels in the United Kingdom, in Kiev, as the Food and Beverage Manager and at Ruegen, Germany on the Baltic Sea, where he held his first position as General Manager.

Harald and his wife recently moved here.  He originally came from Bavaria and Katinka from the German state of Swabia.  Harald keeps busy with the hotels, but he finds time to pursue his MBA in Hospitality and Service Management at the Glion School of Higher Education in Switzerland.  All this activity does not leave much time for him to golf, which he greatly enjoys. 

General Manager Harald Buerkle

After lunch, Harald showed me several categories of rooms at the Park Inn.  All are very comfortable and feature the modern design esthetic and ease of use that Radisson is well-known for.  The English-speaking staff, both polite and helpful, reflects the professional management of Radisson.  I arrived early for the meeting and while working on my computer discovered I was missing an adapter for my battery charger.  The bartender noticed and quickly produced one for me. This attention to guests will serve the Park Inn well in the future.  Large numbers of foreign travellers will be coming to the Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort, through the Olympics and after, to enjoy the spectacular scenery and the mountain's vertical drop of 1,776 meters (5,774 feet!).  The Park Inn has ski storage, a gym and nightclub, as well as its restaurant with Bavarian cusine and the hip lobby bar.  The hotel is accessible, too.  The road runs right to its doorstep and a new high-speed rail is being constructed from Sochi to Krasnaya Polyana, with a station just a short distance from the village that includes the Park Inn and Radisson.

Guestroom

Although the Radisson, across from the Park Inn, is not completed, Harald shared details with me about it.  He told me that the hotel will be "the most luxurious in Rosa Khutor" and that the cool Black Bar and Grill will source local ingredients and the best quality imports.  There will a nightclub and also an entertainemnt zone for children.  All will be within walking distance of the ski shops, ski schools, shopping, dining and the mountain. Between the two hotels, Harald will manage nearly 400 rooms in the premium location at Rosa Khutor.  He and I  are already planning events there, including a charity hike, barbeque and party in September.  I will keep readers posted as to plans and developments.  

Around The Rings Carries Sochi Newsletter

Around The Rings, the news site and information service that concentrates on the Olympic Games and the Olympic movement, has begun to carry the newsleter that I write about Sochi.   I am glad for the association and look forward to working with Around The Rings on other projects as the Olympics approach.  

New Video of Sochi Expats Club party

We have been hosting parties at Gossip Cafe in central Sochi, owned by Martial and Bastien Simonneau.  The parties are attracting an ever larger and more international crowd.  This last Saturday, we had guests from Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, the netherlands, Serbia, Russia, Turkey, the United Kingdom (Scottish guest) and the United States.  More than 100 people have joined the group from the nations above, as well as Canada, Lativa, Finland, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.  

Find the Sochi Expats Club on Facebook and feel free to join our parites when you are in Sochi.  I expect to host a reggae-themed pool party for the Club in the near future.

Pavel Lesnevesky filmed and edited the video shown below for SochiChannel.com. Please have a look: