Name the best luxury hotel you can think of.  Are you picturing Manhattan’s Trump International or the Four Seasons in London? What about Shangri-La? If that last one rang a bell, then you’re already ahead of the game. If it didn’t, then let me introduce you to the next big thing in luxury hotels, and you won’t even have to leave the States to enjoy it. 

ASIA’S GROWING POPULARITY
With its recent economic boom, the Asian business market has exploded over the last few years. That influx of business gave the travel industry a significant boost, and Asia’s international highways and byways have seen some massive traffic lately. As a result, the market for travel (which includes tourism, vacation packages and, of course, luxury hotel accommodations) is busting at the seams. While better-known luxury hotel chains like Ritz-Carlton, Peninsula and the Four Seasons are reaping some of the benefits, it’s a lesser-known company that’s quickly rising to the top, setting the standard for Asian hospitality. But the big surprise: For once, it’s not an American import.
     The slogan for Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is “Shangri-La Hospitality from Caring People,” and no company lives up to a slogan quite like Asia’s leading luxury hotel group. 
     Since opening its first hotel in 1971 in Singapore, the Hong-Kong-based company has expanded to more than two-dozen different locations with 50 additional hotels. And Shangri-La will soon bring its impeccable hospitality and customer service to the U.S. with its newest developments in Chicago and Miami, both scheduled to open by 2009. A third hotel for the North American market is being built in Vancouver, Canada. That location is scheduled to open by 2008.
     The equivalent to a Four Seasons resort or a five-star suite in the U.S., Shangri-La has become the paradigm for Asian hospitality and style, making its motto the cardinal rule for each of its hotels. Specializing in high-end amenities, exceptional service and a shockingly attentive staff, Shangri-La brings new meaning to the term “customer appreciation.”“The hospitality at Shangri-La is about anticipating guests’ needs, many times before the guests even know what they would like,” explains Steven Darling, the regional vice president in charge of North America. “It’s a level of service and care that’s standard for Shangri-La and is highly emphasized in all of our hotels.
     ”Shangri-La’s method for success is clear: hospitality, hospitality, hospitality, starting with its highly trained staff.  Almost every Shangri-La employee attends etiquette school at the Shangri-La Academy. Staff members learn what to say, how to say it and even how to greet guests on a daily basis. The academy has seen so much success that it even opened its doors to public enrollment in 2005.      “We will always emphasize that all our hotel employees have multi-cross-cultural experience and understand various Asian cultures so guests feel welcome,” Darling explains. “The criteria for our general mangers is that they will all have significant experience with Shangri-La, but will also have spent at least a couple of years working in marketing, sales, and have previous hotel experience.”

EXOTIC SHANGRI-LA
Shangri-La touches almost every corner of the eastern globe. Many of its hotels and resorts reside on mainland China, but the company also has properties on neighboring islands and countries, making it hard to choose just one.
     Now that you know Shangri-La is the place to stay when traveling in Asia, you just have the task of picking which Shangri-La to visit. Here are a couple of choices you can pick from to suit your specific wants and needs.

The Sultanate of Oman
If you’re a geographically savvy traveler with a  lenient budget, then Shangri-La’s hotel in the Sultanate of Oman might be perfect for your next trip.
     Bordered by Yemen, Saudi Arabia and The United Arab Emirates, Oman is an oil-rich country that is home to one of Shangri-La’s most exotic getaways, Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa.
     Like a mirage in the middle of the desert, the Shangri-La in Oman sits in the middle of 124 acres of landscaped gardens and is surrounded by miles of sandy terrain. Made up of three different hotels, the resort has 680 guest rooms, 42 suites and 19 different eateries.
     It rests between a backdrop of gold-striped mountains and a view of the Gulf of Oman, giving guests the feeling of a private island escape while staying on the mainland. And while you might come for the landscape, you’ll want to stay for the food. Everything from Moroccan cuisine to local delicacies is at your fingertips…literally: Many Middle Eastern dishes are eaten with your hands, not with a fork. If you’re palette isn’t quite as adventurous as your travel whims, the Barr Al Jissah Resort also serves a wide range of international food, including Italian at Capri Court to Argentinean at Samba.

Shangri-La Dubai     
If the isolation of Oman doesn’t suit your taste, then you can just hop one country over to the United Arab Emirates where you can stay at the Shangri-La Hotel in Dubai, home to some of the most impressive architectural structures in the Middle East. Between the outdoor tennis courts, squash courts, international restaurants, bars and 24-hour business center, you’ll probably be pressed for time to even venture beyond the hotel walls.
     If you’re not up for traveling that far East, you can always visit one of Shangri-La’s dozens of other locations: Singapore, Manila, Taipei, Shanghai, Harbin, Beijing, Hong Kong, Quingdao, or the more remote Jakarta, Wuhan, Yangon, Changchun, Zhongshan, Xian, Cebu, Surabaya or Yangon. Whichever location you chose, Shangri-La guarantees its signature hospitality in each one. 

GOLFING WITH SHANGRI-LA
Of course, no vacation is complete without a trip to the golf course, and luckily the people at Shangri-La feel the same way.    
“We actually own and operate our own golf courses,” Darling beams. “We have courses in Malaysia and China, and both are operated by our company.” The Dalit Bay Golf Club and Spa at Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort, Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, has one of the best layouts in all of Asia. It’s18-hole, par-72 championship golf course offers electronic buggies, two putting greens and a chipping green with practice bunker. And the kicker? The resort has an aquatic driving range with 30 grass bays. Now that is true island golf!
       The Rasa Ria Resort is situated just off of the Pantai Dalit beach and is within equitable distance to the golf course. So you can dig your toes in the sandy shores and then chip out of the sandy bunker in the same day.
     Travel a little bit farther north and you’ll find Shangri-La’s other golf facility, the Xili Golf and Country Club in Shenzhen, China. The Xili Club is more than just a place to play golf: In addition to its 36-championship holes, each with a heart-stopping view of the tropical landscape, the club features four tennis courts, two luxury pools, children’s playroom, health club, a library and an outdoor Jacuzzi. However, there is one catch: Xili is a members-only facility. Yup. Sorry to smash your Shenzhen-Shangri-La-golfing dreams, but unless you’ve got cash to burn on an international golf membership, the Shangri-La in Shenzhen might not be the ideal spot for your next golf outing.
      The Xili Club might be an exclusive facility, but that doesn’t mean your golf choices with Shangri-La are exhausted, and the concierges at any Shangri-La hotel will want to make sure you know that. They are more than happy to point you in the right direction, and usually they can help you score a discounted price, too.
     “For our other resort and city hotels, we have a strategic relationship with the nearby golf courses,” Darling explains. “We have established relationships with various courses for just about all of our hotels.”

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