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New Cancun resort: Vacation like a Hollywood star

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Guests can get close to authentic Hollywood Memorabilia in a beachfront setting and dine at any of 16 world-class restaurants including Guy Fieri’s Burger Joint when the highly-anticipated Planet Hollywood Beach Resort Cancun rolls out the red carpet in late 2019 on the vibrant beaches of Mexico’s Costa Mujeres.

Following the successful opening of Planet Hollywood Costa Rica in late 2018, this new Planet Hollywood resort invites guests to vacation like a star. Located just north of Cancun’s Hotel Zone, Planet Hollywood Cancun brings a Vacation Like a Star™ experience to travelers of all ages looking to rewrite the script on all-inclusive vacations. ​

With no detail overlooked, Planet Hollywood Cancun brings curated entertainment experiences with refreshing pools, luxurious rooms, nine bars, four swimming pools, a lazy river, trampoline park, kids/teens club, and a mini-golf course, making it the ideal destination for work, family, romance and play.

Planet Hollywood Cancun’s professionally designed wellness program, PHIT, brings active vacationers the top-trending fitness regimes straight from Hollywood. Wellness enthusiasts can refuel at the Fix Juice Bar with refreshments such as freshly-prepared Watermelon Cucumber Juice on the menu. The Planet Hollywood wellness story continues at the PH Spa & Beauty Bar, featuring celebrity favorite and award-winning Eminence Organics Skin Care products.

Planet Hollywood Hotels & Resorts is now offering an introductory 50% off web-exclusive offer, making it even easier to Vacation Like A Star™.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Dame Alice Walker will headline Anguilla Lit Fest 2019

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The Anguilla Tourist Board is pleased to announce an impressive line-up of international artists scheduled to appear at the 8th annual Anguilla Lit Fest, taking place May 16 to 19 at Paradise Cove Resort, Anguilla. Hosted by the Anguilla Literary Foundation under the theme Books, Beaches & A Better You, this Literary Jollification promises to inspire, educate, motivate and uplift audiences with its unique mix of readings, workshops and cultural performances, set against the backdrop of Anguilla’s spectacular beaches.

In her first appearance at Lit Fest, legendary novelist, essayist, poet and activist, Dame Alice Walker will explore the themes of feminism, sexuality, identity and spirituality in her prolific writing and lived experience. Dame Alice is best known for her Pulitzer Winning novel, The Colour Purple (1982), the critically acclaimed Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992), and most recently a bilingual English/Spanish anthology of poetry Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart (2018).

Dynamic author/poet Jason Reynolds will also be featured in the 2-day literary limelight.  Reynolds enjoys a special appeal for those in their teens and twenties as well as for the young at heart.  His first book of prose, When I Was The Greatest (2014) won the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent, and most recently his acclaim skyrocketed with his New York Times best-selling Track series, Ghost (2016), Patina (2017) and Sunny (2018).

This year, the Anguilla Lit Fest also welcomes an inspiring cornucopia of Social Media Influencers and Speakers, including husband and wife team Tony A Junior and Sheri Gaskins, who will present Make it Work, 22 Time Tested Real Life Lessons for Sustaining a Happy Healthy Relationship (2019).  Tony is a highly regarded life coach, author and motivational speaker who has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and TBN’s 700 Club. The distinguished roster includes Glory Edim, a literary advocate and founder of Well-Read Black Girl, a book club and online community that celebrates the uniqueness of Black literature and sisterhood, and whose first anthology, Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves, was published by Random House in 2018; Denene Millner co-writer with Steve Harvey of Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man and Around the Way Girl, a memoir with actress Taraji P. Henson and founder of MyBrownBaby.com, and Editor of Denene Millner Books; novelist and motivational speaker, Sadeqa Johnson, who worked with JK Rowling and Bishop TD Jakes before becoming an author of novels such as And Then There Was Me (2017); and Journalist/Blogger Sarah Greaves Gabbadon, better known as JetSetSarah, whose captivating posts on Caribbean destinations, food and shopping inspire all that ‘follow’ her to follow in her footsteps.

Additional authors include: Patricia Marie “Pat” Cummings, esteemed writer and illustrator of over 30 books for children; Ira Sumner Simmonds, a native of St Kitts who has written From Siberia to St Kitts: A Teacher’s Journey; and Stephanie Stokes Oliver, author, editor and member of the Anguilla Literary Foundation, introducing her critically acclaimed anthology Black Ink, and notables from the publishing world such as Dawn Davis Publisher and Vice President of 37 INK, and Yona Des Hommes Associate Director of Publicity for Atria Books.

“We are intent on showcasing the richness and diversity of the Anguilla experience,” said Cardigan Connor, Anguilla’s Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism. “Anguilla LitFest is a perfect example of the depth and sophistication of our product, and the lure that Anguilla presents to leading literary icons. I congratulate the members of the Anguilla Literary Foundation on what promises to be their best event ever, and look forward to another amazing event,” he concluded.

The 2019 Anguilla Litfest: A Literary Jollification is an unrivalled opportunity for meeting authors, attending book signings and writing workshops.  Special vacation packages for the event will be offered by a number of Anguilla’s leading properties, including the host venue, Paradise Cove Resort, and sponsor hotel, The Reef by CuisinArt.

For more information on the Anguilla Lit Fest 2019 or to register for this year’s event, go to www.anguillalitfest.com, email [email protected], or follow the Anguilla Litfest on Facebook or Instagram.   For information on Anguilla, please visit the official website of the Anguilla Tourist Board: www.IvisitAnguilla.com; follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/AnguillaOfficial; Instagram: @Anguilla_Tourism; Twitter: @Anguilla_Trsm, Hashtag: #MyAnguilla.

Tucked away in the northern Caribbean, Anguilla is a shy beauty with a warm smile. A slender length of coral and limestone fringed with green, the island is ringed with 33 beaches, considered by savvy travelers and top travel magazines, to be the most beautiful in the world.

Anguilla lies just off the beaten path, so it has retained a charming character and appeal. Yet because it can be conveniently reached from two major gateways: Puerto Rico and St. Martin, and by private air, it’s a hop and a skip away.

Romance? Barefoot elegance? Unfussy chic? And untrammeled bliss?   Anguilla is Beyond Extraordinary.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Korean Air abandons teens in South Korea

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Two unaccompanied teenage minors, ages 15 and 16, were left stranded in South Korea after being booted from their flight from Seoul to the Philippines before takeoff.

The sons of Rakesh and Prajakta Patel had gone to visit their grandfather in a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, and were on the return journey to Manila, where their father is working a temporary job. They were making the transatlantic trip on their own.

The return trip began with a 14-hour Delta flight from Georgia to Seoul, South Korea. This first leg of the journey went fine, but their travel plans took a turn for the worse when the boys attempted to board a second flight from Seoul to Manila with Delta partner Korean Air as a result of one of the boys having a deadly peanut allergy.

Prajakta Patel, the mother of the teens, had informed Delta of her older son’s severe peanut allergy ahead of their big trip, so the brothers were shocked when a gate agent told them that peanuts would be served in the high skies. The boy’s allergy is so severe that even airborne particulates from peanuts could be extremely dangerous.

 

After explaining the situation, the teens were allegedly told that they could either take the flight or exit the aircraft and miss the trip. Though the Patel’s sons chose to board the plane, they were soon booted off.

“The gate agent came on the plane and told my sons to get off,” Mrs. Patel said. “One of my kids was shaking — they’re alone in a different country. Where were they supposed to go?” Mrs. Prajakta claimed that the gate agent even pulled on her son’s shirt “to encourage him to move” off of the aircraft.

Confused, the teens found themselves back in the gate area and told flight officials that they were willing to sit in the back of the plane with the brother with nut allergies wearing a mask. Despite their offer to compromise, a gate staffer reportedly told the boys that were not allowed to get back on the plane that was now “closed.”

Shaken, the boys called their parents, who tried to help them get to Manila without success. The mother spoke with a Delta representative who told her the boys could fly on a different carrier, however, not knowing other airlines’ nut policies, it was decided to fly the boys back to Atlanta, Georgia, on Delta.

Mrs. Patel is pushing for more than just an apology with the hopes that airlines will improve their employee education policies on nut allergies. She has filed a complaint with Delta and Korean Airlines and is reportedly seeking a refund.

Delta and Korean Air issued the following statements regarding the matter: “We’re sorry for this family’s ordeal, particularly during what is already a difficult time for them. Delta and our partner Korean Air are communicating with the family and examining the processes surrounding this incident; we will use our findings in our work to create a consistent experience for customers flying Delta and our partner airlines.”

A spokesperson for Korean Air, too, offered similar sentiments: “Korean Air is aware that peanut and food allergies are an industry issue and no airline can guarantee a food allergy-free environment. But we are reviewing ways to deal with this issue in a safe and feasible way. We totally understand the risks faced by passengers with nut and food allergies and will certainly try to accommodate them better in the future.”

Travel News | eTurboNews