We are pretty easily impressed by anything that's a world's biggest or world's tallest, and so it's no wonder that the Radisson SAS Zurich Airport has caught our eye. It's got Europe's tallest wine tower.

Like we said, we're easily impressed, but then we had to stop and wonder what a wine tower actually is. If you're a touch ignorant like us, we can now enlighten you: this wine tower is a tall glass structure where wine is stored, like this picture of a similar Radisson SAS wine tower at Stansted Airport near London. Apparently the tower includes a system to keep wines at exactly the right temperatures.

The hits keep on coming for the Dolder Grand Hotel in Switzerland.

Aside from having a mega-opening day, techno-funky spiral showers and a performance by Mary J. Blige, the hotel has just unveiled its four Top Suites, one of which was inspired by the Rolling Stones.

Called Suite 100, after The 100 Club in London, the suite is surely to make any rocker happy.

Also located on the top floor of the Spa Wing, the most surprising feature of the one-bedroom Suite 100 (1,770 square feet) is its unconventional extravagance.

The mood of the interior is set by retro-style furniture and a predominantly black and pink décor reminiscent of the "Swinging Sixties."

A highlight of the suite is the

Was the re-opening of the Dolder Grand Hotel like the biggest thing ever to happen in Zurich? First, people lined up by the hundreds to see the hotel's new renovations. Now the hotel capped off the re-opening celebration with a party hosted by owner Urs Schwarzenbach for 240 people (all his closest friends, no doubt) which featured a private concert by Mary J. Blige.

The hotel's rep writes us:

The $450 million transformation of the hotel took four years so naturally the opening events would be just as extravagant. Mary J Blige performed a private concert at the reception, held in the hotel's grand ballroom (which has a gold cupola).

We're guessing as a way to say thank

We do love a good shower when we're away from home, so it's really no wonder that we've been slightly obsessed with the cocoon spiral showers of Donovan House. But if you're not anywhere near Washington DC and still want to test out these kinds of showers, we've received another tip: head to the Dolder Grand in Zurich, Switzerland.

Yes, as well as being very green after their recent renovations, the Dolder Grand is also home to similar showers. The only difference is that they call them snail showers because the shape is like a snail shell. Fair enough, but snails seem to have a few negatives going for them, and we're happier with

This here's a snapshot of the Dolder Grand Hotel in Zurich, Switzerland which will have its official re-opening ceremony tomorrow. The hotel has been closed for four years to undergo a $400 million renovation by renowned architects Foster and Partners.

Apparently, the city and its residents were so eager to see the results of the makeover the hotel opened its doors over the weekend for public viewing days. It is estimated about 20,000 people showed up to get a sneak peek. Hmmm...if only we had been in Zurich yesterday instead of New York.

In other news:

· The London West Hollywood: The hotel opened yesterday and we'll have a review for you first thing in the morning.

·

We've been waiting since 2004 for the Dolder Grand Hotel to finish its renovations and reopen in one of our favorite European cities, Zurich. After spending around $400 million on the transformation, we're guessing it'll probably be worth the wait.

The Dolder Grand is what they like to call a "city resort", and although it's still within Zurich itself, the hotel is rather like a hill-top castle from which you can see over the lake and to the Swiss Alps as well. It has 173 rooms in the main building, which have all been fully renovated and the building restored. The new addition at the Dolder is a 40,000 square foot spa, designed by "international spa consultant"

You can fly around Europe cheaply now or you can really see something by taking the train, and the best Europe-wide ticketing agency Eurail has just relaunched their website. A very popular Eurail stop is Zurich (it seems everybody wants to stop in Switzerland, since it's right in the middle!). And for somewhere to stay in Zurich, the Widder Hotel has a lot going for it.

It's been created by renovating eight historic houses and turning them into 42 rooms and seven suites and it's filled with modern furniture from all the big name designers - the only downside here is that some might think the ultra-modern interior is too much of a contrast to

And chaos, well, didn’t ensue. Apparently this wasn’t the first time the Swiss army has accidentally crossed into Liechtenstein during a training mission. “It has happened before,” Liechtenstein government spokeswoman Gerlinde Manz-Christ told ABC News. “Nobody really realized it.” The Guardian notes the 170 or so Swiss soldiers were carrying rifles with no ammunition on their mission last Thursday, though they did have their “obligatory Swiss army knives.”

Based on the top searches on Travelistic this week, I’d say that European-summer-trip planning is kicking into gear:


– Switzerland
– Italy
– Jamaica
– London
– Paris

Your top tags reveal an addiction to our tag cloud; you guys just can’t help clicking on those boldfaced words, can you?


– Architecture
– Beaches
– Drinking
– Scuba
– Snowboarding

This weekend there will simultaneous partying involving parades, masked mischief, beads, babes, and drinking going on all over the nominally catholic world. To get the skinny, take a gander at the latest episode of The Map, where Liza runs down some of the world’s top Carnival spots, and hits up a German “Karneval” party right here in New York. For some extra goodness, take a look at other carnival videos from our archive. Here’s a clip about Rio’s Samba school parade, and a list of the cities most famed for their pre-Lent madness:



– Basel, Switzerland
– Binche, Belgium
– Cologne, Germany
– Mobile, Alabama
– New Orleans, Louisiana
– Patras, Greece
– Port of Spain, Trinidad
– Rijeka, Croatia
– Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
– Sitges, Spain
– Viareggio, Italy
– Venice, Italy