Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/523863
Events 49 maltatoday, Sunday, 7 June 2015 Grand Hotel Excelsior today an- nounced that it has been recog- nised as a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Hall of Fame win- ner. The Certificate of Excellence award celebrates excellence in hospitality and is given only to establishments that consistently achieve great traveller reviews on TripAdvisor. The 'Hall of Fame' was created to honour those businesses that have earned a Certificate of Excellence for five consecutive years. Win- ners include accommodations, eateries and attractions located all over the world that have continu- ally delivered a superior customer experience. "Being awarded the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence five years in a row and inducted into the 'Hall of Fame' is a true source of pride for the entire team at Grand Hotel Excelsior and we'd like to thank all of our past guests who took the time to share their experience on TripAdvisor," said Norbert Grixti, General Manager at Grand Hotel Excelsior. "There is no greater seal of ap- proval than being recognised by one's esteemed guests. With the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excel- lence based on customer reviews, the accolade is a remarkable vote of confidence in our business and our continued commitment to ex- cellence." "Winning the TripAdvisor Cer- tificate of Excellence for five con- secutive years is a remarkable feat. TripAdvisor is pleased to induct five-time award winners into the 'Hall of Fame'," said Marc Charron President, TripAdvisor for Busi- ness. "By putting a spotlight on busi- nesses that are focused on consist- ently delivering great service to customers, TripAdvisor not only helps drive an improvement to hospitality standards around the world, it also gives businesses both large and small the ability to shine and stand out from the competi- tion." When selecting Certificate of Excellence winners, TripAdvisor uses a proprietary algorithm to de- termine the honourees that takes into account the quality, quantity and recency of reviews and opin- ions submitted by travellers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month peri- od as well as business's tenure and ranking on the Popularity Index on the site. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have the minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months. 'Beat the Summer Heat' is the theme for this year's Sunny Coast Resort and Spa open weekend, which is being held on the 6 and 7 June from 10.00 am onwards. During this weekend the Sunny Coast Resort & Spa will be show- casing its outdoor and beachside facilities whilst offering a 20% discount on the yearly member- ship, together with special offers from various outlets. During this weekend we will be seeking to engage the young and the old, with a full day en- tertainment programme, which includes treasure hunts for adults and kids, Zumba on Saturday and an array of spot prizes for all the family. During this weekend, entrance and use of all outdoor facilities for adults and children will be free. Amongst the facilities that members can make use of are the outdoor pool, the children's splash pool, the Jacuzzi, the wa- terfall feature, the rocky beach leading to the sea, sunbeds, um- brellas and changing rooms. The Master Cellar, Palazzo de Piro by Infinitely Xara and Mar- sovin have joined forces to organ- ise the wine event of the year and first of its kind, Mondovino - The International Wine Festival. This will be held on 12 and 13 June at Palazzo de Piro - a 17th Century Palazzo nestled in the bastion walls of the medieval city of Mdina. The ethos behind the event is to gather wine enthusiasts and those willing to learn in one loca- tion, with the opportunity to taste and understand wines from all different parts of the wine world, and what better setting to do this than the silent city of Mdina? This weekend event will be subdivided into three main events: A Festival, a series of Master classes and a Wine & Dine event. People attending this event will have the opportunity to taste and chat with foreign top wine pro- ducers in a unique setting over- looking the Mdina panorama to the sounds of vintage blues band- The Creepers. For the price of €25, guests can avail themselves of free flowing wines from bars spread through- out Palazzo de Piro, each serving a selection of foreign and local pre- mium wines. Tickets for this event need to be purchased in advance on a first come first serve basis, all ticket information can be found on the Mondovino Facebook page On the 13 June, wine enthusiasts will have the opportunity to at- tend tutored sessions delivered in a classroom style set up covering in detail a variety of themes in the following format: Unsung Heroes of Italy - There is a rising trend coming from some avant-garde Italian wine produc- ers to rediscover their roots by moving away from the classical noble grape varieties and concen- trating on wines that express real territory. This is done by making wines only from indigenous varieties that have been growing in the area for hundreds of years. New World Flavours - History has shown that pioneering New World wine producers have suc- cessfully set out to produce wines which can very well live up to their Old World European coun- terparts. Discover some of these wines through an educational ses- sion in which sampling these wine will tell us how great they truly are. The Heritage of a Winery - Mar- sovin , Malta's foremost premium wine producer will be bringing forward a selection of their Cellar Aged Wines. The winery's wine specialists will guide you through each wine highlighting the vin- tage factors that make these wines taste so unique. Showcasing the best of Etna - Benanti is a reputable Sicilian winery famous for the produc- tion of premium wines loyal to the soils of Etna. Agatino Failla from Benanti winery will be telling us about the origins of the beautiful winery and how Etna is expressed in their wines. All booking information for these master classes can be found on the Mondovino Facebook page. A bespoke gastronomic wine dinner complete with a pre-dinner aperitivo, featuring wines from our special guest winery for the evening- Benanti, a boutique win- ery which has a lot to tell about the efforts and determination to craft wines that speak the dialect of the Mount Etna region in Sicily, or so says Agatino Failla from Benanti who will be presenting the wines on the night. This will be held in the exclu- sive Sala Panoramica at Palazzo de Piro with each wine paired to an exquisite five-course meal pre- pared by the Infinitely Xara kitch- en brigade. All booking informa- tion can be found the Mondovino Facebook page. For more information www.fa- cebook.com/mondovinofestival GO Sports open to all TV subscribers this weekend Mondovino International Wine Festival to be held in Mdina Grand Hotel Excelsior Malta awarded fifth consecutive TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence All GO TV subscribers were able to watch the UEFA Champions League Final on GO Sports 2 and GO sports HD2 yesterday as GO opened its Sports Channels to all its TV subscribers for an action packed weekend. In addition to the much awaited clash between Juventus and Bar- celona, the GO Sports premium open viewing weekend on Inter- active also featured all the action from the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix. That started on Friday 5 June at 16:00hrs and the European Golf PGA Tour Nordea Masters which began on Thursday 4 June at 11:00hrs in HD. Roberta Young, Content Special- ist in GO's TV Business Planning & Transformation Team, said: "As the home of premium sports broadcasting, GO Sports offers the best coverage of the world's greatest sporting events. "This weekend, GO is giving all its TV subscribers the opportu- nity to enjoy one of the biggest weekends of the sporting calen- dar. "The Juventus versus Barcelona UEFA Champions League com- bined with the Canadian Grand Prix and Nordea Masters, should give all sports fans all the valid reasons they needed to stay glued to their screens throughout the GO Sports premium open view- ing weekend." GO's coverage of the UEFA Champions League Final yester- day started with a special pro- gramme at 19:30hrs. Customers were then able to follow the match with the main commentary being in Italian, although an option to switch to English was also avail- able. GO TV subscribers will also be able to watch all the warm-up and qualifying sessions of the Canadi- an Grand Prix with the race itself starting at 20:00hrs today 7 June. Coverage of the Nordea Masters will run throughout the weekend with the last day of action, Sunday 7 June, starting at 13:00hrs. More information on the re- mainder of this weekend's cover- age on GO Sports and GO sports HD is available at https://www. go.com.mt/personal/tv/channels/ go-sports/what-s-on-live Beat the Summer Heat open weekend at the Sunny Coast Resort