THE VOICE OF INTERNATIONAL LITHUANIA
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First Kempinski Hotel
for the Baltic states
THE KEMPINSKI HOTEL CATHEDRAL SQUARE
IN VILNIUSIS A FIRST FOR THE MUNICH BASED LUXURY HOTEL CHAIN.
The hotel reopened in 2012 in a former Grand Hotel built over 100 years ago. In the Soviet period the building was used as the central telegraph office. In Vilnius’ Unesco heritage listed old town, it offers 96 rooms and suites. During restoration workers discovered remains of the 16th century city wall, now on display below glass on the entrance to the restaurant.
Rooms have parquet floors and bathrooms feature mosaic tiles. Original architectural details have been restored and are now combined with modern funiture. Some suites have alcove balconies that overlook Cathedral Square.
There is a 76-seat restaurant ‘Telegrafas’ which serves local and Irish specialties, a lobby lounge bar, spa and conference centre.…
TripAdvisor.com has selected Lithuania’s best restaurants.
Druskos Namai in Užupis, Vilnius, tops the list!
TripAdvisor is a travel website that assists customers in gathering travel information, posting reviews and opinions of travel related content and engaging in interactive travel forums. TripAdvisor was an early adopter of user-generated content. The website services are free to users, who provide most of the content, and the website is supported by an advertising business model.
THE DRUSKOS NAMAI PHILOSOPHY
We prepare our food in accordance with the principles of modern European cuisine using the best quality Lithuanian products.Preference is given to products supplied by farms located close to Vilnius. Menu changes often - dishes of depends on what kind of fresh produce on a daily basis we receive from manufacturers and what's available at the time of the year.
By Gene Emmer
Any parent living in Vilnius, particularly near the center understands one of the biggest problems living in the city. What to do with the kids in the winter?
Yes, there are a few children's gyms at the big shopping malls. But except for that, when the snow comes and the sun leaves, there is very little for kids to do in the center of the city. Why is Vilnius so children-unfriendly?
When our son was an infant, we struggled to find restaurants with baby high chairs. Very few bother to have them. Changing tables in the toilets? Forget it. This is standard in many parts of the world yet practically non-existent in Vilnius. I would have to take a towel with me and put him in the sink to change his diapers. As he grew up, we struggled to find places where we were comfortable if he cried. Now that he is a bit older, we struggle to find restaurants with kid friendly menus offering foods such as pizza, French fries, sausages, etc. The only central restaurant we are aware of that offers a kid playing area and changing tables is Kibininn http://pinavija.lt/
In other countries children friendly restaurants are big business. Chuck E Cheese (http://www.chuckecheese.com/) is a popular international Pizza and Entertainment chain, with over 500 locations. On their website they write “Chuck E. Cheese’s is the ultimate place Where A Kid Can Be A Kid®. And parents can enjoy every moment.” Chuck E Cheese has an amusement park-like atmosphere with food, drinks, games, singing robotic animals and fun, fun, fun.
To read more reviews and book rooms in this or other
Kaunas hotels, go to Booking.com
My preferred hotel in Kaunas. The family owned Hotel Perkūno Namai is beautifully located on a hilltop just outside Kaunas centre, surrounded by an amazingly attractive garden. The house to the left in the picture was built for the family in the 1930s. Perkūno Namai means House of Thunder.
Text and photos: Aage Myhre
Surrounded by centennial oaks Perkūno Namai just outside Kaunas centre has been a family owned and run hotel for 18 years, since 1994. The hotel also includes a high class international restaurant.
The hotel family has its long time roots from up here in Žaliakalnis – the Green Hill – where the site belonged to the present owners grand and great-grandparents. The family house adjoining the hotel was designed in 1930 by a family friend architect, a promoter of functionalism in Lithuania, Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis (father of today’s famous music professor and politician, Vytautas Landsbergis).
“We are very proud of the hotel’s well-groomed landscape: a rhododendron grove and an oak-tree hillock invigorate our guests, family members and staff all year round,” tells today’s director and co-owner Vidimantas Žekas when I sit down with him for a talk.
Sometimes you just need to put the brakes on, slow down, relax, and indulge yourself... Medieval, modern, luxurious Lithuania is the place to do exactly that, trust us...
Treat yourself to a break at one of the many fine hotels in one of the cities or at a countryside inn – and enjoy the marvellous city or countryside life in a country named as ‘Europe’s best kept secret’ where you can experience its little known history side by side with dynamic, modern city life...
Enjoy elegant, international dining or traditional Lithuanian meals at a hotel, city restaurant or a country pub offering food for lazy lunches or dinners washed down with a glass of excellent wine or a more traditional beer...…
Radisson Blu Hotel, Klaipėda:
General Manager Tobias Ammon is rightly proud of the breakfast buffet that
Radisson Blu Hotel offers its guests. Here with waitress Kristina.
The Radisson Blu Hotel in Klaipeda has just celebrated its first ten years as the only truly international luxury hotel at Lithuania’s beautiful seacoast. Two months ago the hotel got a new General Manager, German Tobias Ammon (35), and I am sitting down with him in the hotel’s breakfast room this early July morning to let him explain to you, dear readers, why you should visit Klaipeda and his hotel – this summer as well as when the autumn winds already make the endless Baltic Sea waves powerfully roll in towards the port city shores.
“I must admit that I had to ask where Klaipeda is when I was offered this position, but I was astonished to see what a nice area this is, when I first came here,” tells the young manager, who now has moved here with wife and little daughter. He and his little family are now in full swing “testing Klaipeda as travel destination”, and they are using their bicycles to do exactly that!
“This area is really ideal for bikes, and we are now using our weekends to bike to the fantastic beaches in the outskirts of the city, riding through beautiful coastal pine tree forests, villages and over the wavy, green landscapes that characterise this area,” he tells.
To my question why people should come to visit this seaside town and district, Tobias answers: “First of all because of the experience. Klaipeda is still kind of a genuine, untouched place, and there is a lot to discover for those who haven’t been to this part of Lithuania or Europe. The genuine Old Town in Hanseatic style, the river, the yacht harbour, the beautiful nature, the smell of sea, combined with a long and interesting history starting in the 13th Century. In addition, Klaipeda is centrally located between the resort areas of Neringa and Palanga, The ferryboat trip over to Neringa (the Curonian Spit) takes only a few minutes. The Palanga resort town and international airport is only a 20 minutes drive from here. So this is really an ideal, central location for those who want to experience the beautiful Lithuanian seashores.”
A truly exceptional project is being created just 20 km north of Vilnius city – to build a 'City of Dreams' next to the Le Méridien Vilnius, that already today includes a 194-room hotel, a spa, a pool, restaurants, cafés, a huge conference centre – as well as an amazing 18 hole golf course…
Upon completion, the 'City of Dreams' will include;
· A residential village
· Tropical beach and spa, with indoor to outdoor infinity pools
· Indoor multifunction leisure centre, with basketball, volleyball and tennis courts
· Casino, cinema, boutique shops, delicatessen and a family zoo
· Medical centre, offices, penthouses, themed restaurants
Today's Le Méridien Vilnius includes a 194-room hotel, an 18-hole golf course, an indoor pool, spa centre, restaurants and more amidst 350 acres of lush countryside with pine and birch forests:
Le Méridien Vilnius overlooks two scenic lakes.
The V Golf Club is situated among beautiful grounds adjacent to the hotel. A magnificent 18 hole championship golf course.
A six-story conference centre, 8000 sq. m., for conferences, seminars, banquets, weddings…. 25 halls in classical design, of various size.
Restaurants with picturesque landscapes and soothing background music, gives a romantic and stylish environment where time freezes. Seasonal menus based on European cuisine with French accent.
The spacious pool, spa and wellness centre offers plenty of natural light and is surrounded by beautiful landscapes to be enjoyed all seasons.
Fresh air, enchanting scenery and shimmering lakes creates a great atmosphere for warm memories.
What could be better. A couple of hot ‘cepelinai’ made of fresh potatoes, stuffed by
minced meat or cottage cheese. Plus a refreshing beer...
I had been told to try the Lithuanian national dish, cepelinai, which are stuffed potato dumplings, and I soon found a restaurant to give it a try. It was a quality recommendation (!) as I found the cepelinai to be a quality taste sensation. Hmmm....cepelinai. When I asked for the bill at the end, the waiter brought me another pint of beer......ah, go on then.
Countryside in the city – what can you find in the beautiful Valakupiu forest park just a few kilometers away from the Vilnius Old Town??
Any Vilnius resident will start having trouble finding things to do during the long winter weekends. During summer, we keep ourselves happy and busy just walking around the beautiful old town, sitting in cafes or driving to Trakai and countryside homes for weekends. Here comes the winter and by February, we are fed up with shopping centers, seen all the movies and just discouraged by the amount of clothing needed for a short stroll around the town. I myself keep dreaming about winter weekends in cozy country inns, but the reality of driving on icy country roads trying to reach the destination before early sunset has made me prefer staying within the save city limits for the winter time. Fortunately, Vilnius is a human size of a city, which means that countryside can be reached 5 km from the Cathedral Square!
Barbara’s restaurant reviews |
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Lithuania is the perfect choice for dining and wining:. Here it is really easy to find luxurious, traditional and international restaurants side by side. Here you can easily combine efficient, comfortable work and business atmosphere with the joy of new discoveries and adventures in a country full of excitements. Barbara Ishwerwood and others from her organisation IWAV (International Women’s Association in Vilnius) takes you on a stroll to cafes and restaurants in order to help you find the best choices... |
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La Provence
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Stikliai
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Medininkai
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Was eating with friends at la Provence on November 22nd 2010 and we enjoyed the fresh food, made with creativity and love, very much. The service was really friendly and attentive. We enjoyed the nice ambience and Provence atmosphere. |
The restaurant is a gourmet delight but quite expensive - especially when compared to other hotels in the city. |
This place IS worth checking out. Moreover, we reckon that the prices are still pretty reasonable compared with those in the West. It's a lovely place and the Lithuanian food is delicious. |
Lithuania offers a modern, international cuisine and service, fully on par with Western Europe.
La Provence in Vilnius Old Town is an excellent example of exactly that.
Did you think that this country mostly offers traditional food? Think again… Today’s situation is that numerous Lithuanian restaurants follow the best world traditions of offering exceptional international cuisine, as well as a number of Lithuanian masterpieces, first-class service in surroundings of refined elegance and impeccable hospitality. Modern Lithuania’s excellent cuisine together with a high class service will leave you a memorable experience.
Let me bring you to some of my favourite international cuisine restaurants, this time unfortunately only in Vilnius!
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