Vacation Extravaganzas

Black Enterprise, May, 2001 by Dwight Brown

Here are five premium getaways to some of the world's finest locales

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

If you venture down Avenue Atlantica, past the packed beaches of Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana and the trendy shores of Ipanema, the road turns into Avenue Niemeyer and curves around the base of Vidigal Mountain. Here, away from the noisy crowds, sits the Sheraton Rio Hotel and Towers. Rio's only beachfront hotel has 559 ocean-view rooms and suites (starting at around $270) and presides majestically over Vidigal, a quiet small cove beach.

Take the elevator to the terrace floor, and walk out onto the spacious patio that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. There are three restaurants (including Casarao, a barbecue steakhouse), three pools, three tennis courts, and plenty of scantily clad people in lounge chairs. Lush foliage gives the terrace a tropical, garden atmosphere. A sense of tranquility envelops you. The sunshine warms your soul.

Start your day with a buffet breakfast at the Mirador Cafe, then find a poolside chair and relax. Attentive waiters will bring you ice-cold glasses of thirst-quenching Guarana (a local carbonated drink). After a day relaxing on the terrace and a couple of sets of tennis, the health club and its spa beckon. A one-hour massage costs just 70 reals (Brazilian dollars) or about $35. At that price, you can end or begin each day with a relaxing rubdown and never feel guilty.

Restaurants: Satyricon (192 gua Barao da Torre, tel.: 521-0627) for gourmet fish and pasta dishes and try the light, sweet, tasty Cerpa beer.

Nightlife: Pao de Acuar Vai Dar Samba, a festive samba show, occurs at 8:30 p.m. on weekends on Urca Hill, a peak adjacent to world-famous Sugarloaf Mountain.

Shopping: The shopping mall Rio Sul (leather goods, clothes) or H. Stern (for dazzling Brazilian gold and gemstones).

Sightseeing: World-famous Corcovado Mountain with its Christ the Redeemer statue. The teeny-bikini-clad beachgoers at Copacabana and Ipanema beaches.

Getting There: Varig Airlines (800-468-2744) flies to Rio. To book a vacation in Brazil, call the Brazil Reservation System (800-544-5503). Entry requires a valid passport and a tourist visa (valid for five years).

Sheraton Rio Hotel and Towers

121 Avenue Niemeyer Rio del Janeiro, 22450-220 Brazil

Tel.: 55-21-274-1122 or 800-325-3535

Fax: 55-21-239-5643

Website: www.sheraton-rio.com

MONTREUX, SWITZERLAND

For 35 years, world-famous musicians and their admirers have flocked to the annual Montreux Jazz Festival. The picturesque city of Montreux, on the banks of powder-blue Lake Geneva at the base of the snow-capped Swiss Alps, is the festival host.

George Duke, as both a musician and guest producer, is a Montreux festival veteran. His hotel of choice is the swank Le Montreux Palace. This Belle Epoque-style hotel, with its cream-white walls and yellow awnings, dates back to 1906. Chic and trendy travelers frequent its four restaurants, three bars, tearoom and Internet cafe. Across the street, guests enjoy the Palace's tennis court and pool, which overlook the lake. Duke follows in the footsteps of Miles Davis, B.B. King, opera diva Barbara Hendricks, and other international musical luminaries who were drawn to this exclusive hotel.

The Palace's gorgeous lake view is stunning. The quaint streets that surround it are a joy to walk. Drive up the adjacent Alps and be exhilarated. And after tasting the sumptuous cuisine at the Palace's La Veranda restaurant, it's a short stroll to the Congress Center, the site of Montreux's jazz concerts. Main acts are featured in the 3,000-seat Stravinski Auditorium; downstairs, in the dimly lit Miles Davis Hall, 2,000 fans gather at the festival's second venue. Stars perform until the wee hours, when Palace guests head back to the hotel's Harry's New York Bar for a nightcap to top off a wonderful day of jazzy, melodious vacation.

Restaurants: Chef Phillip Rochat offers the finest French cuisine at his namesake restaurant, Rochat, in the nearby town of Crissier.

Get Jazzed: The 2001 Montreux Jazz Festival (www.montreuxjazz.com) runs July 6-July 21. Call Ciao! Travel (800-942-2426); e-mail; (jazz@ciaotrav el.com) for information on travel packages.

Shopping: Swiss Army knives by Victorinox make great souvenirs and are sold at many shops on the Grand Rue. Try Roman-Mayer for exclusive jewelry and coveted Blanc Pain watches.

Sightseeing: Visit the 12th-century medieval Castle Chillon. Take a steamboat ride across Lake Geneva or ride a train through the Alps to the trendy ski resort of Gstaad (the Rado Swiss Tennis Open in Gstaad runs concurrently with the festival).

Getting There: Swissair (800-221-4750) flies directly to Geneva, Montreux's closest airport (six miles from the city).

Tourist Information: Call Switzerland Tourism at 877-794-8037, or go to www.myswitzerland.com.

Le Montreux Palace

100 Grand Rue 1820 Montreux, Switzerland

Tel: 41-21-962-1212

Fax: 41-21-962-1717

E-mail: sales@montreuxpalace.com

Website: www.montreuxpalace.com