Westin Hotels & Resorts is marking the six-month milestone of its smoke-free conversion in North America with Breathing LightsSM installations in its lobbies nationwide. The artistically designed projections count the number of fresh breaths taken by each Westin guest each day. The Breathing Lights projection on a wall or other hotel space features a blue light that pulses at the average speed of healthy human breathing, every 4.4 seconds.

The design can be viewed by guests and visitors to Westin lobbies nationwide, or by visiting www.westin.com/ breathe. Westin hotels went smoke-free in response to guests, who are increasingly adopting healthy lifestyles and demanding a smoke-free hotel in which to renew their mind, body and spirit while travelling. The move comes as part of Westin’s commitment to guests’ personal well-being and the brand’s positioning around renewal.

New Da Vinci experience travel packages

Some of the best European Westin hotels in Milan, Florence, Rome and Paris present exciting and exclusive opportunities for Leonardo Da Vinci enthusiasts with new travel packages, valid till the end of 2006. The Westin Palace hotel in Milan offers a three-hour city tour including a visit to The Last Supper painting featured in the blockbuster film Da Vinci Code. The Milanese Da Vinci experience can be enriched by a private visit to the original Atlantic Codex containing famous drawings by the “Genius”.

The Westin Excelsior hotel in Florence invites visitors to discover the roots of Leonardo with a private-car tour through the Tuscan countryside; discover the medieval town of Vinci and visit the home where the artist was born as well as the Leonardo Museum.

The Westin Paris invites guests to visit Paris and live a Da Vinci Code experience in the footsteps of the characters in Dan Brown’s famous novel with visits to the Louvre Museum, the Saint Sulpice Church and other historical landmarks of the City of Lights.

Ireland’s most expensive cocktail

The Westin Dublin has created Ireland’s most expensive cocktail at e500 a go – The Minted Cocktail. Available exclusively at the hotel’s Mint Bar, the cocktail is a unique vanilla and chocolate Martini, created using Grey Goose original vodka infused with vanilla pods and a delicate blend of white chocolate and vanilla aromas from Mozart White Chocolate Liqueur, and Hennessy Richard, a 200-year-old cognac, mixed with the ultimate decadence of 23-carat gold flakes. The cocktail is served in a chilled crystal martini glass by Jasper Conran at Waterford, with chocolate truffles on the side. It was created by Mint Bar manager Karl Byrne and Grey Goose expert Dimitri Lezinska. For more information, one may visit www.westin.com/dublin.