Hilton the global leader in hospitality, announced today a partnership with the Argentine professional football Club Atlético River Plate. The partnership unveils Hilton as the preferred hospitality partner to host the River Plate team on the road and aims to provide one-of-a-kind experiences for both organizations’ biggest fans.

I’ve never seen a real bear up close, let alone a brown Transylvanian one. I’m told they roam the forests of the rolling Romanian hills within the untamed nature of the Bucegi Natural Park. Yet, reassuringly, none of the staff at the Matca Transylvanian Sanctuary had ever seen one either.

Just as well, as Matca, which means Queen Bee is designed as a five-star sanctuary, a place of comfort and serenity. It was built in January 2024 by the home-grown Caluianu family, founders of the Albina Carpatina brand comprising Royal jelly, honey, and pollen granules. For a family profoundly attuned to nature and natural healing this act of passion needed a whopping investment of €7.5 million of their own money, and the result is impressive. 

The valley is abundant with places to stay, but Matca is located on a mountaintop accessible from the town of Șimon, in Brașov county. The drive there passes hilly prairie-like lands of Prahova Valley where people can be seen turning hay and where white-washed buildings and a white monastry sparkle in the sun.

The Romanian-styled “village” designed by architect Gabriel Georgescu is inspired by the 21 Ocolul Măgura house from the ASTRA Museum in Sibiu, and sprawls over seven hectares surrounded by undulating hills. 

It is a lush landscape that’s deeply touching in the summer months. It’s also beautiful when the autumnal hues of orange, red and brown coat the landscape and later in the year when the inevitable winter white of snowfall offers its change of scene and skiing opportunities. So, it doesn’t matter when you go, as Matca is a year-round getaway destination.

Who for:

Couples or friends looking to reconnect and rejuvenate within a spa/health complex surrounded by plenty of hiking opportunities and good food.

Accommodation

There are 16 rooms fashioned out of two traditional Transylvanian farmhouses, each with an inner courtyard. There is softness in the decor of local oak, bell-shaped light shades, creamy colours, and artworks made of pressed wildflowers. 

Each room has a king-size bed, sitting area, flat screen tv, free wifi, coffee and tea-making facilities, a safe deposit box, a desk, and amenities such as a makeup mirror and hairdryer. Stylish bathrooms have walk-in showers, handsome round stone basins and aromatic Ritual toiletries. Most rooms let in plenty of natural light, but there are a couple of rooms that don’t. Be sure to steer away from those.

The two villas are the crowning glory of the resort. You wake up to stunning views over the Piatra Craiului and Bucegi Mountains. What a way to start a day! Plus can enjoy coffee in the separate lounge, and see those views from the bathroom.  They even have a jacuzzi perched on their balcony.

Food & Drink

There is the Nectar bar, where you can grab a coffee, a juice or your favourite tipple but interestingly no fizzy drinks such as Coca-Cola. The STUP restaurant offers Transylvanian-influenced fine dining made from locally sourced ingredients. Breakfast comprises à la carte, continental or vegetarian options.

In the summer there’s a choice of dining alfresco on their terrace.

Facilities

The Natura SPA facilities at MATCA are extensive and include a heated indoor swimming pool a dry sauna, a wet sauna, a cold plunge and a salt room.  There are regular yoga classes, as well as a heated indoor relaxation pool and jacuzzi.

To finish it all off, there are sunbeds in the relaxation room with views through floor-to-ceiling windows. There’s also a spacious well-kitted gym with floor-to-ceiling windows – yes, you get those views again.

Or grab your walking boots and explore the area on a guided hike, or follow a trail by mountain bike. 

What’s nearby?

The nearest airport is Brașov-Ghimbav International around 35 km drive. For a fright night you could visit Bran Castle of Count Dracula fame and get a ghouling guided tour courtesy of the hotel. Or check out the fortified churches in the surrounding area. Oh and if you are like me and interested in seeing a Romanian brown bear, you could visit the nearby bear sanctuary.

Verdict: Serene and beautiful the Matca Transylvanian Sanctuary is a luxurious escape into nature and a delightful place to relax and rejuvenate.

 

How much:

Rooms start from £316 a night at peak times including breakfast.

CHECK AVAILABILITY

 

The post Matca Transylvanian Sanctuary review, Romania appeared first on The Travel Magazine.

We’ve already added it to basket

Simply put, if you miss accurate focus you miss the shot, no matter how compelling the scene or the subject. In this tutorial from the Wildlife in Focus YouTube channel you’ll learn a handful of proven techniques for getting the job done every time.

Focusing speed and precision varies among different cameras and lenses, and the five tips below will greatly improve your odds of success—regardless of the gear you use and whether you’re a beginner or a more advanced shooter.

Instructor Adrien Coquelle is a French wildlife photographer, but the advice he provides is applicable to other genres as well. He kicks off today’s episode by making this promise: “In this video I’m going to show you five tips that will help you put an end to autofocus that keeps hunting endlessly and struggles to quickly focus on the subject,

 

Coquelle employs interesting graphics to make his advice super easy to understand, beginning with a brief non-technical explanation of how autofocus works with modern equipment so that you’ll understand the remainder of his lesson. As he explains, “in order to  achieve focus the camera’s AF system needs to calculate the precise distance to a subject by utilizing sensors that analyze a scene in real time and make adjustments accordingly.”

He demonstrates how the minimum focusing distance varies from one lens to another and says that “Contrary to popular belief, all lenses can focus to infinity without any issues or constraints.” The speed of autofocus is reliant upon the system’s ability to move through and analyze camera-to-subject distance more or less quickly until it locates and locks on to the subject.

If you’re lucky enough to own a high-end camera and expensive lenses, the foregoing sequence can happen almost instantaneously, but what can the rest of us to help the process along? Fortunately for your wallet there are several things you can do to make mid-range or budget gear perform faster and more accurately without breaking the bank. And that’s what you’ll learn how to accomplish in less than 10 minutes.

 

Tip #1 involves taking advantage of the Focus Range Limiter that’s available on many telephoto lenses—especially those designed for wildlife photography. This feature is controlled by a switch on the lens barrel that enables you specify certain distant ranges— rather than requiring the lens to waste time by searching all the way from its minimum focusing distance to infinity.

Another way to speed things up is to manually preset the distance scale on the lens to your best estimate of how far away you are from the subject. This way the AF system responds much more quickly when it’s time to make the shot. In essence you’ll mimic the tip mentioned above when a lens lacks a Focus Range Limiter.

The remaining three tips are just as easy and effective as the two summarized above, and none of them require much practice. You’ll be surprised at what you can achieve with affordable gear by following Coquelle’s advice. And there’s much more to be found by paying a visit to his new YouTube channel.

On a related note, don’t miss the video we featured last month, demonstrating another pro’s favorite technique for achieving sharply focused photographs in all situations.