Unique luxury hotels, fashionable travel and much more

How would you feel if you returned to your hotel room and found a 14K gold pendant necklace featuring a half carat of brilliant round-cut diamonds under your pillow? This is what the Ritz-Carlton has in store for 10 lucky guests staying at the luxury hotel in Miami Key Biscayne Resort as part of their 10th anniversary celebrations in July.

Realizing that many other guests may also like to enjoy the fun, this Five Diamond Resort has planned some other neat deals too. Throughout the month of July there will be ten resort-view guest rooms for just $10 on selected nights. The small print stipulates that reservations for this deal can only be made on June 10 between 10 and 2pm EST by calling 305-365-4582, so better set the alarm on your PDA now.

Every Wednesday through July at this luxury resort there will be a selection of $10 spa treatments including the Key Lime Body Treatment (50 minutes) or the renowned Deluxe Sundae Pedicure (45 minutes). There will also be the chance to purchase $10 mango candles – that’s half-price.

If you’re around on July 14, glasses of Moet Chandon Ice Imperial Champagne, made exclusively for upscale resorts, will be just $10, as will the accompanying Kobe Beef Sliders.

Those who enjoy champagne by the bottle should take the opportunity to dine at the resort between July 10-15 and 17-22. As well as the chance to enjoy three-course meals for $10 at the in-house restaurant Cioppino, one menu will hold a voucher for a complimentary bottle of champagne.

Not forgetting those ten diamond necklaces beneath the pillows of ten lucky overnight guests. Better start making your travel plans for July right now!

by Gillian at Luxique Luxury Hotels

South Beach, known colloquially as SOBE, is like nowhere else and is also home to some of the most unique luxury hotels in Miami. Trend-setting, affluent and vibrant, it has a distinct up-market Latino flavor. White sand and azure ocean beneath a cloudless sunny sky, the eclectic mix of pastel Art Deco hotels along Ocean Drive, beautiful people strolling arm in arm in the latest fashions, this is what South Beach is all about. It is an escape from reality, at least for the time you are there! Once the home of drug barons and Mafioso, it is now an idyllic retreat for the rich and famous, as well as the migratory flock of snowbirds who return year in, year out.

Along with the palm-fringed beachfront, South Beach offers fabulous designer shopping from Lincoln Road to name-dropping Collins Avenue. Armani, Kenneth Cole, Benetton, Sephora, Ralph Lauren, Diesel….they can all be found here on these narrow streets. After dark, restaurants, bars and nightclubs buzz with music and you pay more for valet parking than most people would pay for cocktails, but hey, there is only one South Beach! See and be seen is the name of the game. After dining out in style at one of the many Michelin starred restaurants such as the lovely Casa Tua, or Palme d’Or, walk though romantic Lummus Park beneath the stars and then retire to your chosen luxury hotel in Miami for a nightcap in the bar.

Once again there are too many wonderful luxury hotels in Miami to list, even on the short stretch of Ocean Drive. If you are looking for Art Deco inspiration consider the newly renovated Hotel Victor, right next door to Casa Casuarina, better known as the Versace Mansion. This delightful boutique hotel has retained some of its finest Art Deco features in the extensive lobby and bar. Right on the beach is the Raleigh, which has retained all its 1920s charm including the uniquely shaped swimming pool. With designer shops at the front, and the boardwalk and beach to the rear, everything is conveniently close by. Rather more hip and trendy but one block back from the beach is the Shore Club Miami, a true celebrity hang-out. Designer-cool rooms by British designer David Copperfield, and managed by Ian Schrager, creator of the boutique hotel genre, this contemporary style hotel is a far cry from the 1930s in which it was built. The Casa Grande is quite the opposite.This refined luxury hotel in Miami invites guests to truly relax and feel at home. Last but certainly not least, checkout the Pelican; owned by Diesel it is a temple to OTT décor and zany fashion. Wherever you choose to stay you are unlikely to be spending long within its four walls.

by Luxique Luxury Hotels

Those soccer championships I mentioned are taking place without the feisty Manchester United and England forward, Wayne Rooney. But he has plenty to occupy him, not least his wedding next Saturday (June 14th) in an Italian villa.
He’s marrying Coleen McLoughlin in a £5million ($10million) extravaganza which has the tabloid press in the UK salivating and Hello! magazine shelling out £2.5million ($5million) for exclusive rights. The dress alone cost £100,000 ($200,000).
Coleen McLoughlin is famous for not much more than being at the forefront of the ‘WAGs’ (Wives and Girlfriends) when the England team are on tour. The couple see themselves as the natural successors to David and Victoria Beckham.

Whatever you say about the classiness or otherwise of the wedding, you can’t fault Coleen’s taste in hotels: of her three hen nights, two were at places Luxique is delighted to offer: the Lowry in Manchester (‘cutting edge, contemporary interiors and a luxurious urban spa’) and the Shore Club in Miami (‘true celeb hang-out, brittle with glitter and attitude and blinding Schrager design’).

by Andy Moreton

I read an article the other day: ‘Madonna’s Travel Secrets.’ Get a life, Moreton, I hear you cry.
No, but listen … nearly all the places she loves to stay are on Luxique’s list of luxury hotels and boutique hotels (we knew the lady had taste). So, in case you want the chance to hang out with the Material Girl, listen up.
Her love affair with the Caesar Park in Rio de Janeiro goes back to 1993 when she performed for 120,000 people at the city’s Maracana Stadium. Luxique likes this one very much too – we call it “an opulent 23-storey business hotel of fine dining and service.”
When in Rome, she apparently favours the Hotel de Russie. Good choice, Madge. We’ve called it “Rome’s best hotel for those who appreciate the Rocco Forte discreet designer style.”

In 2006, she embarked on her global ‘Confessions’ tour, which spanned 60 shows on three continents. When she arrived in Miami, there was only one place she wanted to lay her head: The Setai. Luxique’s view? “A razor-sharp, Oriental-reflected designer number on South Beach with stratospheric service levels.” Madonna liked it so much, she’s been back many times.

Finally, Baa Atoll in the Maldives, where the star and her family spent a ‘heavenly’ holiday over 2006/7. Luxique offers the Diva Island Resort in this paradise island. “Sumptuous villas set on stilts in a blue lagoon in one of the best diving sites in the Maldives.”

All these fabulous places are bookable through our Luxique online boutique hotel booking system where, in many instances, we’ve negotiated a range of special rates or seasonal offers.
One thing, though. If you do happen to be vacationing in the vicinity of Madonna and her large entourage, don’t expect camera or autograph time. She sticks close to children and husband, Guy Ritchie, and steers clear of fan worship.
“I think she’s hyper-aware of security,” says Mary Cross, author of Madonna – A Biography. “She definitely wants her privacy, so even though she loves luxury and might pick a well-known hotel, she keeps a low profile and insists on hotel confidentiality.”

by Andy Moreton