Unique luxury hotels, fashionable travel and much more

Few people would want the job of Offer Nissenbaum, General Manager of the Peninsula Beverley Hills luxury hotel in California. Even he admitted, “We do have demanding guests, and we’re fine with that. It’s OK because they have high expectations.”

However the job does have its upside – he has just been shortlisted as one of the five finalists for the Hotelier of the Year Award. The award ceremony is organized by Virtuoso, the luxury travel agent network, who whittle down the nominees from 900 luxury hotels around the world. The award goes to the person best showing “an unrelenting passion for the industry, an astute appreciation for detail and a keen sense of how to lead and manage a dynamic team of professionals.”

The other finalists are from all four corner of the world. Michel Jauslin is Director General of the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome; Torsten van Dullemmen works for the Oberoi Udaivilas in Rajasthan; Nigel Pace is General Manager of the Cape Grace Hotel in Cape Town in South Africa and Claudio Ceccherelli represents the Park Hyatt Milan in Italy.

The final award-naming ceremony will take place at the Virtuoso Annual Travel Mart Conference held at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas where top travel agents, luxury hotel representatives and hoteliers will mingle and network.

by Gillian

Most business travelers already have their favorite luxury hotels in New York, but the choice will be even wider when the Marriott opens its newest hotel in late 2013. Marriott International together with Granite Broadway Development are making news headlines with their newly unveiled plans for a 68-story hotel which will become the tallest stand-alone hotel building in New York City.

The stunning landmark building will be over 752 feet high and was designed by architect Nobutaka Ashihara. Construction is due to start shortly at 1717 Broadway (at 54th Street).

The luxury hotel will be divided between two distinctly different hotel types to suit the needs of all guests. The Courtyard by Marriott guest rooms will occupy floors 6 though 32 and are aimed at overnight and short-stay visitors to New York.

Floors 36 through 64 will be a Residence Inn, designed for long-stay guests with kitchenettes and larger living spaces as well as stunning city views. Services include complimentary breakfast, free high-speed Internet, grocery delivery, laundry facilities and social get-togethers to make guests feel totally at home.

The hotels will share a main entrance and lobby before being directed to their rooms via separate dedicated elevators. The new lobby will have exclusive Go-Board technology, a huge touch screen packed with maps and local information as well as international business news and sports headlines.

The second floor will offer leased restaurant space. The third floor will have public areas for the Residence Inn while the 4th floor will be dedicated to Courtyard guests. The fifth floor will have a lounge and outdoor terrace with great views of Broadway and both hotels will share state-of-the-art fitness facilities on the 34th floor.

by Gillian

“Back in the good old days, it was enough for a billionaire designer at the top of his or her game to own a super-yacht, a private island, a Manhattan penthouse, a Tuscan villa and a chalet in Gstaad. Not any more. To be truly a 21st century, global lifestyle superstar you need to own a hotel as well.”

Those were the words of the Daily Telegraph’s Fashion Director, Hilary Alexander, as Giorgio Armani opened his luxury hotel in the world’s tallest building – the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. He follows in the footsteps of Missoni (Edinburgh), Moschino (Milan) and Versace (Dubai and Australia’s Gold Coast).

Armani – whose business is worth about £1.58 billion ($2.4 billion) a year in sales –set up a partnership with Emaar Properties, the Arab world’s biggest listed developer, in 2005 to develop a series of luxury hotels, resorts and residences in key cities around the world.

At first glance, Dubai and Armani doesn’t look like a match made in heaven: a city of excess (‘Las Vegas in the desert’) and a minimalist designer. “I am a minimalist, less is more … and when I looked at what was happening here it was the opposite,” said Armani at the hotel launch. “But he [Emaar Chairman Mohamed Alabbar] wanted me and I wanted him.”

The 160-room Armani Hotel Dubai, occupying six floors in the Burj Khalifa, is said to have been designed with ‘an understated palette of cream and earth colours’. It has eight restaurants.

A standard room (with not a single picture on the walls) costs around 4,000 dirhams a night (£718 / $1,089), while the best suite has a price tag of 40,000 dirhams (£7,180 / $10,890).

Armani’s next luxury hotel development with Emaar will open in Milan next year.

by Andy Moreton

The Armani is competing with a host of luxury hotels in Dubai. Luxique has a selection of the very best.

The Ritz in London – favoured by Royalty and Presidents – has always been at the forefront of the world’s luxury hotels, with its history, elegance and style.

It’s also stuck stubbornly to sartorial tradition: the statement on the hotel’s website is clear enough: in the dining areas, ‘gentlemen are required to wear a jacket and tie’.

But ever so quietly, the strict formality has been allowed to slip a little. It’s now possible for Ritz patrons to wear jeans to breakfast, although the denim must be ‘very smart’ and not accompanied by trainers.

A spokesman for the luxury hotel said: “It was a management decision to change the policy … to make guests feel more comfortable.”

Actress Joan Collins – never knowingly underdressed – is unsure. “I only like jeans in the country, but I’m not too bothered about this. There are some very nice designer jeans, but then you sometimes see someone wearing a pair that look as if they’ve been covered in paint.”

Two reporters from the Mail on Sunday newspaper decided to put the new Ritz luxury hotel dress code to the test and found ‘men and women wearing jeans with casual indifference’. Two men even wore T-shirts with light blue scruffy denims; only one guest – a man in his 60s – wore a jacket and tie.

by Andy Moreton

The Ritz is the last word in luxury London hotels. Book it through Luxique.

There are many reasons for visiting the Capital and staying in one of the the top luxury hotels in London – the world-class shows, theatre, opera and ballet; the unrivalled opportunities to truly shop ‘till you drop, even at London prices; the museums and art galleries, many of which are now free to enter, and the legendary gourmet dining. There are at least 5570 restaurants in London, according to the Yellow Pages, and many more pubs and coffee houses, snack bars and take-aways so you should be able to dine somewhere different every night for the next 27 years without having to repeat yourself.

However, in reality, we are creatures of habit, and having found somewhere good to dine out, we would rather return there than risk disappointment elsewhere. Many of London’s finest restaurants are an integral part of the luxury hotels in London which are found in Capital’s most prestigious areas. With expensive taxi fares and impossible parking, it makes sense to dine where you are staying. Here are some of London’s very best restaurants, complete with adjoining luxury hotel accommodation.

One of the city’s best restaurants is tucked inside the five star Connaught Hotel in Mayfair. Although you may feel out of place without a jacket and tie, Hélène Darroze, one of France’s most distinguished chefs has brought her Michelin-star cuisine to London for a gastronomic experience to savor. The more informal Espelette restaurant also offers signature dishes by Hélène, along with delectable afternoon teas.

Equally Michelin star-studded is the Foliage restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental. Nestled in one of the top luxury hotels in London, the restaurant enjoys a Royal Park on either side hotel and al fresco dining on the terrace in the warm summer evenings is an unrivalled experience. Attention to detail includes the waiting staff collecting leaves from Hyde Park and placing them beneath the bespoke glass plates to truly set the scene for an amazing experience.

The five star luxury Berkeley Hotel in London boasts possibly the finest dining with not one but two award-winning restaurants. Gordon Ramsay takes on New York’s café scene with his Boxwood Café whilst Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley presents a total food euphoria.

Finally, be prepared to be dazzled by an exciting international restaurant set in one of the premier luxury hotels in London. Nobu offers a delectable Peruvian-Japanese menu in the Metropolitan Hotel. Founded by world-renowned chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa and presided over by Executive Chef Mark Edwards, this specialty cuisine cannot fail to impress. Coupled with the legendary service and contemporary interior design, this luxury hotel in London’s Park Lane makes a truly refreshing place to dine and to stay.

by Luxique - A Unique Collection of Luxury Hotels in London

Even though it recently hit something of a financial black hole, Dubai continues to astound.

Its latest contribution to the wonders of the world is the tower called Burj Dubai, which has just been officially opened. At 2,716 feet (828 metres) high, it’s the tallest building on earth – its spire can be seen 60 miles away.

Constructed with 28,000 glass panels, it has 160 habitable floors. It sets the record for the highest occupied floor, the highest observation deck – on the 124th floor – and the highest mosque.

The opening ceremony included a spectacular firework and light show around the tower, while a screen revealed its exact height which had previously been kept secret.

Burj Dubai will be home to about a thousand luxury apartments, 49 floors of offices and eventually a 160-room Armani-branded hotel.

Steve Rose, writing in Monday’s Guardian newspaper in the UK, commented:

“We’re going to need a new word. The Burj Dubai doesn’t scrape the sky; it pierces it, like a slender silver needle, half a mile high. It’s only because Dubai never has any clouds that we can even see the tower’s top. And, judging by the images released so far, the view is more like looking out of a plane than a building. It has made reality a little less real.”

by Andy Moreton

Luxique offers you a choice of a dozen of the finest luxury hotels in Dubai, including the world famous Burj Al Arab, the award-winning Jumeirah Beach and one of the newest luxury hotels, the Grand Hyatt Dubai.

A recent survey on a TV consumer programme concluded that the standard of service here in the UK had become much worse over the past few years.

It was refreshing, therefore, to read the thoughts of hotelier Gordon Campbell Gray in the June edition of the magazine Condé Nast Traveller. “We are in the kindness industry,” said Campbell Gray. “I think it’s an insult to charge for the internet or a piece of fruit.”

Campbell Gray runs One Aldwych in London (where, reportedly, three pieces of fresh fruit are delivered to every room, every day). Also in his stable is the chic Carlisle Bay in Antigua with its barefoot luxury.

He tends to hand pick everything that goes into his hotels and says that when his staff members say “it’s my pleasure”, they mean it. His maxim is said to be: “Show me the doorman and I’ll tell you how the hotel is run.”

Now Campbell Gray has a fresh challenge – he’s opening a new hotel, Le Gray, next month … in the centre of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. “I think Beirut’s time has come again,” he said. “It’s a marvellous location – you have the sea and the mountains – and I think the people are the most glamorous on earth.”

by Andy Moreton (with thanks to Reggie Nadelson)

Luxique can find you the best rates at Carlisle Bay, One Aldwych and at Duke’s Hotel in London, which is also managed by Gordon Campbell Gray’s company.

Rome in high summer can be uncomfortably hot, but the Eternal City can offer a delightful long weekend break in the shorter and cooler days of autumn and winter.

OK, the current economic situation means a lot of belt-tightening for many travellers, but the trip need not cause you to stretch too far.

Flying to Rome has never been easier or cheaper. Like every other commodity, airline ticket prices have started to fall, giving the savvy tourist the option of flying from New York to Rome for about $800 (£440 or 570 €), while the low cost carriers such as RyanAir are practically giving away seats from London Stansted at £50, ($90 or 64 €) round trip.

Nearly all the luxury hotels in Rome offer special packages and, as I last week in relation to Paris, don’t hesitate to negotiate. Free upgrades, free spa use, free meals – these are all possibilities when hotels are feeling the pinch as much as the rest of us.

The Eden, for example, a chic hotel situated close to Rome’s Spanish Steps, has a winter offer that includes an upgrade depending on availability, a welcome gift and free admission to the Picasso exhibition until January 31st 2009.

The Westin Excelsior, another luxury Rome hotel, is offering what it calls its ‘Fall For Rome’ package, with a deluxe double room, American breakfast, free extra bed or cot for a child up to 12 and free access to the pool and Jacuzzi. This is available until the end of the year.

If you’re looking for a stay with something extra, consider Casa Howard, a designer B&B in two locations with individually decorated rooms. It feels less like a hotel, more like the pied-a-terre of a rich friend with a keen eye for style.

Rome is beautiful and historic, but has just earned an unwelcome label – the most dangerous city in Europe for traffic accidents. The London Daily Telegraph’s correspondent, Nick Squires, reports that more than 230 people died in accidents in 2006 in the Italian capital, ‘where motorists thunder down narrow cobbled alleyways, swerve around pedestrians on zebra crossings and disregard road signs.’

Renowned travel writer, Bill Bryson, had much to say on the subject, such as: “You turn any street corner in Rome and it looks like you just missed a parking competition for blind people.” And: “Romans park their cars the way I would park it if I’d just spilled a beaker of hydrochloric acid in my lap.”

So, take extra care on that special winter weekend, but relax and enjoy.

by Andy Moreton

You know how it is. You’re having a quiet drink at the hotel bar and Angelina Jolie asks you for a light.

What do you mean it’s never happened to you? Well, all I can say is that you’ve been staying in the wrong joints. Allow me to mark your card with a view to a bit of celebrity-spotting in some of the luxury and boutique hotels of Europe.

If you happen to be in Paris and want to catch a glimpse of Ange, try the award-winning George V or, to give it its full name, the Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris. This Paris luxury hotel is one of her favourites.

Now, if a place is good enough for George Clooney, it should do for you and me and I’m reliably informed that George and the cast and crew of Ocean’s Twelve stayed at Hotel Le Bristol.

Another classic luxury hotel in Paris is the Ritz, the last point of departure for Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed that tragic August night in 1997. The Ritz has always been a mainstay for the rich and famous – Coco Chanel lived in a luxury suite there for more than thirty years. These days, you might at any one time bump into Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow or Uma Thurman.

Luxury Rome hotels abound. The Hassler Hotel, at the top of the Spanish Steps, has in the past welcomed everyone from Juan Peron to Audrey Hepburn and the Kennedys. Clooney likes this one too, while just recently it hosted the photocall for the movie Get Smart with Anne Hathaway and Steve Carell.

Not far away is the Hotel de Russie. This historic hotel was a favourite of Picasso and today is a popular meeting place for the bright young things from the worlds of fashion and media.

The Hotel Eden is a luxury boutique hotel in the heart of Rome which prides itself on its elegance and tact. It would never release its guest list, of course, but my source tells me that it’s welcomed the likes of Jane Fonda, Pierce Brosnan and Richard Gere.

The luxury hotels in London have names that resonate throughout the world – the Dorchester, for instance. It was here that Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton spent one of their honeymoons in 1964. Recently pictured arriving were Jerry Springer and Forest Whitaker. Michael Jackson and Tom Cruise have been guests, too.

The Ritz is the Grande Dame of London luxury hotels and has played host to any number of celebrities over the years, including Edward VII, Churchill, Chaplin and Judy Garland. It’s never lost its charm and these days is fashionable with celebrities like Julia Roberts, Johnny Depp and Hugh Grant.

One of the newer kids on the London block is The Lanesborough, a former hospital in fashionable Knightsbridge. It’s pricey, sure, but you might be lucky enough to run into Madonna, Jim Carrey or Leonardo di Caprio.

Amsterdam is one of the most laid-back capitals in Europe and a popular destination for celebrities. The Intercontinental Amstel is arguably the most beautiful and prestigious of the luxury hotels in Amsterdam and has welcomed royalty, government leaders and film stars. Jennifer Aniston took a room with a river view last month and the Rolling Stones have also pitched up there.

The Dylan Hotel in Amsterdam has also been much visited in the past by royalty. These days it’s favoured by international personalities who welcome the discretion and privacy that are the hallmarks of Anouska Hempel-designed luxury boutique hotels. It’s so discreet, in fact, that I couldn’t possibly reveal any names.

So, splash out, be a celebrity for a day, a weekend or a week – live like a star, but don’t make a habit of it. As Charlie Chaplin once said: ‘The saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury.’

by Andy Moreton