Luxury News from InsideLux – The Daily Luxury News Authority

Rather than over eating and drinking on your next four-day weekend, why not attend a Wellness Retreat at The Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach? Exercise classes, personal counseling, spa sessions, nutrition seminars and meals in accordance to the appropriate calorie breakdowns will leave you healthy, relaxed, refreshed and ready to take on the next week. Limited to 10 participants per weekend, advance reservations need to be placed. Priced at $2,919 dollars all-inclusive, spots will fill quickly.

To reserve call 561-582-2800 or visit http://www.fourseasons.com/palmbeach/

Capella Singapore has just been recognized by Conde Nast’s hot list which honors the top 134 hotels in the world. The first Capella property in Asia, this colonial and minimalist hybrid echoes luxury and tranquility in one breath.

The decor was designed by Andre Fu, Yasuhiro Koichi and Jaya Abrahim. Surrounded by 30 acres of rain forest, and recently restored by Lord Norman Foster, the property features 112 guest rooms, two colonial manors, 38 villas, and four constellation rooms with rooftop jacuzzis.

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London’s elite property, the St. James’s Hotel and Club has just been listed for a cool $88.6 million dollars. Placed on the market by the Landesberg and Rosenberg families and currently part of the Althoff group of hotels, the building was purchased for $29.5 million dollars five years ago and has undergone extensive renovations.

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African Homesteads offers luxury villas in a private game reserve on the fringe of KwaZulu Natal’s

Savour the luxury of Africa’s wide open spaces with the sky and savanna theme of The Homestead at &Beyond Phinda. Breathtakingly stylish and sophisticated yet refreshingly simple, The Homestead provides the ideal venue to reconnect with friends and family.

With the warm, friendly faces and helping hands of a full complement of staff ready to welcome you on arrival, you will instantly feel as though this is your second home.

Inviting rooms designed around retro trinkets, Zulu crafts and sleek, contemporary touches reinforce the impression that this private safari villa is designed for comfort and ease.

Galactic Suite Limited has announced that the world’s first space hotel will be ready to accept guests from 2012.   At €1m per night for a minimum of 3 nights, this hotel is reserved for the world’s richest.

The zero gravity resort will orbit the planet 15 times a day, offering a sunset and sunrise more than once an hour.  A spaceport from a Caribbean island will transport guests on Russian rockets to the resort and an introductory 8 week course prior to departure is compulsory.

The project, still in its design phase may be yet another pipe dream, but lets hope this one turns out to be a reality.

Frequented by the jet-set, Russian oligarchs and royalty – where Prince William and Kate Middleton vacationed last winter – Courcheval in the French Alps has become not only the place to be seen on some of the world’s best ski slopes, but also home to some of the most expensive real estate. Not everyone can afford a chalet in this exclusive ski destination, but for those who don’t have private villas, it’s still worth the splurge to stay at the newly renovated five-star Hotel de Charme Les Airelles. Read the rest of this entry »

Ground-breaking holidays to China and North Korea have been announced by the holiday company Remote Lands. The company is known for creating highly personalized ultra-luxury bespoke holidays in Asia, optionally by private jet and yacht, for sophisticated, demanding high net-worth clients. Based in New York and Bangkok, Remote Lands is renowned for its “white-glove” service, creative itineraries and extreme attention to detail. With their newest offer clients can travel in style and comfort by optional private jet to experience the physical beauty of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Largely closed off to outsiders, you could now be among the first to enter one of the world’s most unspoilt destinations with a private guide on your tailor-made break. Read the rest of this entry »

5 star hotel chains have been hard hit by the worldwide recession, some even offering their garden space as a camping space in an effort to balance the books.  With luxury tourism at an all time low, Starwood Hotels & Resorts is the latest conglomerate to take drastic measures and announce that it will be downgrading some of their 5 star resorts.

“Maintaining stars requires enormous capital investment,” says Stephen Bollenbach, former Hilton CEO.  He further claims that 5 star ratings do not always gurantee the best return on investment, especially during a recession.

As holidaymakers have been forced to take cheaper vacations this year and as business budgets continue to be slashed, luxury hotel chains are reporting negative year on year occupancy rates.  Despite positive economic indicators in the US and much of Europe, occupancy rates for luxury hotels fell from 71 per cent in July 2008 to 57% for the same period this year.  The downgrading of a 5 star resort will see savings in areas such as 24 hour room service, welcoming gifts and flowers in the rooms and complimentary newspapers, savings which will allow the hotel to charge more reasonable rates and attract a wider range of guests.

Luxury lovers can now anticipate the creation of a ($168million) €115 million luxury spa hotel and adjacent housing development in Andalusia, Spain, whose first images have just been revealed by Amin Taha Architects. Read the rest of this entry »

The Mardan Palace was built in Turkey by billionaire Telman Ismailov and opened earlier this year. To describe the Hotels luxurious worth becomes very analytical but here goes…. It cost $1.4 Billion, it holds over 500 rooms, has a 12,000 ft Spa, 17 Bars, 10 Restaurants, a Crystal Staircase and even possesses it’s own beach, which contains 9,000 tons of unique grains of Egyptian sand. The interior consists of Crystals,  Italian Marble and a heck of a lot of Gold. Phew, Basically, the  definition of Luxury is the breathtaking, Mardan Palace.