Luxury Italian hotel brand Elisabetta Gucci is to focus on building its top-end boutique hotels in developing countries.

Elisabetta Gucci Hotels & Resorts will aim to build 40 hotels over the next 15 years in countries such as Russia, China and Brazil.

Elisabetta Gucci is the daughter of Paolo Gucci and the fourth generation of the Gucci dynasty that has spawned a global fashion empire.

An investor in the World project (Dubai) has listed an island on sale defying the “no flipping” diktat by UAE Defense Minister, Nakheel.

The 20,000 sqm island is up for sale for Dh42 million ($11million), according to Streamline Real Estate Brokers, the agency brokering the deal.

When contacted about the ‘re-sale’, a Nakheel spokesperson said: “Flipping is not allowed for islands on The World.”

Dubai hotel group Jumeirah is to launch a “contemporary lifestyle” brand globally later this year, the company announced April 28.

The new brand, to be named VENU Hotels, will be launched later in 2010, with Jumeirah saying that it is in “advanced stages of negotiations” with developers about properties in the Middle East, Northern Africa, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

VENU hotels will be five-star hotels with strong local roots, says Jumeirah, designed for “for those who seek a sophisticated immersion in the destination.”

With suites costing up to 11,000 dollars for one night, Italian designer Giorgio Armani on Tuesday opened his first signature hotel in the world’s tallest tower in the Gulf emirate of Dubai.

“Yesterday I saw this hotel come to life and I felt very emotional. It was marvellous to see this come to life,” Armani, wearing a black T-shirt and beige trousers, told reporters at a news conference in the hotel in the Burj Khalifa.

He said his reaction when he was asked to design the hotel was one of surprise.

“Are you really sure you want me?” he said he asked Mohammed Alabbar, the chairman of Dubai’s giant property developer, Emaar.

After weeks of postponement — most recently caused by Europe’s volcanic ash cloud — Armani’s press office has finally confirmed the opening of the fashion label’s first hotel for April 27.

The first of several international hotels and resorts to follow, the Dubai location will host eight restaurants, shopping facilities (accessories and chocolates from the brand’s own Dolci range), an Armani/Fiori florist, and Armani’s first hotel spa.

Occupying 25,000 square meters in total — shared over floors one to eight, 38, and 39 of the new Burj Khalifa tower — the hotel boasts 160 rooms in eight different categories, with the cheapest ones currently priced from around €560.

Inspired by the Greek nymph of the sea, luxury accessorizor Givori has created a luxurious new Fine Jewellery collection aptly named Calypso.

Handcrafted in England, the Calypso collection is available on 18 karat gold-plated Nokia 8800 handsets.

It is also embellished with mother of pearl, arranged in a beautiful fish-scale design stuck to gold pin embellishments.

The Givori Calypso collection is available in a Classic edition retailing at $2,400, and an Exclusive edition retailing at $4,100.