This post is really meaningful to me. When I was a student, I used to live in Juan Les Pins, everyday, on my way to school, I was fascinated by this huge abandoned hotel and I really wanted to explore it. Le Provençal was the hotel that actually embodied a golden age on the Côte d’Azur.

“The 256-bedroom Art Deco palace and its “bright tan prayer rug of a beach” were, in the 1930s and 1940s, the symbol of the French Riviera. Coco Chanel and Marilyn Monroe ranked among the sun-worshippers; and on one balmy July evening, Ella Fitzgerald threw open an upstairs window and sang to the crowds at the world-famous Jazz à Juan festival in the park below. […] Built by an American millionaire Frank J Gould in 1925, with tennis club and jetty, restaurants, bars and luxury suites, the hotel marked a new way of life: la dolce vita.”

(copyright : Telegraph)

The famed Art Deco hotel on the Côte d’Azur has been derelict since 1973 and is now being turned into a luxury apartment building. I was sure they would never leave this hotel to squatters and pigeons forever and was dreaming of living in this dream hotel in the future… Too bad.. It is a little too early, I’m still not rich enough to buy any of the luxury apartment!

The London Telegraph reports that Developer Cyril Dennis is transforming the 45,000-sq.ft. beachside property, built in 1925, into 56 luxury units :

“Some have 360-degree views, and indoor pools, as well as outdoor pools and gardens; they will be fitted out with Porche kitchens, marble floors, Turkish baths, aquariums and separate staff lifts and entrances. Music, heating, lighting, flowers and shopping can be computer-controlled. Landscaped gardens, replanted each season, will feature fountains, ponds and an infinity pool with 360m terrace”

He describes the Provençal as “the last jewel in the Cap d’Antibes,” an area where top-drawer villas now go for over $200 million thanks to an influx of superrich (Russian) oligarchs. The luxury apartments will cost between €2million and €40million ($60 million)…

Via telegraph.co.uk

This ribbon-like construction is the roof to a unique hotel in Alava, Spain
Designed by renowned architect Frank O. Gehry, The new, landmark Hotel Marqués de Riscal, is nestled in the “City of Wine.

The winery of Vinos Herederos del Marques de Riscal is one of the oldest wineries in the region and as a component of an overall plan to redefine and invigorate its public image, Marques de Riscal commissioned the design of a small building intended to provide a unique experience for visitors to the winery.

The hotel has 43 guest rooms, including 11 suites that feature a modern, comfortable atmosphere and unique design, all with wireless internet, LCD TV’s and marble bathrooms.

Of course you will find a wine tasting room as well as an indoor swimming pool, steam room, fitness centre, Jacuzzi, invigorating shower, and 14 treatment rooms with wide variety of “wine therapy” massages and treatments. All products are made of grape’s extract!

The Metropolitan Bangkok, sister to the chic Metropolitan outpost in London, has launched a new package specially designed for passengers passing through Bangkok on their way in and out of Asia, who find themselves at the city’s Suvarnabhumi Airport with a lengthy layover.

The new package allows for a stress-free stopover at the hotel, permitting guests to relax and recharge in style while waiting for the next leg of their flight.

A limo transports guests directly from the airport to the hotel, where one can immediately profit from the relaxing facilities at COMO Shambhala Urban Escape (including an extensive gym, hydro pool, steam rooms and outdoor lap pool) and an indulgent one-hour COMO Shambhala Massage.

Guests can enjoy A revitalising lunch or dinner (three courses, including fresh juice) at the Metropolitan’s healthy restaurant, Glow, where Executive Chef Daniel Moran serves light and nutritious COMO Shambhala Cuisine. Based on fresh, organic ingredients, menus provide an ideal energy boost for fatigued travellers (Bangkok is a common gateway for travel to Thai beach resorts, as well as The Maldives and Bali.)

“Touchdown at the Met” is available for US$200 per person (if travelling alone), US$150 per person (party of two), US$134 per person (party of three) or US$125 per person (party of four), excluding tax and service charge.

Note a minimum five-hour stopover is required to make time for this package.

(Source : alice marshall PR)

Those who enjoy reading our blog may have noticed how tough life is for wealthy people who never know how to spend their money. Fortunately, companies such as Virgin always come up with great ideas to get their money back from their super rich oil suppliers.

A Russian businessman has paid $200,000 dollars to take his parents kilometers above Earth on a ride in a space ship, the Interfax news agency reported overnight.

“When I told my mother we were going to fly in space, she asked me just one question: ‘When?’ said Kutsenko, a 34-year-old who runs an advertising agency. “We booked a couple of extra places. Maybe one of our friends will want to come too,”
Another businessman, Timur Artemiev, also bought tickets along with his wife for the trip on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo craft, which is to take them 100km above the Earth.

Virgin Galactic commercial director Stephen Attenboro said 250 people, including 11 Russians, had signed up for flights on SpaceShipTwo, according to the agency. The company’s commercial space flights are due to start in 2010.
Passengers will take a two-hour flight and spend four minutes floating in zero gravity.

The highly anticipated Joule hotel opened in Dallas in May and hotel guests will have the chance to check out the amazing opportunity to swim in the pool ! but this is no ordinary rooftop pool! With this new attraction, the hotel went above and beyond… literally.

The pool extends beyond the building, out over the sidewalk above the 1500 block of Main Street! This infinity-edge pool will not only provide guests with a refreshing place to cool off and relax, but it is also another eye treat adding to the cutting edge excitement downtown.
Passers-by below can see swimmers, plus a nighttime light show from the 132 fiber optic lights in the pool.

Hotel owner Tim Headington, declined to say how much the project cost.
Rooms at the Joule, which is part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide LLC’s Luxury Collection, start at $380 a night, with the 20th-floor penthouse rising to $5,000.

Already drawing the crowds in the South American resort of San Alfonso del Mar in Chile, this artificial lagoon and swimming pool has been acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records as the the biggest and longest swimming pool in the world.

The pool is 1013 metres (3,324 feet) long and covers an area of 8 hectares (19.77 acres), had a 115ft deep end and holds 66 million gallons (250,000 cubic meters ) of water. It is even navigable in small boats !

The idea to create this resort came as far back as 1997, when Chilean real estate developer and biochemist Fernando Fischmann, wanted to create a revolutionary resort. The motivating factor to create such an immense pool was the Pacific Ocean itself. The waters of the Pacific Ocean coast of Chile is cold, unclean and dangerous, so Mr Fischmann wanted to create a place for people to swim and enjoy water sports in a comfortable and safe environment. Rather than creating just another small swimming pool, he wanted something totally extraordinary.

The water is pumped in from the Pacific Ocean and treated before being pumped into the pool. The water temperature is kept at 26°C. It is 9°C warmer than the adjoining sea, allowing it to be used on cold days