Monthly Archives: January 2009

Holidays in luxury villas in Sicily

The refined atmosphere of the lifestyle of Sicily’s noble 19th-century families, immortalized in Luchino Visconti’s film “il Gattopardo”, still arouses an authentic, unique charm.

Sicilian countryside, coast and islands are full of real gems that in the past were the Sicilian, noble families’ summer residences.

Today it is possible to live again this enchanted atmosphere suspended in time by going on a holiday in one of the wonderful Sicilian villas. Sicily offers a wide selection of dwellings, surrounded by nature or set on the sea front, that suit the most exigent guests.


Continue reading →

Top Ten Private Jet Destinations

Top ten private jet destinations

When it comes to winter luxury, one ski destination continues to rank top of the list – Courchevel in the French Alps, according to leading private air charter broker Oxygen 4, is the ski resort at which to see and be seen.

And even this year, with the credit crunch biting, some of the resort’s most sumptuous hotels were already fully booked six months ago for the peak January fortnight 2-14th with some guests paying upwards of €50,000 to ensure the best accommodation.

courchevel airport private jet
Continue reading →

Lusso Collection In Bankruptcy

Startribune reports that the Lusso Collection, a luxury destination club that had assembled a portfolio of multi-million dollar residences is in financial trouble.

Lusso isn’t the only high-end destination club or private resort to succumb to the sagging economy and the eroding real estate market.

Several recently have closed, consolidated or reduced services as membership sales have fallen and their business models have been turned upside down by plunging real estate values.


Continue reading →

Givenchy Spring-Summer 2009 Ad Campaign

Givenchy have created a photo full of personality with photographers Inez & Vinoodh.

Mariacarla, the undeniable star of the brand’s ad campaigns, is accompanied by Lara, Lakshmi and Ana Claudia.

The energetic ad campaign is the perfect accompaniment to the collection created by Riccardo Tisci. Its style combines a remake of the legendary western with Parisian glamour, and they’ve named it ‘Western bondage’.

With the denim jackets, leather trousers and geometric cuts, it has an ethnic feel and some magnificent LBDs. Via Viewonfashion

New Porsche Museum in Stuttgart

Porsche will open its doors to its spanking new museum in Stuttgart on 31 January 2009.

Built at a cost of 100 million euros, the 5,600 sq meter gallery can accommodate over 80 of Porsche’s collection of 300 significant cars.

“In the last few weeks, we have comprehensively restored all the vehicles and polished them up for their use in the museum,” explains Klaus Bischof, head of the ‘Rolling Museum’.

The first exhibits that will go on display in the museum include, among others, a 356 Cabriolet, an original ‘11’ model and the first prototype of the 924.

Continue reading →

Luminaarparaad

Luminaarparaad

Lighting up the street, these plastic flowers and bushes are coated and molded with special glow paint.

Created by Pent Talvet & Kristian Paljasma, these special paints called “Luminaarparaad” absorb the solar energy during the day and thus glow at night.
Continue reading →

Dubai’s Britain Island bought for $59 million

Like many expatriates, Safi Qurashi misses home.

But now the Dubai-based shopkeeper’s son from South London has solved the problem. He has bought Great Britain.

Mr Qurashi, 39, has paid £43 million for the Britain-shaped island in The World, a man-made archipelago off the coast of Dubai, where each piece of land represents a different country, state or city.

the world britain dubai Continue reading →

Baccarat Moulin Rouge Champagne Cooler

French crystal makers Baccarat are known for their exceptional tableware in particular their exquisite champagne flutes and this champagne cooler is no different.

The Baccarat Moulin Rouge champagne cooler features a special inner bucket which keeps the ice away from the bottle but still keeps it cool.

Featuring fine Baccarat Crystal you get the option of a gold or silver interior and handles. Owning one of these just might make drinking champagne a much more common habit for you and your friends! €2,450

JamesList Launches Global Luxury Marketplace

Stockholm-based Jameslist.com has just launched the “world’s first truly transparent luxury marketplace”, allowing buyers to find and compare high-end cars, watches, boats, yachts and aircraft from dealers around the world.

The site features some 20,000 listings, including rare watches such as the Paul Newman Rolex Daytona, hard-to-find cars like the Maserati MC12 and Ferrari Superamerica, and magnificent 120+ ft. yachts from Palmer Johnson.

The 350-plus global dealers on JamesList range from high-end custom builders such such as Project Kahn Design to “traditional dealers with exceptional inventory” such as ExecuJet and Lamborghini Stuttgart.
Continue reading →

New first-class for SWISS A330s

Sarting this spring, SWISS will gradually introduce a new First Class cabin in conjunction with its fleet renewal program.

The spacious surroundings and adjustable sidewalls provide extensive privacy, while sophisticated lighting and the contemporary-yet-warm SWISS design combine to create a pleasant sense of space.

In addition, the guest seat, complete with backrest and armrests, enables the First Class customer to dine or work with a fellow traveler at a generously-proportioned table.

[vimeo 2917471 468 264] Continue reading →

Iraq fails to sell Saddam’s yacht

The 269-foot yacht that once belonged to Saddam Hussein has failed to sell. It had been in Greece for maintenance work.

Saddam yacht

Despite features including a missile launcher and operating theatre, no-one was willing to pay $30m for the 82m (270ft) Basrah Breeze. Brokers warned that the “Arabesque” decor would not suit all tastes.

The yacht, was done up for Saddam Hussein in a lavish style with marble and gold and features a bulletproof atrium, two medical treatment centers and a swimming pool.

Continue reading →

Zontik Games creates ultra luxurious Monopoly set

Clients for high-end luxury games commonly want something tweaked or personalized or customized and the company that caters to their needs is Zontik Games.

They transform classic games and equips them with precision dice, hand stitched leather cases, and solid gold game pieces.

Zontik has recently taken the vintage board game Monopoly and transformed it into an ultra-luxurious game. « This isn’t your everyday McDonald’s Online Monopoly game. »
Continue reading →

Vertu opens a new Flagship Store in Japan

On 19 February 2009, Vertu will open Ginza Flagship Store, its first store in Japan.

At the store, pre-orders of handsets will be taken for delivery when VERTU Club is available.

Those who simply cannot wait until the launch of the VERTU Club in the second quarter of 2009 will be able to purchase SIM lock-free 3G handsets of Ascent Ti, Ascent Ti Ferrari or Signature models for voice calls.
Continue reading →

Glitch leaves man 100 billion pounds overdrawn

Barclays

A man was left reeling in shock Tuesday when his bank statement showed him to be 100 billion pounds (144 billion dollars, 102 billion euros) overdrawn.

As if the credit crunch was not hitting Britons hard enough, Donald Moffat was temporarily in deep, deep, deep financial trouble, due to a “technical error”.

When 38-year-old Donald Moffat logged onto his Barclays bank account yesterday morning expecting to see his account in the black he was astonished to say the least when he encountered a £100 billion deficit on his current account, enough money to bail out the banking sector three times over!

barclays atm Continue reading →

Record 600 Private Jets Descend on Obama Inauguration

Jaws dropped at last year’s record number of 400 private jets descending on the Super Bowl, but the inauguration of President Barack Obama attracted a full-on airborne migration of well-heeled travelers this week.

Robert Frank at the Wall Street Journal reports around 600 private jets landed in D.C. in the days leading up to the inauguration ceremonies. One of the four runways at Dulles was even closed off for extra parking.

It’s a veritable record, and more than twice the 300 private jets the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority logged for George W. Bush’s second inaugural. Via: Jets.ru

New Fragrance Bond. No 9 Brooklyn

Bond No. 9 is a New York based fragrance house best known for creating fragrances that pay homage to New York City and its neighborhoods.

Bond No. 9 – named after its flagship boutique at 9 Bond Street in NoHo – was the brainchild of French perfume expert, Laurice Rahme, a resident of New York for 25 years.

I love the new, “controversial” Bond No. 9 Booklyn bottle though (Apparently some folks object to the idea of Brooklyn being represented by graffiti).
Continue reading →

Roka: Best Japanese Restaurant in Hong Kong

Best Japanese Restaurant in Hong Kong

Fire up your senses at Roka, a trendy restaurant in Hong Kong serving delicious modern Japanese cuisine.

This is not your typical Japanese restaurant: I have eaten at Roka several times and have loved it each time ! I must say it is one of the best restaurants I have visited (in Hong Kong) and believe me I have visited many !

Japanese Restaurant Hong Kong

Enormously successful in London, Roka is now open at Pacific Place Mall. This follows hot on the heels of Roka group’s highly publicized launch in The Venetian Macau Resort Hotel in Macau last year.

According to the restaurant’s press release, the word “ro” in Roka means hearth, or gathering place, and “ka” stands for a burning fire that projects a welcoming and energetic atmosphere : ) and that’s what most of the menu focuses on.

The interior is styled by Japanese designer Noriyoshi Muramatsu of Studio Glitt to balance the four elements of earth, fire, water and air.

japanese restaurant design hong kong Continue reading →