Tokyo is now the city with the most Michelin three-star rated restaurants in the world trumping Paris, once considered the gastronomic capital of the world.
The Tokyo metropolitan area, which unseated Paris from the No. 1 spot and this year, the number of three-star restaurants increased from 11 to 14.
The total number of restaurants rated in the Tokyo guide was 266 — with 54 two-star rated venues and 198 one-star rated venues.
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Luxury hotel brand Trump is to debut a new hotel in Panama in 2011, marking its first foray into the rapidly expanding Latin America market.
Trump Ocean Club will be perched above Panama Bay. The building stands 70 stories tall, a tower evoking a majestic sail fully deployed in the wind.
Trump Ocean Club‘s 369 hotel rooms, with floor-to-ceiling windows, include 47 suites, range from approximately 526 to 1,561 square feet.
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Icehotel Jukkasjarvi in Swedish Lapland – the world’s largest ice hotel – welcomed its first guests this week, one month earlier than usual.
This year’s hotel features 60 ice rooms and is the 21st hotel at the site, which was the world’s first ever ice hotel and remains the largest.
It also offers a luxury suite, an ice reception desk, an ice church, an ice bar in association with Absolut and a main hall featuring a crystalline ice chandelier.
A crack team of experts is responsible for creating the 5,500 meter-square Ice Hotel, building it by shooting a mixture of snow and ice over huge steel forms which are then removed when it is set.
Specially-selected artists from all over the world then begin crafting blocks of ice harvested from a nearby river to create the interior, each participant mentored by another with previous experience of building ice and snow.
Icehotel remains open until Spring, when it is left to melt and flow back into the Torne River, from where it came.
The Hotel de Glace, a similar property and the only ice hotel in North America, is currently set to open on January 7.
Fashionistas swarmed H&M’s Champs Elysees flagship store Tuesday, after queuing through the night to get their hands on a party dress from Lanvin’s limited edition collection for the budget chain.
The line by Lanvin’s Israeli designer Alber Elbaz went on sale in 200 H&M stores worldwide after a pre-launch Saturday in North America,.
“It’s Lanvin — that’s reason enough to wait more than 10 hours, asleep on our feet,” said Dasol Kang, from South Korea, one of the hundreds of customers who pressed through the doors of the Paris store when they opened at 8:00 am.
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After Jessica Alba and Olga Kurylenko it’s now the turn of Benicio Del Toro to grace the much awaited Campari Calendar 2011.
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Swiss auto designer Ueli Anliker has unveiled at the Dortmund MY CAR tuning show this McLaren SLR 999 adorned with a gold-plated finish of more than 5 kg.
The car also features 600 rubies, some of which measure up to 35 mm in diameter. This McLaren SLR 999 has an estimated value of $5.2 million.
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Sergio Rossi has teamed up with French painter Claude Viallat to design three sets of six pairs of boots, each of unique style and beauty.
The collection has been presented in Paris during an exclusive event at Bernard Ceysson Gallery in conjunction with Fiac, Parisian contemporary art fair.
A London-based group of hedge-fund managers is planning The Global Party, a 24-hour blow-out for 80,000 of their closest friends on Sept 15, 2011.
The aim is to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest party ever. It has already been coined the ‘biggest, richest party ever’.
Inspired by Phileas Fogg of “Around The World In 80 Days”, the Global Party will co-host 80+ parties not in 80 days, but all within 24 hours.
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On Monday, November 22, Gucci hit the 3 million fan mark on Facebook. The Italian label may soon surpass Burberry, which boasts 3.2 million fans, as the most widely followed fashion brand on the social networking site.
Gucci’s Facebook milestone follows hot on the heels of the announcement made by Burberry on November 19 that it had broken the 3-million-fan mark.
Just this past weekend, Facebook EMEA Vice President Joanna Shields had proclaimed the UK luxury label as the “most widely followed brand on Facebook.”
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Eight Belgian restaurants have been recognized with a one-star rating by the Michelin Guide, the latest in the guide’s leadup to 2011.
Eight Belgian restaurants have earned their first Michelin star rating, while two others earned their second star, Michelin announced on November 22.
The new one star restaurants include Alexandre and Kamo in Brussels; and Het Begaar and Bij Lam & Yin in Antwerp.
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Tiffany & Co. have teamed up with Hong Kong charity Mother’s Choice to create Circle of Giving, A Legacy of Light, a series of events to raise money for those in need.
Tiffany & Co. will commence the Circle of Giving, A Legacy of Light with a special Tree Lighting Ceremony on Tuesday, 23 November, at 1881 Heritage, Tsim Sha Tsui.
The 10-metre tree will dazzle in the moonlight as visitors enjoy a performance of angelic choral voices.
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Yacht owners can now buy a penthouse condo, complete with a private indoor boat garage, that allows them to step straight from yacht to luxury playpad.
The penthouse condo is part of Royal Phuket Marina’s 15-unit Aquaminium waterfront complex overlooking Phang Nga Bay in southern Thailand.
The private yacht berth, which is big enough to house a 12-meter boat, is only available in the two penthouses — one of which is currently for sale ($3.1 million).
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Rolls-Royce has teamed up with Beverly Hills-based designer Bijan Pakzad to custom-design 30 Limited-Edition models costing more than $1 million each.
Bijan will work closely with the luxury automaker to turn out a handful of special edition Phantoms, complete with the designer’s own personal touches.
The announcement was made last week at a special event at Bijan’s Rodeo Drive Boutique complete with the designer’s own yellow Rolls-Royce Drophead Coupe.
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Burberry just reached 3 million Facebook fans (3,157,000 at current count) – the highest number of fans for any luxury fashion brand.
It took one year for the company to reach one million fans, six months to reach two million fans and just one month to reach three million.
To celebrate the moment and to thank Burberry’s Facebook fans, Christopher Bailey has created a special artwork.
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The date has now been set for the opening of the “world’s tallest hotel”. Visitors to Hong Kong will get a view of the city no one has ever seen before.
From March next year, the Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong will have its home in the 102nd to the 118th floors right at the very top of Hong Kong’s new ICC.
The finishing touches are currently being applied to the ICC, which at 484 metres high is Hong Kong’s tallest building.
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Bid now through November 26 in an online auction of customized unique haute couture looks styled by Alber Elbaz from the Lanvin for H&M collection.
The 19 women’s looks were revealed on November 18 at a fashion show at The Pierre Hotel in New York.
Elbaz’ one-off creations were strutted on the runway by models Asia Chow, Pixie Geldof, Dree Hemingway, Olga and Vogue Nippon editor Anna Dello Russo.
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The legendary “it” bag and luxury status symbol, the Hermes Kelly, has been magnified by 15 times its original size for a special exhibit in London.
Luxury goods company Hermes teamed up with Selfridges to present the “Kellydoscope,” a unique customer experience that showcases, using video technology and special effects, what it feels like to be inside the iconic handbag.
The Kellydoscope, which stands 4 meters (13 feet) high, took more than five months to develop. Every detail of the regular-sized Kelly has been faithfully reproduced on the giant tan leather-bound and beige toile fabric-lined one.
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Chicago scored a major culinary coup Thursday with two of its top restaurants awarded the highly-prized three-star Michelin rating.
Michelin’s first guide for restaurants in the midwestern metropolis, which once garnered the nickname Hogtown for its slaughterhouses, reviewed hundreds of eating spots and honored two dozen with its star system.
Rocketing to the top were Alinea and L2O, which joined just 91 other restaurants worldwide to earn three stars from Michelin.
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KLM has laid down the gauntlet to Virgin by announcing that it too will offer sub-orbital flights to its customers.
The Dutch flag-carrier said November 17 that it will support Space Experience Curacao by allowing members of its frequent flyer program Flying Blue to redeem points for space flights, as well as including it in future KLM vacation packages.
The deal will also see KLM marketing and selling flights operated by Space Experience Curacao, which use a Lynx suborbital spacecraft.
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The Peninsula New York and The Peninsula Chicago have unveiled two customised MINI Cooper S Clubman vehicles.
Guests who book a suite at each hotel will have free access to a MINI for up to three hours per day during their stay.
Each car is specially fitted with a tailor-made rooftop box providing extra cargo space, a mini-fridge offering complimentary refreshments, and an iPhone.
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China’s first International luxury brand, Shanghai Tang has launched its 2010/11 Gift Collection which is inspired by the woodlands of China.
Each image is a dramatic juxtapose of exquisite Shanghai Tang creations set amongst a natural wonderland in ways you’ve never imagined…
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