Follow US
luxury
Peace Hotel’s Nine Nations Suites
The true expressions of the world’s great nations and cultures are the Nine Nations Suites in Shanghai’s Fairmont Peace Hotel. The Nine Nations Suites, several of which were a part of the original hotel then known as The Cathay Hotel when it opened in 1929, were the creation of the founder Sir Victor Sassoon. Sassoon, a businessman from a famous banking family, was a bon vivant who lived in Shanghai and often hosted known figures such as Charlie Chaplin, Bernard Shaw, and Noel Coward, who wrote “Private Lives” while in residence. It was a heady time to live in Shanghai as the city rose to global prominence. The Cathay Hotel was considered the top luxury hotel in the city for decades.
The leading hospitality designed the new suites by the interior design firm HBA / Hirsch Bedner Associates, reflect the international nature of The Peace Hotel and the spirit of 1930s luxury travel. The French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and German suites have been redesigned by HBA in keeping with the original concept of presenting different national and historical styles, the Chinese, Indian, English and American suites have been preserved from the original Peace Hotel.
The American suite has a vintage Hollywood glamour theme. The English Suite goes Victorian with paneled walls, brick fireplaces and molded plaster ceilings. The Chinese Suite features an Imperial dragon design on the scarlet ceiling. The design is complimented by red lacquer furniture offset by gold-colored walls.
The Italian Suite evokes modern Italian design and has a marble bath room has a deep claw-foot tub with a bath-side LCD screen and a whirlpool. The Japanese Suite has tatami mats, shoji screens and furnishings suggest traditional Japanese design motifs. The French Suite presents an Art Nouveau style with classically figured wall paper; walnut carved furniture and luxuriously designed fabrics.
The Spanish Suite features rich patterns and solid wood furniture and a bathroom with a claw-foot tub with bath-side LCD screen and a whirlpool. The Indian Suite has intricate filigree plaster work on the walls, ceilings from which hang extravagant pendant lights and rich Indian carpets on the floor.
Swiss Internationals envious first class cabins
Like this one, First-class passengers in Swiss International’ flights now have an added luxury. They can have a romantic dinner date with their loved ones.
The new design”"which will debut in their new A330 airplanes”"is quite a change from traditional my-cabin-is-my-oyster first class designs. According to the airline, it’s more “architectural” which goes with the “design language of the brand.” Individually adjustable side-walls can be closed while sleeping or working. Lie-flat seats allow each lucky passenger to choose the firmness of the seat cushion and backrest. Moreover, each customer can enjoy the latest in-flight entertainment on 23in screens.
Royal Livingstone Express : A unique luxury rail travel
The Royal Livingstone Express is a unique dining experience combining the luxury of Sun International’s Royal Livingstone hotel with the charm of rail travel. This unique luxury rail restoration is an extension of the five-star Royal Livingstone Hotel. The train provides fine wining and dining as you travel through the picturesque Irwell Valley in Pullman style coaches which have been lovingly restored to their former glory.
The Royal Livingstone Express consists of 5 air-conditioned carriages, 2 dining cars, a kitchen car, lounge car, and an observation car and is pulled by either a 10th class 156 or a 12th class 204 locomotive. One of the dining cars, The Wembley, was built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company. The Royal Livingstone Express not only gives a unique, but an eco experience also. The comfortable and luxurious carriage of the train gives a very satisfying experience while enjoying one of the most picturesque railway passes in Southern Africa.
Luxury product makers eyeing India as their next destination
With the Western world facing the worst credit crunch ever, luxury goods makers are searching for the next location were they can sell their glitzy brands and luxury products. And it looks like India just fills the bill.
While India makes up just 0.4 percent of global luxury good sales, the market is growing at 25 percent a year, according to a recent Bain & Co. study. There are 1.5 million households in India who could afford luxury goods, compared with 1.6 million households in China, according to McKinsey. The numbers have prompted some luxury brand names to open retail stores in the largest cities in India in recent months, despite the economic downturn. New entrants say that gaining a foothold in India has not been easy, and doing business has been difficult.
Roberto Cavalli, a designer who also attended the conference, said he made his first trip to India more than 40 years ago and the country remains one of his biggest inspirations, and one of the first places he looks whenever he thinks of a new collection. A trip to Madras for one of his collections made entirely from leather remains “one of the most fabulous trips of my life,” he said.
Sabyasachi Mukherjee, an Indian designer, says “India is not brand obsessed like the rest of the world,” perhaps because Indians have much closer relationships with their families.
Chevrolet Captiva gets adorned with Swarovski crystals
This time Chevrolet has captivated everyone’s hearts with its Special Captiva which made its debut at the Bangkok Motor Show. Using over 150,000 Crystallized TM- Swarovski Elements, every crystal has been applied one-by-one by none other than BlingMyThing who have the talent of adding bling to just anything and everything.
Over 300 hours have been spent in creating this masterpiece, decorating almost every outer chrome parts with diamond-like “Crystal” color whilst adding some glamorous accent on the gold Chevrolet logo with “Light Colorado Topaz” Crystallized TM- Swarovski Elements. On the other hand, the interior of the vehicle has been mostly crystallized with Black Diamond, which sparkles with subtle elegance. The vehicle is an ultimate model-car, which presents all the possibilities of how one can upgrade their vehicles. You can choose one (or more!) colors from over 60 different stunning colors from Swarovski “” or construct some patterns or add motives. Personalize it with your own initials or names. The Captiva LTZ 2009 model comes with a full list of standard options including a seven-inch touchscreen on the console with a navigator system incorporating air conditioning and audio controls, luxury beige colored leather, 18-inch alloy wheels with Dunlop sports tires and a chromium front grill.
Perrelet musical watches
Perrelet has come up with yet another cool edition of watches. The brand has introduced its Maestro Edition musical watches housed in “The Tower” that has an iPod nano (8GB) dock with integrated remote plus speakers. The iPod Tower incorporates two Swisskubik watch winders in its windows, which can be accessed both from front and back.
The Tower is constructed from lacquered dark wood and brushed aluminum, and looks great with its mix of luxury, style, and tech. The system comes with a black colored iPod Nano (8 GB). The iPod will be preloaded with sounds that the two mechanical audio watches emit. Both watches are chiming watches, but the noises they make, while pretty, are not very loud. The first watch is a Perrelet 5-Minute Repeater while the second watch is an Alarm. So you can even set up a louder alarm on the loudspeaker if you are a deep sleeper. The Tower can be plugged in with an included international adapter and the watch winders are also re-chargeable. The stainless steel watches feature anti-glare sapphire crystal (front & back) and come with their special boxes.
Unique Golf Cars introduced their new line of golf carts
Unique Golf Cars launched their new line of tricked-out golf carts at the New York International Auto Show. The luxury carts displayed at the show include Hummers and Cadillac Escalades that come with come with 16-inch chrome wheels. Other models, created by Unique Golf Cars, are door-less replicas of beloved antique cars like the 1932 Ford Roadster.
The interior is ergonomically designed with cup holders in the center console, and all of the controls and switches are right at your fingertips. The luxury golf carts use a long range 48-volt system to ensure maximum range while delivering optimal power to the high torque motor. The standard specs include a programmable Alltrax, Inc. 4844 electronic speed controller, a front wheel hydraulic disk brake system that is coupled with a fully self-adjusting rear drum brake system, an onboard DeltaQ Technologies IntelliQ computer-controlled charging system so that you can drive and charge your car anywhere there is an available power outlet, working headlights, brake lights, turn signal lights, a working horn, reverse warning buzzer and a standard 4-wheel braking system.
Former Merc Benz designer designs weird faucets now
It appears that Burno Sacco, the former head of Mercedes Benz design, has given up the luxury car design biz to create crazy and whacky faucets like the Hansa Latrava. The design creates a sideways waterfall effect that ends up tapering down into a well-targeted spot in the sink itself. It also features LED water temp indicators and an on/off button.
Epic Wakeboats offer luxury with a green ride
Chris Anthony, who co-founded the company producing the Aptera 2e electric car, says the Epic Wakeboats 23E burns 50 percent less fuel and emits half as much CO2 as a typical wakeboard boat during a four-hour outing on the water. It also represents a new direction for gas-electric technology in boats.
It’s got a stereo with 10 speakers for blasting tunes to give you company while you are riding the beauty and a dual rudder system for quick turns. With room for 14 people the Epic Wakeboat is considered to be quite big. Anthony started boat building by molding hulls in his garage. His company’s first boat, the 23V, was billed as “the world’s first wake boat” when it hit the market in 2005. It is designed specifically for wakeboarding.
Get a Lamborghini Gallardo free with a South of Fifth residence!!!
Luxury homes and their picturesque views but the South of Fifth residence has something more than all this. Situated on a serene oceanfront parcel in South Beach’s red-hot south of Fifth Street neighborhood, South of Fifth is an unprecedented, luxurious, courtyard-style development that offers 28 flow-through and oceanfront residences out of which only 7 are vacant now. The designer-ready residences include private elevators and innovative smart living platforms as well open-air kitchens with Ego Design by Carlo Colombo cabinetry, Wolfe gas cook tops, and premium Miele and SubZero finishes. Bathrooms offer a choice of the rich, dramatic hues of Wenge wood or the muted, clean, aesthetic of limed oak, with Jerusalem stone and white glass tile.
I know all this may sound similar to any other lavish house. So the great news is that South of Fifth developer Michael Samuel, and Lamborghini Miami owner, Brett David have joined forces to create the ultimate indulgence. With only seven of the 28 elite, oceanfront residences available, purchasers of the remaining South of Fifth units will drive away in a new, $260,000 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder.
News & Updates
Recent News
H&M all set to unveil...
The very famous Swedish high street giants Hennes and Mauritz, who own H&M, COS, Monki and Cheap...
Aston Martin Rapide and...
A disease gets worse when you just don’t know how it hit you. The thing gets practical in terms of...
