11.15.05
Posted in Luxury, Europe at 1:13 pm by Luxury Larry
International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) is the only trade event dedicated to enabling specialist luxury travel trade buyers from the world`s top 20 outbound countries to meet exclusively with worldwide luxury travel suppliers, in a “Hosted Buyer” appointment driven forum.
Luxury Travel is an industry in its own right. A lucrative industry representing the elite 3% of travellers who account for 20% of total annual travel expenditure - and who are immune to economic slowdown.
Specialist trade buyers and sellers serving this sector of the travel industry have very specific needs and expectations compared to their counterparts working in the mainstream travel trade. They necessitate a trade medium that focuses exclusively on their sector.
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Posted in Luxury at 1:03 pm by Luxury Larry
After much success at The Venetian, Luxury Travel Expo has moved to the Bellagio Las Vegas! It will take place on December 6-8, 2005 and will be open to travel agents only.
Luxury Travel Expo remains committed to instructing agents on how to successfully sell the luxury travel market, and to providing an exclusive setting where both agents and luxury suppliers can come face to face and conduct transactions right on the trade show floor. Bellagio, one of the most famous hotels and casinos located in the center of the Las Vegas Strip, offers European inspired décor, and luxury accommodations with 928 newly added rooms and suites. It’s most known for its breathtaking water fountain performances, choreographed to opera, classical and whimsical music. Hand-blown glass flowers adorn the ceiling of Bellagio’s lobby, and just beyond the lobby, you’ll find the Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, a spectacular display of exotic plants and flowers.
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Posted in Private Islands, Celebrity, Real Estate at 12:01 pm by Luxury Larry
It is being reported that Michael Jackson has bought a new residence paying $1.5 million for for a quarter-acre site on the Amwaj Islands, located off the coast of Bahrain in the middle east where Jackson has been living. Jackson’s purchase includes two separate villas with seaside views.
The island, which is part of three man-made islands built in the last five years, boasts lavish facilities including its own international airport, several top restaurants, a private hospital, golf courses, canals and an equestrian center.
There is also a private school, the International School of Choueifat, where it is believed Jackson will send his three children Prince Michael, Paris and Prince Michael II.
Jackson will reportedly move into the property in January. It is not yet known if Jackson now plans to sell his world famous Neverland ranch in America.
The Kingdom of Bahrain has planned a development name Floating City which is being developed on the southern tip of the Amwaj Islands. Floating City will include houses and chalets that are built following the model of the world renowned Port Grimaud in the French Riviera, in order to create a water-based lifestyle community living within a network of 36 metre-wide canals and elongated, 60 metre-wide islands.
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11.14.05
Posted in Luxury, Resorts at 8:16 am by Luxury Larry
It’s almost winter in the northern hemisphere, and that means its time to think about where we are skiing this winter. Game Creek Chalet on Vail Mountain, in Colorado tops Forbes’ 2005 list of expensive ski resorts. Three of the resorts on the list are positioned on Vail Mountain.
- Game Creek Chalet, Vail, Colorado - $2,800 per night
- Chalet du Mont D’Arbois, Megève, France - $2,200 per night
- Stein Eriksen Lodge, Deer Valley, Utah - $700 per night
- The Lodge at Vail, A RockResort, Vail, Colorado - $549 per night
- Hotel Hermitage, Valle D’Aosta, Italy - $525 per night
- Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates, Dubai - $517 per night
- Sonnenalp Resort of Vail, Vail, Colorado - $510 per night
- Badrutt’s Palace, St. Moritz, Switzerland - $505 per night
- Alberg Hospiz Hotel, Tirol, Austria - $480 per night
- Fairmont Chateau Whistler, British Columbia, Canada $300 per night
Can you think of any ski resort they left off their list?
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11.11.05
Posted in Luxury, Cuisine at 1:26 pm by Luxury Larry
Ithaa (pronounced eet-ha) means ‘pearl’ in the language of the Maldives, Dhivehi. And this pearl located within the Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa in Rangali Island is the first ever all-glass underwater restaurant in the world. The dining is a contemporary fusion of maldivian cuisine with western and asian influences.
The Ithaa Restaurant sits 15 feet below the waves of the Indian Ocean, surrounded by a coral reef and encased in clear acrylic, offering diners 270-degrees of panoramic underwater views. The restaurant is reached by a wooden walkway from the nearby over-water Sunset Grill Restaurant, and seats just 14 people for exclusive dining with a real difference.
This first aquarium-style undersea restaurant was designed in New Zealand and constructed in Singapore with materials from the United States, then shipped to the Maldives, Ithaa where it sits six meters below the waves of the Indian Ocean.
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11.09.05
Posted in Luxury, Jets at 6:19 pm by Luxury Larry
ORLANDO, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)-They’ve been called “penthouses” in the sky and large, luxury jets have never been hotter in the world of business aviation. At the 58th Annual National Business Aviation Association Meeting and Convention, taking place November 9-11, 2005 in Orlando, Chicago-based BCI Jets will formally launch Genesis by BCI Jets, its exclusive renovation program that transforms commercial aircraft into private, luxury travel suites at far below the acquisition cost of comparable jets.
Genesis by BCI Jets brings to the market a one-stop, comprehensive solution when it comes to the acquisition and custom conversion of commercial aircraft such as MD-80 Series, B737s, B757s, among others. Genesis covers the entire process, first providing the right aircraft, then conducting its airworthiness assessments and modifications, creating customized interior solutions and build-outs - and still showing the sky is the limit on luxury, not cost.
“A converted commercial aircraft can provide luxury accommodations for 20 to 30 passengers and have unmatched, personalized interior designs that can include an operational boardroom, a private stateroom, a theater-level entertainment center and a full-service galley kitchen,” said Guy Lieser, president of BCI Jets. “The suite-style aircraft that Genesis provides means executives traversing the country or going overseas can conduct business along the way and be completely refreshed upon arrival.”
According to Lieser, under the Genesis program, an aircraft can be acquired, designed to specification, converted and delivered for in the range of $20 million or less, far below the cost of many large business jets in this competitive set, which can cost between $30 million and $50 million. There are also cost-savings and added convenience on the maintenance front.
“Commercial aircraft offer huge maintenance advantages over typical business aircraft, which is a significant differentiating factor in choosing a commercial conversion for large business jet use,” said Phil Vanderwilt, who has piloted a converted MD-87 for corporate use since 2001. “We’ve flown around the globe and passengers have found extraordinary comfort, convenience and flexibility in the aircraft. Luggage and cargo needs have always been accommodated easily. This is the best possible way to maximize travel time, whether it is spent on business or used simply to unwind and rejuvenate between time zones.”
An affiliate of commercial aircraft lessor BCI Aircraft Leasing, Inc., BCI Jets brings the global commercial aviation experience of its larger ally in meeting the needs of the large business jet market.
“At BCI Jets we are ideally suited to offer the capability and value of commercial aircraft to the growing luxury business jet market,” said Lieser.
“What differentiates our Genesis program in the industry is our access to aircraft, that ours is a one-stop, comprehensive solution, and that we are designed to satisfy the most discriminating buyer. While our attention to detailed customization is paramount, we offer it at a price that is a great value in the large business jet market,” he said.
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11.03.05
Posted in Yachts, Europe at 10:01 pm by Luxury Larry
November 2005 – The Moorings, the world’s premier yacht charter company, announced the expansion of its worldwide cruising destinations to include the popular European destination of Tenerife at the heart of the Canary Islands, with the addition of Alboran Charters as a Moorings Preferred Partner. The Moorings will offer yachts from 41ft to 47ft and the agreement increases The Moorings’ offerings to 42 locations around the world.
Based in Radazul, just west of the capital Santa Cruz, Alboran Charter has become the 4th Moorings Preferred Partner. “Alboran Charter has many years of experience with active tourist destinations such as the Balearic Islands, the Costa Brava and the Canaries, and have built a reputation of excellence with a focus on service to their customers,” commented Raul Bermudez, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for The Moorings. “We are very proud to offer our customers the unique cruising grounds of this Atlantic destination through such a quality company,” he added.
Tenerife - A Longtime Seafaring Destination
Tenerife, a province of Spain, is the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, and benefits from the so-called Canaries cold-stream, which has an extraordinary moderating effect on its climate (yearly temperatures range from 64 degrees to 78 degrees and from the refreshing trade winds, so greatly appreciated by seafarers. Tenerife is divided by a mountain range which creates two very different climates, to the south it is dry and hot and to the north it is cooler and greener.
The volcanic nature of Tenerife has accommodated its coastline with extraordinary areas of marine interest, characterized by original rocky formations and a wealth of natural interest. The marine beds of Tenerife are spectacular and have and extremely varied array of aquatic fauna formed by more than 500 different marine species including tuna fish, stingrays, barracudas and seahorses.
The Moorings Continues Expansion of World’s Best Sailing Destinations
The Tenerife base join recent base openings in Italy, Finland, Sweden, New Zealand, Syros, Greece and the Pacific Northwest, in the USA. The Moorings, a Grand Expeditions Company, has 800 employees and more than 895 yachts, in 42 locations.
For more information, contact The Moorings at 1-800-535-7289 or visit www.moorings.com. For more information on the other Grand Expeditions companies that provide luxury travel throughout the world, visit www.grandexpeditions.com.
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