Sunday, September 18, 2011

10 Most Expensive Hotel Rooms in The World

Here are the 10 most expensive hotel rooms in the world from the last year.

10. The Penthouse Suite, The Martinez Hotel, Cannes

Nightly Rate: $18,000
This is the biggest, most expensive, and the only terraced penthouse suite on the Cote d’Azur. Both of the two suites has a jacuzzi, plasma screen televisions, DVD library, kitchen, open bar, private butler on call 24/7 (ditto for a limousine), and an option to join both suites into one big apartment. The luxury has no limit here – the design is kept in the Art Deco style, with streamlined furniture, silk curtains and teak parquet floors.
The wraparound terrace is 2,000 square feet with the views of the Lerins Islands as well as the entire Bay of Cannes and can comfortably hold 100 people. One Saudi sheik liked the suite so much he wanted to rent it for five years. The hotel said no. What else can you say? Tres magnifique!

9. Ritz-Carlton Suite, Ritz-Carlton Moscow

Nightly Rate: $18.200
The floor-to-ceiling windows in the Ritz-Carlton Suite will give you the most beautiful views of the Kremlin, Red Square, St. Basil’s Cathedral, and Christ the Savior Cathedral. The furnishings are in a Classic Russian Imperial style. The 2,500 square-foot suite comes with a spacious living room, dining area, library, office room and boardroom, grand piano, and heated floor.
You will get to enjoy five meals a day and their very own KGB-approved autonomous energy supply system and secure telecommunications array.

8. Royal Suite, Burj Al Arab, Dubai

Nightly Rate: $19.000
The two-story, 8,400-square-foot suite features views over the Arabian sea, marble flooring, a rotating four-poster bed in the master bedroom, dining area, and a private cinema and elevator between the split-level rooms.
The marble bath comes fully stocked with full-sized products from Hermes. Guests are met by a chauffeur driven Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph (or, for a bit extra, by a helicopter). A personal butler stands 24/7 at the ready to fulfill every wish. The Royal Suite is the last word in luxury with a marble and gold staircase, leopard print tufted carpets and Versace linens.
What you can also enjoy is a submarine ride to an underwater restaurant complete with shark-infested aquarium.

7. Imperial Suite, Park Hyatt, Vendôme, Paris

Nightly Rate: $20.000
This pricey suite is located on the 5th floor and takes 200-sq.-meters. A 60-sq.-meter balcony is overlooking the Rue de la Paix, with an outstanding view of the Vendôme column. The Imperial Suite has high ceilings, a dining room, kitchenette, bar, and a mansard roof. It also includes in-suite spa with whirlpool bath, steam room shower and a built-in massage table. Also included are high-speed Internet access and a computer with flat screen monitor, multi-line telephones, and a separate work area to help you enjoy the work process.

6. The Bridge Suite, The Atlantis, Bahamas

Nightly Rate: $22.000
The Bridge Suite is located on top of a bridge that connects the two Royal Towers buildings, so it overlooks the entire resort and marina. An 800 square foot balcony and 12-foot high ceilings throughout with full length windows allow you to enjoy a 360 view of the water, lagoons and pools in Paradise Island. We can make a guess that most of the price is paid for the location of the suite. Forbes reports the suite has hosted guests including Oprah, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, and Bill Gates.
The suite has 10 rooms that are decorated in black, red and gold (including a 22-karat gold chandelier in the dining room). The living room is a 1,250-square-foot room with grand piano and twin entertainment centers. The master bedroom has a sitting area, his-and-hers closets so large that you can park your car there, and hand-painted linens. The kitchen also has its own entrance, so a permanent staff of seven, including a butler and a cook can access the rooms without bothering you.

5. Presidential Suite, Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo

Nightly Rate: $25.000
The suite is located on the 53rd floor above Tokyo with spectacular views that include the Imperial Palace outer gardens and Roppongi Hills.
In the suite’s 3300 sq ft you get pure luxury with a stunning four poster bed in the master bedroom, personal concierge, connected living room/dining room, an oversized marble bathroom with Sony BRAVIA 20 inch flat screen television, and access to indoor pool and fitness studio.

4. Villa La Capula Suite, Westin Excelsior, Rome

Nightly Rate: $29.000
The suite is located on the fifth and sixth floor underneath the cupola of the hotel which was made famous by Fellini’s movies. It covers 6,099 square feet and has an additional 1,808 square feet of balconies and terraces. While it only has two bedrooms, five more can be joined to it. The entire suite was just remodeled in 1998 for a cost of around $7 million. So now you will have all things Roman and excessive – a cupola, a Pompeii-style Jacuzzi pool, frescoes (the painted horizons on the frescoes were designed to match perfectly with the real Roman one), stained glass windows, and almost 2,000 feet of balcony space including a sun deck overlooking the Via Veneto district.
The downstairs also has a private kitchen, and the dining room features an antique Murano glass chandelier, a private wine cabinet with over 150 wines to choose from and a study/library covered in hand-carved wood. And what really makes this suite over the top is a private cinema with Dolby surround sound.

3. Ty Warner Penthouse, Four Seasons Hotel, New York

Nightly Rate: $34.000
The $50 million Ty Warner Penthouse at the Four Seasons in NY was designed by legendary architect I.M. Pei, Peter Marino and hotel owner Ty Warner.
The nine-room suite has walls inlaid with mother of pearl, gold and platinum-woven fabrics. The suite is located on the 52nd floor of New York’s tallest hotel with floor-to-ceiling bay windows offering a breathtaking 360 degree view of the City. If that is not relaxing enough you can enjoy a waterfall in the Zen Room, play the grand piano in the library or soak in a tub overlooking Central Park. Full spa treatments, a personal trainer and a 24/7 butler are all included, and if you still find a will to leave, you can choose to be chauffeured in a Rolls Royce or Maybach, and you’re always guaranteed a table at the hotel’s renowned L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon restaurant.

2. Hugh Hefner Sky Villa, Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas

Nightly Rate: $40.000
If anyone knows how to vacation in Las Vegas, that will be Hugh Hefner. Even though he is known as a homebody he has spent a few nights away from the mansion at the Sky Villa. The suite itself was built to model the original playboy mansion; it also incorporates elements derived from a vintage Playboy magazine article about the ultimate bachelor pad. The suite cost roughly $10 million to build but the high-rollers can rent it for a small $40,000 a night. Everything screams S-E-X-Y at the Sky Villa. The two-story 9,000 square foot Villa includes a glass elevator, a rotating bed set beneath a mirrored ceiling, and a glass wall Jacuzzi that extends out over the hotel and offers amazing Strip views, around-the-clock butler service, massage and spa rooms, work-out room and poker table, fireplace, three bedrooms, and pop-up plasma TVs.

1. Royal Penthouse Suite, President Wilson Hotel, Geneva

Nightly Rate: $53.000
The Imperial Suite, which is actually an entire top floor of the hotel, is reached via a private elevator and has four bedrooms, six bathrooms with mosaic marble floor, a cocktail lounge and a terrace with a dramatic view through the bulletproof windows over the city, Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc — all of which overlook Lake Geneva. The suite is decorated in a contemporary style, with marble and hardwood floors. The living room has a billiards table, a library and a cocktail lounge with a view of the water fountain, and can accommodate 40 people. The dining room seats 26 people around an oval mahogany table.
The hotel’s staff reassures guests that the security in the Imperial Suite is among the best in the world, ideal for celebrities or traveling heads of state who visit the United Nations headquarters next door at the Palais Wilson.











MIAMI HOTEL

Reflecting the passion and vitality of one of America’s most exciting cities, Miami, Florida, the legendary Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables has been a favorite of world leaders, celebrities, and sports stars since its opening in the 1920s. Offering much more than exceptional accommodations, the Biltmore Hotel showcases championship golf, cosmopolitan dining, a luxury spa and premier conference facilities, all while exceeding our refined guests’ expectations. Perhaps this is why we’ve remained Miami’s only four-star, four-diamond hotel for six consecutive years.
Graced with natural elegance and sophistication, the Biltmore Hotel offers a stunning location in the exclusive Coral Gables area, minutes from South Beach, downtown Miami, Coconut Grove and the Coral Gables business district. Surround yourself by old world charm and beauty as you ease into indulgence and serenity. Welcome to the Biltmore Hotel.
Our luxury Miami hotel features:
  • 150 acres of lush and tropical landscapes, which include the Biltmore Golf Course, 18 holes designed by Donald Ross, 10 tennis courts, and the world-famous Biltmore pool with private cabana suites
  • Acclaimed restaurants, such as Palme d’Or, ranked by Zagat as the best in overall excellence; Fontana; Cascade Poolside Bar & Grill; and the 19th Hole
  • Biltmore Spa, a world-class spa and fitness center
  • Miami culinary classes at Biltmore Culinary Academy
  • The finest accommodations in Miami, comprising 273 guest rooms, 130 of which are suites
  • 76,000 square feet of spacious state-of-art conference and meeting spaces
  • Full-service catering for meetings, events and weddings

FICTITIOUS HOTELS

Hotels have been used as the settings for television programmes such as the British situation comedies Fawlty Towers and I’m Alan Partridge, the British soap opera Crossroads, and in films such as the Bates Motel Hithcock’s 1960 film Psycho.

LIVING IN HOTELS

A number of public figures have notably chosen to take up semi-permanent or permanent residence in hotels.
  • Actor Richard Harris lived at the Savoy Hotel while in London. Hotel archivist Susan Scott recounts an anecdote that when he was being taken out of the building on a stretcher shortly before his death he raised his hand and told the diners “it was the food”.

WORLD RECORD SETTING HOTELS

Largest:

In 2006, Guinness World Records listed the First World Hotel in Genting Highlands, Malaysia as the world’s largest hotel with a total of 6,118 rooms.

Oldest:

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest hotel still in operation is the Hoshi Ryokan, in the Awazu Onsen area of Komatsu, Japan which opened in 717.

Tallest:

Burj Al Arab in United Arab Emirates is the tallest building used exclusively as a hotel. However, the Rose Tower, also in Dubai, which has already topped Burj Al Arab’s height at 333 m (1,090 ft), will take away this title upon its opening.

MOTELS

A motel (Motor Hotel) is a hotel which is for a short stay, usually for a night, for motorists on long journeys. It has direct access from the room to the vehicle (for example a central parking lot around which the buildings are set), and is built conveniently close to major roads and intersections.

Railway hotels

Frequently, expanding railway companies built grand hotels at their termini, such as the Midland Hotel, Manchester next to the former Manchester Central Station and in London the ones above St Pancras railway station and Charing Cross railway station also in London is the Chiltern Court HotelBaker Street tube station and Canada’s grand railway hotels. They are or were mostly, but not exclusively, used by those travelling by rail.

Resort hotels

Some hotels are built specifically to create a captive trade, example at casinos and holiday resorts. Though of course hotels have always been built in popular desinations, the defining characteristic of a resort hotel is that it exists purely to serve another attraction, the two having the same owners.
In Las Vegas, Nevada there is a tradition of one-upmanship with luxurious and extravagant hotels in a concentrated area known as the Las Vegas Strip. This trend now has extended to other resorts worldwide, but the concentration in Las Vegas is still the world’s highest: nineteen of the world’s twenty-five largest hotels by room count are on the Strip, with a total of over 67,000 rooms.
In Europe Center Parcs might be considered a chain of resort hotels, since the sites are largely man-made (though set in natural surroundings such as country parks) with captive trade, whereas holiday camps such as ButlinsPontin’s are probably not considered as resort hotels, since they are set at traditional holiday destinations which existed before the camps.

Other unusual hotels

  • The Library Hotel in New York City, United States is unique in that each of its ten floors are assigned one category from the Dewey Decimal System.
  • The Burj al-Arab hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, built on an artificial island, is structured in the shape of a boat’s sail.
  • The former ocean liner RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, United States uses its first-class staterooms as a hotel.
  • The Jailhotel Löwengraben in Lucerne, Switzerland is a converted prison now used as a hotel.
  • The Luxor, a hotel and casino on The Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States due to its pyramidal structure.
  • The Liberty Hotel in Boston, United States used to be the Charles Street Jail.

Underwater hotels

Some hotels have accommodation underwater, such as Utter Inn in Lake Mälaren, Sweden. Hydropolis, project cancelled 2004 in Dubai, will have suites on the bottom of the Persian Gulf, and Jules Undersea Lodge in Key Largo, Florida requires scuba diving to access its rooms.

Garden hotels

Garden hotels, famous for their gardens before they became hotels, include Gravetye Manor, the home of garden designer William Robinson, and Cliveden, designed by Charles Barry with a rose garden by Geoffrey Jellicoe.

Ice and snow hotels

The Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, and the Hotel de Glace in Duschenay,­ Canada, melt every spring and are rebuilt each winter; the Mammut Snow Hotel in Finland is located within the walls of the Kemi snow castle; and the Lainio Snow Hotel is part of a snow village near Ylläs, Finland

Cave hotels

Desert Cave Hotel in Coober Pedy, South Australia and the Cuevas Pedro Antonio de Alarcón (named after the author) in Guadix, Spain, as well as several hotels in Cappadocia, Turkey, are notable for being built into natural cave formations, some with rooms underground.

Treehouse hotels

Some hotels are built with living trees as structural elements, for example the Costa Rica Tree House in the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica; the Treetops Hotel in Aberdare National Park, Kenya; the Ariau Towers near Manaus, Brazil, on the Rio Negro in the Amazon; and Bayram’s Tree Houses in Olympos, Turkey.

ABOUT HOTEL

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning or climate control. Additional common features found in hotel rooms are a telephone, an alarm clock, a television, and Internet connectivity; snack foods and drinks may be supplied in a mini-bar, and facilities for making hot drinks. Larger hotels may provide a number of additional guest facilities such as a restaurant, a swimming pool or childcare, and have conference and social function services.
Some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. In the United Kingdom, a hotel is required by law to serve food and drinks to all guests within certain stated hours; to avoid this requirement it is not uncommon to come across private hotels which are not subject to this requirement. In Japan, capsule hotels provide a minimized amount of room space and shared facilities. In Australia, Canada and Ireland (and rarely in some parts of the United States of America), the word may also refer to a pubbar and might not offer accommodation. In India, the word may also refer to a restaurant since the best restaurants were always situated next to a good hotel.

ETYMOLOGY

The word hotel is derived from the French hôtel (coming from hôte meaning host), which referred to a French version of a townhouse or any other building seeing frequent visitors, rather than a place offering accommodation. In contemporary French usage, hôtel now has the same meaning as the English term, and hôtel particulier is used for the old meaning. The French spelling, with the circumflex, was also used in English, but is now rare. The circumflex replaces the ’s’ found in the earlier hosteldefinite article – hence “The Astoria Hotel” or simply “The Astoria”.

CLASSIFICATION

The cost and quality of hotels are usually indicative of the range and type of services available. Due to the enormous increase in tourism worldwide during the last decades of the 20th century, standards, especially those of smaller establishments, have improved considerably. For the sake of greater comparability, rating systems have been introduced, with the one to five stars classification being most common and with higher star ratings indicating more luxury. Hotels are independently assessed in traditional systems and these rely heavily on the facilities provided. Some consider this disadvantageous to smaller hotels whose quality of accommodation could fall into one class but the lack of an item such as an elevator would prevent it from reaching a higher categorization. In some countries, there is an official body with standard criteria for classifying hotels, but in many others there is none. There have been attempts at unifying the classification system so that it becomes an internationally recognized and reliable standard but large differences exist in the quality of the accommodation and the food within one category of hotel, sometimes even in the same country. The American Automobile Association (AAA) and their affiliated bodies use diamonds instead of stars to express hotel and restaurant ratings levels.

HISTORIC HOTELS

 Some hotels have gained their renown through  tradition, by hosting significant events or persons, such as Schloss Cecilienhof in Potsdam, Germany, which derives its fame from the Potsdam Conference of the World War IIWinston Churchill, Harry Truman and Joseph Stalin in 1945. The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai is one of India’s most famous and historic hotels because of its association with the Indian independence movement. Some establishments have given name to a particular meal or beverage, as is the case with the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, United States where the Waldorf Salad was first created or the Hotel Sacher in Vienna, Austria, home of the Sachertorte. Others have achieved fame by association with dishes or cocktails created on their premises, such as the Hotel de Paris where the crêpe Suzette was invented or the Raffles Hotel in Singapore, where the Singapore Sling cocktail was devised.
A number of hotels have entered the public consciousness through popular culture, such as the Ritz Hotel in London, United Kingdom, through its association with Irving Berlin’s song, ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’. The Algonquin Hotel in New York City is famed as the meeting place of the literary group, the Algonquin Round Table, and Hotel Chelsea, also in New York City, has been the subject of a number of songs and the scene of the stabbing of Nancy Spungen (allegedly by her boyfriend Sid Vicious). The Waldorf Astoria and Statler hotels in New York City are also immortalized in the names of Muppets Statler and Waldorf.
The luxurious Grand Hotel Europe in Saint Petersburg, Russia achieved fame with its inclusion in the James Bond film GoldenEye