Penthouses.com: The Weblog

With a normal per night cost of $3,600. The Buckingham Hotel, a boutique midtown property, has discounted the rate for its 2,000-square-foot Martinelli Penthouse through Aug. 31 to $1800 (The price excludes taxes and gratuity and is based on a one-night stay).

The penthouse features a kitchen and breakfast nook, king and queen bedrooms, a sprawling living room, two bathrooms, a fireplace and a terrace with a view overlooking Central Park and the midtown Manhattan skyline. To book the Martinelli Penthouse, visit BuckinghamHotel.com, or call 888-511-1900.

Brooke Hogan, yes the daughter of ex-wrestler Hulk Hogan has apparently bought “ahem” herself and brand new penthouse & according to this youtube post http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpHZXP1eODM , the video below is the exact Penthouse the young starlet is moving into.

Nightlife blog Matador Nights has a great post regarding the 9 Best-Designed Hotels in the world. Of course, this is open to opinion & discussion - but nevertheless it addresses some of the finest which I have personally every come across. Visit the site for full details, but the full list is below for your perusal.

1. Burj Al Arab (Dubai)
2. Hotel Marqués de Riscal (Spain)
3. Park Hyatt Tokyo (Japan)
4. Wynn Hotel (Las Vegas USA)
5. Phinda Getty House (South Africa)
6. Inn at Price Tower (Oklahoma, USA)
7. The Four Seasons Hotel, NYC (New York USA)
8. Shanghai’s St. Regis (China)
9. Le Meriden Lingotto (Italy)

and I would personally have to add The 41 in London, voted the 2nd best hotel in the UK but that aside, it has class beyond words.

Image courtesy of Veerle

Just a stone’s throw away from Sandbanks, Britain’s glamorous coastal playground for the rich and famous, lies a luxury new build apartment block built to the highest standards with breathtaking sea views.

The Harbour Reach development, by Bryant Homes, comprises 12 five-storey blocks of flats and ten rows of townhouses. A third of the 340 properties are for social or affordable housing.

Dozens of selected tenants pay a mere £75 in rent, most of which will probably be paid from state benefits while private flats on the same development sell for up to £525,000!

This intriguing set up is due to government legislation demanding a percentage of social housing on newbuild developments.

An article published on the Daily Mail website has caused much controversy amongst commenters. It poses uncomfortable questions such as; is it fair that an unemployed person may pay peanuts out of their social benefits for the same flat another, employed, more well off person pays far more for? Conversely, why is there an unwritten rule that social housing should be basic not luxurious?  It’s atough one, I don’t want to fall on the side of snobbery, however, there is something unjust about the situation…why not join the debate!

image: courtesy dailymail

In Dubai, Donald Trump has made a big move towards establish his presence, spending AED 2.9 billion (around USD$790 million) on the construction of the spectacular 62 storey tall Trump International Hotel & Tower on Palm Jumeirah. It is rumored pre-sales of some properties fetching as much as $3000USD, real estate developer Nakheel and the Trump Organization expect that the tower’s exclusive penthouse will break property records. The 270 meter tall design which features two towers that merge at the 40th floor will include 378 hotel rooms and suites, 385 condominiums, 12 townhouses, 45,000 square feet of retail and 60,000 square feet of office space along with a private beach and super-marina. Public sales of the residences began on June 23 and Donald J. Trump himself has already reserved an apartment in the Tower which is expected to be completed in May 2011.

If the stories are to be believed, the amount of sand and rock used is enough to build a two meter high, half meter wide wall that would circle the globe three times! Well if that won’t make me purchase a property there, nothing will!

Read more at Gulf News.

One of the most expensive hotels is Intercontinental Tahiti Resort: The only thing that can enhance the beauty of an already-idyllic location is a resort that has a truly beautiful luxury swimming pool that compliments and pays homage to the surrounding environment.

If this part of the world could have gotten any better, it did so when the pools of this resort became an additional part of its landscape.

There is nothing more luxurious than catching a glimpse of your own Christian Louboutin red leather soles unless you’re admiring your pair of specially created limited edition heels.

This distinctive pump highlights the designer’s leg-lengthening style by adding a 100mm heel. The eel skin’s natural finish in subtle and discrete tones is enlivened with Christian Louboutin’s red leather soles. A covered front buckle completes this elegant statement.

After years of styling Hollywood starlets, such as Nicole Kidman, and as girlfriend to the world’s biggest rock star, Mick Jagger, L’Wren Scott understands true style. These timeless pumps were created for her debut couture collection, exclusively made for Couturelab.com
With Christian’s bold approach to shoe design and L’Wren’s perfectionist vision for timeless couture, this flawless pair is the result of a unique collaboration. Truly original, the shoes have been crafted from Aguilla eel skin, creating a natural, velvety finish.

The wonderful discrete tones and delicate frays of the shoe contrast with the sleek, statement red sole, enlivening any little black dress. The brave 100mm heel highlight’s L’Wren’s leg lengthening style of inimitable elegance. Such art of a tall order can only be found online at Couturelab where you can grab a pair of these beautiful shoes for £530, thats $1,060 (approx)… if they havn’t already sold out!

Truly exclusive and loved by the celebrity crowd, The Harmon , due to complete late 2009 sits directly on the $9+ billion development Las Vegas Strip. With its ultra-chic design and amenities to match, those who seek an indulgent hide-away need to look no further. Managed by Andrew Sasson’s The Light Group, The Harmon offers just 207 units (with only 15 penthouses), ranging from 980- 3700 sq ft and will range from $1.3-$10+ million, making it a highly-desired, prime-location address.

Amenities include pool and lounge perched 100 feet above the Strip, The Harmon Spa, MR CHOW restaurant, Frédéric Fekkai hair salon, concierge service, valet, 24-hour security, conference & meeting rooms, and owners private lounge.

Are you ready to live the good life?

If the banking crisis is threatening the size of City bonuses and property prices, then the news has not yet reached some in Canary Wharf.

The owner of a pair of penthouse apartments at Berkeley Tower, the tallest building in Canary Riverside, has put them on the market with a record asking price of £18.7 million. That’s £14million more than he paid for them three years ago

The total size of the properties are twice the size of the average three-bedroom semi, at more than 6,000 square feet.  This means the cost is more than £2,700 per square foot, more than double the previous Canary Wharf record of £1,216 per square foot.

It is estimated that about 88,000 homes are valued at over £1 million in England and Wales, up from just 30,000 homes five years ago, according to figures by Halifax

When it comes to sales above the £1 million mark, the SW7 postcode has been in second place for years but this year it was matched by W8. The SW1X postcode, which includes Knightsbridge, remains in fifth place, behind NW3 (Hampstead). This may change when flats at One Hyde Park come on to the market with asking prices of at least £20 million each.

However, estate agents today warned that turmoil in the financial markets could see central London homes fall in value for the first time in more than five years. Property agency Savills says houses and flats in the £1 million to £3 million bracket will be stagnant at best for the rest of the year and could fall by up to five per cent.

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Italian architect David Fisher is building his first skyscraper, the Dynamic Tower, and it happens to be one of the most ambitious construction plans since the Pyramid of Khufu. Every floor of the 80-story self-powered building rotates according to voice command, and nearly the entire structure of the $700 million building is pre-fabbed.

The Dynamic Tower offers infinite design possibilities, as each floor rotates independently to create a building that constantly changes shape, resulting in a unique and ever evolving architectural structure.

The Tower is environmentally friendly and the first building designed to be self-powered, with the ability to generate its own electricity, as well as for other nearby buildings, it achieves this feat with wind turbines fitted between each rotating floor, An 80-story building will have up to 79 wind turbines, making it a true green power plant,’ Dr. Fisher stated.

Click here to read more.