Daily Pampering: Luxury travel shopping experience in Milan

by Melanie Nayer on

What do you get for the fashionista who has everything? A luxury travel trip to Milan to explore high-end boutiques along Via Montenapoleone and attend two exclusive trunk shows with industry leaders Valentino, Stella McCartney, Dior, and more.

The luxury travel package, worth more than $13,000, is offered by Pure Entertainment Group and includes everything from a suite at The Four Season Hotel Milan, a private tour of the city, dinner at the exclusive Dolce & Gabbana Gold restaurant and a complimentary bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne upon arrival.

What’s a luxury shopping experience without a new pair of shoes? Absolutely nothing. While you’re here, grab a new pair of stilettos and hit the catwalk in style.

This ultimate pampering package includes:

  • 4-night stay in a Junior Suite at the Four Seasons Hotel Milano
  • Daily full breakfast
  • Welcome amenities with complimentary bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne and fresh flowers
  • 2 Exclusive Trunk Shows at the boutiques of your choice on Via Montenapoleone with catering and champagne. Luxe designers include Valentino, Dior, Stella McCartney, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, and Armani.
  • Exclusive discussion with some of Milan’s fashion designers
  • Preferred shopping privileges in Milan’s most exclusive boutiques
  • 1 gourmet dinner at Michelin-Starred restaurant Cracco Peck (alcohol not included)
  • Private guided tour of Milan (3 hours)
  • 1 dinner at Dolce & Gabbana Gold restaurant (alcohol not included)
  • Personalized airport welcome with limousine transfer to/from hotel

The price for this shopping package starts at $13,075/4 nights and is available through May 15, 2011

Want more? Try and beat this luxury travel package with more daily pampering.

Daily Pampering: The most expensive suite in Latin America

by Melanie Nayer on

What does $9,500 a night buy you? The F Suite at Faena Hotel + Universe – the most expensive suite in Latin America.

This Buenos Aires suite reflects the interior design of a collaboration between Philippe Starck and Alan Faena, and incorporates Imperial-style furniture, red velvet curtains, lapacho wood and arabasceto marble. Traditional Argentine themes and patterns can be found throughout the space and are woven into rugs. A large red Murano glass chandelier hangs in the center of the living room and oil portraits of General and Eva Peron adorn the wall.

In addition to all the luxury in the F Suite, the hotel a stunning pool, a rejuvenating spa and Turkish bath, two top notch restaurants and two intimate theaters that sell out live shows.

Pamper yourself in these luxury digs and you’ll get private access via a residential entrance, an outdoor terrace with spectacular views of the city and round-the-clock personal service by a dedicated Experience Manager.
What else are you going to do with $9,500 a night?

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

Daily Pampering: The Peninsula Beverly Hills partners with Tory Burch

by Melanie Nayer on

What’s better than a luxury hotel room and a shopping spree? We can’t really think of anything, actually, which is why today’s Daily Pampering excites us to no end!

The Peninsula Beverly Hills has partnered with iconic American fashion designer Tory Burch to offer the “The Peninsula Girls Getaway with Tory Burch.” This luxury lifestyle experience provides a perfect way for ladies to share time together while shopping, spa-ing and sipping Champagne in gorgeous Beverly Hills.

Book a night and each guest will receive a $100 Tory Burch Promotional Card. If you’re so busy that you can’t get to the Tory Burch Boutiques in Los Angeles or Santa Monic during regular hours, The Peninsula will arrange for after-hours in-store shopping or for a personal consultation and mini-trunk show with a Tory Burch stylist in your hotel room. Your reservation also comes with daily Continental breakfast and a $50 credit toward treatments at The Spa at The Peninsula Beverly Hills. A bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte Rosé Champagne and valet parking are also included.

When: October 1 – December 15, 2010

Nightly Rates:
Deluxe, from $665/night
Grand Deluxe from $765/night
Superior Suite from $1,095/night

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

Daily Pampering: New “Presidential Bungalows” at The Beverly Hills Hotel

by Melanie Nayer on

What’s it like to stay in presidential style? The Beverly Hills Hotel is unveiling two new ultra-luxe, residential-style “Presidential Bungalows,” to give visitors a glimpse of the really good life.

Tucked among 12 landscaped acres of banana leaves, palm trees and perfectly manicured gardens, the new Presidential Bungalows will be the largest, most prestigious suites in Los Angeles with more than 5,500 square feet of living space indoors and out.
The Presidential Bungalows resemble individual homes set in the most prestigious residential neighborhood of Beverly Hills, with indoor living opening to the outdoors while assuring absolute privacy.

Intrigued? Reservations for the $9,000 to $12,000 per night bungalows can be booked now for arrival beginning on February 15, 2011 for the first new Bungalow. The second Bungalow will be available as of March 2011.

What’s makes the new bungalows so “presidential”? Read on…
Inside the bungalows:

  • Fireplace in every room – five in total, including circular outdoor fireplace
  • Great Room with classic cottage raised-beam ceiling, custom walnut wood planked floors, and a dining room with seating for 10 overlooking a waterfall-edge plunge pool
  • Professional chef’s kitchen with Sub-Zero refrigerator, wine cooler, stainless steel appliances, dishwasher, stove, microwave, undermount sink with stainless steel apron, stone counter tops, glassware display shelving and mirror backsplash as well as a butler’s pantry and private entrance for staff
  • Bright interior color palette inspired by the beauty of California outside
  • Wood-clad Art Deco-style Study overlooking gardens and the pool, with custom-designed rolled-edge peninsular desk with innovative swivel lamp and every technology
  • Master Bedroom with unique furnishings and a fireplace facing inside and out before French doors that open onto an individual private garden
  • Sizable walk-in closet with vast luggage space and adjacent makeup room to appease the legendary Hollywood pastime of getting
  • Red Carpet-ready in style Master Bathroom with garden views and a freestanding bathtub for two, stone Deco-inspired vanity, nine-foot counter, separate W.C., and rain shower/steam shower with two showerheads
  • Two spacious Junior Bedrooms with individual private gardens and courtyard access Gallery/Sun Porch with fireplace, sectional sofa, custom tables and high-tech entertainment components. Can be joined to each of three bedrooms to create a privately keyed suite Home-theatre components in virtually every room with Bang & Olufsen flat-screen monitors (65-inch in the Great Room) with BluRay/DVD players and input for game controllers.
  • MP3 player docks with built-in speakers in all rooms and outdoor spaces, including underwater in the swimming pool High-touch technology with a single, easy-to-use remote control for lights, drapes, fireplaces and all media options

Exterior highlights include:

  • Over-sized private gardens landscaped with inspiration from The Beverly Hills Hotel’s legendary tropical paradise
  • Lap pool with waterfall features and underwater speakers
  • Custom-designed lounge furniture for relaxing beneath the stars or in the sunny California climate, with dining area lit by elegant wrought-iron gas lanterns
  • Outdoor fireplace and outdoor design elements unique to each bungalow including circular outdoor banquette seating at Bungalow 23 and a greenwall garden backdrop behind the pool at Bungalow 24
  • Outdoor garden shower for two off the Master Bathroom, with absolute privacy

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.


Hotels and spas use corporate retreats for sweet financial revenge

by Tom Johansmeyer on

It’s hard to tell who wants a business travel rebound: business travelers or the hospitality companies that cater to them. Routine road warrior jaunts suck, but there are executive retreats, training programs and other opportunities that do appeal even to the most jaded of the white collar folks.

So, the hotels are fighting to get business travelers back, according to Business Insider, and they’re getting creative. Luxury properties, including spas, were nailed by the financial crisis and ensuing recession. They have a lot of ground to make up. To do this, they’re coming up with new programs to get the corporate folks to open their wallets. Some of them are pretty bizarre, even retaliatory. Business Insider reports:

Their new approach is luring clients back to their bedrooms for “must-have” bonding and training sessions that put execs in compromising positions.

Retreats that specialize in corporate getaways have been cooking up programs that encourage extremely awkward and potentially dangerous bonding activities, like fake-trying to kill each other.

Call it the, “You’re putting us out of business? We’re going to push you off tall objects, hike mountains naked with 50 pounds on your back, try to kill each other and make you beg for more” – strategy.

Even with these implications, the response from the business world still seems to be a resounding, “Thank you, sir! May I have another!”

Bank of America, Google and Toyota are among the companies that have gotten on board with these programs. Some of them do get pretty weird, such as:

The icing on the cake is The Death Race, where co-workers sit for 45 minutes in an ice-broken pond, gulp a gallon of milk (even if you’re lactose intolerant), crawl under barbed wire and sprint up a greased-up ramp.

Don’t you remember when the corporate people were just interested in making money? It was all so much easier back then …

[photo by Boss Tweed via Flickr]