luxurylifestylenews.com

:: Detroit Free Press

Luxury seating at MSU stadium is a suite deal

"If I want to impress a client, this is the way to do it," Gerbel said recently. "This is first class. My two grandchildren like it up there, too. They asked me to let them know if I have extra tickets."

Five years in the planning, the addition of the club seats and suites gets MSU in the game with other college stadiums like Ohio State University and Purdue that have added luxury seating to attract alumni and generate revenue for athletic programs.

MSU is the first school in the state to add luxury seating to its stadium. The University of Michigan is also planning an expansion of Michigan Stadium that would add luxury boxes and an upper deck.

... full text here.

:: Deccan Herald

New luxury nature resort in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s expanding eco-tourism attractions are taking ‘a walk on the luxury side’ with the island’s latest offering – the nature resort Rainforest Edge.

Located 170 kilometres from Colombo International Airport on the edge of the beautiful Sinharaja Rainforest, this brand-new resort - which opened on August 30 - is a balance between ancient tradition and modern comfort.

... full article here.

Related Links:

... Rain Forest Edge official site.

... Plan your escape with Travelocity.

:: Fashion Montior

Save the Date: Gourmet Food and Wine Expo

The 11th Annual Gourmet Food and Wine Expo is a unique opportunity to taste the new South Africa as well as over 1000 internationally renowned wines, beers and spirits, gourmet delicacies from local restaurateurs, a variety of professional cooking demonstrations, and attend over 40 educational wine seminars and tutorials.

South Africa takes centre stage as this year’s theme wine country. Celebrating ten years as a democracy and a wine industry that’s fully alive, honoured guests are South African vintners Chris Kelly of Hidden Valley and Razvan Macici of Nederburg Estate, one of the most beautiful vineyard landscapes and dynamic wine producing regions in the world.

... full text here.

:: Yahoo News

Tom Ford: Fashion Superstar and Now, Beauty Mogul

He's not a movie or rock star (at least not yet), but Tom Ford, whose rise to fame came in the '90s as creative director at Gucci and later, at Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, is clearly the closest thing that the fashion world has to such a personality aside from say, Karl Lagerfeld.

"Tom Ford is a genius," said Talley. "He's a dazzling superstar. And for me, anything he does is way beyond the stratosphere of style. It's beyond fashion. He has impacted upon our culture and our times with his point of view, which I find unique and wonderful and so strong, and so brilliant. Like Andy Warhol, you can only be great when you are yourself, and that's what Tom is." ... (read the rest)

... recent post on Mr. Ford here.

:: Leisure Opportunities.co.uk

Banyan Tree announces new luxury retreat in China

Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts has announced plans for a new luxury retreat – Banyan Tree Lijiang – to open in southern China in April 2006.

The highlight of the new resort – which is set within the mountainous Yunnan Province – will be the Banyan Tree Spa Lijiang. The spa will feature six heated treatment rooms, a traditional Chinese medicine hall, a gym and a yoga room.

Treatments will be inspired by the mountain tea indigenous to the area, although the spa menu has yet to be finalised.

The resort will have 40 deluxe villas, which will measure at least 350sq m (3,800sq ft) each and include private heated outdoor jet pools or plunge pools... (read more)

Related Links:

... official Banyan Tree site.

:: Business Week Online

Penthouses at 30,000 feet.
By Carol Matlack

Increasingly, the world's superrich are buying big, big planes - the same kind of widebody Boeing and Airbus jets the airlines use onlong-haul flights - and outfitting them with everything from his-and-hers bathrooms to onboard movie theaters. "Private jets are becoming flying apartments," says Jacques Pierrejean, a French designer who specializes in aircraft interiors... (read more)

Related Links:

... aircraft interior designer Jacques Pierrrejena's site - Aircraft Interior + Design.

:: Conde Nast Traveler

A highly detailed and humurous jaunt through the uber-luxury of first class, Emirates Airline style.

The High Life
by Alan Richman

"Yet no airline to date approaches Emirates, if for no other reason than that every passenger is placed in a personal pod, a cubicle with a sliding door. The fact that the cubicle also contains an 18-inch TV screen, a minibar, and a chair that slithers down to a flat bed was certainly impressive"... (read more)

:: International Herald Tribune.com

In Prague, luxury on rise and history in high demand
by Matt Reynolds

"Prague's high-end real estate market has been hot since foreigners poured into the city in the mid-1990s and gobbled up the relatively few luxury apartments available. It gained steam last year as the country's entry to the European Union brought a fresh influx of foreign businesses and managers"... (read more)

:: China Daily.com

Marquee brands offer real luxury

"Bentley, Brabus, Cadillac, Spyker. As the old saying goes, if you have to ask "how much," you can't afford it. Top Marques, renowned as the world's most luxurious supercar show, made its debut in Shanghai yesterday"... (read more)

Crystal Cruises: "World's Best" Honors From Condé Nast Traveler Readers For 10th Straight Year

Via Travel Video TV.com...

Crowning a decade of excellence and innovation, Crystal Cruises has once again received the "World's Best Large-Ship Cruise Line" award from the readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine. With an overall score of 94.1, one of Crystal's highest ratings ever, the luxury cruise specialist tops all cruise lines, both large and small. Its ten consecutive years of "wins" is unprecedented by any cruise line or hotel.

The 940-guest, 50,000-ton Crystal Harmony and Crystal Symphony and the 1,080-guest, 68,000-ton Crystal Serenity are among the most spacious and luxurious vessels cruising in the luxury market. Their unique size allows for smooth sailing and a wide range of facilities, generous amenities and elegant staterooms, most with private verandah. The elegant floating hotels feature grand lounges, a lavish spa outfitted in accordance with the principles of Feng Shui, extensive exercise facilities, two pools, Asian and Italian specialty restaurants, the popular Computer University@Sea, offering 24-hour e-mail and internet access, as well as hands-on instruction, complimentary golf, yoga and Pilates instruction and other acclaimed learning opportunities. Crystal ships cruise worldwide on itineraries of six to 106 days.

... full text here.

Related Links:

... Crystal Cruises.

... Conde' Nast Traveler