Beirut – Intercontinental Phoenicia Beirut
The Intercontinental Phoenicia Beirut re-opened to much fanfare in 2000. The legendary five-star hotel is – in both its incarnations – the accommodation of choice for the region’s high society. Famous for its opulent setting, the hotel has featured in a number of films including, most recently, Catherine Deneuve in Je Veux Voir.
As the sultry actress may tell you, there is only one room to request: The Penthouse. Perched on the 17th floor of the very private Suites in Residence tower, it extends over 610 square metres and boasts views of Beirut’s coastline and beyond. Though there are three bedrooms on two floors – the master bed is actually a round-sized King – the room you’ll probably want to spend most of your time in is the living room. Taking advantage of the suite’s 5.8 metres of height, the area has been tastefully decorated with Italian and American furniture and bedecked with art by Alex Kravetz and Jacques Abi Khaled to give it that contemporary feel so often associated with NYC lofts.
Spa treatments can be had in the suite and upon request. The summer is probably the best time to enjoy the suite as a quaint terrace allows for moments of relaxation next to the natural stone Granite Nero Absoluto waterfall.
HYPERLINK "http://www.phoenicia-ic.com/" \o "http://www.phoenicia-ic.com/" www.phoenicia-ic.com
Bespoke Category Lebanon-Bound Glitterati
Piece de resistance Spacious Living Room
Rate/night 10,000 USD
Dubai – Burj Al Arab
In glorious Dubai style making one presidential suite in the Burj Al Arab just wasn’t enough – so they made two. Topping the sail of the iconic hotel are the hyper-luxurious duplex Royal Suites, each an astounding 780 square metres of exhaustive opulence. Try this on for size: the floors are made from Stycharario marble, the very same stone used by Michelangelo to create his spellbinding sculptures. Not to mention a marble and gold staircase and leopard-print tufted carpets.
A stay at this 25th floor palace overlooking Dubai guarantees you get the royal treatment. The master bedroom aptly features a rotating four-poster canopy bed, a spacious dressing room and an adjoining marble bathroom with a spa bath. The downstairs living room is designed to look and feel like a majlis while a two-metre dining table dominates the living room. But perhaps, the dazzling aspect is the technology: a multimedia system with the largest selection of channels in the region, video-on-demand, a private cinema and an advanced surround sound system you can listen to throughout the suit.
Burj Al Arab’s Royal Suite is, in many respects, a reflection of Dubai’s unabashed extravagance. While a 24-hour butler service is provided with the suite, a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce or helicopter comes at an added cost.
HYPERLINK "http://www.burj-al-arab.com" www.burj-al-arab.com
Bespoke Category Towering Regal Heights
Piece de resistance Technological Prowess
Rate/night approx. 15,000 USD (subject to exchange rate)
Hong Kong – The Peninsula
There is only one place to stay when in Asia’s most exciting city. The Peninsula Hotel encapsulates Asian traditions and mystery with up-to-the-minute technology. Located on the 26th floor of the tower, The Peninsula Suite exudes old world living, privacy, exceptional vistas and exquisite style.
Covering 370 square metres, this may be the smallest of the penthouses selected, but judging on size alone does it no justice. The suite has a single master bedroom with an en suite bathroom that connects to a fully equipped fitness room, an intimate dining room and kitchen. Add to that a spacious living room, a formal dining/reception area, a meeting room and butler service and, well, you’ve got it pretty much made. If that falls short of impressing you, then the centerpiece entertainment area with its double height ceiling, floor-to-ceiling windows and black granite balcony will make you feel as though the world is your oyster.
In a step up from rudimentary safety measures, the hotel has engaged the expertise of Britain’s MI5 and the USA’s CIA for maximum security for presidential and top VIP guests. Guests at the Peninsula Suite also have direct access from the helipad and a security guard room in the hallway and lift area. A Rolls Royce is complementary.
HYPERLINK "http://www.peninsula.com/" \o "http://www.peninsula.com/" www.peninsula.com
Bespoke Category Pearl of Asia
Piece de resistance Spy Agency Security
Rate/night 8,718 USD
New York City – Four Seasons Hotel
When it comes down to it, luxury living doesn’t get more opulent or stylish than this. Atop Manhattan’s dazzling Four Seasons Hotel rests the most expensive penthouse suite to date – though suite is probably an understatement when describing this nine-room extravaganza. Named after the five-star hotel owner, the Ty Warner penthouse is the creative brainchild of celebrity architects Peter Marino and I.M.Pei and stretches over a single floor, covering 399 square metres of ground. The floor-to-ceiling 360 degree views of Manhattan are unparalleled.
Amongst the original art and sculptures, you’ll be surrounded with commissioned works of art by Nancy Lorenz, Deborah Thomas and Grillo Demo. The master bedroom boasts walls of straw marquetry, a seven-metre bronze-clad bay window and a Thai silk canopy of gold threads. The master bathroom is a rich experience in rare Chinese Onyx and a chromo-therapy infinity soak tub in the same marble.
The Ty Warner penthouse also comes with a living room, library, spa (that doubles as a second bedroom), Zen room, dressing room, powder room and breakfast room. And graciously this hotel offers you a choice in how you wish to roll – by the use of a complementary Maybach or Rolls Royce. Unfortunately, the butler service comes at an added cost.
HYPERLINK "http://www.fourseasons.com/newyorkfs" \o "http://www.fourseasons.com/newyorkfs" www.fourseasons.com/newyorkfs
Bespoke Category Top of the World
Piece de resistance Priceless Panoramic Views
Rate/night 30,000 USD (non-negotiable)
Paris – Ritz Paris
Marie Antoinette could not have wished for a better place to rest her regal head. Located on Paris’ illustrious Place Vendôme – also the prestigious addresses of its most famed jewellers – the Imperial Suite is a salute to decadence. The 650 square metre suite is one of the most opulent Paris has to offer.
The ode to Marie Antoinette doesn’t stop there. One of the bedrooms is an exact replica of the notorious Queen’s one at Versailles Palace. Restored in traditional decorative art – the Ritz Paris was purchased by Mohammed Al Fayed in 1979 – and true to French architectural traditions, the ceiling seals the rooms at an outstanding 17 metres while classified historical monuments, marble chimneys and vast mirrors make you feel as though blue blood is running through your own veins. The Suite also includes an eighteenth century Pompeii-style living room.
To experience a little bit of history while in Paris stay at the Ritz. As the first hotel to be equipped with electricity on each floor and a telephone and bathroom for each guest room, it has also housed legends such as Coco Chanel. But Earnest Hemingway said it best when he jotted down, “When I dream of heaven and the afterlife, it takes place at the Ritz Paris.”
HYPERLINK "http://www.ritzparis.com/" \o "http://www.ritzparis.com/" www.ritzparis.com
Bespoke Category Jewel in the Crown
Piece de resistance Marie Antoinette Bedroom
Rate/night 17,560 USD
Rome – Westin Excelsior
The famed La Villa Cupola, located on the fifth and sixth floors of the Westin Excelsior Hotel, is quite literally a paradise found complete with hand-painted frescoes on the 12-metre cupola and murals eulogising mythological figures. A recent renovation of the penthouse is rumoured to have cost seven million USD – and it shows.
Where to start? Perhaps with the fact that at 1,100 square metres this is the largest suite in the world. Then there is the option of expanding the suite to include six bedrooms rather than the standard master bedroom and guest bedroom. If that doesn’t grab you then perhaps the 169 square metres of wrap-around terraces overlooking fashionable Via Veneto will. It may be interesting to note here that the horizons on the frescoes mimic Rome’s real one. And the list goes on: an Italian walnut-panelled library and living room, a dining room, an eight-seat cinema/teleconference, a private spa and Jacuzzi, a private lift, Wi-Fi, dolby surround sound, butler service, wine cellar and a welcome massage.
Should you so desire, a personal shopper will have the top fashion houses display their latest collection in the suite. You can get private guided tours of the Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel or have your dining experience tailor-made. La Dolce Vita.
HYPERLINK "http://www.villalacupola.com" www.villalacupola.com
Bespoke Category Eternal Sweet
Piece de resistance Hand-painted Frescos
Rate/night starting 29,320 USD (subject to exchange rate)
