Encapsulated Luxury – The 9h Capsule Hotel by Fumie Shibata in Kyoto, Japan

Japan’s capsule hotels are often a strange concept to foreigners, but the idea is an ingenious way to handle city crowding and space constraints. The first capsule hotel in Japan was built in 1979 in Osaka. The new 9h Capsule Hotel will open in December 2009 in the Japanese city of Kyoto.

Capsule hotels provide guests a private sleeping area and communal amenities. While the concept has previously been utilized as a cheaper hotel option, the 9h capsule hotel adds luxury and refinement. The bed capsule will be made up with 4-star hotel linens and provides a Panasonic system that uses light to naturally and comfortably wake you up. Fumie Shibata of Design Studio S is the mastermind behind the 9h capsule hotel.

‘A comfortable place to rest … 1 hour shower, sleep for 7 hours, have a one hour break / total 9h.’ Guests can spend up to 17 hours in a single stay – the price for one night is ¥4900 ($54,-). (dsgnwrld) Via: Jessica Marcel

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References: dsgnwrld, designerblog.it

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Space Hotel To Open In 2012

Will space tourism stays be possible in just a couple of years? A Spanish company has said that their Galactic Suite Space Resort orbiting hotel will open in 2012. The company is offering a three-night stay for €3 million. It sounds exorbitant but that price does include an eight-week training course on a tropical island and the travel on a rocket to reach the hotel which will float 280 miles above the earth. The company says that they already have 43 reservations.

The Independent reports that “an anonymous billionaire space enthusiast” has given the company more than €2 billion to finance the hotel. The hotel will rotate the earth 15 times per day offering a trip around the world in just 80 minutes. The modular space habitat willl be built around a central docking platform. Each pod has a window at the base and tourists will be experiencing weightlessness during their stay.  by Deidre Woollard – Luxist

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Las Vegas City Center Preparing to Open

www.citycenter.com

Scheduled to open this December, the CityCenter has been in the news all year. But what is it, and where will it be located?  Inquiring minds want to know right!  Well here is a little something for you to digest and get excited about.

The CityCenter sits on 67 acres between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo. Who knows where they found this space, but they are definitley using every bit of it. What we know is that the project is a joint venture between MGM Mirage and Infinity World Developement Corp., a subsidiary of Dubai World….go figure right.

There are three hotels: Vdara, Mandarin Oriental, and Aria.

Vdara (www.vdara.com) will be the first hotel to open on December 1. 1500 rooms with a large spa at 18,000 square feet with 11 treatment rooms!  Vdara will be signed as a non-gaming condo-hotel, which means all rooms will have kitchens. Rates will range from $159-$2000, not too shabby.

Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas (www.mandarinoriental.com/lasvegas) will open on December 4. This will be the brands first move to the Las Vegas market, and will be considered an ultra-luxe property. It will be a non-gaming hotel with 392 guest rooms and 227 residences with the lobby sitting on the 23rd floor (47 stories in all). Opening rates are running $545 per night.

Aria (www.arialasvegas) will be opening on December 16. This mega hotel resort will have more than 4,000 rooms and a huge casino. Aria will be considred the core of CityCenter.  Cirque du Soleil will have a musical production based on Elvis Presley’s life at the resort. Expect the technology at Aria to be nothing but the best. The hotel will also have a two-level spa with 62…..yes 62 treatment rooms!

Shopping at the CityCenter will have high-end brands such as Luis Vuitton, Hermes, Prada, Christian Dior and Bulgari. The retail complex Crystals will have more than 500,000 square feet of shopping and dining venues.

So that’s your little sneak peek into the Las Vegas CityCenter. To find out more, just come out to Vegas in December and experience it yourself, it should be swell!

[Photo: Inhabitat.com]

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W Hotel opens in Washington

If only this one had been open in January when millions rushing to D.C. to witness President Obama’s Inauguration were faced with sold-out hotels left and right. In what marks another milestone in the global expansion of the W Hotel brand, the W Hotel in Washington, D.C opened this past Thursday with a giant bash. It was a jam-packed party full of the town’s political elite, including Presidential Aide Reggie Love and the President’s personal secretary Katie Johnson, as well as celebs like Emmy Rossum who flocked to hear an intimate performance by John Legend. In an event that brought Versailles to Washington, the party was full of Marie Antoinette models sporting powdered wigs and opera glasses while guests sipped on pink cocktails and munched on cotton candy.

The new W Hotel, the 25th to open in North America, takes over the historic Hotel Washington, which opened in 1917. The new design incorporates the 1920s Beaux Arts architecture of the original building with the edgy designs of Diana Wong whose, L.A.-based firm transformed all of the interiors. Wong gathered artwork symbolizing “old Washington,” which she sprinkled among her more modern designs including a digital fireplace, crackled paint, deconstructed fixtures, and new chandeliers complimenting the original 1920s light fixtures. Her theme throughout the hotel is “pinstripes and lace,” to appeal to both the masculine and feminine powers of Washington.

As the city’s closest hotel to the White House, the location features unparalleled views of our nation’s monuments, and can expect to attract an abundance of stately guests from around the world, and perhaps a national scandal or two.

W turned the famed rooftop, where for decades politicos have converged to drink and deliberate, into a modern cocktail lounge, with a menu provided by cocktail king Sasha Petraske of Milk & Honey and Little Branch. The cocktails can also be ordered in the Living Room, W’s design of the traditional hotel lobby. Dining options include the J&G Steakhouse and Wine Bar from Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.The W Washington D.C. has 317 guestrooms in total, including 23 Marvelous suites. The W’s interpretation of the traditional Presidential Suite, the “pinstripes and lace” Extreme WOW suite, is an exact symbol of the new design influence quickly arriving in our nation’s capital.  by Ariston Anderson – Luxist

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Viceroy Anguilla Set to Open in November

Anguilla, the island is part of the British West Indies in the Eastern Caribbean, just five minutes from St. Martin. It is of course best known for its white sand beaches (33 in all) and clear turquoise waters.

The Island hasn’t had a new resort open in nine years! Now with the much anticipated Viceroy Anguilla expected to fully open in November, it is definitley going to be some exciting times for the Jet Set and locals alike. The Viceroy Anguilla will include 166 accommodations which will be comprised of villas, townhomes, penthouses, and single-story residences.

You can access Anguilla by private jet, and many direct flights from St. Martin or through the island hub of Antigua. There is also ferry service from St. Martin to Anguilla.

For VIP Service: These are for clients staying in villas, townhomes, or penthouses….the resort will have what they call lifestyle assistants or butlers to assist your every need. Guests arriving in St. Martin will be greeted by a resort rep and escorted to a luxury yacht for a 30 minute ride to Anguilla. If you are arriving via Anguilla, no worries….you will be escorted via a luxury vehicle VIP style straight to the Viceroy.

Ohhhh, what a life!

Via: Arnel   [Photo: rochousenyc]

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The Viceroy Snowmass Will Open in November at $150 a Night (With 50% Off Additional Nights)

Where: 130 Wood Road [map], Snowmass, CO, United States, 81615

While the spoiled ski bunnies will have to wait another year for the Montage Deer Valley to open, in the meantime, they can have their personal assistants switch their itineraries to The Viceroy Snowmass in Colorado which still expects to open on November 25.

Also still in effect through December 23rd, is a special deal that gets guests who book one night there, any additional nights at 50 percent off. But wait, it gets even better still.

The opening rate on November 25 is only $150 a night for a studio residence with mountain views which includes a king-size bed, fireplace, a small kitchen, 42-inch flat screens and WiFi. The room sizes start at 375-square-feet which is a little on the small side for a “studio” room category but hey, the price is right. Just don’t expect any fresh powder at your feet.

On site, the hotel offers a ski concierge who can get your lift tickets and store your equipment. There’s also ski-in, ski-out access, a signature restaurant and lobby bar, a heated outdoor pool with cabanas and hot tubs and even a Kelly Wearstler-designed pool cafe. (Designer Jean-Michel Gathy did the rest of the hotel’s interiors.) And your four-legged friends can shack up with you as well, for $100 per stay.

If we didn’t already have plans for Thanksgiving (on Nov. 26), we’d make a point of being here.  by juliana – HotelChatter

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Chilean Luxury Hoteliering – W Hotel’s First South American Accomodations in Santiago

W Hotels will officially open their first property in South America (the W Hotel Santiago) on November 17, 2009.

The W Hotel Santiago is a modern take on the varied Chilean landscape by New York designer Tony Chi and Chilean designer Sergio Echeverria. Chilean exports such as copper, wine, and fruits and vegetables are incorporated into the design of the W Hotel Santiago to create an authentic sensory experience.

Inside W Hotel Santiago you’ll find Gerber Group hotspots Whiskey Blue and rooftop bar Red2 One as well as restaurants such as the Asian-inspired Osaka and modern French dining at NoSo and Terraza. The W Hotel Santiago also offers an intimate Tea Library, modern wine bar and WET, a heated rooftop pool on the 21st floor.  Via: Marissa Liu – HotHotelReviews

References: starwoodhotels, designscene.net

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Thanks to Facebook, We Get a Sneak Peek at the W Barcelona

There are still six days to go till it opens, but the folk at W Barcelona have stuck up some sneak peek photos on their Facebook page. The teases!

Up top is the the sundeck at the Altitude Terrace. Then there’s the WET Deck (loving the water all over the place)

The gym – yep, we’d work out here.

And a corner suite. No complaints there, either.

We’re not so keen on the corridors, which look a little institutional:

But if you’re only disliking the corridors, you’re going pretty good. You know how we were saying yesterday that the prices (EUR280/$414/£255) were pretty hefty? Well we still think they are. But we’re coming round to them. A little bit.  by juliab – HotelChatter

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Kempinski To Drop Some Bling On Croatia

Where: Alberi 300 A, Savudrija, Croatia, 52475

For a good few years, now, everyone’s been banging on about Croatia being the hot new Med destination. And now it’s got the Kempinksi seal of approval too – they’ve just opened the Kempinksi Hotel Adriatic on the Istrian peninsula in the north of the country as their latest pin on the board of world domination.

We approve of the choice of location – Istria (the closest bit to Italy) isn’t the most obviously touristy bit of Croatia, so presumably that will make for a nice feeling of isolation in your luxury. We also approve of the price – rooms start at €200 ($293 or £175), which isn’t bad compared to some of their properties – especially considering it’s a seaside resort.

The “seaside” bit sounds pretty fly, too – on a clear day, they reckon you can see Venice (only minus the hordes and the smell) across the water. Plus, you’ve got your free wifi, Bang & Olufsen TVs and three restaurants to choose from.

There you go – Croatia’s all blinged up. Definitely no excuse for not going now.  by juliab – HotelChatter

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The Omphoy Resort Opens In Palm Beach

Palm Beach has taken its hits over the past year in the wake of Bernie Madoff but now the elite Florida enclave has a new place to welcome guests. The Palm Beach Post reports on the opening of The Omphoy Oean Resort which is a narly $100 million resort on the location of a former Hilton hotel. The resort is designed to combine a peaceful retreat with a bit of South Beach style- an infinity pool and flatscreen televisions contrast with ebony pillars in the lobby and a lounge area with a row of gongs. The restaurant is run by chef Michelle Bernstein who has been denoted as one of the best chefs in the South by the James Beard Foundation. The spa is run by Exhale and offers massages, facials, yoga and more. This hotel is the first major oeceanfront one to open in Palm Beach in a while and the idea is to create a resort that is a newer and more hip option than the venerable grand dames of Palm Beach: The Breakers, The Four Seasons and The Ritz-Carlton. The Omphoy has just 134 rooms and offers more of a boutique hotel experience. The resort has an opening deal that starts at $149 a night (rooms will run in the $400 to $700 range in the winter).  by Deidre Woollard – Luxist

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