The Abu Dhabi Yas Hotel is one of the city’s most elaborate and magnificently designed luxury hotels, but now it will boast another title—it is the world’s largest LED structure.

Designed by Asymptote Architecture, the Abu Dhabi Yas Hotel features LED lighting designed by Arup, which wraps around the building like a dazzling neon shell due to its more than 5,300 sparkling diamond-shaped LED panels. According to Inhabitat, the curvilinear structure of lights can also change color as well as display low-resolution 3D videos.

References:  asymptote.net, inhabitat 

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Here’s a Thanksgiving conundrum we face every year: after starving ourselves all day, we finally get to chow down on a huge family feast at about 4pm, finish at 7 (or 8 if you help clean up), and then…nothing. What are you to do for the rest of the evening?

Sure, there’s a little apathy-inducing tryptophan coma to overcome, but after all that food, sometimes you just want to get out and move around. Or hang out with some people you’re not related to (or married into). Only there’s nowhere to go and no one to go with—unless you end up calling people you used to hate in high school in the hopes that they too have been dragged home for the holidays.

So you end up stuck watching reruns with your family as everyone starts snoring around the TV. Until now.

Both locations of the Standard Hotel in Los Angeles are offering Thanksgiving activities so you can eat as much as you want and stay out as late as you want. They’ll even cook you dinner if you’ve left plans to the last minute, and both are charging a remarkably reasonable rate for their prix-fixe menus.

At the Standard Downtown LA there will be a rooftop party starting at 9:00pm with Oliver Chico (aka DJ Twist) headlining the musical entertainment. You can catch up with all the other hipsters and loft-dwellers who didn’t make it home for Turkey Day this year thanks to soaring airfares…or family dysfunction. That doesn’t mean you have to miss your turkey dinner, though. You can get a traditional Thanksgiving meal with all the fixings and a pumpkin pie dessert for $40 per person before heading to the roof to party. Planning to make an entire evening out of it? Stay over at the hotel with rates starting at $120.

The Standard Hollywood is also getting in on the turkey love with a three-course dinner going for a bargain $25…and they’ll even be serving it out by the pool. How L.A. Unfortunately, we haven’t heard about a similar party taking place here, but you can throw one back in your room later that night. Rates at this location start at $160. Via: EricRosen – HotelChatter

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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

Photo Gallery
References: dsgnwrld, designerblog.it

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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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Ok, so there’s this big thing opening soon in Vegas that rhymes with DittyDenter but if you’re Steve Wynnwhat are you really focusing on these days? Tearing down the front of your less-than-a-year-old hotel, Encore, and building an $80 million beach club.

The Encore Beach Club is set to open this summer and VegasCabbie snapped a pic of the construction that’s currently going on from the outside. Meanwhile, Two Way Hard Three has a pic of the inside. The tentative name of the club will be the Switch Beach Club because of its proximity to the Switch restaurant. But since Switch is a name that alludes to the culinary dinner theater that happens inside the restaurant, we don’t think that name will stick.

It’s also hard for us to even think about summer with the holidays on the horizon but if Wynn is building it, then we will come. If we don’t, there’s always CityCenter. (Burn.)  Via:  Julianna – VegasChatter

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The new Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel is a twenty-four acre expansion project to the current iconic Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. It will comprise thirty-two bungalows and five towers including residential complexes. Conceived by Hard Rock founder and owner Peter Morton, the new hotel’s design and execution will be completed by Oppenheim in association with RTKL, Architect of Record.

The new Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel will be organized around the existing hotel and casino, and will provide unique architectural design to serve both function and fantasy in Sin City.  Via: Marissa Liu – HotHotelReviews

References: oppenoffice, designscene.net

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by JetSetCD – Jaunted

We’re still adding to our list of the world’s most dangerous airports. Know a stomach dropping, palm sweat inducing airport we should check out? Send it along.

The French island of Saint Barthélemy in the Caribbean might be the winter playground of the rich and famous, but unless you arrive via private yacht or boat charter, all the gobs of money in the world can’t save you from enduring the white-knuckled landing on the short airstrip at St. Barth’s Gustaf III/St. Jean Airport (SBH).

The concrete runway begins at the base of slight hill, and goes for only 2,100 feet before landing right on St. Jean’s beach and the harbor of the island’s second largest town. Sunbathers can totally lie out right next to the sand strip at the end of the runway, this it’s a hugely popular plane spotting destination for those who enjoy small, prop planes. You see, because of the itty-bitty airport and runway size, major flights must land at the neighboring island of St. Maarten, where they have a big, modern airport. From there, the Barths-bound folks either jump aboard a ferry or hop a WINAIR, Air Caraïbes, and St-Barth Commuter flight in planes usually holding twenty or less passengers.

An airplane crashes, after the jump.

And since St. Barth is quite the hotspot from the end of November through the beginning of March, you can imagine how many small planes buzz over the tops of the houses and cars like mosquitos, on their steep approach to SBH. Although it is a dangerous airport, there have been few accidents. The video above shows the most recent: a Piper Aztec ran out of runway and crashed on the beach this last May, amazingly with no injuries.

We think we’ll take the ferry, thanks.

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Twitter has made it a billion times easier for fans to stalk their favorite celebs, for airlines and brands to track their customers, and now, with the new Twitter Lists feature, it’s super simple to follow frequent travelers around the globe. For those of you not yet on Twitter, we advise you not to tune out yet, because one day you will probably have to know about it for one reason or another.

Back to Lists—introduced during these first few days of November, the function is the first big update on Twitter in a long time. It allowed members to gather those they follow into neat and tidy lists based on any identifying characteristic, like mommy bloggers, celebrities, personal friends and—yes—travelers. In the course of these first few days of List generation, we’ve found ourselves included in over 100 lists and counting, keeping company with some of Twitter’s best travel authorities and most frequent flying.

To help you on your List discovery, we’ve gathered up a few of our favorite travel-centric ones. Lo and behold, our Five Favorite Twitter Travel Lists RIght Now…

· @EverywhereTrip/Travel
Compiled by Gary Arndt, otherwise known as “EverywhereTrip” on Twitter owing to the fact that he’s perpetually traveling around the world, this list is also one of the top-ranked on Twitter right now. It’s not a massively large list as it follows only 279, but that just means that it’s well-curated and an easy jumping-off point for getting into travel lists.

· @travelpod/list
This is a 500-er, meaning that Travelpod has chosen to feature 500 of the top Twitter travelers in their sizable list, giving you a taste of everyone that’s out there in the world of virtual vagabonding.

· @eurapart/travel-500
Here’s yet another 500-er that we’ve found to have quite a good cross section of travel twitters. From MSN Travel to folks chewing the fat over Amazing Race, it’s a good variety. Of course you’ll find us all warm and snug in there as well.

· @jessicadebra/travel-tweets
Okay, the last 500 list, we promise. This one comes from a regular old traveler, not a travel website or other media outlet. We love lists like these because the intel comes from those on the ground, actually out there hopping on trains and grabbing the planes.

· @IngridaLM/travelers
At 388-strong, this travel list sure doubles up on some folks from the previous lists we’ve mentioned, but when it comes to reading updates from the road and travel tips, our theory is the more the merrier.  by JetSetCD – Jaunted

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I don’t know about you, but I love going to hotel bars!  They are upscale, classy, and in this case….trendy. Today, there are many Hip Hotels that are stepping up their game when it comes to cool bars. Jet Setters who love traveling around the world make it a point to book hotels that have a trendy little bar scene within the hotel….it’s a requirement.  It’s about the Travel, and of course the Party!

Here are some cool hotel companies that have stepped up, and continue to re-create the hotel bar trend. And being a true Jet Setter, this is a must for hotel bar hopping!

Desire Hotels – This boutique hotel company is headquartered in Miami. They have 10 properties around the country. Known for top-notch terrace lounges, restaurants, and rooftop bars.

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants – Always a F&B innovator, the San Francisco-based Kimpton operates more than 50 restaurants, and nearly 50 hotels in North America. Check out their newest venture; NIOS. An American restaurant and wine bar located right across from the Muse New York in the Big Apple.

NYLO Hotels – Not as big as the other hotel companies, NYLO owns three properties. NYLO recently opened the NYLO Dallas/Las Colinas that offers a sleek Texan vibe (whatever that means). You know the deal, don’t mess with Texas!

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide – One of my favorite and newest brands that fill up the 966 hotel portfolio is the Aloft Hotels. Each property features the w xyz bar, where signature cocktails, house-made infused spirits and evening events make the bar a hot spot. Happy Hour…..foget about it!  Aloft Hotels is definitley on my top list for cool hotels with the trendiest bar scene.

Wyndham Worldwide – This massive hotel company offers 7,024 hotels and 11 hotel brands around the world! I’m like DAMN……there is no excuse to not hotel bar hop with them right! I would be done after my third location =).

So next time you are looking to plan a global bar hopping trip, look to these cool hotels. Happy Hotel Bar Hopping =)

Via: Arnel

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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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