Middle East

This amateur video footage is taken from the very top of the Burj Dubai‘s spire and gives an interesting perspective over the surrounding area. Even some skyscrapers look miniscule in comparison.

The new, modern and stylish 5 star Tala Bay Resort is located 15 minutes south of Aqaba with stunning views over the Red Sea.   Facilities are excellent with 5 swimming pools, 4 restaurants and 2 bars, plenty of aquatic activities, a private beach and an outdoor fitness area.   Enjoy all that Aqaba has to offer, including one of the world’s most beautiful diving sites, world-class coral reefs and the UNESCO world heritage site, the Red City of Petra.

Construction is under way on Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts‘ first hotel in the Middle East: Swissôtel Makkah in Saudi Arabia. The international hotel chain expects the hotel to open in January 2011.

The new Swissôtel Makkah is going to have 1571 guest rooms, including 88 suites, spread over 53 floors, with half of all the rooms and suites enjoying a view of the Holy Mosque. The centrally located hotel will have four restaurants serving authentic Arabic and European cuisine, an Executive Lounge, two meeting rooms measuring 75m ² and a Business Centre available to guests.

The world’s first gold vending machine is now enticing tourists in Abu  Dhabi where the Gold to go has found a home in the uber-luxurious setting  of Emirates Palace – one of the world’s most opulent hotels.

Gold to go  dispenses ten specially-designed 24 carat gold bars in various  designs, such as the Kangaroo, Maple Leaf and Krugerrand in denominations  of one, five and ten grams, as well as one tenth, a quarter and one ounce  of gold.  The machine offers real time prices, eliminating the risks associated with precious metal  trading.

Plans to  increase the number of gold bar vending machines to include airport  terminals, shopping centres and hotels, are underway.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. is launching a new exclusive brand for high-end travellers; Ritz-Carlton Reserve. Phulay Bay in Krabi, Thailand, will be the first property to open in spring 2009. The philosophy behind the Ritz-Carlton Reserve portfolio is to create idyllic retreats where guests can escape into an exclusive leisure experience. It offers guests a new interpretation of local lifestyle and culture. The architecture respects the environment of each destination and the suites and villas are integrated in it, furthermore local culture and history are reflected in the design. So a private exquisite atmosphere is created where guests can experience relaxed comfort and an intuitive individual service. Future locations will include The United Arab Emirates, Puerto Rico, Turks & Caicos and Costa Rica.

Formerly an actor with the RSC, Grant Thatcher began the series of LUXE City Guides back in 2002. There are now more than 30 guides, including the best of the best from 20 in-the-know residents in each location.

What is it that  you do exactly?

I’m Editor in Chief which encompasses everything from designing the covers and handmade box sets, to overseeing our blog LUXEtasy.com, and our new LUXE City Guides Mobile apps which span seven different handset brands including iPhone, BlackBerry, Nokia and 34 models. It’s no wonder my hair is grey!

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

When you consider that so many people in the world today don’t get to travel at all, the fact that I do it for a living is a great luxury. We’re the only city guide series in the world that sends staff editors to the city we’re researching to work hand in glove with our city resident editors, checking and refining the draft until we have the perfect LUXE mix, so even though research tends to be really expensive and grueling (14-16 hour days are the norm) we do at least get to see a horde of things that most visitors would never experience. Add to that our fascination with shopping, artisanal, bespoke and custom-made goods and at least we get to window shop while we work!

What would you say are the 3 best places you’ve ever stayed?

Tricky! Because of my job I’ve been fortunate enough to stay in some pretty amazing places around the world and the very best of them are special not because they are expensive or exclusive (quite often the contrary) but because they have that essential ‘It’ factor which may be personality, service, location or quirk. Im not remotely interested in gold taps and Rolls Royces, but seeing as this is a blog devoted to luxury, then my choices would be Villa Feltrinelli, The Connaught, and the Tirta Enning suite at CSE Estate in Bali – but I had a fab time campervanning around New Zealand not so long ago (if you don’t count the chemical loo…!)

What’s been your most memorable dining experience to date?

I loved the rustic, super-simple, eat with your fingers Indonesian food at Waroeng Tugu in Bali. It’s tiny and very basic, you sit at heavy wooden trestles, in an open-sided, traditionally-styled kitchen, the chef decides what he will cook and you will eat – it’s delicious, quiet, romantic and far from the madding crowds.

Have you rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous, either through your work or your travels?

My lips are sealed. When I travel for LUXE I always like to stay under the radar as you get to observe better, and for the most part I think the truly rich and famous are the same. I imagine being really famous must be a royal pain in the butt – incognito is the new luxury.

What currently ranks highest on your travel wishlist?

Syria. Im a nut for archaeology and am longing to visit Palmyra, and get down to some serious souk retail therapy in downtown Damascus.

Thank you, Grant.  I wasn’t familiar with Palmyra but Googled it and it does indeed look amazing.  Good luck in getting there.

If you would like to be interviewed on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.

When the beaming smiles of the doormen at Four Seasons Hotel Beirut dazzle their very first guests, the city will take another step forward in its renaissance as a 21st Century metropolis. After ten years in planning and five years under construction, the hotel opens as a gleaming statement of intent for visitors to enjoy warm, genuine Lebanese hospitality.

Nowhere is the city’s unique energy more intensely felt than through its own people – a proud culture with an indomitable spirit and an insatiable zest for life. The newest Four Seasons has filtered this energy down to its purest form, with over 300 local recruits amplifying the warm welcome found on the streets outside.

Throughout the hotel, the magic continues in the details, from a prime cut of Executive Chef Andrea Ossola’s Charolais beef on the The Grill Room’s marina-view terrace (try it with a glass of Domaine Wardy, Private Selection 2004, from Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley) to the heavenly homemade truffles that accompany coffees beneath The Bar’s dramatic red and gold chandelier. Large terraces are standard in all 230 guest rooms and suites. The Spa, a cool statement in white marble and gold mosaics, has a suede-panelled couple’s suite with private terrace and whirlpool. And the rooftop pool – a glittering 26th-floor oasis with 360-degree views – towers above the raucous cityscape like a suspended haven of tranquillity.

W Hotels  has marked  its entry into the Middle East with the opening of the highly-anticipated W Doha Hotel & Residences.  This new hotel merges  traditional Arabian imagery with the contemporary cool design of the W brand with a hotel lobby that combines water features, ceiling-suspended seating and modern hand-blown hanging lanterns. Symmetrical designs, clean lines and innovative lighting create private, tranquil areas within the sweeping, dramatic public spaces.

Perhaps the highlight is the 15th floor Extreme Wow suite (W’s take on the traditional Presidential Suite) which offers breathtaking views of the Arabian Sea, private massage and meeting rooms, full-size pool table and wet bar, stunning saltwater aquarium stocked with exotic sea life, and luxurious oversized bathroom.

W Doha has 291 guest rooms, 31 suites, and 154 W branded Residences. There are  three stylish bars, various lounges (including a poolside lounge) and  three signature restaurants, including modern cuisine at Spice Market and Market by Jean-Georges, both concepts created by three star Michelin Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, complemented by the sophisticated fare of La Maison du Caviar. The signature Bliss ® Spa can now also be enjoyed in the Middle East for the first time.

Media speculation claims that Victoria Beckham has been offered a cool £25 million to design rooms and staff uniforms for a luxury Dubai hotel. Isla Moda has reportedly already recruited the services of Chanel’s head designer Karl Lagerfield and it’s claimed that Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has personally approached the former Spice Girl about the project.  The Dubai Government is denying the rumour, however.

Six Senses Spas has officially signed a partnership agreement to operate a world-class spa at the Al Bustan Palace InterContinental Muscat. Set amongst Oman’s Hajjar Mountains and adjacent to the property’s palatial grounds, the spa boasts spectacular ocean and mountain views. The Six Senses Spa, with an area of more than 3,500 square metres,  will be  set over two floors and will include 16 treatment rooms, gentlemen and ladies private facilities and a Ladies Only Club featuring a private beach accessible only from the club. It will also feature a private gym, relaxation spaces and temperature controlled swimming pool plus a combination of wet, dry and hammam treatment rooms.

Amongst the special features  will be  cave treatment rooms, a meditation cave room and couples treatment rooms with colour and sound therapy bath tubs. The public areas of the spa include a yoga pavilion, consultation rooms and a beach club for spa guests, which will be separate from the hotel and ladies club. A general relaxation area features regular and majalis style seating. Also included are communal spaces for manicure and pedicure, a fresh juice bar and more private areas such as sound pods in which guests can cocoon themselves with music and lighting.

The Six Senses Spa at Al Bustan Palace Intercontinental Muscat Oman is expected to officially open by mid 2011.