Ultra-Luxe Hotel Packages

What’s your idea of a luxurious hotel package? The inclusion of a few spa treatments, maybe access to the all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet? I frequently fill this blog with news about affordable travel packages, but rarely do I cover the “fantasy-type” packages offered by seven-star hotels like Dubai’s Burj al Arab, which offer guests gazillion thread-count sateen sheets, which are burned after each use and replaced with silk ones. (I’m kidding.) Ultra-luxe travel packages that cater to the billionaires of the world do exist, and since it is the holidays I thought it would be nice to detail trips that most … Continue reading →

Travel Tidbits: Cha-Ching!

I’ve written about luxury travel destinations and high priced travel items in previous posts, but this next one just might take the cake… or, at least the fruit compote. Visitors trekking to the upscale Sri Lankan resort called The Fortress, located in the coastal city of Galle, can now dine on what is being heralded as the “world’s most expensive dessert.” For $14,500 you can dig into the fruity confection complete with a chocolate sculpture and a gigantic gemstone (that latter is the real deal and is not made for human consumption). I’m not kidding. According to hotel managers, “The … Continue reading →

Luxury Travel: Pampered Pooches and Flying In Style

PAMPERED POOCHES It’s no secret that some pets travel better than their two-legged counterparts. (There are even some furry tail waggers who are financially way better off than most people in the world.) And now an increasing number of hotels are taking notice of these well-to-do-animals’ standings in life. In a previous blog I told you about the growing number of hotels in paradise that are catering to pampered pets. Several resorts in Hawaii provide fresh-baked peanut butter flavored biscuits for doggie guests with their name inscribed on each. That’s on top of the special water bowl, pet-sized bed, and … Continue reading →

Luxury Travel: The Perks Of First Class

Must be nice to spend your vacation being lavished with seven-course gourmet meals, pampered with gifts by Ferragamo and Bulgari, and swaddled in Australian wool blankets—at 35,000 feet. Ah, the luxuries of first class flying… how I wish I knew thee. Actually, I’ve had the great pleasure of flying first class a couple times in my life, unfortunately both experiences happened in the mid 80s, long before first class flying included access to fully flat beds, silk sheets, and a three-to-one passenger-to-crew ratio. These days the first class cabins in most airlines are akin to luxury spas. To say some … Continue reading →

Luxury Travel—Where The Millionaires Stay

There is no way I could pay to stay in a luxury suite at a four-star hotel (or any hotel for that matter), but it’s nice to dream, right? In my previous blog I detailed the latest and greatest entry into the Brave New World of lodging—billionaire Ty Warner’s luxury pad at the Four Seasons New York. The Beanie Baby tycoon spent a jaw-dropping $50 million to create the 4,300-square-foot suite and is charging guests $30,000 a night to stay in it. Even if I won the lottery I’m not sure I could afford to stay in a $30,000 a … Continue reading →