The Emirates Palace is reputed to be the most expensive hotel ever built. The $3 billion hotel was opened in 2005 and is owned by the Abu Dhabi government. This luxury hotel is located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) city of Abu Dhabi. It has 302 rooms in Coral, Pearl and Diamond categories and 92 suites with the interior decor in gold and marble. The simplest suite is the Palace Suite. Each of them contains at least three rooms and a 61″ plasma screen TV. The room price starts at $327 per night but for a 165 sqm room with a panoramic ocean view it will go up to $1797 per night.

The seven stars hotel shows the beauty of Arabian culture. Traditional decor is used inside mostly in silver, gold, marble and glass mosaics. There are 114 domes and 200 fountains. Emirates Palace offers palatial restaurants which bring the world’s finest cuisines. Gourmet meals such as the exquisite seafood of the Sayad and magnificent view of the Gulf gives fabulous experience for the visitors. The Caviar Bar is also popular because of its world class champagne menu and caviar selections with live traditional music.

Being one of the world’s most prestigious hotels, Emirates Palace is a popular place for dignitaries and celebrities. Some of the famous people who have set foot on the Palace are Bill Clinton, Robert de Niro, Will Smith, Lawrence Fishburne, Michael Jackson, famous golf players, FIFA World Cup Champions and lately George W. Bush.

I have included a commercial video about this luxurious hotel at the bottom of this post. Check it out!

…continue reading the post UAE: Emirates Palace 7 Stars Hotel

This gigantic building called the “Friendly Alien” was built in 2003 for the European Capital of Culture Celebrations. It’s also an architectural landmark in Graz, Austria. Kunsthaus Graz is a museum for contemporary art. It’s made of 5000 square meters of steel, foam glasses and acrylics with an arbitrarily curved surface. Its unusual form differs radically from conventional exhibition contexts, many of which maintain the traditions of the modernist “White Cube”.

The BIX Facade is a permanent light and media installation for the museum. A matrix of 930 fluorescent lamps integrated into the acrylic glass facade of the biomorophic building at the east side. Brilliantly designed, the lamps’ brightness can be adjusted at an infinite variability at 20 frames per second images with films and animations being displayed. Just amazing!

…continue reading the post Kunsthaus Graz: Friendly Alien

These pictures below are the magnificent views of the Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière, France. The Roman Catholic have dedicated this basilica to its patron saint; the Virgin Mary. The development of Lyon’s basilica started in 1972 by the architect Pierre Bossan. Its unusual design draws from a variety of architectural influences such as the Gothic cathedrals, the Romanesque architecture and naturalism. From the floor to the ceiling the basilica is richly decorated with gold to show the Church’s wealth and power. At that time whether the Roman Catholic is rich or powerful is another question! It took 4 years to build this richly decorated basilica.

At certain times, members of the public may access the basilica’s northern tower for a spectacular 180-degree view of Lyon and its suburbs. Eating in one of the restaurants in Lyon is a reason enough to come to this French city. Bon Appétit! (French for ‘Enjoy your meal!’)

…continue reading the post France:The Marvelous Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière

Yotel is the hotel of the future, opened in July 2007 in London Gatwick Airport’s South Terminal building. This luxurious cabin hotel has 46 cabins: 8 premium and 38 standard. Yotel is the brainchild of Simon Woodroffe, 55, a British entrepreneur and founder of the Yo! Sushi chain of Japanese fast-food restaurants in London, Paris and the Middle East. A second Yotel is taking bookings now in Heathrow, London.

The Standard cabins (7 square meters) feature a large single bed (2 meters-by-1-meter ) with full sitting height, a hand layered organic coir, latex and lambswool mattress for the best sleep ever with percale cotton sheets pillows and duvet. A 20” flat screen TV system with huge choice of films, TV, radio and games & internet. The fold out work desk and stool, doubles for unpacking and there is overhead hand luggage storage, suit bag hanging and storage areas for small pieces. A complete range of power and connectivity including free internet access and cosy local lighting. The bathroom includes a shower, revitalising all in one body wash, heated mirror and soft towels.

The Premium cabins (10 square meters) feature a double bed that deploys to a sofa at the touch of a button (think first class airline cabins), a hand layered organic coir, latex and lambswool mattress for the best sleep ever with percale cotton sheets pillows and duvet and a huge cushion for lounging. The study desk folds out of the techno wall with its own stow able chair and a complete range of power and connectivity including free internet access and cosy local lighting. Suit and dress hanging and storage for everything from your smalls to the loose change provide a place for everything and everything a place. A 23”flat screen TV system with huge choice of films, TV, radio, and internet. The luxury bathroom includes overhead rain shower, a hand shower, revitalising all in one body wash, heated mirror and soft towels .

You can take an order from a cabin service menu on screen or visit the galley where your cabin crew are on duty 24 hours a day.

Premium cabins cost from £40 for four hours (and from £7 per hour thereafter); standard cabins cost from £25 for four hours (and from £5 per hour thereafter).

…continue reading the post Yotel: World’s Smallest Airport Hotels

If you get the chance to spend some time in Buenos Aires, Argentina. You could visit this well-known bookstore, El Ateneo Grand Splendid. What makes this bookstore so special is the fact that it was installed in a luxury theatre. The theatre was build in 1919 by the empresario Max Glücksman and have a capacity of 1050 seats. Many artists have performed in his new theatre until they converted it into a cinema in 1929 and have presented the first movie ever with sound.

By the end of the twenty century, for commercial purposes, the theatre was partially renovated into a book and music shop. The seats were removed but the painted ceiling, ornate carvings, crimson stage curtains, auditorium lighting and many architectural details remained. We can still feel the atmosphere of the grand theatre after all. The bookstore have only a small selection of English books. I guess you are not the kind of customer they are looking for. If the cashier look at you strangely, you will know why.

…continue reading the post El Ateneo: Library In A Theatre