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Tag Results: Expensive
Pricey Water on Vacation? Tips for Saving Money on H2O
It wasn’t until I vacationed in Fiji that I fully understood the monumental amount of hurt that an essential fluid can put on one’s budget. In the United States, it’s fairly easy to find bottled water at well under 50 cents for 20 ounces if you buy in bulk, and in most cases, you don’t even have to – the water is safe to drink right out of the faucet. But many people take the ability to consume water from the tap for granted. In select nations that don’t have good filtration systems, it can become exorbitantly expensive to buy bottled water. Read more
The Andaz Wall Street Hotel Will Help Do Your Taxes
Pillow butlers and pet whisperers may be the “essential” hotel amenities of the day, but we just discovered an even more indispensible service. With the April 17th tax deadline looming, the Andaz Wall Street hotel in Manhattan is providing accounting services from April 8-15, when an Accountant in Residence will help file taxes for the hotel’s most procrastinating guests, free of charge.
The Andaz Wall Street, located in the heart of the financial district, will host CPA Marc Albaum in their spacious Buttonwood Suite, which has a separate working area. “Only two things are certain in life,” stated Albuam in a press release. “I can help you with the other one.” Albaum has appeared as a tax expert on The Late Show with David Letterman and has been quoted in The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
The World’s Most Extravagant Travel Packages
Every so often, an email will pass through our inboxes that makes us question, is this real? We have encountered romantic proposal packages, ‘round the world jaunts aboard private jets, hotel stays in swanky penthouses, and more, all worth your offspring’s college tuition. Or a second mortgage. We rounded up a few of the most expensive, over-the-top packages because sometimes it is fun to imagine, what if? Or maybe you have a thick stack of G’s burning a hole in your wallet waiting to be spent.
Take, for instance, this luxury cruise from Six Star Cruises: Coming in at a whopping 1 million pounds (that’s $1,581,000), this trip cruises around the world for 124 days (which breaks down to 8,000 pounds a day). For UK residents, the voyage begins with a helicopter transport from your home to a London airport (in transit, enjoy caviar worth 4,000 pounds per kilogram and sip on 1,000-year-old tea leaves) before you board a private charter to Los Angeles. The ship stops in 28 locales, including French Polynesia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Australia, and South Africa.
Personalized Perfection at Hôtel Fouquet’s Barrière
Tailored service and personal butlers ensure everything is exactly how you like it at Hôtel Fouquet’s Barrière, located on the corner of the Champs Elysees in Paris – and we’re talking every single detail. Before I even arrived in Paris, I filled out the hotel’s “Favorites” form via email which allowed me to hand-pick my bedding, the firmness or softness of my mattress, the preferred temperature of my room, the brand of water and types of soft drinks in my (complimentary) minibar, and the kind of flowers I’d like to welcome me upon arrival – all things I’d never really been asked before checking into a hotel. My room itself was actually a suite (see above) that looked out over the courtyard and Le Lucien bar terrace, and was swathed in decadent chocolaty colors, gold accents, and colorful artwork. (All units are designed by Jacques Garcia.) A flat-screen TV rose out of a sharkskin dresser with the touch of a remote button, and another sat above the large deep-soaking bath in the washroom. Fouquet’s has a sexy, curvaceous lobby; the knockout “U” Spa with an indoor pool, aqua-slimming trail, and hammam, Le Fouquet’s brasserie; Restaurant Le Diane; and the swank Lucien Bar (but be prepared for cocktails priced at a whopping €24! Ouch). Room rates start around €600/night.
Fall Savings: 30 Percent off Super-Luxe Bordeaux Hotel
The knockout Regent Grand Hotel Bordeaux, the area’s first and only luxury hotel, opened in early 2008. The beautiful 1779 façade of the former Grand Hotel has been kept intact but the interiors boast a totally new look. French designer Jacques Garcia has transformed the hotel’s 150 rooms with rich, decadent fabrics, beautiful paneling, and marble bathrooms; suites have wine-tasting wet bars. This fall, prime wine-tasting season, you can save nearly 30 percent off regular rates with the hotel’s Gourmet Package. The deal includes two nights’ accommodations, daily breakfast in Brasserie L’Europe, dinner or lunch for two at Le Pressoir d’Argent (includes a three-course menu with wine, mineral water, and coffee), and an in-room welcome gift. Rates normally start at a whopping $1,057, but you’ll pay $757 through December 30, 2009 (exclusive of Sunday and Monday night stays).
Sometimes, too much hype can lead to a major letdown. A letdown is what I expected when I finally visited the much lauded Cap Juluca after years of reading glowing reviews and seeing it top award lists the world over. But, while on the boat ride over to Anguilla from St. Maarten (on Cap Juluca’s private speed boat), sipping champagne and chatting with another couple who gushed about their decade-long love affair with the place, I started to get the feeling that my skepticism may be proved wrong – and, wrong I was. The Cap Juluca didn’t disappoint. The 21-year-old resort is currently in the midst of 80-million-dollar renovations which have already transformed the main house and lobby, and, by year’s end, will overhaul all 18 villas (which, currently, aren’t shabby but lack the sophisticated Moroccan elegance seen in the renovated main house). All enhancements, including a new oceanfront infinity pool and spa, will stay true to the timeless architecture – white-washed Moorish domes, turrets, and all – that has made the resort so famous; original architect, Oscar Farmer has even come out of retirement to help with the project. Read more
Dining In The Tub
We first wrote about the most expensive bath ever in the Summer 2008 issue of Sherman’s Travel. Featuring a 350-gallon infinity tub full of 1000-liters of Evian water, it’s quite possibly the most indulgent soak at $11,000. Guests of the Hotel Victor, South Beach, can only access this hyper-hydro experience by booking the penthouse. Now before your eyes bulge at the cost, take into account the service and amenities that follow. The full-service Spa-V team will draw the bath and set up a meal service of champagne (bring it on!), display of chocolates (yum! yum!), foie gras (huh?), and smoked salmon on a lollipop (wait a sec?). This is all being served alongside the tub? I’m definitely not into the eating in the tub trend. Where does the napkin go? Does etiquette just…go down the drain? What do you think? Does food have a place in the bathtub?
