Going old school with a runway show in Florence last week for her Resort 2009 Collection, the foundress of the wrap dress Diane von Furstenberg flashed the retro card with outfits based on her own hotel travels.
Entitled "La Petite Valise," the collection's focus on dressing for the destination comes through with primary Riviera stripes and zigzags, bathing beauty swimsuits that scream "lounging on the lido," and a dress with the pattern of DvF's own passport pages.
Even though the entire show referenced the days of the grand tour, Furstenberg deemed a portion of it "the Hotel Life," flashing outfits of Wedgwood blue and a hotel key pattern directly influenced by the style of The Claridge's Hotel in London.
Oprah Winfrey, the queen of our afternoons (and owner of our souls), was all dressed up and looking radiant at a London fundraiser for Nelson Mandela last night.
And then, in a stunning display of normal-ness, she took off her designer heels because her feet were killing her. We do that too!
We were so busy relating to her that we almost forgot she was Oprah for a second there -- until we learned that she was on her way back to her suite at the Dorchester London and, uh, some of their suites can go for over $5,000 per night.
Forget Federer and Ivanovic...If you're lucky enough to be catching the Wimbledon tournaments in London, maybe you're also lucky enough to be staying at The Milestone, voted #1 for service by Travel & Leisure.
This small luxury hotel is known for its amenities, from fresh scones at high tea, to a resistance pool, 24-hour butler service, free transfers, laptops for rent, Penhaligon bathroom goodies, a chauffer-driven Bentley, rooms designed to your personal whim... Judging from the reviews on Tripadvisor, this place does not skimp on anything.
Valid now through July 6, the Wimbledon Package, besides the room rate, includes strawberries and cream, a comp alcoholic beverage and a gratis post-match bottle of champagne and nibblies whenever you want it, plus DVD and book souvenirs of the tournament.
The catch is, you get what you pay for. The lowest room rates start at US$522, and go up, way up, from there.
We usually become tennis fans right around the time Andy Roddick hits the court, so today -- the day of his first-round appearance -- we sought out this Wimbledon hotel package for the semifinals and finals just in case we want to go see our favorite boy kicking ass over there. (Er, if he makes it that far).
a seven-day London sightseeing pass, which allows complimentary entry at attractions including the Tower of London and Windsor Castle; and a ticket to the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum. Of course, the Centre Court Debenture ticket--for both the semifinals and finals--is what makes it all worthwhile. While you're watching the match, you'll also have access to the Debenture lounge, where there will be plenty of strawberries and cream to feast on.
Strawberries and cream. Andy Roddick. Oh, the possibilities...
Price per person starts around $4400 and can be booked through Sports in Style.
Since the U.S. premiere of the British hit Secret Diary of a Call Girl airs tonight, we decided to check out one of the sexy hotels used as a meetup spot for high-class hooker Belle and her upscale clients on the show.
Shots of "rooms, the lobby, the main bar and the lift/corridor" of London's historic five-star May Fair Hotel are featured on the first season of SDCG and we can understand why. The decor is lavish and the atmosphere screams decadence -- and, dare we say, the name is just a touch scandalous: May Fair sounds an awful lot like Mayflower, the site of the Spitzer high-class hooker scandal. Coincidence?
Whoops -- seems like someone went a little cray-cray at The Dorchester in London this past Sunday. Those poor Dorchester employees seriously can't catch a break with this steady stream of obnoxious celebrity guests...
Michael Madsen was hospitalized with cuts a bruises after making a big ruckus in his room. According to the Sun:
A guest complained that all hell was breaking lose. There was a lot of screaming and shouting and staff called the police. He had a furious row with his woman companion and it was feared they might hurt each other. An ambulance was called because of concerns for his mental health. Madsen looked wild-eyed.
Oy. The dude wasn't arrested and had no major injuries (besides those injuries to his reputation). Also, this wasn't the first time a Kill Bill star made a fuss at the Dorchester; Uma and Daryl Hannah couldn't even deal with staying in rooms near each other when they stayed at the D in 2004.
We've been waiting for an update on the famous Savoy in London, which now belongs to the Fairmont Group who are sinking loads of cash into the place. They closed up back in December and auctioned off most of the furniture, ready to make way for the new look.
Until now we haven't heard much about the new look, but the bosses have just released some more info about what they're doing to the Savoy. They've launched a Savoy 2009 website which includes all the latest news on progress as well as providing a really interesting look back on the Savoy's life so far.
The new Savoy, they say, will be a combination of 1930s art deco and a classic late 1800s look. It will include a £2.5 million Royal Suite (that's a huge amount of money for one suite--we can't imagine what they'll be doing in there) and they will also be reintroducing the historical glass roof over the Thames foyer. It sounds like they're still on track for a spring 2009 reopening, but it'll be a while before there's a more accurate guess of opening day.
One of London's fanciest spots, the May Fair Hotel, is still proud of its $140 million renovations a couple of years ago, and it's still getting a regular quota of celebrities passing through the doors. And now it's got a fancy gimmick going with its "Suite Year" deal.
It's more than just an exclusive deal: it's an offer to live in their Amarillo Suite for a whole year. You'll get the use of the 1,600 square foot of rooms for exactly 365 days, including some nice amenities like giant Bang & Olufsen plasma televisions, multi-disc CD players, complimentary wireless broadband and European and American plug sockets. And you get your own personal butler throw in.
Of course, it'll cost you. $585,000 for the year, to be precise. But don't balk at that figure, because it's really a bargain. Calculating from the usual per night rate for the suite, it'd cost you nearly $2 million to live here for a year. May Fair publicity recommends doing a bit of a time share deal with your mates if you're short of cash. We're very curious to find out if anyone takes them up on the deal.
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by JetSetCD
