Who is The Luxurist to argue with the tens of millions of Dutch, Swedes, and other Europeans who ride their bicycles every day to commute to work, shop, and do other errands around their compact cities?
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Things You Can't Get in the U.S.: Your Home Away From Home
The Luxurist does not ride a bike, but appreciates that many otherwise levelheaded folks do.
Who is The Luxurist to argue with the tens of millions of Dutch, Swedes, and other Europeans who ride their bicycles every day to commute to work, shop, and do other errands around their compact cities?
Who is The Luxurist to argue with the tens of millions of Dutch, Swedes, and other Europeans who ride their bicycles every day to commute to work, shop, and do other errands around their compact cities?
Your dream vacation to Moscow awaits. Or at least it's a lot more affordable now.
The U.S. dollar, Euro, and British pound buy as much as 50% more in Russia than they did a year ago. The New York Post reports that rooms at the Four Season St. Petersburg are as low as a bargain $185 per night.
Similarly cheaper rates can also be found on flights from the U.S. and Europe on Aeroflot, the national airline. Note that it may be harder to book desirable dates and times because Delta, Lufthansa, Etihad and other major carriers are reducing or eliminating flights to Russia due to declining demand.
Foreign tourists and business people are staying away, and locals don't have the money to travel abroad. The reason for Russia's economic woes? Plunging oil prices and international sanctions are taking a heavy toll.
Also read St. Peterburg's New Faberge Museum
Now is the time to see Red Square, the Pushkin Museum, Moscow Zoo, attend a performance at the Bolshoi, or stroll through the city's pristine historic quarters. And there's the Hermitage Museum, Mariinsky Theatre, and the multiple cultural delights of Russia's second city, St. Petersburg.
Red ink means golden opportunities for savvy travelers.
Click here for tips on other top destinations that recently have become affordable.
The U.S. dollar, Euro, and British pound buy as much as 50% more in Russia than they did a year ago. The New York Post reports that rooms at the Four Season St. Petersburg are as low as a bargain $185 per night.
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| St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow |
Similarly cheaper rates can also be found on flights from the U.S. and Europe on Aeroflot, the national airline. Note that it may be harder to book desirable dates and times because Delta, Lufthansa, Etihad and other major carriers are reducing or eliminating flights to Russia due to declining demand.
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| Catherine Palace, St. Petersburg |
Foreign tourists and business people are staying away, and locals don't have the money to travel abroad. The reason for Russia's economic woes? Plunging oil prices and international sanctions are taking a heavy toll.
Also read St. Peterburg's New Faberge Museum
Now is the time to see Red Square, the Pushkin Museum, Moscow Zoo, attend a performance at the Bolshoi, or stroll through the city's pristine historic quarters. And there's the Hermitage Museum, Mariinsky Theatre, and the multiple cultural delights of Russia's second city, St. Petersburg.
Red ink means golden opportunities for savvy travelers.
Click here for tips on other top destinations that recently have become affordable.
Hate the way airlines treat you? Here's another complaint to add to the list: recent and forthcoming changes to frequent flyer programs will make it even harder to earn and collect awards tickets.
Jet Blue and Virgin America are now basing the amount of points you can earn not on miles flown but on the amount of money you spend on a ticket. Delta and United have announced that they will do the same starting next year.
With the U.S. Airways management team firmly in charge, there is little doubt that the lone holdout, American Airlines, eventually will adopt similar regressive reforms.
Also read: Some Tourists Avoiding Manhattan in Favor of Brooklyn
The reason for all of this is simple. Airlines want to retain the loyalty of their most lucrative customers, the ones who buy full-fare business and first class tickets with regularity. Consider yourself lucky if you are in this group.
The rest of us should prepare for further indignities from the airlines. Consider using your miles sooner rather than later. Their value likely will only decrease in future years.
Look here for more on this subject.
 |
| Hoping to upgrade to this? Dream on! |
Jet Blue and Virgin America are now basing the amount of points you can earn not on miles flown but on the amount of money you spend on a ticket. Delta and United have announced that they will do the same starting next year.
With the U.S. Airways management team firmly in charge, there is little doubt that the lone holdout, American Airlines, eventually will adopt similar regressive reforms.
Also read: Some Tourists Avoiding Manhattan in Favor of Brooklyn
The reason for all of this is simple. Airlines want to retain the loyalty of their most lucrative customers, the ones who buy full-fare business and first class tickets with regularity. Consider yourself lucky if you are in this group.
The rest of us should prepare for further indignities from the airlines. Consider using your miles sooner rather than later. Their value likely will only decrease in future years.
Look here for more on this subject.
The race to develop show stopping hotels in Las Vegas is about to shift into high gear yet again – to what result no one knows.
The Wall St. Journal reports that investor Carl Icahn has put his under-construction $3 billion Fontainbleau Hotel up for sale. In 2010 the tycoon purchased it out of bankruptcy for a mere $150 million. Doubtless he believes he can make a profit of at least several times that, as he passes the build-out and launch obligations to others with more willingness to gamble.
It is worth noting that Icahn realized a gain of about $1 billion in 2007 when he sold his interest in the Stratosphere Hotel and related properties at the top of the market. With the announced sale of the Fontainbleau complex, does the billionaire know something that we don't?
Vegas tourism is not dying on the vine, but some hotel operators are. The transformation of the old Sahara Hotel and Casino into the SLS Las Vegas is a case in point. The 1620-room complex has performed poorly since opening last year. It hopes to revive its fortunes by converting one of its three towers in a W Hotel in partnership with Starwood.
Neither a foundering SLS nor Icahn's exit from the Fountaibleau are putting a stop to the hopes that other investors hold for striking it rich in Sin City. Nor will they be deterred by a lengthy history of announced hotels that never opened, a number of which actually broke ground and then halted construction in midstream.
A Malaysian group started work this year on a $4 billion Chinese-themed resort. Another group is planning a new hotel on the site once occupied by the now demolished New Frontier.
Visitors descend on Las Vegas with the aim of winning big. Well-heeled investors and developers are no different. It's the stakes that are higher for those willing to make billion-dollar bets.
- See more at: http://www.theobservationsofaluxurist.com/#sthash.3NEKod5B.dpuf
- See more at: http://www.theobservationsofaluxurist.com/#sthash.3NEKod5B.dpuf
The Wall St. Journal reports that investor Carl Icahn has put his under-construction $3 billion Fontainbleau Hotel up for sale. In 2010 the tycoon purchased it out of bankruptcy for a mere $150 million. Doubtless he believes he can make a profit of at least several times that, as he passes the build-out and launch obligations to others with more willingness to gamble.
 |
| The dreams of low-rollers and billionaire developers converge in Las Vegas |
It is worth noting that Icahn realized a gain of about $1 billion in 2007 when he sold his interest in the Stratosphere Hotel and related properties at the top of the market. With the announced sale of the Fontainbleau complex, does the billionaire know something that we don't?
Vegas tourism is not dying on the vine, but some hotel operators are. The transformation of the old Sahara Hotel and Casino into the SLS Las Vegas is a case in point. The 1620-room complex has performed poorly since opening last year. It hopes to revive its fortunes by converting one of its three towers in a W Hotel in partnership with Starwood.
 |
| Odds getting longer for SLS Hotel Las Vegas |
Neither a foundering SLS nor Icahn's exit from the Fountaibleau are putting a stop to the hopes that other investors hold for striking it rich in Sin City. Nor will they be deterred by a lengthy history of announced hotels that never opened, a number of which actually broke ground and then halted construction in midstream.
A Malaysian group started work this year on a $4 billion Chinese-themed resort. Another group is planning a new hotel on the site once occupied by the now demolished New Frontier.
Visitors descend on Las Vegas with the aim of winning big. Well-heeled investors and developers are no different. It's the stakes that are higher for those willing to make billion-dollar bets.
Saturday, November 14, 2015
The Annals of Luxury: The Big Money Never Sleeps in Las Vegas
The race to develop show stopping hotels in Las Vegas is about to shift into high gear yet again – to what result no one knows.
The Wall St. Journal reports that investor Carl Icahn has put his under-construction $3 billion Fontainbleau Hotel up for sale. In 2010 the tycoon purchased it out of bankruptcy for a mere $150 million. Doubtless he believes he can make a profit of at least several times that, as he passes the build-out and launch obligations to others with more willingness to gamble.
It is worth noting that Icahn realized a gain of about $1 billion in 2007 when he sold his interest in the Stratosphere Hotel and related properties at the top of the market. With the announced sale of the Fontainbleau complex, does the billionaire know something that we don't?
Vegas tourism is not dying on the vine, but some hotel operators are. The transformation of the old Sahara Hotel and Casino into the SLS Las Vegas is a case in point. The 1620-room complex has performed poorly since opening last year. It hopes to revive its fortunes by converting one of its three towers in a W Hotel in partnership with Starwood.
Neither a foundering SLS nor Icahn's exit from the Fountaibleau are putting a stop to the hopes that other investors hold for striking it rich in Sin City. Nor will they be deterred by a lengthy history of announced hotels that never opened, a number of which actually broke ground and then halted construction in midstream.
A Malaysian group started work this year on a $4 billion Chinese-themed resort. Another group is planning a new hotel on the site once occupied by the now demolished New Frontier.
Visitors descend on Las Vegas with the aim of winning big. Well-heeled investors and developers are no different. It's the stakes that are higher for those willing to make billion-dollar bets.
The Wall St. Journal reports that investor Carl Icahn has put his under-construction $3 billion Fontainbleau Hotel up for sale. In 2010 the tycoon purchased it out of bankruptcy for a mere $150 million. Doubtless he believes he can make a profit of at least several times that, as he passes the build-out and launch obligations to others with more willingness to gamble.
|
| The dreams of low-rollers and billionaire developers converge in Las Vegas |
It is worth noting that Icahn realized a gain of about $1 billion in 2007 when he sold his interest in the Stratosphere Hotel and related properties at the top of the market. With the announced sale of the Fontainbleau complex, does the billionaire know something that we don't?
Vegas tourism is not dying on the vine, but some hotel operators are. The transformation of the old Sahara Hotel and Casino into the SLS Las Vegas is a case in point. The 1620-room complex has performed poorly since opening last year. It hopes to revive its fortunes by converting one of its three towers in a W Hotel in partnership with Starwood.
|
| Odds getting longer for SLS Hotel Las Vegas |
Neither a foundering SLS nor Icahn's exit from the Fountaibleau are putting a stop to the hopes that other investors hold for striking it rich in Sin City. Nor will they be deterred by a lengthy history of announced hotels that never opened, a number of which actually broke ground and then halted construction in midstream.
A Malaysian group started work this year on a $4 billion Chinese-themed resort. Another group is planning a new hotel on the site once occupied by the now demolished New Frontier.
Visitors descend on Las Vegas with the aim of winning big. Well-heeled investors and developers are no different. It's the stakes that are higher for those willing to make billion-dollar bets.
Saturday, November 14, 2015
The Annals of Luxury: The Big Money Never Sleeps in Las Vegas
The race to develop show stopping hotels in Las Vegas is about to shift into high gear yet again – to what result no one knows.
The Wall St. Journal reports that investor Carl Icahn has put his under-construction $3 billion Fontainbleau Hotel up for sale. In 2010 the tycoon purchased it out of bankruptcy for a mere $150 million. Doubtless he believes he can make a profit of at least several times that, as he passes the build-out and launch obligations to others with more willingness to gamble.
It is worth noting that Icahn realized a gain of about $1 billion in 2007 when he sold his interest in the Stratosphere Hotel and related properties at the top of the market. With the announced sale of the Fontainbleau complex, does the billionaire know something that we don't?
Vegas tourism is not dying on the vine, but some hotel operators are. The transformation of the old Sahara Hotel and Casino into the SLS Las Vegas is a case in point. The 1620-room complex has performed poorly since opening last year. It hopes to revive its fortunes by converting one of its three towers in a W Hotel in partnership with Starwood.
Neither a foundering SLS nor Icahn's exit from the Fountaibleau are putting a stop to the hopes that other investors hold for striking it rich in Sin City. Nor will they be deterred by a lengthy history of announced hotels that never opened, a number of which actually broke ground and then halted construction in midstream.
A Malaysian group started work this year on a $4 billion Chinese-themed resort. Another group is planning a new hotel on the site once occupied by the now demolished New Frontier.
Visitors descend on Las Vegas with the aim of winning big. Well-heeled investors and developers are no different. It's the stakes that are higher for those willing to make billion-dollar bets.
The Wall St. Journal reports that investor Carl Icahn has put his under-construction $3 billion Fontainbleau Hotel up for sale. In 2010 the tycoon purchased it out of bankruptcy for a mere $150 million. Doubtless he believes he can make a profit of at least several times that, as he passes the build-out and launch obligations to others with more willingness to gamble.
|
| The dreams of low-rollers and billionaire developers converge in Las Vegas |
It is worth noting that Icahn realized a gain of about $1 billion in 2007 when he sold his interest in the Stratosphere Hotel and related properties at the top of the market. With the announced sale of the Fontainbleau complex, does the billionaire know something that we don't?
Vegas tourism is not dying on the vine, but some hotel operators are. The transformation of the old Sahara Hotel and Casino into the SLS Las Vegas is a case in point. The 1620-room complex has performed poorly since opening last year. It hopes to revive its fortunes by converting one of its three towers in a W Hotel in partnership with Starwood.
|
| Odds getting longer for SLS Hotel Las Vegas |
Neither a foundering SLS nor Icahn's exit from the Fountaibleau are putting a stop to the hopes that other investors hold for striking it rich in Sin City. Nor will they be deterred by a lengthy history of announced hotels that never opened, a number of which actually broke ground and then halted construction in midstream.
A Malaysian group started work this year on a $4 billion Chinese-themed resort. Another group is planning a new hotel on the site once occupied by the now demolished New Frontier.
Visitors descend on Las Vegas with the aim of winning big. Well-heeled investors and developers are no different. It's the stakes that are higher for those willing to make billion-dollar bets.
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