Ciragan Palace Hotel Kempinskior

Istanbul

The Çirağan Palace Hotel Kempinski
Sultan's Suite
$7,500 per night

The Çirağan Palace Hotel Kempinski in Istanbul, located along the Bosporus, was originally the home of the last Ottoman sultans, and different incarnations of the property have been built (and torn down) since the 16th century. The building was bought by the Kempinski hotel group in 1986 and underwent a renovation in 1991. Today, the hotel comprises two structures (the actual palace and the new hotel), and the Sultan's Suite is the most expensive room there. The entire hotel is decorated in an opulent Arabic style, with marble, gold and mother-of- pearl accents, together with silk and velvet drapes, gilt chairs and crystal chandeliers. The Sultan's Palace Suite, located in the palace building, is 5,000 square feet. The two-bedroom suite comes with its own butler, and the floor-to-ceiling windows have a direct view of the Bosphorus. The master bedroom is decorated in deep red and gold, with silk-covered walls, a large sitting area and a crystal chandelier. The living room is done in shades of yellow and cream, with mosaic tile accents.

Çirağan Palace Hotel Kempinski
Çirağan Caddesi
Istanbul, Turkey
Phone: 90 212 2 58 33 77
Fax: 90 212 259 66 87
E-mail: reserve@ciraganpalace.com.tr 


 

The Fairmont Hotel San Francisco

Penthouse Suite
$10,000 per night

The 6,000-square-foot Penthouse Suite at the Fairmont Hotel on San Francisco's Nob Hill takes up the entire eighth floor of the hotel and has three bedrooms, a dining room that holds 50 people, an eat-in kitchen and a two-story, domed library with a ceiling painted with the constellations. There is also a billiards room covered floor-to-ceiling in Persian tiles, and four fireplaces inlaid with lapis lazuli. The bathroom fixtures are made of 24 karat gold, and a secret passageway is concealed behind the bookshelves on the library's second floor. Famous guests who have used the suite include former Secretary of State Edward Stettinius, who used the Penthouse Suite in 1945 as his temporary headquarters when the United Nations charter was being drafted, and Sean Connery, who received a memorable onscreen haircut here in the 1996 action thriller The Rock.

The Fairmont San Francisco
950 Mason St.
San Francisco, Calif.
Phone: (415) 772-5000
Fax: (415) 772-5013
E-mail: sanfrancisco@fairmont.com 

Hotel Cla di Volpe

Costa Smeralda

Hotel Cala di Volpe
Presidential Suite
$13,879 per night

The Costa Smeralda ("Emerald Coast"), on the eastern coast of Sardinia, became famous during the 1960s when the Aga Khan bought it and convinced his jet-set friends to start building villas and a yacht club on the beautiful but previously undeveloped island. The coast also served as the backdrop to the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. One of the Aga Khan's acquisitions was the 100-room Hotel Cala di Volpe, where the late Princess Margaret celebrated her 37th birthday in 1967.

The split-level Presidential Suite, which is located in the hotel's tower, has three bedrooms, three bathrooms and two sitting rooms. The highlight is the private, outdoor saltwater pool on the second floor. The style is rustic but luxurious, with whitewashed walls, exposed beams, thick down cushions and wooden accents. The bed frames are wrought iron, and the tiles are hand- painted ceramic. The suite also has its own gazebo and solarium, as well as a DVD library and Bang & Olufsen stereos.

Hotel Cala di Volpe
Costa Smeralda, Sardinia
Phone: 39 0789 976 1111 or 800-325-3589
Fax: 39 0789 976 617

Westin Excelsior

Rome

Westin Excelsior
Villa La Cupola
$14,312

Rome's "Villa La Cupola" suite within the Westin Excelsior has all things Roman and excessive--a cupola, a Pompeii-style Jacuzzi pool, frescoes and stained glass windows--except, perhaps, a vomatorium. Located on the fifth and sixth floor underneath the cupola of the hotel (which was made famous by Fellini's movies), the suite covers 6,099 square feet and has an additional 1,808 square feet of balconies and terraces. While it only has two bedrooms, five more can be joined to it. The entire suite was just remodeled in 1998 for a cost of around $7 million.

So what did the face-lift entail? The cupola itself is entirely hand-frescoed, and the fifth floor features the master bedroom, a terraced study that was paneled in Italian walnut and a living room. The stained glass windows in the living room detail allegories of a mythological figure paired with a modern one, such as Atlas and Television, Hypnosis and Neurosis, Hermes and Marketing, and Hermaphrodite and Fashion. The downstairs also has a private kitchen, and the dining room features an antique Murano glass chandelier, a private wine cabinet and an antique mosaic-tile-covered dining room.

And that's just the beginning. What really makes this suite over the top is a private cinema with Dolby surround sound. Such luxury makes even the private elevator that leads up to the fitness area and Jacuzzi--complete with mosaic floors, vaulted ceilings and frescoes--seem ordinary. (The painted horizons on the frescoes were designed to match perfectly with the real Roman one.) Now that's living la dolce vita. The suite with two bedrooms costs 11,400 euros (approximately $9,880); with the five optional bedrooms the price is 16,500 euros ($14,312).

The Westin Excelsior
Via Vittoria Veneto 125
Rome, Italy
Phone: 39 064 7081 or 800 228-3000
Fax: 39 064 826 205

 

The Plaza Hotel

New York

The Plaza Hotel
Presidential Suite
$15,000 per night

Twenty years ago, the Presidential Suite at the Plaza was often used as Gourmet magazine's test kitchen. Today, you won't see editors scurrying around the French- chateaux-style suite but wealthy businessmen (the suite is rarely used by celebrities) or families who need a pied-à-terre as their home is being remodeled. The 7,802-square-foot suite covers nearly the entire 18th floor of the Plaza, with views overlooking Central Park. The walls are covered in silk, the reception area has a 10-foot-wide stained glass window and the hand-painted piano depicts scenes from the French countryside.

The suite has five bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, two living rooms, a dining room, powder room and sauna. There are also three marble fireplaces, a terrace and a 2,000-bottle wine cellar (guests are charged extra for indulging). The Presidential Suite also comes with the use of a secretary/butler (who get their own office), and the Plaza's chefs are at your disposable. Of course, many who stay there prefer to bring their own personal chef with them, so feel free.

The Plaza
768 Fifth Ave.
New York, N.Y.
Phone: (212) 759-3000
Fax: ( 212) 759-3167

The Martinez Hotel

Cannes

The Martinez Hotel
Presidential Suite
$18,000 per night

The Martinez Hotel in Cannes likes superlatives and bills itself as having the biggest, most expensive and only terraced penthouse suite on the Cote d'Azur. Perhaps some of this is Gallic swagger, but the price of the suites--$18,000--certainly makes them one of the most expensive in Europe. Both penthouse suites are 8,000 square feet and are decorated in the hotel's signature Art Deco style, with streamlined furniture, silk curtains and teak parquet floors. While many of the hotel's rooms are painted in bright colors (peach, lime green), the penthouse suites are decorated in muted, understated tones (brown, cream and tan). Each suite has two bedrooms, a Turkish bath, kitchen, personal sauna and views of the Lerins Islands as well as the entire Bay of Cannes. The wraparound terrace is 2,000 square feet and can comfortably hold 100 people. It also has a Jacuzzi. Technophiles will appreciate the Bose plasma screen televisions and telephones and the DVD library. A private butler is on call 24 hours a day, and other amenities include use of a limousine, open bar and the option to join both suites into one très grand apartment.
The overarching attitude for the suite is "never say no to anything," which we hope is the case when you're paying $18,000. One Saudi sheik liked the suite so much he wanted to rent it for five years. The hotel said non.

Martinez Hotel
73 La Croisette
Cannes, France
Phone: 33 92 98 73 00
Fax: 33 93 39 67 82
E-mail: martinez@concorde-hotels.com 


 

President Wilson Hotel

Geneva

President Wilson Hotel
The Imperial Suite
$23,000 per night

At the sleek, modern President Wilson Hotel in Geneva, security takes as much precedence as luxury. Faster than you can say "Frette linens," the hotel's staff reassures guests that the security in the Imperial Suite is among the best in the world, ideal for celebrities or traveling heads of states who visit the United Nations headquarters next door at the Palais Wilson. (Considering how tight-lipped the hotel management was about the suite, guests can be assured of total secrecy.)

The Imperial Suite, which takes up the entire top floor of the hotel, is reached via a private elevator and has four bedrooms, all of which overlook Lake Geneva. The suite is decorated in a contemporary style, with marble and hardwood floors, and the bay windows overlook Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc. Off of the master bedroom is a dressing room as well as a study, and the suite has five bathrooms, all with mosaic marble floor, and a Jacuzzi and steam bath in the main bath. The living room has a billiards table, a library and a cocktail lounge with a view of the water fountain, and can accommodate 40 people. The dining room seats 26 people around an oval mahogany table. For the security-conscious or merely the paranoid, the Imperial Suite is also equipped with bulletproof windows and doors. The price of the hotel is 40,000 Swiss francs (approximately $23,600).

The President Wilson Hotel
47, Quai Wilson, 1211
Geneva, Switzerland
Phone: 41 22 906 6666 or 800-325-3589
Fax: 41 22 906 6667

The Atlantis

The Atlantis
Atlantis Bridge Suite
$25,000 per night

The Atlantis Bridge Suite has the distinction of being the most expensive hotel suite in the world---it's $25,000 a night. So what do you get for that kind of money? For starters, location, location, location. The Bridge Suite is located on top of a bridge that connects the two Royal Towers buildings, so it overlooks the entire resort
and marina.

The ten-room suite is decorated in red, black and gold (lots of gold) and comes with its own butler, bar lounge and entertainment center as well as 12-foot ceilings. The master bedroom has a sitting area, his-and-hers closets, and hand-painted linens. The bathrooms have chaise lounges, marble baths, and dolphin fixtures. For those who are picky about their personal space, there are two separate master bathrooms. The kitchen also has its own entrance so the butler or cook neverbothers you.
How will you sleep after spending $25,000?

The Atlantis
Paradise Island, Bahamas
Phone: (888) 528-7155 or (242) 363-3000
Fax: (242) 363-6300

 

The World's 10 Most Expensive Hotel Suites

By Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) Oct 1st 2008 at 8:02AM

The Wealth Bulletin has compiled a new list of the World's Top Ten Most Expensive Hotel Rooms, and the first and second both cost over $30,000 per night. And despite glum economic prospects, demand for these costly suites is as strong as ever, with waiting lists stretching from now until the end of December. Also worth noting is the appearance of Dubai (the Burj Al Arab's Royal Suite, above) and Moscow hotels on the list, which would have been unheard of just a couple years ago. Here are the Top 10:

1. Ty Warner Penthouse, Four Seasons, New York; $34,000 per night
2. Royal Penthouse Suite, President Wilson Hotel, Geneva; $33,000 per night
3. The Presidential Suite, Hotel Cala di Volpe, Costa Smeralda, Italy; $21,000 per night
4. Royal Suite, Burj Al Arab, Dubai; $18,000 per night
5. Royal Armleder Suite, Le Richemond, Geneva; $17,500 per night
6. The Ritz-Carlton Suite, The Ritz-Carlton, Moscow; $16,500 per night
7. The Royal Suite, Four Seasons George V, Paris; $16,000 per night
8. The Imperial Suite, Park Hyatt-Vendôme, Paris; $15,500 per night
9. Brook Penthouse, Claridges, London; $10,000 per night
10. Penthouse Suite, Hotel Martinez, Cannes; $9,300 per night

World's Most Expensive Hotels

Posted: Christina Valhouli

	Click here for the slide show.

It should come as no surprise that the world's richest man, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, has been to two of the world's most expensive hotels--Frégate Island Private in the Seychelles and Fiji's The Wakaya Club. It helps to be a billionaire (or at least a millionaire) to be able to afford a stay there.

For the past two years, Forbes.com has been tracking the most expensive hotel suites in the world, but this year we decided to do something slightly different. Instead of looking at the most expensive penthouses and presidential suites at a hotel--because they will always be the priciest--we looked at the most expensive hotels in the world, where rates start at $1,395, our benchmark. Our list ranges from the $1,395-a-night Little Palm Island in the Florida Keys to the most expensive hotel in the world, The Mansion at the MGM Grand (nyse: MGM - news - people ) in Las Vegas.

The hotels on our list have quite a few things in common, apart from the number of zeroes trailing on the price tag and Gates as a guest. The list is dominated by African game lodges and private island resorts in far flung locations, such as The Wakaya Club and Turtle Island in Fiji, and Frégate Island Private. The resorts' remote locations drive up the sticker price of a room, since all supplies must be flown in and many of the hotels have to generate their own electricity and water.

While jacking up prices is always a way to ensure exclusivity and create buzz, the formula works with the hotels on our list. The majority of these hotels continue to raise their prices each year, and seasonally as well. Turtle Island's high season rates start at $1,975 while low season rates start at (a mere) $1,646, which proves that values (and bargains) are in the eye of the beholder.

To put these prices in perspective, the worldwide average rate for a deluxe room in 2003--booked through American Express Corporate Travel--was $182. So what exactly are guests getting for $1,400, $2,000 or even $5,000 a night? Most of the resorts on the list are all inclusive, covering everything from food, expensive French wines, scuba diving and game drives to laundry service, which (when broken down) makes the room rate less outrageous. Guests are also paying a premium for privacy and location; many of the world's most expensive hotels, such as The Wakaya Club, have only a handful of villas and chances are rare guests will see another soul.

But at the world's most expensive hotel, The Mansion at the MGM Grand, the $5,000 price tag is simply for the room. Meals and alcohol are charged separately. What guests are getting for their money is plenty of space--the villas range from 2,400 to 12,000 square feet--as well as original Picassos on the walls, and the prestige that comes with being able to afford a room there.

The second most expensive hotel in the United States, Little Palm Island in the Florida Keys, has a similar pricing strategy. High season rates start at $1,395, and meals and activities are not included. But for San Diego resident Lynn Mercurio, 53, price is no object when it comes to luxury. Mercurio and her husband have been coming to Little Palm Island for ten years, and regularly spend about eight days there.

"We just want to go someplace where we can relax and shut down," she says. "I can't put a price on the value and the pleasure I get from returning there, and knowing that everything will be taken care of. The cost doesn't mean anything."

Mercurio says a main reason she returns to Little Palm each year is to "fall in love all over again" with her husband. While it's entirely possible to reconnect in a Sheraton, it's obviously much nicer (and more romantic) to be in a secluded resort with private beaches, 24-hour room service and oodles of space--as well as to be surrounded by a staff that never says no. Put another way, it's the difference between a vintage French champagne and a sparkling cider; they are both drinks but there's no comparison.

While the Little Palm is certainly expensive, it only ranks last on our list of most expensive hotels in the world. To compile the list, we looked at high season double room rates for each of these hotels, and indicated how the pricing system works (per person or per room). We did not include private island resorts such as Musha Cay in the Bahamas or Richard Branson's Necker Island, which can be rented in their entirety.