It's been a long journey but the Montage Beverly Hills is finally ready for guests. The company opened the Montage Laguna Beach in 2003 and have been working on their Beverly Hills location since 2005, fighting a battle in order to begin construction. The Montage Beverly Hills is a 201-room luxury hotel situated in the "golden triangle" of Beverly Hills and it is the first new luxury hotel to be built in Beverly Hills in more than 16 years. The hotel has a Spanish Colonial Revival design and features details like hand-painted ceilings in the Marquesa ballroom and the Library and a curator-assembled art collection. There are three restaurants and a two-level spa with a fitness facility, relaxation area and beauty salon.

The guest rooms and suites are designed to reflect the glamour of old Hollywood but with the latest in technology. Rooms range from 500 to up to 5,000 square feet. Guest services include 24-hour check-in, complimentary John Lobb shoe shine, custom-designed suit hangers and Agraria's golden pomegranate scented bath products. Guests who book Corner Suites and higher can borrow Mercedes-Benz cars to use during their stay.

The restaurants include Parq, an 88-seat restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and signature dishes include Marinated "Japanese Kobe" Cobb, Cannelloni of Braised Short Ribs and Cedar Plank Medallions of Spiny Lobster. For dinner, the 44-seat Muse serves exotic seafood and prime meats. Bordering the rooftop pool, The Conservatory Grill offers all-organic options for breakfast and lunch.

Hotel Chatter reports that rooms, which usually start at a steep $595 a night, can be had for a $425 introductory rate.

The luxe Lanesborough Hotel in London has just acquired the world's oldest bottle of cognac, distilled in 1770, and is offering it to patrons of their plush Library Bar (above) for £4,000, or about $6,000, per shot. That's considerably more than the ultra-expensive Louis XIII Black Pearl Magnum cognac my colleague Lisa Palladino wrote about last summer, which cost $2,500 per shot. In addition to the 240-year-old tipple, the Lanesborough, a St. Regis property, just installed a new walk-in cigar humidor, the first of its kind in a London hotel. The humidor houses 1,000 cigars and contains 25 private lockers for the personal collections of top patrons, who can enjoy Cuban and even pre-Castro smokes in the hotel's posh Garden Room.

[via JustLuxe]

The Smithsonian is usually known in relation to its museum but it also offers 'The Best in Educational Travel'. Pairing behind the scenes adventures with experts and comfortable accommodations, Smithsonian Journeys are one of the up-and-coming ways to see the world...especially if you have a larger budget. Choose from such itineraries as 'In the Footsteps of Galileo' or 'Historic Cities of the Sea' and you'll treat yourself to an mind expanding vacation with top-quality offerings. In the world of the wealthy it is no longer a week at the beach that suits their needs but a deeper desire to pair unknown destinations with self-enrichment and quality dinner conversations with fellow travelers. Peruse the gallery to get a hint of the incredible destinations that await you.

[via Wall Street Journal]

Most of us gather at the homes of family or friends for Thanksgiving but that isn't the only option. Some opt for a warm weather escape outside the U.S. and hotels in Mexico and the Caribbean can do a brisk business this time of year. But here in the U.S. a wide variety of hotels offer different types of Thanksgiving specials that include dinner but also spa treatments, winery tours and outdoor sports. Another way to do a non-tradiitional Thanksgiving is to opt for a dinner cruise (a couple of examples are in the gallery below). If you haven't made plans yet, there is still time. Many hotels and restaurants are finding their reservation books staying open longer than usual this holiday season.

For those interested in attending the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, shown above, the I Love a Parade from Mandarin Oriental offers access to the 6,000 square foot Mandarin Ballroom with panoramic views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline and includes omplimentary upgrade from a Deluxe Room to a Hudson River View Room, a welcome amenity of signature pumpkin taffy, spiced pumpkin seed candy, hand-picked heirloom apples and orchard cider and clusive access to the Mandarin Ballroom on parade day, including Continental Breakfast (children's activities included). It starts at $925.

Check out the gallery below for other options for distinctive Thanksgiving excursions.

When it comes to ski towns in the U.S. many think of the Vail/Beaver Creek area of the Colorado Rockies -- I certainly do, but then again I am a bit biased since I was born and raised in the gorgeous blue-sky state. Bias aside it's clear that the newest addition to Rock Resorts, The Osprey at Beaver Creek, is a stunning combination of outdoor adventure, lavish amenities, and premier slopeside location. This alpine retreat, formerly known as the Inn at Beaver Creek, boasts they are the 'closest hotel to a ski lift in North America' which comes in handy when you want to whisk out to the slopes and then back again for a luxurious massage or après-ski drink around the fire pit.

This fabulous hotel will host a grand opening on December 14th just in time for the holidays. Plus, there are a couple of specials to kick off the winter season: The Osprey's 'First Flight' and Rock Resorts' 'Holidays On Us' and 'Ski Free Stay Free'.

The Rough Luxe hotel has to have one of the most interesting looks I've ever seen in a hotel. The boutique hotel located in the King's Cross area of London is fabulously quirky. Just check out the article from the Guardian in which when the writer arrives at the nine-bedroom Grade II listed home and finds a prominently displayed "No Vacancies" sign put out to discourage walk-up traffic.

The hotel was created by designer Rabih Hage and is connected to an art gallery in the courtyard behind where there is also a coffee bar and tea room. Like the name says it combines the rough and the luxurious, pairing lush fabrics, fine furnishings and modern art juxtaposed with walls with chipped paint or rough wallpaper. Some rooms are small and some share a bathroom but luxury is still expressed in the huge pictures of Italian palazzos, the wine and the service that is warm and not stuffy or stilted. And you won't find a flatscreen television here, some rooms are equipped with older televisions, but you will have wi-fi access. The overall feel of it reminds me of the same aesthetic that is behind rough diamond jewelry, pairing cut stones and gold with hunks of unpolished rock.

As Hage puts it in the Guardian article, "Perfection doesn't mean beauty. That's not important. What makes a place great to stay is the location, the welcome you get and how well you are looked after." And can you resist a hotel whose dog has his own website? Doubles start at £135 B&B.

Manhattan's The Marcel at Gramercy just unveiled a luxe new makeover, transforming the quaint 3 star hotel into a chic and stylish 4 star standout. The Gramercy Park fixture's upgrades include the addition of several new floors, a complete modern redesign of the guestrooms and lobby with a stylish fireplace (above), and a hip new Northern Italian restaurant / wine bar, Bar Milano. Now housing 135 rooms, the Marcel's new amenities include Frette linens, marble bathrooms, iPod docking stations and LCD TVs. A rooftop deck, spa and gym are also in the works.

A new resort called the "jewel of Tasmania" has been given the appropriate name of Saffire. Saffire is located on the Freycinet Peninsula which in addition to being a spot of great scenic beauty, just happens to have one of the only deposits of natural sapphires in Tasmania. This five-star retreat will have six luxury suites, 10 deluxe suites and four premium suites with rates s ranging from AUD $1,000 to AUD $3,000 per suite, per night. Suites will have ocean views, private decks, lounge areas and the latest electronics. The premium suites will have plunge pools. The resort will also have a day spa, gym, guest lounge and meeting facilities and will showcase local produce and exceptional wines in the fine dining restaurant. The resort is poised for a December 2009 opening.

All phases of Manhattan's glamorous, newly-restored Empire Hotel are now complete with the opening of Jeffrey Chodorow's chic new Center Cut restaurant. The red brick structure adjacent to Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side originally opened on December 5th, 1923 and was a hotspot from the Roaring '20s through the Swinging '60s. One of the highlights of the redesigned Empire is the luxe rooftoop pool and deck where the huge Hotel Empire neon sign, one of the oldest in the U.S., casts a warm red glow over everything.

The warm, glowing lobby and lobby bar have a retro Old Hollywood feel; it and the rooms and suites are designed with a nod to the hotel's history, but are thoroughly modern and luxurious. Center Cut features restored woods, the space's original terrazzo floors and sweeping curtains, while the menu is an eco-friendly take on steakhouse classics. See the gallery for more.

There was at least one glaring omission in the Wealth Bulletin's list of the world's top 10 most expensive hotel suites, which we reported on last month: the penthouse at The Setai in South Beach, Miami. With 6,500 square feet of interior space and 3,000 square feet of terraces and balconies, the pad's $30,000-per-night pricetag makes it the 3rd most expensive hotel room in the world when inserted in its proper place on the list.

The Setai penthouse is designed with an haute-Asian aesthetic employing exotic woods and other luxe finishes, and features a double living room that extends across the entire eastern end of the 40 story glass tower. The living room boasts unlimited views of the northern, southern, eastern and western horizons. There are two master suites with soaking tubs, private balconies and beach views.

State of the art LCD touch panel screens, installed throughout the penthouse, offer total control over the lighting, audio-visual and building systems. A sunken infinity edge stainless steel pool (above) complete with waterfall and raised coral stone-encased hot tub highlight the massive terrace. The Setai also recently opened a recording studio designed by Lenny Kravitz. See the gallery for more.

In anticipation of record-breaking crowds (think everyone at Grant Park bringing +1s), Expedia has created an Inaugural Page to help travelers facilitate their visit to the nation's capital.

The January 20th inauguration of Barack Obama as President is expected to draw so many visitors to DC that travelers will need to seek out hotels in nearby suburbs like Bethesda, Maryland.

Expedia offers a number of tips from local experts on getting there and where to stay--any hotel close to the Metro.

Holidays in New York City can be a lot of things: charming, classic, thrilling ... overwhelming, chaotic, expensive. While some travelers arrive in search of the quintessential Silver Bells experience, others may want to discover something new or stick within a budget. Luxist's friends at Nancy J. Friedman Public Relations, Gabrielle Etrog Cohen and Gina Masullo, came up with a comprehensive list of places to go and things to do for all NYC travelers as well as package deals, including hotels.

THE FAMILY: Crowd-pleasers for all ages-within a budget.

The show: The Off-Broadway production of The Gazillion Bubble Show is the first and only interactive stage production of its kind, complete with fantastic light effects, lasers, and jaw-dropping masterpieces of bubble artistry.

The sites: Gawking at the Macy's displays, a visit with the polar bears in Central Park, photo ops at the Rockefeller Center tree.

The meal: Dim Sum Go Go offers more than 24 kinds of dumplings, plus four variations on the dough-wrapper theme, four sauces, and microwave-safe takeout containers. Kids will love the creative finger food and parents will love the dim sum delicacies (beet flavored dumplings?).

The hotel: Apple Core Hotels -- a family-friendly vibe in the city's most exciting neighborhood.

The deal: Apple Core Hotels invites guests to explore New York -- including a trip to Toys "R" Us Times Square to create a stuffed animal at the Filled-With-Love interactive design shop. Apple Core's "Filled with Love" package is available January 2 - February 14, starts at $159.99 and includes accommodations in the heart of New York City, stuffed animal and breakfast, and in-room coffee. Children under 13 stay free.

For more packages, click on the continued link.

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown is having a grand tour of the Middle East. The Telegraph reports that the Prime Minister stayed at the lavish seven-star Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi on the third night of his tour of the Gulf. The hotel, which offers a $1 million vacation package, is one of the world's most lavish hotels. Luckily Brown didn't have to pay, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown prince of Abu Dhabi footed the bill. Brown's suite included three bedrooms and a domed living room. Brown wrapped up his tour Tuesday in Dubai.

It's not often that an article on a hotel will send me scrambling for pictures. But a recent article in the Ottawa Citizen had me curious to check out Jade Mountain in St. Lucia. Perhaps it was the quote in the article that claimed some people burst into tears when seeing their hotel rooms. What kind of place provokes this sort of reaction? The gallery below will give you some idea.

Jade Mountain offers 24 unique rooms that have just three walls and are open to the Caribbean on the fourth side. Each one also has its own private infinity pool that drops off into the distance. The rooms are designed with an open floorplan that even includes the bathrooms. The overall effect is one of tranquil luxury designed to encourage the guests to never leave their rooms. The living areas of the rooms are finished with more than 20 different species of tropical hardwood flooring and trims harvested in an environmentally correct way and the iinterior walls are finished in a crushed blush toned coral plaster quarried in Barbados. The flooring exposed to the weather is finished in quarried coral tile from neighboring islands. In room facilities include fridge, tea/coffee maker, hair dryer, iron and ironing board but no television, radio or telephone and guests are asked to refrain from using their cell phones in public. Daily rates for November 1 – December 19, 2008 start at $1250.

Even Trip Advisor's reviewers rave about this place. The only caveat is that getting there often requires a wicked drive through hilly terrain. You can also get there by helicopter.

Great Canadian Heli-Skiing in British Columbia is now offering a Platinum Heli-Skiing Season Pass for CDN $100,000, or about $80,000 US, making it quite literally the world's most expensive lift ticket. The Platinum Pass from GCH offers unlimited "vertical access" to the world's best deep powder skiing in the heart of British Columbia's Purcell and Selkirk mountain ranges.

The pass absolutely guarantees the holder a seat on one of GCH's A-Star B2 helicopters - forget about ski lifts or gondolas in this extreme terrain - every single day of the heli-skiing season, from December 26 to March 28, overriding all other bookings. The $80,000 also gets you a personal "powder concierge" to keep you up to date on conditions and forecasts and advise you on getting the ultimate heli-skiing experience.

[via JustLuxe]