Posts by Jared Paul Stern at Luxist

Emirates Palace Offers World's Most Expensive Stay

Posted Aug 7th 2008 3:02PM by Jared Paul Stern
Filed under: Journeys

The over-the-top Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi is offering a $1 million, week-long stay which it claims is the world's most expensive holiday package. The Palace Suite package includes first-class airline tickets, a chauffeur-driven Maybach for the week, a personal butler, daily spa treatments, and day trips via private jet, the Gulf-based Khaleej Times Online reports. The offer is being made as an attempt to earn the hotel a slot in the Guinness Book of World Records, and part of the proceeds will be donated to charities in the U.A.E., the paper reports. The luxe day trips include jetting to Iran to weave Persian carpets and to Bahrain to dive for deep sea pearls, which will then be set for you in custom-designed jewellery.

Gallery: Emirates Palace

Talon Air Adds $4 Million Sikorsky to Fleet

Posted Aug 7th 2008 8:06AM by Jared Paul Stern
Filed under: Wings

Back in May we quoted Adam Katz, founder of on-demand luxury private jet charter and management service Talon Air, to the effect that despite the sluggish economy the luxury travel sector would continue to grow. That seems to be holding true in Katz's case, anyway; the company just added a $4 million Sikorsky S-76B helicopter to its fleet. The S-76 is a twin-engine craft designed to provide premium comfort and privacy for up to six passengers and two pilots in a "jet-like environment." The interior features first-class leather seats, wood paneling and a 4.5-foot tall cabin with more headroom than a typical helicoptert. In October, Katz plans to branch out even further - to sea, with the launch of a 135-foot, 6-bedroom, 5-bath, Serqué yacht.

Gallery: Talon Air Sikorsky

Dream Homes of Coastal California

Posted Aug 6th 2008 8:02AM by Jared Paul Stern
Filed under: Decor, Estates, Books

A luxe new coffee table book called Dream Homes: Coastal California (Panache Partners, $34.95) showcases over 40 of the region's finest architects, designers and builders. Focusing on Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties, it features 250 photographs of breathtaking designs such as the Villa Beaumont pictured above, an Italian-Renaissance country villa in Santa Barbara by Sorrell Design based on the work of the great 16th-century architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola. From multimillion dollar classical revival mansions to modernist beach dwellings, no expense has been spared in realizing clients' dreams (hence the title). See the gallery for a tour.

Gallery: Dream Homes: Coastal California

Pacific Ocean beach house by Gray & Gray

Beaux-Arts estate by Harrison Design Assoc.

The Classicist: Haspel's 100 Years in Style

Posted Aug 4th 2008 9:01AM by Jared Paul Stern
Filed under: Apparel, Men's Style, The Classicist

2009 marks the 100th anniversary of a true American sartorial institution: Haspel, makers of the classic seersucker suit that has come to epitomize elegance in the summer months for dapper gentlemen from coast to coast. The company's history dates back to New Orleans in 1909 when haberdasher Joseph Haspel began making suits in lightweight fabrics, allowing men to remain dressed to the nines even in oppressive climes.

After passing out of family hands for nearly two decades and being allowed to stagnate somewhat, the brand is now being revived on the eve of its centenary by Joseph's great-granddaughter Laurie Haspel Aronson. She is giving the label a much-needed facelift, introducing new clothing lines and updating its storied styles while remaining true to her ancestor's values of maintaining an elegant appearance no matter the conditions.

It was those values married to quality workmanship and classic style that led to Haspel's being favored by the likes of presidents Calvin Coolidge, Harry Truman and Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well as dapper movie stars like Humphrey Bogart, Gregory Peck, who wore Haspel seersucker in To Kill A Mockingbird (1962), and Cary Grant, who sported Haspel suits in Charade (1963), while becoming a staple of Ivy League style on college campuses everywhere.

Gallery: 100 Years of Haspel

Continue reading The Classicist: Haspel's 100 Years in Style

Heiress / Model Lydia Hearst's Sexy New Lingerie Ads

Posted Aug 4th 2008 8:01AM by Jared Paul Stern
Filed under: Apparel

Model Lydia Hearst, daughter of newspaper heiress Patty Hearst (who was famously kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974) and great-granddaughter of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, stars in London lingerie company Myla's sexy new ad campaign (above). The 1940s, Film Noir-influenced ads, shot by photographer Ben Hassett, will appear in print in December. Hearst, 23, who has also modeled for the likes of Prada and Louis Vuitton, also designs her own line of accessories in conjunction with Puma.

Gallery: Lydia Hearst in Lingerie

$150 Million Revamp of Chicago's Famed Palmer House

Posted Aug 3rd 2008 8:01AM by Jared Paul Stern
Filed under: Journeys

Ever since Thor Equities paid $230 million a while back for Chicago's famed Palmer House hotel, we've been awaiting the results of their $150 million revamp of the storied space. The original edifice, rebuilt after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, was frequented by presidents, robber barons and writers like Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. The current hotel, constructed in 1923, continued the opulent tradition but eventually lost some of its luster.

A fair amount of progress has been made on the project to date, including a chic restaurant called Lockwood and the new addition of Potter's (above), a bar / lounge named after the Palmer House's founder, Potter Palmer. In the style of a 1930s men's club, the wood and leather-bedecked space features oversized photos of past Palmer House patrons and Chicago icons like like Nat King Cole, football star Walter Payton, and Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.

[via Men.Style]

Gallery: The Palmer House

The $1,500 Bottle of Bourbon

Posted Aug 2nd 2008 12:02PM by Jared Paul Stern
Filed under: Spirits

When you think of bourbon you naturally think of Kentucky, but in fact they were making sour mash whiskey in Pennsylvania long before Kentucky was even settled. Michter's in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania, originally known as Bomberger's, was the oldest licensed distillery in America when it closed down for good in 1988. A prescient fellow named Adolph Hirsch bought up Michter's' cask aged reserves of its precious 16-year-old pot-stilled sour mash bourbon years ago and stored them in steel vats for preservation. Distilled in 1974 and labeled as A.H. Hirsch Reserve, what's left of the stock is now owned by importer Henry Preiss, who plans to sell it off in a final edition of 1,000 bottles. Each one will come numbered in a special mahogany humidor with a booklet on Michter's' history, two hand-blown glasses and a custom heavy metal tasting cork from France, and is expected to sell for $1,000 - $1,500 when it becomes available in the fall.

[via Men.Style]

Gallery: A.H. Hirsch Reserve

Bonhams' Classic Jaguar Auction

Posted Aug 2nd 2008 9:02AM by Jared Paul Stern
Filed under: Apparel, Wheels, Auctions

On Aug. 9th London auction house Bonhams is staging a sale of classic Jaguar motorcars and related automobilia at Goodwood in Sussex, England. The sale boasts several incredible examples of the famed XK120, the model driven by stars like Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable and Gary Cooper in the '50s. The most expensive car on offer is a white D-Type engined 1953 XK120 in mint condition, originally owned by British raceing driver Mike Salmon, estimated at $200,000 - $300,000.

We're particularly fond of the XK Championship-winning 1954 XK120 Competition Roadster pictured above, est. $140,000 - $160,000. Also featured in the historic auction: the first steel-bodied, right-hand drive 1950 XK120 Roadster ever made, est. $220,000 - $260,000; a 1954 XK120SE Coupé finished in British Racing Green, est. $180,000 - $220,000; and a stately 1958 MkVIII Saloon, est. only $28,000 - $36,000.

Gallery: Bonhams' Summer Jag Sale

Snow Queen Vodka Expands After Awards

Posted Aug 1st 2008 12:02PM by Jared Paul Stern
Filed under: Spirits

Snow Queen, the organic vodka from Kazakhstan with a fantastical flair, is expanding its U.S. distribution following two big wins at the recent 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Snow Queen, which was awarded both Top Vodka honors as well as a Double Gold Medal at the event, has only been available in a handful of states since its introduction to the U.S. in 2006. It is now being sold in California for the first time as well as others and plans to be available nationwide by the end of the year.

Made with organic wheat and pure spring water from the foothills of the Himalayas, Kazakh birch charcoal is employed in the vodka's five time distillation process. That makes it one of the highest distilled vodkas on the market making for an enviable purity and smoothness in the finished product.

Just in case that isn't enough for some people, Snow Queen has also made a name for itself by throwing fancy parties featuring busty babes like Carmen Electra and its signature snow bunnies.

Gallery: Snow Queen Vodka

Multimillion Dollar Ferraris Up for Auction in Monterey

Posted Aug 1st 2008 10:02AM by Jared Paul Stern
Filed under: Wheels, Auctions

On Aug. 15th and 16th RM Auctions is staging its 23rd annual Sports & Classics sale during the famed Monterey Auto Week in California, featuring 15 milestone Ferraris and more. In May, RM set a new world record for the most expensive car ever sold in auction history: $11 million for a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder formerly owned by actor James Coburn. Starring in the Monterey sale is a very similar car, a 1961 250 GT SWB Berlinetta, which is estimated at $3.7 million - $4.2 million but could well go for much more (the Coburn car sold for nearly double its estimate).

Also on offer: a 1962 400 Superamerica Coupe Aerodinamica, est. $1.5 million - $2 million, one of only 17 made; a 1967 275 GTB/4 Berlinetta, est. $1.6 million - $1.8 million; a 1973 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spider, est. $1.4 million - $1.6 million, one of the last examples ever produced; a 1965 Ferrari GTB/6C Berlinetta, est. $800,000 - $1 million, pictured above; and a 1964 250 GT Lusso Berlinetta finished in green, est. $700,000 - $800,000.

Gallery: Milestone Ferraris at Monterey

1962 400 Superamerica Coupe Aerodinamica

Sheikh Flies His Lamborghini to UK for an Oil Change

Posted Aug 1st 2008 8:04AM by Jared Paul Stern
Filed under: Wheels

A rich Middle Eastern magnate believed to be a Sheikh flew his brand new Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 on a 6,500 mile roundtrip from Qatar to London just for an oil change the other day. The London Sun reports that the 640 h.p., $380,000 supercar - the same model as the one driven by Batman in The Dark Knight - painted black and gold arrived at Heathrow in the cargo hold of a Qatar Airways jet and was taken to a Lamborghini specialist in London for servicing, adding $7,000 to the estimated $40,000 cost of the flight.

News of the resource-wasting trip drew the ire of environmental groups, including Friends of the Earth's Richard Dyer who told the paper that "Flying a car thousands of miles for a service is ludicrous when planes are one of the most polluting ways to transport goods." However, David Price of the Lamborghini Club UK insisted, "If an owner wants to service his car in that way, it is his choice. Thankfully the age of excess in some areas continues."

Gallery: Air Lamborghini

Balkan Dictator's Villa Turned Vacation Spot

Posted Jul 31st 2008 11:01AM by Jared Paul Stern
Filed under: Journeys

Former Yugoslavian dictator Marshal Tito's lavish villa on Slovenia's beautiful Lake Bled has been refurbished and turned into a top-drawer hotel under the auspices of the famed Relais & Chateaux group. The white Dalmatian marble mansion, called Vila Bled, on 12 landscaped acres surrounded by the dramatic Julian Alps, was visited by the likes of Liz Taylor, King Hussein of Jordan and Prince Charles when it was the former president's retreat in the '50s and '60s. Now it's divided into 20 luxe suites with a vintage feel, with a newly-added spa featuring both Turkish and Finnish saunas and food prepared by the first Slovenian chef to earn a Michelin star. See the gallery for more.

[via UrbanDaddy]

Gallery: Vila Bled

DiCaprio's Gorgeous Girlfriend Lands Hurley Campaign

Posted Jul 31st 2008 9:02AM by Jared Paul Stern
Filed under: Apparel

Leonardo DiCaprio's gorgeous Israeli model girlfriend Bar Refaeli has landed the fall ad campaign for classic California surf company Hurley. The ads (above) which showcase Refaeli's ample charms will debut in magazines this fall, and she will also appear in the brand's Spring 2009 runway show during Los Angeles Fashion Week in October. You can watch a video of her shooting the campaign here. Refaeli, the first Israeli model to appear in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue, was also recently named Best Body of 2008 by Arena magazine, and will appear in Tommy Hilfiger's Iconic America TV special this fall.

Gallery: Bar Refaeli

[via Kempt]

Gisele Slashes Asking Price on Her Penthouse

Posted Jul 30th 2008 10:01AM by Jared Paul Stern
Filed under: Estates

Brazilian bombshell Gisele Bundchen just slashed a whopping $5 million off the original asking price on her Manhattan penthouse. The supermodel first listed the West Village spread at $10.9 million last September, then lowered the price a few times, ending up at $7.9 million before withdrawing it from the market in the spring.

Now the Wall Street Journal reports Bundchen just re-listed the pad for $5.9 million, a nearly 50% reduction. She paid almost $3 million for the modern 1,700-sq.ft. triplex with a wraparound terrace and roofdeck overlooking the Hudson River in 2002.

Meanwhile, the Journal also notes that Bundchen's beau, football star Tom Brady, has upped the price on his 3,000-sq.ft., three-bedroom apartment at the Time Warner Center. He first listed it in 2007 for $16.5 million before taking it off the market. He has now re-listed the spread at $18.29 million, about a 30% increase.

Gallery: Gisele's Penthouse

Marc Jacobs to Open at Elysian Chicago

Posted Jul 29th 2008 9:02AM by Jared Paul Stern
Filed under: Apparel, Real Estate Developments

Louis Vuitton designer Marc Jacobs will open a boutique for his signature collection at the lavish Elysian Hotel development in Chicago (right) early in 2009. Jacobs' quirky, so-hip-it-hurts clothing is revered by celebs like Victoria Beckham, who starred in his ad campaign.

Jacobs has inked a ten-year lease on the 2,700-sq.-ft. space, which will be located in the development's Beaux Arts-style retail courtyard. The designer already has a boutique for his bridge line, Marc by Marc Jacobs, in the Windy City.

The 60-story edifice designed by architect Lucien Lagrange, is being billed as "a throwback to the grand hotels of the 1920's with the modern conveniences of today." It features 188 guest suites starting at $600,000, 51 private residences which start at $3 million, and a restaurant by famed chef Charlie Trotter.

Gallery: Elysian Chicago & Marc Jacobs

Jacobs and Vuitton collaborator Takashi Murakami

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#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Deidre Woollard	171	1
2	Jared Paul Stern	42	0
3	Tracy Chait	26	0
4	Rigel Gregg	24	0
5	Laura Malesich	24	1
6	Lisa Palladino	16	0
7	Marsha Reid	6	0

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Emirates Palace Offers World's Most Expensive Stay

Talon Air Adds $4 Million Sikorsky to Fleet

Dream Homes of Coastal California

The Classicist: Haspel's 100 Years in Style

Heiress / Model Lydia Hearst's Sexy New Lingerie Ads

$150 Million Revamp of Chicago's Famed Palmer House

The $1,500 Bottle of Bourbon

Bonhams' Classic Jaguar Auction

Snow Queen Vodka Expands After Awards

Multimillion Dollar Ferraris Up for Auction in Monterey

Sheikh Flies His Lamborghini to UK for an Oil Change

Balkan Dictator's Villa Turned Vacation Spot

DiCaprio's Gorgeous Girlfriend Lands Hurley Campaign

Gisele Slashes Asking Price on Her Penthouse

Marc Jacobs to Open at Elysian Chicago

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