Ayeneh!

Just as luxury resort group Six Senses was ahead of the curve with its sexy castaway fantasy resort in the Maldives, Soneva Fushi, Six Senses Sanctuary - Phuket is a spa fantasy that lasts for days, even weeks, depending how long you want to stay. We only had four days but that was enough time to understand why this destination spa is so popular, it goes way beyond pampering. The experience starts as soon as you arrive of the private island of Naka Yai, just of the north-east coast of Phuket in Phang Nga Bay. There’s no lobby, no queues, just walk up the postcard perfect jetty and head straight for the spa for an extensive assessment.

the Crosby Street Hotel, in New York

Hirsch Bedner Associates’ (HBA) recently completed design for the much-anticipated ESPA spa located in the Istanbul EDITION hotel. Here is a short description from the project developers: “The contemporary spa was inspired largely by Turkish traditions, with design elements that echo the Hammam customs and atmospheric elements of Istanbul. This juxtaposition of the old with the new create a uniquely contemporary and luxurious space. Elements like embossed bronze floors, chocolate brown marble, cast bronze sinks, walls of crystals and lighting effect gives the spa a warm, rich and mysterious ambiance. There are very few straight walls or corridors in guest areas and that helps to make the spaces mysterious and allows guests to discover new areas as they journey through it. Crystals are delicately integrated into the spa design in their most natural state. Their faceted edges, which glisten in the light, reinforce the atmospheric feel while exuding a distinct sense of luxury and elegance. The play of light was one of the main component in the design inspiration and was drawn from the faceted cut out patterns found in a traditional Hammam.”

What are the key elements that you look for when searching for a hotel? Good location, cheap prices or a stylish interior that gets the eye? Well if it’s the latter what about a look at the W New York, a prestigious Manhattan hotel. With guestrooms and suites recently renovated by Hong-Kong based architecture firm BBG-BBGM to feature soothing colors and textures inspired by nature, the five-star hotel is conceived as an urban oasis. Sweating the adrenaline and energy of a bustling city, the rooms are all enhanced by the alluring angles created by a stunning array of futuristic furnishings. 

:::: I wouldn`t mind staying here ;)

::: OMG it’s so cool I wanna throw up! LOL

We can’t imagine the marketing meeting during which some one pitches the concept for a toilet-themed restaurant … and the others in the meeting agreeing that it’s a good idea. And yet presumably such a meeting has happened. More than once. There are at least 20 (!) restaurants on planet Earth where toilets, urinals and potty talk are the central attraction. Five of those have opened in 2008 alone and at least ten more are planned for 2009, most in either China or Taiwan.

Let’s get you going with an overview of some of the world’s crappy dinning experiences in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Germany and Portugal …

Marton Modern Toilet – Taiwan, Hong Kong

The first Modern Toilet Restaurant opened in 2004 in Taipei, inspired by a cartoon that featured a toilet drawing on a menu. Since then Modern Toilet has been flush with success, opening 11 more branches around Taiwan and one in Mongkok, Hong Kong. At most locations the restaurants are known by locals as the Marton (which approximates the Chinese word for “toilet”) or simply as “The Toilet Restaurant.”

 

 

W’Duck – Matosinhos, Portugal

Imagine your cool but otherwise typical bar in Los Angeles, London or New York. Now imagine it with toilet seats and you pretty much have W’Duck outside of Porto, Portugal. Between the unusual choice of chairs, and the lighting that changes color based on the time of day, patrons of W’Duck might not notice that the food here is really good; the menu is heavy on spicy Portuguese specialties served with organic beer and wine.

The Swiss Family Robinson meets Cocoon on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.

There, on the island’s western coast, is a a gem of an eco-resort where guests sleep in round pods suspended by ropes in the trees: the Free Spirit Spheres.

There are three sphere-pods to choose from.All About Melody is the newest; it is the most secluded and the most accessible, reachable by a flat and (mostly) steady foot bridge. TheEve sphere is the coziest (by which we mean smallest); it only has room for one average sized adult or two small ones. Our favorite sphere is the Eryn (photo below) largely because it hangs highest above the ground (4.5 meters / 15 feet) and has a huge round window next to the bed

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The Free Spirit Spheres might be the world’s only resort that has a sauna and has its accommodations wired with a high tech stereo but doesn’t offer a bathroom with plumbing. Guests use an outhouse for their facilities, so bring a flashlight. And bring youriPod, hook it up to your sphere’s speaker system, and experience a whole new type of surround sound.

Seaventures Dive Resort. The resort occupies a former oil rig off the island of Sipadan. The island, administered by Malaysia though also claimed by the Philippines, is an idyllic tropical wonderland. Jacques Cousteau himself, a man who has seen his share of islands, called Sipadan “an untouched piece of art.”

To call the Seaventures Dive Resort a “resort” is s a bit of a misnomer. The sleeping quarters, while certainly comfortable, have all the atmosphere of your grandparent’s basement guest room. The food, while tasty and plentiful, is no culinary tour de force. There’s no swimming pool, no spa, no gym—and none of the guests seem to mind. They all come to here for what most divers-in-the-know consider to be one of the world’s top five scuba spots. When not under water guests at the Seaventures hang out on the deck of this former oil rig drinking beers, swapping stories and marveling at what a beautiful place they’ve found themselves.

What the Propeller Island City Lodge is—besides incredibly cool—is a collection of individually designed rooms in a former apartment building. Some of the rooms, the ones that get the most attention, are truly outrageous. There’s the mirror-filled room (room #15), the upside-down room (#23), the all-orange room (#1) and the jail-cell room (#26) which has the toilet in the middle of it and a “door” that’s literally a hole in a wall. You can sleep on a bed that’s suspended from the ceiling by ropes (#12) or inside a vampire’s coffin (#31). Check out the photos, below.

Key to enjoying your stay at the Propeller Island City Lodge is to get into the spirit of the place. This isn’t Berlin’s most luxurious and comfortable digs. Some of the rooms, especially the singles, are on the small side; some rooms also share bathroom facilities. If you want to experience the artsy aspect of staying here but are put off by it’s more wacky rooms we suggest choosing one of the larger, more functional, en suite options like the elegant Temple Room (#13) or the minimalist “Chicken Curry” room (#33). Then again, how often do you have a chance to stay in a barn-themed room (#36) that includes a big pile of potato sacks packed with foam rubber?

 The Hotel de Vrouwe van Stavoren. At this restaurant and resort on the coast of Holland guests sleep in giant recycled wine casks!

 

The restaurant portion of the Hotel de Vrouwe van Stavoren is completely pleasant—a standard seafood-centric selection Dutch fare is served at an indoor/outdoor seating area overlooking Stavoren’s old harbor. Diners heading here for a touch of the unusual, though, will be disappointed. That can only be had if you spend the night.

Sending the night involves staying in a giant wine cask that’s been turned on its side. In an area that once held enough wine to fill nearly 20,000 bottles the proprietors of the Hotel de Vrouwe van Stavoren have placed beds, a small television and a few furnishings. Add some curtains and small windows and it is all very cozy and hobbit-like.

The wine cask rooms do not smell of stale alcohol or old grapes. Each one has an en suite bathroom though the shower and toilet facilities are not in the cask but attached to the back. To get the full cask feeling you’ll have to shut the bathroom door.

The price for a night at the Hotel de Vrouwe van Stavoren is quite reasonable considering the distinctive accommodations. For around €130 (USD$179.75) per person guests get a welcome drink, a five course dinner, breakfast and complimentary access to two Stavoren museums. Oh yeah, they also get a complimentary bottle of wine.

The Yotel concept was inspired by Japanese capsule hotels, those hostels in Tokyo and Osaka that some liken to sleeping in a drawer. Except, Yotel does not have coffin-like beds stacked one atop another like some capsule hotels do. Instead, Yotel has cozy (read, “small”) private rooms designed to provide a weary air traveler the maximum of comfort and convenience using a minimum amount of space. And for a minimum of cost.

Every Yotel room (referred to as a “cabin” in Yotel parlance) includes free in-room wireless internet, a flatscreen television, an en-suite bathroom with rain shower, a fold-out desk and 24-hour room service. Every cabin also has plenty of power outlets for recharging your travel gadgets, and a bed with quality sheets and a premium mattress for recharging yourself.

Yotel currently has locations at Schiphol Airport (Lounge 2) in Amsterdam and in London at Gatwick (South Terminal) and Heathrow (Terminal 4). Rates for a standard cabin start at €35/£25 for the first four hours and €8/£6.50 each hour after that. Premium and twin cabins are around 60% more.

You have a stressful 9 to 5 job and you definitely need a place to retreat and recharge your batteries for the upcoming week? We have the perfect place, except that it’s not ours. Losing concrete, class and the modern flooring and furnishings we’ve been used with, check out the exquisite luxury safari lodges in one of Africa’s most breathtaking location— Singita (meaning place of miracles). With an accent on comfort,you get introduced to a true wilderness experience that will pamper your senses. Situated along the Western corridor of the Serengeti, you could use it as inspiration if you can’t afford spending a vacation in such a breathtaking place