Beautiful Collection of India's Top 10 Hotels

Amanresorts Amanbagh, Alwar

Best Desert Retreat: This ultra-deluxe resort sits on the former site of the Maharajah of Alwar's hunting lodge and personal pleasure garden. Amanbagh means "peaceful garden" and you'd be hard-pressed to find a more tranquil spot than this soft-sandstone hotel surrounded by graceful palms, fragrant eucalyptus and frangipani trees and manicured jade green lawns.. The elegant "haveli-style" rooms are among the largest in the country.

Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur

Best Place To Feel Like Royalty: Everything about this breathtaking property, from the arrival by boat on Lake Pichola and the views of the City Palace, will make you feel as regal as the peacock that wander the property. Many rooms boast private, walled courtyards with silken parasols and inlaid furniture, as well as private butler service. Upgrade to a suite with its own tented dining facility and infinity pool, or better yet, to the 2,650-square- foot Kohinoor Suite with its courtyard fountains, fireplaces and sauna in the master bedroom. Sorry, no throne.

Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai

Best Dining: This 565-room hotel weaves Moorish, Oriental and Florentine styles together: It features vaulted alabaster ceilings, onyx columns, archways, silk carpets, crystal chandeliers and a cantilever stairway. This diversity is also reflected in the hotel's dining venues, which happen to be Mumbai's hottest: the Middle Eastern Souk, Morimoto's Wasabi and the Zodiac Grill, where the menu changes each month to match the astrological sign.

Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur

Best Tent Accommodations: Built in 1727, majestic Jaipur is also known as "The Pink City" for its oleander-rose buildings, domes and minarets. This smaller luxury hotel about five miles from the city center reflects Jaipur's colors and stateliness. It offers a variety of courtyard accommodations, from suites to air-conditioned luxury tents with teak floors, Edwardian claw-foot tubs and embroidered interior canopies. Flashlight not required.

Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra

Best Views Of The Taj Mahal: Views of the domed marble mausoleum are clear from practically every window of this property (including some bathrooms!). This hotel features Moghul architecture, terraced gardens and several reflection pools. The 103 rooms are decked out in rich purples, oranges and yellows.. Their marble bathrooms are stately with their imposing soaking tubs.

Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur

Best Place For Romance: It's hard to top the setting of this white marble palace which seems to be floating atop Lake Pichola on its four-acre island pedestal. Adding to the storybook effect are the decorative details in the elegant suites: bohemian crystals, ornate glass work, green lotus leaves and cusped arches. The rooms look out on medieval gardens and hilltop fortresses.

The Four Seasons, Mumbai

Best Car Service: Driving conditions in India can be a little daunting. At the Four Seasons, the newest entrant to the country's luxury-hotel market, a fleet of 20 BMW Series 7s is available for guests--not that they'll need to go far: The glass tower hotel (whose 202 rooms look straight at the Arabian sea) is conveniently located in Worli, the city's financial center, obviously targeted to the increasing number of business travelers flocking to Mumbai.


The Imperial, New Delhi

Best Common Spaces: Built in 1936, the landmark Imperial Hotel, with its parade of palm trees, glossy Italian marble floors, teak furnishings and high ceilings, will make you feel like you should have arrived on elephant, sword on hip. But don't worry; the spacious rooms--the Deco suites are particularly stunning--have all the modern conveniences. Ask the resident curator to guide you through the hotel's hanging collection of British art.

The Leela Palace Kempinski, Bangalore

Best Business Hotel: Bangalore, India's third-largest city, has morphed into a hip, global technology center, attracting CEOs from Google, Yahoo!, IBM, Honeywell, and, of course, Bill Gates. The Leela Palace offers great accommodations and dining (at the lovely Jamavar) plus superior conference facilities. Expect to rub elbows with local resident Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Biocon president and India's richest woman.

Devi Garh, Delwara Near Udaipur

Sexiest Design: From the outside, Devi Garh, an 18th-century Rajput palace-fort, looks just like so many of the majestic edifices throughout Rajasthan. But step inside and you'll find a totally reinvented minimalist décor. In one room, a sunken marble tub sits alone in a room looking at the Aravali Hills through floor-to-ceiling glass. Each of the 39 suites is embellished with marble and semi-precious stones. The hotel has a spa and can arrange camel rides.

Queen Elizabeth Goes Green as She Converted her £10Million Bentleys to Run on Biofuel

Queen Elizabeth goes green as she converted her £10million Bentleys to run on biofuels. As part of the luxury carmaker’s attempt to reform its gas-guzzling image, the Crewe-based company is launching a new biofuel-burning car in the New Year. Bentley is planning to produce a new line of vehicles with engines that would “offer a 40% improvement in fuel economy by 2012″, allowing the engine to run on both plant-derived fuel or the ordinary gasoline. The system is called “flex-fuel”. They are hopeful that by 2012, all cars of the Bentley line will be compatible with renewable fuels.
Prince Charles also had his cars converted on biofuels as his Aston Martin, multiple Jaguars, an Audi and a Range Rover will be running soon on used cooking oil.

BMW X6 2009 Tuned by Hartge

Famous German tuner Hartge, has released their version of the BMW X6 xDrive35d, the Sports Activity Coupe diesel version.

The twin-turbo 3.0 liter diesel gets a working to the tune of 328 hp and 675 Nm of torque. The Hartge X6 receives an aerodynamic kit made in high-quality PUR-RIM, an ultra-lightweight polyurethane plastic.

The diffuser is integrated into the front spoiler, while at the rear, the diffuser is placed between quadrilateral tail pipes. The Hartge X6 suspension set lowers the X6 by 30 mm and the car sits on CLASSIC 2″ wheels (10.5 x 22″ offset 33 at the front and 12 x 22″ offset 23 at the back).

A full Hartge conversion for the X6 xDrive35d - including fitment and painting work - costs EUR 29,353.94 including 19% VAT.

World’s Most Expensive Lollipops

If you were making the most expensive lollipop in the world, what ingredients would you use?

DeLafée edible gold lollipop

The Swiss luxury confectioners at DeLafée are known for their silver and gold sweets and, in keeping with that tradition, created a lollipop sprinkled with edible gold flakes. Aside from the gold, they used the “finest ingredients” to justify the $38.50 price tag on this strawberry sucker.

Of course, watching your girlfriend lick away the heart-shaped lollipop might just be worth the price of admission.

Couture Pops

If you’re more interested in glammed out candy than fine ingredients, however, Couture Pops may be the sumptuous sweets for you. Sugar Factory’s premium pops feature reusable, decorated handles as well as protective covers over the heads. Each “signature pop,” endorsed by pop stars like Mel B and Britney Spears, is priced at $25. You can also build custom pops by purchasing the handles ($22) and heads ($12 for three) separately.

The most expensive MacBook Air Platinum Edition

All those who seek extreme luxury, Stuart has designed the most expensive Apple MacBook in the World. Christened, MacBook Air Platinum Edition, it is the ultimate as it is shaped out of seven kilogram of solid Platinum. One certainly needs bulky muscles to carry this lappie around. Bad joke! However if you felt that the designer’s MacBook Air Supreme Ice Edition was not enough to satisfy your urge for solid opulence, this one is just for you. When you can afford to spend about half a million dollars ($480,000) for this most exclusive Platinum laptop, why settle for the part Platinum Mac book or the Gold Mac SUPREME FIRE Edition? For £319,995 only five such pieces will available from www.stuarthughes.com

Most expensive sushi with gold leaf and diamond

There are some who have no qualms about splurging thousands of dollars on satiating their taste buds. Keeping this class of fine food connoisseurs and enthusiasts in mind, Filipino chef, Angelito Araneta, Jr. what is touted to be the most expensive sushi in the world. One of the most extravagant plates of sushi you will ever come across, his dish consists of five pieces of delicious sushi, each covered with a leaf of edible gold and garnished with a .2-carat African diamond. Those with an appetite for bling will surely enjoy this extravagant sushi. The exquisite plate was presented at a Milanana restaurant recently and is priced at 91,800 pesos ($1,975).

Most Expensive Bathtubs

Nothing says luxury like lazing the hours away in a tub that costs more than a lot of houses. Those looking for such a tub, however, have a few more options than they used to. If you’re not happy with plain porcelain, you can purchase a tub made from fine materials or hi-tech gadgets.

Water Games Technologies’ Red Diamond bathtub – $47,200

(via bornrich.org)

Designed by Aldo Puglielli, this bright red tub is big enough for two people. That’s just the beginning of the tub’s laundry list of features, however. It also includes a console framed in gold—42 grams of 18-karat gold, to be exact—and Swarovski crystals. The console controls two waterproof HDTVs that remain hidden when not in use. Among the tub’s other features are a massage function, multicolored lighting, a hand-held shower unit, automatic disinfection and even a Swarovski-coated Champagne holder. At $47,200, however, the Red Diamond bathtub is not for the faint of wallet.

Kallista Archeo Copper Bathtub – $67,557

Made of solid copper, this tub is hand-crafted by the very people who refurbished Lady Liberty’s torch. Over five feet long and two-and-a-half feet wide, the tub is spacious enough to comfortably accommodate just about anyone. The fluted faucet and hand-held shower unit are designed with the same aesthetic quality as the rest of the tub, featuring a finely engraved starfish-on-seashell knob.

Baldi malachite bathtub – $222,000

This boat-shaped tub, designed by Luca Bojola is made from turqoise malachite that is perfectly complemented by its ornate, 24k gold-plated feet.

Baldi Rock Crystal bathtub – $790,310

Also designed by Luca Bojola, the first of these three-person bathtubs was created in 2008 and shown at that year’s Salone de Mobile. TThat tub was carved from a single piece of Amazonian rock crystal measuring over 8 feet in diameter and sold for over $850,000. This second tub was created for Harrods and, as the exteriors of both tubs were left rough, is as unique as the first. Baldi even offers a rock crystal basin to complement the exquisite bathtub.

Top 10 Most Expensive Perfumes in the World

You should be amazed to smell these most expensive perfumes in the world. Famous and precious perfume called “liquid diamonds”. Although the price is as expensive as diamonds, remain fascinating the heart of the lovers of beauty. Nowadays what’s the perfume brands are the most expensive? Here are top 10 list of the most expensive perfumes in the world:

10. Chanel No. 5 : $234 per 100 ml

Chanel No. 5 is the first fragrance launched by Parisian couturier Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, and has been on sale continuously since its introduction in 1921. It has been described as “the world’s most legendary fragrance,” and ranks on the top places in the perfumery sales charts. It remains the best-selling fragrance of Parfums Chanel,and the company estimates that a bottle is sold worldwide every 30 seconds.

The specialty of this perfume as claimed by Chanel is its artificial floral aldehyde composition, which lasts long after a single application. However, it stands starkly different from all the other flower perfumes you will find.

Channel No 5

9. Shalini Perfume: $900 a 2.2 oz bottle

Shalini perfume, created by Maurice Roucel. One interesting thing is Roucel is the perfumer of the Musc Ravageur, Iris Silver Mist, 24 Faubourg and Tocade series of luxury perfumes. Steeped in ylang-ylang, coriander and neroli, Shalini is fused with the deep luxurious aroma of sandalwood, musk, tuberose and vanilla. You can buy this spirit-lifting perfume at $900 a 2.2 oz bottle.

Shalini Perfume

8. Caron’s Poivre : $2000 per 2 ounces
The perfume becomes more luring when it comes packed in a spectacularly beautiful Baccarat bottle. The bottle encrusted with pristine crystals on the white gold collar, the bottle reflects shine of sophistication. A bottle containing two ounces of Caron’s Poivre is sold for $2,000.

Caron's Poivre

7. Ralph Lauren Perfume Notorious: $3,540 per bottle

This perfume priced at $3,540. This is one of the most expensive perfumes ever launched. Harrods is the retail outlet where it can be bought from. This perfume is used by segment of ultra premium people and positioned as the best perfume to wear during Christmas time. Advertised by French model Laetitia Casta.

Ralph Lauren Perfume Notorious

6. Baccarat Perfume Bottle Les Larmes Sacrées de Thebes : $ 6,800

Once Baccarat is Known for its production of crystal-encrusted bottles used to pack exclusive perfumes. With this perfume Les Larmes Sacrées de Thebes, Baccarat stepped into the field of perfume business. Les Larmes Sacrées de Thebes is the successful leap of Baccarat into the world of perfumes industry.

Les Larmes Sacrees De Thebes

5. Jar Perfumes The Bolt of Lightening: $765 per ounce
This perfume created by famous jewelry designer Joel A. Rosenthal. The perfume emits a heady and strong smell – something similar to the odor of the air just after a bolt of lightening has cut through the atmosphere. The perfume packaged in hand-cut glass bottles, this perfume is available at two selected boutiques in Paris. The unusual aroma of this extrait de parfum is synonymous with the dramatic and unconventional sense of style of jeweler Joel A. Rosenthal. Jar itself is derived from the creator initial.

The Bolt of Lightening

4. Joy Parfum From Jean Patou Perfume by Henri Alméras: US$800 (1 oz)

Joy is a perfume created for Parisian couturier Jean Patou by perfumer Henri Alméras in 1929. It is considered to be one of the greatest fragrances created and is a landmark example of the floral genre in perfumery.

Joy was created as a reaction to the 1929 Wall Street Crash, which had diminished the fortunes of Jean Patou’s wealthy American clientele. Despite its elevated price and the depressed economic environment, Joy became an instant success and has remained Jean Patou’s most famous fragrance.

At the heart of Joy is a luxurious combination of jasmine and rose. 10,000 jasmine flowers and 28 dozen roses are required to create 30ml of the parfum, hence its very high selling price. Joy also contains other flowers such as ylang ylang and tuberose. Despite its many ingredients, Joy does not smell like a specific flower. According to Luca Turin, “the whole point of its formula was to achieve the platonic idea of a flower, not one particular earthly manifestation.” The bottle was created by French architect and artisan Louis Süe and was designed to have a simple, classical feel.

Joy Parfum From Jean Patou Perfume by Henri Alméras

3. Annick Goutal Perfume EAU D’hadrien: $1,500 for 3,4 ounces bottle

This perfume is a richly aromatic product by Annick Goutal, a famous perfume maker, renowned model and as well as award-winning pianist. It is a result of her extensive research on citrus fruits. Made of extracts from citrus fruits like grapes and Sicilian lemons.

The fragrance’s sweet smelling can do magic to keep all people around you under fascination of your personality. If you are on the lookout for such an outstanding perfume, you don’t need to be confusing.This perfume will provide what your need.

Annick Goutal Perfume EAU D' Hadrien

2. Hermes Perfume 24 Faubourg = $1,500 for 1 oz bottle

This perfume named after the Parisian address of the Hermes flag store, and was launched in 1995 by Maurice Roucel and Bernard Bourjois to blend the images of luxuriance and feminine quality.
Based upon the vitality of ylang-ylang, orange blossom, jasmine, iris, vanilla and ambergris fragrances, the 24 Faubourg is best compliments the soft and aesthetic self in you.

The 24 Faubourg perfume package in 1-oz St. Louis crystal bottles priced US$1,500 each. It is in limited edition line, with just 1000 bottles sold all around the world. The Hermes International company that produces this fabulous perfume enjoys a reputation for 57 years for creating scents in both male and female versions since 1951.

Hermes Perfume 24 Faubourg

1. Clive Christian Perfume: $215,000

This expensive perfume has a top-class quality to its credit, the reason why there is no dearth of buyers in spite of its high price. Its unique scent has made perfume aficionado rate it as a heady mixture of jasmine, cardamom, carnation, lemon, bergamot and benzoin. However, skeptics attribute its high price to the dazzling white diamond affixed to the bottle that alone could be worth USD215,000. Because of this price factor, Imperial Majesty is available in very small amounts; 10 bottles for Clive Christian No 1 for Men or No 1 for Women fragrances are all what you get.

Clive Christian Imperial majesty

Most Expensive Handbags in the World

You probably a rich man that want to give one of these most expensive handbags in the world to the woman You love as handbags is one of the most popular accessories for women. Bringing an expensive handbags usually is a pride for a rich women. Based on that fact, lot of producer of handbags and jewelry make exclusive expensive handbags. Here’s 5 most expensive handbags in the world:

5. Precious Rose bag : $ 92,000 / € 65,457

Made in the form of a perfect flower, the bag is made with a total of 1016 diamonds 42.56 carats, 1169 pink sapphires and 800 tourmalines .

Precious Rose

4. Lana Marks Cleopatra Bag : $ 100,000 / € 71,144

This Cleopatra handbag is in such high demand, only a few actress able to take them to high profile events. Craft design has made it a favorite for Previous First Lady Laura Bush and the late Princess Diana.This limited creation of Art Nouveau jewelry is wearing a metallic silver alligator with full cut and 1500 in terms of black and white diamonds set in 18 carats of white gold frame.

Lana Marks Cleopatra

3. Matte crocodile Hermes bag : $ 120,000 / € 85,342.44

This beautiful bag made of luxurious alligator skin. This stunning White gold hook inlaid with tote and with a dazzling 10 carats white diamond.

Matte Crocodile Hermes

2. Diamond Forever Bag : $ 261,000 / € 185,646.16

Chanel Diamond Forever Classic Bag adorned with 3.56 carats of 334 diamonds, 18 carats of white gold hardware, and a white alligator skin.

Diamond Forever

1. Platinum handbag Ginza Tanaka: $ 2,000,000.00 / € 1,422,122.00

Worth more than £ 1m, this diamond encrusted platinum handbag was on display at the jewelry shops in London to mark the inaugural London Jewelry Week. Created by Japanese designer Ginza Tanaka, the bag is arranged with more than 2,000 diamonds.

Platinum handbag Ginza Tanaka

World’s Most Expensive Trumpet

Jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie was a central figure in the bebop movement and its success is partially attributed to his stage presence. While his beret, horn-rimmed glasses and pouched cheeks all played their part, it was his bent horn that eventually became the most expensive trumpet in the world.

Gillespie’s first bent horn was the result of an accident, but he liked the effect produced by the 45-degree bend so much that he used bent trumpets for the rest of his career. One such trumpet was his Martin Committee bent trumpet.

So called because a committee of players and music teachers designed it for the Martin Band Instrument Company, the Martin Committee line of musical instruments was also used by jazz icons like Miles Davis and Chet Baker.

In 1995, Dizzy Gillespie’s Martin Committee trumpet was sold at a Christie’s auction $55,000.

World’s Most Expensive Martini

The martini cocktail—typically four parts gin to one part vermouth—is a Western staple; from the three-martini lunches enjoyed by American businessmen through the 1970s to the “Shaken, not stirred” vodka martinis enjoyed by James Bond, the cocktail has a long and storied association with men of influence.

The world’s most expensive martini, however, has a little something for the ladies.

Offered by the Blue Bar at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City, the Martini on the Rock is served in a crystal glass on a silver platter. The Grey Goose martini’s price wasn’t determined by the quality of alcohol in the mixed drink, but by one very special ingredient—a diamond engagement ring.

The drink is listed at $10,000, but its actual price is determined by the ring. A visit with a private jeweler allows the customer to choose the perfect ring for the occasion. As such, the hotel requires a 72-hour advance notice to serve the most expensive martini.

Helix Hotel, 5 Star Hotel to Rise in Abu Dhabi, UAE

The Helix is a 5 star luxury hotel that will rise in coming months in Zayed Bay in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Designed by American firm Leeser Architects, the Helix Hotel for its staggered floor plates, it rests in the bay, partially floating in the water.

The hotel features 208 guest rooms and suites arranged around a helical floor, the floor constantly shifts as it rises to the top floor. The hotel includes a glass-bottomed swimming pool on the roof, visible eight floors below, and a running track on the fifth floor. Guests can take advantage of the lounges, cafes, meeting rooms, indoor health spa, running track and indoor fountain.

The spiral body hides a careful study, who has a proud and block light, free from the cone of shadow pervading the corridors and in other hidden areas of traditional hotels. The space is expressed in a joyful but functional.

World’s Most Expensive Cameras

When you hear the phrase “most expensive camera in the world,” you probably imagine a super high-tech digital camera—maybe one used by NASA to take pictures of Mars or the moon or some cool camera capable of going underwater to extreme depths.

That couldn’t be further from the truth.

The first cameras used the daguerreotype process, pioneered by Jacques Mande Daguerre, to form images. A daguerreotype image is achieved by producing a direct image onto a polished silver surface. Unfortunately, a daguerreotypist couldn’t produce copies by means other than daguerreotyping the original and the process was obsolete within a decade.

1839 Susse Freres daguerreotype camera

In May 2007, a daguerreotype camera dating back to 1839 became the world’s most expensive camera when it sold at auction for €576,000—about US $775,000 at the time. The camera, designed by Frenchman Susse Freres, was housed in a sliding wooden box frame and was also believed to be the oldest commercially manufactured camera in the world, heightening its appeal to collectors.

In May 2010, another daguerreotype camera will go under the hammer and possibly become the most expensive camera in the world. Undocumented since 1839, this camera was built by Alphonse Giroux, brother-in-law to Daguerre, which may make it the oldest camera ever built. It was even signed by Dagguere, which can only increase its value to enthusiasts.

1839 Alphonse Giroux daguerreotype camera

The Camera will be on sale at the WestLicht Auction in Vienna—the same auction that sold the Susse Freres daguerreotype in 2007—where bidding will open at €200,000. It is expected to fetch between €500,000 and €700,000—that’s upwards of US $978,000.

World’s Most Expensive Jeans

Antique Levi’s jeans

The popular worker’s denim trousers have become modern day fashion and status symbols. Designer jeans come in and out of popularity but in the early 2000s, expensive jeans started coming back into fashion with brands such as APO Jeans, Chip and Pepper, Paper Denim & Cloth, Seven for All Mankind, True Religion and many other brands costing $200 or more per pair.

The Guinness Book of Records listed a pair of Gucci Genius jeans featuring elaborate feathers, beads, rips and buttons as most expensive jeans off-the-rack at a cost of $3,134 and Forbes once showcased Escada’s Swarovski crystal-encrusted jeans that sold for US $10,000.

Levi Strauss Company bid $46,532 to buy a pair of their own brand of denim pants back on the popular auction site eBay. However, the most expensive old jeans were an average pair of 501 jeans manufactured in the 1880s and purchased by a Japanese collector in 2005 for $60,000.

Trashed Denim

None of those prices, however, can even hold a candle to that commanded by Dussault Apparel’s Trashed Denim line of luxury jeans. These men’s jeans are handmade using a special process where they are washed thirteen times, with dying and painting performed between each washing to add depth to the jeans. That’s not all, though, as each pair of Trashed Denim jeans is adorned with sixteen 1-carat rubies, twenty-six .05-carat rubies, eight .05-carat diamonds and 1080 grams of 18k white or rose gold.

So how much are the most expensive jeans in the world? Try a quarter-million dollars. That’s right; Dussault Apparel’s Trashed Denim jeans are priced at $250,000. They can be purchased at the Dussault store in Los Angeles or Kustom in New York City.