You’ve got the sunglasses, the bag, the shoes. But are you overlooking your hotel key card? Is it a Missoni? A Bulgari? Does it bear Donatella’s stamp of approval? The recent proliferation of designer hotels means that a simple key card can elevate you to a whole new level of style while traveling.
Hotel Du Petit Moulin
29/31 Rue de Poitou, Paris, France
The façade of Hotel Du Petit Moulin has you at bonjour: housed in the former home of a 16th century bakery in Le Marais (a district in Paris), the romantic old storefront still reads “Boulangerie.” The interior, however, has been stocked with new ingredients. Christian Lacroix designed the hotel to reflect all the different faces of Le Marais and the result is seventeen different ambiances. In one room, Toile de Jouy celebrates a rustic Marais while in another damasks are an ode to the neighbourhood’s history. Wallpapers, collage frescoes and sensous colours throughout result in total art immersion.
www.hotelpetitmoulinparis.com
Bulgari Hotels
Via Privata Fratelli Gabba 7/b, Milan and Jalan Goa Lempeh, Bali.
Black, chocolate and camel are the pervasive tones at these contemporary and ultra luxurious properties. Precious materials like black Zimbabwe marble, Vicenza stone and Turkish Aphyon give the Milan location lots to brag about. Some rooms include meditation corners furnished with tatami floors. Even more precious, the ultra-exclusive Bali resort hovers like a fortress 150 metres above a 1.5 kilometre beach, which is accessed only by the hotel’s inclined elevator. Over 90 examples of Balinese art and antiques mingle with natural stone, exotic woods and Bulgari’s signature Italian style.
www.bulgarihotels.com
Palazzo Versace
Sea World Drive, Queensland, Australia.
Proving that there’s nothing it can’t bedeck in glitz and glamour, Versace took an Australian beach and smothered it in renaissance/baroque splendour. Palazzo Versace, with its ornate ceilings, intricate mosaics and marble floors, opened in 2000 and considers itself the world’s first fashion-branded hotel. Boasting 204 rooms and 72 condominiums, it’s no intimate hideaway, but still prides itself on being a royalty and celeb-magnet. Minted shoppers can saunter down to the in-house Versace Boutique or hit more designer shops at nearby Marina Mirage before recovering at the Palazzo’s Roman Bath-style spa. A Dubai incarnation of Palazzo Versace will come to life in 2010.
www.palazzoversace.com
The Palazzo Versace pictured above
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