Friday, November 21, 2008

Ritz-Carlton Northstar Highlands - Lake Tahoe





Many experienced visitors to the Tahoe area prefer the North Shore. This end of the scenic lake is less developed and is actually more accessible to the San Francisco Bay area. A number of new golf clubs have been built in the area and many of its famed resorts have been exciting new options. Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort near Truckee is a prime example.

The Ritz-Carlton Club is set to open its new fractional ownership residences in the Northstar Highlands adjacent to the Ritz-Carlton Highlands Hotel. There will be 78 ski-in-ski-out residences nestled in this mid-mountain location. Members will enjoy the use of all facilities of the neighboring Five Star Ritz-Carlton Highlands.

This includes a luxurious new spa featuring 16 indoor-outdoor treatment spaces, pool and whirlpool. The property will also feature a new gondola service connecting the Highlands to The Village at Northstar below.

The residences will have all the comforts one would expect from Ritz-Carlton, including a fully equipped gourmet kitchen, spacious living room with a gas fireplace and entertainment center, luxuriously appointed master bathrooms with vanities and heated floors, balconies and ski valet. There will be 26 two-bedroom residences 43 three-bedroom residences and nine, four-bedroom residences.

The North Shore at Lake Tahoe has always been more popular with well-heeled visitors. The views are just as spectacular but the crowds are much thinner. The density of housing is lower, especially on the California side of the North Shore. Most of the families from the bay area choose this side for vacation homes. Peace and quiet are necessary for a relaxing vacation within a short drive of the faster-paced casino action. If you like old- time western towns, be sure to take in downtown Truckee where many of the original Gold Rush structures are still in tact.

Golf options

Ritz-Carlton Club Lake Tahoe members have access to great golf though the Tahoe Mountain Club. This golf access includes Old Greenwood, Grays Crossing and Coyote Moon. Old Greenwood is a highly rated Jack Nicklaus signature design. This dramatic layout is carved out of 600 acres of towering pines and features numerous high mountain lakes and streams. Nicklaus designs always feature the best quality in shaping and conditioning. When the course opened in 2005, it received many awards including being rated No. 4 Best New Upscale Public Course by Golf Digest Magazine and No. 10 Best New Public Course by Golf Magazine.

The Golf Club at Gray’s Crossing is another great option. This Peter Jacobson and Jim Hardy creation is one of only two layouts in California to obtain the designation as an Audubon International Gold Signature Sanctuary. Great lengths were taken here to protect the environment framed by towering lodgepole and Jeffrey pines.

Coyote Moon is a fairly new public venue in nearby Truckee, which opened in 2000. This Brad Bell creation is a wonderful layout and highly rated. The course is cut out of a grove of huge pine trees and encompasses 250 acres. The feature shaping is high-end here with excellent conditioning to boot.

The Tahoe Mountain Club also offers a luxury private dining club located right on the North Shore and panoramic views. Wild Goose is a must for those who want to enjoy dinner on the lake no matter what the season.

Not only do you have access to the best here in Lake Tahoe, but The Ritz-Carlton Club, Lake Tahoe at Northstar Ownership allows you to experience other remarkable destinations in Hawaii, Aspen, San Francisco, St. Thomas, South Beach and the Bahamas. Fractional ownership at Ritz-Carlton Club Northstar starts at $215,000.

For More Information Please Visit: PrivateresidenceClubs.com/Lake-Tahoe-Residence-Clubs

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Northstar Rising - Hyatt Residence Club is opening this December



With private clubs and loyalty rewards, family packages and immaculate grooming, upscale lodging and cutting-edge terrain parks, this little-known Tahoe gem is quietly becoming the Deer Valley of the Far West.

Northstar Lodge - Hyatt Residence Club is opening this December

Ritz-Carlton Highlands is opening next year at Northstar - offering fractional ownership at Ritz-Carlton Club Lake Tahoe and whole ownership at The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe

“You’re coming to town and you’re going to Northstar?” my Tahoe friends cough in disbelief. To them—all hard-skiing locals—Northstar-at-Tahoe’s steadily surging popularity (No. 3 for skier visits in all of Tahoe) is hard to comprehend. It has no signature steeps, a la Squaw Valley or Kirkwood. It lacks the big, in-your-face views of Heavenly, offering glimpses of Lake Tahoe from only one sliver of its summit. It has none of the rugged topographical drama so signature to the basin. It’s the un-Tahoe, and my friends want no part of it—at least not on skis. “We’ll meet you in Northstar’s village for dinner,” several of them say, “but if you want to ski together, then you’ll have to come to Squaw.”

On the face of it, Tahoe seems easy enough to understand: beautiful lake, sunny skies, biblical deluges of snow. And because this expansive mountain playground is on the California/Nevada border, there is gambling aplenty and all the nighttime sass and kitsch that goes with it. And did we mention the astonishingly lovely lake?

But to people who call Tahoe home, or who weekend there religiously, or who visit annually, this description is mere caricature. The real Tahoe is far richer and quirkier, more individualistic and harder to know. It possesses an intrinsic, hard-to-define quality that makes it much more than the sum of its parts. It hooks skiers and doesn’t let them go. At each of its signature mountains—Squaw, Heavenly, Kirkwood, Sugar Bowl, Alpine Meadows, Homewood and Mt. Rose—Tahoe’s skiing touches the soul.

And then there’s Northstar.

So why am I here today, rocketing down long, broad boulevards at the heels of longtime Tahoe locals Tom and Carla Beebe? And why is this well-groomed cruiser’s paradise Tahoe’s third most popular resort? And why is the steel frame of a giant Ritz-Carlton— what will be, in fall of 2009, the only full-service hotel of its caliber anywhere in California skidom—rising right here on the slopes of a resort that many people outside Northern California have never heard of? Here, at a mountain with terrain that many locals deride and—perhaps most astounding—in a location without views of Lake Tahoe itself?

The answers, I soon discover, have as much to do with Northstar itself as they do with its surroundings—the wonderful, strange, rewarding creature called Tahoe.

Northstar itself—a thickly forested cinder cone turned tree farm turned master-planned ski and summer resort—is roomy and flawless, as current in its amenities as any mountain resort you’ll find, and intently devoted to the cheerful delivery of innovative, accommodating service. What that means on this particular Saturday morning is that management has opened the 2,904-acre mountain early for members of its various locker rooms and private clubs. Tom and Carla, members of the “Platinum Locker Room,” meet me in Northstar’s newly rebuilt village (formerly something out of the ’70s, now an appealing updated take on Beaver Creek) and we head up the gondola for a tour.

Northstar is located near Lake Tahoe’s north shore, halfway between the historic town of Truckee, Calif., and the lakefront town of Kings Beach (about 10 minutes by car from each). Offering views primarily of a scenic alpine basin called the Martis Valley, the resort is situated entirely below tree line, well-protected from the winds that often hammer the rest of the Sierra crest. When it’s snowing and blowing, Northstar’s long boulevards are the north shore’s best place to ski. Otherwise, it has long been considered “a family place.”

“Northstar? I’m not sure I’m gonna like it,” Carla recalls thinking five years ago when Tom suggested they try a season here. Her reaction is common among hardcore Tahoe locals, who cheerfully frequent Northstar’s restaurants and free open-air ice rink but have long disdained its slopes, often without firsthand experience. But the Beebes decided to take a chance—and now they’re hooked.

They start their ski days in a convenient free satellite parking lot at the foot of Northstar Drive, where they have yet to wait more than two minutes from the time they lock their car to the time they step onto the complimentary shuttle. The bus drives 1.3 miles uphill, past roads accessing the 35-year-old development’s original rec center, fire hall, 300 homes and 1,150 condos. The Beebes step out onto the curb of the new village, which was grafted to the original village in an inviting semicircle of terraced levels. The distance from the bus stop to the Platinum Locker Room is only steps. There, a concierge serves morning espresso (with continental breakfast) and afternoon wine (with appetizers). Daily ski tuning is included in membership, and the enormous lockers with equipment dryers would make any pro athlete envious.

Despite appreciating this level of service, Carla and Tom Beebe are hardly Mel and Don Trump. The two (he’s a woodworker; she’s his business manager) are fit, down-to-earth ski and cycling fanatics. They work hard but organize their days around mountain sports. They say a warm hello to everyone they know—and they seem to know most everyone they see. Residents of nearby Truckee, they have spent more than 30 winters with local season passes dangling around their necks—including 20 years as devoted pass holders at the regional king of cool, Squaw Valley USA. In other words, they may be circling 50, but these two can ski. And today, with the mountain not yet open to the public, there’s little need to hold back.

The morning sunlight is bright and glancing, rendering everything crystal sharp. The air atop Mt. Pluto—some 2,500 feet above the Village—is shockingly cold. I follow Tom and Carla down broad, pine-flanked ribbons of perfect corduroy at thrilling, unfettered speeds. Logger’s Loops unfurls beneath us, rolling and banked. Then Iron Horse, a wide, wavy avenue nearly a mile long. Next is Lookout Mountain’s Prosser, which rides like a high-tech roller coaster, buttery smooth as it drops its passengers into weightlessness then bends them with G-forces. Then the Promised Land, where powder day magic happens amidst big trees. Everywhere we go the well-groomed mountain feels more like a place I know intimately than one I rarely ski, as though my skis are engineered to sync intuitively with each pitch and roll, and all I have to do is ride the flow and unlock the speed. We ski nonstop run after nonstop run like this, hopping on high-speed lifts to zoom back up to the top. I’d be lying if I said it was a deeply soulful experience, but it is pure fun.

“I’m not looking for absolute excitement here,” Tom says, acknowledging that Northstar is not one of Tahoe’s spine-tingling mountains full of stirring landscapes and expert thrills. “I’m just looking for good, quality skiing.” And in a region filled with great skiers who churn up snow as soon as it falls, Tom says he’s also on the hunt for more powder skiing with less of a crowd—which he and Carla have found in abundance in Northstar’s off-piste woods. “The powder skiing here is fabulous,” Carla says. Tom just smiles and nods. It’s only when they show me where they go on powder days, slipping through hidden openings into roomy glades, that I begin to get a sense of Northstar’s secreted slice of Tahoe soul.

In 1972, when Northstar-at-Tahoe first opened to the public, its then-tiny ski area was an amenity of its master-planned community, rather than its centerpiece. In those days, the idea of a self-contained recreational community de-emphasizing the car was cutting-edge. Northstar won awards for its visionary design, which was emulated at other recreational real estate developments of the era. The community—designed from the beginning to be a community, to foster connections among its users and to provide them with quality shared time—also featured a golf course, single-family homes and condos nestled amidst pines, a free bus system and a compact village center with a couple of restaurants and shops. The rest of the Tahoe basin offered plenty of jaw-dropping vistas and Wild West flavor; Northstar was about having a good life in a convenient, inclusive, low-stress environment.

Back then, Northstar’s ski terrain consisted only of a shallow basin on the very front side of the mountain, while Squaw was essentially the same dramatic size it is today. “We had to be innovative to be competitive,” says Julie Maurer, who started at Northstar as a part-time courtesy guide and public relations assistant in 1982, when it was owned by Louisiana Pacific, and is still on board today as the VP of marketing for its current parent company, Booth Creek. “Customer service and quality have always been paramount, across the board, no matter what it is we’re delivering.”

As a result, the Northstar of today features cushioned rattan conversation nooks throughout its village and carefully leveled steps up to the lifts, while adjacent resorts offer scuffed plastic chairs and slippery slopes. Food on Northstar’s roomy mountaintop sundecks includes rotisserie turkey legs and smoked ham steaks so large that a $12 plateful of either could easily feed two. Lessons for capable skiers and boarders (Level 6 and above) are free. The Mommy, Daddy and Me program shows parents how to have a pleasant experience getting their wee ones on skis—also for free. Litter is baited with $75 resort cash cards to encourage employees to pick it up. Ski racks at busy lunch spots are marked with names of states, making it easier to find gear after a leisurely sun-baked break over heaping plates of freshly made Mexican fare and midday beers. There are signs at the bottom of lifts reading “No smoking or swearing,” but there’s also a cool cabin in the woods where the jib-set is encouraged hang out.

And the ways Northstar strives and innovates in the realm of customer service doesn’t stop there. For destination visitors, Northstar delivers plush new slopeside condos that are notably large, bucking the nationwide trend of cramping visitors so that they get out of their rooms and spend. For teens and jib junkies, an entire section of the mountain has been turned into the West’s most progressive array of terrain parks, under the savvy leadership of Chris Gunnarson and Snow Park Technologies, designers of the pipes and jumps at the Winter X Games. For brown-baggers, picnic tables and Adirondack chairs are placed at the mountain’s scenic spots. For the up-market, there are discreet private clubs at summit and base. And do you recall how I felt as though my skis were somehow engineered to respond to Northstar’s slopes? It turns out the reverse is true—Northstar’s slopes have been tenderly resculpted to maximize the experience of today’s skis.

Northstar’s milieu is another story altogether. Some 13 million people live within a four-hour drive of Tahoe’s 15 ski areas. It’s a big market, and one that has long been underserved by Tahoe’s offerings in two key areas: great resort hotels and top-notch service.

Many of Tahoe’s resorts are old-style day areas operating on Forest Service lands, possessing little or no real estate to develop. For places like Alpine Meadows, which is about the same size as Northstar but skis more like Alta, Utah, this has meant none of the robust revenue stream that other North American resorts have relied on to fund face-lifts. And there’s been little incentive: With such a captive audience, one resort executive explains, many in the Tahoe ski and travel industry have remained complacent and let the lake do all the work.

Notwithstanding the recent improvements to Heavenly, Squaw and Kirkwood, the overall Tahoe mountain experience remains fragmented and, in many cases, woefully out of date. Its great skiing and superb dining aren’t easy to link together. The best restaurants are in Truckee and South Lake, with a smattering of others around the lake basin. The only full-service hotel that isn’t also somehow strange to visit is in Incline. The most exciting ski terrain is at Squaw, but Alpine, Sugar Bowl, Mt. Rose and Kirkwood also deliver thrills. The best lake views are at Homewood, Heavenly and Diamond Peak. The liveliest shopping is in Truckee. The grooviest gambling is at Crystal Bay. The best nightlife—the only nightlife, really—is on the South Shore. You get the picture.

But one central place that can consistently deliver a great ski getaway, superb service and an on-the-money lunch, all in one? That’s where Northstar and the Ritz-Carlton come in.

Unlike Tahoe’s other big resorts, Northstar is built on a huge swath of private land—some 8,000 acres. It’s not the most breathtaking site in the Sierra, but it is lovely. Skiing occupies 2,904 of those acres (including 414 newly opened acres this season), with another 490 to be added in the near future. Northstar’s approved master plan, in place since the ’70s, has always called for more than 3,200 lodging units (currently there are 1,697, of which 247 are new). In other words, Northstar has the land and the permits to build another 1,503 homes, condos and hotel rooms.

When this plan was rediscovered by owner Booth Creek, it was like found treasure—particularly since most of the remaining developable real estate is located in a prime slopeside location, uphill from the village in an area now called the Highlands.

In conjunction with savvy developers East West Partners, Northstar earmarked the very best Highlands site for the amenity all of Tahoe lacks the most: a luxurious, world-class ski-in/ski-out hotel. The partnership with Ritz-Carlton should be a perfect fit. When the six-story, 405,000-square-foot Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe, opens in 2009, guests will enter via a grand, three-story circular staircase that will wind past multi-level fireplaces; they’ll have their choice of 170 full-service hotel rooms ranging in size from 500 to 1,500 square feet. (The even more discriminating can select from 23 private residences serviced by a private entrance.) The castle on the hill will have no lake view, but it will have everything else.

Downhill from the new Ritz construction site, the Village at Northstar is bustling. Kids are careening around the ice rink screeching happily while parents socialize over drinks in the rink-side cabanas. A local bluegrass band plays on a nearby stage. My friends from Squaw who demurred from meeting me on the mountain are happy to come up for dinner with their kids. The line for sushi at Mikuni is long, but no one seems to mind. Everyone is having a blast.

Northstar may only be soul-stirring on stormy powder days, when the winds that whip across the Sierra crest close the lifts at other resorts and skiers like Carla and Tom Beebe find themselves alone among Northstar’s roomy trees. But sometimes soulful isn’t all that matters.

After five winters here, Carla certainly has no doubts. “We really like the way the place is run,” she says. “The employees are truly friendly. There’s a nice group of skiers here, and we’ve made great friends. It’s like a little family. The mountain is buffed. And,” she says again, “the powder skiing is fabulous.”

“At Squaw, I always felt like a visitor,” she continues. “At Northstar, I feel like I’m home.”

Article by Susan Reifer, Contributor, SKI Magazine - November 2008 edition

The Hyatt Residence Clubs new luxury Northstar Lodge is the latest offering from East West Partners, and represents the newest way to live in The Village at Northstar. Right outside your door at Northstar Lodge is America's number 3 "family friendly" rated ski area, according to USA Today. The Northstar ski area boast over 83 groomed ski trails and 2,400-acres of terrain to match any other Tahoe mountain. Fractional ownership at Northstar Lodge also includes membership in Tahoe Mountain Club, offering two championship golf courses - Old Greenwood and Coyote Moon. The entire Lake Tahoe area is yours to discover with endless activities and recreation for all seasons. Sun and fun is always included with life in Tahoe. Ownership at Northstar Lodge - Hyatt Residence Club starts at $150,000.

For More Information on The Northstar Lodge - Hyatt Residence Club & The Ritz-Carlton Club Northstar Highlands Please Visit: PrivateResidenceClubs.com/Lake-Tahoe-Residence-Clubs

For More Information on whole ownership at The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton Highlands - Please visit: LuxeResortHomes.com/Lake-Tahoe-Resort-Homes

Fairmont Heritage Place Increases Portfolio With New Sun and Ski Destinations



New Property Additions Strengthen the Brand's Collection of World-Class Fractional Products

Fairmont Heritage Place, the private residence club offering from Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, today announced that it has assumed management of two North American-based private residence clubs formerly operated by Storied Places(R), an Intrawest company. Joining Fairmont Heritage Place's exclusive collection are the Fairmont Heritage Place at Nature's Door, Whistler and Fairmont Heritage Place Inspiration, Miramar Beach in Sandestin, Florida. These additions enhance and extend the Fairmont Heritage Place portfolio, which now consists of five locations, over 200 luxury homes and more than 2,000 homeowners worldwide.

"The addition of these leading resort destinations, combined with recently announced private residence projects in places like the Kingdom of Sheba development on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, Zimbali in South Africa and Vail, Colorado, supports our residential growth strategy of adding developments that are of the highest quality, situated in the world's most spectacular locations, and offer a unique mix of lifestyle and leisure offerings," said Thomas W. Storey, President, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. "New homeowners will have the opportunity to enjoy the exclusive benefits and privileges of Fairmont Heritage Place, such as club-to-hotel exchanges, and we look forward to providing them with the personalized and thoughtful service that has made Fairmont famous throughout the world."

Providing ski-in, ski-out access next to the Dave Murray Downhill Olympic Ski run, Fairmont Heritage Place at Nature's Door, Whistler features 22 well-appointed and fully furnished vacation homes. Reflecting the rustic charm of the Pacific Northwest, these luxury homes range in size from three to four-bedrooms and offer mountain inspired amenities like private outdoor hot tubs, customary wood-burning fireplaces, and wrap-around decks providing unparalleled views of Whistler Blackcomb. Original artwork by local British Columbian artisans adorn each home and all feature private media centers equipped with large flat panel televisions and DVD players.

Overlooking the protected wetlands of Choctawhatchee Bay and nestled amongst the lush fairways and manicured greens of the award-winning Burnt Pine Golf Club rests the 20 luxury homes of Fairmont Heritage Place Inspiration, Miramar Beach. Here homeowners enjoy the comfort of three-bedroom residences that showcase vaulted ceilings, wrought-iron canopy beds, and kitchenettes featuring White Carrera Bianco marble and stainless steel countertops. Within the resort development itself, homeowners also have convenient access to the new Village of Baytowne Wharf, four-championship golf courses, the Sandestin Golf Academy, a 98 slip-marina, 15 tennis courts, and 17 restaurants including waterfront dining.

"These exquisite private residence clubs are extremely successful and consistently receive some of the highest guest satisfaction ratings in the lodging industry," said Brian Collins, President at Intrawest ULC. "There is tremendous compatibility with our Storied Places fractional ownership concept and Fairmont's private residence club. This new ownership model will introduce the Fairmont brand to Sandestin and deepen their brand presence at Whistler Blackcomb which will maximize the benefits for owners. As we look toward the future, Intrawest will continue to seek opportunities to partner with Fairmont to design, build, manage and operate new and innovative real estate projects."

Fairmont Heritage Place is a leading operator of private residence clubs throughout the world. Featuring luxury home developments in world-class destinations like San Francisco, Telluride and Acapulco, Fairmont Heritage Place combines the impressive amenities and attentive service of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts with the luxurious comforts of an elegant private retreat. Fairmont Heritage Place owners, as well as being able to enjoy their own homes, can utilize their allotted time at other Fairmont Heritage Place locations around the world. They also have the unique opportunity to enjoy exchange privileges at Fairmont's collection of distinctive hotels and resorts, including landmark properties like the century-old Savoy hotel in London and The Fairmont Banff Springs in the Canadian Rockies.

About Fairmont Heritage Place

Fairmont Heritage Place is an exclusive private residence club collection offering vacation home ownership in some of the world's most sought after locations. Fairmont Heritage Place Acapulco, its first residence club, opened in September 2004 and is now sold out. Fairmont Heritage Place also manages the Fairmont Heritage Place Franz Klammer Lodge in Telluride, Colorado and San Francisco's Fairmont Heritage Place, Ghirardelli Square, which officially opened in August 2008. Sales are currently underway for Fairmont Heritage Place, Kingdom of Sheba, on the Crescent of The Palm Jumeirah island in Dubai, and Fairmont Heritage Place, Zimbali, South Africa. Future development is being planned at select Fairmont resort locations including Vail, Colorado; Rock Ki, Dominican Republic; Oman; and Palm Desert, California.

For More Information Visit: PrivateResidenceClubs.com

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Five Years in the Making, Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences in Seattle Opens



Five years in the making, Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Seattle opened its doors to the public this month.

Four Seasons Hotel Seattle offers the consummate Seattle experience to the area’s growing number of leisure and business travelers from around the globe. A dramatic departure from its previous address at The Olympic Hotel, Four Seasons Hotel Seattle is a modern, waterfront hotel with a variety of amenities that reflect the best of the Northwest’s culture and natural beauty.

Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Seattle is a $150 million, 21-story ultra-luxury development with 36 residences above 147 guest rooms located in Seattle’s Pike Place Market District in the heart of downtown. Developed by The Seattle Hotel Group LLC, a private, local company, the property features spacious, modern interiors and one-of-a-kind views of Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains.

“When Four Seasons left Seattle in 2003, a local group quickly formed to bring it back in an extraordinary way. The new Four Seasons will allow guests and residents to experience the Northwest like never before,” said John Oppenheimer, managing partner of the Seattle Hotel Group, developer of Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Seattle. “We are so honored to return this international icon and hospitality leader to our city.”

The 147 guest rooms and 36 Private Residences at Four Seasons Hotel Seattle are ideally situated in the cultural and business heart of downtown, just steps from Pike Place Market, Seattle Art Museum and the city’s best shopping, dining and entertainment venues.

“Four Seasons is delighted to return to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest with a contemporary new building on such a breathtaking and conveniently located site,” said Ben Trodd, General Manager, Four Seasons Hotel Seattle. “Visitors and residents can experience the best of Seattle in an exciting new way, from dining in the chic, water-view restaurant to having a cedar-scented Spa treatment.”

In preparation for its opening, the hotel held two job fairs, considered more than 3,000 applicants for its 235 positions, administered an average of 160 hours of training to each new staff member and custom-fit approximately 2,700 uniform pieces by hand. Fifty of the 235 employees, or 20 percent, have transferred to Seattle from 19 other Four Seasons properties.

Within the hotel, ART Restaurant and Lounge features acclaimed Seattle chef and Four Seasons veteran Kerry Sear’s “best source” philosophy of incorporating the freshest local ingredients into creative and memorable preparations. The main dining room shares panoramic water and mountain views with the lounge, private event room and counter, which offers inventive and convenient meals throughout the day. More than 160 wines from a 12-foot wine wall will be available by the glass.

The 6,000-ft2 (557 m2) full-service Spa at Four Seasons reflects the company’s commitment to providing a luxury destination spa in every city and resort location. The Spa captures the serenity of nature by infusing indigenous Pacific Northwest elements such as herbs, coffee and cedar into its treatments. After experiencing The Ultimate Unwind or another restorative journey, guests and residents can relax by downtown’s only outdoor infinity-edge pool and fireplace overlooking Elliott Bay.

Four Seasons Hotel Seattle’s grand ballroom provides the perfect backdrop for a timeless Seattle event. Two-story-tall windows frame panoramic westerly mountain and water views. The hotel’s modern art collection focuses on 16 works by masters of the Northwest School, and original works from private collections lend an unexpected flair throughout the hotel.

Residents of Four Seasons have access to residential concierge service, valet parking, 24-hour room service and the hotel’s full spectrum of amenities and services. Whether having Four Seasons cater an event at home or tend to their affairs while they’re away, residents live an effortless lifestyle in homes ranging from 1,300 to more than 7,500 square feet and from $2 million to more than $15 million. A limited number of residences remain available.

For More Information Visit: LuxuryUrbanLiving.com/Seattle

Monday, November 17, 2008

Gansevoort Hotel Toronto



It has been less than five years since the first Gansevoort hotel helped breathe life into the now ultra-fashionable meatpacking district of Manhattan, and in that time the brand has pushed to cement itself among the top names of the luxury development world. Last March, a second Gansevoort project, its first with residences, opened in South Beach in Miami, and another hotel in New York is planned to open in fall 2010 on Park Avenue South. That may seem like quite a lot of activity for a still-young brand, especially in the current economic climate, but Gansevoort seems to be showing no signs of slowing down. Now a fourth project, this one on Richmond Street West in downtown Toronto’s entertainment district, is on the way. Plans call for 150 hotel rooms and 120 whole-ownership studio-to-three-bedroom residences in a modern, cubist-looking 35-story tower. The residences, from 700 to 4,000 square feet, will have large terraces with gardens hanging over their sides, and owners will be able to enter their units in a rental program to serve as hotel rooms while they are away. Also planned are a full-service spa and the rooftop area with a heated outdoor pool, lounge and a bar. The development’s plans also include a significant effort toward energy efficiency and sustainable building techniques; it is seeking LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.


Pricing expected to start at $500,000 - For More Information Contact CondominiumHotels.com


bmi Better for Business

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Canyon Ranch - opens in Miami Beach



Morning dip in the ocean? Check. Haute cuisine by the beach? Check. Cardiometabolic stress test? Check.

Add medical diagnostics to the South Florida vacation must-do list for guests checking in to the region's newest resort this week. Canyon Ranch Living-Miami Beach hopes to cut through the growing list of high-end hotel offerings with a pricey mix of health screenings, spa treatments and wellness services running the gamut from nutrition to midlife angst.

Day One at Canyon Ranch might include a coordination and balance assessment ($165), followed by a 100-minute Japanese bathing ritual ($330), and then on to an 80-minute stone massage ($240) and a $350 insomnia consultation with a medical doctor.

Developers hope their $500 million Canyon Ranch, like its namesake Arizona resort, will attract throngs of affluent baby boomers willing to pay handsomely to ward off aging. But this week's opening comes during lean times for the luxury market in general, adding to the financial pressure for a condominium resort that revolves around expensive -- if healthful -- indulgences.

''We have very, very wealthy buyers,'' said Eric Sheppard, a partner in WSG Development. (A publicist later volunteered CSI:Miami star David Caruso is among the Canyon Ranch Miami Beach owners.) ``People are buying the lifestyle of mind, body, spirt and a healthy living.''

WSG launched Canyon Ranch Miami Beach at the site of the old Carillon hotel in 2005, at the height of South Florida's condominium boom. It offered 581 units -- 431 standard condominiums and 150 condo-hotel units -- for prices ranging from $500,000 to $8 million. More than 500 units sold, and Sheppard said he's seen roughly 10 percent of buyers try to back out of their contracts.

In this battered condo market, developers cherish cancellation rates that low. But Canyon Ranch can't rest easy once a contract closes. To remain profitable, it needs a population of unit owners eager to pay not just their monthly dues, but to participate in the expensive lifestyle Canyon Ranch offers.

The resort employs a full-time medical staff of 11, including a Chinese medicine specialist, nutritionist and a physical therapist. Private rooms surrounding the 75,000-square-foot health club (including a 32-foot-tall climbing wall) contain equipment for conducting tests on oxygen saturation and bone density, along with body composition scans designed to guide the fitness staff in creating exercise regimens.

Dr. Karen Koffler, the former head of integrative medicine at Evanston Northwestern Hospital in Illinois, ducks into a darkened room a few steps from the treadmills containing a $125,000 body scanner.

''It's the best bone-density and body-composition machine that is made,'' said Koffler, a medical doctor and the resort's clinical director.

While it can detect signs of bone loss on spines and hips, the device also allows fitness instructors to ditch the metal calipers typically used to measure body fat in favor of a digital image that can reveal a person's true fitness level.

''There's a lot of...skinny-fat women,'' Koffler said. ``They're thin because genetically they were blessed with the tendency to be thin. But if you peer under the tissue, there's fat under there because they're not physically active.''

To ensure clients follow the staff's workout regimens, trainers issue memory sticks embedded with each routine. When plugged into the gym's weight machines and cardio equipment, the cards won't let users lift too much and will take note if the intensity level falls short of the work-out plan.


For More Information Condominiumhotels.com/Contact

Article written by Douglas Hanks - posted on MiamiHerald.com - November 11, 2008

Friday, November 7, 2008

Capella Pedregal Alliance With Ultimate Escapes



Capella Pedregal, Cabo's hottest new resort and residential community, just got a little hotter. In a new, unprecedented alliance with luxury destination club Ultimate Escapes®, owners at Capella Pedregal now have access to residences at 23 fabulous resort and metropolitan destinations around the globe.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (PRWEB) November 6, 2008 -- Capella Pedregal, Cabo's hottest new resort and residential community, just got a little hotter. In a new, unprecedented alliance with luxury destination club Ultimate Escapes®, owners at Capella Pedregal now have access to residences at 23 fabulous resort and metropolitan destinations around the globe.

"We are proud and excited to be the first private residence club to partner with a destination club," said Juan Diaz Rivera, marketing director, Capella Pedregal. "This unprecedented partnership is offering owners at Capella Pedregal an opportunity to build equity by owning real estate in Cabo, while providing them with access to Ultimate Escape's global portfolio of properties through Ultimate Escapes Developer Affiliate Program - it's the best of both worlds."

Amenities at Capella Pedregal include fractional ownership in a luxury Viking yacht at the Capella Yacht Club, access to all of the amenities of the Capella Resort and Spa to open on-site in March 2009 and a prime location on 24 acres of pristine beach. The Ultimate Escapes Developer Affiliate Program is another unique amenity that gives current and prospective owners the opportunity to enjoy vacations at Ultimate Escapes destinations worldwide including luxurious mountain and ski spots such as Deer Valley and Beaver Creek, major metropolitan cities including New York, Paris and London, golf destinations like Tuscany and Scottsdale and beach resorts from Belize to the British Virgin Islands.

"Cabo San Lucas is the most sought after vacation destination for our members," said Gregg Amonette, senior vice president, Business Development for Ultimate Escapes. "We're thrilled to align ourselves with a property of this caliber and are confident that Capella Pedregal will become a highly desired destination for our members."

Set to debut in March 2009, Capella Pedregal is Capella Hotels and Resorts' preeminent beachfront resort and residential community. Accessed via a private mountainside tunnel, Capella Pedregal will be comprised of a 66-room Capella Resort and Spa, 38 shared-ownership Capella Residences and 11 private, full-ownership Casonas. The only luxury hotel and residence resort with immediate proximity to the world-class Cabo Marina, Capella Pedregal offers its owners and guests unprecedented access to a fleet of luxury Viking sport fishers and cruisers at the Capella Yacht Club. Resort guests and residents will enjoy amenities including a 10,000-square-foot Sylvia Sepielli-designed signature Auriga spa and wellness center; their own personal majordomo; and attendance by Capella's signature Personal Assistants who are on hand to arrange anything from dining reservations to yacht excursions and access to Cabo's many attractions.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

$640M Project Breaks Ground in Tough Times



MIAMI-Seven years ago Mehmet Bayraktar, chairman and CEO of Flagstone Property Group, was invited to Watson Island by the City of Miami, which was looking to plan a marina on the site that sits just off the MacArthur Causeway between Downtown and Miami Beach. Last week, Bayraktar celebrated an event he has been waiting for since 2001: the groundbreaking of Island Gardens, a $640 million mixed-use yachting resort on the island.

Island Gardens, to be developed and owned by Flagstone, will be built on a 24-acre site owned by the city adjacent to the Miami Children’s Museum. The development is set to feature two towers and 221,000 sf of retail space. The first tower will house a 150-room Shangri-La Hotel and 98 luxury fractional residences to be managed by Shangri-La Hotels.

“We are selling a one-eighth fractional ownership that allows buyers to have 45 days per year of usage,” says Philip C. Freedman, Flagstone’s vice president of residential sales. Pricing starts at $215,000 for a 1,200-sf, one-bedroom unit and goes up to $850,000 for a 3,770-sf, four-bedroom unit. Freedman believes the units will sell, even during tough economic times. “There are 267 fractional clubs worldwide,” he explains. “Last year they accounted for $2.6 billion in sales, and the year before was $2.1 billion. Sales have consistently gone up 20 to 30%, and we have 141 fractions sold to date,” he adds.

The second tower at Island Gardens will include a 350-room hotel run by a four-star brand to be announced later this month, Bayraktar tells GlobeSt.com. The two-level retail space is set to feature 60 luxury shops, 18 waterfront restaurants and outdoor and indoor seating for more than 1,500 guests. In addition, the project is planning a “super-yacht harbor” designed for mega-yachts and giga-yachts longer than 400 feet. According to Flagstone, Island Gardens is the only location under development in North America to accommodate these vessels. Public gardens featuring waterfalls and artwork are also being planned for the site.

Approximately 18% of the fractional ownership units are committed, says Bayraktar, and letters of intent have been received for about 15% of the retail portion. According to Flagstone, institutional equity in form of 35% of project costs has been closed with ING Clarion. Flagstone will seek to borrow the rest by 2010, a deadline set by the City of Miami. The developer is currently at various stages of debt placement based on components of the project. Flagstone says some components have received their loan commitment and agreements are being drafted and others have been committed and approved by a lead bank and are in the process of being syndicated.

“I hope and believe we’ve been very lucky that now things are slowing down,” Bayraktar tells GlobeSt.com of the current downturn. “This is the perfect time for construction—for labor and materials—and once we open in fall of 2011, things should be going in the other direction.”

Story written by: Crystal Proenza - GlobeSt.com November 3. 2008 -  Original Story


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