Greece

Armani Beats Gates and Abramovich to Buy $190 Million Greek Island

Legendary Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has reportedly become the proud owner of one of the world's most beautiful and expensive private islands – Skorpios (above). In closing the deal, said to be worth about $190 million according to reports in the European press, the designer faced stiff competition from rival bidders including Bill Gates, Roman Abramovich and Madonna. Located in the Ionian Sea off the western coast of Greece, the island formerly belonged to famed Greek shipping billionaire Aristotle Onassis and was the site of his wedding to Jackie Kennedy in 1968. It was sold to Armani by his granddaughter and heiress, Athina Onassis Roussel. There is a lavish villa on the island known as the Pink House which Onassis built for Jackie, along with tennis courts and plush gardens, though most of the island remains undeveloped and pristinely beautiful.

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Tags: Aristotle Onassis, Athina Onassis Roussel, Bill Gates, billionaires, designer, fashion designer, Giorgio Armani, Greece, heiress, island, Jackie Kennedy, Jackie O, jaqueline kennedy, Madonna, private island, Roman Abramovich, wealth

Best Cruises to Take During the Summer

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Yachts of Seabourn's Fabled Far East Cruise

Luxist readers have nominated their favorite cruises to take around the world during the summer months. From Istanbul to Hong Kong and Egypt, what these cruises have in common are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to see the world while enjoying luxurious accommodations and other incredible amenities. What's best, is you will be able to explore the beauty and culture of faraway places without having to spend half of your time in confusing and crowded airports.

The top five cruises to take during the summer, according to our readers, are:

The Yachts of Seabourn's Fabled Far East Cruise

The Yachts of Seabourn's Fabled Far East Cruise (seen in photo above) offers a 24-day itinerary that begins in Bangkok, Thailand and ends in Kobe, Japan, with stops in five cities along the Pacific coastline. The first week includes stops in Vietnam's sprawling Ho Chih Minh City and bustling port of Da Nang before chugging over to Hong Kong, where shore excursions include a helicopter ride and high tea at the Peninsula Hotel.

Week two starts with a journey to mainland China's seaside city of Xiamen; the trip continues with two days in Shanghai, the "Paris of China," and wraps up with a day on the Yellow Sea. The third week takes visitors to South Korea, first to the mountain-backed city of Mokpo, then to Jeju, a volcanic island formed from eruptions nearly 2 million years ago. The trip ends with stops at Nagasaki, Kagoshima and Kobe, Japan.

The Fabled Far East cruise takes place on the Seabourn Pride, a boat that boasts both a restaurant and spa. Best Available Fares per person, based on double occupancy, start at $11,400 for wait list spot, while the brochure fare is $22,800. Fares go all the way up to $32,800 for a wait list spot in a deluxe owner's suite (the stated brochure fare is $65,600), not including airfare.

Gallery: The Yachts of Seabourn

The Yachts of Seabourn (The Fabled Far East Cruise)

Tags: Athens, awards-main, Best Cruises, Best summer cruise, Best summer cruises, Cunard Cruise Line, CunardCruiseLine, Greece, Istanbul, Lindblad Expeditions, luxist-awards, National Geographic, Norway, Oberoi Zahra, Queen Mary 2, Sea Cloud, Seabourn, Turkey

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Cruise the Greek Isles and Turkey on the Sea Cloud

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Sea Cloud's luxury cruise to Turkey and Greece

Some 2,500 years ago, the warm waters between Greece and what is now Turkey were filled with the warring fleets of Persia's King Xerxes and his Greek foes. These days, the ships sailing through the Aegean are of a much more peaceful variety-none more majestic than the vessels of Sea Cloud, a nominee for a Luxist award in the best summer cruises category.

One of Sea Cloud's most popular itineraries takes guests from Athens through the Greek Isles to Turkey and back again. The eight-day trip includes stops at Delos, an entire island designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site; Rhodes, where the Palace of the Grand Master still stands; and Bodrum, the Turkish town that was once home to the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the original seven wonders of the world.

Gallery: Sea Cloud Cruises

Cruising the Greek Isles and Turkey with Sea Cloud

For those wishing to venture farther East, Sea Cloud's Athens-Cyprus trip includes stops at Knossos, island home of the fabled Minotaur; Latakia and Aleppo, one of the world's oldest continually-inhabited cities; and Tartarus, home to the Krak de Chevaliers, a Christian castle from the time of the first crusade. The trip terminates in the Cypriot city of Lanarca.

Both itineraries (which start at $3,995 per person and go all the way up to $7,995 person, not counting an early booking discount of $500) feature one of two ships: the Sea Cloud and the Sea Cloud II. The latter bristles with teak and brass, holds 94 people and is sure to instill envy in any observer-perhaps even King Xerxes himself.

Vote for the Summer Cruise that you think is the best of breed. The winner will be announced on September 1st.

Tags: Athens, Best summer cruise, Cruise, Cyprus, Delos, Greece, Luxist-Awards, mediterranean, Mediterranean cruise, Sea Cloud, Turkey

Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph Watch For Greece

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

The second I saw this I got a chuckle. A limited edition luxury watch for Greece? Are they calling it the "Bail-Out Special?" The subject of countless articles and media coverage, everyone on the planet knows that Greece is outta cash. Without the EU's help, Greece was about to go the way of Circuit City. Well Greece is still kicking and Swiss luxury watch maker Vacheron Constantin has just released a limited edition version of their Overseas Chronograph for the Greek elite. Perhaps it is for all those high-up Government people who absconded with public money? The 100 pieces will have dark blue guilloche engraved dials with matching blue straps. The watch will come with a rubber as well as blue crocodile strap. The steel watch is the chronograph version of the brand's popular sport watch. Innards are the same in-house made automatic chronograph movement as the non-limited Overseas Chronograph models. The back of the watch has a special engraving for the Greek piece - Grecian Trieme ship, as opposed to the Amerigo Vespucci sailing vessel that is on other versions. The 100 pieces are available only on the Greek market. A beautiful piece indeed, but the timing is surely off. Price is 14,600 euros.

See more images right here on Vacheron Constantin's forum The Hour Lounge.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: greece, greek, overseas, Vacheron Constantin, watch

Assouline Launches Luxury Collection Destination Guides

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Holiday Guides, Books

Luxe publisher Assouline has come out with a passport to the prestigious Luxury Collection Hotels & Resorts in the form of limited edition set of guidebooks. The Luxury Collection Destination Guides unlocks the charms of six destinations – Italy, Greece, Argentina, India, Spain, and the United States. The Luxury Collection's world-renowned concierges act as your personal guide, offering an insider view of each locale's most unique restaurants, boutiques, and cultural sites. Each book features a passage and recipe from a celebrated chef including Mario Batali for Italy, Francis Mallmann for Argentina, José Andrés for Spain, and Charlie Palmer for the U.S. Curated by Assouline, the collection is beautifully photographed by the Luxury Collection's Global Explorer Andréa Fazzari and packaged in a vintage inspired travel box. The guides will be exclusively offered as a complete set at Assouline Boutiques in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York, as well as www.shopassouline.com and other major retail stores for $140.

Tags: Argentina, Assouline, books, Charlie Palmer, Greece, guidebook, India, Italy, Luxury Collection, Mario Batali, restaurants, Spain, The Luxury Collection, travel

Calling all Shirley Valentines to Santorini

by Ann Brenoff (RSS feed) —

The Greek Cyclades island group has long been synonymous with romance. First, Liverpool housewife "Shirley Valentine" rediscovered herself on Mykonos with some help from a handsome Greek taverna owner in the 1989 movie. And then Meryl Streep planned the wedding-of-the-century in "Mamma Mia" (2008) against the white-washed backdrop of what film fanatics say was Sifnos. But every true Grecophile worth her moussaka knows that the most romantic place in all of the Cyclades is Oia, the small artist community on the tip of Santorini where the island rises above the Aegean Sea and moonlight walks along the Caldera are known to inspire Aphrodite -- at least in the playbook of my youth.

So let's raise a glass of Nykteri (Santorini's "wine of the night,") and shout "Yiamas!" (cheers!): One of Oia's most photographed historic guest houses is on the market. The properties known as "The Sea Captain's Villa" is listed at 4,800,000 Euro --or about $7.1 million U.S. An adjacent house, "The Cave Style House" is included in the sale. The main house, originally built in 1864 as a sea captain's quarters (it was remodeled a few years ago), overlooks the dramatic volcanic sea caldera. Traditional Greek architecture in style, the property has hosted European celebrities on holiday. The white-washed buildings with traditional sky blue trim include seven bedrooms, seven marble baths and two kitchens. Antiques, artwork and an optional hotel license are included. Santorini is said to be the lost continent of Atlantis, an advanced civilization that disappeared under the waves. Perhaps the legend adds to the island's mysterious allure. Modern Greeks simply shrug and repeat an expression which, when translated loosely, says: God created Santorini, and then He stopped. Enough said.

Gallery: An Idyll in Santorini

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Tags: greece, greek islands, GreekIslands, real estate, RealEstate, santorini

Dubey & Shaldenbrand Olympe Watch Collection

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Here is a cool watch for you Greek mythology fans out there from Dubey & Shaldenbrand. Probably the best touch in this Olympe watch collection is the Zeus lightning bolt minute hand, but other aspects of this watch fit the theme nicely as well. Dubey & Shaldenbrand timepieces are shaped like (more) avant garde Franck Muller watches, using a similar tonneau shaped case, which in this instance is 33mm wide and 44mm tall. The case is steel, and two versions are available with and without diamonds set in the bezel.

The high grade ETA 2892 automatic movement has been modified with a day/night display that operates the rotating disc in the middle of the dial. A date window is covertly placed at the 6 o'clock position. The dial layout is exceptionally well done as a easy to see round dial is placed within the oblong shaped face. Good use of the style with good functionality. Around the round dial are well designed numerals with an art deco character. Of course there are the zodiac characters displayed, but they are just placed for show (no zodiac calendar indicator). The watch is meant to represent the power and might of the Greek gods, and the corresponding mythology. A nice genre piece with the images on the enamel dial. The Dubey & Shaldenbrand Olympe watch collection will be offered as a limited edition of just 200 pieces. Price will be at least $10,000 - $15,000.

Ariel Adams publishes the popular watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Dubey & Shaldenbrand Olympe Watch

Tags: dubey shaldenbrand, DubeyShaldenbrand, greece, greek, olympe, olympus, watch

Greeks Still Smoking, Cigars Holding Up

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cigars

Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua: these are the countries you would normally associate with the cigar business. But, Greece? Believe it or not, a market for local cigars is growing in Greece, and it's defying the global economic downturn.

Domenico Cigars is a small, two-room factory in Greece that sources its seeds from Cuba. It only puts out 70,000 sticks last year (a record). Instead of positioning the cigars as rare or limited editions, the company offers them at a reasonable $5 each, which is about half the price of the imported hand-rolled Cubans.

The group received little help from Cuba. Though they were able to tour the factories and plantations, nobody offered tips. They weren't allowed to take notes. So, developing an operation in Greece led to plenty of trial and error, with the actual rolling being the hardest part.

Despite the fact that the seeds are Cuban, the cigars are distinctly Greek, thanks to the local soil and the effort that resulted in the current product. The locals, it seems, remain committed.

[AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis]

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Tags: cigar, cigars, cuba, cuban, cuban cigars, CubanCigars, greece, greek, tobacco, tobacco industry, tobacco use, TobaccoIndustry, TobaccoUse

The Plans For The World's Greece

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

More plans have been announced for The World, the massive floating community in Dubai with islands representing the various countries and continents. European aristocrat Baron Jean van Gysel de Meise, owner of the five-star Le Plaza in Brussels and the boutique V...Vejer in Spain will create a boutique hotel on the island of 'Greece.'. He plans to launch a hotel under the V... brand every year for the next five years in the Middle East.

The island of Greece will become a boutique hotel with 65 guest units. Investors can buy 'V...Greece on The World' property, have access to that property for two months of the year, and earn a 50 percent share of the property's gross income over the remaining 10 months. The units will range from 2,000 to 3,500 square feet and ther will be a spa, fitness center, stores and restaurants. The buildings will cover 37% of the island leaving room for gardens and walkways. The buildings will be created using gray water managements and environmentally friendly construction codes. No word yet on whether it will have a Greek theme.

At the start of the year, Nakheel development laid the last stone in the breakwater for the project so development on the islands should be ramping up soon. The gallery below lists some of the planned projects.

Gallery: The Projects of The World

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Tags: dubai, greece, the world

New Private Jet Company Planned For Greece

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Planning a trip to Greece? You'll soon have a sexy new private jet option. Embraer announced that K2 SmartJets will begin operations in Greece with one Legacy 600 jet. The company was founded this year by a bunch of entrepreneurs and plans to have two more jets in the feature. The $24.7 million jet holds 19 passengers and can fly to any city in the E.U. The Greek Air Force is already using the Legacy 600, but K2 SmartJets will be the first civilian based group to fly the jet out of Athens Airport. The company is set to launch in a little over a month.

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Tags: embraier, greece, k2 smartjets, K2Smartjets, private jet, smartjet

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