The ultra-opulent Burj Al Arab hotel, symbol of Dubai's excess, has just received four new custom Rolls-Royce Phantom limousines, pushing its total fleet of Phantoms to 10. Produced by Rolls' Bespoke Programme, the cars' interiors feature Grecian key marquetry applied to the wood veneer, and the distinctive Burj Al Arab logo embroidered into the leather headrests. The cars are all white like the exterior of the hotel itself, which is home to the $18,000-per-night Royal Suite, one of the world's most expensive hotel rooms. Last year we wrote about the bespoke Rolls created for the Four Seasons George V in Paris with a custom Hermès interior.

A mansion in London's posh Belgrave Square has hit the market for £100 million, or about $150 million, tying it with Candy Spelling's The Manor in Beverly Hills for the title of the world's most expensive estate (in terms of current listings). The six-floor, 21,000-sq.-ft. white-stucco-fronted building has 12 bedrooms, 20-ft. ceilings, a basement swimming pool, gym, media room, and every imaginable luxury fitting. The property has been gutted and revamped by Lebanese developer Musa Salem, the London Times reports.

Across the Square another house has recently come on the market for £80 million, or about $120 million. The eight-bedroom, 20,000-sq.-ft. house is being sold by Saudi Arabia's Juffali family, following the death of its owner. Belgrave Square is also home to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Emir of Dubai, as well as several embassies. The Square was built for the 2nd Earl Grosvenor, later the 1st Marquess of Westminster, in the 1820s and is one of the grandest in London.

It seems that despite a disastrous economy in which he lost a reported $20 billion, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich is pressing on with plans for the Eclipse (above), the $355 million megayacht which will be the world's biggest upon completion next year. The 555-ft. ship, which includes a military-grade missile defense system, armor plating and bullet-proof windows, will literally eclipse the recently-debuted $350 million, 531-ft. Dubai owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Emir of Dubai.

There has been much speculation over whether Abramovich would shelve the Eclipse and / or sell off some of his other superyachts such as the 377-ft. Pelorus, but the Moscow Times reports he plans to keep them all. In fact, Abramovich is said to have already purchased a berth for the Eclipse at Porto Montenegro, the new megayacht marina under construction in the former communist country being billed as "the Monaco of the Balkans" (which we reported on last year).

Luxury brands are struggling to find footing in today's rough economic climate but there was no sign of that during Cartier's official opening of its biggest boutique in the Middle East. The over 7,500-square-foot showroom in the Dubai Mall is the brand's third in store in Dubai. The opening event was attended by actress Monica Bellucci and Bollywood stars including Anil Kapoor.

The store had its soft open three months ago but Cartier President and Chief Executive Officer Bernard Fornas tells the Khaleej Times that even with the economic slowdown business has been good and that the store is an investment in the future. When the economy recovers, Cartier will be waiting with a huge store in one of the world's biggest malls. Dubai remains a key spot for luxury brands because it is visited not just by rich Emiratis but by the emerging wealthy from China and India.

Here is the U.S. people are trying to hide their private jet usage but over in Dubai, grocery store mogul, Dhananjay Datar flaunted his with a press conference in the sky aboard a Boeing 737 Business Jet. Datar is the chairman of Al Adil Trading and the press conference was to celebrate 25 years of his company. Al Adil Trading sells more than 4000 food and household items in the United Arab Emirates such as Indian spices, chutneys, rice, tea and coffee.

During the airborne press conference Dhananjay Datar cut a cake and told the gathered press that his wife, Vandana Datar was responsible for his success and continued profit. He gave her a new Rolls Royce Phantom as a token of his appreciation.

Xpress has pictures of the flight and reports that guests were taken in three stretch limos from the Four Points Sheraton Hotel, Bur Dubai to the airport where a chartered Royal Jet airline awaited them. The guests were given a three hour tour over the Emirates, entertained by a magician, and served a fine meal.

[Thanks, Ben]

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Emir of Dubai, has finally unveiled the largest yacht in the world. Formerly known as Project Panhandle / Golden Star, the 531-ft. Dubai (above) was originally commissioned by Prince Jefri of Brunei. Al-Maktoum purchased the partly-constructed behemoth in 2006, and had it transported from Blohm & Voss in Hamburg to the the newly formed Platinum Yachts shipyard in Dubai for completion (renamed then Project Platinum), at a total cost of about $350 million. With eight decks, the Dubai can accommodate 115 people including a crew of 88. In addition to the swimming pool, Jacuzzis, helipad and multiple dining areas, saloons, guest and VIP suites, the yacht features two owner's suites on the sixth and seventh decks and two heli-observations rooms on the seventh and eighth decks, Superyacht Times reports.

The interior is garish in the extreme, a floating Las Vegas casino by way of the UAE. She has a maximum speed of 26 knots and a cruising speed of 25 knots with a range of 8,500 nautical miles. The Dubai may not hold its world's largest yacht title for long, however; as we reported back in October, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich commissioned an even larger yacht, the $355 million, 555-ft. Eclipse. It remains to be seen whether the economic downturn, in which Abramovich lost several billion dollars, will hamper completion of the yacht which includes a military-grade missile defense system. The Eclipse is also being equipped with armor plating surrounding the bridge and Abramovich's master suite, as well as bullet-proof windows.

One side effect of the implosion of Dubai's economy which my colleague Deidre Woollard reported on last month is the plummeting value of trophy properties owned by certain superstars. Celebs including David and Victoria Beckham (above), Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and Michael Jackson are losing £80,000 or over $100,000 a week as the luxury real estate they purchased in the over-inflated Emirate plunges in value, the London Daily Mirror reports. Posh properties that were worth £3.2 million (or about $4.4 million) in October now on the market for £1.6 million (or about $2.2 million), i.e. only half as much.

"The Dubai market has fallen off a cliff," Jack Whisker of luxury agents Dream Property Dubai tells the paper. "The credit crunch hit us suddenly because all the foreign investors lost confidence. It has hit the higher-value properties the hardest." In January Deidre reported that the Beckhams, who have a luxury villa on the Palm Jumeirah complex, were considering purchasing a second property in the Burj Dubai tower, so they could be doubly exposed. Brad and Angelina reportedly own one of the artificial islands in the out-there development known as The World.

Back in 2007, the plan to turn the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship into a floating hotel in Dubai was just another lavish project in Dubai. Now this project, like so many others, may be in trouble. The QE2 was bought by government-owned developer Nakheel for a reported $100 million. It was to sit on at a pier in the Palm Jumeirah development as another tourist destination. The company announced they would recreate the original decor and fittings of the ship from when she was launched in 1967 only with a modern day spin that included adding a 500-seat theater and building a massive spa complex.

The London Times says that because Nakheel has many other projects including the Palm Jumeirah and the Trump Tower, and because of the significant economic problems affecting Dubai, the QE2 project may end up being delayed. It was originally supposed to be completed this year. Nakheel told the Sunday Times that the conversion will go forward and that has no plans to sell the ship.

In order to draw tourists to Dubai, the Emirates airlines, the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Dubai hoteliers and destination management companies, have launched the 'Keep Discovering Dubai' campaign to promote tourism from around the world.

All around the world governments are cracking down on spending. Most recently it was members of the Chinese government who got in trouble for a junket. The Daily Telegraph says that 14 officials from the southern province of Guangdong ended up in one of the flashiest hotels in the world, the seven-star Burj al-Arab in Dubai. The stay at the hotel was part of a two-week tour around Africa and the Middle East that reportedly included a trip to buy diamonds. Chinese bloggers exposed the story and now the leader of the trip has lost his job and has to repay costs that work out to around $65,000.

These trips seem to be a persistent problem in China much as they are elsewhere as government waste exists in all places. Last December, officials from Zhejiang spent around $95,000 on a trip to the U.S. and officials from Xinyu spent around $48,000 on a trip to Canada. China's economy is in the doldrums too and so Beijing has issued new rules which require politicians to set an example of modest fiscal behavior. Expense accounts have been restricted and there is also a freeze on building new government offices.

Once the undisputed land of conspicuous wealth and consumption, the United Arab Emirates is being squeezed by a large drop in oil prices. It's a shame this comes after the region's addiction to art has become fully entrenched. Sotheby's is planning its first contemporary art sale from its new Doha, Qatar branch on March 18, 2009 – also the opening day of the Art Dubai fair. Hell, it's enough to make you "scream" (see photo).

This looks like the triumph of ambition over common sense, but Sotheby's was probably too far into its Middle Eastern endeavors before the bottom fell out on the region's finances. And with Bonhams and Christie's already in town, Sotheby's had little choice but to follow.

The UAE has committed quickly to the art scene. Abu Dhabi is working on building a Louvre, and is erecting a Guggenheim. Last year, art auction revenues reached $34.9 million, up 70 percent from 2007. But, the upcoming auction should be tricky, particularly with the poor performance of the sector last fall in more established markets, like New York, London and Hong Kong.

In around two weeks, we'll see if Sotheby's will be able to make this new auction house work, or if it will fall victim to the greater recession-triggered decline in the art market. The Mei Moses All Art Index dropped 4.5 percent last year. This seems like a modest amount, but you need to remember that record-setting sales continued through the middle of the summer. Last May, Roman Abramovich was a billionaire with a new Francis Bacon piece in his collection. Today ... we know he feels pain, too. The second half of the year wiped out the first half's records and pulled prices down further.

It's a tough time to count on the market to make Sotheby's Doha a success, but the market doesn't give us choices.

[Photo: "El Grito" by Julio Aguilera]

Things may not be going as swimmingly as they once were in the oil rich nations of the UAE, but that doesn't mean there aren't still plenty of people there with disposable incomes the size of some countries' GDPs. In April, Abu Dhabi will host its first Big Boys Toys Super Show, showcasing the world's top luxury products for men, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC). So far the star of the show looks like the $3 million Maxximus G-Force supercar (above), a 1600 hp beast billed as the world's fastest street legal automobile capable of 0 - 60 mph in 2.1 seconds. The Big Boy Toys show will be divided into seven "hi-octane zones designed to appeal to anyone with a Y chromosome": Drive, Ride, Off Road, Marine, Aviation, Lifestyle and Wired. It's expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors.

We've been writing about Dubai's real estate troubles since last November when the worries about falling real estate prices and Dubai's crushing debt began to hit critical mass. As was predicted back then, their more oil-rich neighbor the United Arab Emirates might have to pick up the slack..For years Dubai has commanded attention with tall towers and exotic properties but it is Abu Dhabi that has the oil wealth.

Much of Dubai's exponential growth was fueled by international borrowing and a great deal of that debt is due this year. The Wall Street Journal reported on an announcement by the Dubai government that it is issuing $20 billion in long-term bonds with the first installment of $10 billion being subscribed by the U.A.E.'s central bank. The bond will be unsecured, fixed-rate paper, and yield a paltry four percent a year, with a five-year maturity.

This eases Dubai's immediate problems but does not address the fact that the Dubai's real estate market continues to be in trouble. The city skyline is dotted with cranes marking half-finished building projects. As in the U.S., banks are wary of offering big loans to developers currently. Back in November, Emaar Properties chairman Mohammed Ali Alabbar who is a top adviser to the emirate's ruler and also the chair of an advisory council set up to help Dubai maneuver through the financial crisis said at a conference that the country is looking carefully at funding projects going forward. Since the middle of last year real estate prices have come down by as much as 50 percent or more. Just last week Emaar Properties said that it would recommend withholding dividends at its annual meeting.

Projects that have been in the works for years are also finishing up putting more and more units on the market, waiting for buyers who are not there. Both laborers and professionals from other countries are also leaving the homes they once flocked to. The NY Times reports that cars left by fleeing foreigners sit abandoned at the Dubai airport. The government is unwilling to provide data on just how bad things have gotten in Dubai. Currently a new draft media law would make it a crime to damage the country's reputation or economy which could mean that local newspapers may not actually be able to report the news. With no real data to rely on, rumors are soaring as people speculate on just how bad the situation in Dubai really is.

The other day we wrote about the Emir of Qatar's fight with the mayor of Paris over his plans to expand a historic mansion. Now another megarich Middle Eastern potentate is having similar problems - but in this case it looks as if he'll get his way. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the crown prince and ruler of Dubai, bought the Inverinate Estate, a 14-bedroom mansion on 63,000 acres in the Scottish Highlands near the Kyle of Lochalsh, 25 years ago for about $3 million. However, the Sheikh (above, at the Royal Ascot races), who was ranked at No. 5 on Forbes' list of the world's richest royals in 2008 with a fortune of $18 billion, recently decided the place is too small, the the Scotsman reports.

The Sheikh planned to build a new modern two-story lodge featuring a penthouse suite, dining room, kitchen and 16 bedrooms, all with en-suite baths and some with living-room areas. Made from a mix of natural stone, timber paneling and glass, it consists of three main blocks linked by glassed-in walkways. Though the present mansion was built in 1929 to replace an earlier 1880 building, critics initially opposed the Sheikh's plan for the incongruous addition, noting the building is a fine example of Scottish vernacular architecture of its period. After having been brought to a vote by the planning council however, the Sheikh will now be allowed to construct what one critic described as "something you would find in the Arabian desert."

Celebrity hairstylists often fly around the world to see their clients. French hairstylist John Nollet is taking that idea a step further going on a world tour that puts him in Park Hyatt hotels across the globe. His 11-city tour has stops in Milan, Moscow, Istanbul, Buenos Aires, Shanghai,Tokyo and Dubai, which is his first stop. Nollet has some fancy luggage for the journey too, Louis Vuitton designed a bespoke luggage set for Nollet and all his supplies. He will be in Dubai from January 21 to 27 where he will offer private hair diagnosis, cut, color and a showing of his haute couture hair accessories specially designed for the tour. A session with Nollet costs 700 euros.